YOUNG FOLKS' 
 HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES 
 
YOUNG FOLKS' 
 
 HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES 
 
 ^^( USED IN 7A GRADE 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 HLIZABETH J. COTTON 
 
 ^ 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 THE BOWEN MERRll I. CO 
 1808 
 

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 Copyright 1S9S 
 
 by 
 
 Elizabeth J. Cotton 
 
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 This work is intended to furnish materials 
 for the foundation of the study of the Middle 
 Ages, and references for more extended read- 
 ing ^j*j«e^.'*v«'v-'«^J«.^J*^^J*>^-'*>^<^<^ 
 
Mediaeval History. 
 
 MediaBval History or the History of the Middle Ap^es 
 is commonly regarded as comprising the events of the 
 1,000 years from the Fall of Rome (476 A. D.) to the 
 discovery of America in 1492. (See Fall of Rome in 
 "Young Folks' History of Greece and Rome.") 
 
 RISE OF THE SARACENS OR ARABS. 
 
 Physical Arabia. — We now pass from the forests and 
 rivers of Europe to the sands and deserts in the south of 
 Asia ; from a country of clouds, of rains, and of moist 
 vegetation, to one of a burning sun, to the consuming 
 and suffocating simoon, and to dry and aromatic plants. 
 The men dwelling in these two countries are as different 
 as their climates. A people sober in body and mind, of 
 a quick and ardent temperament, seeing nothing but their 
 desired goal and going directly toward it, and accus- 
 tumed to dash through the desert with the swiftness of 
 an arrow, because of the impossibility of stopping there 
 with impunity and because there was nothing to attract 
 them between the place of departure and that of arrival ; 
 a people made either for prompt action or absolute re- 
 pose — such is the Arab people, and these traits of char- 
 acter are seen in their history. 
 
 (1) 
 
" The Roman Empire was bounded by the Germans 
 on the north and the Arabs on the south. The former 
 had directed their attacks for the most part toward the 
 Empire of the West and had overthrown it by an invasion 
 prepared and indeed begun long before : the latter 
 emerging suddenly from their deserts had made the Em- 
 pire of the East their special point of attack, and with- 
 out overthrowing it entirely, had, as it were, with a 
 single blow of their cimeter, cut off a large portion. It 
 was by astonishing good fortune that the Empire at Con- 
 stantinople survived these two attacks coming from op- 
 posite directions, like an island in the midst of an inun- 
 dation. 
 
 "Arabia, which then appeared for the first time on the 
 stage of history, is a vast peninsula of which some por- 
 tions are still but little known. It is bordered on the 
 north toward Asia by great deserts, and on the north- 
 west is connected with Africa by the Isthmus of Suez, 
 where the small Peninsula of Sinai projects between the 
 Gulfs of Suez and Akaba. The Peninsula of Arabia 
 forms an imperfect square, with the longest side fac- 
 ing Egypt and Abyssinia across the Red Sea and the 
 Strait of El Mandeb — the shortest side facing Persia, 
 from Avhich it is separated onl}- by the Persian Gulf. 
 The width is very great, especially at the southern end. 
 A chain of mountains, the continuation of the Lebanon 
 range, extends along the Red Sea to Bab-el-Mandeb, the 
 Gate of Tears. Another range borders the Persian Gulf 
 as far as the Strait of Ormuz. These two mountain sys- 
 tems are connected by a line of hills which run from one 
 strait to the other. The inner slopes of these mountains 
 
surround a low and arid plateau which forms the cen- 
 ter of Arabia, and their outward slopes face the sea and 
 form a girdle of lands, part of which are rich and fertile, 
 and here the heat of the climate is mitigated by the sea 
 breezes, the rains, the water-courses, and the numberless 
 irregularities of the land. 
 
 " While the impossibility of permanently settling or 
 of founding anything durable in the interior has alwaj^s 
 kept up the nomad life, the advantages offered by the 
 coast lands have given birth to fixed institutions and to 
 a civilization which at times has been brilliant enough. 
 
 Arabia Divided by the Romans. — "The only knowl- 
 edge the ancients had of Arabia came through a few 
 scattered Roman expeditions. They divided it into three 
 parts — the Peninsula of Sinai, Arabia Deserta (the des- 
 erts which extend from the Red Sea to the Euphrates), 
 and Southern Arabia. 
 
 Modern Political Divisions. — ' ' The Arabian geogra- 
 phers, on the other hand, do not include either the 
 peninsula of Sinai or the deserts of Sinai or of the 
 Euphrates in their countr}', but consider them as lying 
 outside of Arabia. They divided the rest of the penin- 
 sula into eight countries : 1, Hedjaz, which borders the 
 Red Sea, southeast of the peninsula of Sinai ; 2, Yemen, 
 which lies south of Hedjaz ; 3, Hadramaut, on the In- 
 dian Sea, at the east of Yemen ; 4, Mahrah, at the east 
 of Hadramaut ; 5, Oman, between Mahrah and the Per- 
 sian Gulf and the Indian Ocean ; 6, Bahrein, on the 
 Persian Gulf ; 7 and 8, Nedjed and Ahkaf, in the in- 
 terior. 
 
 Most Noted Provinces. — "The most fertile of these 
 
provinces is Yemen, which is also well situated for com- 
 merce, at the southwestern corner of Arabia, between the 
 Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. This is the country of 
 Aden, of Sana, of the ancient and wonderful Saba, and 
 of Mocha, famous for its coffee. The best known, though 
 not the most fertile, of these provinces is Hedjaz, the 
 country of Mecca and Medina, two cities which ruled 
 all the rest of Arabia through their religious influence, 
 though their situation obliged them to have two ports on 
 the Red Sea, in order to derive means of subsistence 
 from abroad. 
 
 Origin of People. — " The Arabs attribute a double or- 
 igin to their population — a primitive race descended 
 from Shem, according to some, from Ham, according to 
 others, and to descendants from Abraham, who, accord- 
 ing to their traditions, in obedience to the commands of 
 God, came to Mecca to found the temple of Kaaba. They 
 say that Abraham lived man}'- years in Hedjaz, and was 
 aided in his divine mission by Ishmael, who was the 
 founder of the Ishmaelites." — Duruy's Middle Ages. 
 
 "And God said to Abraham, Also of the son of the 
 bondwoman will I make a nation." 
 
 "And the lad grew and dwelt in the wilderness and 
 became an archer. And his mother took him a wife out 
 of the land of Egypt." 
 
 HAGAR IX THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 The morning broke. Light stole upon the clouds 
 With a strange beaut}'. Earth received again 
 Its garment of a thousand dyes ; and leaves 
 And delicate blossoms, and the painted flowers, 
 And everything that beudeth to the dew 
 
And stirreth with the daylight, lifted up 
 Its beauty to the breath of that sweet morn. 
 
 All things are dark to sorrow; and the light 
 And loveliness and fragrant air were sad 
 To the dejected Ilagar. The moist earth 
 Was pouring odors from its spicy pores, 
 And the young birds were singing, as if life 
 Were a new thing to them, but, O ! it came 
 Upon her heart like discord, and she felt 
 How cruelly it tries a broken heart 
 To see a mirth in anything it loves. 
 She stood at Abraham's tent. Her lips were i^ressed 
 Till the blood started, and the wandering veins 
 Of her transparent forehead were swelled out, 
 As if her pride would burst them. Her dark eye 
 Was clear and tearless, and the light of heaven 
 Which made its language legible, shot back 
 From her long lashes, as it had been flame. 
 Her noble boy stood by her, with his hand 
 Clasped in her own, and his round, delicate feet. 
 Scarce trained to balance on the tented floor. 
 Sandalled for journeying. He had looked up 
 Into his mother's face, until he caught 
 The spirit there, and his young heart was swelling 
 Beneath his dimpled bosom, and his form 
 Straightened up proudly in his tiny wrath. 
 As if his light proportions would have swelled, 
 Had they but matched his spirit to the man. 
 
 Why bends the patriarch as he cometh now 
 Upon his staff so wearily ? His head 
 Is low upon his breast, and his high brow 
 So written with the converse of his God, 
 Beareth the swollen vein of agony. 
 His lip is quivering, and his wonted step 
 Of vigor is not there ; and though the morn 
 Is passing fair and beautiful, he breathes 
 Its freshness as it were a pestilence. 
 O, man may bear with sufferings: his heart 
 Is a strong thing, and godlike in the grasp 
 Of pain, that wrings mortality ; but tear 
 
6 
 
 One chord affection clings to, part one tie 
 That binds him to a woman's delicate love, 
 And his great spirit yieldeth like a reod. 
 
 He gave to her the water and the bread, 
 But si)oke no word, and trusted not himself 
 To look upon her face, but laid his hand 
 In silent blessing on the fair-haired boy, 
 And left her to her lot of loneliness. 
 
 Should Ilagar weep ? May sliglited W(jman turn, 
 And, as a vine the oak has shaken off, 
 Bend lightly to her leaning trust again ? 
 O, no! by all her loveliness, by all 
 That makes life poetry and beauty, no! 
 Make her a slave ; steal from her rosy cheek 
 By needless jealousies; let the last star 
 Leave lier a watcher by your couch of pain ; 
 Wrong her by petulance, suspicion, all 
 That makes her cup a bitterness— yet give 
 One evidence of love, and earth has not 
 An emblem of devotedness like hers. 
 But, ()! estrange her once— it buuls not 
 By wrong or silence, anything that tells 
 A change has come upon your tenderness — 
 And there is not a high thing out of heaven 
 Her i^ride o'ermastereth not. 
 
 She went her way with a strong step and slow; 
 Her pressed lip arched, and her clear eye undiiumed, 
 As it had been a diamun<l, and her form 
 Borne proudly up as if her heart breathed through. 
 Her child kei>t on in silence, though she jjvcssed 
 His hand till it was pained ; for he had caught, 
 As I have said, her spirit, and the seed 
 Of a stern nation had been breathed upon. 
 
 The morning passed, and Asia's sun rode up 
 In the clear heaven, and every beam was heat. 
 The cattle of the hills were in the shade, 
 And the bright plumage of the Orient lay 
 On beating bosoms in her spicy trees. 
 It was an hour of rest ; but Ilagar found 
 No shelter in the wilderness, and on 
 
She kept her weary way, until the boy 
 
 Hung down his head, and opened his parched lips 
 
 For water; but she could not give it him. 
 
 She laid him down beneath the sultry sky, 
 
 For it was better than the close hot breath 
 
 Of the thick pines, and tried to comfort him ; 
 
 But he was sore athirst, and his blue eyes 
 
 Were dim and bloodshot, and he could not know 
 
 Why God denied him water in the wild. 
 
 She sat a little longer, and he grew 
 
 Ghastly and faint, as if he would have died. 
 
 It was too much for her. She lifted him 
 
 And bore him furtlier on, and laid his head 
 
 Beneath the shadow of a desert shrub ; 
 
 And, shrouding up her face, she went away. 
 
 And sat to watch where he could see her not. 
 
 Till he should die; and — watching him, she mourned: 
 
 " God stay thee in thine agony, my boy ! 
 I can not see thee die; I can not brook 
 Upon thy brow to look. 
 And see death settle on my cradle-joy. 
 How have I drunk the light of thy blue eye! 
 And could I see thee die ? 
 
 '* I did not dream of this when thou were straying 
 Like an unbound gazelle amid the flowers; 
 Or wearing rosy hours. 
 By the rich gush of water sources playing. 
 Then sinking weary to thy smiling sleep. 
 So beautiful and deep. 
 
 " O, no! and when I watched by thee the while, 
 And saw thy bright lip curling in thy dream, 
 And thought of the dark stream 
 In my own land of Egypt, the far Nile, 
 How prayed I that my father's land might be 
 An heritage for thee ! 
 
 " And now the grave for its cold breust hath won thee. 
 And thy white, delicate limbs the earth will press, 
 And, 0! my last caress 
 
8 
 
 Must feel thee cold, for a chill hand is on thee. 
 How can I leave juy boy, so pillowed there 
 Upon his clustering hair!" 
 
 She stood beside the well lier God had given 
 To gush in that deep wilderness, and ])athed 
 The forehead of her child until he laughed 
 In his reviving happiness, and lisped 
 His infant thought of gladness at the sight 
 Of the cool plashing of his mother's hand. — N. P. Willis. 
 
 GOD S GIFTS TO THE ARAB. 
 
 [From, Ben-Hur. Read Sheik Ilderim in the Orchard of Palms at 
 Antioch.] 
 
 "God gave the first Arab a measureless waste of sand, 
 with some treeless mountains, and here and there a well 
 of bitter waters, and said to him : ' Behold thy coun- 
 try ! ' And when the poor man complained, the Mighty 
 One pitied him, and said again, * Be of cheer, for I will 
 twice bless thee above other men.' The Arab heard, and 
 gave thanks, and with faith set out to find the blessings. 
 He traveled all the boundaries first, and failed ; then he 
 made a path into the desert, and went on and on — and 
 in the heart of the waste there was an island of green, 
 very beautiful to see ; and in the heart of the island, lo ! 
 a herd of camels, and another of horses ! He took them 
 joyfully and kept them with care for what they were — 
 best gifts of God. And from that green isle went forth 
 all the horses of the earth ; even to the pastures of 
 Nesaea they went ; and northward to the dreadful vales 
 perpetually threshed by blasts from the Sea of Chill 
 Winds. Doubt not the story ; or if thou dost, may never 
 amulet have charm for an Arab again." — Leiv Wallace. 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARABS. 
 
 *' The Arab population of the north and south formed 
 great powers, and came often into contact, both in peace 
 and war, with foreign powers far and near. They be- 
 came involved in the affairs of the Roman Empire and 
 of Persia. 
 
 "Christianity was preached to them by an envoy, sent 
 by Constantine, but at the beginning of the sixth cen- 
 tury they persecuted the new religion, and the Greek 
 emperor induced the king of Abyssinia, who was a 
 Christian, to avenge the w^rongs of the cross. The 
 Abyssinians then invaded Yemen (525 A. D.) and, un- 
 der a viceroy, established their dominion and the Chris- 
 tian religion in this country; and built a church to 
 oppose the Arab one at Mecca. In 575 A. D. the Abys- 
 sinians were driven from the country, but only with the 
 assistance of a Persian army, sent by a Persian king 
 who merely substituted his own dominion for that of the 
 Africans. 
 
 "The central region, which had never wielded so 
 great a power, had at least preserved that liberty without 
 which no progress could be made in Arabia. The for- 
 eign armies which appeared in the north and south liad 
 not penetrated to Hedjaz. More traces of the patriarclial 
 government were found there ; the people were divided 
 into tribes composed of a certain number of families, a 
 sheik (lord) at the head of each family ; a supreme sheik 
 (emir) at the head of each tribe, which he governed with 
 the advice of the sheiks of the families. In ancient 
 times when a chief took possession of a pasturage he set 
 
10 
 
 his pack of hounds barking, and so far as the hound 
 could be heard, so far extended his right of possession. 
 So great simplicity was there in the primitive customs 
 of the people. Nevertheless the population of Hedjaz 
 held a variety and mixture of religious ideas of every 
 sort which prepared them for a brilliant destiny. Being 
 a central state Iledjaz was the meeting-ground of all the 
 others, the point where all intercourse, trade, and ideas 
 converged. Three of the great religions of Asia and 
 Europe, without mentioning idolatry with all its gods, 
 met there: Christianity, which had been carried to the 
 north by the Greeks and to the south by the Abyssinians ; 
 Sabianism, brought by the Persians ; and, finally, Juda- 
 ism, which had been introduced everywhere. Three 
 hundred and sixty idols were gathered together in the 
 Kaaba (temple of Mecca), and when Mohammed turned 
 them out there was found to be among the number a 
 Byzantine virgin, painted on a column, holding Christ 
 in her arms. Idolatry was the dominant religion, not 
 the ingenious idolatry of the Greeks who clothed the 
 gods in human form, but the Egyptian idolatry, the 
 worship of animals, of plants, of the gazelle, of the 
 horse, of the camel, of palm-trees, and of rocks. All in- 
 deed recognized a supreme god, Allali. The form of 
 this religion had not changed for a long time. As with 
 the Jews, the care of the temple had been given to one 
 chosen family for many years. In 440 A. D. an Ish- 
 maelite family had secured this charge, had rebuilt the 
 temple, and, in a way, founded Mecca and established 
 the principal religious and civil institutions of the 
 Arabs. 
 
11 
 
 Poets. — ''The Arabs were poets as well as warriors 
 and merchants ; at least they had their bards, like the 
 men of the north, and their feasts, and their poetical con- 
 tests, such as were held at the Olympic games of the 
 Greeks. Whoever was most successful in moving the 
 souls of the listeners and awakening within them a re- 
 sponse, saw his work written in letters of gold on costly 
 canvas and hung in the Kaaba. In this way seven 
 poems have come down to us." — Duruy. 
 
 Life of Mohammed. — Mohammed was born at Mecca, 
 about the year 570 A. D. His grandfather had de- 
 fended Mecca against the Abyssinians, and his father was 
 famous for his distribution of soup during a famine. 
 Having lost his father at two months old and his mother 
 at six years of age, he was put under the guardianship 
 of his uncle. Being without fortune he became a camel 
 driver and traveled a great deal, especially in Syria, 
 where he is said to have become intimate with a monk 
 and a Jewish rabbi, who both introduced him to their 
 sacred books, the Old and New Testaments. He fought 
 with bravery in a tribal war, and by his amiable quali- 
 ties gained the affection of all, and by his probity the 
 name of the trustworthy man. A rich and noble widow 
 took him into her service as director of her commercial 
 affairs, and he served her so well that she married him 
 out of gratitude, although she was forty and he but 
 twenty-five years of age. From that time he was mas- 
 ter of a great fortune, and was able to give himself up to 
 his meditations. He often retired to the desert, spend- 
 ing whole nights in revery. 
 
 At the age of forty — a mystic number in the east — he 
 
12 
 
 declared that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in 
 a vision, commissioning him to preach a new faith. He 
 disclosed his projects to his wife, to his cousin Ali, and 
 to his friend Abu Bekr, and declared to them the neces- 
 sity of bringing the religion of Abraham back to its 
 original purity. 
 
 After a time he publicly renounced idol-worship, and 
 proclaimed himself a prophet. Persecution waxed hot, 
 and he was forced to flee for his life. His adherents 
 were alarmed and took refuge in Abyssinia, and he him- 
 self retired to the mountains near Mecca. 
 
 The chapters of the Koran, which he dictated to his 
 secretary, were written on palm-leaves and on the bones 
 of sheep. It is composed of one hundred and fourteen 
 chapters, which are divided into verses. These verses, 
 containing all the precepts of the Islam moralit}^ are 
 inscribed by the Mohammedans upon the walls of their 
 mosques, on their banners, and on their monuments. 
 The fundamental principle of their dogma is, " God alone 
 is God, and Mohammed is his prophet. It teaches: ' God 
 has been revealed to man by a series of prophets, tlie last 
 and most perfect of whom is Mohammed ; his predeces- 
 sors are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ.'" 
 Some of the religious observances are the great annual 
 pilgrimage to Mecca, the five daily prayers, ablutions, 
 either with water, or, if water failed, with the fine sand of 
 the desert, the avoidance of w^ine and of swine flesh. 
 
 When pursued by his enemies, who wished to kill him, 
 Mohammed took refuge in a cave near Mecca; and, in 
 the close of each evening, he received from the son and 
 daughter of Abu Bekr a secret supply of intelligence afid 
 
13 
 
 food. His enemies diligently explored every haunt in 
 the neighborhood of the city ; they arrived at the en- 
 trance of the cave, but seeing a spider's web and a 
 pigeon's nest, they passed on in pursuit. ''We are only 
 two," said the trembling Abu Bekr. "There is a third," 
 replied the prophet; it is God himself." No sooner was 
 the pursuit abated than the two fugitives issued from 
 the rock and mounted their camels. On the road to Me- 
 dina, they were overtaken by their pursuers; they re- 
 deemed themselves by prayers and promises. In this 
 eventful moment, the lance of an Arab might have 
 changed the history of the world. 
 
 The fugitives secured an asylum in Medina, where the 
 new faith spread rapidly and Mohammed found himself 
 at the head of an army. He aroused his followers to go 
 forth to conquer by such precepts as the following : 
 
 " Woe to the Mussulman who stays by his fireside in- 
 stead of going to war ; he can not escape death, for the 
 term of his life is fixed. Does he fear the burning heat 
 of the combat? The infernal regions are hotter than the 
 heats of summer. Does he think to turn and flee? Para- 
 dise is before him, behind him the flames of the infernal 
 regions. Paradise will be found in the shadow of the 
 crossing of swords." The only choice left the conquered 
 was the Koran, tribute, or death. 
 
 The martial apostle fought in person at nine battles or 
 sieges and fifty enterprises of war were achieved in ten 
 years by himself and his lieutenants. The Arab continued 
 to unite the professions of a merchant and a robber ; and 
 his petty excursions for the defense or attack of a cara- 
 van insensibly prepared his troops for the conquest of 
 
14 
 
 Arabia. From all sides the roving Arabs were allured 
 to the standard of religion and plunder. In three years' 
 time after the taking of Mecca (629) all Arabia lay pros- 
 trate at the feet of the prophet. His rule was now firmly 
 established ; and an impulse given to the Arabian nation 
 which induced them to invade and enabled them to con- 
 quer a large portion of the globe. Mohammed himself 
 did not live to see such mighty conquests achieved, for 
 he died at Medina, A. D. 632. — Adapted from Duruy 
 and Gibbon. 
 
 CONQUEST OF THE ARABS. 
 
 Conquest of Syria. — The Caliphs, or successors of Mo- 
 hammed, rapidly followed up the triumphs of the new 
 faith. Some of the warriors went to tlie heart of Arabia 
 to put down the false prophets and the tribes who re- 
 fused to recognize Islamism, others marched against 
 Syria, and others toward the Euphrates and Persia. In 
 six years, Syria was conquered from the Byzantine Greeks. 
 
 When besieging Damascus, 70,000 men, sent by the 
 Greek emperor, were utterly defeated, and the fugitives 
 from the city were pursued with all the speed of Arab 
 horses, so that they were entirely destroyed. ''A second 
 victory in Palestine completed this conquest. A Greek 
 army of considerable size had come out against the Mo- 
 hammedans ; three times they fell back, but each time 
 their wives, who were on horseback, bow in hand, at the 
 rear of the army, sent them back to the -combat. The 
 Arabian historians speak of 150,000 enemies slain and 
 40,000 prisoners." 
 
15 
 
 "Jerusalem opened its gates to the Caliph Omar, who 
 came in person to take possession. He was plainly- 
 mounted on a rough-haired camel, and carried in front 
 of him, on his saddle, a bag of wheat, a bag of dates, 
 and a leathern bottle of water, and offered to share his 
 repast with all whom he met. He stayed days at Jeru- 
 salem in order to regulate the affairs of the country^ 
 and to build a mosque, though he allowed the Christians 
 the free exercise of their religion. After Jerusalem, 
 Aleppo, and finally Antioch, the mighty capital of Syria, 
 surrendered, and the Greek emperor abandoned the 
 country forever (638 A. D.)" 
 
 The army which had been sent in the direction of the 
 Euphrates had experienced no less marvelous success. 
 Persia, whose power was already declining, tried in vain 
 with 150,000 soldiers to resist 30,000 Arabs. Ispahan 
 was conquered, Persepolis sacked, and the king of Persia 
 just escaped being taken prisoner in the midst of his 
 falling palace. He went in search of aid as far as 
 China, but in vain, and was assassinated on the shores 
 of the Oxus (652 A. D.). 
 
 Conquest of Eo:ypt. — "Meanwhile Egypt was subju- 
 gated. The Arab leader took advantage of the hatred 
 which the Copts felt toward the Greeks, whom they con- 
 sidered as foreigners and heretics. His progress was 
 not checked till he reached Alexandria, which held out 
 against him fourteen months. It is generally believed 
 that the Arab leader gave orders to burn the precious 
 library of this rich and learned city. Omar is reported 
 to have said, ' If the manuscripts agree with the Koran . 
 they are useless ; if they disagree, they should be de- 
 
16 
 
 stroyed.' Nevertheless the Arabs organized the govern- 
 ment with wisdom, substituting a more just system of 
 taxation and reserving one-third of these taxes for the 
 preservation of the canals and ditches. 
 
 '' Intestine quarrels brought the conquest of the Arabs 
 to a halt for the time being. Two great parties arose, 
 those belonging to one gave themselves up to luxury 
 and disobeyed the precepts of their religion ; others by 
 a natural reaction formed the fanatical sects, the puri- 
 tans of Islamism. The next d3'nasty was established by 
 rivers of blood. A second and last period of conquests 
 then began." 
 
 Eastern Extent. — In the east the Mussulman power 
 extended itself to the limits of Alexander's empire. 
 "The Arabs found at this extreme end of their empire, 
 at Bokhara and Samarcand (707 A. D.), the fruits from 
 the seeds of civilization left there by the Greek con- 
 querors, and they did not allow this growing prosperity 
 to perish. 
 
 Attack on Constantinople. — "The Arabs advanced also 
 in the direction of Asia Minor and of Constantinople. 
 So far they had only fought on land, but the Syrian 
 dynasty gave tliem a maritime power, the elements of 
 which they found in tlie conquered provinces of Phoe- 
 nicia and Cilicia." 
 
 About fifty years after Mohammed's flight from Mecca, 
 his disciples appeared in arms under the walls of Con- 
 stantinople. The Greeks had little to hope and their 
 enemies no reason to fear, from the courage and vigil- 
 ance of the reigning emperor, who disgraced the name 
 of Con.stantine. Williout opposition the Saracens passed 
 
 I 
 
17 
 
 tlirougli the unguarded channel of the Hellespont and 
 anchored seven miles from- the city. The wealth of 
 nations deposited in this well-chosen seat of royalty and 
 commerce seemed about to be distributed among the 
 riders of the desert. 
 
 The spirit of the Romans, however, was rekindled by 
 the last danger of their religion and empire. The 
 strength and resources of the Greeks greatly exceeded 
 the estimate of the Arabs. The solid and lofty walls 
 were defended by great numbers of disciplined soldiers 
 who poured torrents of Greek fire from the battlements 
 upon the besiegers. This artificial fire was composed 
 of sulphur, naphtha, and pitch and was hurled from the 
 rampart upon the ships by means of red-hot hollow 
 balls of iron, or blown through copper tubes from the 
 prow of a galley. By the greatest precautions the secret 
 of this compjosition was confined about four hundred 
 years to the Romans of the East. 
 
 After a siege of seven years (668-675) and another of 
 thirteen months, the Arab invasion of Europe in this 
 direction was given up. Their retreat decided that the 
 Eastern Empire should live some centuries longer. — 
 Adapted from Duruy and Gibbon. 
 
 The Conquest of Northern Africa. — " From Egypt the 
 Saracens bore the triumphant banner of the prophet over 
 northern Africa and by 700 A. D. they had reached the 
 Atlantic. Here, opposite the Canary Islands, their vic- 
 torious emir, riding out among the waves, lamented that 
 the ocean prevented him from planting the crescent in 
 the unknown kingdoms of the West." — Quackenbos, 
 Med. His. -2 
 
18 
 
 The deserts of Africa had no terror for the Arabs at- 
 tended by their faitliful camels, but they feared the 
 Roman fleet. Notwithstanding the weakness of the 
 Greeco-Roman Empire, Roman soldiers from Constanti- 
 nople, with Gothic warriors from Italy and Spain, 
 hastened across the Mediterranean Sea to aid in the pro- 
 tection of Carthage and other Roman colonies on the 
 sea-coast. All Europe had begun to feel alarm at the 
 threatening advance of the Saracens, but the combined 
 Christian forces were only able to resist their progress 
 for half a century from their first invasion, 643. By 698 
 A. D. the dominion of the Arabs was established over 
 the whole length of the African sea-coast by the conquest 
 of Carthage, which was consigned to the flames and has 
 never been rebuilt. 
 
 ''The ruins of Carthage have perished ; and the place 
 might be unknown if some broken arches of an aque- 
 duct did not guide the footsteps of the inquisitive trav- 
 eler." 
 
 After the Greeks were expelled, the countr}^ was in 
 constant turmoil owing to the disorderly resistance of 
 the Berbers afterwards known as the Moors. This tribe 
 of people, called Berbers or Barbarians by tlie Romans, 
 inhabited the interior provinces of Northern Africa. 
 They were idolaters at first, but after their last insurrec- 
 tion was quelled in 709, they were thoroughly converted 
 to the faith of the Koran. With the religion they were 
 proud to adopt the language, name, and origin of the 
 Arabs. After this union with the Arabs the Berbers 
 were known as the "Moors." 
 
 For a thousand vears tlie historv of Northern Africa 
 
19 
 
 had been intertwined with that of Europe and seemed 
 destined to share in the progress of that continent. By 
 this conquest tliese countries became once more an ex- 
 tension of Asia and have sunk under the yoke of the 
 Arabian prophet. The arts which had been taught by 
 Carthage and Rome were forgotten and five hundred 
 Christian churches were overturned. In no other land 
 has Christianity, once established, been so completely 
 uprooted. — Adapted from Gibbon and Myers. 
 
 Extent. — The Mohammedan empire now stretched 
 from the Indus to the Atlantic and only the narrow 
 straits of Bosporus and Hercules separated the Moslem 
 dominions from the Christian countries of Europe. The 
 Greek fire had successfully repulsed their attacks at the 
 eastern extremity of the continent and their attention 
 was now directed to the shores of Spain. As early as 
 the first invasion of Africa (G43 A. D.) by the Arabs, their 
 piratical squadrons had ravaged the coast of Andalusia. 
 The Goths of Spain had moreover aroused tlie enmity of 
 the Arabs by sending succor to the inhabitants of Car- 
 thage. 
 
 Before relating the story of the conquest of Siyain by 
 the Arabs, we will pause to learn some facts about the 
 physical features of this southwestern peninsula of Eu- 
 rope which is so closely allied to Africa, both in phys- 
 ical characteristics and in its subsequent history. 
 
 PHYSICAL SPAIN. 
 
 [Read Chapter I, Irving's Alhamhra.] 
 
 "The surface of Spain is remarkable alike for its 
 striking contrasts and its vast expanses of drear}^ uni- 
 
20 
 
 formit}^ There are mouiitaius rising with Alpine gran- 
 deur above the snow line, but often sheltering rich and 
 magnificent valleys at their base. Naked walls of white 
 limestone tower above woods of cork oak and olive. In 
 others, as in the Basque country, in Galicia, and between 
 the head of the Tagus and those of the Guadalquivir, there 
 are extensive tracts of undulating forest-clad hill country. 
 Almost contiguous to these are "tracts of level tablelands, 
 some almost inhospitable, and some streaked with canals 
 and richly cultivated, like those of Valencia. 
 
 Interior. — "The greater part of the interior of Spain 
 is composed of a table-land bounded by the Cantabrian 
 mountains in the north, and Sierra Morena in the south, 
 and divided into two by a series of mountain ranges 
 stretching from east to west. The nortliBrn half of the 
 table-land, made up of the provinces of Leon and Old 
 Castile, has an average elevation estimated at about 
 2,700 feet, while the soutliern half is slightly lower. On 
 all sides the table-land as a whole is remarkably isolated. 
 On the side of Portugal the table-land sinks to the sea in 
 a succession of terraces. The communication between 
 the two countries being very difficult, led originally to 
 the separation between them. In modern times it has 
 caused a lack of trade. Even in 1885 not a single rail- 
 road entered Portugal north of the Tagus, though one 
 was in course of construction. For the most part there 
 are only bridle-paths across the sierras, and up to the 
 present day not a single railroad crosses the sierras di- 
 rectly. In the mountainous districts, where there are only 
 
21 
 
 narrow paths, it is still not uncommon to meet long 
 trains of mules. (See Alhambra, pages 12, 13, 14.) 
 
 Rivers. — " The onl}^ two important lowland valleys of 
 Spain are of the Ebro and the Guadalquivir. 
 
 Climate. — " Four zones are distinguished. The first, 
 that of the table-lands, is distinguished by the greatest 
 extremes. Even iu summer the nights are decidedly 
 cool, and it is not a rare thing to see hoar-frost. At 
 Madrid (2150 feet) it regularly freezes hard enough for 
 skating in December and January. The summers are 
 not only extremely warm, but almost rainless, the sea 
 winds being deprived of their moisture by the edge of 
 the plateau. In July and August the plains of Castile 
 are sunburnt wastes ; the roads are several inches deep 
 with dust ; the leaves of the few trees are withered and 
 discolored. The treeless, almost steppe-like valley of 
 the Ebro acts like a concave mirror, reflecting the sun's 
 rays, and the mountains around prevent the access of 
 the winds. The second zone is the eastern or Mediterra- 
 nean, where the extremes are less. The southern zone, 
 embracing the whole of Andalusia, has a genuine sub- 
 tropical climate with extremely warm and almost rain- 
 less summers and mild winters, the temperature hardly 
 ever sinking below the freezing point. It is said that at 
 Malaga, snow falls only about once in twenty-five years. 
 The winter is the season of brightest vegetation, after 
 the long drought of summer, the surface gets covered 
 once more in late autumn with a fresh green varied with 
 bright colored flowers, and so it remains the whole win- 
 ter through. The eastern part of this zone is liable to 
 be visited by the scorching sirocco. The fourth zone. 
 
22 
 
 that of the north and northwest, is mild and equable. 
 The rains are abundant. Monthly roses bloom in the 
 gardens at Christmas time. (See Irving's "Granada," 
 pages 2 and 3. ) 
 
 Vegetation and Ao:ricultnre. — The vegetation exhibits 
 a variety in keeping with the climate. On the table- 
 lands, where the trees are almost entirely absent, there 
 are tracts of evergreen shrubs, others of thyme, and on 
 some, large thistles abound. The maritime parts of 
 Malaga and Granada present scenes of almost tropical 
 richness and beauty. Evergreen oaks, chestnuts, and 
 conifers abound in the northern maritime provinces and 
 in the south. The pines and firs belong to the slopes of the 
 Sierra Nevada, the cork oaks to the southern provinces, 
 also the date-palm and dwarf-palm. Six steppe regions 
 are counted. La Manche in Castle is one. Along the 
 base of the Sierra Morcna, embracing hundreds of square 
 miles, run regular forests of olives. Oranges, excluded 
 from the plateau by the severity of the winter cold, are 
 grown in great quantities on the plains of Andalusia 
 and all around the Mediterranean coast ; and figs, al- 
 monds, pomegranates and other southern fruits are 
 also grown al)undantly in all the warmer parts, the first 
 two even in Central Spain and the more sheltered parts 
 of the northern maritime provinces. In these last, how- 
 ever, the prevailing fruit-trees are those of central Eu- 
 rope, especially the apple. The date-palm is very gen- 
 eral in the southeastern half of the kingdom, but culti- 
 vated for its fruit in Alicante. Cotton is only grown 
 here and there in the south ; sugar-cane is increasing in 
 importance. The mulberry is grown in almost all the 
 
provinces, principally along the Mediterranean and 
 above all, in Valencia, the chief seat of the Spanish silk 
 production and manufacture. Of the grains wheat and 
 barley are cultivated in all parts, oats and rye in the 
 higher parts, and corn and rice to some extent, but the 
 latter only in Valencia. — Compiled from Britannica. 
 
 People. — The Visigoths, who, under the leadership of 
 Alaric, assisted in the downfall of the Roman empire, 
 had found a permanent home in Spain and Southern 
 France. (See "Fall of Rome," in Roman History.) 
 " When they first became masters of Spain, they were a 
 rude tribe of savages without learning or culture. ' ' After 
 they had intermingled with the natives (descendants of 
 Roman and Greek colonists) for a century or so they be- 
 came a refined and polished people, speaking Latin, and 
 trained in letters, law, and religion ; and they still re- 
 mained warlike and manly. But in the course of time 
 they gained possession of the rich valleys of Spain, ac- 
 quired idle and luxurious habits, spent their lives in 
 drinking, feasting, and dancing, and thus became as 
 weak and helpless as the people of Italy. " Powerful 
 chiefs, with men-at-arms under their command, seized 
 the richest lands, and made the common people till them 
 for their food and clothes. The man who drove the plow 
 was cowed, houseless, hungry, unkempt, filth}^ and ig- 
 norant. The man who owned the land lived in a splen- 
 did castle, with soldiers guardingthe gate. He wore clothes 
 of silk and rich stuffs, ate choice foods, drank fine wines, 
 took his siesta in the shade of olive groves, where fra- 
 grant flowers perfumed the air, listened to the sweet 
 
24 
 
 music of lutes, or lazily watched lovely girls dancing on 
 Persian carpets for his delight. 
 
 "At the close of the Gothic period in Spain there is 
 much fable mingled with the history. The Gothic king 
 was named Roderick; of that there can be no doubt. He 
 is said to have been brutal, reckless, headstrong, and in- 
 capable ; of that there is no certainty at all." The coun- 
 try was constantly threatened, as we have before related, 
 by Moors and Arabs from Northern Africa. "To hold 
 them in check, Roderick built forts in Africa, and filled 
 them with fighting men under a captain named Julian." 
 By the treachery of this commander the forts were sur- 
 rendered to the Arabs and an invitation given to them to 
 despatch a force into Spain to overthrow Roderick. 
 
