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diff --git a/38785.txt b/38785.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89154b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/38785.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12427 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Secret Societies of the Middle Ages, by Thomas Keightley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Secret Societies of the Middle Ages + +Author: Thomas Keightley + +Release Date: February 7, 2012 [EBook #38785] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE *** + + + + +Produced by Delphine Lettau, Clive Pickton, Mary Meehan +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +_UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL +KNOWLEDGE._ + + + THE LIBRARY + + OF + + ENTERTAINING KNOWLEDGE. + + SECRET SOCIETIES + + OF THE + + MIDDLE AGES. + + + COMMITTEE. + +_Chairman._--The Right Hon. LORD BROUGHAM, F.R.S., Member of the +National Institute of France. + +_Vice-Chairman._--JOHN WOOD, Esq. + +_Treasurer._--WILLIAM TOOKE, Esq., M.P., F.R.S. + + + W. Allen. Esq., F.R. and R.A.S. + Capt. F. Beaufort, R.N., F.R. and R.A.S., Hydrographer to the + Admiralty. + G. Burrows, M.D. + Peter Stafford Carey, Esq., A.M. + William Coulson, Esq. + R. D. Craig, Esq. + J. Frederick Daniell, Esq., F.R.S. + J. F. Davis, Esq., F.R.S. + H. T. Delabeche, Esq., F.R.S. + The Rt. Hon. Lord Denman. + Samuel Duckworth, Esq. + B. F. Dupfca, Esq. + The Right Rev. the Bishop of Durham, D.D. + The Rt. Hon. Visc. Ebrington, M.P. + Sir Henry Ellis, F.R.S., Prin. Lib. Brit. Mus. + T. F. Ellis, Esq., A.M., F.R.A.S. + John Elliotson, M.D., F.R.S. + Thomas Falconer, Esq. + I. L. Goldsmid, Esq., F.R., and R.A.S. + B. Gompertz, Esq., F.R., and R.A.S. + G. B. Greenough, Esq., F.R., and L.S. + M.D. Hill, Esq. + Rowland Hill, Esq., F.R.A.S. + The Rt. Hon. Sir J.C. Hobhouse, Bart., M.P. + David Jardine, Esq., A.M. + Henry B. Ker, Esq. + Thos. Hewitt Key, Esq., A.M. + J. T. Leader, Esq., M.P. + George C. Lewis, Esq., A.M. + Thomas Henry Lister, Esq. + James Loch, Esq., M.P., F.G.S. + George Long, Esq., A.M. + J. W. Lubbock, Esq., A.M., F.R., R.A., and L.S.S. + Sir Fred. Madden, K.C.H. + H. Malden, Esq., A.M. + A. T. Malkin, Esq., A.M. + James Manning, Esq. + J. Herman Merivale, Esq., A.M., F.A.S. + Sir William Molesworth, Bart., M.P. + The Right Hon. Lord Nugent. + W. H. Ord, Esq., M.P. + The Right Hon. Sir H. Parnell, Bt., M.P. + Dr. Roget, Sec. R.S., F.R.A.S. + Edw. Romilly, Esq., A.M. + Right Hon. Lord J. Russell, M.P. + Sir M. A. Shee, P.R.A., F.R.S. + John Abel Smith, Esq., M.P. + The Right Hon. Earl Spencer. + John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S. + Dr. A. T. Thompson, F.L.S. + Thomas Vardon, Esq. + H. Waymouth, Esq. + J. Whishaw, Esq., A.M., F.R.S. + John Wrottesley, Esq., A.M., F.R.A.S. + Thomas Wyse, Esq., M.P. + J. A. Yates, Esq. + +THOMAS COATES, Esq., _Secretary_, No. 59, Lincoln's Inn Fields. + + +_THE LIBRARY OF ENTERTAINING KNOWLEDGE._ + +[Keightley (Thomas) handwritten] + + + + + SECRET SOCIETIES + + OF THE + + MIDDLE AGES. + + + LONDON: + CHARLES KNIGHT & Co., LUDGATE-STREET. + + MDCCCXXXVII. + + LONDON: + Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, + Stamford Street. + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + Page + + Introduction 1 + + + THE ASSASSINS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + State of the World in the Seventh Century--Western + Empire--Eastern Empire--Persia--Arabia--Mohammed--His + probable Motives--Character of his Religion--The + Koran 13 + + + CHAPTER II. + + Origin of the Khalifat--The first Khalifs--Extent of the + Arabian Empire--Schism among the Mohammedans--Soonees + and Sheaehs--Sects of the latter--The Keissanee--The + Zeidites--The Ghoollat--The Imamee--Sects + of the Imamee--Their political Character--The + Carmathites--Origin of the Fatimite Khalifs--Secret + Society at Cairo--Doctrines taught in it--Its Decline 24 + + + CHAPTER III. + + Ali of Rei--His son Hassan Sabah--Hassan sent to + study at Nishaboor--Meets there Omar Khiam and + Nizam-al-Moolk--Agreement made by them--Hassan + introduced by Nizam to Sultan Malek Shah--Obliged + to leave the Court--Anecdote of him--His own account + of his Conversion--Goes to Egypt--Returns to + Persia--Makes himself Master of Alamoot 43 + + CHAPTER IV. + + Description of Alamoot--Fruitless attempts to recover + it--Extension of the Ismailite Power--The Ismailites + in Syria--Attempt on the Life of Aboo-Hard Issa--Treaty + made with Sultan Sanjar--Death of Hassan--His + Character 56 + + + CHAPTER V. + + Organization of the Society--Names given to the + Ismailites--Origin of the name Assassin--Marco Polo's + description of the Paradise of the Old Man of the + Mountain--Description of it given by Arabian + writers--Instances of the obedience of the Fedavee 66 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + Keaeh Buzoorg Oomeid--Affairs of the Society in Persia--They + acquire the Castle of Banias in Syria--Attempt + to betray Damascus to the Crusaders--Murders committed + during the reign of Keaeh Buzoorg 84 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + Keaeh Mohammed--Murder of the Khalif--Castles gained + in Syria--Ismailite Confession of Faith--Mohammed's + Son Hassan gives himself out for the promised Imam--His + followers punished--Succession of Hassan--He + abolishes the Law--Pretends to be descended from the + Prophet--Is murdered 93 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + Mohammed II.--Anecdote of the Imam + Fakhr-ed-deen--Noor-ed-deen--Conquest + of Egypt--Attempt on the Life of Saladin 102 + + + CHAPTER X. + + + Jellal-ed-deen--Restoration of Religion--His Harem + makes the Pilgrimage to Mecca--Marries the Princess of + Ghilan--Geography of the Country between Roodbar and + the Caspian--Persian Romance--Zohak and + Feridoon--Kei Kaoos and Roostem--Ferdoosee's Description + of Mazanderan--History of the Shah Nameh--Proof of the + Antiquity of the Tales contained in it. 131 + + CHAPTER XI. + + Death of Jellal-ed-deen--Character of Ala-ed-deen, + his successor--The Sheikh Jemal-ed-deen--The Astronomer + Nasir-ed-deen--The Vizir Sheref-al-Moolk--Death of + Ala-ed-deen--Succession of Rukn-ed-deen, the last + Sheikh-al-Jebal 148 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + The Mongols--Hoolagoo sent against the + Ismailites--Rukn-ed-deen submits--Capture of + Alamoot--Destruction of the Library--Fate of + Rukn-ed-deen--Massacre of the Ismailites--St. Louis + and the Assassins--Mission for the Conversion of the + People of Kuhistan--Conclusion 156 + + + THE TEMPLARS. + + CHAPTER I. + + Introduction--The Crusades--Wrong Ideas respecting + their Origin--True Causes of them--Pilgrimage--Pilgrimage + of Frotmond--Of the Count of Anjou--Striking + Difference between the Christianity of the + East and that of the West--Causes of their different + Characters--Feudalism--The Extent and Force of this + Principle 169 + + + CHAPTER II. + + First Hospital at Jerusalem--Church of Santa Maria de + Latina--Hospital of St. John--The Hospitallers--Origin + of the Templars--Their original Poverty--They + acquire Consideration--St. Bernard--His Character + of the Templars--The Order approved of and + confirmed by the Council of Troyes--Proofs of the + Esteem in which they were held 185 + + + CHAPTER III. + + Return of the Templars to the East--Exoneration and + Refutation of the Charge of a Connection with the + Ismailites--Actions of the Templars--Crusade of + Louis VII.