Jerusalem, the City of Herod and SaladinBesant, Walter
History
Jerusalem, the City of Herod and Saladin
Besant, Walter
Jerusalem -- Description and travel; Jerusalem -- History
Baldwin, the brother of Godfrey, had been originally destined for
the Church, and received a liberal education. When he abandoned the
robe for the sword is not certain, nor, indeed, do we know anything
at all about him until we see him in the Crusade following his
brother. He was a man of grave and majestic bearing. Taller by a
head than other men, he was also of great strength, extremely
active, and well skilled in all the arts of chivalry. His beard and
hair were black, his nose aquiline, and the upper lip slightly
projecting. He was fond of personal splendour and display. When he
rode out in the town of Edessa a golden buckler, with the device of
an eagle, was borne before him, and two horsemen rode in front
blowing trumpets. Following the Oriental custom, he had allowed his
beard to grow, and took his meals seated on carpets. He was not,
like his brother, personally pious, nor was he by any means
priestridden. His early education had been sufficient to deprive him
of any great respect for the cloth, and the facility with which he
fell into Oriental customs proves that his Christianity sat lightly
enough upon him. As yet, however, there were no declared infidels in
the East. His morals were dissolute, but he knew how to prevent
scandals arising, and none but those who were immediately about him
knew what was the private life of their grave and solemn king. At
the same time he does not appear to have been a hypocrite, or to
have claimed any merit at all for piety. The figure of Godfrey is
clouded with legends and miraculous stories. We hardly seem to see,
through the mist of years, the features of the short-lived David of
the new kingdom. But that of Baldwin, the new Solomon of Jerusalem,
stands out clear and distinct. This king, calm, cold of speech,
self-reliant, like Saul, a head taller than anybody else, who will
not be seen abroad without a mantle upon his shoulders, who lets his
beard grow, and looks out upon the world with those keen bright eyes
of his, and that strong projecting upper lip, is indeed a man, and
not a shadow of history. He is a clerk, and is not to be terrified,
knowing too much of the Church, into giving up his own to the
Church, as Godfrey did. His, too, is the sharp, clear-cut, aquiline
nose of the general, as well as the strong arm of a soldier, and the
Turks will not probably greatly prevail against him. And with
Godfrey, as we have said before, vanish for ever those shadowy
figures of saints and dead bishops who were wont to fight with the
army. King Baldwin believed in no saints’ help, either in battle or
in the world, and did not look for any. Jerusalem, henceforth, has
to get along without many miracles. For the appearance of saints and
other ghostly auxiliaries is like the appearance of fairies—they
come not, when men believe in them no more:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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