Medieval Sourcebook:
Ansbert:
Letter from the East to the Master of the Hospitallers, 1187

[TR] This letter gives the most reliable account of the events which decided the fate of the kingdom of Jerusalem. It is without pretence to literary style, and the spelling is very bad. In the text the proper names are spelled as in the original letter. The forms in brackets have been adopted from Rey’s Colonies franques de Syrie aux XIIme et XIII siиcles (Paris 1883), and Guy Le Strange’s Palestine under the Moslems, (Boston and New York: 1890). The rapidity of Saladin’s success and the hopelessness of the Christians are well brought out.
We make known to you, lord Archambault, master of the Hospitalers in Italy, and to the brethren, all the events which have happened in the countries beyond the seas.
Learn, therefore, that the king of Jerusalem was near Saphora [Sephoria] with a great army of at least thirty thousand men about the festival of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and was in perfect concord with the count of Tripoli, and the latter was with the army. And behold Saladin, the pagan king, approached Tabaria [Tiberias] with eighty thousand horsemen and took Tabaria. After this was done the king of Jerusalem left Saphora and went with his men drawn up against Saladin. And Saladin came against him near Marestutia [Marescallia] on the Friday after the festival of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Battle was engaged and during the whole day they fought fiercely, but night interrupted the strife. In the intervening night the king of Jerusalem fixed his tents near Salnubia, and on the next day, Saturday, moved with his army.
About the third hour the master of the Templars, with all his brethren, began the battle. They received no aid and, by God’s permission, lost the greater portion of their men. After this happened, the king, by hard fighting and with great difficulty, went with his army to Naim, about a league distant, and then the count of Tripoli came to the king and made him pitch his tents near the mountain, which is a sort of fortress, and they were not able to pitch more than three tents. After this was done, the Turks seeing that they had pitched their tents, kindled fires around the army of the king, and, in truth, the heat was so great that the horsemen were baking and were not able to eat or drink. Next, Baldwin of Fatinor, Bacbaberboc of Tabaria and Leisius, with three other associates, separated themselves from the army, went over to Saladin and ­ a thing which is grievous to relate — denied their faith, surrendered themselves to him, and betrayed to him the army of the king of Jerusalem, by revealing the difficult position in which it was.
Therefore Saladin sent against us Tecbedin [Taki­Eddin] with twenty thousand chosen soldiers who rushed upon our army, and the battle raged very fiercely from the ninth hour to vespers. And, because of our sins, very many of ours were killed, the Christian people were conquered, the king was captured’ and the holy cross and count Gabula and Milo of Colaterido and Onfred
Botrono [Botron] and the lord of Marachele and a thousand others of the best, captured and killed, so that not more than two hundred of the horsemen and soldiers escaped. The count
[Honfroy] the youth, and prince Reinald [Reginald] captured and killed. And Walter of Arsun and Hugo of Gibelen [Gibelin] and the lord of of Tripoli, lord Basian and R. [Reginald], the lord of Sidon, escaped.
After this Saladin collected his army again and on Sunday came to Saphora and took Saphora and Nazareth, and Mount Tabor, and on Monday came to Acon [Acre], which is also called Acris; and those in Acon surrendered. Likewise those of Caifas and those of Cesarea [Caesarea] and of Jafa [Joppa], and of Naple [Neapolis], and of Ram [Ramlah], and of St. George, and of Ybelinon [Ibelin], and of Bellefort [Belfort], and of Mirabel, and of Tyron [Tyre], and of Gwaler, and of Gazer [Gaza], and of Andurum [Daruin], all surrendered. After this, when our galley moved from Sur [Tyre], they sent Sabani to Saladin that he should go to Jerusalem and they would surrender the city. And we fled with the galley to Lechia [Laodicea], and we beard that Tyre had surrendered. Moreover, the following cities are still safe and are awaiting aid fron the western Church; namely, Jerusalem, Sur, Scalona [Ascalon], Marchat, Antyochia [Antioch], Lassar, Saona, Triplis [Tripoli]. Moreover, so great is the multitude of the Saracens and Turks that from Tyre, which they are besieging, they cover the face of the earth as far as Jerusalem, like an innumerable army of ants, and unless aid is quickly brought to the remaining above-mentioned cities and to the very few Christians remaining in the East, by a similar fortune they will be plundered by the raging infidels, thirsting for the blood of the Christians.

Source:
Ansbert in Fontes Rerum Austriac. 1 Abth., Vol V, p. 2. Iatin. Reprinted in Beylagen to Wilken: Geschichte der Kreuzzьge Vol. IV, pp 93-94, trans in Dana C. Munro, «Letters of the Crusaders», Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:4, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1896), 18-20

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall December 1997
halsall@murray.fordham.edu

