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Brief History Of The Religious And Military Order Of The Knights Templars' Of St. John Of Jerusalem.
Accordingly William , arcnbishop of Tyre , was appointed ambassador for this purpose . Pope Clement III . honoured this prelate with the dignity of legate of the holy see , and named the bishop of Albano for his colleague : they then proceeded to Normandy , where a conference was appointed to be held between the kings of England and France . On the 15 th of Juty iiBS , the }' met with those mouarchs , and the archbishop exerted himself with much pathetic eloquence in laying
before them the dismal condition of the hol y laud . Henry and Philip , who were almost on the point of breaking out into hostilities ivith each other , were so much affected with tin ' s representation as to forget their animosities , and mutually assumed the cross . Immense sums were collected in the two countries for this
expedition , and the hearts of all seemed fixed in anxious expectation upon its issue . On the death of Henry II . his son Richard succeeded to his crown , and took upon him his vows . The new king having made the necessaiy preparations , joined Philip in Burgundy , and then the latter proceeded to Genoa , and
Richard to Marseilles , there to embark for Sicily , which was fixed on as the general rendezvous . The emperor Frederic Barbarossa , with his son Frederic duke of Suabia , and a great number of other German princes , also took upon them the cross . While things were taking this'favourable turn in Europe for a general croisade , several private bodies of zealous adventurers , fired
with a religious fervour , or with the ambition of renown , set out for Palestine , where they gave such animation to the drooping spirits of the king of Jerusalem , who had escaped from his confinement , . that he determined at once to make head against the infidels . . The Christians laid siege to St . John de Acre , the possession of which was of the greatest consequence to them , as it was the most convenient sea-port on the coast . -
The blockade was commenced with vigour , and this gave such alarm to Saladine that he immediatel y drew out his forces to compel the Christians to raise the siege . A battle ensued , and was maintained for a whole day with the most blood 3 ' determination on each side . Victory decided in favour of the cross ; but it was a victory obtained at a very dear rate . The grand-master of the Templars , to whose exertions the fate of the daj' was chiefly owing , fell g loriously
at the head of his brave companions , numbers of whom shared in his brilliant fall . Saladine lost a prodigious number of soldiers ; and finding it impossible to deliver the place , he contrived to cut off the supplies for the Christian army ; this brought on a famine which had nearly proved fatal both to the besieged and the besiegers . , The . king of Jerusalem lost his queen , in ri ght of whom he enjo 3-ed the throne , and four of his children . The queen left a sister named Isabella , who of course held the right to the -kingdom . Conrad , the prince of Tyre ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Brief History Of The Religious And Military Order Of The Knights Templars' Of St. John Of Jerusalem.
Accordingly William , arcnbishop of Tyre , was appointed ambassador for this purpose . Pope Clement III . honoured this prelate with the dignity of legate of the holy see , and named the bishop of Albano for his colleague : they then proceeded to Normandy , where a conference was appointed to be held between the kings of England and France . On the 15 th of Juty iiBS , the }' met with those mouarchs , and the archbishop exerted himself with much pathetic eloquence in laying
before them the dismal condition of the hol y laud . Henry and Philip , who were almost on the point of breaking out into hostilities ivith each other , were so much affected with tin ' s representation as to forget their animosities , and mutually assumed the cross . Immense sums were collected in the two countries for this
expedition , and the hearts of all seemed fixed in anxious expectation upon its issue . On the death of Henry II . his son Richard succeeded to his crown , and took upon him his vows . The new king having made the necessaiy preparations , joined Philip in Burgundy , and then the latter proceeded to Genoa , and
Richard to Marseilles , there to embark for Sicily , which was fixed on as the general rendezvous . The emperor Frederic Barbarossa , with his son Frederic duke of Suabia , and a great number of other German princes , also took upon them the cross . While things were taking this'favourable turn in Europe for a general croisade , several private bodies of zealous adventurers , fired
with a religious fervour , or with the ambition of renown , set out for Palestine , where they gave such animation to the drooping spirits of the king of Jerusalem , who had escaped from his confinement , . that he determined at once to make head against the infidels . . The Christians laid siege to St . John de Acre , the possession of which was of the greatest consequence to them , as it was the most convenient sea-port on the coast . -
The blockade was commenced with vigour , and this gave such alarm to Saladine that he immediatel y drew out his forces to compel the Christians to raise the siege . A battle ensued , and was maintained for a whole day with the most blood 3 ' determination on each side . Victory decided in favour of the cross ; but it was a victory obtained at a very dear rate . The grand-master of the Templars , to whose exertions the fate of the daj' was chiefly owing , fell g loriously
at the head of his brave companions , numbers of whom shared in his brilliant fall . Saladine lost a prodigious number of soldiers ; and finding it impossible to deliver the place , he contrived to cut off the supplies for the Christian army ; this brought on a famine which had nearly proved fatal both to the besieged and the besiegers . , The . king of Jerusalem lost his queen , in ri ght of whom he enjo 3-ed the throne , and four of his children . The queen left a sister named Isabella , who of course held the right to the -kingdom . Conrad , the prince of Tyre ,