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Article GHIVA.LET, ← Page 5 of 12 →
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Ghiva.Let,
high estim ation in which the Templars were at that period held by the nobles of our own land .
At the cost of above 50 , 000 gold byzants , and by the labour of several years , J the Knights restored their ancient castle of Saphet . The stupendous ruins of this stronghold have excited the wonder and admiration of all travellers ; in Bishop Pococke' s time two large round towers were entire .
In 1244 , a horde of barbarians called Carismians , came from the borders of the Caspian Sea , and joining the Egyptians , after devastating Persia , crossed the Euphrates and appeared in Palestine . The Templars and Hospitallers joining their forces to those of the
Sultan of Damascus , attacked the invaders . A bloody fight of two days ended by the slaughter of the Grand Master and Knights of the Temple , and several thousand other soldiers ; the Grand Master of the Hospitallers was made prisoner . The sad detail of this disaster is to be found in a letter of Brother William de
Rochefort , addressed to the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury , given in Matthew Paris ' s history . Unaided the Templars and Hospitallers maintained a gallant struggle , though unavailing against numbers . Ascalon and Tiberias also fell into the hands of the infidels .
The Pilgrims' Castle was still garrisoned by the Templars , and there a chapter assembled and elected Brother "William de Sonnac Grand Master of the Order . The galleys of the two Orders still floated triumphant , and enabled them successfully to defend their castles and towns on the coast of the Mediterranean .
The year 1247 presented but gloomy prospects for the Christian cause in Palestine . The Comons , another fierce nomadic tribe of Tartars , made their way to Antioch , upon which the prince of that territory sent to the Templars and Hospitallers for succour . The Knights left their fortresses , and hurried to the relief of their friends ; a long ancl bloody battle ensued , and the barbarians were completely overthrown .
Louis IX . of France , in 1249 , had sailed with a large force against Egypt , and in June the Templars , under the command of their Grand Master , left Acre to join the Ereneh king . Louis had arranged that the Templars should form the van of his army , and that his own brother , the Count cVArtois , should follow with the second division . The Count ' s impatience destroyed the plan of battle ; he and his
division hastened in advance of the Templars , and the two chased the Moslems through the town of Masourah , but there became entangled in the narrow streets . The townspeople and Moslem troops assailed them together ; the Count , the Earl of Leicester , and three hundred Knights were slain ; the Grand Master only escaping with
the loss of an eye . A few days after , the Moslems , having largely increased their force , attacked the Crusaders , and in this contest the Grand Master was killed . The Christians were now attacked by fever , and in attempting a retreat from the pestilence their ranks became broken ancl scattered . % Thousands lay down and died by the way ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ghiva.Let,
high estim ation in which the Templars were at that period held by the nobles of our own land .
At the cost of above 50 , 000 gold byzants , and by the labour of several years , J the Knights restored their ancient castle of Saphet . The stupendous ruins of this stronghold have excited the wonder and admiration of all travellers ; in Bishop Pococke' s time two large round towers were entire .
In 1244 , a horde of barbarians called Carismians , came from the borders of the Caspian Sea , and joining the Egyptians , after devastating Persia , crossed the Euphrates and appeared in Palestine . The Templars and Hospitallers joining their forces to those of the
Sultan of Damascus , attacked the invaders . A bloody fight of two days ended by the slaughter of the Grand Master and Knights of the Temple , and several thousand other soldiers ; the Grand Master of the Hospitallers was made prisoner . The sad detail of this disaster is to be found in a letter of Brother William de
Rochefort , addressed to the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury , given in Matthew Paris ' s history . Unaided the Templars and Hospitallers maintained a gallant struggle , though unavailing against numbers . Ascalon and Tiberias also fell into the hands of the infidels .
The Pilgrims' Castle was still garrisoned by the Templars , and there a chapter assembled and elected Brother "William de Sonnac Grand Master of the Order . The galleys of the two Orders still floated triumphant , and enabled them successfully to defend their castles and towns on the coast of the Mediterranean .
The year 1247 presented but gloomy prospects for the Christian cause in Palestine . The Comons , another fierce nomadic tribe of Tartars , made their way to Antioch , upon which the prince of that territory sent to the Templars and Hospitallers for succour . The Knights left their fortresses , and hurried to the relief of their friends ; a long ancl bloody battle ensued , and the barbarians were completely overthrown .
Louis IX . of France , in 1249 , had sailed with a large force against Egypt , and in June the Templars , under the command of their Grand Master , left Acre to join the Ereneh king . Louis had arranged that the Templars should form the van of his army , and that his own brother , the Count cVArtois , should follow with the second division . The Count ' s impatience destroyed the plan of battle ; he and his
division hastened in advance of the Templars , and the two chased the Moslems through the town of Masourah , but there became entangled in the narrow streets . The townspeople and Moslem troops assailed them together ; the Count , the Earl of Leicester , and three hundred Knights were slain ; the Grand Master only escaping with
the loss of an eye . A few days after , the Moslems , having largely increased their force , attacked the Crusaders , and in this contest the Grand Master was killed . The Christians were now attacked by fever , and in attempting a retreat from the pestilence their ranks became broken ancl scattered . % Thousands lay down and died by the way ;