 Arabs Enter Spain. — Musa, the chief of the Arabs, 
 delayed till he could consult the caliph ; then, receiving 
 a favorable reply, despatched an army of seven thousand 
 men under an officer named Tarik. He crossed the 
 Strait of Hercules in 711 and gave it the name of Gibral- 
 tar (Djebel-Tarik, Mountain of Tarik.) 
 
 "These invaders are called J/oors because they em- 
 barked for Spain from Mauritania, which we call Moroc- 
 co. They were a mixed race — part Arab and part Ber- 
 bers, but Musa and Tarik were Arabs, born in Asia. 
 Their complexion was swarthy but not black, and they 
 were fierce, warlike, and unruly in character. They 
 were tireless on the march and fearless in battle ; living 
 for a day on a handful of fruit, with a mouthful of 
 water; devoted heart and soul to the Moslem faith, 
 which they believed it to be their duty to spread through 
 the world by fire and sword, they may perliaps remind 
 
25 
 
 you of the Carthaginians who spread from the same 
 stock and lived in Northern Africa. They were indeed 
 terrible foes for the weakened Spanish Goths to encoun- 
 ter. 
 
 "When Roderick heard of their landing he mustered 
 all the troops he could gather, and marched down to 
 Xeres near Cadiz, with ninety thousand men. It is said 
 that he went into battle in an ivory chariot drawn by 
 two milk-white mules. Though his force far outnum- 
 bered that of the Moors, even after the latter had been 
 reinforced, he was defeated after a desperate battle 
 which lasted eight days. 
 
 "There is an old Spanish ballad which tells the story 
 of the end of the battle, and describes the despair of 
 Roderick : 
 
 " He climbed into a hill-top, 
 
 The highest he could see, 
 Thence all about of that wide rout 
 
 His last long look took he ; 
 He saw his royal banners, 
 
 Where they lay drenched and torn, 
 He heard the cry of victory, 
 
 The Arabs' shout of scorn. 
 ' Last night I was the King of Spain ; 
 
 To-day no king am I. 
 Last night fair castles held my train; 
 
 To-night where shall I lie ? 
 Last night a hundred pages 
 
 Did serve me on the knee ; 
 To-night not one I call my own, 
 
 Not one pertains to me. 
 Oh Death! why now so slow art thou. 
 
 Why fearest thou to smite ? ' " 
 
2G 
 
 The story is told that Roderick started from his car in 
 the general disorder, and mounted the fleetest of his 
 horses ; hut he escaped from a soldier's death to perish 
 more ignobly in the waters of Guadalquivir. His 
 bodj^ was found, but his crown and his royal robe fell 
 into the hands of the Moors. 
 
 " His army scattered ; neither officers nor men were 
 true to Roderick. He had taught them to hate him by 
 his cruelties and his folly. The Jews, especially, whom 
 he oppressed, openly took sides with the INIoors, in order 
 to be revenged on the Christian oppressors. 
 
 " Musa, the chief general of the Moors in Africa, had 
 ordered his lieutenant Tarik, when he left Africa, to give 
 one battle, if he thought it safe, but not to follow up his 
 victory if he won. Musa wanted the glory of conquest 
 for himself. Tarik, looking out for his own glory, 
 chose to disobey. He listened to the advice of Count 
 Julian, whose only hope now was in the ruin of his 
 country, and took advantage of the Spaniards before they 
 had recovered from their astonishment at their first 
 defeat. 
 
 "Without an hour's delay, after the battle of Xeres, he 
 marched north, and took city after city. The Spanish 
 spirit had been broken. Malaga made no resistance, 
 Granada was stormed ; against Cordova Tarik sent seven 
 hundred cavalry, who found a breach in the walls, and 
 broke into the place." 
 
 Toledo, the Gothic capital, was next attacked. There 
 they expected resistance. But the Jews, who had been 
 so cruelly persecuted there, took up arms and opened the 
 gates , the Christian nobles and churchmen fled to the 
 
27 
 
 mountains and Tarik found himself in possession of the 
 most splendid and the strongest city of Spain, without 
 striking a blow. "It was there that Musa who had 
 stopped on his way to capture Seville, rejoined his dis- 
 obedient lieutenant and disgraced him." 
 
 (See '' A Child's History of Spain," by John Bonner.) 
 
 From that time all Spain, save some mountainous 
 regions of the northwest, quickly submitted to the 
 invaders. "Here and there a band of Christians, under 
 a daring leader, would rise against the Moslems, but 
 after a few skirmishes the uprising would be quelled." 
 Yet a spark of the vital flame was still alive ; some in- 
 vincible fugitives preferred a life of poverty and freedom 
 in the valleys- of the Asturias, north of the Cantabrian 
 Mountains. There the Christians established a kingdom 
 which in 750 A. D. extended from Galicia to the borders 
 of Navarre and included the mountainous region of Old 
 Castile and Leon. 
 
 "This part of Spain is much broken by mountain 
 ranges, and is cold and windy. It is not barren, for it 
 grows wheat, barley, and flax in abundance, and on the 
 mountain slopes the cork-tree flourishes. But the cli- 
 mate is harsher than in the valleys of the South, where 
 the vine, and the orange, and the lemon, and the fig luxu- 
 riate in an almost perpetual summer." — John Bonner. 
 
 Moorish Kingdom in Spain. — The news of the wealth 
 of the new provinces in Spain attracted the Moslems 
 from far and near. Multitudes of colonists from Arabia, 
 Syria, and Northern Africa crowded into the peninsula 
 and fought with each other for the rich valleys. In a 
 short time the provinces of Seville, Cordova, Toledo, and 
 
28 
 
 Granada became Arabic in dress, manners, language, and 
 religion. A Moorish kingdom was thus established in 
 Spain, which existed till the year of the discovery of 
 America (1492). 
 
 Moorish Invtasion of France (732 A. D.). — Four or 
 five years after the conquest of Spain and one hundred 
 years after the death of Mohammed, the Arabs of Spain 
 — -.also called Saracens and Moors — crossed the Pyrenees 
 and established themselves in Southern France. 
 
 Proceeding northward across the Garonne River, they 
 advanced to the valley of the Loire. Their leader boasted 
 that he would carry the conquests to the Baltic Sea, and 
 that he would not rest until there was not a Christian in 
 Western or Southern Europe. His ambition was to preach 
 in the Vatican, capture Constantinople, and having 
 girdled the Mediterranean with his conquests, to return 
 to Damascus and lay down his victorious sword at the 
 feet of the caliph. 
 
 The advance of the Moslem host was viewed with 
 alarm by all Christendom. The Visigoths of Southern 
 France were in too feeble a condition to resist the ad- 
 vance of the Arabs, who swept over the country on their 
 swift chargers. A cry for help reached the Franks, a 
 German, tribe living north of the Loire River. During 
 the days of the Roman Empire their home had been 
 along the lower Rhine valley from about where Cologne 
 now stands to the mouth of the river. The Franks did 
 not, like their kinsmen the Goths, Vandals, and Lom- 
 bards, leave their own country and go roaming over the 
 world in search of new lands. They held what they 
 had and added to them, and this wise conduct enabled 
 
29 
 
 them in course of time to become the rulers of France. 
 The Franks had been Christians since the time of their 
 first king, Clovis. (See story of the adoption of Chris- 
 tianity by Clovis; "Zigzag Journey of Northern Lands," 
 and histories.) They had become partially civilized by 
 contact with the Gaulo-Romans, but still liked fighting 
 better than any other employment. — Adapted. 
 
 Battle of Tours. — When the news of the Arab invasion 
 reached these Franks they were the strongest nation in 
 France and governed by an officer called the Mayor of 
 the Palace. This ruler, Charles, became the man of the 
 hour. Collecting an army of Franks, Gauls, Romans, 
 and Burgundians, he called upon them to strike a blow 
 for God and their country. "He moved as swiftly as 
 the Moors themselves and in a plain near Tours fell 
 upon them like a thunderbolt. The battle lasted only a 
 few hours; the Moslem troops could not stand the mighty 
 shock of the heavy northern infantry; the light African 
 horse reeled under the onset of the great Flemish charg- 
 ers." "Darkness came on; the Franks slept where they 
 stood and drew up the next morning to begin the battle 
 again, but no enemy appeared. Some Franks were sent 
 to reconnoitre, entered the enemy's camp and penetrated 
 into their tents. But no living man was to be found. 
 (Longfellow's poem "The Day is Done.") The Arabs 
 had decamped silently in the night, and left nearly all 
 their booty behind them. The Battle of Tours had saved 
 Europe." — John Bonner and Miss Yonge. 
 
 Charles, the leader of the Franks, received the sur- 
 name of Martel, meaning hammer, for the heavy blows 
 he dealt the enemv in this memorable battle. "But for 
 
30 
 
 him all Europe might have been Mohammedan, and 
 perhaps — who can say? — you might to this day, at sun- 
 set, have been praying to Allah on a prayer rug. ' ' — Bonner. 
 
 Extent ojf Arabian Empire. — The remnant of the Sar- 
 acen host made the best of the way back again to Spain, 
 having concluded to postpone the destruction of Chris- 
 tianity till a more convenient season. But that moment 
 was destined never to take place. The limits of the 
 Arabian empire had been reached. The Mohammedans 
 held sway from the Indus to the Pyrenees, but Europe 
 had been saved to Christianity by Greek fire on the east 
 and German valor on the west. 
 
 Division of the Mohammedan Empire. — For a century 
 after the death of Mohammed the word of the Caliph of 
 Damascus was law throughout the extent of the empire. 
 No other monarch at that time held such absolute power. 
 In a short time, however, dissension arose, which tore 
 the empire asunder, and three rival caliphs issued com- 
 mands from three capitals — Bagdad, on the Tigris; 
 Cairo upon the Nile ; and Cordova, upon the Guadal- 
 quivir. A common language and religion still held them 
 together. All believed in Mohammed as their prophet, 
 and prayed with faces toward Mecca. — Adapted from 
 Myers. 
 
 Caliphate of Ba<i'(la(l. — In 762 the capital of the East- 
 ern Emi:)ire was changed from Damascus to Bagdad on 
 the Tigris. This celebrated city was built around a hill 
 which was crowned by the pavilion of the caliphs. It 
 Avas defended from attacks without by a brick enclosure, 
 fortified with 163 towers. Immense sums were spent on 
 its decoration. In that stronghold of despotism the 
 
31 
 
 caliphs of the East followed in the steps of the Persian 
 kings, accumulated vast wealth and lived in the luxury 
 of their pompous courts. A prime minister called the 
 Vizier and officers of all kinds relieved the sovereign 
 from all cares of government, but they also separated him 
 from his subjects. " One caliph spent twelve million 
 dollars in a single pilgrimage to Mecca. What had be- 
 come of Omar with his bag of dates and his leather bot- 
 tle of water ?" — Adapted from Duruy. 
 
 Haroun-al-Rascliid. — The most noted of the Caliphs of 
 Bagdad was Haroun-al-Raschid (the Just), contemporary 
 of Charlemagne and hero of the "Arabian Nights." He 
 made eight invasions of the Eastern Empire, forbade the 
 Greeks ever to rebuild the town of Heraclius on the Pon- 
 tus, which he had destroyed, and laid upon them a 
 tribute which they were obliged to pay in money stamped 
 with his image. But even while he was waging war 
 on them, he borrowed from their science and their books, 
 and made them popular among the Arabs by the protec- 
 tion he accorded to scholars. His son founded many 
 schools and spent enormous sums in the encouragement 
 of science and literature. — Adapted from Duruy. (See 
 "Arabian Nights.") 
 
 Creation of the Turkish Guard. — Tn the ninth century, 
 the caliph which followed Haroun-al-Raschid and his 
 son, although victorious in the wars with the Greek Em- 
 pire, prepared the way for the fall of the Arabian Em- 
 pire by forming a guard of 50,000 Turkish slaves, 
 bought in Tartary south of the Altai Mountains. The 
 original Turks were a Mongol race from the high pla- 
 teaus of Central Asia. As the Germans before this 
 
32 
 
 pressed into the Roman Empire so now the Turks in- 
 vaded the Arab Empire. The body-guard of Turks 
 proved as fatal to the Arabs as tlie Goths did to the Ro- 
 mans. They proved masters rather than slaves. This 
 body of soldiers disposed, at their will, of the throne 
 and the lives of the caliphs. In the midst of this an- 
 archy the Caliphate of Bagdad fell to pieces. Indepen- 
 dent dynasties were springing up on every side, founded 
 generally by the Turks who had been made governors of 
 provinces. In this way the Turks were introduced little 
 by little into Southwestern Asia. As the Teutons took the 
 religion of the Romans, so also the Turks accepted the 
 faith of the Arab and became the ardent supporters of 
 the Koran. About the time of the Norman conquest of 
 England, the Turks conquered Bagdad, and in 1076 
 they seized Jerusalem, where their brutal treatment of 
 the Christian pilgrims caused the Crusades. — Adapted 
 from Durny. 
 
 Arabs in Africa. — Africa soon broke away from the 
 Caliphate of Bagdad. The caliphs were masters of the 
 Mediterranean in the ninth and tenth centuries, establish- 
 ing themselves in Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, besides 
 making several attacks on Italy. To guard against them 
 Pope Leo lA^. enclosed the neighborhood of the Vatican 
 with a rampart. The Fatimites, the greatest of the 
 Mussulman dynasties in Africa, pretending to descend 
 from Ali, built Cairo, made their residence there and ex- 
 tended their rule over all Northern Africa, Syria, and 
 even over Bagdad for a brief time. This dynasty brought 
 prosperity to Egypt and gained wealth in return. They 
 built superb mosques and made Cairo a center of science 
 
and literature, as Bagdad was in the East and Cordova 
 in the West. — Adapted from Duruy. (See Crusades.) 
 
 Arabian Civilization — Language. — The Arab language 
 is exceedingly rich in certain respects. The Arab poets 
 had an inexhaustible supply of synonyms to express 
 common objects. They boasted of having eighty different 
 terms to express honey, 200 for serpent, 500 for lion, 
 1,000 for camel, and about 4,000 to express the idea of 
 misfortune. The Arabian poet possessed an extraordi- 
 nary memory that enabled him to make use of su,ch a 
 multitude of words. One of them, Hammad, offered one 
 day to recite to the caliph consecutively 100 poems of 
 20 to 100 verses each, and the auditor was more quickly 
 tired than the reciter. 
 
 Sciences. — "As early as the first half of the ninth 
 century, two astronomers of Bagdad measured, in the 
 plains near the Red Sea, a degree of the meridian." A 
 more exact calculation of the obliquity of the ecliptic, a 
 more precise knowledge of the difference between the 
 solar year and the sidereal year were discoveries of the 
 Arabs. Samarcand, long before Europe, had a fine ob- 
 servatory. They applied the pendulum to the reckoning 
 of time ; employed in mathematics the Indian mode of 
 numeration ; gave to algebra and trigonometry their mod- 
 ern forms. It is possible that we inherit from them the 
 mariner's compass and gunpowder, which may have 
 been borrowed from the Chinese. Europe owes to them 
 the use of linen paper. They excelled in the practice of 
 medicine ; taught us the process of distillation and the 
 use of rhubarb ; they discovered alcohol, the use of 
 Med. His.— 3 
 
34 
 
 senna, camphor, mercury, syrups, etc. A physician re- 
 fused to go from Bagdad to Bokhara at the invitation of 
 the sultan, on the plea that his private library would 
 make four hundred camel-loads. Great public libraries 
 were collected, one at Cairo being said to number 100,000 
 volumes and the Spanish 600,000. — Adaj)ted froniDuruy. 
 Architecture. — " Of the fine arts, they cultivated arch- 
 itecture alone, as the law of their religion forbade the 
 representation of animal life, and so cut off the possibil- 
 ity of sculpture and painting." The principal element 
 of their architecture, the pointed or horseshoe arch 
 borne on pillars, was not their own invention, but was 
 borrowed from the Byzantine. They supplied the places 
 of painted or sculptured figures in their ornamentation, 
 by arabesques which were originally inscriptions with 
 meaning, but later became merely combinations of lines 
 borrowed from the Arabic letters. These arabesques 
 form the rich designs we admire in the carpets and stuffs 
 of the East. The Arabian mosques and palaces are 
 famed for the magnificence and luxury of the interiors, 
 and the profusion of basins and fountains of gold and 
 precious stones, which they obtained from the East and 
 the mines of Southern Spain. One of the most magni- 
 ficent monuments of this kind was the famous mosque at 
 Cordova, with its 1,093 marble columns and its 4,700 
 lamps ; another was the palace of Al-Tehra, built upon 
 the banks of the Guadalquivir, where a jet of mercury 
 fell sparkling into a shell of porphyry. The Alhambra, 
 at once a palace and a fortress, can still be seen and ad- 
 mired at Granada, and many parts of it, especially the 
 
35 
 
 Court of Lions, are models of architectural beauty and 
 splendor." — Adapted from Duruy. 
 
 Irrigation. — "No one knew so well as those inhabi- 
 tants of the desert how to make the best use of water in 
 the work of cultivation under a burning sun. The sys- 
 tem of irrigation instituted by them, and still preserved 
 in the plain of Valencia, the garden of Spain, might 
 serve as a model to the agriculturists of our own times. 
 When they went to the great Roman cities and became 
 acquainted with works of industry, they developed great 
 skill as artisans. The reputation of Toledo for its arms, 
 Granada for its silks, and Cordova for its harnesses, sad- 
 dles, and leather goods, spread throughout Europe, and 
 these products of infidel industry brought the highest 
 prices. Spain especially profited by this time of splen- 
 dor, as she was more peaceful than the East during the 
 first centuries of the caliphate." — Duruy. (See Luxury 
 of Moors, Irving's "Granada.") 
 
 Granada. — "This renowned kingdom, situated in the 
 southern part of Spain, and washed on one side by the 
 Mediterranean Sea, was traversed in every direction by 
 sierras or chains of lofty, rugged mountains, naked, 
 rocky, and precipitous, rendering it almost impregnable, 
 but locking up within their sterile embraces deep, rich, 
 and verdant valleys of prodigal fertility. 
 
 " In the center of the kingdom lay its capital, the 
 beautiful city of Granada, sheltered, as it were, in the 
 lap of the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains. Its 
 houses, seventy thousand in number, covered two lofty 
 hills with their declivities, and a deep valley between 
 them, through which flowed the Darro. The streets 
 
36 
 
 were narrow, as is usual in Moorish and Arab cities, but 
 there were occasionally small squares and open places. 
 The houses had gardens and interior courts, set out with 
 orange, citron, and pomegranate trees, and refreshed by 
 fountains, so that as the edifices ranged above each other 
 up the sides of the hills, they presented a delightful 
 appearance of mingled grove and city. One of the hills 
 was surmounted by the Alcazaba, a strong fortress, com- 
 manding all that part of the city ; the other by the Al- 
 hambra, a royal palace and warrior castle, capable of 
 containing within its alcazar and towers a garrison of 
 forty thousand men ; but possessing also its harem, the 
 voluptuous abode of the Moorish monarchs, laid out with 
 courts and gardens, fountains and baths, and stately 
 halls, decorated in the most costly style of Oriental 
 luxury. Such was its lavish splendor that even at the 
 present day, the stranger, wandering through its silent 
 courts and deserted halls, gazes with astonishment at 
 gilded ceiling and fretted domes, the brilliancy and 
 beauty of which have survived the vicissitudes of war 
 and the silent dilapidation of ages. 
 
 " The city was surrounded by high walls, three leagues 
 in circuit, furnished with twelve gates, and a thousand 
 and thirty towers. Its elevation above the sea, and the 
 neighborhood of the Sierra Nevada, crowned with perpet- 
 ual snows, tempered the fervid rays of summer; so that, 
 while other cities were panting with the sultry and stifling 
 lieat of the dog-daj^s, the most salubrious breezes played 
 through the marble halls of Granada. 
 
 " The glory of the city, however, was its vega or plain, 
 which spread out to a circumference of thirty-seven 
 
37 
 
 leagues, surrounded b^^loft}^ mountains, and was proudly 
 compared to the famous plain of Damascus. It was a vast 
 garden of delight, refreshed by numerous fountains, 
 and by the silver windings of the Xenil. The labor 
 and ingenuity of the Moors had diverted the waters of 
 the river into thousands of rills and streams, and dif- 
 fused them over the whole surface of the plain. Indeed, 
 they had wrought up this happy region to a degree of 
 wonderful prosperity, and took a pride in decorating it, 
 as if it had been a favorite mistress. The hills were 
 clothed with orchards and vineyards, the valleys em- 
 broidered with gardens, and the wide plains covered 
 with waving grain. Here were seen in profusion the 
 orange, the citron, the fig, and pomegranate, with great 
 plantations of mulberry trees, from which was produced 
 the finest silk. The vine clambered from tree to tree; 
 the grapes hung in thick clusters about the peasant's 
 cottage, and the groves were rejoiced by the perpetual 
 song of the nightingale. In a word, so beautiful was 
 the earth, so pure the air, and so serene the sky of this 
 delicious region, that the Moors imagined the paradise 
 of their prophet to be situated in that part of the heaven 
 which overhung the kingdom of Granada." — Irving. 
 
 Palace of the Alhambra. — "The Alhambra was the 
 royal abode of the Moorish kings, where, surrounded 
 with the splendor and refinements of Asiatic luxury, 
 they held dominion over what they vaunted as a terres- 
 trial paradise, and made their last stand for empire in 
 Spain. The royal palace forms but a part of the for- 
 tress, the walls of which, studded with towers, stretch 
 irregularly round the whole crest of a hill, a spur of the 
 
38 
 
 Sierra Nevada or Snowy Mountains, and overlook the 
 city. Externally it is a rude congregation of towers and 
 battlements, with no regularity of plan nor grace of ar- 
 chitecture, and giving little promise of the grace and 
 beauty which prevail within. * * * Xhe great ves- 
 tibule or porch of the gate is formed by an immense 
 Arabian arch, of the horseshoe form, which springs to 
 half tlie height of the tower. On the keystone of this 
 arch is engraven a gigantic hand. Within the vestibule 
 on the keystone of the portal is sculptured, in like man- 
 ner, a gigantic key. * * * There was a tradition 
 handed down from the oldest inhabitants tliat the hand 
 and the key were magical devices on which the fate of 
 the Alhambra depended. The Moorish king who built it 
 was a great magician and laid the whole fortress under 
 a magic spell. By this means it had remained standing 
 for several years, in defiance of storms and earthquakes, 
 while almost all other buildings of the Moors had fallen 
 to ruin and disappeared. This spell, the tradition went 
 on to say, would last until the hand on the outer arch 
 should reach down and grasp the key, when the whole 
 pile would tumble to pieces and all the treasures buried 
 beneath it by the Moors would be revealed. * * * " 
 The Court of Lions. — " Passing under a Moorish arch- 
 way, we entered the renowned Court of Lions. No part 
 of the edifice gives a more complete idea of its original 
 beauty than this, for none has suffered so little from the 
 ravages of time. In the center stands the fountain fa- 
 mous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed 
 their diamond drops ; the twelve lions which support 
 them and give the court its name still cast forth crystal 
 
39 
 
 streams as in the days of Boabdil. The lions, however, 
 are unworthy of their fame, being of miserable sculpture, 
 the work probably of some Christian captive. The court 
 is laid out in flower-beds, instead of its ancient and ap- 
 propriate pavement of tiles or marble. The alteration, 
 an instance of bad taste, was made by the French when 
 in possession of Granada. Round the four sides of the 
 court are light Arabian arcades of filagree work, sup- 
 ported by slender pillars of white marble, which, it is 
 supposed, were originally gilded. The architecture, 
 like that in most parts of the interior of the palace, is 
 characterized by elegance rather than grandeur, be- 
 speaking a delicate and graceful taste, and a disposition 
 to indolent enjoyment. When one looks upon the fairy 
 traces of the peristyles and the apparently fragile fret- 
 work of the walls, it is difficult to believe that so much 
 has survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shocks 
 of earthquakes, the violence of war, and the quiet, 
 though no less baneful, pilferings of the tasteful trav- 
 eler. It is almost sufficient to excuse the popular tradi- 
 tion, that the whole is protected by a magic charm. * * *" 
 "An abundant supply of water, brought from the 
 mountains by old Moorish aqueducts, circulates through- 
 out the palace, supplying its baths and fish-pools, spark- 
 ling in jets within its halls or murmuring in channels 
 along the marble pavements. When it has paid its trib- 
 ute to the royal pile, and visited its gardens and parterres, 
 it flows down the long avenue leading to the city, tink- 
 ling in rills, gushing in fountains, and maintaining a 
 perpetual verdure in those groves that embower and 
 beautify the whole liill of the Alhambra." 
 
40 
 
 "An Arab inscription says: 'How beautiful is this 
 garden, where the flowers of earth vie with the stars of 
 heaven ! Wliat can compare witli tlie vase of 3'on ala- 
 baster fountain filled with the crystal water ? Nothing 
 but the moon in her fullness shining in the midst of an 
 unclouded sky.' 
 
 ''Those who have sojourned in the ardent climate of 
 the South can appreciate the delights of an abode com- 
 bining the breezy coolness of the mountain with the 
 freshness and verdure of the valley. While the city be- 
 low pants with the noontide heat, and the parched vega 
 trembles to the eye, the delicate airs from the Sierra Ne- 
 vada play through these lofty halls, bringing with them 
 tlie sweetness of the surrounding gardens. Everything 
 invites to that indolent repose — the bliss of southern cli- 
 mates ; and while the half-shut eye looks out from 
 shaded balconies upon the glittering landscape, the ear 
 is lulled by the rustling of groves and the murmur of 
 running streams." — Irriixj. 
 
 THE ALIIAMBRA. 
 
 Lonely and still are now thy marble halls, 
 Thou fair Alhanibra ! There the feast is o'er, 
 
 And with the murnmr of thy fountain falls 
 Blend the wild tones of minstrelsy no more. 
 
 Hushed are the voices that in years gone by 
 Have mourned, exulted, menaced through thy towers. 
 
 Within thy pillared courts the grass waves high, 
 And all uncultured bloom thy fairy bowers. 
 
 Unheeded there the flowering myrtle blows. 
 Through tall arcades unmarked the sunl)eam smiles, 
 
 And many a tint of softened radiance throws 
 O'er fretted walls and shining peristyles. 
 
41 
 
 And well might Fancy deem thy fabrics lone, 
 
 So vast, so silent, and so wildly fair, 
 Some charmed abode of beings all unknown, 
 
 Powerful and viewless, children of the air. 
 
 For there no footstep treads the enchanted ground; 
 
 There not a sound the deep repose pervades, 
 Save winds, and founts, diffusing freshness round, 
 
 Through the light domes and graceful colonnades. 
 
 For other tones have swelled those courts along. 
 
 In days romance yet fondly loves to trace — 
 The clash of arms, the voice of choral song. 
 
 The revels, combats of a vanquished race ; 
 
 And yet awhile at Fancy's potent call 
 Shall rise that race, the chivalrous, the bold, 
 
 Peopling once more each fair, forsaken hall 
 With stately forms — the knights and chiefs of old. 
 
 — Jlr.''. Ilemans. 
 
 RISE OF THE TEUTONIC NATIONS. 
 
 When the Roman Empire fell the barbarians of the 
 South and North rose to assert their influence as nations. 
 On the preceding pages we have traced the rise and de- 
 cline of the power of those fearless riders of the desert, 
 the Arabs ; now we will return to view the progress of those 
 Teutonic, or Germanic people, who left their native forest 
 and shattered the Roman Empire into fragments, then, 
 upon the ruins of the civilization they had overthrown, 
 laid the foundation of the modern nations. (See page 
 322 Barnes.) 
 
 Physical Germany. — Germany is divided into two dis- 
 tinct portions ; the northern and larger part is a uni- 
 form plain, while South and Central Germany are very 
 much diversified in scenery. It possesses large plateaus, 
 
42 
 
 such as that of Bavaria, which stretches away from the 
 foot of the Alps, fertile low plains like that intersected 
 by the Rhine, mountain chains and isolated groups of 
 mountains comparatively low in height. 
 
 Bavarian Plateau. — Bavaria is the only division of the 
 country that includes within it any part of the Alps. 
 This plateau, having an average height of 1,800 feet, 
 slopes northward from the Bavarian Alps to the Bava- 
 rian Forests (Bayerisher Wald), which must be regarded 
 as a branch of the Bohemian Forest (Bohmisher Wald). 
 It is watered by the Danube and its tributaries, the Inn, 
 Isar, and Lech. The region is not very fertile, and many 
 portions of it are covered with moors and swamps. To 
 the westward low plateaus occupy the area between the 
 Main and Neckar. 
 
 SoutJiivesi Germany. — "The Schwazwald (Black For- 
 ests) are a range of hills lying east of the upper Rhine 
 valley in Baden, whose southern heights decline to the 
 valley of the Rhine above Basle and to the Jura. On the 
 north the range passes into the plateau, which slopes to 
 the mouth of the Neckar. The summits of the Black 
 Forests are round and covered with wood, the highest 
 being 4,902 feet. 
 
 Upper Rhine Valley. — " The valley of the upper Rhine 
 extends 180 miles from south to north, and with a width 
 of only twenty to twenty-five miles. In the upper parts 
 the Rhine is rapid, and therefore navigable with diffi- 
 culty. This explains why the towns there are not along 
 the banks of the river, but some five to ten miles off. 
 The western boundary of this valley is formed by the 
 Vosges Mountains. These hills are bordered on the west 
 
43 
 
 by the high plain of Lorraine and the coal fields of the 
 Saar River, a tributary of the Moselle, The larger half 
 of Lorraine belongs to France, but the German half, ob- 
 tained in 1871, possesses great mineral wealth in its rich 
 layers of ironstone and its coal fields. The hills south 
 of Mainz (Mayence), on the west of the Rhine, are 
 mostly covered by vineyards.. On the east from Mainz to 
 Coblenz the hills are noted for mineral springs and for 
 the vineyards which produce the best Rhine wines. To 
 the north of the hills, east of Cologne and Dusseldorf, 
 lies the great coal basin of Westphalia, the largest in 
 Germany. 
 
 In Central Germany lies Thuringia, a province consist- 
 ing of a wooded ridge and an elevated plain to the north. 
 This plateau is bounded on the north by the Hartz Moun- 
 tains, an insolated group rich in minerals. East of Thur- 
 ingia lies Saxony, noted for its metals and building stone. 
 In Silesia are minor coal-fields. 
 
 Northern Plain. — The north German plain is not abso- 
 lutely uniform, having a range of low hills in the south. 
 In general the soil can not be called fertile, the cultiva- 
 tion nearly everywhere requiring severe and constant 
 labor. Long stretches of ground are covered by moors, 
 and there turf-cutting forms the principal occupation of 
 the inhabitants. Tracts along the Elbe, and the marsh 
 lands on the west coast of Hanover, Oldenburg, and East 
 Frisia, which, within the last two centuries, the inhabi- 
 tants have reclaimed from the sea by immense dikes, are 
 districts of the utmost fertility. 
 
 Climate. — It is regarded as intermediate between the 
 Oceanic and Continental climates of western and eastern 
 
44 
 
 Europe. It has nothing in common with the Mediter- 
 ranean climate; in the west no chain of hills intercepts 
 the warmer and moist winds which blow from the At- 
 lantic, and these influence at times even the eastern 
 regions of Germany. The warmest districts of the Ger- 
 man Empire are the northern parts of the Rhine plain, 
 from Carlsruhe downwards, also the valley of the Neckar, 
 Main, and Moselle. Hence the vine is cultivated in these 
 districts. The rainfall is greatest in the Bavarian table- 
 land and in the hilly region of western Germany ; also 
 the coast region of Hamburg and Bremen. The grape 
 district is famous for the scarcity of rain. The provinces 
 of central and southeastern Germany are to be classed 
 among the more arid regions. 
 
 Coast and Islands. — The coasts of Germany are shallow 
 and deficient in natural ports, except on the east of 
 Schleswig-Holstein, where wide bays encroach upon the 
 land, giving access to the largest vessels, so that a great 
 harbor for men-of-war has been constructed at Kiel. A 
 canal now connects the North Sea and the Baltic. All 
 the important trading ports are river ports, such as Bre- 
 men, Hamburg, Stettin, Dantzic, Konigsburg. A great 
 difference is to be remarked between the coasts of the 
 North Sea and the Baltic. On the former, where the sea 
 has broken the ranges of dunes formed in bygone times 
 and divided them into separate islands, the main-land 
 has to be protected by massive dikes, while the Frisian 
 Islands are being gradually washed away by the waters. 
 Sands surround the whole coast of the North Sea to such 
 an extent that entrance to the ports is not practicable 
 without the aid of i)ilots. Heligoland, which has be- 
 
45 
 
 longed to England since 1814, is a rocky island ; but it 
 also has been considerabl}^ reduced by the sea. The tides 
 rise to the height of twelve or thirteen feet in the Jahde 
 Bay and six or seven feet at Hamburg. The coast of the 
 Baltic, on the other hand, possesses few islands. It has 
 no extensive sands, though, on the whole, very flat. 
 The Baltic has no perceptible tides, and a greater part of 
 its coast line is, in winter, covered with ice, which also 
 so blocks up the harbors that navigation is interrupted 
 for several months in the year. 
 
 Minerals. — Germany abounds in iron ore, but the de- 
 posits are far from the coal, as in Hesse, Thuringia, 
 Bavaria, Wurtemburg. Since the incorporation of Lor- 
 raine, in 1871, to the German Empire, the pig-iron pro- 
 duction of Germany exceeds that of France. The great- 
 est advance in production of steel has been made. The 
 celebrated Krupp works in Westphalia have for a con- 
 siderable time supplied many European states with cast- 
 steel guns. Germany stands second to Great Britain in 
 manufacture of machines and engines. In agricultural 
 machiner}', it can not compete with England. 
 
 Germany produces more copper and silver than any 
 otlior European state. (Zinc and salt, page 112 geogra- 
 
 Cotton Manufacture. — As the cotton manufacture is 
 pursued largely in Alsace, more than two million spindles 
 being employed there, since 1871 the production of cot- 
 ton fabrics in Germany exceeds that of France. 
 
 Woolen and Worsted. — In this class of manufactures 
 Germany is far behind France. First of all, the home 
 
46 
 
 production of wool is not sufficient. Alsace and Saxony- 
 are two of the centers of the manufacture of woolen cloth. 
 
 Linen, Hemp and Juie. — Although linen was formerly 
 one of Germany's most important articles of manufacture, 
 she is now left far behind in this industry, not only by 
 Great Britain and France, but also by Austria-Hungary. 
 Hand-loom weaving is practiced all over Germany, but 
 centers principally in Saxony, Silesia, and Westphalia. 
 
 Army and Navy. — Every German capable of bearing 
 arms must serve in the standing army for seven years. 
 Three of the seven must be spent in active service and 
 the remainder in the reserve. For five years more he 
 forms a part of the landwehr. — Adapted from Britannica. 
 
 Early German Civilization. — These German tribes 
 called themselves DeutscJi or the people. In time they 
 came to be called Ger-men or luar-men. Their native 
 country south of the Baltic Sea was "full of marshes 
 and forests in which large rivers rose and straggled, 
 widening down to their swampy mouths. Bears and 
 wolves, elks and buffaloes, ran wild, and were hunted 
 by the men of the German tribes." (See page 322 
 Barnes.) 
 
 These men, our German ancestors, were a gigantic 
 white-skinned, blue-eyed, yellow-haired race. 
 
 "They lived in villages of rude huts, surrounded by 
 lands to which all had a right in common, and where 
 they grew their corn and fed their cattle. Their wives 
 were much more respected than those of other nations; 
 they were usually strong, brave women, able to advise 
 their husbands and to aid them in the fight ; and the 
 authority of fathers and mothers over their families was 
 
47 
 
 supreme. The men were either freemen or nobles, and 
 they had slaves, generally prisoners or the people of 
 conquered countries. The villages were formed into 
 what was called hundreds, over which, at a meeting of 
 the freemen from all of them, a chief was elected from 
 among the nobles ; and many of the tribes had kings," 
 who were thought to be descended from the great god 
 Woden. (Read Saxon Boy in "Ten Boys" by Jane 
 Andrews ; Miss Yonge's History of Germany.) 
 
 The Franks. — This German tribe, as we have already 
 related, extended their dominion westward from the 
 Rhine across northern France. They were destined to 
 give a new name to Gaul and form the nucleus of the 
 French nation. After the downfall of Rome, Clovis, 
 then chief of the Franks, extended his authority over the 
 greater part of Gaul. 
 
 The Franks Become Christians. — Clovis was a heathen 
 but he married a Burgundian maiden, named Clothilda 
 who was a Christian. He allowed her to worship God 
 in the Christian churches which had been erected by the 
 Romans and still stood throughout Gaul. In the year 
 496 A. D. the Germans came with a great army across 
 the Rhine. Clovis with his army of Franks met the 
 invaders near Strassburg (some authorities say near 
 Cologne). A severe battle followed. Clovis was hard 
 pressed and cried aloud, " Christ, whom Clothilda calls 
 the true God, I have called on my own gods and they 
 help me not! Send help and I will own thy name." 
 The tide of battle turned as by a miracle and the 
 king with 3,000 of his warriors received baptism at 
 
48 
 
 Rhiems on Christmas Day, 49(3. — Adapted from Miss 
 Yonge and Bnttcrworfh.. 
 
 The Strassbiirg Cathedral. — That great monument of 
 faith, the Strassburg cathedral, was founded by Clovis. 
 " Its history is that of Germany. It grew with the 
 German empire and has sliared all its triumphs and re- 
 verses. In the tenth century it was burned, in the 
 eleventh plundered ; and five years after it was nearly 
 demolished by liglitning. It was after the last calamity 
 that the present structure was begun. 
 
