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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Knights Templars.
such a silly charge , or to refute it , is to admit that it is really worthy of answer . * Isabella , Conrad ' s wife , did not long remain a widow , for six days after his death , she married Henry , Count of Champagne , Richard ' s nephew .
This nobleman was much esteemed by the Christians , who desired to have him crowned King of Jerusalem , whereupon- the Templars , anxious to settle for ever the vexed question of the sovereignty , prevailed upon Guy de Lusignan to
abdicate in favour of the Count and Isabella , and on his doing so , ceded to him Cyprus , which proved a more substantial kingdom than that of Jerusalem . f Once more the Crusaders clamoured to be led
against Jerusalem , but this Richard would not agree to without first consulting the Templars , in whose experience and sage councils , he had complete confidence . A military council was convened composed of five Templars , five
Hospitallers , five Syrians , and five French . On consultation they were unanimous in discountenancing a march upon Jerusalem , and urged an attack upon Babylon . J Saladin meanwhile had attacked Joppa , took the town , but before he reduced the castle ,
Richard hastened thither with the Templars and Hospitallers , and compelled him to raise the siege . Richard , by a winding chair which he had observed in the house of the Templars , was the first to enter the town . The Christians at the same time issuing
from the castle , the Turks were caught between the two foes , and were slaughtered . Saladin and Richard had both become heartily tired of the war , and the Lion Heart was anxious to return to England , where his brother John
was aiming at the possession of the throne . § Negotiations were accordingly entered into between the opponents , one of the proposed conditions of peace being the marriage of A del the brother of Saladin with the sister of Richard , the
widowed Queen of Navarre . The Bishops however interfered , and would not hear of the marriage unless Adel became a Christian . Pending these deliberations , peace was concluded between the parties , aud the Christians aud Musselmen spent the time together in harmony . The officers and soldiers of both creeds went daily from camp
to camp , and in turns entertained each other . They passed the time in various kinds of sport , running at the ring , slashing at the head , and with combats in the lists , which were followed by merrymakings and splendid entertainments . Saladin
and Richard from the mutual respect ancl esteem which they entertained for each other , when a peace coulcl not be concluded on the terms proposed on account of the opposition of the bishops , concluded a truce by which all the coast from Joppa to Tyre was to belong to the Christians , and the Sultan was to have all the rest of
Palestine except Ascalon , which at the end of the war was to become the property of the strongest . The Christians were likewise to have permission to go to Jerusalem , freely there to perform their devotions , provided they went in small companies
unarmed ; and the truce was to last three years , three months , and three clays . To ratify the terms of the truce , the Christian princes aud the chief officers of Saladin took a solemn oath , but a clash of the hand was considered enough for the good
faith of Richard and Saladin . We have already saicl that although esteeming the Templars as brave and gallant soldiers ,
Richard had little love towards them . This might have arisen from their friendship to John , who was a great patron of the Order , and likewise from the support they had given the King of France . He never lost an opportunity of creating a laugh
at their expeuce . . The celebrated Fulk de Neuilly while engaged preaching the fifth crusade came to him one clay said , " I warn thee , 0 King , on behalf of Almighty God , to marry as soon as possible the
three most shameless daughters whom thou hast , lest something worse befall thee . Oh place thy fingers on thy lips , for He will prove an accuser who has told the truth . No man is born without
faults ; blessed is he who is burthened with the fewest , and elsewhere are we informed that there is no man living free from sin . " To this Richard is said to have answered , " Hypocrite , to thy face thou hast lied , inasmuch as I have no daughter
whatever . " On which Fulk coolly answered , " Beyond a doubt I do not lie , because as I saicl , thou hast three most shameless daughters , of whom one is pride , the second avarice , and the third sensuality , " The King thereupon called
around him the nobles who were present and said , " Listen , all of yon , to the warning of this hypol crite , who says that I have three most shameless
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templars.
such a silly charge , or to refute it , is to admit that it is really worthy of answer . * Isabella , Conrad ' s wife , did not long remain a widow , for six days after his death , she married Henry , Count of Champagne , Richard ' s nephew .
This nobleman was much esteemed by the Christians , who desired to have him crowned King of Jerusalem , whereupon- the Templars , anxious to settle for ever the vexed question of the sovereignty , prevailed upon Guy de Lusignan to
abdicate in favour of the Count and Isabella , and on his doing so , ceded to him Cyprus , which proved a more substantial kingdom than that of Jerusalem . f Once more the Crusaders clamoured to be led
against Jerusalem , but this Richard would not agree to without first consulting the Templars , in whose experience and sage councils , he had complete confidence . A military council was convened composed of five Templars , five
Hospitallers , five Syrians , and five French . On consultation they were unanimous in discountenancing a march upon Jerusalem , and urged an attack upon Babylon . J Saladin meanwhile had attacked Joppa , took the town , but before he reduced the castle ,
Richard hastened thither with the Templars and Hospitallers , and compelled him to raise the siege . Richard , by a winding chair which he had observed in the house of the Templars , was the first to enter the town . The Christians at the same time issuing
from the castle , the Turks were caught between the two foes , and were slaughtered . Saladin and Richard had both become heartily tired of the war , and the Lion Heart was anxious to return to England , where his brother John
was aiming at the possession of the throne . § Negotiations were accordingly entered into between the opponents , one of the proposed conditions of peace being the marriage of A del the brother of Saladin with the sister of Richard , the
widowed Queen of Navarre . The Bishops however interfered , and would not hear of the marriage unless Adel became a Christian . Pending these deliberations , peace was concluded between the parties , aud the Christians aud Musselmen spent the time together in harmony . The officers and soldiers of both creeds went daily from camp
to camp , and in turns entertained each other . They passed the time in various kinds of sport , running at the ring , slashing at the head , and with combats in the lists , which were followed by merrymakings and splendid entertainments . Saladin
and Richard from the mutual respect ancl esteem which they entertained for each other , when a peace coulcl not be concluded on the terms proposed on account of the opposition of the bishops , concluded a truce by which all the coast from Joppa to Tyre was to belong to the Christians , and the Sultan was to have all the rest of
Palestine except Ascalon , which at the end of the war was to become the property of the strongest . The Christians were likewise to have permission to go to Jerusalem , freely there to perform their devotions , provided they went in small companies
unarmed ; and the truce was to last three years , three months , and three clays . To ratify the terms of the truce , the Christian princes aud the chief officers of Saladin took a solemn oath , but a clash of the hand was considered enough for the good
faith of Richard and Saladin . We have already saicl that although esteeming the Templars as brave and gallant soldiers ,
Richard had little love towards them . This might have arisen from their friendship to John , who was a great patron of the Order , and likewise from the support they had given the King of France . He never lost an opportunity of creating a laugh
at their expeuce . . The celebrated Fulk de Neuilly while engaged preaching the fifth crusade came to him one clay said , " I warn thee , 0 King , on behalf of Almighty God , to marry as soon as possible the
three most shameless daughters whom thou hast , lest something worse befall thee . Oh place thy fingers on thy lips , for He will prove an accuser who has told the truth . No man is born without
faults ; blessed is he who is burthened with the fewest , and elsewhere are we informed that there is no man living free from sin . " To this Richard is said to have answered , " Hypocrite , to thy face thou hast lied , inasmuch as I have no daughter
whatever . " On which Fulk coolly answered , " Beyond a doubt I do not lie , because as I saicl , thou hast three most shameless daughters , of whom one is pride , the second avarice , and the third sensuality , " The King thereupon called
around him the nobles who were present and said , " Listen , all of yon , to the warning of this hypol crite , who says that I have three most shameless