Roger of Hoveden:
The Fall of Jerusalem, 1187

Hoveden provided a political narrative explaining the loss of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187
1186
In the same year, Constance, the countess of Brittany, daughter of earl Conan, whom Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, her husband, had left pregnant at the time of his decease, was delivered of her eldest son on the holy night of Easter, and his name was called Arthur. . In the same year, Baldwin, the boy-kin- of Jerusalem, son of William le Marchis, departed this life, and was succeeded in the kingdom by his mother Sibylla, by hereditary right; but before she was crowned, a divorce was effected between her and Guido de Lusignan, her husband, by the Patriarch Heraclius and the Templars and Hospitallers, who wished her to marry Walran, earl of Tripolis, or some nobleman of the principal people of the land of Jerusalem; she, however, by a wonderful piece of cunning, deceived them, saying: » If a divorce takes place between me and my husband, I wish you to make me sure, by your promises and oaths, that whomsoever I shall make choice of you will choose for your head and lord.»
Accordingly, after they had go done, they led her into the Temple, and the before-named- Patriarch crowned her; shortly after which, when all were offering up their prayers that God the Lord Almighty would provide a fitting king for that land, the before-named queen took the royal crown in her hands, and placed it on the head of Guido de Lusignan her husband, saying, » I make choice of thee as king, and as my lord, and as lord. of the land of Jerusalem, for those whom God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.»
At these words all stood in amazement, but on account of the oath which they had made, no one dared oppose her, and the Patriarch, approaching, anointed him king; and then, Divine service having been celebrated, the Templars escorted the king and queen to their abode, and provided for them a sumptuous entertainment. The earl of Tripolis, however, vexed and sorrowful that the queen had rejected him, went to Saladin, king of Babylon, and, entering into an alliance with him, devised many evils for the destruction of the king and queen. Saladin, however, requested that the truce before-mentioned, which he had made until the ensuing Easter, should be prolonged for the three years next ensuing; to which proposition king Guido, by the advice of the Templars, assented, although it was evident to him that there would shortly come a vast number of pilgrims, both from England and other kingdoms, in consequence of the preaching of the Patriarch. Accordingly, after Easter, there came to Jerusalem an immense multitude of men-at-arms and other pilgrims; but as the truce had been prolonged, -very few of them chose to remain. However, Roger de Mowbray and Hugh de Beauchamp remained there in the service of God.
……
1187
In the same year, Saladin, king of Babylon, with an immense multitude of his Turks, on pretext of the disunion which existed between the king and the earl of Tripolis, entered the land of Jerusalem; on which the brethren of the Temple and of the Hospital went forth against him with a great multitude of people, and on an engagement taking place between them, the army of the Pagans prevailed against the Christians, on which the latter betook themselves to flight, and many of them were slain and many taken prisoners. On the same day also, being the calends of May, sixty brethren of the Temple, and the Grand Master of the Hospital, together with sixty brethren of his house, were slain.
Saladin, on gaining this great victory, attacked and took a considerable number of the castles, cities, and fortresses of the Christians; after which, returning to his own country, he levied a great army, and, by the advice, it is said, of the earl of Tripolis, who was an enemy to the king entered the territory of Jerusalem, on the Friday after the feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, with eight hundred thousand men or more; on which he took Tiberias, with the exception of the keep of the castle, to which place the lady of the castle had retreated, together with a few knights. On king Guido being informed of this, by the advice of the earl of Tripolis, who had lately, with fraudulent intent, entered into a treaty of peace, the king proceeded one day’s march towards Tiberias, when the earl of Tripolis, who was the leader and guide in the march, halted the whole army on an elevated and craggy -pot. Being there threatened with an attack of the enemy on every side, the king, urged by necessity, and compelled by the advice of his barons, thought proper to engage, and, at their entreaty, gave the honor of striking the first blow to the Master and knights of the Temple.
Upon this, the brotherhood of the Temple, rushing upon the foe with the bravery of lions, put some to the sword, and forced others to take to flight. The rest, however, neglecting the king’s commands, did not join the battle, or give them any succour whatever; in consequence of which, the knights of the Temple were hemmed in and slaughtered. After this, the troops of Saladin surrounded the army of the Christians, worn out with the fatigues of the march, exhausted by the intense beat of the climate, and utterly destitute of water,- and, in a great measure, of food as well. At this conjunction, six of the king’s knights, namely, Baldwin de Fortune, Raymond Buck, and Laodicius de Tiberias, with three companions, being seized with a diabolical spirit, fled to Saladin, and spontaneously became Saracens, informing him of every particular as to the present state, intentions, and resources of the Christians. On this, Saladin, who before was in anxious doubt as to the result of the warfare, took courage, and with trumpets sounding, made an attack with an infinite multitude of warriors on the Christians, who, in consequence of the rocky and inaccessible nature of the spot, were unable to fight ; and so, assailing them with every possible method of attack, he utterly routed the Christians. At last, Thekedin, the nephew of Saladiia, took Guido, king of Jerusalem, while flying, and the wood of the Cross of our Lord, after slaying Rufinus, bishop of Acre, who was carrying it. And this was done through the righteous judgment of God; for, contrary to the usage of his predecessors, having greater faith in worldly arms than in heavenly ones, he went forth to battle equipped in a coat, of mail, and shortly after he perished, being pierced by an arrow. Nearly all the others, being utterly routed, were taken prisoners and either slain or loaded with chains, the Persians, oh, great disgrace’ remaining masters of the camp.