 "At one time a hundred thousand men were employed 
 upon it ; can we wonder that it is colossal? The giant 
 grew. In 1140, 1150, and 1176 it was partly burned, 
 but it rose from the flames always more great, lofty, and 
 splendid. 
 
 " Indulgences were offered to donors and workmen ; 
 to contributors of all kinds. Men earned or thought 
 they earned, their salvation by adding their mites to the 
 spreading magnificence. In 1303, it is said that all the 
 peasants of Alsace might be seen drawing stone into 
 Strassburg for the cathedral. Master builder succeeded 
 master builder, — died, — but tlie great work went on. 
 
 " In the French Revolution the Jacobins tore from the 
 cathedral the statues of two hundred and thirty saints ; 
 but it was still a city of saints in stone and marble. In 
 1870, in the Franco-Prussian war, its roof was perforated 
 with shells, and on the 25th of August it burst into 
 flames and it was telegraphed over the world that the 
 great cathedral was destroyed. But it stands to-daj'-, 
 majestic, regal, and beautiful, its spire piercing the 
 sky." Its windows burn with color and seem to hang 
 
49 
 
 in the air amid tlie shadows of the lofty walls. They 
 represent scriptural subjects. 
 
 '■'The cathedral is the wonder of the city. The ex- 
 cursionist thinks of but little else during his stay there. 
 Wherever he may be, the gigantic church is always in 
 view. He beholds it towering above all." The wonder- 
 ful clock in its steeple seems but a toy in this monument 
 of art. — Bufferivorth's "Zigzag Journey of N. Lands." 
 (See description of clock in Stoddard Pictures.) 
 
 Kings of the Franks. — ' ' Clovis was the first Frankish 
 chief who really made a home of Gaul, or who wore a 
 purple robe and a crown like a Roman emperor. He 
 made his chief home at Paris, where he built a church 
 on the little island in the Seine, in honor of the Blessed 
 Virgin. Though he had become a Christian, he was 
 still a fierce, violent savage, who did many cruel things, 
 
 "The Frank kingdom was only the north part of 
 the country above the Loire. In the south, where the 
 Romans had had i^ossession so much longer, and built 
 so many more walled towns, the Franks never really 
 lived." They used to rush down and plunder the country 
 round about ; but then the townsmen shut themselves 
 in, closed their gates, and strenghened their walls. The 
 Franks having no machines to batter the walls, and no 
 patience for a blockade, went home again with only the 
 spoil of the country round. In these towns of the south 
 the people called themselves Roman citizens still, and 
 each place was governed by the old Roman law. Many 
 Latin speaking Gauls lived in northern France as well, 
 and were respected by the Franks for their knowledge 
 
 Med. His.— 4 
 
50 
 
 and skill. "The clergy, too, were most all Gauls ; and 
 now the Franks were Christians in name at least, they 
 seldom damaged a church or broke into a monaster3^ 
 When Clovis died his four sons divided the kingdom 
 among themselves. Not that they really governed, only 
 each had a strong box filled with gold and jewels, and 
 they were leaders when the Franks ^went out to plunder 
 in the southern lands of Provincia and Aquitaine." — 
 Miss Yonge's "Pop. Hist, of France.' ' 
 
 The Do-nothiiig Kings. — Tlie line of kings who fol- 
 lowed the sons of Clovis were called the long-haired 
 kings. They hardly attended at all to the affairs of their 
 kingdoms, but only amused themselves in their palaces 
 at Soissons or Paris, thus obtaining the name of the do- 
 nothing kings. The affairs of the kingdom fell into the 
 hands of the king's steward who was called the Major 
 Domi or Mayor of the Palace.'' Under the foolish do- 
 nothing kings the Mayor of the Palace came to be a 
 much greater man than the king himself. Charles Mar- 
 iel who repulsed the Saracens at the battle of Tours was 
 one of these mayors. 
 
 Pepin the Short, the son of Charles Martel, wielded 
 the same power as his father but soon coveted the title 
 of king. After obtaining the consent of the Pope, he 
 sent the last of the do-nothing monarchs, shorn of his 
 long, yellow, royal locks, into a monastery and was him- 
 self anointed King of the Franks by St. Boniface, the 
 great missionary-bishop. Pepin was a great improvement 
 on the do-nothing monarchs, but even he did not cause 
 his sons to learn to write, looking upon that accomplish- 
 ment as belonging to the clergy. — Adapted, 
 
51 
 
 Beginning: of the Papal States. — At the request of the 
 Pope, who was hard pressed by the Lombards, Pepin 
 invaded Italy, humbled their king, and laid the keys of 
 their conquered cities on the tomb of St. Peter as a gift 
 to the Holy See. This was the beginning of the Pope's 
 temporal authority, that is, holding lands like a king or 
 prince. — Adapted from 3Iiss Yonge. 
 
 Life of Charlemagne. — Pepin's son, Charlemagne, 
 united the fragments of the old Roman Empire and was 
 the greatest ruler of the Middle Ages. The Franks 
 called him "Carl de Grosse ; " the Latin name was Car- 
 olos Magnus and this Jias become in French Charlemagne. 
 
 'Character and Dress. — "This noted king was, like his 
 German ancestors, a giant in stature and strength, of 
 commanding presence, and proficient in all manly exer- 
 cises." — Quackenbos. "He was a powerful warrior, and 
 very fond of hunting but preferred swimming to any- 
 thing else. Nobody could dive or swim like him ; and 
 he used to take large parties to bathe with him, so that a 
 hundred men were sometimes in the river at once." — 
 Miss Yonge. He wore the simple Frankish dress, which 
 was "a shirt and drawers of linen, over them a tunic 
 bordered with silken fringe, stockings fastened with nar- 
 row bands, and shoes. In winter, a coat of otter or 
 martin fur covered his shoulders and breast. Over all 
 he wore a long blue mantle." "He was always girded 
 with his sword, which became so famous that it received 
 the name of Joyeuse, whose hilt was of gold and silver, 
 his girdle being also of gold. Upon solemn festive occa- 
 sions this sword was replaced by one enriched with pre- 
 cious stones. ' ' — LijdiaH. Farmer's ' 'Boy's Book of Famous 
 
52 
 
 Rulers." After he became emperor he assumed the royal 
 purple but twice. He then wore a dress "embroidered 
 with gold and his shoes adorned with jewels. His man- 
 tle was fastened with a brooch of gold and he wore upon 
 his head a glistening diadem of gold and gems." — Lydia 
 Farmer. He discouraged useless extravagance in his 
 courtiers and when he saw a young noble overdressed, 
 he enjoyed taking him on a long muddy ride in the rain. 
 
 Unlike his German ancestors he was strictly temper- 
 ate in food and drink. Drunkenness, the greatest vice 
 of his race, he abhorred. 
 
 The domestic life of this great man was not at all in keep- 
 ing with the majesty and goodness and uprightness of 
 his public life. He quarreled with his brother and 
 drove him into exile, where he soon died. He quarreled 
 with his wife, the daughter of the king of Lombardy, 
 and sent her back to her father. 
 
 Conquests. — The king of Lombardy, enraged at having 
 his daughter thrown back on his hands, declared war. 
 Charlemagne marched into Itah' with a large army, 
 drove the Lombards into Pavia and besieged them there. 
 "It was a long siege, and Charlemagne had a chapel set 
 up in his camp to keep Christmas in ; but for Easter he 
 went to Rome, and was met a mile off by all the chief 
 citizens and scholars carrying palm branches in their 
 hands, and as he mounted the steps to St. Peter's 
 church the Pope met him, saying, 'Blessed is he that 
 cometli in the name of the Lord.' He prayed at all the 
 chief churches in Rome, and then returned to Pavia, 
 which was soon after taken. He then took tlie title of 
 
53 
 
 king of the Franks and the Lombards, and put the iron 
 crown of Lombardy on his head." — Miss Yonge. 
 
 The Saxons. — All the German tribes except the Sax- 
 ons were subjects of the king of the Franks. "These 
 Saxons — the ancestors of the English and Germans of 
 to-day — were then a tribe, or a band of tribes, settled in 
 the country that is now northern Germany, between the 
 Rhine and the Elbe, and stretching south as far as Bo- 
 hemia. They lived either in the woods, so dense that it 
 is said a squirrel could travel twenty miles, leaping 
 from branch to branch, without touching the ground, 
 or in vast prairies which were often water-soaked in 
 summer and frozen over in winter. They had never 
 been conquered and had never become Christians ; 
 they were as brave and as fierce and as savage 
 as they had been when they defied Caesar to invade 
 their country. From France missionaries had gone 
 to convert them, and had barely escaped with their 
 lives." Charlemagne undertook the conversion of these 
 Saxons by force. " To be near at hand for this work, 
 he moved his court from Paris to Aix-la-Chapelle, which 
 is near the Rhine in Germany." He then marched 
 against the Saxons and overthrew their idol, which was 
 a huge man with a balance in one hand and a flag in 
 the other; on his arm hung a buckler, with a lion on it. 
 The destruction of this statue so exasperated the Saxons 
 that they rose again and again, flying to their wooded 
 heights to gain breath, and renewing the war just when 
 they were least expected. ''They had an exceedingly 
 brave and ingenious chief named Witikind, who fought 
 year after year, and was almost always beaten, yet was 
 
54 
 
 never conquered. Charlemagne tried every device of 
 war with small success." He once beheaded 4,500 
 prisoners to strike terror to their friends. "Again 
 he would surround Saxon settlements and transplant 
 every one — men, women, and children — to some dis- 
 tant part of France. But those who remained still 
 continued to resist." Vast numbers of them were 
 baptized in the Elbe and Weser rivers. They did not 
 object so much to baptism, the meaning of which they 
 probably did not understand. "They came to be bap- 
 tized not once but many times, because they were pleased 
 with the white robes provided them. But the baptized 
 Saxons fought as fiercely against the Franks as those 
 who had not undergone the operation. The war lasted 
 thirty-three years. It was not till 805 that Charlemagne 
 could say that it was positively ended, that the Saxons 
 were finally subdued, and that his empire extended from 
 the Atlantic Ocean to the Elbe and almost to the Oder." 
 — '^Child's Hist, of France," Bonner. 
 
 Crusade Against Saracens. — While this Saxon war was 
 in progress, Charlemagne undertook a war against the 
 Moors in Spain. " In 778 he crossed the Pyrenees and 
 overran the country as far as the Ebro, where the Arabs 
 offered him large gifts of gold and jewels if he would 
 return without touching their splendid cities in the 
 South. He consented, but as he was returning the wild 
 Basque people of the mountains fell upon the rear guard 
 of his army in one of the passes and plundered the bag- 
 gage, slaying some of his bravest leaders. Among them 
 was the famous Roland, concerning whom wonderful 
 stories are told. It is said that he blew a blast on his 
 
55 
 
 bugle with his last strength to warn Charlemagne who 
 was far in the front. "Another legend makes him to 
 have possessed herculean strength, in proof of which a 
 great cleft is shown in the Pyrenees said to have been 
 made by one stroke of his sword, and it bears the name 
 of the " La Breche De Roland." — Adapted from L. H. 
 Farmer's " Boys' Book of Famous Rulers." 
 
 Campaigns. — Charlemagne made war successfully on 
 all tlie peoples whom his predecessors had fought. He 
 made fifty-two expeditions, the chief of which were 
 against the Lombards, the Saracens, and Saxons, and 
 were for the most part led by Charlemagne himself. 
 
 Extent of Empire. — "His lands stretched from the 
 Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and the Ebro, from the 
 Bay of Biscay to the borders of the Huns and the Avars, " 
 comprising all modern France, half of modern Germany, 
 four-fifths of modern Italy, and all of modern Switzer- 
 land. 
 
 Restoration of the Empire in the West (A. D. 800). — 
 By the invitation of Pope Leo X. Charlemagne made a 
 third visit to Rome in the year 800. On Christmas 
 Day " the king came into the basilica of the blessed St. 
 Peter, to attend the celebration of mass. At the moment 
 when in his place before the altar he was bowing down 
 to pray, Pope Leo placed upon his head a golden crown, 
 and all the Roman people shouted, 'Long life and vic- 
 tory to Charles Augustus, crowned by God the great and 
 pacific emperor of the Romans ! ' " — L. H. Farmer. 
 
 The empire in the west was thus revived and Charle- 
 magne was the successor of the Csesars of Rome, em- 
 peror of France, of Germany, and of Italy. 
 
56 
 
 Renown of Charlemagne. — Charlemagne's title to the im- 
 perial crown was recognized, though with reluctance, by 
 the emperor of the East. His renown spread into Asia. 
 " Haroun-al-Raschid, the Arabian caliph at Bagdad, be- 
 ing an enemy of the Moors in Spain, sent gifts to the great 
 king of the Franks — an elephant, a beautiful tent, a set 
 of costly chessmen, and a water-clock, so arranged that 
 every hour a little brazen ball fell into a brass basin, 
 and little figures of knights, from one to twelve accord- 
 ing to the hour, came out and paraded about in front." 
 — Miss Yonge's "Young Folks' History of Germany." 
 
 Schools. — But it was not only as a great warrior that 
 Charlemagne is famous. He improved the laws and 
 encouraged agriculture, established schools, founding at 
 Paris the first university of Europe. "He gathered 
 round him in his palace at Aix-la-Chapelle men of edu- 
 cation from all nations, and, first of all modern mon- 
 ai'chs, he encouraged learning." 
 
 " In his palace he established a school, with great 
 scholars at its head, and there, with as many noblemen's 
 sons and other young men as chose to attend, he studied 
 astronomy, theology, law, grammar, rhetoric, and music." 
 
 Discussions on philosophy were held, and the monk 
 Alcuin explained the theories of Pythagoras, Aristotle 
 and Plato, or quoted Homer, Virgil, and Pliny. In their 
 enthusiasm they took the names of their classical favor- 
 ites, the king himself representing the royal Hebrew, 
 David. Charlemagne was so fond of study that he had 
 books read to him at meals and often stinted his sleep to 
 gain time. " He learned Latin and Greek, and improved 
 his native German by inventing German words for the 
 
57 
 
 months and the winds." He paid great attention to 
 astronomy, could calculate the courses of planets in his 
 head. He caused a German grammar to be commenced, 
 an attempt which was not repeated for hundreds of 
 years. But with all his learning there was one thing 
 he could not accomplish, which was to write a good 
 hand. Though he kept his tablets under his pillow that 
 he might improve any odd moments day or night, the 
 hand that could so easily wield the ponderous iron lance 
 was conquered by the pen. — Adapted. 
 
 Government. — His government was a model for those 
 times. His subjects so diverse in nationality and educa- 
 tion were held under a most wise and powerful authority. 
 The monarchy which he founded was strong in himself 
 alone and when he died it perished with him. Yet each 
 piece of his great empire possessed enough of the vitaliz- 
 ing force which his mind and wisdom had given it to en- 
 able it to rise an empire by itself. So, though Charle- 
 magne's kingdom could not be preserved by his success- 
 ors, from that great power rose the separate empires of 
 France, Germany, and Italy. — Adapted. 
 
 Death of Charlemagne. — "Charlemagne died in 814, 
 iu his seventy-first year, and was buried at Aix-la-Chap- 
 elle sitting upright, robed and crowned, in his chair 
 with a sword by his side." — Miss Yonge. 
 
 "There is a beautiful legend that Charlemagne visits 
 tlie Rhine yearly and blesses the vintage. He comes in 
 a golden robe, and crosses the river on a golden bridge, 
 and the bells of heaven chime above him as he fulfills 
 his peaceful mission. The fine superstition is celebrated 
 
58 
 
 ill music and verse." — Butter worth's " Zigzag Journey of 
 Northern Lands." Learn " Die Wacht am Rhein." 
 
 LEGEND OF CHARLEMAGNE. 
 
 By the Rhine, the emerald river, 
 
 How softly flows the night ! 
 The vine-clad hills are lying 
 
 In the moonbeam's golden light. 
 
 And on the hillside walketh 
 
 A kingly shadow down, 
 With sword and purple mantle. 
 
 And heavy golden crown. 
 
 'Tis Charlemagne, the emperor, 
 
 Who, with a powerful hand, 
 For many a hundred years 
 
 Hath ruled in German land. 
 
 From out his grave in Aachen 
 
 He hath arisen there. 
 To bless once more his vineyards, 
 
 And breath their fragrant air. 
 
 By Rudesheim, on the water. 
 
 The moon doth brightly shine, 
 And buildeth a bridge of gold 
 
 Across the emerald Rhine. 
 
 The emperor walketh over, 
 
 And all along the tide 
 Bestows his benediction 
 
 On the vineyard far and wide. 
 
 'Then turns he back to Aaclien 
 
 In his grave-sleep to remain, 
 Till the New Year's fragrant clusters 
 
 Shall call him forth again. 
 
 — Emanuel GeibeJ. From "Zigzag Journey." 
 
59 
 
 Division of Cliarlema§:ne's Empire. — The mighty em- 
 pire of Charlemagne, which was at first bestowed upon 
 his son Louis, soon fell to pieces like the kingdom of 
 Alexander. The grandsons, Louis, Charles, and Lo- 
 thaire, quarreled over their respective shares, and after the 
 dreadful ''Battle of the Brothers," a treaty was made 
 which divided the empire among them (843). 
 
 East Frankland or Germany was given to Louis. 
 West Frankland or France to Charles, and the middle 
 portions of the Frankish territory, including Italy and 
 a long strip extending to the North Sea, between the 
 dominions of his brothers, was given to Lothaire. This 
 strip of land later took the name of Lotharingia or Lor- 
 raine. 
 
 From the time of this treaty in 843 the separation be- 
 tween France and Germany was fairly accomplished. 
 At that time the two countries spoke different languages 
 though the French king clung for awhile to his Teutonic 
 dress and manners. In 1843 Germany celebrated its 
 1000th anniversary. 
 
 RISE OF MODERN NATIONS. 
 
 I. ENGLAND. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon Conquest. — (See " Roman Conquest " in 
 Roman History.) About the. time Alaric and the Visi- 
 goths appeared before the gates of Rome (A. D. 410), 
 the legions were recalled from England and the frontier 
 of the Rhine and the Danube, to protect the provinces 
 nearer Italy. "This was a signal for the Picts and 
 Scots to renew their incursions ; and the Britons in their 
 
00 
 
 need are said to have solicited the aid of the Saxons, a 
 German tribe near the Elbe. (Read Saxon Boy in " Ten 
 Boys.") 
 
 ' ' These Saxons together with their neighbors the Angles 
 were powerful sea-rulers on the German Ocean and Bal- 
 tic Sea. They delighted in storms and tempests, and in 
 their small vessels of osiers, covered with skins, they 
 courageously sailed amidst the rough winds and foaming 
 surges of the German Ocean, in search of conquest and 
 wild adventure. They were clothed in loose and flowing 
 garments, and wore their hair long, floating about their 
 shoulders." — L. H. Farmer. 
 
 Under the leadership of Hengist and Horsa these 
 Saxons landed on the island of Thanet, at the mouth of 
 the Thames, about the year 449. Vortigern, the king 
 of Britain, offered to give them a large tract of country 
 in the part of the country where they had landed, if the}'- 
 would aid him in his contest with his enemies. Hengist 
 and Horsa agreed to this proposal and they soon succeeded 
 in defeating the Picts and Scots and driving them back 
 to their mountains in the north. They received as recom- 
 pense the island of Thanet, and it is related that Hengist 
 gave his daughter Rowena in marriage to Vortigern to 
 strengthen the alliance more closely. In six years' time 
 Hengist took possession of the country between the 
 Thames and the English channel, making Canterbury 
 his capital. From that time it was the ambition of all 
 the chiefs of the Saxon pirates to gain a firm footing in 
 Great Britain, as the Frankish tribes had done in Gaul. 
 "At last the Britons became alarmed at the increasing 
 power of the Anglo-Saxons, and the result was a fierce 
 
61 
 
 contest. It is related that King Vortigern, with three 
 hundred of his officers, were invited by Hengist to a feast, 
 and a quarrel having arisen, an affray occurred, in which 
 the Britons were all killed, except Vortigern, who was 
 taken prisoner, and was only ransomed by ceding three 
 whole provinces to his captors. 
 
 "The famous King Arthur, whose Knights of the 
 Round Table have been so celebrated in fable and song, 
 was a king of the Britons during these wars between his 
 people and the Saxons-." — L. H. Farmer. He defeated 
 them, it is said, in twelve battles, killing with his own 
 hand in a single day 400 of his enemies. "When 
 wounded, he was borne to an island formed by two riv- 
 ers and died there, at what date is not known. His 
 tomb has never been found. The Cambrians, whom he 
 had defended so long, refused to believe in the death of 
 their national hero, and for many centuries looked for- 
 ward to his coming as the time of their deliverance. 
 (See Tennyson's "King Arthur," also prose stories 
 of ' ' King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. ' ' ) 
 
 In two hundred years after this the Saxon power be- 
 came supreme and the remaining Britons sought refuge 
 in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The Saxons founded 
 seven states in England, each one having a separate 
 ruler ; but, after a series of wars with each other, they 
 were united in 827, under Egbert, who thus became sole 
 monarch of England (Angle-land). 
 
 "The Saxons were converted to Christianity at the 
 close of the sixth century. Pope Gregory the Great, 
 when a young deacon, passing through the Roman mar- 
 Ret place, observed some 'air-haired youths exposed for 
 
62 
 
 sale as slaves. Struck by their beauty he inquired to 
 what country they belonged. Being informed that they 
 were Angles, he exclaimed, 'Not Angles, but angels.' " 
 — Quackenbos. In after days he remembered the fair cap- 
 tives, and sent Au'gustine at the head of an embassy to 
 Ethelbert, king of Kent, with a view to the conversion 
 of their people. When the entreaties of his Christian 
 queen, who was the daughter of a Frankish king, were 
 united to the eloquence of Augustine, Ethelbert yielded, 
 was baptized, and Christianity soon became the estab- 
 lished faith of Saxon England 
 
 Danish Invasion. — During the reign of Egbert, the 
 first Saxon king, England, like France and Germany, 
 was ravaged by hordes of northern pirates. "These 
 sea-rovers came from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, 
 and in search of plunder sailed the stormiest seas fear- 
 lessly in open boats without decks. They were as val- 
 iant fighters as they were expert mariners. They would 
 land near a sea-coast town, rob it of everything that was 
 worth taking, and escape with their booty." Those who 
 invaded England were called Danes, though they were 
 not exclusively the natives of Denmark, but came from 
 all the shores of the Northern and Baltic seas. They 
 were successfully repelled by Egbert's grandson, Alfred 
 the Great. 
 
 (Adapted from Bonner's "Child's History of France" 
 and L. H. Farmer's "Boys' Book of Famous Rul- 
 ers.") 
 
 Alfred the Great. — In the year 871, Alfred the Great, 
 one of the best and wisest kings that ever ruled England, 
 
63 
 
 succeeded to the throne when he was twenty-two years of 
 age. 
 
 " Twice in his childhood he had been taken to Rome, 
 where the Saxon nobles were in the habit of going on 
 journeys which they supposed to be religious ; and once 
 he had staid for some time in Paris. Learning, however, 
 was so little cared for, then, that at twelve years old he 
 had not been taught to read." " His mother, one day, 
 showed him and his brothers a book of Saxon poetry, 
 which was beautifully written and ornamented, and told 
 them that she would give it to the one who should soonest 
 learn to peruse it. Alfred applied himself with so much 
 ardor, that in a very short time he was able to read the 
 poem to the queen, who gave it to him as his reward. 
 From this time he took the greatest delight in study ; but 
 he had two great difficulties to struggle with ; one was, 
 that there were so few books to be had ; and the other, 
 that there were so few people among the Saxons who 
 could teach him anything. 
 
 "Notwithstanding all these obstacles, he soon became 
 one of the most learned men of his time. Even when he 
 was king, he always carried a book in the bosom of his 
 robe, that, whenever he had a spare moment, he might 
 be able to profit by it ; and thus, without neglecting 
 any of his duties, he acquired a very extensive knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 "His time was divided into three equal parts; one- 
 third was devoted to study, another third to sleep and 
 refreshment, and the other to the affairs of his kingdom. 
 As there were no clocks or watches in use in England, 
 Alfred contrived to measure time by the burning of x;an- 
 
64 
 
 dies. They were painted in rings of different breadths 
 and colors — so many colors as he had duties to attend to, 
 and thus he knew by the burning of these candles when 
 he had been employed long enough about any one thing. 
 But he found that when the wind blew upon them, they 
 burnt more quickly ; and so, to remedy the inconveni- 
 ence, he invented lanterns. 
 
 " During the first eight years of his reign, he suffered 
 continual persecution from the Danes, who at last ob- 
 tained almost entire possession of the kingdom, and Al- 
 fred was obliged to conceal himself. 
 
 "x\t one time he assumed the disguise of a servant and 
 hired himself to a cow-herd. One day, when he was in 
 the cottage trimming his bow and arrows, the old man's 
 wife, who did not know that he was king, told him to 
 watch some cakes that were baking by the fire. Alfred; 
 who had many other things to think of, forgot to turn 
 them at the proper time, and they were spoiled. The old 
 woman was very angry with him, and told him he was 
 a lazy fellow, who would eat the cakes, though he would 
 not take the trouble to turn them . 
 
 "Resolving to learn by personal observation the exact 
 strength of the enemy, he disguised himself as a harper, 
 and entered the Danish camp. When Guthrum, the 
 general of the Danes, heard him play and sing he was 
 so much pleased with him, that he made him stay for 
 some days in the camp, supposing him to be some poor 
 minstrel. 
 
 "Alfred made good use of his eyes all this time. He 
 observed that the Danes, not thinking that the English 
 could muster another army strong enough to attack them. 
 
65 
 
 were quite off their guard, and were dancing and sing- 
 ing, and thought of nothing but amusing themselves. 
 
 "The king, having gained all the knowledge he 
 wanted, slipped out of the camp, and throwing off his 
 disguises, summoned his faithful subjects to meet him 
 near Salwood Forest. The English, who had believed 
 their beloved monarch to be dead, received the summons 
 with great gladness, and joyfully resorted to the appointed 
 place. 
 
 "Alfred did not allow their ardor to cool, but led them 
 against the enemy, who were completely defeated. In- 
 stead of killing or making slaves of the prisoners, as 
 was often done in that barbarous age, he permitted them, 
 upon their becoming Christians and promising to live 
 honestly, to remain in England. 
 
 "They established themselves in East Anglia and 
 Northumberland; but they and their descendants proved 
 very troublesome subjects. 
 
 "After the victory over Guthrum, England enjoyed 
 many years of peace and tranquility. These were de- 
 voted by Alfred to repairing the mischief which had 
 been done by the Danes. The churches and monasteries, 
 as they contained the greatest riches, so they had been 
 the first objects of attack and destruction. 
 
 "To repair these might seem no very difficult matter, 
 for most of them were built of wood, and covered with 
 thatch. Stones were only used in building castles and 
 strong places of defense. When the Saxons came into 
 Britain, they found a great many beautiful palaces, baths, 
 churches, and other buildings of stone, which had been 
 Med. His.— 5 
 
66 
 
 erected by the Romans. Some of them were built with 
 so much solidity that they would have remained to this 
 day, if they had not been willfull}" destroyed. This was 
 done by the Saxons, who made it a rule to destroy every 
 town or castle that they took, instead of preserving them 
 for their own use. They had been accustomed to live 
 in wretched hovels, made of earth or wood, and covered 
 with straw or the branches of trees; nor did they much 
 improve their knowledge of architecture for two hundred 
 years after their arrival in Britain. 
 
 " Toward the clos.e of the seventh century, two Saxon 
 clergymen, who were great travelers and had acquired 
 some taste for architecture during their frequent visits 
 to Rome, resolved to attempt an improvement in the 
 the taste of their Saxon countrymen. They brought to 
 England a number of masons, in order to build the 
 church of their monastery of stone, after the Roman 
 manner. " When the work was far advanced, agents 
 were sent into France to procure glassmakers. These 
 not only performed the work required of them, but 
 taught the Saxons the art of making glass for windows, 
 lamps, drinking-vessels, and other uses. The ancient 
 Britons, indeed, were acquainted with this art, but the 
 Saxons had never before acquired it. 
 
 "This stone building with glass windows was an ob- 
 ject of great curiosity and admiration, but did not find 
 many imitators. When Alfred resolved to rebuild his 
 ruined churches and monasteries, and to adorn his cities 
 with stone buildings, he was obliged to send to foreign 
 countries for workmen. But even in King Alfred's time 
 
67 
 
 the use of stone did not become general, and glass win- 
 dows were only to be seen in churches. 
 
 " When the Romans invaded England, they instructed 
 and improved those whom they subdued. But darkness 
 and desolation marked the course of the fierce and illiter- 
 ate Saxons. 
 
 "As you may well suppose, Alfred was a liberal en- 
 courager of learning. He established many schools and 
 founded the University at Oxford. There were many 
 impediments to progress in learning in those days. 
 Books were very scarce and dear, so that few but kings 
 and rich monasteries could afford to buy them. Alfred 
 gave a great estate in land for a single volume on geo- 
 graphy. 
 
 " Paper was not yet invented, and parchment enough 
 could not be had for a great supply of books." Neither 
 was printing invented for a longtime afterward. There 
 were no signs to represent numbers except the Roman 
 letters I. V. C. C. M. The study of arithmetic was pro- 
 nounced by Aldehelm, a learned Saxon bishop, to be 
 almost too difficult for the mind of man. It was made 
 easier b}^ the use of the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., which 
 were used by the Arabians and introduced into England 
 about the year 1130. 
 
 "Alfred also endeavored to improve his subjects in the 
 useful and ingenius arts, and invited many skillful for- 
 eign workmen to instruct them. The English gold- 
 smiths soon became very expert." " But the workmen 
 most highly regarded were the blacksmiths, because 
 they could make swords and other instruments of w^ar. 
 Every soldier of rank was constantly attended by his 
 
68 
 
 smith to keep his arms in order. The chief smith was 
 an officer of great dignity at court. At table he sat next 
 to the priest, and was entitled to a draught of every kind 
 of liquor brought into the hall. 
 
 "Alfred was very desirous of creating a strong naval 
 force, considering that to be the surest defense against 
 the Danes. But he had great difficulties to struggle 
 with. His subjects knew nothing of ship-building, so 
 he was obliged to get foreign ship-builders. In time his 
 own subjects learned how to build ships, but there was a 
 new difficulty — he had no sailors. These were also pro- 
 cured from other countries, and at last a considerable 
 fleet was constructed. This fleet did not prove a very 
 effectual defense, for the Danes, coming in 330 vessels, 
 under a famous leader named Hastings, succeeded in 
 landing at Kent. A long contest ensued. At length 
 the wife and children of Hastings were taken prisoners. 
 Alfred gave them back on condition that all the Danes 
 should leave the country. 
 
 " Tlie remainder of the reign of this truly great king 
 was prosperous. He lived beloved by his subjects, feared 
 by his enemies, and admired by all mankind. The Eng- 
 lish, and, as their descendants, we, are indebted to the 
 wisdom of Alfred for many very useful laws and valua- 
 ble rights. Among the rest, he instituted the right of 
 trial by jury. Something like this had existed among 
 the Saxons from the earliest times, but Alfred first re- 
 duced it to a regular system and secured it by positive 
 laws. 
 
 "Alfred died in 901 in the forty-nintli year of his 
 age." — S. G. Goodrich. 
 
69 
 
 II. FRANCE. 
 
 The Norsemen Invade France. — Even before the death 
 of Charlemagne France had suffered by the depredations 
 of the Norsemen or Northmen. That great monarch is 
 said to have wept at the thought of the calamities which 
 would befall his country after his death. He explained 
 the cause of his tears to his courtiers, saying, " I fear 
 not these pirates during my lifetime, but I foresee what 
 evils they will heap upon my descendants and people." 
 
 "Every year, as soon as the spring-birds began to 
 sing, these sea-rovers came swooping down upon the 
 coasts of France landing in some sheltered cove, seizing 
 money, jewels, food, cattle, and' slaves, and dashing off 
 to sea again with their booty. By and by they were not 
 content with the sea-coast. They sailed up the rivers in 
 their broad boats, fashioned in the shape of a serpent or 
 a bird of prey, ribbed with iron, and provided with great 
 beaks of bronze and ivoiy. Back of this beak stood a 
 warrior, shouting, singing, gesticulating, to strike terror 
 into the hearts of those who saw him." — Bonner. 
 
 A branch of these same Northmen, whose chiefs were 
 called Vikings, found their way across the northern 
 ocean to Iceland and Greenland, and it is supposed they 
 landed in New England five hundred years before Co- 
 lumbus discovered America, but as they did not find 
 anything worth stealing they went away. They found 
 their way across the ocean by letting loose a hawk and 
 following his flight, each ship being provided with a 
 cage of these birds. 
 
 " When the poor French peasants saw a fleet of these 
 boats c me round the hill, dashing the foam from their 
 
70 
 
 bows, and heard the horn and war cries of the warriors 
 on the beach, they fled as swiftly as they could, with 
 wives and children, and, if they had time, with such of 
 their belongings as they could snatch up, to the nearest 
 castle or monastery. Sometimes the count or the abbot 
 was strong enough to give battle to the pirates. Con- 
 vents, churches, and castles were generally robbed and 
 their owners killed under their own roofs." — Bonner. 
 The only way to induce the Northmen to leave the coun- 
 tr}^ was to bribe them. In the reign of Charles, the 
 grandson of Charlemagne, they sailed up the Seine, and 
 departed only on the payment of several thousand pounds 
 of silver. This tribute was demanded year after year, 
 until finally in 911 Charles the Simple gave them the 
 northern part of France, on condition that they would 
 leave the rest in peace and embrace Christianity. The 
 territory thus ceded was called from them Normandy, 
 and the name Northmen became softened into Normans. 
 "Their valiant chief Rollo was so tall that he could 
 not find a horse in Norway large enough for him to ride, 
 and going on his expeditions afoot, he was called Rollo 
 the Marcher." — Quackenbos. When told that for the 
 valuable grant of land he must do homage to the King 
 of France he delegated the ceremony to one of his follow- 
 ers. This ceremony consisted of kneeling before the 
 king or over-lord, at the same time swearing to follow 
 him in war and .be henceforth his man (Latin homo, 
 whence "homage.") "The over-lord, in his turn, 
 swore to aid him and be a true good lord to him in 
 return, and kissed his brow. In return the under-lord, 
 or vassal as he was called, was to kiss the foot of his 
 
71 
 
 superior. This was paying homage. Kings thus paid 
 homage and swore allegiance to the emperor ; dukes or 
 counts to kings ; lesser counts or barons to dukes ; and 
 for the lands they owned they were bound to serve their 
 lord in council and in war, and not to fight against him. 
 Lands so held were called fiefs, and the whole was called 
 the feudal system. Now, Rollo was to hold his lands in 
 fief from the king, and he swore his oath, but he was too 
 proud to stoop to kiss the foot of King Charles. The 
 Northman he chose to perform the ceremony was as 
 proud as himself, and instead of kneeling, lifted the 
 king's foot to his lips, so that poor Charles the Simple 
 was upset, throne and all." — Miss Yonge. 
 
 ''Rollo was thus made a peer of France and received 
 the title of Duke. He became a sincere Christian. Un- 
 der his government, the churches were rebuilt, the fields 
 were cultivated and robbery was almost unknown." In 
 a short time these barbarians had adopted the language, 
 manners, and religion of the French, and Normandy 
 under their rule became the fairest province of France. 
 The heathen Vikings, delighting in the wild life of sea- 
 rover and pirate, had been transformed into Christian 
 knights, eager for pilgrimages and crusades. (Read 
 Norman Boy in "Ten Boys.") 
 
 Feudalism. — During the terror of the invasion of the 
 Norsemen the people naturally turned for protection to 
 the neighboring lords, whose castles were their only 
 refuge. The kings were powerless to defend or govern. 
 The peasant was the one who suffered the most. In the 
 north of France, bands of Northmen, in the south, bands 
 of Moors, in the southeast, bands of Hungarians, whose 
 
72 
 
 faces had been slashed to make them look more hideous, 
 marched into the country at harvest time and carried 
 off the ripe crops. To resist the robbers, the peasants 
 armed themselves and selected one of their bravest men 
 to lead them. In order to distinguish him from the. rest 
 he received the name of lord, or seigneur, duke, count 
 or baron. It was agreed that the land should belong to 
 the lord and the peasant should liold it on lease from 
 him. As there was very little money at that time in the 
 country parts of France, the rent consisted of a quart of 
 grain, a pig, or a fat goose once a year for a field or an 
 acre. It was also. agreed that whenever the lord called 
 upon the tenants to go forth to battle they were bound to 
 do so. 
 
 This was the feudal system, which, though it was 
 greatly abused in later years, was the only protection for 
 life and property at the time it was invented. The land 
 which was owned by the feudal lords and leased to their 
 tenants was called a " fief," and the tenants were called 
 " vassals." 
 
