Fulcher
of Chartres: History of the Expedition to Jerusalem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Selections:
* Urban II's Speech at
Clermont
* The Capture of Jerusalem
* The Latins in the Levant
See
also:
Martha
E. McGinty, Fulcher of Chartres: Chronicle of the First Crusade, (London: Oxford University
Press; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1941)
Frances
R. Ryan, and H.S. Fink, Fulcher of Chartres: A History of the Expedition to
Jerusalem, 1095-1127, (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1969)
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1.
Urban II's Speech at Clermont
Most
beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission of God chief
bishop and prelate over the whole world, have come into these parts as an
ambassador with a divine admonition to you, the servants of God. I hoped to
find you as faithful and as zealous in the service of God as I had supposed you
to be. But if there is in you any deformity or crookedness contrary to God's
law, with divine help I will do my best to remove it. For God has put you as
stewards over his family to minister to it. Happy indeed will you be if he
finds you faithful in your stewardship. You are called shepherds; see that you
do not act as hirelings. But be true shepherds, with your crooks always in your
hands. Do not go to sleep, but guard on all sides the flock committed to you.
For if through your carelessness or negligence a wolf carries away one of your sheep,
you will surely lose the reward laid up for you with God. And after you have
been bitterly scourged with remorse for your faults-, you will be fiercely
overwhelmed in hell, the abode of death. For according to the gospel you are
the salt of the earth [Matt. 5:13]. But if you fall short in your duty, how, it
may be asked, can it be salted? O how great the need of salting! It is indeed
necessary for you to correct with the salt of wisdom this foolish people which
is so devoted to the pleasures of this -world, lest the Lord, when He may wish
to speak to them, find them putrefied by their sins unsalted and stinking. For
if He, shall find worms, that is, sins, In them, because you have been
negligent in your duty, He will command them as worthless to be thrown into the
abyss of unclean things. And because you cannot restore to Him His great loss,
He will surely condemn you and drive you from His loving presence. But the man
who applies this salt should be prudent, provident, modest, learned, peaceable,
watchful, pious, just, equitable, and pure. For how can the ignorant teach
others? How can the licentious make others modest? And how can the impure make
others pure? If anyone hates peace, how can he make others peaceable ? Or if
anyone has soiled his hands with baseness, how can he cleanse the impurities of
another? We read also that if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the
ditch [Matt. 15:14]. But first correct yourselves, in order that, free from
blame , you may be able to correct those who are subject to you. If you wish to
be the friends of God, gladly do the things which you know will please Him. You
must especially let all matters that pertain to the church be controlled by the
law of the church. And be careful that simony does not take root among you,
lest both those who buy and those who sell [church offices] be beaten with the
scourges of the Lord through narrow streets and driven into the place of
destruction and confusion. Keep the church and the clergy in all its grades
entirely free from the secular power. See that the tithes that belong to God
are faithfully paid from all the produce of the land; let them not be sold or
withheld. If anyone seizes a bishop let him be treated as an outlaw. If anyone
seizes or robs monks, or clergymen, or nuns, or their servants, or pilgrims, or
merchants, let him be anathema [that is, cursed]. Let robbers and incendiaries
and all their accomplices be expelled from the church and anthematized. If a
man who does not give a part of his goods as alms is punished with the
damnation of hell, how should he be punished who robs another of his goods? For
thus it happened to the rich man in the gospel [Luke 16:19]; he was not
punished because he had stolen the goods of another, but because he had not
used well the things which were his.
"You
have seen for a long time the great disorder in the world caused by these
crimes. It is so bad in some of your provinces, I am told, and you are so weak
in the administration of justice, that one can hardly go along the road by day
or night without being attacked by robbers; and whether at home or abroad one
is in danger of being despoiled either by force or fraud. Therefore it is
necessary to reenact the truce, as it is commonly called, which was proclaimed
a long time ago by our holy fathers. I exhort and demand that you, each, try
hard to have the truce kept in your diocese. And if anyone shall be led by his
cupidity or arrogance to break this truce, by the authority of God and with the
sanction of this council he shall be anathematized."
After
these and various other matters had been attended to, all who were present,
clergy and people, gave thanks to God and agreed to the pope's proposition.