--Siege of Ascalon--Sale of + Nassir-ed-deen--Corruption of the Hospitallers--The + Bull, _Omne Datum Optimum_--Refusal of the Templars to + march against Egypt--Murder of the Ismailite Envoy 199 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + Heroism of the Templars and Hospitallers--Battle of + Hittin--Crusade of Richard of England and Philip of + France--Corruption of the Order--Pope Innocent III. + writes a Letter of Censure--Frederic II.--Great + Slaughter of the Templars--Henry III. of England + and the Templars--Power of the Templars in + Moravia--Slaughter of them by the Hospitallers--Fall + of Acre 210 + + + CHAPTER V. + + Classes of the Templars--The Knights--Their + Qualifications--Mode of Reception--Dress and Arms of + the Knight--Mode of Burial--The Chaplains--Mode of + Reception--Dress--Duties and Privileges--The + Serving-Brethren--Mode of Reception--Their Duties--The + Affiliated--Causes and Advantages of Affiliation--The + Donates and Oblates 221 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + Provinces of the Order--Eastern Provinces--Jerusalem--Houses + of this Province--Tripolis--Antioch--Cyprus--Western + Provinces--Portugal--Castile and Leon--Aragon--France and + Auvergne--Normandy--Aquitaine--Provence--England--Germany--Upper + and Central Italy--Apulia and Sicily 242 + + CHAPTER VII. + + Officers of the Order--The Master--Mode of Election--His + Rights and Privileges--Restraints on him--The + Seneschal--The Marshal--The Treasurer--The Draper--The + Turcopilar--Great-Priors--Commanders--Visitors--Sub- + Marshal--Standard-bearer 253 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + Chapters--Mode of holding them--Templars' Mode of + Living--Amusements--Conduct in War 266 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + Molay elected Master--Last attempt of the Christians in + Syria--Conduct of the Three Military Orders--Philip + the Fair and Pope Boniface VIII.--Seizure of the + Pope--Election of Clement V.--The Papal See removed + to France--Causes of Philip's enmity to the Templars--Arrival + of Molay in France--His interviews with the + Pope--Charges made against the Templars--Seizure + of the Knights--Proceedings in England--Nature of + the Charges against the Order 276 + + + CHAPTER X. + + Examination of the captive Knights--Different kinds of + Torture--Causes of Confession--What Confessions + were made--Templars brought before the Pope--Their + Declarations--Papal Commission--Molay brought before + it--Ponsard de Gisi--Defenders of the Order--Act + of Accusation--Heads of Defence--Witnesses + against the Order--Fifty-four Templars committed to + the Flames at Paris--Remarkable words of Aymeric + de Villars-le-Duc--Templars burnt in other places--Further + Examinations--The Head worshipped by the + Templars--John de Pollincourt--Peter de la Palu 293 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + Examinations in England--Germany--Spain--Italy--Naples + and Provence--Sicily--Cyprus--Meeting of the + Council of Vienne--Suppression of the Order--Fate + of its Members--Death of Molay 317 + + + THE SECRET TRIBUNALS OF WESTPHALIA. + + CHAPTER I. + + Introduction--The Original Westphalia--Conquest of + the Saxons by Charlemagne--His Regulations--Dukes + of Saxony--State of Germany--Henry the Lion--His + Outlawry--Consequences of it--Origin of German + Towns--Origin of the Fehm-gerichte, or Secret + Tribunals--Theories of their Origin--Origin of their + Name--Synonymous Terms 332 + + + CHAPTER II. + + The Tribunal-Lord--The Count--The Schoeppen--The + Messengers--The Public Court--The Secret Tribunal--Extent + of its Jurisdiction--Places of holding the + Courts--Time of holding them--Proceedings in them--Process + where the Criminal was caught in the fact--Inquisitorial + Process 346 + + + CHAPTER III. + + Accusatorial Process--Persons liable to it--Mode of + Citation--Mode of Procedure--Right of Appeal 360 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + The General Chapter--Rights of the Emperor--Of his + Lieutenant--Of the Stuhlherrn, or Tribunal-Lords 372 + + + CHAPTER V. + + Fehm-courts at Celle--At Brunswick--Tribunal of the + Knowing in the Tyrol--The Castle of Baden--African + Purrahs 377 + + CHAPTER VI. + + The Emperor Lewis the + Bavarian--Charles IV.--Wenceslaus--Rupertian + Reformation--Encroachments of + the Fehm-courts--Case of Nickel Weller and the + Town of Goerlitz--Of the City of Dantzig--Of Hans + David and the Teutonic Knights--Other instances of + the presumption of the Free-counts--Citation of the + Emperor Frederic III.--Case of the Count of Teckenburg 385 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + Cause of the degeneracy of the Fehm-courts--Attempts + at reformation--Causes of their high reputation--Case + of the Duke of Wuertemberg--Of Kerstian Kerkerink--Causes + of the Decline of the Fehm-jurisdiction 398 + + + + +SECRET SOCIETIES + +OF + +THE MIDDLE AGES. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +If we had the means of investigating historically the origin of Secret +Societies, we should probably find that they began to be formed almost +as soon as any knowledge had been accumulated by particular individuals +beyond what constituted the common stock. The same thing has happened to +knowledge that has happened to all other human possessions,--its actual +holders have striven to keep it to themselves. It is true that in this +case the possessor of the advantage does not seem to have the same +reason for being averse to share it with others which naturally operates +in regard to many good things of a different kind; he does not, by +imparting it to those around him, diminish his own store. This is true, +in so far as regards the possession of knowledge considered in its +character of a real good; the owner of the treasure does not impoverish +himself by giving it away, as he would by giving away his money, but +remains as rich as ever, even after he has made ever so many others as +rich as himself. But still there is one thing that he loses, and a thing +upon which the human mind is apt to set a very high value; he loses the +distinction which he derived from his knowledge. This distinction really +serves, in many respects, the same purpose that money itself does. Like +money, it brings observation and worship. Like money, it is the dearest +of all things, power. Knowledge, however held, is indeed essentially +power; to _ken_, that is, to know, is the same word and the same thing +with to _can_, that is, to be able. But there is an additional and a +different species of power conferred by knowledge when it exists as the +distinction of a few individuals in the midst of general ignorance. Here +it is power not only to do those things the methods of doing which it +teaches; it is, besides, the power of governing other men