The History of the Crusades (vol. 2 of 3)Michaud, J. Fr. (Joseph Fr.)
History
The History of the Crusades (vol. 2 of 3)
Michaud, J. Fr. (Joseph Fr.)
Crusades
Frederick, son of Leopold, duke of Austria; Conrad marquis of Moravia;
Valeran de Limbourg; and the bishops of Wurtzburg, Bremen, Verdun,
Habbastadt, Passau, and Ratisbon.[15]
The crusade was preached in all the provinces of Germany, and the
letters of the emperor and the pope kindled the zeal of the Christian
warriors everywhere; never had an enterprise against the infidels been
undertaken under more favourable auspices. As Germany undertook the
crusade almost singly, the glory of the German nations seemed as much
interested in this war as religion itself. Henry was to command the
holy expedition; and the Crusaders, full of confidence and hope, were
preparing to follow him to the East. But Henry entertained other views;
several nobles of his court, some who penetrated his secret designs,
and others who believed they offered him prudent advice, conjured him
to remain in the West, and direct the crusade from the bosom of his
dominions; and Henry, after a slight resistance, yielded to their
prayers, and gave his whole attention to the hastening of the departure
of the Crusaders.
The emperor of Germany placed himself at the head of forty thousand
men and took the route for Italy, where everything was prepared for
the conquest of Sicily; the remainder of the Crusaders were divided
into two armies, which, proceeding by different roads, were to meet
in Syria. The first, commanded by the duke of Saxony and the duke
of Brabant, embarked at ports of the German Ocean and the Baltic;
the second crossed the Danube, and directed its march towards
Constantinople, whence the fleet of the Greek emperor Isaac was to
transport it to Ptolemaïs. To this army, commanded by the archbishop
of Mayence and Valeran de Limbourg, were joined the Hungarians, who
accompanied their queen Margaret, sister to Philip Augustus. The queen
of Hungary, after having lost Bela her husband, had made a vow to live
only for Christ, and to end her days in the Holy Land.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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