The earl of Tripolis alone, who was the designer of this treachery, escaped with his men unhurt. Immediately after the battle, Saladin ordered the knights of the Temple and of the Hospital to be separated from the rest, and to be decapitated in his presence, he himself with his own hand slaying Raymond. de Castiglione, their chief. After this he took the city of Acre and the places adjacent, with nearly all the fortified spots in those parts.
In the meantime, Conrad le Marchis, brother of the above mentioned William, earl of Joppa, having been guilty of murder in the city of Constantinople, took to flight, deserting his wife, the niece of Isaac, emperor of Constantinople; and on the very same day on which Saladin gained this victory over the Christians, Conrad came to Tyre and found it deserted, for nearly all the citizens of the place were slain in the before mentioned battle. On Saladin coming thither, expecting to have free ingress, Conrad offered a stout resistance, and refused him permission to enter; on which, Saladin, seeing that he could effect nothing by staying there, took his departure, and captured the city of Beyrout, and both the cities which are called Gibelet, with Sidon, and the city of Caesarea, as also Joppa, Saint George, Saint Abraham, Bethlehem, the New Castle of Caiaphas, Saphet, Jaunay, Mount Tabor, Faba, and Caffarmundel, the Cave of the Temple, Calenzun, Marle of the Temple, the Castle on the Plain, Ramah, Bethurun of the Knights, Castle Arnald, Castle Bourgoing, Tarentum, Blanchewarde, Galatia, Gasseres, Darun, [*A great portion of these names are most probably incorrect] Rouge Cisterne, the Castle of Saint Peter, Saint Lazarus of Bethany, Saint Mary-of Mount Sion, and the City of Jerusalem.
On this, the queen, the wife of Guido, betook herself, with her two daughters and her household, to the city of Ascalon, and fortified it with provisions and soldiers; these, however, in the second year after, she surrendered to Saladin for the ransom of her. husband Guido, and thus liberated him from the custody of Saladin. All those, however, who had fled to Acre, and a multitude of Christians who had taken to flight, betook themselves to Tyre, and made Conrad their ruler and protector; Antioch also, and Margat, with nearly all the lands of the prince thereof, stoutly fortified themselves against Saladin.
While the earl of Tripolis was endeavouring to wean his nation from the worship of God, and to betray his country to Saladin, he was found dead in his bed just as though fast asleep; on which his wife, with all her people, surrendered herself and the city of Tripolis to Raymond, prince of Antioch, and he appointed his son Jocelyn lord thereof.
Now when pope Urban heard that in his time the king of Jerusalem had been taken prisoner, as also the Cross of our Lord, and the Holy City of Jerusalem, he was greatly afflicted, and fell ill and died on the thirteenth day before the kalends of November, at Ferrara; being succeeded in the papacy by Albert his chancellor, who was called pope Gregory the Eighth. On this, the cardinals, with the sanction of our lord the pope, strictly pledged themselves to each other, disregarding all wealth and luxuries, to preach the cross of Christ, and that not in word only but by deed and example, and to be the first, assuming the cross, to go begging for succours, and to precede the rest to the land of Jerusalem. They also, with the consent of our lord the pope, established a most strict truce between all the princes of Christendom, to last for a period of seven years; on the understanding that whoever in the meantime should commence war against a Christian, should be subject to the curse of God, and of our lord the pope, and the excommunication of all the prelates of the Universal Church. They also solemnly promised each other, that from thenceforth they would receive presents from no one who had a cause to try in the court, but would only receive as much as should be given, or sent to supply their necessities and for their sustenance -, as also that they would not mount a horse so long as the land on which the feet of the Lord had stood should remain under the feet of the enemy.
It is also worthy of observation, and to be ascribed to the Divine Providence, that at the time when the city of Jerusalem and Antioch had been rescued from the power of the Pagans, on the expedition headed by Audemar, bishop of Puy, and many other bishops and religious men, as also Hugh, brother of Philip, king of France, Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, Stephen, count of Chartres, Robert, duke of Normandy, brother of William the Second, the king of England, then reigning, (which Robert conquered in battle, Colbrand, the chief of the knighthood of the Pagans), Robert, earl of Flanders, Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and Baldwin, the two brothers of duke Godfrey, Raymond, earl of Saint Gilles, Boamund, son of Robert Guiscard, and many other noblemen, the pope who was then living was named Urban, the Patriarch of Jerusalem was called Heraclius, and the emperor of Rome was called Frederic; and so now, when the land of Jerusalem was taken from the hands of the Christians by the people of Saladin, the pope was called Urban, the patriarch of Jerusalem Heraclius, and. the Roman emperor Frederic. It also deserves to be known, that between the time when Jerusalem was rescued from the hands of the Pagans by the warriors before-named; and the time when king Guido was deprived of it, a space of eighty- seven years intervened.
Hoveden includes in his account a letter by the Master of the Temple explaining the loss.
The Letter of Terricius, Master of the, Temple, on the
Capture of the Land of Jerusalem