 Originally this relation of vassalage had nothing to do 
 with the possession of land, but was a position of especial 
 honor. As the custom of rewarding service with gifts 
 of land became fixed, it was natural that the vassals 
 should be first rewarded. Instead of keeping a standing 
 army the Frankish kings found it far more convenient 
 to give their lands into the hands of faithful subjects 
 who should hold them and cultivate them and in return 
 should not only agree to serve them in person, but to 
 furnish upon their call a certain number of armed men 
 ready and equipped for active military service. In like 
 
73 
 
 manner the vassals of the king granted estates to their 
 followers, who were called their vassals, and attended 
 them in battle. This array of lords, with their retainers, 
 constituted the feudal army. — Adapted. 
 
 The castles in which the nobles or lords lived were 
 enormous buildings, either round or square, massive, 
 without ornament, and generally built on hills. "They 
 were pierced with a few loop-holes, from which arrows 
 could be shot, and had a single gate opening on a moat 
 which could only be crossed by a draw-bridge ; they 
 were crowned with battlements from which masses of 
 rock, pitch, and melted lead were thrown upon an assail- 
 ant who had been bold enough to approach the foot of 
 the wall. The castles, the ruin of which are seen along 
 the Rhine and in Scotland and France, now look like 
 gray, jagged, and broken crows' nests torn by storms. 
 Those who had no right to live inside the castle itself, 
 who were neither nobles nor warriors, established them- 
 selves at the foot of the great walls, under their mighty 
 guardianship. In this way many European cities were 
 formed. Those who built the castle, made the clothing 
 and armor of the knights and baked the bread were 
 called ' serfs.' One step higher than these were the 
 free tenants called ' villeins. ' Unlike the serfs, they had 
 their liberty, and, on condition of a yearly rent, they 
 held the lands which they were able to transmit to their 
 children." — Duruy and Emerton. (Read Lowell's " Sir 
 Launfal.") 
 
 " In the course of time these feudal lords came to be 
 kings in fact, if not in name, in their respective fiefs. 
 They had their own armies, their own courts, their own 
 
mints, their own system of taxes, tlieir own laws, quite 
 independent of the king at Paris. Tliey were, it is true, 
 required to pay homage to the king, which consisted in 
 holding his stirrup when he was riding, or some such 
 idle formality ; but practically the king had no authority 
 over them at all. The peasants knew no superior but 
 their own feudal lord." — Bonner. 
 
 The kingdom of Hugh Capet, who had been chosen by 
 the bishops and nobles in 987 as the first king of all 
 France, was cut down to only a small territory along the 
 Seine and Loire. Indeed he was only king in name, for 
 Normandy, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Campagne, Toulouse, 
 each had its separate government. The Duke of Aqui- 
 taine, who was a feudal lord, ruled a much larger coun- 
 "try, and so did the Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 The king and the church were constantly jealous of 
 the power of the nobles, but in their grim strongholds 
 they continued to defy all authority until the close of the 
 Middle Ages. The Crusades first broke the strength of 
 feudalism and the introduction of fire-arms completed 
 its downfall. (See page 426, Myers.) 
 
 Chivalry. — In the days of Hugh Capet, there was very 
 little good in the world. All France was in a turbu- 
 lent, cruel, and savage state. It was the belief of all 
 good Christians that the world was to come to an end, 
 and that the Day of Judgment was to come in the year 
 1000. The fields were left untilled, and in consequence, 
 famines and epidemic diseases broke out. "In the 
 midst of these dark days some French nobles, filled with 
 pity for the wretchedness they saw around them, united 
 to remedy existing evils. They pledged themselves to 
 
75 
 
 defend the weak and become the champions of the op- 
 pressed ; the church blessed their undertaking;" and 
 thus the institution of Chivalry was established, the 
 germs of which were found in society before the age of 
 Charlemagne. The name of Chivalry was applied to the 
 system, from the chevaliers who enrolled themselves in 
 its support and who constituted the order of knighthood, 
 to which admission was obtained by formal ceremony. 
 From France this institution rapidly spread to England, 
 Spain, Germany, and Italy, in all of which countries the 
 Teutonic race was now established. — Adapted. 
 
 All persons of gentle blood, except those designed 
 for the church, followed the profession of arms and were 
 trained from childhood in the duties and exercises of 
 knighthood. In early youth they lived as pages in the 
 courts of the nobles or of the king. There in the pres- 
 ence of high-born ladies and knights, they were trained 
 to serve their mistress and imitate the gallantry of their 
 superiors. Their studies were limited to music, chess, 
 and memorizing their Latin Code of Manners. They 
 were intrusted with the messages of the lady of the castle, 
 cared for her falcon, and obeyed her slightest wish. "In 
 the tender days of his pagehood he first learned the les- 
 son of love and reverence, cherishing, as of inestimable 
 value, the slight favor from his lady's hand. The depth of 
 this feeling is illustrated in a German romance, which rep- 
 resents a devoted page as opening a wound in his bosom 
 to lay gold thread which his mistress had given him, as 
 near as possible to his heart. His lady's presence was the 
 greatest incentive to valorous deeds that a knight could 
 have. He wore her scarf, ribbon, or glove on his helmet, 
 
76 
 
 and in her name would make tlie most extravagant vows 
 and swear to perform impossible feats. And sometimes her 
 caprice would exact from him achievements which taxed 
 both strength and courage to the utmost. We read that 
 at a German court some knights and ladies were viewing 
 two lions confined in an inclosure, when one of the ladies 
 threw in her glove and commanded her lover to recover 
 it. He leaped in, threw his mantle over the beasts as 
 they rushed toward him, picked up the glove and sprung 
 out in safety; but even his loyalt}^ could not blind him 
 to his lady's unreasonable caprice, and he immediately 
 renounced one who could wantonly subject her true knight 
 to such danger." — Quackenbos. 
 
 "At the age of fourteen the page was made a squire and 
 his training became more severe. He was taught to 
 endure fatique, thirst, and hunger, to run long distances, 
 to turn somersaults in heavy armor, to wield his weapons 
 with agility and skill, and to manage his fiery barb with 
 grace and dexterity. " — Quackenbos. He was also assigned 
 to duties about the castle such as setting and serving a 
 table, grooming the horses, or caring for the armor of 
 the knights. Each squire served some individual knight 
 whom he was bound to obey, to attend iii battle, and 
 serve with his very life in case of need. 
 
 "Although he attends his lord in battle, he is not ex- 
 pected to take part in the fight. He is in little danger, 
 for, as he wears no armor, it is considered dishonorable 
 for a knight to attack him. He stands ready to render 
 any assistance which his lord may require. If he is 
 overthrown, he helps him to rise; if he is wounded, he 
 carries him from the field ; if tlie wound is mortal, he 
 
77 
 
 receives bis lord's dying commands, and, after his death, 
 bestows upon bis body an honorable burial. 
 
 "An early English writer thus describes the exercises 
 of the youth : ' Crowds of noble and sprightly youths, 
 mounted on war horses, admirably trained to perform 
 all their turnings and evolutions, ride into the fields in 
 distinct bands, armed with lances and shields, and 
 exhibit representations of battles. The hope of victory 
 rouses the spirits of these noble youths. Their fiery 
 horses neigh and prance, and champ their foaming bits. 
 At length the signal is given and the sports begin. The 
 youths, divided into opposite bands, encounter one 
 another. In one place some flee and others pursue, 
 without overtaking them. In another place, one of the 
 bands overtakes and overturns the other.' " 
 
 At the age of twenty-one, the young noble's probation 
 is over. "If he is perfect in his martial exercises, 
 courteous in his demeanor, polite and attentive to the 
 ladies, obedient to his superiors, respectful to his elders, 
 skilled in music and dancing, possessed, in short, of all 
 knightly accomplishments, he is admitted to the order 
 of knights. The candidate for knighthood prepares 
 himself by fasting and praying. Having bathed and 
 clothed himself in a white garment, as a symbol of the 
 purity and truth that must distinguish his future life, 
 he enters the church, and, advancing to the altar, pre- 
 sents his sword to the priest, who blesses it and then 
 returns it to him. The novice then, with clasped hands, 
 falls upon his knees before the elder knight, who takes 
 from him the sword, and administers the oath. He 
 swears to speak the truth; to maintain the right; to 
 
78 
 
 protect the distressed ; to practice courtesy ; to defend his 
 religion ; to despise the allurements of ease, and to vin- 
 dicate in every perilous adventure the honor of his 
 name. He is then invested hy the knights, or ladies, or 
 damsels present, with the exterior marks of chivalry — 
 his spurs, his coat of mail, his brassards (the covering 
 for the arms), his gauntlets or iron gloves, and, lastly, 
 his sword is buckled on. Then the elder knight, rising 
 from his seat, gives him the blow on his shoulders with 
 the flat of the sword, saying: 'In the name of God, of 
 St. George, and of St. Michael the Archangel, I make 
 thee knight, rise up, Sir John! ' or 'Sir Thomas,' or 
 whatever his name may be. The helmet, buckler, and 
 lance are now given, after which, mounting, and cur- 
 vetting his steed, brandishing his lance, and glittering 
 his sword, the new knight parades about amidst the 
 acclamations of the people. 
 
 '' Sometimes an esquire had an opportunity of per- 
 forming some gallant action in battle, and was knighted 
 upon the field. This was esteemed the most honorable 
 mode of obtaining it. Such knights were called knights- 
 bannerets. Others devoted their lives to the protection 
 of the injured and helpless. They were not formed in- 
 to any regular body, but were quite independent of one 
 another, and traveled about from place to place for the 
 purpose of redressing grievances. These were called 
 knights-errant. This class of knights might well do a 
 great amount of good in those lawless times, when might 
 made right. The whole institution of chivalry did in- 
 finite service in softening the ferocious manners of the 
 times." — S. G. Goodrich. (Condition of the Family in 
 
79 
 
 Feudal Times — Duruy, page 214. Read Sir Walter 
 Scott's " Ivanhoe.") 
 
 ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES — Continued. 
 
 Danish Conquest. — England continued to prosper dur- 
 ing the rule of the son of Alfred the Great and his grand- 
 son, Athelstan. In the eleventh century the sovereigns 
 were men of feeble minds and the Anglo-Saxons became 
 a submissive, unwarlike people. During the reign of 
 Ethelred the Unready, the Danes grew more powerful. 
 After several times purchasing peace from the invaders, 
 Ethelred secretly ordered a massacre of all the Danes in 
 the country (1002). As might have been expected the 
 Danes retaliated by sweeping like a whirlwind through 
 distracted England. Finally the king of Denmark him- 
 self came with a great fleet. "The beaks of the ships 
 were of brass and under the beaks were figure-heads, 
 finely carved and painted, of men and bulls and dol- 
 phins. On the mast-heads were figures of birds and 
 dragons to serve for weathercocks, and the sterns were 
 adorned with golden lions." f Church's '' Stories of 
 England.") 
 
 The English were powerless to resist him and Ethelred 
 fled over the sea to France. The sudden death of the 
 King of Denmark prevented the Danes from gaining the 
 immediate possession of tlie island, but in 1016, his 
 son, Canute, became king of Engand. He was also 
 ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. His wise 
 and impartial rule did much to conciliate the English 
 and for eighteen years England prospered under Danish 
 
80 
 
 rule. " His regard for the laws is shown by the follow- 
 ing anecdote : Having in a moment of anger slain a 
 soldier, he insisted on being tried and sentenced like 
 any common offender. His judges decided that he 
 should inflict his own penalty, and, as murder was then 
 punished by a fine, he paid 3G0 talents. 
 
 "Another anecdote is told of the method which he used 
 to rebuke his flattering courtiers. They carried their 
 absurd adulation to so extravagant a length as to declare 
 in his presence that the very elements were under his 
 control, and nothing in nature dared disobey his com- 
 mands. 
 
 "One day while walking with his attendants by the 
 seaside at Southampton he undertook to rebuke this ser- 
 vile flattery in a striking manner. He ordered his chair 
 to be placed on the beach while the tide was beginning 
 to rise, and taking his seat he exclaimed to the waters in 
 a voice of authority, '0 Sea ! Thou art under my con- 
 trol, and the land on which I sit is mine. I charge thee 
 to approach no further, nor dare to wet the feet of thy 
 sovereign ! ' But the rising billows, regardless of his 
 command, dashed upon the shore and forced him to re- 
 tire. The king turned to his flatterers and said: 'Learn 
 from this example the insignificance of all human power, 
 and that God alone is omnipotent ! ' He then took the 
 crown from his head and, we are told, never wore it 
 afterwards, but ordered it to be put on the image of the 
 crucified Christ. ' ' — Goodrich. 
 
 "Amid the cares of his extensive kingdom, Canute 
 found time for pious works, built churches, and went 
 on a pilgrimage to Rome." — Quackenbos. 
 
81 
 
 "After his death in 1036, his sons, Harold, Harefoot 
 and Hardicanute, successively held the crown." The 
 sons lacked their father's ability and contests arose 
 which in seven years resulted in the restoration of the 
 old Saxon line. 
 
 Edward the Confessor, the son of Ethelred, ascended 
 the throne in 1042 and was hailed with joy by the peo- 
 ple. Their joy, however, was of short duration, for 
 having spent part of his life in Normandy, he intro- 
 duced the language and customs of that country, and 
 filled the court with Norman favorites. This provoked 
 a rebellion on the part of the Saxon nobles, and in the 
 end the odious foreigners were outlawed. Edward was 
 devout in his ways, though a negligent ruler, and for 
 this reason gained the surname of Confessor. He is 
 said to have spent a tenth part of the whole wealth of 
 the kingdom in building a great church at Westminster, 
 the precursor of the magnificent church built afterwards 
 by King Henry III. Edward was too ill to be present 
 at the consecration, December 28, 1065, and died a few 
 days after. He was buried in his new church where his 
 tomb may be seen at the present day. 
 
 Harold, a prominent Saxon noble, was chosen king of 
 England and was crowned at Westminster. "He did 
 not find the throne a peaceable possession; for William, 
 Duke of Normandy, immediately asserted his right to it, 
 under pretense that Edward had left him the kingdom 
 in his will. To maintain his claim, William went wnth 
 a large army to England, where he landed on the 28th 
 of September, 1066. — Adapted. 
 Med. His.— 6 
 
82 
 
 Norman Conquest of England. — ''On the 14th of Octo- 
 ber, 106G, was fought the great battle of Hastings, a 
 battle that completely changed the fate of England. 
 Harold was killed by a wound in the eye with an arrow, 
 and William gained a complete victory. The result of 
 this conflict threw the English into the utmost conster- 
 nation. 
 
 " Some of the nobles assembled at London to deliber- 
 ate in regard to the successor to the throne, but before 
 they had time to come to a decision William, the Con- 
 queror, was at the gates. The greater part of the nobles 
 went to meet him and offered him the vacant throne, 
 which he, with a little pretended hesitation, accepted. 
 He was crowned at Westminster on Christmas Day, 1066, 
 and thus was completed the Conquest of England, as it 
 is called." — S. G. Goodrich. 
 
 "William began his reign with so much prudence 
 and moderation that his new subjects thought they had 
 great reason to be satisfied. But whilst he treated 
 them with seeming confidence and friendship, he took 
 care to place all real power in the hands of the Nor- 
 mans. He everywhere disarmed the Saxons and built 
 fortresses in all the principal cities, placing Norman sol- 
 diers in them." — Goodrich. 
 
 "The Anglo-Saxons, however, were not entirely sub- 
 dued ; they broke out into insurrections, and at last the 
 king, determining to strike terror into their hearts, 
 marched northward, burned their towns, and put thou- 
 sands to the sword." — Quackenhos. 
 
 " The Anglo-Saxon nobility were driven into exile, or 
 dispossessed of their territories, and the greater part of 
 
83 
 
 all the landed property of England fell into the hands of 
 the king, who rewarded his followers for their services 
 by granting them the domains which he had seized or 
 confiscated. He made military service the indispensable 
 condition of these donations, and thus England was 
 soon covered with strong castles, and the feudal system 
 became established to the full extent." The Normans 
 called themselves after their casiles and fortified towns, 
 thus introducing surnames. — Peter Parley. 
 
 Formation of English Language. — As a part of his plan 
 for reducing the Anglo-Saxon to complete subjection 
 William used every means to introduce the Norman- 
 French language and manners into England and to 
 eradicate that of the Anglo-Saxon. " French was taught 
 in the schools, spoken at court and employed exclusively 
 in the tribunals of law. He could not, however, compel 
 its use by the lower classes. They obstinately adhered 
 to their own vernacular ; and not till their prejudices 
 against their conquerors had been softened by the lapse 
 of fifty years were they willing to modify their own 
 tongue and enlarge its vocabulary by drawing on the 
 language of the Normans. From this time changes 
 were rapidly made ; and the grafting of numerous ele- 
 ments from the versatile Norman-French upon the 
 homely but nervous Saxon stock produced our present 
 English (about 1350)." — Quackenbos. (See " Ivanhoe," 
 by Sir Walter Scott. ) 
 
 "Among the oppressive institutions of this monarch 
 were the Forest Laws and the Curfew. William was es- 
 pecially fond of hunting, and not content with sixty- 
 eight deer friths, besides parks and chases, he made what 
 
84 
 
 was called the New Forest, by laying waste a tract of 
 thirty square miles, demolishing churches, and destroy- 
 ing hundreds of homes. The Curfew was a bell rung at 
 eight o'clock as a signal for extinguishing lights and 
 fires." " Its original design is said to have been to pre- 
 vent nightly meetings for conspirators." — Quackenbos 
 and Peter Parley. 
 
 Benefits Derived from Norman Conquest. — The Nor- 
 man Conquest, strange as it may seem, left many of the 
 civil institutions of the Saxons undostroyed, or changed 
 only in name. The Wittenagemote (see Miss Andrew's 
 "Ten Boys") still survived under the appellation of 
 parliament. The liberties of England were not abridged. 
 On the countrary it established a powerful and active 
 aristocracy, which was strong enough at times to give 
 the law to the sovereign. It promoted the emancipation 
 of the slaves and protected the privileges of the free. 
 
 "The greatest benefit derived by England from the 
 Norman conquest was the new vigor and sjjirit which it 
 gave to the national mind." A new race of men, in- 
 spired by that love of glory which made every Norman 
 restless till he had acquired personal improvement and 
 distinction, was spread over the kingdom. "The wealth 
 and situation of England opened new avenues to fame, 
 and drew from all parts of Europe the most aspiring and 
 the most able men to enter the lists for honor and profit. 
 A new creative vigor appeared afterward in every field 
 of human merit. Activity and enterprise became the 
 characteristic qualities of the nation ; and the different 
 classes, attaching themselves to various pursuits, infused 
 the spirits and enlarged the boundaries of improvement 
 
85 
 
 in all. In war, in religion, literature, trade, and amuse- 
 ments, the Anglo-Normans became active and indefatig- 
 able." (From Peter Parley's '' European History.") 
 
 Literature and Arts. — "During the reign of William 
 the Conqueror's son, Henry I, the manufacture of cloth 
 first received attention in England. Paper made from 
 rags became common, and parchment went out of use. 
 Agriculture was greatly improved by the Normans; the 
 land was drained, and the wastes produced by the Dan- 
 ish wars were restored to fertility." 
 
 The stories of "King Arthur and the Knights of the 
 Round Table" were published for the first time, also a 
 reliable History of England. "Poetry, music, and archi- 
 tecture were diligently cultivated. Abbeys and churches 
 were erected on all sides, and adorned with paintings 
 and statues. Monks were the principal architects and 
 builders of these edifices. The monks also constructed 
 organs, the chief, if not the only instrument used in 
 worship, and spent much time in illuminating manu- 
 scripts, an art that now attained great perfection." — 
 Quackenbos. 
 
 '. III. GERMANY. 
 
 ' Comparison with France. — In Germany, also, feudal- 
 ism took deep root during the terrible Norseman invas- 
 ions. Germany contained five separate nations — Franks, 
 Saxons, Thuringians, Bavarians, and Swabians — whose 
 dukes were almost independent in their realms. In France 
 the crown gradually absorbed the feudal states, and so 
 formed a powerful kingdom ; but in Germany the power 
 of the crown, though strong at first, became weak. The 
 royal family dying out in the second or third generation. 
 
8G 
 
 made it necessary that the ancient system of election 
 should be restored in Germany at the very time when it 
 disappeared from the customs of France. The struggle 
 between the king and the feudal lords was alike in both 
 countries — but the results were different. Germany had 
 no central city for capital like Paris, around which the 
 national sentiment could grow, and while France reached 
 an extreme centralization, Germany become more and 
 more divided. 
 
 Ancient People of Austria. — At this period Germany 
 was continually ravaged by the Magyars or Hungarians, 
 who had left their original abodes in the Ural mountains 
 and were occupying the plains of Hungary. These bar- 
 barians were even more cruel than the Norsemen ; they 
 were believed to be cannibals, and to drink the blood of 
 their enemies. 
 
 In 918, Henry, the Duke of Saxony, was chosen king 
 because he was thought to be the only man who had 
 skill enough to defend Germany against the barbarians. 
 Tliough victorious in his first battle with them, he was 
 forced to make a truce for nine years, and pay them a 
 tribute in gold. This time lie spent in training his peo- 
 ple in arms. He instituted games that are said to have 
 been the beginning of the tournament. All men of 
 lower rank were to be trained in arms from their thir- 
 teenth year, and were commanded to meet near the vil- 
 lages every three days to drill. Seeing the need of walled 
 cities, he ordained that every ninth man of the district 
 should be stationed in the nearest "burg," or fortress, 
 while the others were to keep his fields in cultivation. 
 This was the origin of the burghers of Germany. 
 
"He built also storehouses in the fortresses in which 
 one-third of all the crops were to be deposited, and he 
 required that their assemblies and markets, their public 
 festivals and marriages, should be held within the 
 walls." 
 
 When his country was well prepared for a war Henry 
 defied the Hungarians and totally defeated them, driving 
 them back into their country. Shortly after their sec- 
 ond defeat by Henry's successor, they embraced Chris- 
 tianity, and under Stephen the Pius (1,000) advanced 
 in the arts of peace. The military province established 
 by the Germans between their country and Germany was 
 at first called Oster (East) March, a name since changed 
 to Austria. — Adapted from Duruy, Miss Yonge, and Barnes. 
 
 Otto the Great, the son of Henry, was crowned king 
 at Aix-la-Chapelle a short time before his father's death. 
 " The dakes, princes, and all the great noblemen of the 
 country assembled in the ' Hall of Columns,' where stood 
 tlie throne of Charlemagne, and proclaimed him king. 
 After his election the archbishop of Mainz presented him 
 to the people assembled in the church, with these words: 
 'This is he who has been chosen by God, designated by 
 our late lord and king, Henry, and who has been raised 
 to the throne by all the princes, the noble Lord Otto. If 
 the choice pleases you, raise your right hands.' The 
 people all raised their hands. It was a last remnant of 
 the old custom of election by the whole tribe, and not 
 by the chiefs alone." — Duruy. Then he was led to 
 the altar, where he was given the sword to chastise the 
 enemies of Christ, the mantle of peace, the scepter of 
 power, and after being annointed with oil, received the 
 
88 
 
 golden crown of Karl the Great. A great feast followed, 
 and all the dukes served him according to their offices, 
 though many of them, including his own brothers, soon 
 rebelled against him. He proved so brave, wise, and for- 
 giving that he forced them all to submission, and, like 
 his father, was strong enough to hold the German tribes 
 together as one nation. He waged war against the Bo- 
 hemians, Poles, and Danes, and, following the policy of 
 Charlemagne, attempted to make them at once Chris- 
 tians, and subjects of his empire. Wishing to re-estab- 
 lish the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne, Otto 
 crossed the Alps at the head of an army, and without 
 much opposition received at Milan the crown of the 
 Lombards, and at Rome that of the Caesars. Henceforth 
 the kings of Germany claimed to be the kings of Lom- 
 bardy and Roman emperors, and felt it the greatest honor 
 to be head of Christendom and guardian of the faith of 
 the Catholic Church. In protecting their Italian inter- 
 ests the emperors wasted German blood and treasure that 
 should have been devoted to Germany. They were Of ten 
 absent for years, and meanwhile the dukes and counts 
 became almost sovereign princes. From this it may 
 easily be understood that Germany remained a group of 
 almost independent states until 1871 (see Modern His- 
 tory), instead of growing into a united nation like other 
 European peoples. — Adapted. 
 
 The controversy which arose between the Pope and 
 the German emperors resulted during the Crusades in 
 the triumph of the papacy. (See story of "Frederick 
 Barbarossa," Third Crusade.) 
 
89 
 THE CRUSADES. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE WORLD BEFORE THE FIRST CRUSADE. 
 
 "Within this world of the Middle Ages, there were 
 two entirely distinct worlds — that of the Gospel and that 
 of the Koran. They had already come sometimes into 
 collision; but, finding that they were nearly equal in 
 strength, they had been content with tacitly dividing 
 tlje known world between them. The Koran ruled from 
 the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Ganges; the Gospels 
 ruled the whole of Europe, with the exception of Spain. 
 Only the two outer edges of these two worlds had come 
 into contact with each other in the frontier wars, but 
 the time had now come when they were to be involved 
 in a general war." — Duruy. 
 
 Throughout Christendom the German spirit pre- 
 vailed. A system of society essentially German in char- 
 acter had rescued Europe from chaos and anarchy, and 
 was now attaining its complete development. That 
 system was feudalism. "Feudal castles, defended by 
 rampart and moat, crowned every height, and feudal 
 knights, wearing chain mail, bestriding mettled steeds, 
 and attended by mounted spearmen, rode about, impos- 
 ing awe alike on priests and crowned kings, on peasants 
 occupied with tillage and burghsrs engaged in trade." — 
 Edgar. 
 
 We have said all of Europe was thus ruled, but we 
 have lost sight of that remote corner of Christendom — 
 the remains of the Empire of the East, which dragged 
 out a barren and insignificant existence, like an island 
 •surrounded by the floods of invasion. "The separation 
 
90 
 
 between the Empire of the East and the German peoples 
 had become even wider, since it had become a rehgious 
 separation also." The Greek church was the original 
 Christian church, and was the source and background 
 of the Western. Christianity arose in the East, and 
 Greek was the language of the Scriptures and the early 
 services of the church. When the old Roman empire 
 fell in two, the Greek Church became separate in govern- 
 ment, interest, and ideas from the Western. The Greek 
 Church is ruled by bishops and does not acknowledge 
 the supremacy of the Pope. A disputed point in the 
 creed and some differences in observances, such as the 
 use of leavened instead of unleavened bread, and the 
 marriage of the priests, led to a complete separation of 
 the churches in 1054. — Adapted from Britannica and 
 Duruij's "Middle Ages." 
 
 Though separated from the rest of Christendom, the 
 Empire of the East had repelled repeated attacks of the 
 Russians and Bulgarians from the north until the former 
 wished a peaceful alliance. After the marriage of their 
 chief with the daughter of the emperor (980 A. D.), 
 peace reigned between the two peoples, and Christianity 
 became introduced into Russia. The principal Greek 
 churches of to-day are those of Russia and Greece. 
 
 As before related, the Greeks lost all their territory in 
 Asia Minor in the first great attack of the Arabs, in the 
 seventh century. In the tenth century, however, the 
 Greek army not only regained Cilicia and S3Tia, but 
 went still farther, crossing the Euphrates and striking 
 terror into the heart of Bagdad. — Adapted from Duruy. 
 
 Invasion by Turks. — The Arabian empire was now in a 
 
91 
 
 decline, and a new and formidable enemy was about to 
 appear. The Turks, who have been introduced before, 
 as the body-guard of the Caliph of Bagdad, now came in 
 hordes across the Oxus. ''Their flocks and herds were 
 their only riches ; their tents, either black or white, were 
 covered with felt and of a circular form ; their winter 
 apparel was sheep-skin; a robe of cotton, their summer 
 garment; the features of the men were harsh and fero- 
 cious; the countenance of the women soft and pleasing. 
 Their wandering life maintained the free exercise of 
 arms ; they fought on horseback. " ' ' The Turkish slaves, 
 who aspired to the throne of Bagdad, encouraged these 
 emigrations, which recruited their armies, awed their 
 subjects and rivals, and protected the frontier of the 
 Arabian Empire," as the Goths did that of the Romans. 
 Their numbers may well be understood by the following 
 story: The sultan had inquired of a chief what supply 
 of men he could furnish for military service. "If you 
 send," replied the chief, "one of these arrows into our 
 camp, fifty thousand -of your servants will mount on 
 horseback." "And if that number," continued the sul- 
 tan, "should not be sufficient?" "Send this second 
 arrow to the horde of Balik, and you will find fifty thou- 
 sand more." "But," said the sultan, dissembling his 
 anxiety, " if I should stand in need of the whole force 
 of your kindred tribes?" "Dispatch my bow," was 
 the last reply of Ismael, "and as it is circulated around, 
 the summons will be obeyed by two hundred thousand 
 horse." The apprehension of such formidable friend- 
 ship led the sultan to transport the most obnoxious tribes 
 where they would be separated from their brethren by 
 
92 
 
 the river Oxus and enclosed on all sides by obedient 
 cities. 
 
 As the Arab power declined, these barbarous tribes 
 overran Persia, and gradually adopted the dress, lan- 
 guage, and refinement of the Persians. The most deserv- 
 ing of the Arabians and Persians were promoted to the 
 honors of the state ; and the whole body of the Turkish 
 nation embraced, with fervor and sincerity, the religion 
 of Mahomet. In 1071 the victorious Turks conquered 
 Armenia and captured the Greek Emperor, Romanus 
 Diogenes. Their dominion soon extended from the bor- 
 ders of China to the Bosporus and Mediterranean. 
 
 Jerusalem was taken about 1076, and the Arabian gov- 
 ernors retired into Egypt. — Adapted from Gibbon. 
 
 Pilgrimages to Jerusalem. — "Under Constantine I, 
 in the fourth century A. D., Christianity arose from the 
 cross to wear the crown of the w^orld. Temples and 
 churches covered the holy places of Jerusalem, Bethle- 
 hem, and Nazareth." "A pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or 
 other hallowed spots, became the most popular of pen- 
 ances. In the general belief, to atone for the greatest 
 sin, one had only to bathe in the Jordan or spend a night 
 on Calvary. 
 
 " The pilgrims increased in number, and at last St. 
 Helena, mother of Constantine, at the age of seventy- 
 eight, visited the holy places and discovered what was 
 supposed to be the wood of the true cross." " She ren- 
 dered her visit memorable by founding the Church of the 
 Nativity at Bethlehem, and Constantine, influenced by 
 his mother's example, built a magnificent church on the 
 
93 
 
 site of the Holy Sepulcher." — Edgar and Zigzag Jour- 
 ney. 
 
 "No sooner liad the war-like Germans and Northmen 
 been converted from the worship of Thor and Odin to a 
 knowledge of the truth, than they became eager to visit 
 those places where their Redeemer had taught and suf- 
 fered, made the blind to see and the lame to walk, restored 
 life to the dead, and given hope to the living. The roads 
 to Zion were crowded with pilgrims eager to worship at 
 the Sepulcher; Jerusalem became the seat of a patriarch; 
 new and splendid churches were erected ; monasteries 
 sprung up on the banks of rivers and on the sides of 
 mountains ; and thousands of Europeans remained in 
 Palestine to devote their lives to works of beneficence 
 and charity. 
 
 Conquest by Persians. — '' But evil days were at hand. 
 At the beginning of the seventh century the Persians, 
 who had long been formidable foes of the Eastern Em- 
 pire, penetrated to Palestine, took the Holy City by 
 storm and destroyed the church of the Holy Sepulcher. 
 After shedding much blood and doing much mischief, 
 they withdrew, carrying with them the true cross, the 
 patriarch, and many of the principal inhabitants. After 
 ten years of mourning and woe, however, the scene 
 changed, and the Greek Emperor, Heraclius, triumphing 
 over his pagan foes, brought back the surviving cap- 
 tives. Deeming the true cross by far the most glorious 
 of his trophies, the Emperor entered the city walking 
 barefoot, and carrying the sacred relic on his shoulders." 
 
 The sacred edifices were now repaired and everything 
 seemed prosperous, the Christians congratulating them- 
 
94 
 
 selves that their troubles were at an end. But at this 
 period, as we already know, a new race of conquerors 
 arose to influence the world. 
 
 Conquest by Arabs. — In 036 the Caliph Omar entered 
 Jerusalem on his rough-haired camel, and the city was 
 now under Mohammedan rule. The presence of the Mos- 
 lem rulers in Syria and Palestine did not prevent pil- 
 grimages to the Holy Sepulcher. " Haroun-al-Raschid, 
 the most famous of the caliphs at Bagdad, prompted by 
 respect for the name of Charlemagne, regarded them with 
 favor, and treated them with kindness. All pilgrims to 
 the city, without danger, found entertainment in a hos- 
 pital, surrounded by gardens and vineyards, and many 
 found a resting place in a cemetery, shaded wdth trees, 
 near the fountain of Shiloh." About the middle of the 
 tenth century the caliphs of Cairo obtained possession of 
 Syria. They, feeling anxious to enrich their dominions, 
 encouraged pilgrimages for the sake of the gold and sil- 
 ver received in exchange for relics and consecrated 
 trinkets. " During the first five decades of the eleventh 
 century, saints and sinners flocked from the west to Jeru- 
 salem. A belief prevailed in Europe that the ' second 
 coming of Christ ' w^as at hand. People of all ranks, in 
 hopes of atoning for their sins, rushed to the east. The 
 caliphs, glad to replenish their treasury, demanded a 
 piece of gold from every one who entered the gates of 
 Jerusalem, and, as most of the Christians left home with 
 nothing but their script and staff, the exaction of this 
 tribute proved most cruel." But these trials were slight 
 compared with the persecutions which were yet to be 
 visited upon them, 
 
95 
 
 Conquest by Turks. — ''Entering where Roman, and 
 Persian, and Arabian had come before them, the Turks 
 slaughtered and devastated without the slightest distinc- 
 tion. Mosques and churches were given up to pillage, 
 and the blood of Christian and Egyptain flowed in the 
 same stream. 
 
 "With ferocious foes in Jerusalem and ferocious foes 
 in Asia Minor, Christians in the East found their plight 
 deplorable. When Peter the Hermit turned his thoughts 
 toward Palestine, matters had come to the worst. Chris- 
 tians were beaten with rods, loaded with chains, sold as 
 slaves, and harnessed like oxen. Never had they felt 
 so much misery, never had they entertained so little 
 hope, as when Peter the Hermit took the cross at Amiens, 
 France, and turned his steps eastward to worship at the 
 Holy Sepulcher." — Compiled from Edgar. 
 
 THE FIRST CRUSADE. 
 
 Peter the Hermit. — "One day in the year 1094, when 
 the Conquest of England by the Normans had inspired 
 feudal warriors with a desire for adventurous exj^edi- 
 tions, a little man, mounted on a mule, might have been 
 observed to ascend the heights of Emmaus, and come in 
 sight of Jerusalem. The appearance of the rider was 
 most eccentric; indeed the woolen mantle gathered 
 round his person, the thick cord that girded his waist, 
 the monk's hood thrown over his head, and the sandals 
 on his feet, formed a costume so grotesque as to attract 
 notice wherever he appeared. But the rider, Peter the 
 Hermit, was probably in no mood to notice criticism; 
 
96 
 
 for liis soul must have glowed with ardor as he ambled 
 onwards to the Holy City. 
 
 "Jerusalem could no longer have been described the 
 most glorious city of the East. Formed of mosques, 
 and churches, and square houses, surmounted by flat 
 terraces, situated on four hills, encircled by a strong- 
 wall which undulated with the uneven ground, and sur- 
 rounded by sterile plains and barren mountains, where 
 a few thorns and olives struggled into growth, and where 
 a solitary palm-tree, here and there, stood erect, the city 
 presented an aspect suggestive of mournful reflections. 
 The fervor of the Hermit was aroused to the highest 
 pitch when he gazed with entranced eye on Zion and 
 Olivet, and on Moriah, where the site of the Temple was 
 occupied by Omar's mosque, and on Calvary, where the 
 Church of the Resurrection stood as a monument of 
 Constantine's piety. " — Edgar. 
 
 Taking up his abode under the roof of a Latin Chris- 
 tian, he heard recited the woes endured by the Christians 
 until his blood boiled. He occupied himself with med- 
 itating schemes for their relief. At length, one day, 
 when prostrated before the Holy Sepulcher, a celestial 
 voice seemed to call to him: "Arise, Peter; go forth to 
 proclaim the tribulations of my people, for the time has 
 come when they must be protected and this Holy Sepul- 
 cher wrested from the hands of the infidel." Filled with 
 enthusiastic faith by these words, Peter believed himself 
 to be the chosen deliverer of Jerusalem, and immediately 
 repaired to the house of the patriarch. Simeon, who now 
 held that office, was a man advanced in life, with white 
 hair and venerable figure. But neither his age nor sa- 
 
97 
 
 cred office had protected him from insults and injuries. 
 In a voice devoid of hope, the patriarch recited the suf- 
 ferings of his people, and bewailed the fate of the holy 
 city. '* But is there no remedy? " cried Peter. " Must 
 these calamities continue without redress? " Slowly and 
 sadly the patriarch responded: "These sufferings are 
 plainly the visitation of a most wise God upon a sinful 
 people, and there is no earthly help." "0, let me but 
 rouse the Christian warriors of the West, and Jerusalem 
 may yet be free," exclaimed the excited Peter "If 
 they but knew of your miseries they would come to your 
 aid. Write then to the pope and to the Latin Christians 
 and affix your seal to the epistle. I will do penance for 
 my sins by traveling through the West to raise an army 
 for your cause." 
 