through your +comparative strength and their weakness. + +So strong is the motive thus prompting the possessor of knowledge to the +exclusive retention of his acquisitions, that unless it had been met by +another motive appealing in like manner directly to our self-interest, +it appears probable that scarcely any general dissemination of knowledge +would ever have taken place. The powerful counteracting motive in +question is derived from the consideration that in most cases one of the +most effective ways which the possessor of knowledge can take of +exciting the admiration of others, is to communicate what he knows. The +light must give itself forth, and illuminate the world, even that it may +be itself seen and admired. In the very darkest times, the scholar or +philosopher may find his ambition sufficiently gratified by the mere +reputation of superior attainments, and the stupid wonder, or it may be +superstitious terror, of the uninquiring multitude. But as soon as any +thing like a spirit of intelligence or of curiosity has sprung up in the +general mind, all who aspire to fame or consideration from their +learning, their discoveries, or their intellectual powers, address +themselves to awaken the admiration of their fellow-men, not by +concealing, but by displaying their knowledge--not by sealing up the +precious fountain, but by allowing its waters to flow freely forth, that +all who choose may drink of them. From this time science ceases almost +to have any secrets; and, all the influences to which it is exposed +acting in the same direction, the tendency of knowledge becomes wholly +diffusive. + +But in the preceding state of things the case was altogether the +reverse. Then there was little or no inducement to the communication of +knowledge, and every motive for those who were in possession of it to +keep it to themselves. There was not intelligence enough abroad to +appreciate, or even to understand, the truths of philosophy if they had +been announced in their simplicity, and explained according to their +principles; all that was cared for, all that was capable of arousing the +vulgar attention, was some display, made as surprising and mysterious as +possible, of their practical application. It would even have been +attended with danger in many cases to attempt to teach true philosophy +openly, or to make open profession of it; it was too much in opposition +to some of the strongest prejudices which everywhere held sway. It is +not, then, to be wondered at, that its cultivators should have sought to +guard and preserve it by means of secret associations, which, besides +excluding the multitude from a participation in the thing thus fenced +round and hidden, answered also divers other convenient purposes. They +afforded opportunities of free conference, which could not otherwise +have been obtained. There was much in the very forms of mystery and +concealment thus adopted calculated to impress the popular imagination, +and to excite its reverence and awe. Finally, the veil which they drew +around their proceedings enabled the members of these secret societies +to combine their efforts, and arrange their plans, in security and +without interruption, whenever they cherished any designs of political +innovation, or other projects, the open avowal and prosecution of which +the established authorities would not have tolerated. + +The facilities afforded by the system of secret association, and it may +even be said the temptations which it presents, to the pursuit of +political objects forbidden by the laws, are so great as to justify all +governments in prohibiting it, under whatever pretence it may be +attempted to be introduced. It is nothing to the purpose to argue that +under bad governments valuable political reforms have sometimes been +effected by such secret associations which would not otherwise have been +attained. The same mode of proceeding, in the nature of the thing, is +equally efficacious for the overthrow of a good government. Bad men are +as likely to combine in the dark for their objects as good men are for +theirs. In any circumstances, a secret association is an _imperium in +imperio_, a power separate from, and independent of, that which is +recognized as the supreme power in the state, and therefore something +essentially disorganizing, and which it is contrary to the first +principles of all government for any state to tolerate. In the case of a +bad government, indeed, all means are fairly available for its overthrow +which are not morally objectionable, the simple rule for their +application being that it shall be directed by considerations of +prudence and discretion. In such a case a secret association of the +friends of reform may sometimes be found to supply the most effective +means for accomplishing the desired end; but that end, however desirable +it may be, is not one which the constitution of the state itself can +rationally contemplate. The constitution cannot be founded upon the +supposition that even necessary alterations of it are to be brought +about through agencies out of itself, and forming no part of its +regular mechanism. Whenever such agencies are successfully brought into +operation, there is a revolution, and the constitution is at an end. +Even the amendment of the constitution so effected is its destruction. + +Yet most of the more remarkable secret associations which have existed +in different ages and countries have probably either been originally +formed to accomplish some political end, or have come to contemplate +such an object as their chief design. Even when nothing more than a +reformation of the national religion has been, as far as can be +discovered, the direct aim of the association, it may still be fairly +considered as of a political character, from the manner in which +religion has been mixed up in almost every country with the civil +institutions of the state. The effect which it was desired to produce +upon the government may in many cases have been very far from extending +to its complete abolition, and the substitution of another form of +polity; an alteration in some one particular may have been all that was +sought, or the object of the association may even have been to support +some original principle of the constitution against the influence of +circumstances which threatened its subversion or modification. Whether +directed to the alteration or to the maintenance of the existing order +of things, the irregular and dangerous action of secret combinations is, +as we have said, a species of force which no state can reasonably be +expected to recognize. But it may nevertheless have happened at +particular emergencies, and during times of very imperfect civilization, +that valuable service has been rendered by such combinations to some of +the most important interests of society, and that they have to a +considerable extent supplied the defects of the rude and imperfect +arrangements of the ordinary government. + +The system of secret association is, indeed, the natural resource of the +friends of political reform, in times when the general mind is not +sufficiently enlightened to appreciate or to