The brother Terricius, So called Grand Master of the most impoverished house of the Temple, and of all the brethren himself the most impoverished, and that brotherhood all but annihilated, to all commanders and brethren of the Temple to whom these presents Shall come, greeting, and may they lift up their sighs to Him at whom the sun and moon are astounded. With how many and how great calamities, our sins so requiring it, the anger of God has lately permitted us to be scourged, we are unable, O sad fate! either in writing or in the language of tears to express. For the Turks, assembling together an immense multitude of their nations, began with bitter hostility to invade the territories of us Christians; and accordingly, uniting the forces of our nation against them, we ventured, before the octave of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, to attack them; and for that purpose ventured to direct our march towards Tiberias, which, leaving their camp unprotected, they had taken by storm. After repulsing us among some most dangerous rocks, they attacked us with such vehemence, that after they had captured the Holy Cross and our king, and a whole multitude of us had been slain, and after two hundred and thirty of our brethren, as we verily believe, had been taken by them and beheaded, (besides those sixty who had been slain on the first of May), with great difficulty, the lord the earl of Tripolis, the lord Reginald of Sidon, the- lord Ballovius, and ourselves, were enabled to make our escape from that dreadful field. After this, the Pagans, revelling in the blood of us Christians, did not delay to press on with all their hosts towards the city of Tyre; and, taking it by storm, spread themselves over nearly the whole of the land, Jerasalem, ‘I’yre, Ascalon, and Berytus being alone now left to us and to Christendom. These cities also, as nearly all the citizens have been slain, we shall not be at all able to retain in our hands, unless we speedily receive the Divine assistance, and aid from yourselves. For at the present moment they are besieging Tyre with all their might, and cease not to assault it either night or day, while so vast are their numbers, that they have covered the whole face of the land from Tyre, as far as Jerusalem and Gaza, just like swarms of ants. Deign, therefore, with all possible speed, to bring succour to ourselves and to Christianity, all but ruined in the East, that so through the aid of God and the exalted merits of your brotherhood, supported by your assistance, we may be enabled to save the remainder of those cities. Farewell.»
In response to the loss Pope Gregory VIII called for a new crusade — the Third Crusade. Hoveden includes two letters of the pope. Only the peoration of the first, longer, letter is given here. It enumerates the crusade privileges.
Letter of Pope Gregory VIII
…Wherefore, to those who with a contrite heart and humble spirit shall undertake the labour of this expedition, and shall die ‘m- repentance for their sins and in the true faith, we do promise plenary indulgence for their offences, and eternal life. And whether they shall survive or whether die, they are to know that they will have, by the mercy of Almighty God and of the authority of the Apostles Saint- Peter and Saint Paul, and of ourselves, remission of penance imposed for all sins of which they shall have made due confession. The property also of such persons, from the time that they shall have assumed the cross, together with their families, are- to be under the protection of the Holy Church of Rome, and of the archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the Church of God, and no person is to make any claim against the property of which, on assuming the cross, they were in quite possession, until it is known for certain as to their return or death, but their property is to remain in the meantime untouched, and in their quiet possession; they are also not to pay interest to any person, if they have so bound themselves ; nor yet are they to go in costly apparel, or with dogs or hawks, which seem rather to minister to ostentation s ; but they ought to be seen with plain apparel and equipments, by which they may appear rather to be acting in penitence than affecting an empty pomp. Given at Ferrara, on the fourth day before the calends of November, in the sixth year of the indiction.
The Letter of pope Gregory VIII to all the Faithful,
upon the same subject.
Gregory, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful in Christ, to whom these presents shall come, health and the Apostolic benediction. Never is the wrath of the Supreme Judge more successfully appeased, than when, at His command, carnal desires are extinguished within us. Wherefore, inasmuch as we do not doubt that the disasters of the land of Jerusalem, which have lately happened through the irruption of the Saracens have been expressly caused by the sins of the inhabitants of the land and of the whole people of Christendom, we, by the common consent of our brethren-, and with the approval of many of the bishops, have enacted that all persons shall, for the next five years, on every sixth day of the week at ‘the very least, fast upon Lenten fare, and that, wherever mass is performed, it shall be chaunted at the ninth hour: and this we order to be observed from the Advent of our Lord until the Nativity of our Lord. Also, on the fourth day of the week, and on Saturdays, all persons without distinction, who are in good health are, to abstain from eating flesh. We and our brethren do also forbid to ourselves and to our households the use of flesh on the second day of the week as well, unless it shall so happen that illness or some great calamity or other evident cause shall seem to prevent the same; trusting that by re doing God will pardon us and leave His blessing behind Him. This therefore we do enact to be observer and whosoever shall be guilty of transgressing the same, is to be considered as a breaker of the fast in Lent. Given at Ferrara, on the fourth day before the calends of November.»
The result was the Third Crusade, perhaps the most dramatic in terms of involvement by kings, emperors and high princes.
Upon this, the princes of the earth, hearing the mandates of the Supreme Pontiff, exerted themselves with all their might for the liberation of the land of Jerusalem; and accordingly,- Frederick the emperor of the Romans, and the archbishops, bishops, dukes, earls, and barons of his empire, assumed the sign of the cross. In like manner, after their example, great numbers of the chief men of all the nations of Christendom prepared to succour the land of Jerusalem.
From Roger of Hoveden: The Annals, comprising The History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from AD 732 to AD 1201., trans. Henry T. Riley, 2 Vols. (London: H.G. Bohn, 1853; rep. New York AMS, 1968), Vol 2, pp. 62-63, 65-70, 74-75

