Warriors of God by James Reston, Jr.
The popular view of Richard the Lionheart (Richard I of England) is often an extreme one. Most people know him as the good king in the Robin Hood stories, who returns to England to restore justice and boot out his usurping brother John. Others know him as the arrogant young man of The Lion in Winter, controlled by his lover, Philip of France (historically, it was more the other way around). And yet others know of the stories of his cruelty during he Crusades. There are grains of truth in all of these views, but all miss some of the qualities of the real Richard. He was both chivalrous and cruel. But he was also a great leader of men in battle, a great tactician, and a great warrior, at times like someone out of legend. In the final battle of the Third Crusade, for example, Richard was surrounded by a sea of Muslim soldiers. In a vicious fight, he left a number of them dead while breaking free himself. Another story tells of him wading ashore from his ship and his mere presence, with a small band of men, routing a much larger force. I’ve been rereading The Illiad and these exploits are worthy of Hector or Achilles.
Warriors of God tells the story of the Third Crusade, centering on its two greatest warriors, who are also its two most interesting characters: Richard and Saladin. It’s well written and provides a good overview of this period in history, even for those who are completely unfamiliar with the events of the Crusades.
A bit of background on the Crusades. While many of those involved in the Crusades did so because they truly believed they were doing something important for Christendom (regaining the Holy Land, freeing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the infidels), etc., the reasons the church encouraged them were actually two fold. The first was the surface reason: to free the Holy Land. But the second was the various European principalities were constantly engaging in petty wars with one another; the Popes hoped to channel this energy into a more noble cause and thereby stop the local squabbling. And, by and large, at least for a time, this worked.
The First Crusade, which ended in 1098 with the conquest of Jerusalem and the massacre of thousands of Muslim defenders (the streets were said to have been awash in blood) was a success for the Christians. It conquered the Holy Land. A Crusader’s Kingdom was established, which within thirty years governed most of Palestine and the Syrian coast. Numerous fortresses were built, and the two great orders of military monks – the Templars and the Hospitalers – flourished. But this was the only successful Crusade.
The Second Crusade began in 1144, when among several Crusader Kingdoms fell to the Muslims. It was lead by, among others Louis VII of France and his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine (who was later to Mary Henry II of England and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and John). It was a disaster, and ended in total defeat outside Damascus in 1146.
At this point, the most important military leader in Muslim history enters the picture: Saladin. He manages to fulfill the dream of uniting Syria and Egypt (the two great Muslim states) and reconquering most of the area. The Crusaders hold a few cities and a number of fortresses, but Saladin wins a great victory at Hattin in 1187 and then goes on to recapture Jerusalem. This is the spark that starts the Third Crusade.
The story of the Third Crusade is very much the story of Richard and Saladin, in that they were the larger than life figures on either side of the fight who led their respective sides. Reston does a good job of balancing the material about these two great leaders with historical narrative about the crusade.
It was a fascinating time, full of acts both great and cruel on both sides. Both leaders had to content with dissension, Saladin with Arab groups who had different priorities, Richard with the French (the latter situation complicated by the French King, Philip, who was Richard’s ex-lover). (The Richard/Philip relationship was something that soap opera writers would have rejected as too far out. It broke up in large part because Philip was angered that Richard would not marry his sister. Richard rejected Philip’s sister not only because he was homosexual (the modern term gay really doesn’t seem like the right one to use when referring to Richard) but because Philip’s sister was sleeping with Richard’s father. Jerry Springer would have had a field day with this.
In the end, the Third Crusade fails for reasons that are still inexplicable. Richard’s army was approaching Jerusalem. It was finally united; even the French were eager to win back Jerusalem. Saladin knew he couldn’t hold and was pulling out. But Richard, for the only time in his life, hesitated and didn’t attack. Historians don’t know why. He could have been spooked by a prophecy, it could have been that he was worried about water supplies (Saladin had poisoned the wells around the city), though the latter wouldn’t normally have deterred him. But for whatever reason, Richard pulled back.
