Europe aroused to a second crusade by the impending dangers of Jerusalem and the Holy Land—The Abbot St. Bernard—Louis VII. of France—He destroys Vitri, repents, and determines on a crusade against the infidels—Pope Eugenius III. invokes the assistance of the faithful—Pons, abbot of Vezelai—Preaching of St. Bernard—State of the Germanic empire—Conrad III. invokes a general diet at Spires, and engages in the crusade—Many distinguished personages take the cross—Enthusiasm of the Germans—Conrad and Louis VII. arrive at Constantinople—Hypocritical policy of the emperor, and treachery of the Greeks—Alarm created by an eclipse of the sun—The Crusaders defeated by the Turks—The oriflamme—Fatal blunder of Geoffrey de Rançon—Reported death of Louis VII.—Everard des Barres, grand master of the Templars—Perfidious policy of the Greeks—Sufferings of the Crusaders—Louis VII. arrives at Antioch with a small portion of his army—Eleanor of Guienne repudiated by her husband, Louis VII.—He proceeds to the Holy Land—Conrad arrives at Jerusalem—Baldwin III. urges on the war—The Crusaders besiege Damascus, and are repulsed—Ayoub, the father of Saladin—The Sclaves— Crusaders in Spain and Portugal—Suger, minister of France— Unfortunate results of this crusade—The conquests of Noureddin—The deaths of Raymond, Josselin, Suger, and St. Bernard pp. 329-381. BOOK VII.—A.D. 1148-1188. THIRD CRUSADE. The religion of Mahomet—State of the East at the time of the third crusade—Dynasties of the Saracens and the Turks almost annihilated—Caliphs of Bagdad, the chiefs of Islamism—Heroic character of Noureddin—Capture of Ascalon by Baldwin III.—Baldwin’s death—His brother Amaury elected his successor—Distracted state of Egypt—Warlike preparations against—Capture of Bilbeis by Baldwin—The Syrians invade Egypt—Baldwin marries the daughter of the emperor Manuel—Makes war on Egypt—Deposition and death of the caliph. The Fatimite dynasty extinguished—Extensive power of Noureddin, the sultan of Aleppo and Damascus— Saladin, the vizier of Egypt—Death of Noureddin—Empire of the Atabecks declines—Death of Amaury—The victories of Saladin in Syria—Baldwin IV., king of Jerusalem—The Mamelukes—Guy of Lusignan—Renaud de Chatillon—Raised to the throne of Antioch—His various military adventures— Rebellion of Guy de Lusignan—Distracted state of Jerusalem —Interview between Henry II. of England and Heraclius, patriarch of Constantinople—Philip Augustus, king of France—Deaths of Baldwin IV. and V.—Guy de Lusignan, the sovereign of Jerusalem—Sybilla, daughter of Amaury—The Templars defeated with great slaughter—Tiberias taken by Saladin—Disastrous defeat of the Christians—Capture of the “true cross”—Guy de Lusignan and many distinguished knights taken prisoners or slain—Saladin captures Ptolemaïs, Ascalon, Gaza, and numerous other cities in