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall July 1997
halsall@murray.fordham.edu

De Expugatione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum:
The Battle of Hattin, 1187

[Adapted from Brundage] Amid mutual hatred and distrust within their own ranks, the Latin barons faced the renewed Moslem attack. Raymond III of Tripoli and his friends stood opposed to the Latin King and his coterie. Raymond had, in fact, made an alliance with Saladin in order to protect the county of Tripoli against the possibility of Moslem invasion. Yet in this extremity, under grave pressure from the other Latin princes, Raymond and his party yielded and prepared to join the Christian army in defense of the Holy Land. Such a belated reunion, however, could not erase the distrust and bitterness engendered by recent events within the Latin states. By late June, 1187 the armies of the Latin King had assembled to face Saladin’s onslaught.
In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1187, the King of Syria [Saladin] gathered together an army as numerous as the sands of the seashore in order to wage war on the land of Juda. He came up to the Jaulan, across the [Jordan] River, and there made camp.
The King of Jerusalem [Guy de Lusignan]t also gathered his army from all of Judea and Samaria. They assembled and pitched camp near the springs at Saffuriyah. The Templars and Hospitallers also assembled many people from all their castles and came to the camp. The Count of Tripoli [Raymond III of Tripoli] likewise rose up with all his people, whom he collected from Tripoli and Galilee and came into the encampment. Prince Reginald of Montreal [Reginlad de Chatillon] also came with his people, as did Balian of Naples [Balian d'Ibelin] with his, Reginald of Sidon [Reginlald Garnier] with his, and the lord of Caesarea in Palestinel [Walter Garnier] with his. Not a man fit for war remained in the cities, towns, or castles without being urged to leave by the King’s order. Nor was this host sufficient. Indeed, the King of England’s treasure [note: King Henry II of England had a few years earlier donated a considerable sum of money for the defense of the Holy Land. His treasury, which had been placed at the disposal of the military order, was now broken open and used to hire mercenaries to help throw back Saladin's attack.] was opened up and they gave a fee to everyone who could bear a lance or bow into battle. The army was quite large: 1,200 knights, innumerable Turcopoles, and 18,000 or more infantry. They gloried in their multitude of men, the trappings of their horses, in their breastplates, helmets, lances, and golden shields, but they did not believe in God, nor did they hope in the salvation of him who is the protector and savior of Israel. Rather, they were taken up with their own thoughts and became vain.
They sent to Jerusalem to ask the Patriarch to bring the Holy Cross with him to the camp . . . so that they might become bearers and keepers of the Lord’s cross…..
Meanwhile, the Syrians crossed the Jordan. They overran and laid waste the area around the springs of Cresson, from Tiberias to Bethany . . . up to Nazareth and around Mount Tabor. Since they found the region deserted by men, who had fled out of fear of them, they set fire to the threshing floors and put everything they found into the flames. The whole region flamed in front of them like a ball of fire. Not satisfied even with this, they ascended the holy mount to the sacred spot on which our Savior, after the appearance of Moses and Elias, showed his disciples Peter, James, and John the glory of the future resurrection in his transfiguration. The Saracens defiled this place….
After these advance parties had wrought their destruction, Saladin and his whole army crossed the river. Saladin ordered his forces to push on to Tiberias and besiege it. On Thursday, July 2, the city was surrounded by archers and the battle was joined. The Countess [Eschiva, wife of Raymond III of Tripoli] and the Galileans, since the city was not fortified, sent messengers to the Count and King with the news: «The Turks have surrounded the city. In the fighting, they have pierced the walls and are just now entering against us. Send help at once or we shall be taken and made captive.»
The Syrians fought and won. When the Galileans saw they could not hold out, they yielded the ramparts and the city. They fled before the pagans into the castle, though the city was taken and burned. But since the King of Egypt [Saladin] heard that the Christian army was approaching against him, he was unable to besiege the castle. He said: «So be it! They are my prisoners.»
Toward evening on Thursday, July 2, the King of Jerusalem, after he bad heard the Galileans’ letter, called together all the leaders of the army so that they might give council concerning the action to be taken. They all advised that at dawn they should march out, accompanied by the Lord’s cross, ready to fight the enemy, with all the men armed and arrayed in battle formation. Thus arrayed they would relieve the city of Tiberias. The Count of Tripoli, when he heard this, spoke: «Tiberias is my city and my wife is there. None of you is so fiercely attached, save to Christianity, as I am to the city. None of you is so desirous as I am to succor or aid Tiberias. We and the King, however, should not move away from water, food, and other necessities to lead such a multitude of men to death from solitude, hunger, thirst, and scorching heat. You are well aware that since the heat is searing and the number of people is large, they could not survive half a day without an abundance of water. Furthermore, they could not reach the enemy without suffering a great shortage of water, accompanied by the destruction of men and of beasts. Stay, therefore, at this midway point, close to food and water, for certainly the Saracens have risen to such heights of pride that when they have taken the city, they will not turn aside to left or right, but will head straight through the vast solitude to us and challenge us to battle. Then our men, refreshed and filled with bread and water, will cheerfully set out from camp for the fray. We and our horses will be fresh; we will be aided and protected by the Lord’s cross. Thus we will fight mightily against an unbelieving people who will be wearied by thirst and who will have no place to refresh themselves. Thus you see that if, in truth, the grace of Jesus Christ remains with us, the enemies of Christ’s cross, before they can get to the sea or return to the river, will be taken captive or else killed by sword, by lance, or by thirst. But if, which God forbid, things were perchance to go against us, we have our ramparts here to which we could flee. . . .»But the saying of wisdom: «Woe to the land whose King is a child and whose citizens dine in the morning «‘ [Eccles. 10:6] was fulfilled in them. For our young King followed youthful counsel, while our citizens, in hatred and jealousy, ate their neighbors’ meat. They departed from the advice which would have saved them and others. Because of their foolishness and simple­mindedness they lost land, people, and selves.