 Gathering hope from these stirring words of Peter, the 
 patriarch shed tears of joy, and immediately prepared 
 the letters, imploring aid from the pope and the Western 
 Christians. Without delay Peter set out on his mission, 
 which was to influence the destinies of Europe and Asia 
 for centuries to come. 
 
 Arriving at Rome, Peter gained an audience with Pope 
 Urban the Second. The pope listened to his appeal 
 with favor, and, regarding him as a prophet, commis- 
 sioned him to arouse tlie warriors of Europe 
 
 Preaching: the First Crusade.— Never did enthusiast 
 meet greater success in convincing his hearers. Crossing 
 the Alps into France, he electrified city, town, castle, 
 and hamlet with his eloquence. He recited the pitiful 
 tale of the patriarch; how the devout believers were 
 Med. His.— 7 
 
98 
 
 spurned and insulted at the very tomb of Christ, and 
 whenever it pleased the bloody-minded followers of 
 the prophet, they were thrown into prison, beaten, and 
 even put to death. Would not the Princes of the West 
 go to their rescue and deliver the Holy Sepulcher out of 
 the hands of the savage Turk? Wherever Peter the 
 Hermit preached — in the churches, at the market places, 
 or under a tree by the wayside, the people revered him 
 as a saint, and crowded around him, deeming themselves 
 happy to touch the hem of his garment or pluck a hair 
 from the mane of his mule. His fame even crossed the 
 channel, and Saxon and Norman alike were fired with 
 zeal. 
 
 While Peter was arousing Christendom to arm for the 
 recovery of the Holy Sepulcher, the pope received let- 
 ters from Alexis, the Greek emperor, imploring his as- 
 sistance, and that of the Western Princes. He pointed 
 out the dangers which would befall Christianity if Con- 
 stantinople were captured by the Turk, and offered boun- 
 tiful rewards for the services rendered. From this aj)- 
 peal it was evident that the Greeks no longer possessed 
 courage and strength enough to fight their own battles. 
 
 Council at Clermont. — The pope now convoked a coun- 
 cil at Clermont, in France, which was attended by three 
 hundred bishops and a multitude of princes and nobles 
 of the West. Though it was winter time, the pope crossed 
 the Alps to preside and found Clermont a vast camp. 
 The city itself was crowded with princes,, prelates, and 
 ambassadors ; the neighboring towns and villages were 
 filled to overflowing, and in spite of the severity of the 
 
99 
 
 weather, thousands were encamped in pavilions and tents 
 in the meadows and fields. 
 
 Pope Urban, accompanied by Peter the Hermit, and 
 attended by cardinals, ascended a throne and related the 
 miseries of the faithful at Jerusalem and the desecration 
 of the holy places. " Christian warriors," said Urban, 
 addressing the assembled multitude, " rejoice, for you, 
 who without ceasing seek vain pretexts for war, have to- 
 day found true ones. You are not now called to avenge the 
 injuries of men, but injuries offered to God ; and it is not 
 now a town or a castle that will reward your valor, but 
 the wealth of Asia, and a land flowing with milk and 
 honey. If you triumph over your foes, the kingdoms of 
 the East will be your heritage. If you are conquered, 
 you will have the glory of dying where Christ died. This 
 is the time to prove that you are animated by a true 
 courage, and to expiate so many violences committed in 
 the bosom of peace. When Christ summons you to His 
 defense, let no base affections detain you at home — listen 
 to nothing but the groans of Jerusalem, and remember 
 that the Lord hath said : ' He that will not take up the 
 cross and follow me is unworthy of me.' " 
 
 At first the multitude listened in solemn silence to the 
 words of the pope, then broke forth into sobs as he pic- 
 tured the cruelties practiced at Jerusalem. 
 
 "Will you not drive out the handmaid and her children, ' ' 
 continued the pope, ''lest they increase in power and 
 Eu-rope be threatened by these enemies of Christ? Gird 
 your swords to your thighs, ye men of might; it is our 
 part to pray, and it is yours to fight — ours, with Moses, 
 
100 
 
 to hold up unwearied hands ; yours to stretch forth the 
 sword against the children of Amelek." 
 
 "God wills it ! " shouted with one accord the enthusi- 
 astic multitude, as they surged ahout the speaker with 
 excited faces and uplifted swords. 
 
 "God indeed wills it," responded the pope. "Go 
 forth, bravo warriors of the cross ; and let * God wills it ' 
 be your watchword and battle cry in the holy war." 
 
 A loud cry of " God wills it ! " again broke from the 
 tumultuous crowd ; but, at a gesture from the pope, 
 silence fell upon the great assembly and stern warriors 
 bent their knees, as the cardinal pronounced a form of 
 confession for those wlio would enlist in the holy enter- 
 prise. 
 
 Thereupon a noted bishop stepped forward to receive 
 the sacred badge of the cross and take the oath of loyalty 
 to Christ. Following his example, knights and barons 
 now crowded around the pope, that they might receive 
 the red cross and enter the way of God. All who took 
 the oath stitched the red cross upon the right shoulder 
 of the mantle and became soldiers of the cross — or Cru- 
 saders. Entire remission of sins was granted to all 
 taking part in the holy war, which was called tlie Cru- 
 sade. 
 
 The council was then dissolved, the pope continuing 
 his preaching throughout France, the knights repairing 
 to their castles to prepare for the expedition, which all 
 agreed should take place the following spring. Already 
 France resounded with the din of preparation. From 
 Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, men of all classes 
 
101 
 
 assumed the cross and could scarcely be restrained from 
 setting out in mid-winter. — Adapted from Edgar. 
 
 Mustering of the Crusaders. — The nobles mortgaged 
 their estates and with the money thus raised equipped 
 armies for the Holy War. Among the foremost of these 
 was Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, a prince re- 
 jiowned for piety, learning, and courage. It was in his 
 father's house that Peter the Hermit had lived as a re- 
 tainer before he became a monk. No prince in Europe 
 had a more enviable position than Godfrey. A lord of 
 many castles, of vast fortune, and of spotless reputation, 
 yet all these advantages failed to secure happiness. 
 Memory was constantly recalling scenes in which he 
 had taken a prominent part which no longer met the 
 approval of his conscience. In his early life he had 
 fought under the banjier of Henry IV, King of Ger- 
 many, against the pope. During the siege of Rome it 
 was Godfrey who, first of the imperial captains, broke over 
 the ramparts and opened the gates of the city. Filled with 
 remorse as he reflected on this sinful revolt against the 
 head of the Church, he now eagerly assumed the cross, 
 hoping to atone for the sins of his rash youth by giving 
 his life, if need be, in recovering the Holy Land from 
 the infidels. 
 
 He proceeded to sell or mortgage his castles and 
 estates; he transferred his cities and principalities, gave 
 up his duchy, that he might deprive himself of every 
 temptation to return. With the money obtained, he 
 arrayed a magnificent army of ten thousand knights, the 
 flower of European chivalry, while a force of eighty 
 thousand foot made up the body of his army. His prin- 
 
102 
 
 cipal officers were his two brothers, Eustace and Bald- 
 win, his kinsman, Baldwin du Bourg, with many knights 
 and nobles of less distinction. 
 
 While Godfrey was assembling his forces by the Meuse 
 and Moselle, the warriors in the south of France were 
 rallied to the cross by Raymond, Count of Toulouse. 
 Though an aged soldier with whitened locks, his ardor 
 was not diminished, and he aroused hin:isclf to take part 
 in the enterprise. "In my youth," he said, "I fought 
 the Saracens in Spain, and, in my old age, I will go and 
 fight them in Asia." The Bishop of Puy, who was 
 first to assume the cross at the council of Clermont, ac- 
 companied Raymond of Toulouse, and a hundred thou- 
 sand men of Gascony and Provence flocked to the old 
 count's standard. 
 
 Meanwhile Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the King 
 of France; Robert of Flanders; Stephen, Count of Blois; 
 and Robert, Count of Paris, also rallied their knights 
 and retainers and made ready for the march into Asia. 
 All Normandy was kindled by the crusading fervor. 
 
 The court of Rouen furnished two gallant leaders. 
 These were Robert Short Hose, son of William the Con- 
 queror, and Edgar Atheling, heir of the Saxon line in 
 England. 
 
 Robert Short Hose possessed all the elements of a gen- 
 uine crusader — brave, rash, fanatical, so improvident 
 that he was often reduced to a state of ridiculous poverty. 
 Indeed, the chronicler states that he was frequently pre- 
 vented from leaving his bed and attending mass for want 
 of decent clothes. Excluded from the English throne 
 by his younger brother, William Ruf us, the situation of 
 
103 
 
 Curthose was not enviable. The prospect of escaping 
 from his creditors was too tempting to be resisted. Will- 
 iam Rufus, rejoicing to hear of his brother's intention of 
 leaving Europe, readily furnished the sum of ten thou- 
 sand marks, and Curthose gave a mortgage over Nor- 
 mandy for five years. When he set up his white banner 
 embroidered with gold, multitudes came to join a leader 
 so generous and brave. 
 
 Different Routes. — The pilgrim princes appointed Con- 
 stantinople as a rendezvous, and agreed to set out at 
 different dates and to pursue different routes. The coun- 
 tries through which they were to pass were already half 
 exhausted by the ravages and excesses of the vanguard 
 of the Crusade, led by Walter the Penniless and Peter 
 the Hermit, and that rabble which recognized the lead- 
 ership of a goat and a goose. (See accounts in Rid- 
 path's, Edgar's, Duruy's, and Barnes's histories.) They 
 therefore commenced their expedition eastward, all 
 grandly arrayed. Godfrey's armies passed through Ger- 
 many and Hungary. The men of Southern France, led 
 by Robert of Toulouse, crossed the Alps and passed 
 through Dalmatia and Thrace. Robert Short Hose and 
 the Count of Blois,of Flanders, and of Vermandois, went 
 to join the Normans of Italy, who were led by Bohe- 
 mond, Prince of Tarentum, and his nephew, Tancred, 
 who, next to Godfrey, was the most perfect knight of the 
 times. These together crossed the Adriatic and passed 
 through Greece and Macedonia. 
 
 Every warrior wore a casque and hauberk of chain 
 mail. .The infantry carried long shields, the cavalry 
 round bucklers for their defense, and a goodly supply of 
 
104 
 
 swords, lances, poniards, axes, maces, bows, slings, and 
 cross-bows, with which to pursue the work of carnage 
 and destruction. Knights and nobles, grooms and 
 squires were equally unaware of the obstacles to be en- 
 countered. Many of the warriors took with them their 
 wives and children, and rode along with bugles at their 
 girdles, hawks on their wrists, and hounds running by 
 their side. They seem to have considered the Crusade 
 as a sort of pleasant excursion, and to have anticipated 
 reaching the Holy City, if not without fighting battles, 
 at least without storming fortresses. (Tennyson's " Bu- 
 gleSong.") 
 
 The rabble vanguard of the soldiers of the cross had 
 not left a favorable impression upon the Greeks at Con- 
 stantinople. We can imagine with what dismay the 
 Emperor Alexis heard the news, that vast armies com- 
 posed of the bravest warriors of France were marching 
 toward his capital on their way to encounter the Sara- 
 cens. 
 
 He began to repent of having implored their aid, for 
 now they seemed as formidable as the Turk. He knew 
 only too well the corruption of his own heart, the inse- 
 curity of his throne, and (he cuj)idity of his enemies. If 
 those bold Northmen should attempt to seize his domin- 
 ions he realized that his army of mercenaries was no 
 match for the mail -clad warriors of Godfrey and Ray- 
 mond. He therefore resolved to depend upon artful 
 craft. 
 
 While Alexis was forming his plans, it happened that 
 Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the king of France, 
 was shipwrecked on the shore of Epirus. Alexis, per- 
 
105 
 
 ceiving his opportunity, ordered Count Hugh to be seized 
 and brought to Constantinople as a hostage for the good 
 conduct of his comrades, the Crusaders. Godfrey of 
 Bouillon, having learned of this act of treachery on his 
 arrival in Thrace, dispatched messengers to demand the 
 count's freedom. An unsatisfactory answer was returned 
 by the emperor, and soon a crowd of flying Greeks 
 brought word into the capital that the Crusaders were 
 ravaging the country and treating the Greeks as enemies. 
 In alarm Alexis sent to promise satisfaction, and God- 
 frey bade his warriors refrain from further injury to the 
 Greeks. But the army of the Crusaders had no sooner 
 reached the gates of the city, when Alexis closed the gates 
 and conceived the idea of starving them into submis- 
 sion. The result which might have been expected fol- 
 lowed. The Crusaders burst into the suburbs of the 
 city, plundered palaces and villages, captured store- 
 houses, and helped themselves bountifully to whatever 
 good things the fruitful East had heaped up in her lap. 
 Alexis, soon perceiving that he had adopted the wrong 
 policy, sent a messenger to Godfrey, promising to supply 
 the army out of stores of the city; then, with some reluc- 
 tance, the Crusaders refrained from pillaging. Notwith- 
 standing the outward show of friendship that now ex- 
 isted between the two races, quarrels were of frequent 
 occurrence. The Greeks regarded the Franks as barbar- 
 ians, the Franks taunted the Greeks with being unable 
 to fight their own battles. 
 
 Crusaders at Constantinople. — The emperor within the 
 walls was kept in continual alarm by the threatening 
 aspect of the crusading host. He now set his heart on 
 
106 
 
 a new scheme, which he hoped would avert the mischief. 
 He determined to demand homage of these Western 
 princes encamped outside of his gates, so that they 
 would be compelled to fight for his interests. Such 
 oaths of fealty, if once given, could not be honorably or 
 even decently violated. Having secured such an oath 
 from Hugh, who was still a prisoner, he was confident 
 of success with the other princes. It was only by send- 
 ing his son to the Crusaders' camp as hostage that he 
 gained the consent of Godfrey, Robert Short Hose, and 
 the counts of Flanders and Blois (Bohemond and Tancred 
 had not yet arrived). Raymond of Toulouse scornfully 
 refused, saying, "I have not come to the East to seek a 
 master." 
 
 Wishing to impress the Crusaders with the majesty of 
 his court, at a day appointed, he received the princes in 
 his imperial palace. He hoped by superficial magnifi- 
 cence to conceal the real weakness of his empire, and did 
 not perceive that those who bent the knee before his 
 throne had a perfect contempt for his power. While the 
 emperor was presenting the Crusaders with rich gifts, a 
 slight incident awoke him from his delusive dream. 
 
 Count Robert of Paris, feeling such disdain for the 
 mummery that was enacting, could not refrain from 
 showing his contempt. Just when the ceremonies were 
 intended to be most impressive, this stalwart son of the 
 ancient sea-kings strode boldly forward to the throne 
 and sat down beside the emperor. At this the Greeks 
 were horrified, and the Crusaders laughed. Some of the 
 more prudent Franks remonstrated, one of them saying, 
 as he pulled Count Robert by the arm, " When you are 
 
107 
 
 ill a foreign country, you should observe its customs." 
 ''Truly," exclaimed Robert, glancing mockingly toward 
 Alexis, "but this is a pleasant clown, who is seated, 
 while so many noble captains are standing." The em- 
 peror was obliged to overlook the insult, and when the 
 ceremony was over he attempted to engage the stubborn 
 Crusader in pleasant conversation. " What is your birth 
 and which is your country?" said he, with a mild ac- 
 cent, to the surly Robert. " I am a Frenchman," said 
 the Frank, "and of the highest rank of nobles. And 
 one thing I know, that in my country there is a place 
 near a church where those repair who are eager to attest 
 their valor. I have often been there myself, and no one 
 has ventured to present himself before me." The hint 
 of a challenge was lost on the mild mannered Alexis, who 
 had as little notion of hazarding his person as of resign- 
 ing his throne. 
 
 Soon after this event Bohemond and Tancred, with 
 thirty thousand men, joined the Crusaders. Bohemond, 
 a native of Italy, but Norman to the backbone, was 
 brave, accomplished, but utterly unscrupulous. He 
 fought with courage, spoke with eloquence, but without 
 regard either to conscience or God. Tarentum was far 
 too small a place for so ambitious a spirit, and it was 
 with enthusiasm that he joined the Franks at Constanti- 
 nople. He recommended to Godfrey the seizure of the 
 Empire of the East, but Godfrey reminded him that they 
 were soldiers of the cross going to deliver Jerusalem, 
 and that their duty as Christians was not to attack the 
 Greeks but to vanquish the pagans. It was with the 
 iireatest dread that Alexis heard of the arrival of Bohe- 
 
108 
 
 mond^ but by cunning and bribery he succeeded in win- 
 ning from him also a promise of homage. 
 
 Tlie entire year of 1096 was consumed in the gather- 
 ing together of the armies before the walls of Constanti- 
 nople. At length, in May of '97, to the extreme satis- 
 faction of Alexis, the crusading army of a hundred 
 thousand mounted knights and five hundred thousand 
 footmen crossed into Asia Minor. "At the head rode 
 the austere Godfrey, the white-haired Raymond of Tou- 
 louse, and Peter the Hermit, mounted on a mule. Priest, 
 matron and maid still journeyed by the side of young 
 warriors, who carried white hawks on their wrists and 
 whistled to hounds." 
 
 Sieg'e of Nice. — Soon they reached the city of Nice in 
 Bithynia. The sultan had placed his wife, his children, 
 and his treasures within the walls, confident in the strong 
 fortifications, while he encamped with the Turkish army 
 on the neighboring mountains. Here lay a powerful 
 city, surrounded by strong walls, protected by hundreds 
 of towers ; a ditch broad and deep enclosed the fortifica- 
 tions, and a lake washed its foundations, and communi- 
 cated with the sea. 
 
 The Crusaders commenced the siege with zeal and 
 courage, flinging themselves against the walls of the city 
 in an impetuous assault. Seeing that they were not suc- 
 cessful, the sultan and his army charged down from the 
 mountain sides. Such was the fury of the attack, that 
 the soldiers under Raymond of Toulouse, who were sta- 
 tioned so as to bear the brunt of the battle, were thrown 
 into some disorder, but were quickly rallied by their 
 brave leader. Robert Short Hose and Robert of Fland- 
 
100 
 
 ers, hastening to the rescue, soon compelled the sultan 
 to sound his bugles for retreat. Now the Crusaders com- 
 menced a systematic siege of the city. A Lombard en- 
 gineer skillfully constructed the war machines, necessary 
 in the Middle Ages in conducting the siege of fortified 
 cities. With the aid of these, they battered the ramparts, 
 hurled masses of stone and blocks of wood with a crash 
 into the city, fought the besieged in a hand-to-hand fight 
 from the summits of high towers wheeled up to the ram- 
 parts. 
 
 Meanwhile the Saracens were likewise defiantly hurl- 
 ing darts, stones, blocks of wood, and boiling tar upon 
 the heads of their assailants. One gigantic Saracen was 
 conspicuous during the siege, hurling darts, arrows and 
 stones with unerring aim. He grew so bold as to stand 
 upright on the walls and challenge the Crusaders. Hun- 
 dreds of arrows were immediately directed toward him, 
 but without avail, for he seemed to bear a charmed life. 
 At length Godfrey of Bouillon seized a cross-bow, took 
 aim, and the next moment the boastful Saracen fell, 
 pierced through the heart. 
 
 After the siege had been carried on for several weeks, 
 it became evident that the city could never be taken, 
 while the besieged received supplies across the lake. 
 Accordingly, in the dead of night, the Crusaders suc- 
 ceeded in launching their boats on the lake and captured 
 the wife and children of the sultan as they were attempt- 
 ing to escape. The next morning the besieged, with 
 dismay, discovered that their foes had captured the 
 lake, and that the family of the sultan had been taken 
 prisoners. 
 
110 
 
 Now the Crusaders expected an easy conquest, but the 
 crafty Alexis had planned otherwise. Pretending to ac- 
 company the Crusaders as an ally, he had adroitly dis- 
 patched messengers to the Saracens persuading them that 
 it would be greatly to their advantage to surrender to 
 him, rather than to place themselves at the mercy of the 
 Franks. Just as they were preparing a final assault, 
 what was their astonishment to see the standard of the 
 Greek emperor displayed from turret and tower. Morti- 
 fied and angered at this double dealing, they could only 
 smother their wrath as Alexis attempted to pacify them 
 by praising their valor and distributing valuable gifts. 
 As soon as possible they took up their march toward Je- 
 rusalem, feeling the greatest hatred and contempt for the 
 monarch to whom they had paid homage. 
 
 Journey Continued. — Tlie army marched in two divis- 
 ions that they might better procure provisions in the 
 country through which they passed. The larger of these 
 was headed by Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Tou- 
 louse, and the Counts of Vermandois and Flanders. The 
 other, composed mostly of Normans, was led by Bohemond 
 of Tarentum, Tancred, and Robert Short Hose. 
 
 Valley of Dogorgan. — The division under Bohemond 
 followed the margin of a river into th lley of Dogor- 
 gan, where they found a tempting p.ace to encamp. 
 Here was a beautiful stream of water, plenty of pasture, 
 and, near by, an abundance of timber. Bohemond 
 called a halt, the heralds, according to custom, shouted 
 three time, "God save the Holy Sepulcher!" the Crusad- 
 ers pitched their tents, tethered their horses, partook of 
 what refreshments they had, and, as darkness over- 
 
Ill 
 
 shadowed the valley, took their needed repose. The 
 night passed away in peace, hut, by break of day, news 
 was brought into the camp by the Greeks that the sultan 
 with a powerful army was right upon them. Springing 
 upon their feet they perceived a cloud of dust in the dis- 
 tance, which announced without doubt the coming of 
 the foe. 
 
 Bohemond with skill and coolness fortified the camp 
 with wagons and palisades, placing the women, children, 
 and wounded in the center and a guard of soldiers around 
 it. The cavalry he sent forward under Tancred and 
 Robert Short Hose to dispute the passage of the river, 
 while he with a few followers mounted some rising 
 ground that he might watch the progress of the battle 
 and issue suitable orders. These preparations were none 
 too soon, for the Moslem host in their white turbans, 
 green vests, and armed with long spears, approached, 
 blowing their horns, beating drums, and filling the air 
 with their fearful yells. At the same time they dis- 
 charged volleys of arrows and darts wpon the Crusaders. 
 These missiles rattled off the linked mail of the knights, 
 doing no injury, but the spirited horses, stung by the 
 javelins and unused to the drums and yells of the Sara- 
 cens, grew restive, plunged and reared until their riders 
 were in danger of being unhorsed. The knights, ren- 
 dered desperate by the showers of arrows and the fierce 
 glare of the sun, plunged into the stream and rushed 
 upon their assailants, thinking to come to a hand-to- 
 hand fight. 
 
 But the Saracens had no such intention. They opened 
 their ranks to the Christian warriors, retreated to a safe 
 
112 
 
 distance, charged again with all the speed of their Arab 
 horses, let fly a shower of arrows, and again sped out of 
 reach. 
 
 The Crusaders were thrown into disorder by this un- 
 usual warfare. Saddle after saddle was emptied, and 
 horses, without riders, running hither and thither, in- 
 creased the confusion. In vain Tancred and Count 
 Robert of Paris threw themselves into the melee. Count 
 Robert fell mortally wounded, after seeing forty of his 
 followers killed. Tancred was about to be overpowered, 
 when Bohemond rushed to the rescue and bore his nephew 
 off to a place of safety. 
 
 Meanwhile, the sultan and a body of choice horsemen 
 descended upon the camp, scattering the guard and bring- 
 ing terror to the hearts of the women and children and 
 priests. Curthose, who had prudently refrained from 
 crossing the river, bore down upon them, sounding his 
 war-cry of " God wills it ! " and followed by a host of 
 knights, he cut down the principal Saracens with his 
 sword. Bohemond, hearing of the peril to the camp, 
 charged to the rescue with such force that the Saracens 
 were soon expelled. 
 
 Notwithstanding the success of this onset and the valor 
 inspired by the courage of Curthose and Bohemond, the 
 prospect was most alarming. The Crusaders, driven 
 back upon the camp, were but a handful compared with 
 the overwhelming numbers of the Saracen host. The 
 remaining warriors, almost prostrated by the intense heat, 
 suffocated by the dust, and parched with thirst, were unfit 
 for further conflict ; the horses, tired, wounded, and 
 bleeding, were too weak to carry their riders. 
 
113 
 
 In despair, the Crusaders gave up all hope of seeing 
 Jerusalem. Bohemond alone tried to keep up their cour- 
 age, with the hope that Godfrey's division would come 
 to their rescue. His words had very little effect; women 
 bewailed their fate, priests implored divine aid, and sol- 
 diers, on their knees, entreated the priests to grant them 
 absolution. 
 
 Suddenly a joyful shout rang through the camp, as the 
 shrill bugles of Godfrey were heard in the distance, and 
 fifty thousand sabers flashed in the sunlight on the summit 
 of the hills behind the camp. The sultan now thought 
 it prudent to retire to the opposite mountains, apparently 
 not anticipating pursuit. In this he was mistaken. As 
 soon as Godfrey arrived he formed his men in line of 
 battle, ready for the assault. Priests passed along the 
 lines, exhorting them to remember the Holy Sepulcher, 
 and bestowing upon all the blessing of the church. When 
 the command of " Forward ! " was given, every man ad- 
 vanced with the cry of " God wills it ! " 
 
 The soldiers of Raymond of Toulouse were the first to 
 meet the foe, and such was the impetuosity of their at- 
 tack that the Saracen line was broken. Meanwhile they 
 found themselves attacked on one flank by Bohemond 
 and Curthose ; on the other by Godfrey and the Count 
 of Flanders. Now all was disorder, and, to complete 
 the rout, the Bishop of Puy, who had charge of the re- 
 serve, appeared from behind a hill and attacked their 
 rear. So surrounded were the Saracens, that they could 
 scarcely hope to escape ; but, moved by desperation, some 
 fought their way out through woods and over rocks. 
 Med. His.— 8 
 
114 
 
 Thousands of turbaned Moslems fell on the mountain 
 sides ; and the sultan, seeing all was lost, fled from the 
 scene of action, though continuing to aflirm that he had 
 won the victory. 
 
 The successful Crusaders now proceeded to the camp 
 of the enemy, where they found a rich booty to reward 
 their valor. Here, indeed, were the treasures of the East: 
 a bountiful supply of provisions; jewels which the enemy, 
 in their haste, had abandoned; camels, with which the 
 Western warriors were wholly unacquainted; and tents, 
 the magnificence of which excited their admiration. 
 
 In triumph they returned to their own camp laden 
 with booty, the priests marching before, singing hymns of 
 praise, the camels and horses which had been their prey 
 bringing up the rear. 
 
 But the joy was not unalloyed, for many were mourn- 
 ing the loss of brothers and kinsmen. As many as four 
 thousand Christians had perished in that morning's 
 struggle. It was the general belief, however, that the 
 souls of those who fell with arms in their hands and the 
 cross on their shoulders were purified from all sin and their 
 names at once enrolled in the army of martyrs. 
 
 The Desert. — The army now moved forward in a body 
 toward Antioch, but soon encountered new difficulties. 
 The sultan, to gratify his desire for revenge, had laid 
 waste the country, so that it was a barren desert, offer- 
 ins no food for men and no fodder for horses. Subsist- 
 ing on roots and stray ears of corn, the utmost distress 
 prevailed. Hawks drooped and died, hounds ran off in 
 search of food, delicate women and robust warriors fell 
 by the way. Finally the scarcity of water was added to 
 
115 
 
 famine. No spring uor stream nor pond could be found 
 to slake their burning thirst. At length, when the 
 whole host seemed about to perish, the hounds came 
 into the camp with wet skins and paws covered with 
 sand. Following their footprints the Crusaders found a 
 river. The pilgrims rushed to it in a mass, and such 
 was their frenzy that they threw themselves into the 
 water and drank to excess, so that hundreds died on the 
 banks and others became too sick to continue the jour- 
 ney. In the midst of this suffering the cry of "On to 
 Jerusalem!" resounded through the camp, and the toil- 
 some march was renewed. About the middle of October 
 the half-starved pilgrims entered a mountain pass, which 
 led them into a region of plenty. On every side were 
 towns and fields, which furnished supplies in abund- 
 ance. The strength of the Crusaders revived and they 
 pressed on to the city of Antioch, which rose to their 
 vision. — Adapted from Edgar. 
 
 Antioch. — "Antioch was known as the 'Queen of the 
 East,' and seemed not unworthy of the name. A beauti- 
 ful situation, a lofty castle, magnificent edifices, and 
 strong walls, fortified by four hundred and sixty towers, 
 gave a dignified and picturesque aspect to the city. On 
 the north rose one mountain covered with houses and 
 gardens; on the south another mountain celebrated for 
 its forests and springs. The suburbs, which boasted of 
 the fountain of Daphne, were fair to look upon; the ram- 
 parts were washed by the river Orontes, which com- 
 municated with a lake abounding in fish, and, at a few 
 miles' distance, flowed into the sea. The city itself 
 could not fail to be of interest to the Crusaders; but bet- 
 
116 
 
 ter than the natural beauty and opulence were the hal- 
 lowed associations of Antioch. Here the followers of 
 Christ had first taken the name of Christians. Here 
 St. Peter was made first bishop of the chureli. Here 
 the early saints and martyrs had performed their mir- 
 acles, and given to the city a sanctity second only to 
 that of Jerusalem. "7— ^df/ar. 
 
 While the main body of the Christian army had been 
 moving toward Antioch, several successes had been ob- 
 tained by the other divisions. Tancred and Baldwin of 
 Bouillon had captured Tarsus. Tancred also seized Al- 
 exandretta, while Baldwin made himself master of Edessa 
 on the Euphrates, and, by marriage with an Armenian 
 princess, obtained possession of the richest provinces of 
 ancient Assyria. The principal cities of Asia Minor had 
 already come under the dominion of the cross, so it was 
 with a most confident spirit that the assembled armies 
 stationed themselves before Antioch. 
 
 Siege of Antioch. — They must first capture the bridge 
 across the rentes. Though it was defended by iron 
 towers, with Curthose leading the van, every obstacle 
 gave way, and the defenders of the bridge were driven 
 within the walls of the city. As they approached the 
 ramparts, strangel}^ enough no foes presented them- 
 selves. Judging from this that it would be an easy task 
 to vanquish an enemy so cowardly, they decided "to 
 eat, drink, and be merry." Then it was that the Chris- 
 tian army brought disgrace upon itself. No town nor 
 village nor orchard was safe from their depredations. 
 The soldiers and many of the bishops abandoned them- 
 selves to pleasure. While off their guard many of their 
 
117 
 
 number were cut off by a sally from the city. The Cru- 
 saders, roused to fury, made a hopeless attack on the 
 walls, for they possessed no scaling ladders nor machines. 
 
 Finding action a necessity, they now set to work in 
 earnest to besiege the city ; but now the consequences of 
 their imprudence came upon them. Although winter 
 was coming on, no supplies had been laid by. Curthose 
 and Bohemond scoured the neighborhood and brought 
 back but little; famine stared them in the face, terrible 
 rainstorms flooded the camp, and gusts of wind destroyed 
 their tents ; their clothing was in rags, and many were 
 prostrated with fever. Such was their despair that some 
 abandoned the camp and started out secretly for home. 
 Among these were Peter the Hermit and Robert Short 
 Hose. Peter was brought back by force, and Curthose 
 returned, when summoned by Godfrey in the name of 
 Christ. 
 
 Ships with supplies having arrived off the coast, the 
 soldiers, almost unarmed, rushed off to purchase provis- 
 ions. When returning they were attacked by the Sara- 
 cens. Godfrey, Curthose, and Tancred came to the res- 
 cue ; but at this point a large body of Saracens sallied 
 out from the gates of the city, followed to the bridge by 
 the Prince of Antioch, who assured them that the gates 
 would only be opened to them as victors. The Moslem 
 warriors soon discovered their own inferiority in a hand- 
 to-hand combat with the Crusaders, and made attempts 
 to regain the city ; but Godfrey had no idea of letting 
 them escape so easily. A sanguinary battle was. then 
 fought, continuing till dark, before the prince would 
 open the gates to admit the fugitives. 
 
118 
 
 After this, the Saracens regarded the Crusaders with 
 awe; but winter passed, and the month of May, 1098, 
 drew to a close without any prospect of a surrender. At 
 last the prospect of seizing the city by strategem was 
 offered . 
 
 One of the chief commanders in the defense of the city 
 was an Armenian renegade, who thought to advance his 
 fortunes by surrendering the cit}-. Making his resolu- 
 tion known to Bohemond of Tarentum, that knight, 
 thinking to advance his own interests, eagerly favored 
 the enterprise. 
 
 At a council of the Christian princes, he offered to 
 have the gates of the city thrown open, hinting that his 
 reward might be the sovereignty of the city. The chiefs 
 at first disdainfully refused to countenance such a cow- 
 ardly project, but news having arrived that the sultans 
 of Nice and Mossoul were marching at the head of four 
 hundred thousand Moslems to the relief of Antioch, 
 caused the princes to put aside their scruples and agree 
 that Bohemond should be prince of Antioch, if he would 
 take possession of the city. During a stormy night, when 
 the noise of the wind and rain deafened the sentinels, 
 Bohemond, followed by the other Crusaders, scaled the 
 walls of Antioch, by means of rope ladders, which were 
 let down to them, and threw themselves on the city, cry- 
 ing, ''God wills it! " 
 
 The Crusaders, reduced to half their original numbers, 
 underwent the same sufferings inside the city that they 
 had to bear outside the walls, for they were besieged by 
 two hundred thousand Turks from Bagdad. Godfrey 
 had his last war horse killed, and despair had settled 
 
119 
 
 down upon them, when a priest announced to the leaders 
 of the army that Saint Andrew had revealed to him in 
 his sleep that the spear which pierced the side of Christ 
 was under the high altar of the church, and that the 
 possession of this would give a victory to the Christians. 
 They dug under the altar, found the spear ; and the Cru- 
 saders, filled with enthusiasm, marched against the Turk- 
 ish army and cut it into pieces. 
 
 Journey Continued. — Instead of starting at once for 
 Jerusalem, they stayed six months longer at Antioch, 
 where great numhers died of the plague. When they 
 finally left the city, of the six hundred thousand who had 
 started, only fifty thousand were left; though it is true 
 that a number of them had settled down in the various 
 cities through which the crusade had passed. Besides, 
 some of them, like the Count of Blois and tlie Count of 
 Vermandois, returned to Europe. The Crusaders followed 
 along the coast of the Mediterranean, in order to keep in 
 communication with the fleets from Genoa and Pisa, 
 which brought them supplies. In addition to this, as 
 they were passing through the rich valleys of the Leb- 
 anon range, they recovered from their suffering and re- 
 gained their strength. The enthusiasm grew as they 
 approached the Holy City and began to traverse places 
 hallowed by the narratives of the Gospels. — Adapted from 
 Edgar. 
 
 First View of JeruStalem. — "On the morning of the 
 29th of May, 1099, they ascended the heights of Emmaus 
 and at dawn came in sight of the Holy City. 
 
 " 'Jerusalem! Jerusalem!' shouted all the pilgrims, as 
 
120 
 
 they uncovered their heads and rushed forward in 
 ecstasy. 
 
 "Lines of walls, groups of massive towers, and a few 
 olive trees rising from the sterile plain were all that met 
 the thousands of arrested eyes; hut the sight was enough. 
 A thrilling and suhlime emotion pervaded the army of 
 Crusaders as they gazed on the city they had so earnestly 
 longed to behold; and a voice seemed to sound in the 
 ear of each, saying: 'Put thy shoes from off thy feet, 
 for the place whereon thou standest is holy.' The horse- 
 men sprung from their saddles. Some prostrated them- 
 selves and kissed the earth; others walked forward bare- 
 foot, and all, shedding penitential tears, renewed the 
 vow they had made before leaving Europe." — Edgar. 
 (Song, "Jerusalem the Golden.") 
 
 Siege of Jerusalem. — Urged by the eloquence of a her- 
 mit living on Mt. Olivet, they resolved to make an im- 
 mediate assault and trust for victory to the aid of Heaven. 
 Accordingly, witliout machines of war and scarcely a 
 scaling ladder, they advanced and assailed the walls 
 with hammers and pikes; others, ranged at a distance, 
 annoyed the defenders of the city with slings and bows. 
 
 "But the Emir of Jerusalem, whose garrison num- 
 bered forty thousand men, was in no yielding mood. 
 Machines placed upon the ramparts discharged every 
 species of missile; and blocks of stone, beams of wood, 
 burning torches, boiling pitch, and Greek fire wrought 
 fearful havoc. Still the Crusaders persevered, and the 
 outer wall fell before their impetuous efforts. The inner 
 wall, however, proved such an impassable barrier, that 
 
121 
 
 the Crusaders abandoned the siege until they could pros- 
 ecute it in a more regular fashion. 
 
 "To their great distress, they found that the Saracens 
 had scoured the neighborhood and taken everything in 
 the shape of provender into the city, and cut off the sup- 
 ply of water by choking up the wells and poisoning the 
 cisterns. The fountain of Shiloh, only flowing at inter- 
 vals, could not suffice for fifty thousand people, and 
 most of the water had to be carried in skins from foun- 
 tains or rivulets many miles off. Encamped on arid 
 plains and under a burning sun, everybody experienced 
 more or less misery; and, as days passed, men, women, 
 and children gave way to despair. There is only one 
 remedy for this state of things,' said the pilgrim princes 
 — 'Jerusalem must be taken.' 
 