support their schemes for +the improvement of the existing institutions and order of things. To +proclaim their views openly in such circumstances would be of no more +use than haranguing to the desert. They might even expose themselves to +destruction by the attempt. But, united in a secret association, and +availing themselves of all the advantages at once of their superior +knowledge and intelligence, and of their opportunities of acting in +concert, a very few individuals may work with an effect altogether out +of proportion to their number. They may force in a wedge which in time +shall even split and shiver into fragments the strength of the existing +social system, no matter by how many ages of barbarism it may be +consolidated. Or, in the absence of a more regular law and police, they +may maintain the empire of justice by stretching forth the arm of their +own authority in substitution for that of the state, which lies +paralysed and powerless, and turning to account even the superstitions +and terrors of the popular imagination by making these, as excited by +their dark organization and mysterious forms of procedure, the chain +whereby to secure the popular obedience. + +On the whole, the system of secret association for political objects, +even when there is no dispute about the desirableness of the ends sought +to be accomplished, may be pronounced to be a corrective of which good +men will avail themselves only in times of general ignorance, or under +governments that sin against the first principles of all good +government, by endeavouring to put a stop to the advancement of society +through the prohibition of the open expression of opinion; but, in +countries where the liberty of discussion exists, and where the public +mind is tolerably enlightened, as entirely unsuited to the circumstances +of the case as it is opposed to the rules and maxims on which every +government must take its stand that would provide for its own +preservation. In these happier circumstances the course for the friends +of social improvement to follow is to come forward into the full light +of day as the only place worthy of their mission, and to seek the +realization of their views by directly appealing to the understandings +of their fellow-citizens. + +One evil to which secret societies are always exposed is the chance of +the objects and principles of their members being misrepresented by +those interested in resisting their power and influence. As the wakeful +eyes of the government, and of those concerned in the maintenance of the +actual system, will be ever upon them, they must strictly confine the +knowledge of their real views and proceedings to the initiated, and as +their meetings must for the same reason be held in retired places, and +frequently by night, an opportunity, which is rarely neglected, is +afforded to their enemies of spreading the most calumnious reports of +their secret practices, which, though conscious of innocence, they may +not venture openly to confute. By arts of this kind the suspicions and +aversion of the people are excited, and they are often thus made to +persecute their best friends, and still to bow beneath the yoke of their +real foes. The similarity of the accusations made against secret +associations in all parts of the world is a sufficient proof of their +falsehood, and we should always listen to them with the utmost +suspicion, recollecting the quarter from which they proceed. Of the +spotless purity of the Christian religion when first promulgated through +the Roman world no one can entertain a doubt; yet when persecution +obliged its professors to form as it were a secret society, the same +charges of Thyestian banquets, and of the promiscuous intercourse of the +sexes, were made against them, which they themselves afterwards brought, +and with probably as little truth, against the various sects of the +Gnostic heresy. Wherever there is secrecy there will be suspicion, and +charges of something unable to bear the light of day will be made. + +The ancient world presents one secret society of a professedly political +character--that of the Pythagoreans. Of religious ones it might be +expected to yield a rich harvest to the inquirer, when we call to mind +all that has been written in ancient and modern times concerning the +celebrated mysteries. But the original Grecian mysteries, such as those +of Eleusis, appear to have been nothing more than public services of the +gods, with some peculiar ceremonies performed at the charge of the +state, and presided over by the magistrates, in which there were no +secrets communicated to the initiated, no revelation of knowledge beyond +that which was generally attainable. The _private_ mysteries, namely, +the Orphic, Isiac, and Mithraic, which were introduced from the East, +were merely modes employed by cunning and profligate impostors for +taking advantage of the weakness and credulity of the sinful and the +superstitious, by persuading them that by secret and peculiar rites, and +the invocation of strange deities, the apprehended punishment of sin +might be averted. The nocturnal assemblies for the celebration of these +mysteries were but too often scenes of vice and debauchery, and they +were discountenanced by all good governments. It is to these last, and +not to the Eleusinian mysteries, that the severe strictures of the +fathers of the church apply[1]. + +[Footnote 1: See Lobeck's excellent work "Aglaophamus."] + +The history of Pythagoras and his doctrines is extremely obscure. The +accounts of this sage which have come down to us were not written till +many centuries after his death, and but little reliance is to be placed +on their details. Pythagoras was a Samian by birth; he flourished in the +sixth century before Christ, at the time when Egypt exercised so much +influence over Greece, and its sages sought the banks of the Nile in +search of wisdom. There is, therefore, no improbability in the tradition +of Pythagoras also having visited that land of mystery, and perhaps +other parts of the East, and marked the tranquil order of things where +those who were esteemed the wise ruled over the ignorant people. He may +therefore have conceived the idea of uniting this sacerdotal system with +the rigid morals and aristocratic constitution of the Dorian states of +Greece. His native isle, which was then under the tyranny of Polycrates, +not appearing to him suited for the introduction of his new system of +government, he turned his eyes to the towns of Magna Graecia, or Southern +Italy, which were at that time in a highly flourishing condition, whose +inhabitants were eager in the pursuit of knowledge, and some of which +already possessed written codes of law. He fixed his view on Croton, one +of the wealthiest and most distinguished of those towns. + +Aristocracy was the soul of the Dorian political constitutions, and the +towns of Magna Graecia were all Dorian colonies; but in consequence of +their extensive commerce the tendency of the people was at that time +towards democracy. To preserve the aristocratic principle was the object +of Pythagoras; but he wished to make the aristocracy not merely one