On Friday, July 3, therefore, they marched out by troops, leaving behind the necessities of life. The Count of Tripoli was in the first rank, as befitted his dignity. The others followed on his left or right, according to the custom of the realm. The royal battalion and the battalion of the Holy Cross followed and, because of the lay of the land, the Templars came last, for they were the army’s rear guard.
They marched to Saffuriyah so that, as was said before, they could go on to Tiberias. Three miles from the city they came to a hamlet called Marescallia. At this place they were so constrained by enemy attacks and by thirst that they wished to go no further.
They were going to pass through a confined, rocky area in order to reach the Sea of Galilee, which was a mile away. For this reason the Count sent word to the King: «We must hurry and pass through this area, so that we and our men may be safe near the water. Otherwise we will be in danger of making camp at a waterless spot.» The King replied: «We will pass through at once.
The Turks were meanwhile attacking the army’s rear, so that the Templars and the others in the rear were barely able to struggle on. Suddenly the King (a punishment for sin) ordered the tents to be pitched. Thus were we betrayed to our death. The Count, when he looked back and saw the tents pitched, exclaimed: «Alas, Lord God, the battle is over! We have been betrayed unto death. The Kingdom is finished!»
And so, in sorrow and anguish, they camped on a dry site where, during the night, there flowed more blood than water The sons of Esau [the Muslim army] surrounded the people of God [Crusaders] and set fire to the desert [brush] round about them. Throughout the night the hungry and thirsty men were harassed further by arrows and by the fire’s heat and flames. . . . That night God indeed gave them the bread of tears to eat and the wine of compunction to
drink.
At length . . . after the clouds of death bad opened, light dawned on a day of sorrow and tribulation, of grief and destruction. When day bad dawned, the King of Syria forsook the city of Tiberias and with his whole army came up to the camping ground to give battle to the Christians. He now prepared to at tack our men.
Our men formed their battle lines and hurried to pass through this region in the hope that when they had regained a watering place and had refreshed themselves, they could attack and fight the foe more vigorously. The Count moved out to take the spot which the Turks had already begun to approach.
When our men were arrayed and grouped in battle formation the infantry were ordered to take positions facing the enemy’s arrows, so that the infantry would be protected from an enemy charge by the knights’ lances. Thus, with each providing protection for the other, they would both be safe.
By this time the Saracens had already arrived. The infantry, banded together in a single wedged­shaped formation, clambered at full speed to the very summit of a high mountain, leaving the army to its fate. The King, the Bishop, and others sent word, begging them to return to defend the Lord’s cross, the heritage of the Crucified, the Lord’s army, and themselves. They replied: «We are not coming because we are dying of thirst and we will not fight.» Again the command was given, and again they persisted in their refusal.
The Templars, Hospitallers, and Turcopoles, meanwhile, were engaged in a fierce rear guard action. They could not win, however, because enemies sprang up on every side, shooting arrows and wounding Christians. When they had gone on for a little bit, they shouted to the King, asking for some help. The King and the others saw that the infantry were not going to return and that they themselves could not hold out against the Turkish arrows without the sergeants. Accordingly, by the grace of the Lord’s cross, they ordered the tents to be put up, in order to block the Saracen charges and so that they could hold out more easily. The battle formations were, therefore, broken up. The units gathered around the Holy Cross, where they were confused and intermixed here and there. The men who were with the Count of Tripoli in the first group saw that the King, the Hospitallers, the Templars, and everyone else were jumbled together and mingled with the Turks. They also saw that there was a multitude of the barbarians between themselves and the King, so that they could not get through to return to the Lord’s cross. They cried out: «Those who can get through may go, since the battle is not going in our favor. We have now lost even the chance to flee.» Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of Syrians were charging at the Christians, shooting arrows and killing them.
In the meantime, the Bishop of Acre, the bearer of the Lord’s cross, was mortally wounded. He passed on the task of bearing the cross to the Bishop of Lydda. A large group of pagans charged on the infantry and pitched them from the top of the steep mountain to whose summit they had previously fled. They destroyed the rest, taking some captive and killing others. . . .
Upon seeing this the Count and his men, who had been riding onward, together with Balian of Naples, Reginald of Sidon, and the other half­castes, turned back. The speed of their horses in this confined space trampled down the Christians and made a kind of bridge, giving the riders a level path. In this manner they got out of that narrow place by fleeing over their own men, over the Turks, and over the cross. Thus it was that they escaped with only their lives.
The Saracens gathered around the Lord’s wooden cross, the King, and the rest, and destroyed the church. What more can be said? The Saracens triumphed over the Christians and did with them as they pleased. . . . What can I say? It would be more fitting to weep and wail than to say anything. Alas! Should I describe with impure lips how the precious wood of the Lord, our redeemer, was seized by the damnable hands of the damned? Woe to me that in the days of my miserable life I should be forced to see such things….
The next day Prince Reginald of Montreal was killed. The Templars and Hospitallers were ransomed from the other Turks and were killed. Saladin gave orders that the Countess and the men who were in the citadel of Tiberias might leave the fort and that, having accepted the security of life, they might go in peace where they wished. Thus it was done. The city was relinquished. Saladin moved in. After the citadel had been fortified, he went to Saffuriyah. On the site where the Christian army had formerly camped, the King of Syria ordered his tents to be pitched…. He remained there for several days, gleefully celebrating the victory. He divided the heritage of the Crucified, not among the heirs, but rather among his execrable emirs and leaders, giving to each his proper portion.