 "At length, obtaining some provisions and tools from a 
 Genoese fleet that had arrived at Joppa, and some lum- 
 ber from forests thirty miles distant, they constructed 
 war machines. On the 15th of July, 1099, a general 
 assault was made at early dawn, and three great rolling 
 towers were pushed up against the walls of the city. The 
 onset was impetuous and the shock terrible, for the re- 
 sistance was as obstinate as the assault was enthusiastic. 
 The engines constructed by the Genoese proved very de- 
 structive, but the besieged cased the outside of their 
 walls with bags of chaff, straw, and such pliable matter, 
 which conquered the engines of the Christians by yield- 
 ing to them. At length the Greek fire of the Saracens, 
 by setting their machines on fire, reduced the Christians 
 to despondency. "At the moment, however, when the 
 Crusaders, fatigued with the weight of their armor, cov- 
 
122 
 
 ered with dust and oppressed witli beat, leaned on their 
 swords and gave way to despair, a horseman, waving a 
 buckler, appeared on Mt. Olivet. 
 
 " ' Behold,' cried Godfrey, ' St. George has come again 
 to our aid, and makes a signal for us to enter the Holy 
 City.' 
 
 " ' God wills it ! ' cried the Crusaders, as they returned 
 with one accord to the assault." — Edgar. 
 
 Entrance into Jerusalem. — Pious frenzy now rendered 
 the armed pilgrims irresistible. Amid clouds of flame 
 and smoke and dust, Godfrey forced an entry into the 
 city, and Eustace of Bouillon, with a host of warriors, 
 followed with shouts of victory. Curthose and the Count 
 of Flanders redoubled every effort, and scaled the walls 
 sword in hand. Raymond of Toulouse, opposed by the 
 Emir in person, leaping from his wooden towers to the 
 ramparts, caused the Saracens and their leader to fly be- 
 fore the sweep of his sword. 
 
 "Jerusalem now resounded with loud cries of ven- 
 geance. The conquerors, under a delusion that they 
 were rendering God service, slaughtered without mercy 
 the enemies of their religion. Thousands upon thou- 
 sands of the vanquished fell, and for days the blood of 
 Saracens, old and young, flowed like water. 
 
 "While swords were clashing and blood was flowing, 
 Godfrey of Bouillon, leaving the scene of carnage, lay- 
 ing down his sword, uncovering his head and baring his 
 feet, walked in a posture of humility to the Church of 
 the Resurrection and prostrated himself on the tomb of 
 Christ. On hearing of the pious chief's act of devotion, 
 the Crusaders hastened to follow his example, and, pre- 
 
123 
 
 ceded by the clergy, walked in solemn procession, sing- 
 ing penitential psalms and songs of thanksgiving. 
 
 " Ere this ceremony was over, the Christians in Jeru- 
 salem emerged from places of concealment and advanced 
 to meet their deliverers. The spectacle touched every 
 heart and brought tears to every eye ; but, from among 
 princes and peers, they singled out the figure of the lit- 
 tle man clad in the woolen mantle who, five years before, 
 liad walked wildly about the Holy City busying his brain 
 with projects for their relief. It was Peter the Hermit, 
 whom they regarded as their liberator, and crowding 
 around him they expressed boundless astonishment that 
 one man should have been able to rouse so many nations 
 and to work so mighty a deliverance." — Edgar. 
 
 Godfrey Made Kino;. — The Crusaders lost no time in 
 organizing their new conquest. Godfrey was unan- 
 imously elected King of Jerusalem, but he would only 
 accept the title of Defender and Baron of the Holy Se- 
 pulcher, refusing to wear a crown of gold where the 
 Savior of mankind wore a crown of thorns. 
 
 "Immediately after the election of Godfrey, the pil- 
 grim princes attended him in triumph to the Church of 
 the Holy Sepulcher, and the warriors there took an oath 
 to rule according to the laws of honor and justice. 
 Scarely, however, was the ceremony over, when startling 
 intelligence reached Jerusalem. It appeared that a 
 mighty army, under the command of the most renowned 
 of Moslem warriors, had arrived at Ascalon, bent on giv- 
 ing the Crusaders battle." — Edgar. (See account of bat- 
 tle, pages 109, 110, 111, Edgar, and page 696, Ridpath.) 
 
 Return to Europe. — "After the victory of Ascalon, 
 
124 
 
 almost all the nobles were in haste to return to their own 
 firesides; and, with Godfrey and Tancred, hardly more 
 than 300 knights remained in Jerusalem. [Page 112, 
 Edgar.] The ones who remained, with tears in their 
 eyes, begged those who departed never to forget them, 
 saying : 'Do not forget your brothers whom you leave in 
 exile. When you go back to Europe, arouse in all 
 Christians the desire to visit the holy places which we 
 have delivered, and exhort the warriors to come and 
 fight the infidel nations. ' But the enthusiasm of Europe 
 was chilled when so few returned from the enormous 
 number that started, and fifty years elapsed before an- 
 other crusade of any importance was undertaken to re- 
 lieve the kingdom founded at Jerusalem." — Durny. 
 
 Godfrey's Government. — But the valiant Godfrey did 
 not live long to enjoy the fruits of his toil and warfare. 
 He faithfully discharged his duty as Baron of the Holy 
 Sepulcher, by giving regular institutions to the country 
 and people he liad conquered. Tancred was sent into 
 Galilee, where he captured tlie town of Tiberias. The 
 whole province was added to Godfrey's dominions. 
 When Tancred was attacked b}' the Saracen army from 
 Damascus, Godfrey went to his assistance, and, after de- 
 feating the Moslems, returned b}'' way of Ca^sarea. The 
 Emir of that district met him in a friendly way and 
 made him a seemingly courteous offer of fruit. God- 
 frey, unsuspicious of treachery, ate an apple, and im- 
 mediately sickened and died on the 18th of July, 1100. 
 His remains were laid to rest, according to his wish, on 
 tlie slope of Calvary, not far from the Holy Sepulcher. 
 All Christendom heard of the sad event with sorrow. 
 
125 
 
 Baldwin I., King of Jerusalem. — Baldwin of Bouillon, 
 making over his province of Edessa to his kinsman, 
 Baldwin du Bourg, became king of Jerusalem. During 
 his reign and that of his successor, Baldwin du Bourg, 
 the Christian possessions were Avell defended and in- 
 creased in extent ; but after these kings the decline of 
 the kingdom began. "The Turks of Mosul and 
 Damascus took Edessa and massacred the inhabitants 
 (1147). This bloody disaster, which left Palestine un- 
 protected, impelled Europe to renew the crusade." — Du- 
 rny. 
 
 THE SECOND CRUSADE (1147). 
 
 Preaching" by St. Bernard. — St. Bernard of France 
 now preached a new crusade, producing an impression 
 hardly less marvelous than Peter the Hermit had done 
 half a century earlier. Among the immense concourse 
 who listened to him were King Louis VII. of France and 
 his wife, Queen Eleanor, surrounded by peers and prel- 
 ates. While the hill-side was ringing with enthusiastic 
 shouts of " God wills it ! " Louis, throwing himself upon 
 his knees, received the cross, and Eleanor immediately 
 followed her husband's example. Such was then the 
 demand from peasants, nobles, and bishops, that St. Ber- 
 nard, finding the crosses for the occasion were insuffi- 
 cient, tore up his vestments to supply the demand. 
 
 By entering this crusade, Louis hoped to atone for the 
 great sin of his life, which had so filled him with re- 
 morse that, for some time afterward, he had scarcely 
 courage enough to look upon the light of day. When 
 Louis had first taken up the reins of government he was 
 obliged to lay siege to the insubordinate city of Vitey. 
 
126 
 
 The inhabitants took refuge in a church. Louis caused 
 it to be set on fire, and thus destroyed thirteen hundred 
 people. The king was still brooding over this crime 
 when news of the fall of Edessa reached France, and St. 
 Bernard was commissioned by the pope to preach a new 
 crusade. 
 
 Journey to the Holy Land. — After preaching through- 
 out France, St. Bernard repaired to Germany. There 
 he met with equal success, and Conrad the Third raised 
 an army to accompany Louis. 
 
 In the spring of 1147 all Europe was stirring. Shep- 
 herds flung down their hooks, husbandmen abandoned 
 their teams, traders quitted their booths, barons left 
 their castles, bishops deserted their bishoprics to arm 
 for the defense of the Holy Sepulcher. Queen Eleanor 
 accompanied Louis, leading a body of women clad in 
 knightly array. Conrad's army was followed by a simi- 
 lar band. Eleanor was attended by the troubadours of 
 her court, that they might enliven the tedium of the ex- 
 pedition. (Read "Lay of Last Minstrel," by Scott; 
 poetry and songs of troubadours and minstrels.) 
 
 Conrad's forces reached Constantinople first, but, per- 
 ceiving the treacherous character of Emanuel, the grand- 
 son of Alexis, they continued their journey without 
 waiting for the French. The perfidy of the Greeks now 
 became manifest. Every city was fortified; every gate 
 was closed. Provisions must be bought from the Greeks. 
 The Greek guides kept the Saracens informed in regard 
 to the Germans' line of march, and ambuscades awaited 
 them at every defile. In the Taurus Mountains they 
 were attacked by a Moslem army, who swept down upon 
 
127 
 
 them from the heights. Reduced to a tenth of their 
 original number, they contrived to find their way back 
 to Constantinople. 
 
 Louis's army met with like misfortunes, but a portion 
 of it reached Antioch by embarking on vessels at Attalia. 
 The French king and queen were warmly welcomed at 
 Antioch, which was then under the government of Ray- 
 mond of Poictiers, who had married the granddaughter 
 of Bohemond of Tarentum. In this gay and brilliant 
 court the Crusaders soon forgot the hardships they had 
 endured and the comrades they had abandoned. 
 
 At length King Louis and Queen Eleanor, tearing 
 themselves away from the pleasures of the court of An- 
 tioch, repaired to Jerusalem, whither Conrad had al- 
 ready gone in the guise of a pilgrim. Princes, prelates, 
 and people sallied forth from the gates to meet him, and 
 his arrival was hailed with loud shouts of " Blessed is 
 he that cometh in the name of the Lord." 
 
 Attack on Damascus. — Baldwin the Third convoked a 
 council at Acre to deliberate on the affairs of the king- 
 dom. The assembly resolved to besiege Damascus. In 
 June, 1149, a Christian army commanded by Conrad, 
 the Emperor of Germany, and King Louis of France, 
 marched to Damascus, and, taking possession of the 
 gardens and orchards outside the city, commenced the 
 siege. At first they carried all before them, but, when 
 success seemed about to crown their efforts, a dispute 
 arose between the Crusaders and the Syrian barons as to 
 the possession of the city. 
 
 This discord finally caused them to abandon the en- 
 terprise in despair. Conrad and Louis were now both 
 
128 
 
 anxious to leave the East. The King of France, em- 
 barking at Acre, reached his capital in the autumn, with 
 a mere fragment of his brilliant army. From this time 
 Louis appeared more like a monk than a monarch, and 
 Eleanor, indignant at tlie weakness he displayed, had 
 her marriage dissolved. The divorced queen, still pos- 
 sessing the magnificent province of Aquitaine, had 
 numerous suitors, one of whom was Henry Plantagenet 
 of Normandy, an accomplished, handsome young man, 
 heir to the throne of England. Eleanor married Henry, 
 who soon became Henry II. of England. As queen of 
 England she caused her husband much trouble by excit- 
 ing her sons, Henry and Richard, to rebel against their 
 father. — Adapted from Edgar. 
 
 THE THIRD CRUSADE. 
 
 The Three Leaders. — ''The Third Crusade was caused 
 by the capture of Jerusalem (1187) by Saladin, the Sul- 
 tan of Egypt. Three of the great sovereigns of Europe, 
 Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Philip Augustus of 
 France, and Richard I. of England, assumed the cross 
 and set out, each at the head of a large army, for the re- 
 covery of the Holy City." — flyers. 
 
 Frederick Barbarossa was a grand-looking man, with 
 fair hair and blue eyes, and a tinge of red in liis beard, 
 wliich made the Italians call him Barbarossa. He was 
 unanimously chosen king by the German nobles and re- 
 ceived his crown at Aix-la-Chapelle. Having established 
 order in his own kingdom by punishing the robber- 
 knights, and controlling the power of the dukes, he 
 crossed the Alps into Italy, according to the custom of 
 
129 
 
 German kaisars, to assert his rights there. It was a 
 time of rival popes, and he entered into the controversy. 
 The Italian cities, grown rich and powerful during the 
 first crusades, appealed to him to settle their difficulties. 
 He decided to punish the Milanese for their treatment of 
 a rival city, by levelling their own city of Milan to the 
 ground. All the neighboring cities, who were filled 
 with deadly hatred toward this town, were allowed to 
 exercise their vengeance upon it, and it was totally de- 
 stroyed (1162). "The sacred relics in the churches were 
 sent to enrich the churches of Germany. Among these 
 were the reputed bodies of the Three Wise Men of the East, 
 which were sent to Cologne, and are still exhibited there 
 in the noted cathedral amid heaps of jewels.". (See 
 "Zigzag Journey of Northern Lands.") 
 
 When marching to Rome in midsummer, a terrible 
 pestilence broke out in his arm}^ compeling him to 
 retreat with great loss to Germany. His rule in his 
 own country was wise and vigorous. He founded Mu- 
 nich and several other great towns; but in the meantime 
 the Italian cities had united with the pope against him, 
 in what was called the Lombard League. Frederick 
 crossed the mountains to put down this uprising, but 
 the Lombards were stronger than he had expected, and 
 in the midst of the struggle, at his greatest need, his 
 vassal, the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, refused his 
 help, probably because he disliked fighting against the 
 church. The Italians gained a complete victory. Fred- 
 erick's horse was slain under him, and he was thought 
 to be killed. 
 
 Med. His.— 9 
 
130 
 
 Frederick was forced to make peace (117G) and pay 
 homage to the pope. The ceremony took place in St. 
 Mark's Cathedral, Venice, at the door of which Alexan- 
 der, the pope, awaited him with all the clergy. There 
 the kaisar knelt to kiss the pope's slipper, and granted 
 the freedom of the Italian cities. Frederick then re- 
 tired to Germany, where he was all-powerful, and passed 
 the evening of his life in peace and contentment. 
 
 On his return a great peace festival was held at Mentz, 
 to which came forty thousand knights. ''A camp of 
 tents of silk and gold was set up by the Rhine, and mu- 
 sicians, called minne-singers, delighted the lords and 
 ladies with songs of heroes and knights. The songs 
 and ballads then sung became famous, and this festival 
 may be said to be the beginning of musical art in music- 
 loving Germany. 
 
 "Europe was now startled with the news that the 
 Saracens, under Saladin, had taken Jerusalem. Barba- 
 rossa was about inaugurating a new war with the pope ; 
 but when this news came he and the pope became rec- 
 onciled, and he resolved to go on a crusade. 
 
 ''He was an old man now, but he entered into the 
 crusade with the fiery spirit of youth. His war-cry was, 
 * Christ reigns ! Christ conquers! ' " Passing through 
 Constantinople, he marched through Asia Minor, where 
 he lost the flower of his army for want of food and 
 water. He fought his way through every obstacle, and 
 came without disaster to Iconium, where he gained a 
 glorious victory over the sultan. Soon afterwards 
 Barbarossa met his death in attempting to cross a 
 swollen stream. "He was seventy years old when he 
 
131 
 
 was tkus lost in the year 1190. His body was found 
 and buried at Antioch." 
 
 The Germans could not believe their mighty kaisar 
 was dead, but said that he had fallen a victim to en- 
 chantment. In the Kyffhauser cave, in Thuringia, he 
 and his knights were thought to be sitting asleep around 
 a stone table, his once red, but now white, beard grow- 
 ing through the stone. "They also said that the spell 
 that bound Barbarossa and his knights would some day 
 be broken, and tliat they would come back to Germany. 
 This would occur when the country should be in sore 
 distress, and need a champion for its cause. 
 
 "Ravens flew continually about the cave where the 
 monarcli and liis knights were held enchanted. When 
 they should cease to circle about it, the spell would be 
 broken, and the grand old monarch would return to the 
 Rhine. 
 
 "■ They looked* for him in days of calamity ; but centur- 
 ies passed, and he did not return." — Adapted from 3Iiss 
 Yonge and Bufterivorfh. 
 
 Richard the Lion Hearted (1189 to 1199).— "King 
 Richard of England, surnamed Cceur de Leon, on ac- 
 count of his undaunted courage, is one of the favorite 
 heroes of romance. He was tall and his figure extremely 
 fine ; he had a majestic and stately mien, and this, joined 
 to his great courage and quickness of intellect, gave 
 him on all occasions an ascendency over men's minds. 
 But, though he possessed so many good qualities, he 
 was hot-headed and without judgment. 
 
 " At his father's death in 1189, he expressed an agony 
 of remorse for his undutiful conduct. One of the first 
 
132 
 
 acts of his reign was to release his mother from tlie long 
 imprisonment enforced hy King Henry. 
 
 "Being desirous of acquiring glory, Richard resolved 
 to go on a crusade, for news had arrived that the Sar- 
 acens had taken Jerusalem. [Saladin the Great ; Fred- 
 erick Barbarossa — See Edgar's "Crusades and Crusad- 
 ers;" "Zigzag Journeys in Northern Lands."] Ilis 
 father had left him a large sum, of money, but not 
 enough for this purpose ; so, in order to increase it, he 
 sold the royal castle and estates, and also put to sale the 
 offices of the greatest trust and power. 
 
 " When some of his ministers remonstrated with him 
 on these proceedings, he said he would sell London itself, 
 if he could find a purchaser. For a large sum of money, 
 he absolved the King of Scotland from his vassalage to 
 the King of England. 
 
 RicJiard and Philip at Sicily. — "At last his armament 
 was ready, and Richard reached Messina, in Sicily, 
 September, 1190. Here he was joined by Philip, King 
 of France, and, as it was late in the season, they agreed 
 to pass the winter in Sicily. 
 
 " There could scarcely be found two persons less alike 
 in character than these two kings. Richard, though 
 proud and domineering, was brave and generous. Philip 
 was proud, but shy and deceitful. It is not surprising 
 that two such opposite characters should quarrel before 
 their six months' residence in Sicily was over. The 
 cause of this disagreement was that Richard wished to 
 break off his engagement with Philip's sister, to whom 
 he had been betrothed in infancy, that he might marry 
 Princess Berengaria of Navarre. 
 
133 
 
 Richard^ s Marriage. — "Early in 1191, he prevailed 
 upon his mother to bring the Princess Berengaria to 
 Messina. They arrived the day before he had planned 
 to sail for the Holy Land ; but, as it was Lent, the mar- 
 riage could not then be celebrated. Too enthusiastic to 
 delay his enterprise for his wedding, he embarked in one 
 galley and the princess, accompanied by the Queen of 
 Sicily, Richard's sister, embarked in another for Acre. 
 A violent storm arose, and the ship the two princesses 
 were in, was in great danger. The King of Cyprus, 
 however, refused to admit the vessel into his harbors, 
 upon which Richard with his fleet laid siege to the 
 island, and, soon taking possession of it, placed the 
 king in silver chains. Richard remained on the island 
 long enough to solemnize his marriage ; then, leaving 
 a governor to rale the island, he sailed for Acre. Here 
 he found the King of France, who had left Sicily some 
 time before, and was now awaiting his arrival before 
 attacking Acre. Richard and his squadron of fifty war- 
 galleys, thirteen store-ships, and more than a hundred 
 transports were received with great enthusiasm. — Good- 
 rich. 
 
 Description of Acre. — " Acre, situated on a promontory 
 on the coast of Palestine, was in the eyes of the Cru- 
 saders one of the most important cities of the East. Sur- 
 rounded on the land side by deep ditches, fortified with 
 high walls and strong towers, and frequented by marin- 
 ers and merchants from all parts of Europe and Asia, 
 the capture and recovery of the place might well engage 
 the attention of warriors." — Edgar. It had shared the 
 fate of the other coast cities, as well as that of Jerusalem, 
 
134 
 
 when Saladiii, the invincible warrior of the jMohammed- 
 ans, proceeded from Egypt on his victorious career. It 
 had been besieged for two years by a Christian army 
 under tlie banner of Guy de Lusignan, who aspired to 
 be king of Jerusalem. The Christians were now, in 
 their turn, besieged by a large army of Saracens under 
 the famous Saladin. When Philip arrived, he found 
 the condition of the Christians in every way deplorable ; 
 "but the efforts he made to assist them in the attack 
 were unsuccessful, and the courage of the Crusaders again 
 dropped. 
 
 "The presence of the English might well revive the 
 fainting courage of the Christians in the East. Coeur 
 de Leon was considered a host in himself, and the men 
 whom he led were proud of the prowess, and inspired by 
 the spirit, of their king. Moreover, he was accompanied 
 by Anglo-Norman nobles, who, as war-chiefs, had no 
 rivals in Europe. 
 
 " But the grandeur of the English Crusaders tended 
 to inspire hatred in the breasts of their rivals, and, in a 
 few days discord appeared. Any feeling of friendship 
 that existed between Richard and Philip had evaporated 
 at Messina, and, within a week after their re-union, dis- 
 putes about the disposal of the crown of Jerusalem re- 
 vived their old feud. The two parties, ever ready to 
 come to blows, were in no temper to unite their arms 
 against the infidels. They were still contending when 
 Coeur de Leon was prostrated with sickness." 
 
 Siege af Acre. — Philip vainly endeavored to reduce 
 Acre without English aid. " Hoping to have the glory 
 of accomplishing that in which his rival had failed. 
 
135 
 
 Richard ordered his soldiers to prepare for an assault, 
 and caused himself to be carried to the walls. The En- 
 glish advanced to the attack, the king appearing among 
 them on a silken bed armed with an arbalist, from which 
 he discharged arrows and darts at the besieged. En- 
 couraged by inspiriting words and promises of reward, 
 the English wrought deeds of valor; but the height of 
 the walls and the courage of the Turks baffled all effort 
 to take the city. 
 
 "Repeated failures convinced the kings of England 
 and France of the impolicy of their conduct, and, har- 
 mony having been restored, they, in compact, besieged 
 the city with great ardor. Many fierce and sanguinary 
 conflicts took place between Saladin and the Crusaders, 
 but neither side, for a time, gained any decided advan- 
 tage. Nevertheless the Crusaders persevered with such 
 effect that the besieged, suffering from famine and fa- 
 tigue, proposed to capitulate." — Edgar. 
 
 The emirs consented to yield Acre, and to leave thou- 
 sands as captives, on condition that the soldiers of the 
 garrison were allowed to depart, unarmed. "Saladin 
 on his part agreed to release all his Christian prisoners 
 and to restore to the Crusaders the wood of the true cross, 
 which he had taken in a former battle. But Saladin 
 could not,' or did not, at once comply with these condi- 
 tions. The impetuous Richard would hear of no delay, 
 and put to death all tlie Mohammedan prisoners, to the 
 number of several thousand men. On account of this 
 rashness and cruelty, Richard was justly charged with 
 the death of as many Christian captives, whom Saladin 
 slaughtered by way of reprisal. 
 
Richard's Temper. — "Richard exhibited his violent 
 temper upon another occasion. When the city of Acre 
 surrendered, Leopold, Duke of Austria, caused his own 
 banner to be displayed from the highest tower. Richard, 
 highly exasperated at what he considered an insult, 
 ordered the "Standard to be taken down, thrown into the 
 ditch, and replaced by the banner of St. George. Leo- 
 pold felt the indignity, but dissembled his anger and 
 circumstances gave him the opportunity, as we shall 
 soon relate, of taking an ample revenge, though at the 
 expense of his faith and honor. 
 
 " The knightly qualities of Richard were more agree- 
 able to the spirit of the age than the more statesmanlike 
 ones of Philip. The rash valor and brilliant exploits in 
 battle of the former gained him the applause of the 
 multitude. Philip, who was of a jealous temperament, 
 took offense at this, and his hatred for Richard was con- 
 tinually displaying itself. 
 
 Philip's Return. — " It was not long before Philip found 
 out that nothing but barren laurels were to be gained in 
 this war with the Saracens, and that but a small share 
 of these would fall to his lot. He suddenly discovered 
 that the air of Palestine was not favorable to his health. 
 But before lie went, he made a solemn promise not to 
 make any attempts on the territories of Richard, though 
 at this very time he entertained the full intention of at- 
 tacking them as soon as he returned. Leaving his 
 troops in Palestine, under the command of the Duke of 
 Burgundy, he gave them secret orders to omit no oppor- 
 tunity of mortifying the English king." — Goodrich. 
 
 Journey Continued. — When Philip had sailed for En- 
 
137 
 
 rope, King Richard gave orders that the whole army 
 should leave the captured city to continue their march 
 to Jerusalem. " Richard commenced his march along 
 the coast, having the sea on his right, and, on his loft, 
 heights from which the Saracens watched his move- 
 ments, and awaited a favorable opportunity to attack 
 them. Day by day the great sultan infested the Crusa- 
 ders' line of march, and, at the head of an army infi- 
 nitely superior in numbers, caused them the utmost an- 
 noyance. ' ' — Edgar. 
 
 Battle of Assur. — While advancing toward the city of 
 Assur and entering a narrow plain, the Saracens offered 
 battle. " Part of the Moslem army covered the heights ; 
 while the main body awaited the Crusaders on the mar- 
 gin of the river." Richard ordered his army to move 
 forward in a compact mass, without retaliating. The 
 Crusaders soon saw that they were surrounded on every 
 side, and at length, their plight became so intolerable that 
 the patience of the knights was rapidly giving away. 
 Murmurs were heard on every side, "but with a cour- 
 age and calmness that would have done credit to Napo- 
 leon, he ordered his warriors to stand fast until the 
 Turks had emptied their quivers, and then to make the 
 charge. So, when Saladin's hosts had exhausted their 
 missiles upon the well-nigh impenetrable armor of the 
 Crusaders, Cojur de Leon advanced with the main army 
 of the Crusaders, and the shock was terrific. Fearful 
 was the revenge which those steel-clad warriors now 
 took upon the insolent foe. Christian and Moslem 
 fought hand-to-hand and steel-to-steel." — Rhlpath. In 
 the midst of the battle, Richard, brandishing his axe, 
 
138 
 
 and shouting, " St. George," was seen wherever the 
 contest was the keenest. The very sight of that Cyprian 
 steed, with its stalwart rider, was terrible to foes. "The 
 bravest of Moslems watched with apprehension the Cy- 
 prian steed's furious rush ; the bravest of Moslems recoiled 
 in terror before the swing of Coeur de Leon's battle-axe. 
 In vain, Saladin threw himself into the battle and 
 crossed weaj^ons with the mighty Plantagenet. Saracen 
 after Saracen reeled to the ground, and it became impos- 
 sible for them, notwithstanding their numbers, to with- 
 stand the onslaught of thousands of knights headed by 
 such a hero-king. Broken and beaten on all sides, the 
 Moslem warriors abandoned the field and retreated to the 
 forest of oaks. 
 
 "The result of the battle mortified Saladin, and, call- 
 ing together the emirs, he addressed them in anger. 
 
 " 'Are these,' asked the sultan, ' the deeds of my 
 brave troops, once so boastful, and whom I have so 
 loaded with gifts ? It is a disgrace to our nation, thus 
 to become as nothing in comparison with their glorious 
 ancestors.' 
 
 " ' Most sacred sultan,' answered one of the emirs, 
 'this charge is unjust, for we fought with all our 
 strength against the Franks, and did our best to destroy 
 them. But it was of no avail, for they are encased in 
 impenetrable armor, which no weapon can pierce. And 
 furtlicr, there is among them one superior to any man 
 we have ever seen. They call him Melech Ric, and he 
 seems a king born to command the whole earth. He 
 always charges before the rest, slaying our men ; no 
 man can resist him or escape out of his hands. What 
 
139 
 
 more could we have done against a foe so formidable?' " 
 — Edgar. 
 
 Joppa. — After his great victory on the Assur, Richard 
 led the pilgrim army to Joppa, which they found in a 
 dilapidated condition. Csesarea and Ascalon also fell 
 into the hands of the Crusaders, It was the king's 
 wish that they advance at once to Jerusalem, but the 
 French barons insisted that the better policy was to tarry 
 on the coast, rebuild the ruined fortresses and reserve 
 the recapture of Jerusalem for the next campaign. Rich- 
 ard resolved to repair the ramparts of the cities, and 
 worked like a private soldier to rebuild towers and clear 
 out the moat. The work, however, was not to the liking 
 of all, and he gave mortal offense by insisting that 
 others should follow his example. 
 
 "I am neither carpenter nor mason," said Leopold, 
 Duke of Austria, when pressed to leave the tent and 
 take part in the operations. 
 
 " Many of the Crusaders, longing for scenes of rev- 
 elry and dissipation, returned to gratify their tastes in 
 the taverns of Acre." — Adapted from Edgar. 
 
 March Toward Jerusalem. — In the spring of 1192 the 
 Crusaders once more rallied round the banner of Richard, 
 eager to advance upon Jerusalem. All the knights took 
 a solemn oath tliat they would not abandon the cause 
 and the army proceeded from the coast as far as the val- 
 ley of Hebron. Many Moslems fled from Jerusalem 
 and Saladin himself gave up all for lost. Strange as it 
 may appear, Richard stopped short in his victorious 
 career when witliin sight of the Holy City. Was it the 
 treachery of the Duke of Burgundy ? Had Richard 
 
140 
 
 come to an understanding with Saladin or did he con- 
 sider his resources insufficient for undertaking the siege 
 of a city? Did the news from England, telling him of 
 the intrigues of his treacherous brother, John, reverse 
 his plans and destroy his hopes? None could answer. 
 
 Here in the valley of Hebron, with the towers of 
 Jerusalem in view, the Lion Heart called a council, and 
 it was decided that the present prosecution of the enter- 
 prise was inexpedient, and should be given up. It was 
 not without pain that Richard gave the order to retreat. 
 He covered his face with his hands and sadly turned 
 away, declaring that he who could not redeem the Holy 
 Sepulcher from the infidels was unworthy to behold it. 
 — Adapted from Ridpath. 
 
 After this scene Richard fell back to Ascalon, and 
 from thence to Acre. The French and Germans rapidly 
 deserted his standard, and Saladin, descending from the 
 mountains, took Joppa. On hearing that the citadel 
 was still in the possession of the Crusaders, Richard at 
 the head of his scanty ranks, went to tlicir rescue. " He 
 encountered an array of seven thousand on a plain out- 
 side the city of Joppa. Though infinitely inferior in 
 number, Richard made a noble struggle, unhorsed every 
 champion that crossed his path, spread consternation 
 among his foes, and excited the admiration of his friends. 
 Night put an end to the conflict, but Richard's victory 
 was secure ; and his marvelous feats of heroism filled 
 the East with his fame. (Page 400, foot-note, Barnes ; 
 page 205, foot-note, Edgar). 
 
 "When winter came, Richard was eager to return to 
 England. But the English king had no idea of steal- 
 
141 
 
 ing away as Philip Augustus had done. ' The sea is 
 stormy,' he wrote to Saladin, ' yet if you are inclined to 
 make peace, I will brave all its tempests and proceed to 
 Europe ; if you desire war, I will run all risks and be- 
 siege Jerusalem.' " — Edgar. 
 
 Truce. — A truce of three years and eight months was 
 finally concluded between Richard and Saladin. It was 
 agreed that the fortress of Ascalon should be dismantled 
 as it was regarded a constant menace to Egypt. On 
 the other hand. Tyre, Acre, and Joppa, with all the sea- 
 coasts between them, should remain to the Crusaders, 
 and all Christian pilgrims who came unarmed should 
 have free access to the holy places of Palestine, especially 
 those in Jerusalem. "The king and sultan contended 
 w^io should display most courtesy, and did not even 
 require oaths to the terms, but contented themselves 
 with their royal words, and touching the hands of each 
 other's ambassadors. Christians and Moslems celebrated 
 the conclusion of peace with tournaments and festivals, 
 and most of the Crusaders, having visited the Holy City, 
 embarked for Europe." — Edgar. 
 
 RicJiard's Return. — " Richard started on his home- 
 ward voyage in the autumn of 1192. After many storms 
 at sea, Richard was at last shipwrecked on the coast of 
 Dalmatia in the dominion of Leopold, the Duke of Aus- 
 tria, his old enemy. He now put on the disguise of a 
 pilgrim, hoping to pass through German}'' without be- 
 ing known. But the traveler displayed a generosity 
 and profuseness more suitable to the king he was, than 
 to the pilgrim he wished to appear. 
 
 " The intellige«nce soon spread through Germany, that 
 
142 
 
 Hugh the Merchant was no other than Richard Planta- 
 genet. The king arrived, however, without molestation 
 at Saltzburg, and tlie governor there sent one of his 
 kniglits to discover who he was. This man was by- 
 birth a Norman and instantly knew the king ; but 
 instead of betraying him, he presented him with a horse, 
 and entreated him to fly and save himself . Accompanied 
 by a boy and one other attendant, he reached a town near 
 Vienna. 
 
 "Here he entered an inn, and, that no suspicion 
 might be aroused concerning his rank, he busied 
 himself turning the spit ; but he forgot to conceal a 
 splendid ring which he wore on his finger, and a man 
 who had seen him at Acre, knew him and gave infor- 
 mation to the Duke of Austria, who had not forgot- 
 ten the insult offered to him after the capture of that 
 city. 
 
 Captivity. — "The duke meanly seized the opportunity 
 of vengeance which chance offered him, and threw the 
 unfortunate prince into prison. His place of confine- 
 ment was long kept concealed. There is a very pretty 
 story told of the manner in wliich it was discoverd that 
 is worth repeating : 
 
 " Blondel de Nesle, a favorite minstrel of Richard's, 
 who had attended his person, devoted himself to discover 
 his whereabouts. He wandered in vain from castle to 
 palace, till he had heard that a strong fortress, on the 
 banks of the Danube, was watched with peculiar strict- 
 ness, as if containing some prisoner of distinction. 
 
 " The minstrel took his harp, and, approaching tlie 
 castle as near as he durst, came so near the walls as to 
 
143 
 
 hear the captive soothing his imprisonment witli music. 
 Blondel touched his harp ; the prisoner heard and was 
 silent ; upon this the minstrel played the first part of a 
 tune, known to Richard, who instantly played the second 
 part ; and thus the faithful servant knew that the captive 
 was no other than his royal master. 
 
 "This knowledge, however, was of little immediate 
 advantage to Richard ; for when the news reached the 
 Emperor of Germany, he compelled the Duke to surren- 
 der his prisoner. The treatment of Richard was now 
 worse than before ; he was committed to a gloomy dun- 
 geon and loaded with chains." — Goodrich. 
 
 After a while he was taken to Worms, where a: meet- 
 ing of the princes of Germany, called a diet, was held. 
 The Emperor, to justify his conduct, accused the En- 
 glish king of having driven Philip Augustus out of 
 Palestine, and maltreated the Duke of Austria. He also 
 accused him of treachery towards the interests and wishes 
 of Christendom, the treaty with Saladin being wholly 
 favorable to the Moslems. But Richard defended him- 
 self so eloquently and pathetically, that some of his 
 judges shed tears on hearing him, and all were con- 
 vinced of the malice of his accusers. Nevertheless, the 
 spirit of the age permitted the Emperor to exact of his 
 royal prisoner a ransom equal to about one and one-half 
 million dollars. — Adapted. 
 
 Ransomed. — "Queen Eleanor, and everybody in Eng- 
 land who loved King Richard — and there were many 
 who did — used every means to raise the money required 
 for his ransom. A general tax was levied to procure it, 
 but, tliis not proving sufficient, the nobles voluntarily 
 
144 
 
 contributed a quarter of their yearly incomes, and the 
 silver that was in the churches and monasteries was 
 melted down. 
 
 " When the money was collected, Queen Eleanor took 
 it herself to Germany, and had the happiness of receiv- 
 ing her son and bringing him to England. After an 
 absence of four years he arrived at London in March, 
 1194, and was received with overflowings of joy." — 
 Goodrich. 
 
 ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES. — Continued. 
 
 Richard, King of Eii§:land. — "After Richard had set- 
 tled the affairs of his kingdom, he set out for Normandy, 
 to defend it from an attack with which it was threatened 
 by Philip. One morning Prince John suddenly rushed 
 into his apartment, and, throwing himself at liis feet, 
 implored his forgiveness. This the king immediately 
 granted, though he could not feel any affection for such 
 a brother. Indeed, he soon after said to some of his at- 
 tendants, 'I wish I may forget my brother's injuries as 
 soon as he will forget my pardon of them.' 
 
 "The remainder of Richard's life was passed in a suc- 
 cession of wars and truces with the King of France, who 
 had neither the good faith to keep a treaty nor the cour- 
 age to fight." 
 
 Richard Fatally Wounded. — In 1199, the Viscount of 
 Limoges, a vassal of the king, had found a considerable 
 treasure on his lands. Richard claimed this as his right 
 as sovereign, but the viscount would yield only a part. 
 Thereupon Plantagenet went with a band of warriors to 
 take the castle of his refractory subject. 
 
145 
 
 "The garrison offered to surrender the castle, and all 
 that was in it, provided they might march out with 
 their arms. Richard vindictively refused their offer, 
 protesting he would take the place by force and put 
 them all to death. As he was -taking a survey of the 
 castle and giving directions for the assault, he was 
 wounded by an arrow from the bow of Bertram de 
 Gourdon. The wound appeared trifling at first, but in 
 a few days the life of the king was despaired of. Before 
 he died the castle was taken, and all the garrison were 
 instantly hanged, excepting Bertram, whom Richard 
 ordered to be brought into his presence. 'What liarm 
 have I done you,' said the king to him, * that you should 
 thus have attempted my death?' 
 