of +birth; he desired that, like the sacerdotal castes of the East, it +should also have the supremacy in knowledge. As his system was contrary +to the general feeling, Pythagoras saw that it was only by gaining the +veneration of the people that he could carry it into effect; and by his +personal advantages of beauty of form, skill in gymnastic exercises, +eloquence, and dignity, he drew to himself the popular favour by casting +the mantle of mystery over his doctrines. He thus at once inspired the +people with awe for them, and the nobles with zeal to become initiated +in his secrets. + +The most perfect success, we are told, attended the project of the +philosopher. A total change of manners took place in Croton; the +constitution became nearly Spartan; a body of 300 nobles, rendered by +the lessons of the sage as superior to the people in knowledge of every +kind as they were in birth, ruled over it. The nobles of the other +states flocked to Croton to learn how to govern by wisdom; Pythagorean +missionaries went about everywhere preaching the new political creed; +they inculcated on the people religion, humility, and obedience; such of +the nobles as were deemed capable were initiated in the wisdom of the +order, and taught its maxims and principles; a golden age, in which +power was united with wisdom and virtue, seemed to have begun upon +earth. + +But, like every thing which struggles against the spirit of the age, +such a political system was not fated to endure. While Croton was the +chief seat of Pythagoreanism, luxury had fixed her throne in the +neighbouring city of Sybaris. The towns were rivals: one or the other +must fall. It was little more than thirty years after the arrival of +Pythagoras in Croton that a furious war broke out between them. Led by +Milo and other Pythagoreans, who were as expert in military affairs as +skilled in philosophy, the Crotoniates utterly annihilated the power of +their rivals, and Sybaris sank to rise no more. But with her sank the +power of the Pythagoreans. They judged it inexpedient to give a large +share of the booty to the people; the popular discontent rose; Cylon, a +man who had been refused admittance into the order, took advantage of +it, and urged the people on; the Pythagoreans were all massacred, and a +democracy established. All the other towns took example by Croton, a +general persecution of the order commenced, and Pythagoras himself was +obliged to seek safety in flight, and died far away from the town which +once had received him as a prophet. The Pythagoreans never made any +further attempts at attaining political power, but became a mere sect of +mystic philosophers, distinguished by peculiarities of food and dress. + +Ancient times present us with no other society of any importance to +which we can properly apply the term _secret_. + +The different sects of the Gnostics, who are by the fathers of the +church styled heretics, were to a certain extent secret societies, as +they did not propound their doctrines openly and publicly; but their +history is so scanty, and so devoid of interest, that an examination of +it would offer little to detain ordinary readers. + +The present volume is devoted to the history of three celebrated +societies which flourished during the middle ages, and of which, as far +as we know, no full and satisfactory account is to be found in English +literature. These are the Assassins, or Ismailites, of the East, whose +name has become in all the languages of Europe synonymous with murderer, +who _were_ a secret society, and of whom we have in general such vague +and indistinct conceptions; the military order of the Knights Templars, +who were most barbarously persecuted under the pretext of their holding +a secret doctrine, and against whom the charge has been renewed at the +present day; and, finally, the Secret Tribunals of Westphalia, in +Germany, concerning which all our information has hitherto been derived +from the incorrect statements of dramatists and romancers[2]. + +[Footnote 2: Since the present work was prepared, a translation of Von +Hammer's History of the Assassins has been published by Dr. Oswald +Charles Wood.] + +It is the simplicity of truth, and not the excitement of romance, that +the reader is to expect to find in the following pages,--pictures of +manners and modes of thinking different from our own,--knowledge, not +_mere_ entertainment, yet as large an infusion of the latter as is +consistent with truth and instruction. + + + + +THE ASSASSINS[3]. + + +[Footnote 3: Hammer's _Geschichte der Assassinen_ (History of the +Assassins), and the same writer's _Fundgruben des Orients_ (Mines of the +East), M. Jourdain's _Extrait de l'Ouvrage de Mirkhond sur la Dynastie +des Ismaelites_, and Malcolm's History of Persia, are the principal +authorities for the following account of the Assassins.] + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + State of the World in the 7th Century--Western Empire--Eastern + Empire--Persia--Arabia--Mohammed--His probable Motives--Character + of his Religion--The Koran. + + +At the commencement of the 7th century of the Christian era a new +character was about to be impressed on a large portion of the world. +During the two centuries which preceded, the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and +other martial tribes of the Germanic race, had succeeded in beating down +the barriers opposed to them, and in conquering and dismembering the +Western Empire. They brought with them and retained their love of +freedom and spirit of dauntless valour, but abandoned their ancient and +ferocious superstitions, and embraced the corrupt system which then +degraded the name of Christianity. This system, hardened, as it were, by +ideas retained and transferred from the original faith of its new +disciples, which ideas were fostered by those passages of the books of +the Hebrew Scriptures which accorded with their natural sentiments, +afterwards, when allied with feudalism, engendered the spirit which +poured the hosts of Western Europe over the mountains and plains of Asia +for the conquest of the Holy Land. + +A different picture was at this time presented by the empire of the +East. It still retained the extent assigned to it by Theodosius; and all +the countries from the Danube, round the east and south coasts of the +Mediterranean, to the straits of Gades, yielded a more or less perfect +obedience to the successors of Constantine. But a despotism more +degrading, though less ferocious, than those of Asia paralyzed the +patriotism and the energy of their subjects; and the acuteness, the +contentiousness, and the imagination of the Greeks, combined with +mysticism and the wild fancy of the Asiatics to transform the simplicity +of the religion of Christ into a revolting system of intricate +metaphysics and gross idolatry, which aided the influence of their +political condition in chilling the martial ardour of the people. The +various provinces of the empire were held together by the loosest and +feeblest connexion, and it was apparent that a vigorous shock would +suffice to dissolve the union. + +The mountains of Armenia and the course