induced to marry Violante, the daughter of John de Brienne, and accept as her dowry the kingdom of Jerusalem. In the year 1228 he arrived at Acre, with the view of making good his pretensions to the sacred diadem, an object which he finally attained, not less by the connivance of the sultan than by the exertions of his military companions. The son of Saphadin felt his throne rendered insecure by the ambition or treachery of his own kindred, and was therefore much inclined to cultivate an amicable feeling with so powerful a prince as the sovereign of Germany. In pursuance of these views a treaty was signed, providing that for ten years the Christians and Mussulmans were to live on a footing of brotherhood; that Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and their dependencies, were to be restored to the former; that the Holy Sepulchre was likewise to be given up to them; and that the people of both religions might offer up their devotions in that house of prayer, which the one called the Temple of Solomon, and the other the Mosque of Omar. Thus the address or good fortune of Frederick more effectually promoted the object of the Holy Wars than the heroic frenzy of Richard Coeur de Lion; many of the disasters consequent on the battle of Tiberias were wiped away; and the hopes of Europe for a permanent settlement in Asia appeared to be realized.

But the emperor had performed all these services while the stain of excommunication was yet unre

I absolve the sufferer." The emperor sent a present to the preacher, but the Pope and the king blamed this sally: le mauvais plaisant -the unhappy wit-was obliged to expiate his fault by a canonical penance.-Mills' History, vol. ii. p. 253.

moved from his character. The fidelity of the knights, accordingly, whose oaths had a reference to the supremacy of the Church, and the attachment of the clergy, could not be relied upon. Hence, when he went to Jerusalem to be crowned, the Patriarch would not discharge his office; the places of worship were closed; and no religious duties were observed in public during his stay. Frederick repaired to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre surrounded by his courtiers, and boldly taking the crown from the altar, placed it on his own head. He then issued orders for rebuilding the fortifications of his eastern capital; after which he returned to Acre, whence he almost immediately set sail for Europe.*

The peace established between Frederick and the Saracen rulers was not faithfully observed by the latter, some of whom did not consider themselves as bound by its stipulations. The sufferings endured by the Christians of Palestine accordingly called their brethren in Europe once more to arms. A council, held under the auspices of the Pope at Spó

*The address of the Pope to the fourth Council of Lateran, as translated by Michaud, is not a little striking :-"O vous qui passez dans les chemins, disait Jérusalem par la bouche du Pontife, regardez et voyez si jamais il y eut une douleur semblable à la mienne! Accourez donc tous, ô vous qui me cherissez, pour me delivrer de l'excès de mes misères! Moi, qui étais la reçue de toutes les nations, je suis maintenant asservie au tribut; moi, qui étais remplie de peuple, je suis restée presque seule. Les chemins de Sion sont en deuil, parceque personne ne vient à mes solemnités. Mes ennemis ont écrasé ma tête; tous les lieux saints sont profanés; le saint sépulchre, si rempli d'éclat, est couvert d'opprobre; on adore le fils de la perdition et de l'enfer, là où naguères on adorait le fils de Dieu. Les enfants de l'étranger m'accablent d'outrages, et montrant la croix de Jesus, ils me disent:" Tu as mis toute la confiance dans un bois vil; nous verrons si ce bois te sauvera au jour de danger."-Histoire des Croisades, tom. iii. p. 394.

leto, decreed that fresh levies should be sent into Asia so soon as the truce with Khamel, the sultan of Damascus, should have expired. Many of the English nobility, inflamed by the love of warlike fame, took the Cross, and prepared to follow the standard of the Earl of Chester, and of Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother to King Henry the Third.

In this pious movement the lords of England were anticipated by those of France, who, in the year 1239, landed in Syria, and prepared to measure lances with the Moslems. News of these warlike proceedings having reached the nephew of Saladin, he forthwith drove the Christians out of Jerusalem, and demolished the Tower of David,—a monument which till that time had been regarded as sacred by both parties. The combats which followed, although fought with great bravery on the side of the invaders, terminated generally in favour of the Saracens; and the French accordingly, after losing a great number of their best warriors, were glad to have recourse to terms of peace. The Templars entered into treaty with the Emir of Karac, while the Hospitallers, actuated by jealousy or revenge, preferred the friendship of the Sultan of Egypt.

The following year Richard, the earl of Cornwall, arrived with his levy, hoping to find his allies in possession of all the towns which had been ceded to the Emperor of Germany, and enjoying security in the exercise of their religious rites. His surprise was therefore very great, when he discovered that the principal leaders of the French had already fled from the Plains of Syria; that the knights of the two great orders had sought refuge in negotiation; and, finally, that the conquests of the former Cru

saders were once more limited to a few fortresses and a strip of territory on the coast. He marched in the first instance to Jaffa, with the view of concentrating the scattered forces of Europe; but receiving notice, as soon as he arrived, that the Sultan of Egypt, who was then at war with his brother of Damascus, was desirous to cultivate friendly relations, he lent a ready ear to the terms proposed. The Mussulman consented to relinquish Jerusalem, Beritus, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Mount Tabor, and a large portion of the Holy Land, provided the English earl would withdraw his troops and preserve a strict neutrality.

The conditions being ratified by the Egyptian sovereign, the Earl of Cornwall had the satisfaction to see the great object of the Crusaders once more accomplished. Palestine again belonged to the Christians. The Hospitallers opened their treasury to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, while the Patriarch and clergy entered the holy city to reconsecrate the churches. For two years the Gospel was the only religion administered in the sacred capital, and the faithful had begun to exult in the permanent subjection of their rivals when a new enemy arose, more formidable to them than even the Sara

cens.

The victories of Zingis Khan had displaced several nations belonging to the great Tartar family, and among others the Karismians, who continued their retreat southward till they reached the confines of Egypt. The sultan, who perhaps had repented the liberality of his terms to the soldiers of Richard, advised the expatriated barbarians to take possession of Palestine. He even sent one of his principal officers

and a large body of troops to serve as their guides; upon which, Barbacan, the Karismian general, at the head of twenty thousand cavalry, advanced into the Holy Land. The garrison of Jerusalem, being quite inadequate to its defence, retired, and were followed by many of the inhabitants. The invaders entered it without opposition, sparing neither life nor property, and respecting nothing, whether sacred or profane. At length the Templars and Hospitallers, forgetting their mutual animosities, united their bands to rescue the country from the grasp of such savages. A battle took place, which, after continuing two whole days, ended in the total defeat of the Christians; the Grand Masters of St John and of the Temple being among the slain. Only thirtythree individuals of the latter order, and sixteen of the former, with three Teutonic cavaliers, remained alive, and succeeded in making their way to Acre, the last refuge of the vanquished knights. The Karismians, with their Egyptian allies, after having razed the fortifications of Ascalon and Tiberias, encamped on the seacoast, laid waste the surrounding territory, and slew or carried into bondage every Frank who fell into their hands. Nor was it till the year 1247 that the Syrians and Mamlouks, insulted by this northern horde, attacked them near Damascus, slew Barbacan their chief, and compelled the remainder to retrace their steps to the borders of the Caspian Lake.

The intelligence did not fail to reach Europe, that the members of the Church in Palestine had been put to death or dispersed by the exiles of Karism. Pope Innocent the Fourth suggested the expediency of another Crusade, and even summoned