Source:
De Expugatione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum, [The Capture of the Holy Land by Saladin], ed. Joseph Stevenson, Rolls Series, (London: Longmans, 1875), translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 153-159
Copyright note: Professor Brundage informed the Medieval Sourcebook that copyright was not renewed on this work. Moreover he gave permission for use of his translations.

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall December 1997
halsall@murray.fordham.edu

Ernoul: The Battle of Hattin, 1187

Account of the Battle of Hattin, 1187
by a local Frank, «Ernoul», written soon after 1197

Now I will tell you about King Guy and his host. They left the spring of Saffuriya to go to the relief of Tiberias. As soon as they had left the water behind, Saladin came before them and ordered his skirmishers to harass them from morning until midday. The heat was so great that they could not go on so that they could come to water. The king and all the other people were spread out and did not know what to do. They could not turn back for the losses would have been too great. He sent to the count of Tripoli, who led the advance guard, to ask advice as to what to do. He sent word that he should pitch his tent and make camp. The king gladly accepted this bad advice. When (the count) had given him good advice he would never take it. Some people in the host said that if the Christians had gone on to meet the Saracens, Saladin would have been defeated.
As soon as they were encamped, Saladin ordered all his men to collect brushwood, dry grass, stubble and anything else with which they could light fires, and make barriers which he had made all round the Christians. They soon did this, and the fires burned vigorously and the smoke from the fires was great; and this, together with the heat of the sun above them caused them discomfort and great harm. Saladin had commanded caravans of camels loaded with water from the Sea of Tiberias to be brought up and had water pots placed near the camp. The water pots were then emptied in view of the Christians so that they should have still greater anguish through thirst, and their mounts too. A strange thing happened in the Christian host the day they were encamped at the spring of Saffuriya, for the horses refused to drink the water either at night or in the morning, and because of their thirst they were to failt heir masters when they most needed them. Then a knight named Geoffrey of Franc Leuc went to the king and said, `Sire, it is now high time for you to make the poleins with their beards dear to the men of your country (i.e. Poitou)’.[1] It was one of the causes of the hatred between King Guy and the Poitevins and those of this land, that the men of that land sang a song in Jerusalem which greatly annoyed the men of the kingdom. The song went:
Maugrй li polein,
Aurons nous roi Poiteven.
[`Despite the poleins,
we shall have a Poitevin king.']
This hatred and scorn led to the loss of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
When the fires were lit and the smoke was great, the Saracens surrounded the host and shot their darts through the smoke and so wounded and killed men and horses. When the king saw the disadvantageous position the host was in, he called the master of the Temple and Prince Raynald and told them to give him their advice. They conselled him that he must fight the Saracens. He ordered his brother Aimery, who was the constable,[2] to organise the squadrons. He organised them as best he could. The count of Tripoli who led the advance guard at their arrival led the first division and was in front. This division included Raymond, the son of the prince of Antioch, with all his company and the four sons of the lady of Tiberias, Hugh, William, Ralph and Otto.[3] Balian of Ibelin and Count Joscelin made up the rear guard. Just as the divisions were being put in position and the battle lines ordered, five knights from the count of Tripoli’s division left him and went to Saladin and said, `Sire, what are you doing? Go and take the Christians for they are all defeated’. When he heard these words he ordered his squadron to move forward, and they moved off and approached the Christians. When the king was aware that Saladin was coming against him he ordered the count of Tripoli to charge. It is the right of the barons of the kingdom that when there is a host summoned by the king (ost banie) in their lordship, the baron on whose land the battle is to take place leads the first division and is out in front, and on entering his land leads the advance guard and on leaving leads the rear guard. Because of this the count of Tripoli took the forward position, since Tiberias was his. The count and his division charged at a large squadron of Saracens. The Saracens parted and made a way through and let them pass; then, when they were in the middle of them, they surrounded them. Only 10 or 12 knights from the count’s division escaped them. Among those who escaped were the count of Tripoli and Raymond, son of the prince of Antioch, and the four sons of the lady of Tiberias. When the count saw that they were defeated he did not dare go to Tiberias which was only 2 miles away, for he feared that if he shut himself up in there and Saladin found out he could come and take him. He went off with what company he had and went to the city of Tyre. After this division had been defeated the anger of God was so great against the Christian host because of their sins that Saladin vanquished them quickly; between the hours of tierce and nones[4] he had won almost all the field. He captured the king, the Master of the Temple, Prince Raynald, Marquis Boniface, Aimery the constable, Humphrey of Toron, Hugh of Gibelet, Plivain, lord of Botron, and so many other barons and knights that it would take too long to give the names of all of them; the Holy Cross also was lost. Later, in the time of Count Henry (of Champagne, «Lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem» 1192-7), a brother of the Temple came to him and said that he had been at the great defeat and had buried the Holy Cross and knew well where it was; if he had an escort he would go and look for it. Count Henry gave him his leave and an escort. They went secretly and dug for three nights but could not find anything; then they returned to the city of Acre.
This disaster befell Christendom at a place called the Horns of Hattin (Karnehatin) 4 miles from Tiberias on Saturday 4 July 1187, the feast of St. Martin le Boillant,[5] Pope Urban III (1185-7) governing the apostolic see of the church of Rome, Frederick (I Barbarossa) being emperor in Germany, Philip (II Augustus), son of Louis (VII), king of France, Henry (II) au Cort Mantiau, king of England, and Isaac (II), emperor in Constantinople. the news of it struck the hearts of those faithful to Jesus Christ. Pope Urban who was at Ferrara died of grief when he heard the news. After him (the pope) was Gregory VIII who was of saintly life and only held the (papal) see for two months before he died and went to God. After Gregory came Clement III (1187-91) to whom Archibishop Josias of Tyre brought a truthful account of the news as you will find written below. [6] When Saladin had left the field with great joy and great victory and was in his camp, he ordered all the Christian prisoners who had been captured that day to be brought before him. They brought to him first the king, the master of the Temple, Prince Raynald, Marquis Boniface,[7] Humphrey of Toron, Aimery the constable, Hugh of Gibelet and several other knights. When he was them all together before him he told the king that he would have great joy and would consider himself greatly honoured now that he had in his power such valuable prisoners as the King of Jerusalem, the Master of the Temple and the other barons. He ordered that a syrup diluted with water in a cup of gold be brought. He tasted it, then gave it to the king to drink, saying: «Drink deeply». The king drank, like a man who was extremely thirsty, then handed the cup on to Prince Raynald.[8] Prince Raynald would not drink. When Saladin saw that he had handed the cup to Prince Raynald, he was irrittated and told him: «Drink, for you will never drink again!». The prince replied that if it pleased God, he would never drink or eat anything of his (Saladin’s). Saladin asked him: «Prince Raynald, if you held me in your prison as I now hold you in mine, what, by your law, would you do to me?». «So help me God», he replied, «I would cut off your head». Saladin was greatly enraged at this most insolent reply, and said: «Pig! You are my prisoner, yet you answer me so arrogantly?». He took a sword in his hand and thrust it right through his body. The mamluks who were standing by rushed at him and cut off his head. Saladin took some of the blood and sprinkled it on his head in recognition that he had taken vengeance on him. Then he ordered that they carry the head to Damascus, and it was dragged along the ground to show the Saracens whom the prince had wronged what vengeance he had had. Then he commanded the king and the other prisoners to be taken to Damascus, where they were put in prison as was appropriate for them.