of the Euphrates separated the +Eastern Empire from that of Persia. This country had been under the +dominion of the people named Parthians at the time when the eagles of +the Roman republic first appeared on the Euphrates, and defeat had more +than once attended the Roman armies which attempted to enter their +confines. Like every dominion not founded on the freedom of the people, +that of the Arsacides (the Parthian royal line) grew feeble with time, +and after a continuance of nearly five centuries the sceptre of Arsaces +passed from the weak hand of the last monarch of his line to that of +Ardeshir Babegan (that is the son of Babec), a valiant officer of the +royal army, and a pretended descendant of the ancient monarchs of +Persia. Ardeshir, to accomplish this revolution, availed himself of the +religious prejudices of the Persian people. The Parthian monarchs had +inclined to the manners and the religion of the Greeks, and the +Light-religion--the original faith of Persia, and one of the purest and +most spiritual of those to which a divine origin may not be +assigned--had been held in slight estimation, and its priests unvisited +by royal favour. It was the pride and the policy of Ardeshir to restore +the ancient religion to the dignity which it had enjoyed under the +descendants of Cyrus, and Religion, in return, lent her powerful aid to +his plans of restoring the royal dignity to its pristine vigour, and of +infusing into the breast of the people the love of country and the +ardour for extending the Persian dominion to what it had been of old; +and for 400 years the Sassanides[4] were the most formidable enemies of +the Roman empire. But their dominion had, at the period of which we +write, nearly attained the greatest limit allotted to Oriental +dynasties; and though Noosheerwan the Just had attained great warlike +fame, and governed with a vigour and justice that have made his name +proverbial in the East, and Khoosroo Purveez displayed a magnificence +which is still the theme of Persian poetry and romance, and carried his +victorious arms over Syria and Egypt, and further along the African +coast than even those of Darius I. had been able to advance, yet defeat +from the gallant Emperor Heraclius clouded his latter days, and the +thirteenth year after his death, by showing the Persian armies in +flight, and the palladium of the empire, the jewel-set apron of the +blacksmith Kawah, in the hands of the rovers of the deserts, revealed +the secret that her strength was departed from Persia. The brilliancy +of the early part of the reign of Khoosroo Purveez had been but the +flash before death which at times is displayed in empires as in +individuals. The vigour was gone which was requisite to stem the torrent +of fanatic valour about to burst forth from the wilds of Arabia. + +[Footnote 4: The name given to the dynasty founded by Ardeshir, from his +pretended ancestor Sassan, a grandson of Isfundear, a hero greatly +celebrated in the ancient history of Persia. Isfundear was the son of +Gushtasp, who is supposed to be the Darius Hystaspes of the Greek +historians. Sir John Malcolm has endeavoured to identify Isfundear with +the Xerxes of the Greeks.] + +It is the boast of Arabia that it has never been conquered. This +immunity from subjugation has, however, been only partial, and is owing +to the nature of the country; for although the barren sands of the Hejaz +and Nejed have always baffled the efforts of hostile armies, yet the +more inviting region of Yemen, the Happy Arabia of the ancients, has +more than once allured a conqueror, and submitted to his sway. The +inhabitants of this country have been the same in blood and in manners +from the dawn of history. Brave, but not sanguinary, robbers, but kind +and hospitable, of lively and acute intellect, we find the Arabs, from +the days of Abraham to the present times, leading the pastoral and +nomadic life in the desert, agriculturists in Yemen, traders on the +coasts and on the confines of Syria and Egypt. Their foreign military +operations had hitherto been confined to plundering expeditions into the +last-mentioned countries, unless they were the Hycsos, or Shepherd +Kings, who, according to tradition, once made the conquest of Egypt. +Arabia forming a kind of world in itself, its various tribes were in +ceaseless hostility with each other; but it was apparent that if its +brave and skilful horsemen could be united under one head, and animated +by motives which would inspire constancy and rouse valour, they might +present a force capable of giving a fatal shock to the empires of Persia +and of Rome. + +It is impossible, on taking a survey of the history of the world, not to +recognize a great predisposing cause, which appoints the time and +circumstances of every event which is to produce any considerable change +in the state of human affairs. The agency of this overruling providence +is nowhere more perceptible than in the present instance. The time was +come for the Arabs to leave their deserts and march to the conquest of +the world, and the man was born who was to inspire them with the +necessary motives. + +Mohammed (_Illustrious_[5]) was the son of Abd-Allah (_Servant of God_), +a noble Arab of the tribe of Koreish, which had the guardianship of the +Kaaba (_Square House of Mecca_), the _Black Stone_ contained in which +(probably an aerolite) had been for ages an object of religious +veneration to the tribes of Arabia. His mother was Amineh, the daughter +of a chief of princely rank. He was early left an orphan, with the +slender patrimony of five camels and a female AEthiopian slave. His +uncle, Aboo Talib, brought him up. At an early age the young Mohammed +accompanied his uncle to the fair of Bozra, on the verge of Syria, and +in his 18th year he signalized his valour in an engagement between the +Koreish and a hostile tribe. At the age of 25 he entered the service of +Khadijah, a wealthy widow, with whose merchandise he visited one of the +great fairs of Syria. Mohammed, though poor, was noble, handsome, acute, +and brave; Khadijah, who was fifteen years his senior, was inspired with +love; her passion was returned; and the gift of her hand and wealth +gave the nephew of Aboo Talib affluence and consideration. + +[Footnote 5: The Oriental proper names being mostly all significant, we +shall translate them when we first employ them. As, however, it is not +always that it can be discovered what the original Arabic characters are +of an eastern word which we meet in Roman letters, we shall be sometimes +obliged to leave names unexplained, and at other times to hazard +conjectural explanations. In the last case, we shall affix a mark of +doubt.] + +Mohammed's original turn of mind appears to have been serious, and it is +not unlikely that the great truth of the Unity of the Deity had been +early impressed on his mind by his mother or his Jewish kindred. The +Koreish and the rest of his countrymen were idolaters; Christianity was +now corrupted by the intermixture of many superstitions; the +fire-worship of the Persians was a worshipping of the Deity under a +material form; the Mosaic religion had been debased