 '' 'You have killed my father and brother with your 
 own hands,' replied the man, 'and intended to have 
 killed me, and I am read}' to suffer with joy any tor- 
 ments you can invent, since I have been so lucky as to 
 kill one who has brought so many miseries on mankind.' 
 Richard, conscious of the truth of this bold reply, bore 
 it with patience, and ordered the man to be set at liberty; 
 but his command was not obeyed. Richard died on the 
 Gth of April, 1199, in the forty-second year of his age, 
 and tenth of his reign, only four months of which he 
 had passed in E-ngland.." — Goodrich. (Character of 
 Saladin — Read Scott's 'Talisman.') 
 
 King- John and the Ma§:na Charta. — King John, 
 
 Richard's brother, was the worst king and the worst 
 
 man that ever wore the crown of England. His nobles, 
 
 tired out by his weakness and wickedness, drew up a 
 
 Med. His.— 10 
 
14G 
 
 declaration of rights. The king was called upon to sign 
 this, but refused to do so. But being compelled to yield, 
 he met the barons the 15th of June, 1215, in a large 
 meadow near Windsor, called Rnnnymede, which means 
 "the meadow of council," and was so called because it 
 had been used by the Saxons for public meetings. At 
 this meeting was signed the famous Magna Charta, 
 which has since been considered as the foundation of 
 English liberty. 
 
 By it the nobles were relieved from much of the 
 oppressive tyranny of the feudal system. This had been 
 constantly increasing, till no subject could act in the 
 commonest affairs of life without the king's consent, 
 which could be obtained only for money. 
 
 The great charter contains sixty -three articles, and 
 3'et only one of these is for the protection of the labor- 
 ing people. It provides that even a farmer shall not, by 
 any fine, be deprived of his carts, plows, and imple- 
 ments of husbandry. — Adapted from Goodrich. 
 
 The thirteenth century is also memorable for the 
 formation of the House of Commons. The first regular 
 English Parliament, composed of the two assemblies — 
 the House of Lords and the House of Commons, was 
 called (12G5) in the reign of Henry III., son of John. 
 Besides the barons, two knights from each county and 
 two citizens from each city or borough represented the 
 freeholders. 
 
 THE FOURTH CKUSADE. 
 
 The Fourth Crusade was a great piratical expedition 
 an<l nothing else. It consisted of French and Germans 
 
147 
 
 under the leadership of the Count of Flanders. As it 
 had been proved that the route by the sea was much to 
 be preferred to that by land, the Crusaders went to 
 Venice to demand ships. 
 
 Venice. — "Venice was then queen of the Adriatic, 
 The inhabitants had been driven by Attila's invasion 
 from the main land to the islands in the lagoons, and 
 had found safety and prosperity in that situation, which 
 is alone of its kind in the world. Not one of the ruling 
 powers which had passed over Italy had been able to 
 touch them. Their commerce was extensive ; the islands 
 of the Adriatic and the eastern coasts of the sea had 
 recognized their supremacy. They seconded the crusades 
 partly from religious conviction, and partly from a spirit 
 of gain. The Mussulmans and the Greeks were their 
 rivals in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. They 
 considered it a good opportunity to dispossess them. 
 Their services to the Crusaders procured for them in 1130 
 the privilege of exclusive quarters in each town of the 
 new kingdom of Jerusalem. At the same time they 
 took possession of the Greek islands of Rhodes, Samos, 
 Scio, Lesbos, and Andros. In Venice the reconciliation 
 took place between Frederick Barbarossa and the pope, 
 which restored peace to Italy. A slab of red porphyry 
 still marks the place in the vestibule of St. Mark, where 
 the interview occurred. In memory of that event and 
 of the Venetian victory on the Adriatic, the pope gave 
 the chief of Venice that ring which the doge or ruler of 
 Venice threw into the sea as a token of marriage with 
 the Adriatic. After that, this ceremony was repeated 
 every year, with a pomp that exalted the pride and 
 
148 
 
 patriotism of the Venetians. The government of Venice 
 was aristocratic and the office of doge was elective." — 
 Duriiy. 
 
 Such was Venice when the ambassadors of the Cru- 
 saders arrived. The veteran doge of Venice, Henrico 
 Dandolo, now ninety-three years of age and blind as a 
 stone, but still fired with the zeal and spirit of youth, 
 convened the councils of state, and afterward called to- 
 getlier the citizens in the great square of St. Mark. 
 " Here in the presence of the assembled state of Venice 
 the French barons knelt before the majesty of the peo- 
 ple, and besought, with all the fervor of eloquence, the 
 aid of the republic in the recovery of the holy places 
 of the East." — Adapted from RidpatJi. 
 
 In return for so great a service the mercantile city of 
 Venice could not do otherwise than make it a matter of 
 business. They agreed to furnish a fleet of fifty galleys, 
 four thousand knights, nine thousand men-at-arms, and 
 twenty thousand infantry with horse and accoutrements, 
 and provisions for nine months — all for the sum of 
 eighty-five thousand marks or more than $800,000. — 
 Compiled from Duruy. 
 
 The Crusaders could not raise such a large sum of 
 money. After more than a year's time only fifty thou- 
 sand marks were secured. The doge and citizens of the 
 Republic refused to permit the departure of the fleet 
 until the entire amount should be paid. 
 
 At length the doge proposed that instead of the 
 present payment of the remaining marks, the Crusaders 
 should assist him in reducing the revolted city of Zara 
 on the coast of Dalmatia. The remaining indebtedness 
 
149 
 
 might then be paid at the close of the Crusade. He also 
 l^romised, if this proposition met their approval, to as- 
 sume the cross himself and conduct the fleet against the 
 Syrian infidels. 
 
 In spite of the anathemas of the pope, the Crusaders 
 and Venetians, under the command of the blind old doge, 
 in 1202, besieged Zara and took possession of it after 
 five days' siege. The lives of the inhabitants were 
 spared, but the fortifications were torn down and the 
 city itself given up to pillage. 
 
 In the following year the Crusaders and Venetians, 
 entirely turned from their original purpose, laid siege to 
 Constantinople. They stormed the city, plundered its 
 palaces, and destroyed its precious monuments. A Latin 
 Empire was now established at Constantinople. This 
 lasted half a century, but was broken up by the Greeks in 
 1261, when the Byzantine capital again became a Greek 
 city. — Complied from Edgar. (Invasion of Tartars, page 
 282, Duruy; Children's Crusade; Gray, and "Zigzag 
 Journeys in Classic Lands.") 
 
 THE LAST CKUSADER. 
 
 King Edward I of England became leader of the 
 Seventh Crusade on the death of St. Louis, in 1270. He 
 gathered a formidable force, with which he landed at 
 Acre, then held by the Christians. The movement was 
 futile in recovering more of the Holy Land, and he soon 
 returned home. Edward is known in history as the 
 " Last of the Crusaders." 
 
150 
 
 Left to the Savior's conquering foes, 
 
 Tlie land that girds the Savior's grave; 
 
 Where Godfrey's crozier-standard rose, 
 
 He saw the crescent banner wave. 
 
 There, o'er tlie gently broken vale, 
 
 The halo light on Zion glowed ; 
 
 There Kedron, with a voice of wail. 
 
 By tombs of saints and heroes flowed ; 
 
 There still the olives silver o'er 
 
 The dimness of the distant hill ; 
 
 There still the flowers that Sharon bore 
 
 Calm air with many an odor fill. 
 
 Slowly the Last Crusader eyed 
 
 The towers, the mount, the stream, the plain. 
 
 And thought of those whose blood had dyed 
 
 The earth with crimson streams in vain! 
 
 He thought of that sublime array— 
 
 The hosts that over land and deep 
 
 The Hermit marshaled on their way, 
 
 To see those towers and halt to weep. 
 
 Resigned the loved, familiar lands, 
 
 O'er burning wastes the cross to bear, 
 
 And rescue from the Paynim's hands 
 
 No empire save a sepulcher! 
 
 And vain the hope, and vain the loss. 
 
 And vain the famine and the strife; 
 
 In vain the faith that bore the cross. 
 
 The valor prodigal of life! 
 
 And vain was Richard's lion-soul, 
 
 And guileless Godfrey's patient mind, 
 
 Like waves on shore, they reached the goal. 
 
 To die and leave no trace behind! 
 
 "O God! " the last Crusader cried. 
 
 "And art Thou careless of Thine own? 
 For us Thy Son in Salem died, 
 And Salem is the scoffer's throne! 
 And shall we leave, from age to age, 
 To godless hands the Holy Tomb? 
 Against Thy saints the heathen rage — 
 Launch forth Thy lightnings, and consume!" 
 
151 
 
 A form flashed, wliite-robbed. from above ; 
 
 All Heaven was in those looks of light, 
 
 But Heaven, whose native air is love. 
 "Alas!" the solemn vision said, 
 "Thy god is of the shield and spear — 
 
 To bless the quick and raise the dead, 
 
 The Savior God descended here ! 
 
 Ah! know'st thou not the ver}^ name 
 
 Of Salem bids thy carnage cease, — 
 
 A symbol in itself to claim 
 
 God's people to a Home of Peace? 
 
 Ask not the Father to reward 
 
 The hearts that seek, through blood, the Son; 
 
 O Warrior, never by the sword 
 
 The Savior's Holy Land is won." 
 
 — Sir E. Bulwer-Lijtton. 
 
 Results of the Crusades. — Asia apparently triumphed. 
 Palestine remained in the hands of the Mohammedans 
 after they had completely conquered it in 1291. Though 
 the Crusades had failed of their direct object, they had 
 produced marked results both good and evil. — Adapted. 
 
 "Among their advantages, it may be observed that 
 they had a refining influence on the ruder nations of the 
 North, by bringing them in contact with Constantinople 
 and the rich cities of Italy, then the centers of Christian 
 civilization and art. The}^ diffused a knowledge of use- 
 ful inventions and arts, in which the Orientals were 
 then proficient. They promoted commerce, and event- 
 ually revived an interest in manufactures. " "New indus- 
 tries were brought back from the East ; the tissues of 
 Damascus, which were imitated at Parma and Milan ; 
 glass from Tyre, which was copied at Venice, where 
 looking-glasses were made to replace the metal mirrors ; 
 the use of wind-mills, of flax, of silk, of a number of 
 
152 
 
 useful plants, such as the Damascus })lum tree, the sugar 
 cane, which was to supersede honey, the only sugar 
 known to antiquity, but which at first could only be cul- 
 tivated in Sicily or Spain, whence it passed later to Ma- 
 deira and the Antilles, bringing great wealth with it; 
 and, finally, the mulberry tree, which first enriched 
 Italy, then France. Cotton fabrics began to be known 
 during this epoch, though no cotton industry of any im- 
 portance was founded in France before the seventeenth 
 century. Paper made from cotton had been known for 
 a long time ; linen paper was known by the end of the 
 tliirteenth century, but it did not entirely replace parch- 
 ment until the sixteenth century. Damaskening and 
 the engraving of seals and coins were being perfected. 
 The art of enameling was learned, and the goldsmith's 
 art received a new impulse." — Duruy and Quackenhos. 
 
 " On the other hand, the Crusade cost Europe two mill- 
 ions of efficient men and vast amounts of treasure ; they 
 unsettled sober industries, encouraged profligacy, and for 
 a time rolled back the tide of order and civilization 
 which had set in after the inundations of the Norse- 
 men . 
 
 " Whatever the effect, whether good or bad, on the 
 general condition of the people, there is no doubt that 
 the Crusades contributed to the overthrow of feudalism 
 and the strengthening of the power of the church. To 
 raise means for the equipment of their forces, the nobles 
 in many cases were obliged to part with their fiefs. 
 Numbers fell in battle, and left their lands to the crown 
 or to the church. Cities, in return for advances of 
 money, obtained an increase of privileges, and thus the 
 
153 
 
 power of knights and nobles, as a class, diminished, 
 while that of the kings, the church, an.d the cities, 
 proportionately increased. 
 
 " A better knowledge of geography, which had before 
 been imperfect, was one of the results of the travel and ad- 
 venture in the East. Such stories as were told in a 
 geographical work of the eleventh century, that the in- 
 habitants of Russia had but one leg and one eye, were 
 no longer currently believed. In fact, a spur was given 
 to exploration, which subsequently led to the doubling 
 of the Cape of Good Hope and the discovery of Amer- 
 ica." — Quackenbo'<. (Read story of Marco Polo.) 
 
 The Growth of the Cities. — "We have already men- 
 tioned in connection with the castles, the settlements 
 which grew up beneath the shadow of their walls. It 
 was to the interest of the lord of the castle to enlarge 
 these communities, thereby increasing the number of his 
 subjects and artisans and augmenting his revenues, and 
 even his military forces ; for many a time the men, 
 whether from the towns or from villages, were seen 
 marching, led by their priest, wherever their lord di- 
 rected. He also tried to attract the peasants from the 
 neighboring domains by the advantages he offered on his 
 land." 
 
 In all the cities a middle class was formed which grew 
 richer day by day through commerce and industry. 
 They filled the universities, and acquired knowledge, 
 especially legal knowledge. In England the towns united 
 with the nobility against the power of royalty; in Ger- 
 many, as in France, they allied themselves with the sov- 
 ereign against the feudal system. The serfs of the 
 
154 
 
 neighboring lords took refuge in the cities, and at the 
 end of a year and a day they could not be redeemed." 
 This gave rise to many complaints on the part of the 
 lords and caused almost perpetual war between the cities 
 and the nobles. The cities were thus compelled to unite 
 for mutual protection and became more and more a 
 power in the land. 
 
 "The towns in Germany which enjoyed the greatest 
 prosperity were those lying on the Rhine and in Lor- 
 raine ; Mainz, Cologne, Coblenz, Bonn, Aix-la-Chapelle; 
 in Saxony, Magdeburg, Bremen, and Hamburg ; in 
 Franconia, Frankfort on the Main, Spire, Worms, etc. 
 Their commerce extended far and wide; they exchanged 
 commodities from the north of Europe for those of the 
 East." 
 
 Hanseatic League. — "In the low countries of the north 
 of Germany and France, which were often flooded by 
 w^ater and intersected by rivers, the cities naturally were 
 stronger than the feudal nobility. From their situation 
 on the ocean and at the mouth of great rivers, wdiich 
 could carry their ships in all directions into the very 
 heart of a vast continent, they naturally devoted them- 
 selves to commerce; but with this difference from the 
 Italian cities, that, whereas the latter always looked 
 upon each other as rivals, as there was no powerful 
 feudal system in their midst to force them to unite 
 against a common foe, the German cities formed a con- 
 federation in the interest of mutual protection. This 
 confederation, called the Hanseatic League, held the 
 supreme power in the north of Europe, and united all 
 
the cities of the Baltic, the Rhine, and the great com- 
 m.unes of Flanders. 
 
 "From London to Novgorod, on all the vessels of 
 commerce and above all the counting-houses, floated one 
 and the same flag — that of the Hansa. The merchants 
 of this league were masters of the fisheries, the mines, 
 the agriculture, and the manufactures of Germany. In 
 their markets were exchanged the furs, tallow, and hides 
 from Russia; grain, wax, and honey from Poland; 
 amber from Prussia; metals from Saxony and Bohemia; 
 wines from the Rhine and France; wool and tin from 
 England; linens from Holland and Friesland; cloths 
 from Flanders; and, last but not least, the Italians and 
 Provencals sent tlie products of the Orient to the great 
 free port of Bruges. In 1360, there were fifty-two 
 cities in this confederation, and in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury eighty cities." (Poem "Ghent," "Antwerp," 
 "Bruges." See Longfellow's and Ford's Historical 
 Poems.) 
 
 Flanders.—'' Flanders, situated in the very midst of 
 this great commercial association of Germany, and cov- 
 ered with cities and workshops, was a zealous center of 
 industry. Ghent numbered 80,000 citizens able to bear 
 arms ; Ypres counted 200,000 weavers within her walls 
 and suburbs ; Bruges, tlie entrepot of all Flanders, was 
 the meeting-place of European merchants. The whole 
 world was clothed in English wool, which had been 
 manufactured in Flanders. All the kingdoms of Chris- 
 tendom, and even the Turks, were disturbed by the war 
 that broke out between the cities and the count in 1380. 
 ■ Amsterdam, Holland.—" In the thirteenth century, an 
 
ir,6 
 
 inundation of the ocean joined the Zuyder Zee witli the 
 ocean, and made Amsterdam a port secure from all 
 tempests; in the fourteenth century, the change of the 
 herring fishery, which left the shores of Scania for the 
 shores of England and Holland, brought a great source 
 of wealth to these countries." — Duruy. (Read "Hans 
 Brinker.") 
 
 HOLLAND. 
 
 Where the Rhine, 
 Branched out in many a long canal, extends, 
 From every province swarming, void of care, 
 Batavia rushes forth ; and, as they sweep, 
 On sounding skates, a thousand different ways. 
 In circling poise, swift as the winds, nlong, 
 The then gay land is maddened all to joy. 
 
 — James Thomson. 
 
 HOLLAND. 
 
 To men of other minds my fancy flies, 
 Embosomed in the deep where Holland lies. 
 Methinks her patient sons before me stand. 
 Where the broad ocean leans against tlie land, 
 And, sedulous to stop the coming tide, 
 Lift the tall rampire's artificial pride. 
 Onward, methinks, and diligently slow, 
 The firm, connected bulwark seems to grow; 
 Spreads its long arms amidst the watery roar. 
 Scoops out an empire, and usurps the shore ; 
 While the pent ocean, rising o'er the pile, 
 Sees an amphibious world beneath him smile: 
 The slow canal, the yellow-blossomed vale. 
 The willow-tufted bank, the gliding sail. 
 The crowded mart, the cultivated plain, 
 A new creation rescued from his reign. 
 
 — Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
. 157 
 
 THE STORKS. 
 Where the Rliine loses his majestic force 
 In Belgian plains, won from the raging deep 
 By diligence amazing, and the strong, 
 Unconquerable hand of Liberty, 
 The stork-assembly meets ; for many a day, 
 Consulting deep and various ere they take 
 Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky; 
 And now their route designed, their leaders chose. 
 Their tribes adjusted, cleaned their vigorous wings; 
 And many a circle, many a short essay. 
 Wheeled round and round, in congregation full 
 The figured flight ascends; and, riding high 
 The aerial billows, mixes with the clouds. 
 
 — James Thomson. 
 
 (Read otlier poems — ''The Leak in the Dike," by 
 Phoebe Carey; ''Holland in the Olden Time," by John 
 Bowring. See Longfellow's " Poems of Europe.") 
 
 England.—" Under King John, the granting of chart- 
 ers became a frequent occurrence. From that time on, 
 the cities, grown rich and powerful, inspired respect in 
 their lords, whether kings or barons, who no longer 
 exacted but asked the cities and towns of their domains 
 for assistance; the foremost citizens of London, Dover, 
 Sandwich and Hastings even acquired the title of nobles 
 and barons. In 12G4 the above mentioned towns, to- 
 gether with York and Lincoln and all the other great 
 cities of England were authorized to send deputies to 
 parliament. This marks[tlieir first appearance in politi- 
 cal life. One hundred and twenty towns sent deputies 
 to the parliament convoked by Edward in 1295." 
 
 " In England, both commerce and industry were still 
 dormant. Nevertheless, England had some commercial 
 relations with Spain, from which she received Arab 
 
158 
 
 horses in exchange for her fine slieep. Tlie best Englisli 
 herds of to-day are descended from the Arab horses." — 
 Duruy. (Poem, " Homes of England," by Mrs. Ilem- 
 ans ; poem, " Rule Britannia," by James Thomson.) 
 
 THE HOMES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The stately homes of England, 
 
 How beautiful they stand, 
 Amidst their tall ancestral trees, 
 
 O'er all the pleasant land! 
 The deer across their greensward bound 
 
 Through shade and sunnj^ gleam, 
 And the swan glides pant them with the sound 
 
 Of some rejoicing stream. 
 
 The merry homes of England — 
 
 Around their hearths by night, 
 What gladsome looks of household love 
 
 Meet in the ruddy light ! 
 There woman's voice flows forth in song, 
 
 Or childhood's tale is told ; 
 Or lips move tunefully along 
 
 Some glorious page of old. 
 
 The blessed homes of England, 
 
 How softly on their bowers, 
 Is laid the holy quietness 
 
 That breathes from Sabbath hours! 
 Solemn, yet sweet, the church bells' chime 
 
 Floats through their woods at morn. 
 All other sounds in that still time 
 
 Of Vjreeze and leaf are born. 
 
 The cottage homes of England 
 
 By thousands on her plains, 
 They are smiling o'er the silvery brooks, 
 
 And round the hamlet fanes. 
 Through glowing orchards forth they peep, 
 
 Each from its nook of leaves. 
 And fearless there the lowlj' sleej). 
 
 As the bird beneath their eaves. 
 
159 
 
 The free, fair homes of England, 
 
 Long, long, in hut and hall, 
 Many hearts of native proof be reared 
 
 To guard each hallowed wall. 
 And green forever be the groves. 
 
 And bright the flowery sod, 
 Where first the child's glad spirit loves 
 
 Its country and its God. 
 
 — Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 Mediterranean Cities. — " The commerce on the Medit- 
 erranean flourished long before that of the North. With- 
 out mentioning the cities on the African coast which 
 were so prosperous during the tenth and eleventh cen- 
 turies, or the Arabs in Spain, who were so industrious 
 and so rich, there were Barcelona, the store-house and 
 market of Spain, Montpellier, Narbonne, Marseilles, Nice, 
 Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Amalfi, and Venice, which were 
 all struggling for the supremacy over the eastern com- 
 merce. The Italian cities gained the greater part, and 
 scattered their counting-houses over the coasts of the 
 Archipelago and the Black Sea, where Venice and Genoa 
 ruled, either simultaneously or by turns." 
 
 Intermediate Stations. — Intermediate stations between 
 the Mediterranean cities and those of the North and Baltic 
 Seas became necessary. Marseilles, Beaucaire, Lyons, 
 andTroyes served France ; Constance, Basle, and Strass- 
 burg for the Rhine country ; Innsbruck for the Alps ; 
 Augsburg for the great Bavarian plain ; Ulm, Ratisbon, 
 and Vienna for the Danube, and Nuremberg for Fran- 
 conia. In these cities, the products of the North and 
 South were exchanged. — Adapted. 
 
 France. — " In France, in the twelfth century, annual 
 
IGO 
 
 fairs, which were famous throughout Europe, were hokl 
 at Troyes in Champagne, Beaucaire, and St. Denis, near 
 Paris. The merchants of Rouen, Orleans, Amiens, and 
 Rheims kept up relations with the rich factories of 
 Flanders and the immense warehouses of Bruges. Those 
 of Lyons, Nimes, Avignon, and Marseilles went twice a 
 3"ear to Alexandria in search of the commodities of the 
 East, which reached France also through Venice and 
 the German cities. Bordeaux already exported wines 
 to England and Flanders. The cities of Lanquedoc 
 hought fine weapons at Toledo, and the hangings of 
 leather worked with arabesques at Cordova. Paris had 
 an association for the merchandise which came by water. 
 Hence the vessel which is still to be seen on the shield 
 of the city. Saint Louis took the merchants under his 
 special protection." — Dvi-uy. 
 
 IV. SWITZKKL.VND. 
 
 In the time of the Romans, Switzerland was called 
 Helvetia. It was subject to the Franks in the sixth 
 century. After the division of Charlemagne's empire 
 the northern part had become incorporated in the Ger- 
 man Empire ; but the ancient forest cantons on Lake 
 Lucerne had never been conquered and were only under 
 the protection of the emperors. 
 
 " In the twelfth century the cities — Zurich, Basle, 
 Berne and Freiberg — began to be centers of trade, 
 and gained municipal privileges." 
 
 For some time after the beginning of the thirteenth 
 century the German emperors proved lenient masters. 
 In 1298, however, Albert I, styled Duko of Austria, 
 
161 
 
 *' proposed to unite the free Swiss towns to his Austrian 
 estates, and this occasioned a memorable struggle for 
 liberty. Albert appointed as governor an unscrupulous 
 tyrant, Gessler, whose acts of oppression aroused the 
 slumbering spirit of the Swiss. According to legendary 
 history the hero William Tell was the liberator of his 
 country. Refusing to bow before the ducal cap of Aus- 
 tria, which Gessler had elevated on a pole in the market- 
 place of Altorf, Tell was seized and condemned by the 
 governor to pierce with an arrow an apple placed on the 
 head of his son." (See Knowles' poem of "William 
 Tell " in " McGuffey's Fifth Reader "; also the sonnet 
 " William Tell" by W. C. Bryant.) 
 
 "In 138G a small force of Swiss gained another great 
 victory over the Austrians at Sempach. In this battle 
 Arnold Winkelried cried to his countrymen: "Dear 
 brothers, I will open a way for you ; take care of my 
 wife and children." Then, rushing on the bristling 
 spears of the Austrians, he gathered as many as he 
 could within his grasp, and thus opened a path for his 
 comrades into the ranks of the foe. (See poem in "In- 
 diana Fifth Reader.") 
 
 "The independence of Switzerland was not fully 
 established till the end of the fifteenth century." — 
 Quackenbos. (See story of John Huss in histories.) 
 
 ENGLAND IN MIDDLE AGES (CONCLUDED.) 
 
 The First Prince of Wales (1283).— AVales and Ire- 
 land had both been reduced to submission in the twelfth 
 century by Henry II, father of Richard the Lion-hearted. 
 Med. His.— 11 
 
1(V2 
 
 In the thirteenth century, Llewellyn, the Welsh chief, de- 
 clined to go to London to serve the new king, Edward L, 
 grandson of John. A military expedition was at once 
 sent to subdue the country. Lispired by the wild poe- 
 try of their bards, the Welsh gallantly defended their 
 liberties; but Llewellyn was eventually slain (1282), 
 and King Edward, in order to conciliate the people, 
 promised them a native-born sovereign who could speak 
 no English. When their barons assembled, he pre- 
 sented them his own son Edward, born a few days before 
 in the Welsh castle of Carnarvon, and the chieftains 
 kissed the hands of the first Prince of Wales. 
 
 War With Scotland.— "The ambition of Edward I. led 
 him to attempt the annexation of Scotland. He at first 
 proposed the marriage of the Scottish princess to his 
 son, thinking by this means to consolidate the whole 
 island into one monarchy. The plan was favorably re- 
 ceived, but unfortunately frustrated by the decease of 
 the Scottish child-queen. Thirteen nobles at once 
 claimed the vacant throne, chief of whom were John 
 Baliol and Robert Bruce. The Scots asked Edward to de- 
 cide the question of succession." He decided in favor of 
 Baliol, on condition of his doing homage to the English 
 monarch as his feudal lord. The Scots, impatient of 
 their vassalage, soon revolted. Baliol renounced his al- 
 legiance but was captured by Edward and incarcerated 
 in the Tower of London. 
 
 ''Scotland, however, was still unsubdued ; a temporary 
 deliverer appeared in the person of Sir William Wallace, 
 against w4iom a powerful English army was promptly 
 dispatched. Its commander, finding the Scots strongly 
 
1G3 
 
 posted on the Forth, sent two friars to propose a truce. 
 ' Go tell your masters,' said Wallace, ' we came not here 
 to treat, but to set Scotland free.' Enraged at this de- 
 fiance, the English advanced and began to cross the river 
 on a narrow bridge. When half the force had made the 
 passage the Scots fell upon it and gained a complete vic- 
 tory. 
 
 " For a time Wallace acted as ' Guardian of the 
 Realm,' but at last, defeated and betrayed by a follower 
 to Edward, he was condemned as a traitor, and dragged 
 at the tails of horses to the scaffold. His head, crowned 
 in mockery with a wreath of laurel, was set on London 
 Bridge. 
 
 "Robert Bruce, grandson of the rival of Baliol, next 
 arose as the restorer of his country's liberties, and after 
 gaining some advantages over the English, was crowned 
 king ( 1306). Edward, now an old man, again set out to 
 conquer Scotland, but was overtaken on the way by 
 death. He made his son promise to continue the war 
 against the Scots, carrying his bones at the head of the 
 army, for he believed that even the presence of these 
 would be sufficient to insure victory. 
 
 "Edward II. failed to comply with the dying injunc- 
 tion of his father, and led his army back into England, 
 He buried the dead monarch at Westminster with this 
 inscription on his tomb, ' Edward I., the Hammer of 
 the Scotch.' " 
 
 "Edward had spent his youth in the society of dissolute 
 companions, and now, surrounded by unworthy favorites, 
 he gave himself up to dissipation. Bruce, meanwhile, 
 with a little band, bravely struggled in the cause of his 
 
164 
 
 country ; now foiling the blood-hounds that bayed on 
 his track, now holding the mountain-pass single-handed 
 against a host of foes. After many hair-breadth es- 
 capes, fortune rewarded his efforts, and nearly all Scot- 
 land was recovered from the English. 
 
 Bannockhurn (1314). — These successes finally awak- 
 ened Edward from his indifference. He took the field 
 at the head of a large army, and came up with Bruce on 
 the burn, or brook, of Bannock. The evening before the 
 battle an English knight, perceiving Bruce riding in 
 front of his army on a small Highland pony, bore down 
 upon him with his lance. But the Scot parried the 
 thrust, and, rising in liis stirrups, cleft his adversary's 
 skull to the chin with one stroke of his battle-axe. 
 This feat was looked upon as a good omen by his fol- 
 lowers. In the gray of the morning they were led to 
 the field by an abbot, barefoot and with a crucifix in his 
 hand. The English, seeing them kneel as he prayed, 
 shouted, ' They beg for mercy! ' ' Yes,' said the knight, 
 'but only from God.' 
 
 "The Scotch force was protected in front by pits 
 filled with sharp stakes and concealed by sods; hence, 
 when the English charged, their horses were entangled 
 and the riders thrown. Bruce won the day, and Ed- 
 ward fled from tlie kingdom, pursued by the Scottish 
 cavahy. 
 
 "The victory of Bannockburn naturally secured the 
 independence of Scotland." By the accession of James 
 VI. of Scotland to the English throne in 1603, England 
 and Scotland were united under one sovereign. — Quack- 
 enbos. (Read "Scottish Chiefs," by .Jane Porter, and 
 
165 
 
 "Days of Bruce," by Grace Aquilar; also stories of 
 Robert Bruce in readers.) 
 
 Hundred Years' War. — From tlie time of William the 
 Conqueror the English kings had laid claim to territory 
 in France. This claim was increased by the marriage 
 of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet. In 
 1328, Edward III. of England declared himself to be the 
 nearest male heir to the throne of France, and com- 
 menced his preparations for an invasion to assert his 
 rights. A long and wasteful war between England and 
 France called the Hundred Years' War was the result. 
 Like the Peloponnesian War of Ancient Greece it was 
 not one continuous struggle, but was broken by occa- 
 sional truces, owing to the exhaustion of the contesting 
 parties. — Adapted. Battle of Cre'ci). Landing at Nor- 
 mandy (134G) Edward encountered Philip of France on 
 the plain of Cre'cy. In this memorable battle the 
 English yeomanry were more than a match for the 
 chivalry of France. 
 
 "The French peasant at that time was a poor misera- 
 ble serf who had never handled arms. In England there 
 were farmers and stout peasants who used to prac- 
 tice shooting with the bow once a week." The French 
 having no footmen to meet these sturdy English archers 
 hired a body of Genoese cross-bow men to lead the ad- 
 vance. Just before the battle a shower of rain fell which 
 slackened the bow-strings of the Genoese archers ; but 
 the English had their bows safe in leathern cases and 
 their strings were in full order. The arrows galled the 
 French Knights so that a charge was ordered to cut the 
 English archers down. But full in the way stood the 
 
IGG 
 
 poor Genoese f ambling to tighten their strings ; and the 
 knights, becoming impatient at the delay, cut them 
 down right and left, thus spending their strength against 
 their own army. It was no wonder that the French were 
 defeated with the loss of thirty thousand soldiers and 
 twelve hundred knights — the flower of their chivalry. — 
 Adapted from Miss Yonge. 
 
 "Edward's eldest son, then only sixteen years old, 
 called the Black Prince, from the color of his armor, 
 commanded a division of the English. He was at one 
 time almost overwhelmed by the foe, but his father re- 
 fused to send him aid, in order that the boy might ' win 
 his spurs.' " — Qnackenbos. The honor of knighthood 
 had been conferred on him by Edward just before the 
 battle, and the Black Prince proved worthy of the con- 
 fidence. (See story of Black Prince in Goodrich's En- 
 glish History. ) 
 
 " It is said that the front of Edward's army was pro- 
 tected by some pieces of cannon, the first that had yet 
 been made use of in any battle in Europe. These can- 
 nons were very clumt^y machines. They were composed 
 of bars of iron, held together by hoops, and they com- 
 monly burst at the third or fourth discharge. They 
 were at first employed to shoot off darts and arrows." — 
 Goodrich. 
 
 The result of the victory at the battle of Cre'cy was 
 the capture of Calais by the English. For two hundred 
 years this seaport afforded a convenient landing-place 
 for the invasion of France. 
 
 The English continued to gain advantage until in 
 1420 the French liad become so discouraged that a largo 
 
167 
 
 party agreed that the crown of France should be given 
 to Henry V. upon the death of Charles VI., the crazy 
 king of France. Both kings died, however, within two 
 months of each other. 
 
 Siege of Orleans. — ''The infant son of Henry V. of 
 England was now proclaimed king of England and 
 France, and his uncle, the Duke of Bedford, who had 
 been appointed protector, took the field to maintain his 
 cause. The true heir to the French monarchy was the 
 Dauphin, Charles VII., who was supported principally 
 in the southern provinces. The English gained ground, 
 and at last laid siege to Orleans, the most important 
 city in tlie possession of Charles. After a severe block- 
 ade the town was on the eve of capitulating, when a 
 poor peasant-girl appeared on the stage to rescue France, 
 in the summer of 1425." — Quackenbos. 
 
 Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. — " Far away among 
 the liills of Lorraine, in the eastern part of France, 
 lived Joan of Arc, the daughter of a cottager, whose 
 flock she tended. In her hours of solitude she saw vis- 
 ions, and said that voices called to her from the woods. 
 There was an old tradition that a girl from the forests of 
 Lorraine would one day save France, and when she 
 heard of the disasters that were befalling her country, 
 Joan felt herself impelled to offer her services to the 
 Dauphin, assured that the tradition would find its fulfill- 
 ment. 
 
 "Having proved her power to the king's satisfaction, 
 by singling him out, though disguised, from a hundred 
 knights who were present, Joan was sent to the army. 
 She appeared in camp clad in a suit of white armor and 
 
ir.s 
 
 mounted on a war horse ; her head was unhelmeted and 
 her long black hair fell down around her shoulders. 
 The rough men-at-arms received her with enthusiasm, 
 and at her bidding left off their profanity and evil 
 habits. She marched at their head, displaying a conse- 
 crated banner, and effected an entrance into Orleans 
 with a supply of provisions for the famishing citizens. 
 From this moment success deserted the standard of the 
 English ; their forts fell into the hands of Joan, and the 
 siege was soon raised. From her heroism in relieving 
 the beleaguered city, Joan was called the ' Maid of 
 Orleans.' 
 
 "Charles was subsequently crowned at Rheims, while 
 the Maid stood by his side in complete armor. Having 
 now performed her double mission, she knelt at his feet 
 and prayed for her discharge. But Charles induced her 
 to remain, — and for a sad fate. She was taken prisoner 
 by the English, condemned for witchcraft and burned 
 at the stake. The ungrateful king offered no ransom, 
 proposed no exchange for the maid who had saved his 
 crown. His end was almost as terrible as hers ; he 
 starved himself to death from the dread of being poisoned 
 by his son, afterward Louis XI. 
 
 "The English profited little by the execution of Joan. 
 ' We are lost ' was the prediction of one of their own 
 number who witnessed lier death, ' we have burned a 
 saint.' One by one their conquests were forced from 
 them; and, when the Hundred Years' War ended in 
 1451, Calais alone remained in their possession." — 
 Quackenbos. (Read Miss Kirkland's " Hist, of France " 
 and " Hist, of England.") 
 
169 
 
 FALL OF THE GREEK EMPIRE (1453). 
 