NOTES
1. Geoffrey of Franc Leuc was presumably a member of a family which had been in the Kingdom of Jerusalem from at least as early as the time of Baldwin II, and so was himself a polein, i.e. a man born in the East and not an immigrant. #Return to text at n. 1
2. Aimery of Lusignan, constable of Jerusalem by 1181 and later king of Cypurs and Jerusalem. #Return to text at n. 2
3. The four sons of Eschiva of Tiberias by her first husband. Ralph of Tiberias was later famous as a jurist. #Return to text at n. 3
4. i.e. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. This is probably allegorical, being the period Jesus was on the cross. #Return to text at n. 4
5. St. Martin of Tours is sometimes called «callidus». July 4th , a day noted in this country for other reasons, is celebrated in the Roman Church for the saint’s ordination and translation. #Return to text at n. 5
6. This is not in the portion translated here, but to be found in the printed edition of Le Mas Latrie, p. 115. #Return to text at n. 6
7. Boniface of Montferrat is famous for his leadership of the 4th Crusade rather later. Presumably the reference here as elsewhere in the chronicle is to his brother, William 1135-88. #Return to text at n. 7
8. Bernard Hamilton, «The Elephant of Christ: Reynald of Chatillon», Studies in Church History 15 (1978), 97-108 traces the career and impact of the man who has most claim to have brought about the Hattin Campaign and the end of the First Latin Kingdom. #Return to text at n. 8

Source.

http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/~prh3/25 … ernoul.htm

This translation is taken with very minor amendments from a Beta version made by Peter Edbury c. 1975 of the old edition by Le Mas Latrie, pp. 62-9. For a real scholarly translation from Ruth Morgan’s critical edition, see now Peter Edbury, The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade (Scolar Press: Aldershot, Hants., 1996).
© Translation by Paul Hyams of Cornell University. See his home page/copyright page. Prof   Hyams indicates that the translations are available for educational use. He intends to expand the number of translations, so keep a note of his home page.

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
Paul Halsall, July 1998
halsall@murray.fordham.edu

FROM: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1187ernoul.html