They all faithfully promised to keep the decrees. Then the pope said that in
another part of the world Christianity was suffering from a state of affairs
that was worse than the one just mentioned. He continued:
"Although,
O sons of God, you have promised more firmly than ever to keep the peace among
yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an
important work for you to do. Freshly quickened by the divine correction, you
must apply the strength of your righteousness to another matter which concerns
you as well as God. For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need
of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been
promised them. For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have
attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania [the Greek empire] as
far west as the shore of the Mediterranean and the Hellespont, which is called
the Arm of St. George. They have occupied more and more of the lands of those
Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and
captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire. If
you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God
will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the
Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to
persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich,
to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from
the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for
those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it.
"All
who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans,
shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of
God with which I am invested. O what a disgrace if such a despised and base
race, which worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of
omnipotent God and is made glorious with the name of Christ! With what
reproaches will the Lord overwhelm us if you do not aid those who, with us,
profess the Christian religion! Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to
wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the infidels and end
with victory this war which should have been begun long ago. Let those who for
a long time, have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been
fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against
the barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay
now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out
in both body and soul now work for a double honor. Behold! on this side will be
the sorrowful and poor, on that, the rich; on this side, the enemies of the
Lord, on that, his friends. Let those who go not put off the journey, but rent
their lands and collect money for their expenses; and as soon as winter is over
and spring comes, let hem eagerly set out on the way with God as their
guide."
Source:
Bongars,
Gesta Dei per Francos, 1, pp. 382 f., trans in Oliver J. Thatcher, and Edgar Holmes
McNeal, eds., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Scribners,
1905), 513-17
2.
The Capture of Jerusalem
The
final act of the First Crusade was Christian attack on Jerusalem, which was
captured on July 15, 1099. Fulk of Chartres, the author of this account,
participated in the storming of the city and in the bloody massacre which
followed.
Chapter
27: The Siege of the City of Jerusalem
On
the seventh of June the Franks besieged Jerusalem. The city is located in a mountainous
region, which is lacking in rivers, woods, and springs, except the Fountain of
Siloam, where there is plenty of water, but it empties forth only at certain
intervals. This fountain empties into the valley, at the foot of Mount Zion,
and flows into the course of the brook of Kedron, which, during the winter,
flows through the valley of Jehosaphat. There are many cisterns, which furnish
abundant water within the city. When filled by the winter rains and well cared
for, they offer both men and beasts an unfailing supply at all times. Moreover,
the city is laid out most beautifully, and cannot be criticized. for too great
length or as being disproportionately narrow. On the west is the. tower of
David,. which is flanked on both sides by the broad wall of the city. The lower
half of the wall is solid masonry, of square stones and mortar, sealed with
molten lead. So strong is this wall that, if fifteen or twenty men should be
well supplied with provisions, they would never be taken by any army. . . .
When
the Franks saw how difficult it would be to take the city, the leaders ordered
scaling ladders to be made, hoping that by a brave assault it might be possible
to surmount the walls by means 'of ladders and thus take the city, God helping.
So the ladders were made, and on the day following the seventh, in the early
morning, the leaders ordered the attack, and, with the trumpets sounding, a
splendid assault was made on the city from all sides. The attack lasted till
the sixth hour, but it was discovered that the city could not be entered by the
use of ladders, which were few in number, and sadly we ceased the attack.
Then
a council was held, and it was ordered that siege machines should be
constructed by the artisans, so that by moving them close to the wall we might
accomplish our purpose, with the aid of God. This was done.......
. .
.When the tower had been put together and bad been covered with hides, it was
moved nearer to the wall. Then knights, few in number, but brave, at the sound
of the trumpet, took their places in the tower and began to shoot stones and
arrows. The Saracens defended themselves vigorously, and, with slings, very
skilfully hurled back burning firebrands, which had been dipped in oil and
fresh fat. Many on both sides, fighting in this manner, often found themselves
in the presence of death.
. .
. On the following day the work again began at the sound of the trumpet, and to
such purpose that the rams, by continual pounding, made a hole through one part
of the wall. The Saracens suspended two beams before the opening, supporting
them by ropes, so that by piling stones behind them they would make an obstacle
to the rams. However, what they did for their own protection became, through
the providence of God, the cause of their own destruction. For, when the tower
was moved nearer to the wall, the ropes that supported the beams were cut; from
these same beams the Franks constructed a bridge, which they cleverly extended
from the tower to the wall. About this time one of the towers in the stone wall
began to burn, for the men who worked our machines had been hurling firebrands
upon it until the wooden beams within it caught fire. The flames and smoke soon
became so bad that none of the defenders of this part of the wall were able to
remain near this place. At the noon hour on Friday, with trumpets sounding,
amid great commotion and shouting "God help us," the Franks entered
the city. When the pagans saw one standard planted on the wall, they were
completely demoralized, and all their former boldness vanished, and they turned
to flee through the narrow streets of the city. Those who were already in rapid
flight began to flee more rapidly.