by the dreams and +absurd distinctions of the Rabbis. A simpler form than any of these +seemed wanted for man. God, moreover, was believed to have at sundry +times sent prophets into the world for its reformation, and might do so +again; the Jews still looked for their promised Messiah; many Christians +held that the Paraclete was yet to come. Who can take upon him to assert +that Mohammed may not have believed himself to be set apart to the +service of God, and appointed by the divine decree to be the preacher of +a purer faith than any which he then saw existing? Who will say that in +his annual seclusions of fifteen days in the cave of Hira he may not +have fallen into ecstatic visions, and that in one of these waking +dreams the angel Gabriel may not have appeared to his distempered fancy +to descend to nominate him to the office of a prophet of God, and +present to him, in a visible form, that portion of his future law which +had probably already passed through his mind[6]? A certain portion of +self-delusion is always mingled with successful imposture; the impostor, +as it were, makes his first experiment on himself. It is much more +reasonable to conclude that Mohammed had at first no other object than +the dissemination of truth by persuasion, and that he may have beguiled +himself into a belief of his being the instrument selected for that +purpose, than that the citizen of a town in the secluded region of +Arabia beheld in ambitious vision from his mountain-cave his victorious +banners waving on the banks of the Oxus and the Ebro, and his name +saluted as that of the Prophet of God by a fourth part of the human +race. Still we must not pass by another, and perhaps a truer +supposition, namely, that, in the mind of Mohammed, as in that of so +many others, the end justified the means, and that he deemed it lawful +to feign a vision and a commission from God in order to procure from men +a hearing for the truth. + +[Footnote 6: The Kubla Khan of Coleridge (Poetical Works, vol. i. p. +266) is a fine instance of this power of the mind, withdrawn from the +contemplation of material objects. The reader will probably recollect +the sign given from heaven to Lord Herbert of Cherbury, on the occasion +of his work written against revealed religion. The writer has lately +heard an instance of a lady of fortune, to whom, as she reclined one day +on a sofa, a voice seemed to come from heaven, announcing to her that +she was selected as the instrument for accomplishing a great work in the +hands of God; and giving, as a sign, that, for a certain number of +months, she should be unable to leave the sofa on which she was lying. +Such is the power of imagination, that the supposed intimation in regard +to the sign actually took effect; she believed herself to have lost the +power of motion, and therefore did in reality lose it.] + + +Whatever the ideas and projects of Mohammed may originally have been, he +waited till he had attained his fortieth year (the age at which Moses +showed himself first to the Israelites), and then revealed his divine +commission to his wife Khadijah, his slave Zeid, his cousin Ali, the son +of Aboo Talib, and his friend, the virtuous and wealthy Aboo Bekr. It is +difficult to conceive any motive but conviction to have operated on the +minds of these different persons, who at once acknowledged his claim to +the prophetic office; and it speaks not a little for the purity of the +previous life of the new Prophet, that he could venture to claim the +faith of those who were most intimately acquainted with him. The voice +of wisdom has assured us that a prophet has no honour in his own country +and among his own kindred, and the example of Mohammed testified the +truth of the declaration. During thirteen years the new religion made +but slow and painful progress in the town of Mecca; but the people of +Yathreb, a town afterwards dignified with the appellation of the City of +the Prophet (_Medinat-en-Nabi_), were more susceptive of faith; and +when, on the death of Aboo Talib, who protected his nephew, though he +rejected his claims, his celebrated Flight (_Hejra_) brought him to +Yathreb, the people of that town took arms in his defence against the +Koreish. It was probably now that new views opened to the mind of the +Prophet. Prince of Yathreb, he might hope to extend his sway over the +ungrateful Mecca; and those who had scoffed at his arguments and +persuasions might be taught lessons of wisdom by the sword. These +anticipations were correct, and in less than ten years after the battle +of Bedr (the first he fought) he saw his temporal power and his +prophetic character acknowledged by the whole of the Arabian peninsula. + +It commonly happens that, when a new form of religion is proposed for +the acceptance of mankind, it surpasses in purity that which it is +intended to supersede. The Arabs of the days of Mohammed were idolaters; +300 is said to have been the number of the images which claimed their +adoration in the Caaba. A gross licentiousness prevailed among them; +their polygamy had no limits assigned to it[7]. For this the Prophet +substituted the worship of One God, and placed a check on the sensual +propensities of his people. His religion contained descriptions of the +future state of rewards and punishments, by which he allured to +obedience and terrified from contumacy or opposition. The pains of hell +which he menaced were such as were most offensive to the body and its +organs; the joys of Paradise were verdant meads, shady trees, murmuring +brooks, gentle airs, precious wines in cups of gold and silver, stately +tents, and splendid sofas; the melody of the songs of angels was to +ravish the souls of the blessed; the black-eyed Hoories were to be the +ever-blooming brides of the faithful servants of God. Yet, though +sensual bliss was to be his ultimate reward, the votary was taught that +its attainment demanded self-denial on earth; and it has been justly +observed that "a devout Mussulman exhibits more of the Stoical than of +the Epicurean character[8]." As the Prophet had resolved that the sword +should be unsparingly employed for the diffusion of the truth, the +highest degree of the future bliss was pronounced to be the portion of +the martyrs, i. e., of those who fell in the holy wars waged for the +dissemination of the faith. "Paradise," says the Prophet, "is beneath +the shadow of swords." At the day of judgment the wounds of the fallen +warrior were to be resplendent as vermilion, and odoriferous as musk; +and the wings of angels were to supply the loss of limbs. The religion +of Mohammed was entitled Islam (_resignation_), whence its votaries were +called by the Arabs Moslems, and in Persian Mussulmans. Its articles of +belief were five--belief in God, in his angels, in his Prophet, in the +last day, and in predestination. Its positive duties were also +five--purification, prayer, fasting, alms, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. +Various rites and observances which the Arabs had hitherto practised +were retained by the Prophet, either out of regard for the prejudices of +his followers, or because he did not, or could