 "The last great event of the Middle Ages was the ex- 
 tinction of the Eastern Empire by the capture of Con- 
 stantinople." The empire had been reduced to a state 
 of debility before the Crusades. After the Venetians 
 were driven out in 1261, it was equally exposed to the 
 depredations of the Christians and the Turks, preserving 
 only a high-sounding name, while it stood on the brink 
 of destruction. " Narrow, superstitious ideas directed 
 the measures of government, while they did not check 
 the course of heinous crimes." "One of the feeble 
 monarchs of Constantinople suffered himself to be per- 
 suaded that the Greek Empire was under the peculiar 
 protection of Heaven, and, therefore, a fleet was un- 
 necessary for its defense." " For this reason, the coun- 
 try was ravaged by pirates, and then overrun by the 
 Ottoman Turks, so-called from their leader, Othman." — 
 Compiled from Goodrich. (Page 493, Duru3^) 
 
 Solinian. — These Turks, from the opposite bank, saw 
 the splendor of the many towns ruled by the cross, and 
 their eyes continually brooded upon the great rich city of 
 Constantinople. One night Soliman, the grandson of 
 Othman, was seated in the midst of the ruins of a con- 
 quered city, watching by the light of the moon the 
 sparkling waters of the Sea of Marmora, which led to 
 the object of their great desire. "It seemed to him that 
 the shadows thrown by tlie colossal ruins of the de- 
 stroyed city lengthened out before him like a bridge 
 across the sea, and at the same time mysterious voices 
 reminded him that the empire of the world had been 
 
170 
 
 promised to his race. ' This is a sign of God,' he said. 
 When day hroke, he caused two rafts to be built, on 
 which he embarked with thirty-nine men. One of the 
 Greek emperors had recently asked his assistance in op- 
 posing a rival, and Soliman, at the head of 10,000 
 horsemen, had gone all through Thrace and Bulgaria, 
 ravaging as he went. On his return he noticed how 
 poorly guarded were the Greek fortresses on the straits. 
 He surprised one of them with his thirty-nine men. 
 Shortly after, an earthquake put into his hands the best 
 fortification of the region — Gallipoli — whence the fright- 
 ened inhabitants made their escape, flying what they 
 believed to be the wrath of Heaven. The wrath of 
 Heaven did indeed visit their city, but it came in the 
 guise of the Turks. From that day they had gained a 
 footing in Europe (1356)." — Duruy. 
 
 Janizaries. — The Sultan Amurath, son of Soliman, 
 organized the Turkish infantry, called Janizaries (new 
 soldiers). This formidable body was made up of the 
 stoutest and handsomest of the captive youth selected 
 annually for service in the army. "Educated to the re- 
 ligion of their masters, and trained in arms, they formed, 
 like the Praetorian Guard of Rome, a powerful body- 
 guard that was a terror to Europe." 
 
 Capture of Adriaiipole. — Soliman had opened the 
 gates of Europe to the Turks. Under Amurath they 
 rushed in, but before they attacked Constantinople di- 
 rectly, they turned to her surroundings. Amurath took 
 Adrianople (1360) and made it his residence. "When 
 he pitched his tent in the midst of implacable enemies 
 he made it necessary for the existence of his people that 
 
171 
 
 they should continue the conquest of the country, and 
 by taking his stand in the second town of importance in 
 Thrace, he forced them sooner or later to capture the 
 first in rank." — Diiruy. 
 
 John Paleolog:iis. — The emperor of Constantinople, to 
 avert the danger, went himself to Rome to bring about 
 the union of the Greek and Roman churches. The un- 
 fortunate monarch exhausted his last resources upon his 
 journey, and when, nothing being accomplished, he tried 
 to return to the East, he was retained by his creditors. 
 His son, Manuel, was obliged to sell all he possessed to 
 gain the release of his father. The emperor then de- 
 cided to pay tribute to the sultan, to become his vassal 
 and follow him in his wars. The conquering Turks 
 penetrated as far as the Save, and entered Thessaly and 
 then Morea. Fear of them spread in the mountains of 
 Austria and beyond the Adriatic. 
 
 '' While the Turks were gaining these victories, Con- 
 stantinople lived in constant fear, and tried to avert the 
 wrath of the sultan by abject submission. John Paleo- 
 logus paid the sultan a tribute of 30,000 gold crowns, and 
 with a body of twelve thousand men assisted him in con- 
 quering the Greek towns of Asia Minor. In 1391, he 
 built two towers near one of the city gates. The sultan 
 ordered him to demolish them, if ho did not wish his son 
 Manuel, who was then in his service, to have his eyes put 
 out. He obeyed. This same Manuel, when his father 
 died, escaped from the court of the sultan, and returned 
 to Constantinople. The sultan immediately blockaded 
 the city for seven years, until the Turks were allowed to 
 have a mosque and a cadi (judge) in the very city. In 
 
172 
 
 1400, Manuel went to Paris and London displaying all 
 the miseries of the great title he bore, and besought aid 
 against the Turks. He even begged money to support 
 his life, and he counted himself happy to obtain a pen- 
 sion of 30,000 crowns from France. The last moment 
 of the Greek Empire seemed to have come, when more 
 efficient help arrived from an unsuspected quarter." 
 
 Taniei'lane. — Another Mongol invasion occurred un- 
 der Tamerlane, a descendant of Genghis Kahn. Like 
 his ancestor, he attempted to extend his em])ire from the 
 Pacific to the banks of the Vistula and Danube. Pie 
 conquered Great Tartary,- Persia, and invaded India. 
 At Ispahan he put 70,000 persons to death ; in Khoras- 
 san, he had already massacred the whole population, ex- 
 cept 2,000 men, who were later piled one upon the other, 
 with mortar and brick to serve as foundation for several 
 towers which he wished to build. Later, before he ar- 
 rived at Delhi, India, being embarrassed by the exist- 
 ence of 100,000 captives, he had them put to death. He 
 amused himself in l>uil(ling at the city gates, pyramids of 
 twenty or thirty thousand heads. Attila and his Huns 
 were left far behind. In Russia, after making a victo- 
 rious passage as far as the neighborhood of Moscow, a 
 lack of forage and the severity of the climate forced him 
 to retreat (1393). In 1398 he was to be found at the 
 other extremity of his empire and of Asia. He was then 
 sixty-two years old ; neither age nor fatigue had any 
 power over him ; he dreamed of the conquest of the In- 
 dies. "His tired emirs asked for rest ; he read them the 
 Koran, which imposes an eternal combat with idola- 
 tors." He spread terror upon the banks of the Indus 
 
173 
 
 and Gauges ; from there througli southwestern Asia, 
 burning Aleppo, Damascus, and Bagdad, until the 16th 
 of June, 1402, he led 800,000 Mongols against 400,000 
 of the Turks, under the Sultan Bajazet, son of Amurath. 
 Here met two barbarous nations, two powers for evil 
 which brought nothing but destruction in their train. 
 "The Ottomans were defeated, their sultan taken, and 
 Asia Minor fell into the hands of the conquerors, who 
 did not stop until they came to the deep waters of the 
 Archipelago. The land was theirs, but infidels held the 
 sea. They went in search of other lands to conquer. 
 Taking a survey of Asia from one end to the other, Tam- 
 erlane could find but one empire still standing and 
 worthy of his efforts, and that was China. He was lead- 
 ing his countless hordes against that country when final- 
 ly, March 19, 1405, death stopped the indefatigable old 
 man, who has come down to us as the most terrible per- 
 sonification in history of the evil spirit of conquest. 
 After his death his empire was divided and disap- 
 peared." — Adapted from Dumy. 
 
 Amurath H. — The Ottomans, under Amurath II., 
 again commenced their attacks upon the Venetians in 
 Thessaly, Negropont, and Candia, gaining ground by 
 every assault. "After many combats in Dalmatia, in 
 Scrvia, in Wallachia, and even in Transylvania, the 
 Hungarians felt the necessity of making a great effort to 
 repulse the Ottoman domination which was coming upon 
 them from three sides at once, along the Adriatic, by the 
 Danube, and across the Carpathian Mountains. A 
 Transylvanian nobleman, named John Hunyadi, was 
 the hero of this war. The White Knight of Wallachia, 
 
174 
 
 as he is called, destroyed in the 3'ear 1442, 20,000 Turks 
 near Hermanstadt, and some time after he defeated witli 
 15,000 men an army ten times as numerous. He was 
 again victorious in Servia and Bulgaria." 
 
 "Meanwhile, the Greek Emperor, in order to gain the 
 help of Catholic Europe, had again offered to subscribe 
 to the union of the two churches. But, if an angel 
 had come down from heaven and said to the Greeks : 
 'Agree to the union and 1 will agree to drive out your 
 enemies,' they would have replied : ' Rather Moham- 
 med than the pope.' The union accepted by the em- 
 peror was refused by the bishops. It had the effect, 
 however, of instigating a new crusade, which Ladislaw, 
 king of Poland, conducted as far as Bulgaria. The 
 Sultan became uneasy and asked for peace. It was con- 
 cluded for ten years. He took his oath upon the Koran 
 and Ladislaw upon the Gospels." Against the wishes 
 of Hunyadi, the White Knight of AVallachia, the Cru- 
 saders violated the treaty. " Ladislaw was killed, and 
 Hunyadi saved but a small remnant of his army. 
 
 "Amurath did not pursue the fugitives. He did not 
 try to attack the great mass of all the Christian nations, 
 whose weight he felt, although he had been victorious 
 over them. He turned his attention to the little powers 
 to the south of the Danube. In 1446 he conquered al- 
 most all of Morea and invaded Epirus." There in those 
 inaccessible mountains he found a terrible enemy — 
 George Castriot — called by his countrymen Bey Alexan- 
 der ; by the Turks, Scanderbeg. Amurath had brought 
 him up but he had not been able to erase from the heart 
 of the Christian boy the memory of his fatherland, the 
 
faith of his ancestors, and of independence. He threw 
 off the friendship of the Turks and became their most 
 bitter enemy. "In vain did Amurath overrun Albania 
 with his troops ; Scanderbeg was always at hand — on 
 their flanks, on their rear, above their heads ; always 
 there and always striking, but always out of reach." 
 
 Hunyadi, proclaimed regent of Hungary, marched 
 into Servia meeting 150,000 Turks under Amurath. 
 The Hungarian army was almost entirely destroyed ; 
 Hunyadi escaped with the greatest difficulty. In 1451 
 Amurath died at Adrianople, without having conquered 
 Scanderbeg. — Adapted from Durmj. 
 
 Mohammed II. — Mohammed II. ascended the throne 
 with the resolution of taking Constantinople and of 
 sacrificing everything to that end. " It was his constant 
 thought by day and by night. One morning he called 
 his vizier and said to him : ' Look at my couch ; look 
 at this disorder; Constantinople keeps me from closing 
 my eyes. Give me Constantinople.' " 
 
 To sound the disposition of his soldiers, Mohammed 
 often wandered through the streets alone and in disguise ; 
 and it was fatal to discover tlie sultan when he wished 
 to escape the vulgar eye. His hours were spent in 
 delineating the plan of the hostile city ; in debating with 
 his generals and engineers, on what spot he should erect 
 his batteries, on which side he should assault the walls, 
 where he should spring his mines, to what place he 
 should apply his scaling-ladders." 
 
 " He studied with peculiar care the recent discovery of 
 gunpowder, and his artillery surpassed whatever had yet 
 appeared in the world. A Hungarian named Urban, 
 
176 
 
 who was an inventor of cannon, was not favored by the 
 Greeks, so he deserted to the Moslems. When asked if 
 he could cast a cannon capable of throwing a ball or 
 stone of sufficient size to batter the walls of Constantino- 
 ple, the artist replied : ' I am not ignorant of their 
 strength, but, were they more solid than those of Baby- 
 lon, I could oppose an engine of superior power.' On 
 this assurance a foundry was established at Adrianople, 
 the metal was prepared, and, at the end of three months, 
 Urban produced a piece of bra°s artillery capable of 
 throwing a stone bullet w^eighing about six hundred 
 pounds. A vacant place before the new palace was 
 chosen for the first experiment ; but, to prevent the sud- 
 den and mischievous effects of astonishment and fear, a 
 proclamation was issued, that th^" jannon would be dis- 
 charged the ensuing day. The explosion was felt or 
 heard in the circuit of a hundred furlongs ; the ball was 
 driven above a mile, and on the spot where it fell it 
 buried itself a fathom deep in the ground. For the con- 
 veyance of this destructive engine, a frame or carriage of 
 thirty wagons was linked together, and drawn by a team 
 of sixty oxen ; two hundred men supported the rolling 
 weight; two Inindred and fifty workmen marched before 
 to smooth the way and prepare the bridges; and nearly 
 two months were employed in a laborious journey of one 
 hundred and fifty miles. This enormous engine was 
 flanked by two cannon of almost equal magnitude. We 
 may discern the infancy of science wlien we learn that 
 the great cannon could be loaded and fired no more than 
 seven times a day." "A circumstance that distin- 
 guished the siege of Constantinople was the union of 
 
177 
 
 ancient and modern artillery. The cannon were inter 
 mingled with the mechanical engines for casting stones 
 and darts ; the bullet and battering ram were directed 
 against the same walls ; nor had the use of gunpowder 
 superseded the use of Greek fire." — Goodrich. 
 
 Siege of Constantinople. — Mohammed easih^ found a 
 pretext for declaring war against the Greek Emperor, 
 Constantine Paleologus, and, in the spring of 1453, he 
 led an immense army to beleaguer the city. Two hun- 
 dred and sixty thousand men surrounded Constantino- 
 ple, and a fleet was stationed at the entrance to the port, 
 which the besieged had closed with a chain. 
 
 "The defense of the city consisted of but 7,000 men, 
 including 2,000 Venetians and Genoese, who were com- 
 manded by an able le 'er, a Genoese named Justiniani. 
 The Emperor Constantine offered up prayers in a church 
 where a Roman bishop was officiating; his court prayed 
 in the others, according to the Greek rites, and a mortal 
 
 hatred on both sides separated the two parties." Duruy. 
 
 Mohammed's troops covered the ground before the 
 landward walls between the Sea of Marmora and the 
 Golden Horn ; but he found that even his monster can- 
 non could do but little against the massive fortifications. 
 At length he resolved to assail the city from its weakest 
 side — that facing the Golden Horn. Constantinople is 
 separated from its suburbs, Peraand Galata, by its port, 
 the Golden Horn, an inlet, long and narrow, which ex- 
 tends four miles into the country and is capable of float- 
 ing 1,200 ships. As the Golden Horn was closed by the 
 chain, Mohammed built a plank road behind the suburbs 
 Med. His.— 12 
 
178 
 
 of the cit}' and connecting the Bosporus with the upper 
 part of the Golden Horn. " The distance was about ten 
 miles ; the ground was uneven and overspread with 
 thickets. A level way was covered with a broad plat- 
 form of strong and solid planks, which they greased to 
 render slippery. Eighty light galleys and brigantines 
 of fifty or thirty oars were drawn upon the shore of the 
 Bosporus, arranged on rollers and transported over the 
 plank road by the power of men and pulleys. The sails 
 were unfurled to the wind and the labor was cheered by 
 song and acclamation. In the course of a single night 
 this Turkish fleet painfully climbed the hill, steered 
 over the plain, and was launched into the shallow 
 waters of the harbor far above the molestation of the 
 deeper vessels of the Greeks. 
 
 "After a siege of forty days the fate of Constantinople 
 could no longer be averted. At daybreak, on the 29tli of 
 May, the Turks assaulted the city by sea and by land." 
 The Christians offered a desperate resistance, and at first 
 the progress of the besiegers was doubtful. " The Greeks 
 still maintained and improved their advantage, and the 
 voice of the Emperor was heard encouraging his soldiers 
 to achieve, by a last effort, the deliverance of their coun- 
 try. At that fatal moment, the Janizaries arose, fresh, 
 vigorous, and invincible. The Sultan himself, on horse- 
 back, with an iron mace in his hand, was the spectator 
 and judge of their valor. He was surrounded by ten 
 thousand of his domestic troops, whom he reserved for 
 the decisive occasion ; and the tide of battle was directed 
 and impelled by his voice and eye. His numerous 
 ministers of justice were posted behind the line, to urge. 
 
179 
 
 to restrain, and to punish ; and, if danger was in front, 
 shame and inevitable death were in the rear of the fugi- 
 tives. The cries of fear and of pain were drowned in 
 the martial music of drums, trumpets, and atabals. 
 From the lines, the galleys, and the bridge constructed 
 across the Golden Horn, the Ottoman artiller}- thundered 
 on all sides ; and the camp and city, the Greeks and 
 Turks, were involved in a cloud of smoke, which could 
 only be dispelled by the final deliverance or destruction 
 of the city." — Goodrich. 
 
 "At eight o'clock in the morning half of Constanti- 
 nople was taken. Justiniani was mortally wounded ; 
 Constantine was dead. By this sacrifice he had ennobled 
 the last hours of the Roman Empire. The other quar- 
 ters, having their own separate fortifications capitu- 
 lated." — Duruy. 
 
 At noon Mohammed rode in triumph into his new 
 capital and went straight to the cathedral of St. Sophia; 
 there before the high altar, where, the preceding night, 
 Constantine had received the Holy Sacrament, he pros- 
 trated himself in the Moslem act of worship. 
 
 " Sanguinary as Mohammed was, the manner in which 
 he treated the vanquished did him honor. He convert- 
 ed St. Sophia into a Mohammedan mosque, but left the 
 Greeks in possession of several churches. He restrained 
 the fury of his soldiery, gave the Emperor a magnificent 
 funeral, and afterwards made Constantinople a flourish- 
 ing city." — Compiled from Goodrich, Duruy and Britan- 
 7iica. (Further conquests of the Turks, see histories 
 and Britannica under subject: "Turkey;" Origin of the 
 
180 
 
 emblem of "Crescent," see "Zigzag Journeys in the 
 Orient.") 
 
 Results of Conquest of Constantinople. — The capture of 
 Constantinople by the Venetians in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury and by the Turks in the fifteenth century brought 
 loss to the East but gain to the West. The intercourse 
 between the Greek and the Italians brought about a de- 
 velopment of art in the cities of Venice, Pisa, and Flor- 
 ence, and many Greek artists became established in 
 Italy. In like manner, the fall of the city before the 
 Turks scattered Greek learning among the Latin and 
 Teutonic races ; when Greek libraries were burned and 
 the Greek language proscribed, Greek MSS. of the Bible 
 sedulously copied by the monks of Constantinople from 
 the fifth to the fifteenth century, conveyed the text into 
 Western Europe ; the overthrow of the capital of Greek 
 literature, synchronous with the invention of printing, 
 in a great measure caused a revival of learning. — Adapted 
 from Britannica. (Effect upon Commerce, see U. 
 S. History. Read "Prince of India," by Lew Wallace. ) 
 
 V. SPAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES Concluded. 
 
 Christians and Moors. — We have learned that in the 
 eiglit century Spain was overrun by the Moors from 
 Northern Africa, who drove the Christian Visigoths into 
 the northwestern corner of the peninsula. Here the 
 most resolute of the Christian chiefs found refuge in the 
 Asturian valleys, and not only maintained their freedom, 
 but gradually pushed back the invaders, regaining the 
 land of their fathers. After seven hundred vears of al- 
 
181 
 
 most constant warfare, four Christian kingdoms — Portu- 
 gal, Aragon, Castile, and Navarre — were firmly established 
 in the peninsula, while the Moorish power had sunk to 
 the single province of Granada. 
 
 Washington Irving thus graphically describes life in 
 Spain at this period of the fifteenth century: 
 
 *' War was the normal state of Granada and its inhab- 
 itants ; the common people were subject at any moment 
 to be summoned to the field, and all the upper class was 
 a brilliant chivalry. The Christian princes, so success- 
 ful in regaining the rest of the peninsula, found their 
 triumphs checked at the mountain boundaries of this 
 kingdom. Every peak had its atalaya or watch-tower, 
 ready to make its fire by night or to send up its column 
 of smoke by day, a signal of invasion, at which the 
 whole country was on the alert. To penetrate the defiles 
 of this perilous country, to surprise a frontier fortress, 
 or to make a foray into the vega and a hasty ravage 
 within sight of the very capital, were among the most 
 favorite and daring exploits of the Castilian chivalry. 
 But they never pretended to liold the region thus rav- 
 aged ; it was sack, burn, plunder, and away ! and these 
 desolating inroads were retaliated in kind by the Moor- 
 ish cavaliers, whose greatest delight was a predatory in- 
 cursion into the Christian territories beyond the moun- 
 tains." 
 
 The Cid Campeador. — During the long struggle be- 
 tween the Spanish Christians and Mohammedan Moors, 
 there arose many heroes whose wonderful exploits in- 
 spired the recital of many fanciful legends. In those 
 days, when two armies met, it was not unusual for one 
 
182 
 
 of the bravest knights to ride out of the ranks and chal- 
 lenge a knight on the opposite side to single combat, 
 while the two armies looked on. The one who thus 
 sought to be the champion of his people was called a 
 challenger — in Spanish, campeador. Though there must 
 have been many of these valiant knights, the Spanish 
 poets of the Middle Ages have attributed all marvelous 
 deeds of virtue and honor that occurred during that 
 period to the one model hero of Spain called "The Cid" 
 (that is. Chief). 
 
 Rodrigo Diaz De Bivar, the Cid Campeador, or Lord 
 Champion, was born at Burgos about the year 1025. 
 
 When a mere boy he became famous as a campeador 
 by killing a count to avenge an injury done to his father. 
 Ximena, the daughter of the count, first entreated the 
 king for the Cid's death, then won by the splendor of 
 his valor, she herself asked for his hand in marriage. 
 Having aroused the jealousy of the king he was banished 
 and no one was allowed to shelter him under penalty of 
 losing his house and eyes. The Cid finding every door 
 closed against him offered his sword to the Moorish 
 prince of Saragossa, who quickly accepted it, and de- 
 spatched him to raid the Christian state of Aragon. He 
 and his band of followers rode through Aragon like the 
 wind, slaying every man they met, burning houses and 
 trees, tearing up vines, and stealing what they could 
 carry off. 
 
 "After a time he left the employ of the prince of Sara- 
 gossa, and took service with a Christian count to serve 
 against the Moors. According to the story, he was the 
 most terrible foe they had met." In 1094 he took pos- 
 
183 
 
 session of Valencia after a siege of nine months. He 
 proclaimed himself king, and, it is said, ruled four years 
 with vigor and justice. At length a great Moorish army 
 marched against Valencia and defeated the Cid's army 
 under his favorite lieutenant. The Cid is said to have 
 died of grief at this defeat. According to his last request 
 his body was placed in full armor upon his famous horse. 
 Babieca, and borne in a procession to the church at the 
 monastery of San Pedro, near his native town. Five 
 hundred knights rode as a body-guard, and behind the 
 body followed his wife. Dona Ximena, and her attend- 
 anis.— Adapted from Bonner and Britannica. '' The pro- 
 cession moved slowly and silently and the Moors, not 
 quite understanding it, made way for it to pass' It 
 halted at the church at San Pedro, and there, under a 
 canopy which bore the Cid's 3oat-of-arms, the body was 
 set upright in an ivory chair, still sword in hand.'' Ten 
 years later, says the legend, the corpse was reverently 
 taken out of the ivory chair and buried before the altar, 
 by the side of the faithful Ximena. 
 
 "A whole library of romance and poetry has been 
 written about the Cid. One of the most beautiful stories 
 of his life was written by the English poet, Southey, 
 and called the 'Chronicle of the Cid.' "—Bonner. The 
 following poem was written by Felicia Hemans : 
 
 THE CID'S DEATH-BED. 
 
 It was an hour of grief and fear 
 
 Within Valencia's walla, 
 When the blue spring heaven lay still and clear 
 
 Above her marble halls. 
 
184 
 
 There were pale cheeks anil troubled eyes, 
 
 And steps of hurrying feet, 
 Where the Zambra's notes were wont to rise 
 
 Along the sunny street. 
 
 It was an hour of fear and grief 
 
 •On bright Valencia's shore, 
 For Death was busy with her chief, 
 
 The noble Campeador. 
 
 The Moor king's barks were on the deep, 
 
 With sounds and signs of war ; 
 But the Cid was passing to his sleep 
 
 In the silent Alcazar. 
 
 No moan was heard through the towers of state, 
 
 No weeper's aspect seen ; 
 But by the couch Ximena sate 
 
 With pale though steadfast mien. 
 
 Stillness was round the leader's bed, 
 
 Warriors stood mournful nigh, 
 And banners o'er his glorious head 
 
 Were drooping heavily. 
 
 And feeble grew the conquering hand, 
 
 And cold the valiant breast ; 
 He had fought the battles of the land, 
 
 And his hour was come to rest. 
 
 What said the ruler of the field? 
 
 His voice is faint and low, 
 The breeze that creeps o'er his lance and shield 
 
 Hath louder accents now. 
 
 " Raise ye no cry, and let no moan 
 Be made when I dej>art ; 
 The Moor must hear no dirge's tone; 
 Be ye of mighty heart ! 
 
 " Let the cymbal clash and the trumpet strain; 
 From your walls ring far and shrill, 
 And fear ye not, for the saints of Spain 
 Shall grant you victory still. 
 
185 
 
 "And gird my form with mail array, 
 And set me on my steed ; 
 So go ye forth on your funeral way, 
 And God shall give you speed. 
 
 " Go with the dead in the front of war, 
 All armed with sword and helm, 
 And march by the camp of King Bucar, 
 For the good Castilian realm. 
 
 "And let me slumber in the soil 
 Which gave my fathers birth ; 
 I have closed my day of battle-toil. 
 And my course is done on earth." 
 
 Now wave, ye glorious banners, wave! 
 
 Through the lattice a wind sweeps by ; 
 And the arms, o'er the death-bed of the brave. 
 
 Send forth a hollow sigh. 
 
 Now wave, ye banners of many a fight, 
 
 As the fresh wind o'er you sweeps ; 
 The wind and the banners fall hushed as night, 
 
 The Campeador— he sleeps ! 
 
 Sound the battle horn on the breeze of morn, 
 
 And swell out the trumpet's blast 
 Till the notes prevail o'er the voice of wail. 
 
 For the noble Cid is dead ! 
 
 (See poems of Spain in Longfellow's "Poems of 
 Places" and Lockhart's "Ancient Spanish Ballads.") 
 
 Fall of Grranada. — "In 1479 Ferdinand V. became 
 King of Aragon ; his wife, Isabella, had previously in- 
 herited the sovereignt}'- of Castile and Leon. Thus all 
 the Christian principalities in Spain, except Navarre, 
 were united under one scepter. 
 
 " Ferdinand and Isabella administered justice, and re- 
 stored peace to their dominions, which had long suffered 
 
186 
 
 from civil commotions. Filled with a desire to propa- 
 gate the Christian religion and suppress heresy, these 
 sovereigns introduced the Inquisition, a court authorized 
 by the pope to try all persons accused of differing from 
 the established faith. This institution became the ter- 
 ror of Jews and Mohammedans, and even of the Spanish 
 nobles and clergy. On the slightest suspicion they were 
 seized, 'tried' in secrecy, put to the torture to extort a 
 confession of guilt and in many cases given to the 
 flames, while the crown was enriched with their wealth. 
 
 "One of the chief events of the reign of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella was the conquest of Granada, the last strong- 
 hold of the Mohammedans in Spain. For eight months 
 the city, crowded with starving people and distracted by 
 rival factions, held out against an army of seventy thou- 
 sand. Its luxuriant plain, or vega, was the scene of fre- 
 quent conflicts between the Christian knights and Moor- 
 ish cavaliers ; the feats of valor there performed were 
 long celebrated in the ballads of chivalry. (See chap- 
 ter entitled "The Last Ravage Before Granada" in Irv- 
 ing's "Granada.") 
 
 "Isabella herself, richly attired in complete armor, 
 rode through the camp encouraging her soldiers; while 
 the Moorish ladies toiled upon the ramparts and cheered 
 their defenders with their presence. But famine and 
 insubordination at length compelled the Moslem king to 
 capitulate. He surrendered his capital on condition that 
 the inhabitants should remain undisturbed in their re- 
 ligious faith and in the possession of their property." 
 — Quackenbos. 
 
 " The Moorish king, Boabdil, and his principal cava- 
 
187 
 
 liers were to perform the act of homage and take an oath 
 of fealty to the Castilian crown. To Boabdil was secured, 
 his wealthy estates, both in and out of Granada, and the 
 lordship of various towns, lands, and fertile valleys in 
 the Alpuxarras, forming a petty sovereignty." — Irving. 
 
 "Thus terminated in 1492 the Saracen Empire in 
 Spain, after an existence of nearly eight centuries. 
 
 "The Moors were for a time allowed freedom of wor- 
 ship, but they were in the sixteenth century compelled 
 to embrace Christianity or leave the country. Thousands 
 departed from their native land, and those who remained 
 lived in constant dread of the cruelties of the Inquisi- 
 tion. By such intolerance Spain lost multitudes of her 
 most useful and thrifty inhabitants." — Quackenbos. 
 
 The Last Sigh of the Moor.— " Having rejoined his 
 family, Boabdil set forward with a heavy heart for his 
 allotted residence in the valley of the Purchena. At two 
 leagues' distance, the cavalcade, winding into the skirts 
 of the Alpuxaras, ascended an eminence commanding 
 the last view of Granada. As they arrived at this spot, 
 the Moors paused involuntarily to take a farewell gaze at 
 their beloved city, which a few steps more would shut 
 from their sight forever. Never had it appeared so lovely 
 in their eyes. The sunshine, so bright in that trans- 
 parent climate, lit up each tower and minaret, and rested 
 gloriously upon the crowning battlements of the Alham- 
 bra ; while the vega spread its enameled bosom of verd- 
 ure below, glistening with the silver windings of the 
 Xenil. The Moorish cavaliers gazed with a silent agony 
 of tenderness and grief upon that delicious abode, the 
 scene of their loves and pleasures. While they yet looked, 
 
188 
 
 a light cloud of smoke burst forth from the citadel, and 
 presently a peal of artillery, faintly heard, told that the 
 city was taken possession of, and the throne of the 
 Moslem kings was lost forever. The heart of Boabdil, 
 softened by misfortunes, and overcharged with grief, 
 could no longer contain itself. 'Allah Achbar ! God is 
 great!" said he; but the words of resignation died upon 
 his lips, and he burst into tears. 
 
 "His mother, the intrepid Ayxa, was indignant at his 
 weakness. ' You do well,' said she, ' to weep like a wo- 
 man for what ^''ou failed to defend like a man.' * * * 
 
 ''The liill upon which they stood took the name of 
 * Feg Allali Achbar ;' but the point of view, commanding 
 the last prospect of Granada, is known among Spaniards 
 by the name of ' El ultimo suspiro del Moros ', or 'The 
 last sigh of the Moor.' " * * * 
 
 How the Castiliaii Monarchs Took Possession of Gra- 
 nada. — "It was on the 6th of January, 1492, that the 
 sovereigns made their triumphal entry with grand mili- 
 tary parade into the city of Granada." * * * 
 
 "The royal procession advanced to the principal 
 mosque, wliicli had been consecrated as a cathedral. Here 
 the sovereigns offered up prayers and thanksgivings, 
 and the choir of the royal chapel chanted a triumphal 
 anthem, in which they were joined by all the courtiers 
 and cavaliers." * * * 
 
 " When the religious ceremonies were concluded, the 
 court ascended to the stately palace of the Alhambra, 
 and entered by the great Gate of Justice. The halls 
 lately occupied by turbaned infidels now rustled with 
 stately dames and Christian courtiers, who wandered 
 
189 
 
 with eager curiosity over this far-famed palace, admir- 
 ing its verdant courts and gushing fountains, its halls 
 decorated with elegant arabesques and storied with in- 
 scriptions, and the splendor of its gilded and brilliantly 
 painted ceilings." * * * 
 
 "The Spanish sovereigns fixed their throne in the 
 presence-chamber of the palace, so long the seat of 
 Moorish royalty. Hither the inhabitants of Granada 
 repaired, to pay them homage and kiss their hands in 
 token of vassalage ; and their example was followed by 
 deputies from all the towns and fortresses of the Alpux- 
 aras, which had not hitherto submitted. 
 
 "Thus terminated the war of Granada, after ten 
 years of incessant fighting ; equaling the far-famed siege 
 of Troy in duration, and ending, like that, in the capture 
 of the city. Thus ended also the dominion of the Moors 
 in Spain, having endured seven hundred and seventy - 
 eight years from the memorable defeat of Roderick, the 
 last of the Goths, on the banks of the Guadalete." — 
 Irving. 
 
 TOWARD THE SEA. 
 
 There was weeping in Granada on that eventful day ; 
 One king in triumph entered in; one, vanquished, rode away. 
 Down from the Alhamhra's minarets was every crescent flung 
 And the cry of "Santiago!" through the jeweled palace rung. 
 
 And singing, singing, singing. 
 
 Were the nightingales of Spain, 
 
 But the Moorish monarch, lonely, 
 
 The cadences heard only. 
 "They sadly sing," said he: 
 "They sadly sing to me." 
 
 And through the groves melodious 
 
 He rode toward the sea. 
 
190 
 
 There was joy in old Granada on that eventful day : 
 One king in triumph entered in; one slowly rode away. 
 Up the Alcala singing marched the gay cavaliers 
 Gained was the Moslem Empire of twice three hundred years; 
 And singing, singing, singing, 
 AYere the nightingales of Spain, 
 But the Moorish monarch lonely, 
 The cadences heard only. 
 "They sadly sing," said he, 
 "They sadly sing to me, 
 All the birds of Andalusia!" 
 And he rode toward the sea. 
 
 Through the groves of Alpuxaras, on that eventful day, 
 The vanquished king rode slowly and tearfully, away. 
 He paused upon the Xenil, and saw Granada fair 
 Wreathed with the sunset's roses in palpitating air. 
 
 And singing, singing, singing. 
 
 Were the nightingales of Spain. 
 
 But the Moorish monarch, lonely, 
 
 The cadences heard only. 
 "They sadly sing," said he, 
 "They sadly sing to me; 
 
 Oh, groves of Andalusia!" 
 
 He rode toward the sea. 
 
 The Vega heaped with flowers below the city lay, 
 
 And faded in the sunset, as he slowly rode away, 
 
 And he paused again a moment amid the cavaliers. 
 
 And saw the golden palace shine through tlie mist of tears; 
 
 And singing, singing, singing* 
 
 Were the nightingales of Spain. 
 
 But the Moorish monarch, lonely. 
 
 The cadences heard only. 
 "They sadly sing," said he, 
 "They sadly sing to me; 
 
 Farewell, O Andalusia!" 
 
 And he rode toward the sea. 
 
191 
 
 Past the gardens of Granada rode Isabella fair, 
 As twilight's parting roses fell on the sea of air; 
 She heard the lisping fountains, and not the Moslem's sighs 
 She saw the sun-crowned mountains, and not the tear-wet eyes. 
 "Sing on," she said, "forever, 
 
 O nightingales of Spain ; 
 
 Xenil nor Guadalquivir 
 
 Will he ne'er see again. 
 
 Ye sweetly sing," said she, 
 "Ye sweetly sing tome." 
 
 She rode toward the palace; 
 
 He rode toward the sea. 
 
 " I see above yon palace your pinnacles of gems 
 The banners of the chalice, the dual diadems: 
 It fills my heart with rapture, as from a smile divine, 
 I feel the will to bless it, if all the world were mine. 
 "Sing on," she said, "forever, 
 O nightingale.s of Spain ; 
 Xenil nor Guadalquivir 
 Will he ne'er see again. 
 Ye sweetly sing," said she, 
 "Ye sweetly sing to me." 
 She rode toward the capital ; 
 He rode toward the sea. 
 
 -Butterworth. 
 
' LIST OF WORKS 
 
 WJiich, by kind permission of the publishers or authors {ichere copyright 
 is in force), are quoted from or referred to in this icork. 
 
 Ditruy's " Middle Ages," translated by E. & M. Whitney, edited by 
 
 George D. Adams, and published by Henry Holt & Co. 
 Myers' "General History," by Ginn & Co. 
 Lydia Hoyt Farmer's " Boys' Book of Famous Rulers," by Thomas 
 
 Crowell & Co. 
 Bonner's "Child's History of Spain," Copyright, 1894, by Harper & 
 
 Brothers. 
 Bonner's "Child's History of France," Copyright, 1893, by Harper & 
 
 Brothers. 
 Goodrich'.s "History of England," l)y E. H. Butler & Co. 
 Charlotte Yonge's " History of Germany," by D. Lothrop & Co. 
 Charlotte Yonge's "History of France," by Estes & Lauriat. 
 Lew Wallace's "Ben Hur" and "Prince of India," by Harper & 
 
 Brothers. 
 QiACKENBos' "School History of the World," bv D. Appleton & Co. 
 
 1876. 
 Dickens' "Child's History of England." 
 Bitterworth's " Zigzag Journeys," by Estes & Lauriat. 
 Irving's 'Granada" and "Alhanibra." 
 
 Emerton's " Introduction to Study of Middle Ages," by Ginn & Co. 
 Edgar's "Crusades and Crusaders," by Ward, Lock & Bowden. 
 Gibbon's " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." 
 Church's "Stories from English History," by the Macmilian Co. 
 Peter Parley's "Cabinet Library." 1849. 
 Ridpath's "History of the World," by Jones Brothers Publishing 
 
 Company. 
 " Encyclopedia Britannica." 
 
 Barnes' "General History," by American Book Company. 
 Jane Andrew's "Ten Boys." 
 Scott's "Ivanhoe" and "Talisman." 
 
 Miss Kirkland's " History of France" and "History of England." 
 Mary Mapes Dodge's "Hans Brinker." 
 Jane Porter's " Scottish Chiefs." 
 Grace Aquilar's " Days of Bruce." 
 Longfellow's " Poems of Europe." 
 Lockhart's " Ancient Spanish Ballads." 
 Bctterworth's Poem ""Towards the Sea." 
 Felicia Hk.mans' "Homes of England," "The Cid's Deathbed" and 
 
 "The Alhambra." 
 BiLWER Lytton's "The Last Crusader." 
 Other Poe.ms from Goldsmith, Thomson, N. P. Willis and Emanuel 
 
 Geibel. 
 References to Lowell's "Sir Launfal," Tennyson's "King Arthur," 
 
 Bryant's " William Tell," Knowles' " AVilliam Tell," James Mont- 
 gomery's " Arnold Winkelried." 
 
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