He did have one more great victory at Jaffa – the one mentioned above in which he fought his way free of a much larger force. This is also the battle that features one of the anecdotes that typifies Saladin: at one point in the battle, Richard is unhorsed. Saladin, looking down on the battle, sees Richard fighting on foot, beside his men. Saladin sends him two Arabian stallions, with the message that “… a man as great as he is should not be in parts such as these, on foot with his men.” By the end of the battle, it’s said that the Moslems had lost 700 men and the Crusaders only 2.
But this wasn’t enough. The Crusade ended. Richard headed for home (only to be captured and held for ransom – a story known to all Robin Hood fans).This is a great popular history.
Warriors of God tells the story of the Third Crusade, centering on its two greatest warriors, who are also its two most interesting characters: Richard and Saladin. It’s well written and provides a good overview of this period in history, even for those who are completely unfamiliar with the events of the Crusades.
A bit of background on the Crusades. While many of those involved in the Crusades did so because they truly believed they were doing something important for Christendom (regaining the Holy Land, freeing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the infidels), etc., the reasons the church encouraged them were actually two fold. The first was the surface reason: to free the Holy Land. But the second was the various European principalities were constantly engaging in petty wars with one another; the Popes hoped to channel this energy into a more noble cause and thereby stop the local squabbling. And, by and large, at least for a time, this worked.
The First Crusade, which ended in 1098 with the conquest of Jerusalem and the massacre of thousands of Muslim defenders (the streets were said to have been awash in blood) was a success for the Christians. It conquered the Holy Land. A Crusader’s Kingdom was established, which within thirty years governed most of Palestine and the Syrian coast. Numerous fortresses were built, and the two great orders of military monks – the Templars and the Hospitalers – flourished. But this was the only successful Crusade.
The Second Crusade began in 1144, when among several Crusader Kingdoms fell to the Muslims. It was lead by, among others Louis VII of France and his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine (who was later to Mary Henry II of England and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and John). It was a disaster, and ended in total defeat outside Damascus in 1146.
At this point, the most important military leader in Muslim history enters the picture: Saladin. He manages to fulfill the dream of uniting Syria and Egypt (the two great Muslim states) and reconquering most of the area. The Crusaders hold a few cities and a number of fortresses, but Saladin wins a great victory at Hattin in 1187 and then goes on to recapture Jerusalem. This is the spark that starts the Third Crusade.
The story of the Third Crusade is very much the story of Richard and Saladin, in that they were the larger than life figures on either side of the fight who led their respective sides. Reston does a good job of balancing the material about these two great leaders with historical narrative about the crusade.
It was a fascinating time, full of acts both great and cruel on both sides. Both leaders had to content with dissension, Saladin with Arab groups who had different priorities, Richard with the French (the latter situation complicated by the French King, Philip, who was Richard’s ex-lover). (The Richard/Philip relationship was something that soap opera writers would have rejected as too far out. It broke up in large part because Philip was angered that Richard would not marry his sister. Richard rejected Philip’s sister not only because he was homosexual (the modern term gay really doesn’t seem like the right one to use when referring to Richard) but because Philip’s sister was sleeping with Richard’s father. Jerry Springer would have had a field day with this.
In the end, the Third Crusade fails for reasons that are still inexplicable. Richard’s army was approaching Jerusalem. It was finally united; even the French were eager to win back Jerusalem. Saladin knew he couldn’t hold and was pulling out. But Richard, for the only time in his life, hesitated and didn’t attack. Historians don’t know why. He could have been spooked by a prophecy, it could have been that he was worried about water supplies (Saladin had poisoned the wells around the city), though the latter wouldn’t normally have deterred him. But for whatever reason, Richard pulled back.
He did have one more great victory at Jaffa – the one mentioned above in which he fought his way free of a much larger force. This is also the battle that features one of the anecdotes that typifies Saladin: at one point in the battle, Richard is unhorsed. Saladin, looking down on the battle, sees Richard fighting on foot, beside his men. Saladin sends him two Arabian stallions, with the message that “… a man as great as he is should not be in parts such as these, on foot with his men.” By the end of the battle, it’s said that the Moslems had lost 700 men and the Crusaders only 2.
But this wasn’t enough. The Crusade ended. Richard headed for home (only to be captured and held for ransom – a story known to all Robin Hood fans).This is a great popular history.
posted by Jim Mann at 6:28 PM
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