Count
Raymond and his men, who were attacking the wall on the other side, did not yet
know of all this, until they saw the Saracens leap from the wall in front of
them. Forthwith, they joyfully rushed into the city to pursue and kill the
nefarious enemies, as their comrades were already doing. Some Saracens, Arabs,
and Ethiopians took refuge in the tower of David, others fled to the temples of
the Lord and of Solomon. A great fight took place in the court and porch of the
temples, where they were unable to escape from our gladiators. Many fled to the
roof of the temple of Solomon, and were shot with arrows, so that they fell to
the ground dead. In this temple almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you
had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the
blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive;
neither women nor children were spared.
Chapter
28: The Spoils Taken By the Christians
This
may seem strange to you. Our squires and poorer footmen discovered a trick of
the Saracens, for they learned that they could find byzants [note: a gold
coin] in the
stomachs and intestines of the dead Saracens, who had swallowed them. Thus,
after several days they burned a great heap of dead bodies, that they might
more easily get the precious metal from the ashes. Moreover, Tancred broke into
the temple of the Lord and most wrongfully stole much gold and silver, also
precious stones, but later, repenting of his action, after everything had been
accounted for, be restored all to its former place of sanctity.
The
carnage over, the crusaders entered the houses and took whatever they found in
them. However, this was all done in such a sensible manner that whoever entered
a house first received no injury from any one else, whether he was rich or
poor. Even though the house was a palace, whatever he found there was his
property. Thus many poor men became rich.
Afterward,
all, clergy and laymen, went to the Sepulcher of the Lord and His glorious
temple, singing the ninth chant. With fitting humility, they repeated prayers
and made their offering at the holy places that they had long desired to visit.
. . .
It
was the eleven hundredth year of our Lord, if you subtract one, when the people
of Gaul took the city. It was the 15th day of July when the Franks in their
might captured the city. It was the eleven hundredth year minus one after the
birth of our Lord, the 15th day of July in the two hundred and eighty-fifth
year after the death of Charles the Great and the twelfth year after the death
of William I of England.
Source:
Fulk
(or Fulcher) of Chartres, Gesta Francorum Jerusalem Expugnantium [The Deeds of the Franks Who
Attacked Jerusalem], in Frederick Duncan and August C. Krey, eds., Parallel
Source Problems in Medieval History (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1912),
pp. 109-115. [Chapter
headings added for the etext version to match the more modern translation -
Fulk of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, trans. Frances Rita Ryan,
(Nashville: University of Tennesee Press, 1969)]
3.
The Latins in the Levant [From Book III]
Consider,
I pray, and reflect bow in our time God has transferred the West into the East,
For we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals. He who was a Roman or
a Frank is now a Galilaean, or an inhabitant of Palestine. One who was a
citizen of Rheims or of Chartres now has been made a citizen of Tyre or of
Antioch. We have already forgotten the places of our birth; already they have
become unknown to many of us, or, at least, are unmentioned. Some already
possess here homes and servants which they have received through inheritance.
Some have taken wives not merely of their own people, but Syrians, or
Armenians, or even Saracens who have received the grace of baptism. Some have
with them father-in-law, or daughter-in-law, or son-in-law, or stepson, or
step-father. There are here, too, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One
cultivates vines, another the fields. The one and the other use mutually the
speech and the idioms of the different languages. Different languages, now made
common, become known to both races, and faith unites those whose forefathers
were strangers. As it is written, "The lion and the ox shall eat straw
together." Those who were strangers are now natives; and he who was a
sojourner now has become a resident, Our parents and relatives from day to day
come to join us, abandoning, even though reluctantly, all that they possess.
For those who were poor there, here God makes rich. Those who had few coins,
here possess countless besants; and those who had not had a villa, here, by the
gift of God, already possess a city. Therefore why should one who has found the
East so favorable return to the West? God does not wish those to suffer want
who, carrying their crosses, have vowed to follow Him, nay even unto the end.
You see, therefore, that this is a great miracle, and one which must greatly
astonish the whole world. Who has ever heard anything like it? Therefore, God
wishes to enrich us all and to draw us to Himself as His most dear friends. And
because He wishes it, we also freely desire the same; and what is pleasing to
Him we do with a loving and submissive heart, that with Him we may reign
happily throughout eternity.
Source:
August.
C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921), 280-81