not, divest his own mind +of respect for usages in which he had been reared up from infancy. + +[Footnote 7: See, in Sir J. Malcolm's History of Persia, the dialogue +between the Persian king Yezdijird and the Arab envoy. "Whatever," said +the latter, "thou hast said regarding the former condition of the Arabs +is true. Their food was green lizards; they buried their infant +daughters alive; nay, some of them feasted on dead carcasses and drank +blood, while others slew their relations, and thought themselves great +and valiant when, by such an act, they became possessed of more +property. They were clothed with hair garments, knew not good from evil, +and made no distinction between that which is lawful and that which is +unlawful. Such was our state. But God in his mercy has sent us by a holy +prophet a sacred volume, which teaches us the true faith," &c.] + +[Footnote 8: Hallam, Middle Ages, ii. 165.] + +Such is a slight sketch of the religion which Mohammed substituted for +the idolatry of Arabia. It contained little that was original; all its +details of the future state were borrowed from Judaism or from the +Magian system of Persia. The book which contains it, entitled the Koran +(_reading_), was composed in detached pieces, during a long series of +years, by the _illiterate_ Prophet, and taken down from his lips by his +scribes. His own account of its origin was that each Sura, or +revelation, was brought to him from heaven by the angel Gabriel. It is +regarded by the Mohammedan East, and by most European Orientalists, as +the masterpiece of Arabian literature; and when we make due allowance +for the difference of European and Arabian models and taste, and +consider that the rhyme[9] which in prose is insufferable to the former, +may to the latter sound grateful, we may allow that the praises lavished +on it are not unmerited. Though tedious and often childish legends, and +long and tiresome civil regulations, occupy the greater part of it, it +is pervaded by a fine strain of fervid piety and humble resignation to +the will of God, not unworthy of the inspired seers of Israel; and the +sublime doctrine of the Unity of God runs like a vein of pure gold +through each portion of the mass, giving lustre and dignity to all. +Might we not venture to say that Christianity itself has derived +advantage from the imposture of Mohammed, and that the clear and open +profession of the Divine Unity by their Mohammedan enemies kept the +Christians of the dark ages from smothering it beneath the mass of +superstition and fable by which they corrupted and deformed so much of +the majestic simplicity of the Gospel? No one, certainly, would dream of +comparing the son of Abd-Allah with the Son of God, of setting darkness +by the side of light; but still we may confess him to have been an agent +in the hands of the Almighty, and admit that his assumption of the +prophetic office was productive of good as well as of evil. + +[Footnote 9: The Hebrews, as appears from the poetic parts of the +Scriptures, had the same delight in the clang of rhyme as the Arabs. See +particularly Isaiah in the original.] + +The Mohammedan religion is so intimately connected with history, law, +manners, and opinions, in the part of the East of which we are about to +write, that this brief view of its origin and nature was indispensable. +We now proceed to our history. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + Origin of the Khalifat--The first Khalifs--Extent of the Arabian + Empire--Schism among the Mohammedans--Soonees and Sheaehs--Sects of + the latter--The Keissanee--The Zeidites--The Ghoollat--The + Imamee--Sects of the Imamee--Their political Character--The + Carmathites--Origin of the Fatimite Khalifs--Secret Society at + Cairo--Doctrines taught in it--Its Decline. + + +The civil and ecclesiastical dignities were united in the person of +Mohammed. As Emir (_prince_) he administered justice and led his +followers to battle; as Imam (_director_) he on every Friday (the +Mohammedan sabbath) taught the principles and duties of religion from +his pulpit. Though his wives were numerous, the Prophet had no male +issue surviving at the time when he felt the approaches of death; but +his daughter Fatima was married to his cousin Ali, his early and +faithful disciple, and it was naturally to be expected that the expiring +voice of the Prophet would nominate him as his Khalif (_successor_) over +the followers of his faith. But Ayesha, the daughter of Aboo Bekr, +Mohammed's youthful and best beloved wife, was vehemently hostile to the +son of Aboo Talib, and she may have exerted all the influence of a +revengeful woman over the mind of the dying Prophet. Or perhaps +Mohammed, like Alexander, perplexed with the extent of dominion to which +he had attained, and aware that only a vigour of character similar to +his own would avail to retain and enlarge it, and, it may be, thinking +himself answerable to God for the choice he should make, deemed it the +safest course to leave the matter to the free decision of his surviving +followers. His appointing Aboo Bekr, a few days before his death, to +officiate in his pulpit, might seem to indicate an intention of +conferring the khalifat on him; and he is said to have at one time +declared that the strength of character displayed by his distinguished +follower, Omar, evinced his possession of the virtues of a prophet and a +khalif. Tradition records no equally strong declaration respecting the +mild and virtuous Ali. + +At all events the Prophet expired without having named a successor, and +the choice devolving on his companions dissension was ready to break +out, when Omar, abandoning his own claims, gave his voice for Aboo Bekr. +All opposition was thus silenced, and the father of Ayesha reigned for +two years over the faithful. Ali at first refused obedience, but he +finally acknowledged the successor of the Prophet. When dying, Aboo Bekr +bequeathed the sceptre to Omar, as the worthiest, and when, twelve years +afterwards, Omar perished by the dagger of an assassin, six electors +conferred the vacant dignity on Othman, who had been the secretary of +the Prophet. Age having enfeebled the powers of Othman, the reins of +authority were slackened, and a spirit of discord pervaded all Arabia, +illustrative of the Prophet's declaration of vigour being essential to a +khalif. A numerous body of rebels besieged the aged Othman in Medina, +and he was slain, holding the Koran in his lap, by a band of murderers, +headed by the brother of Ayesha, who, the firebrand of Islam, it is +probable had been secretly active in exciting the rebellion. + +The popular choice now fell upon Ali, but the implacable Ayesha +stimulated to revolt against his authority two powerful Arab chiefs, +named Telha and Zobeir, who raised their standards in the province of +Arabian Irak. Ayesha, mounted on a camel, appeared in the thickest of +the battle, in which the rebel chiefs were defeated and slain. The +generous Ali sent her to dwell at the tomb of the Prophet, where she +passed in tranquillity the remainder of her days. The khalif himself was +less fortunate. Moawiya, the Governor of Syria, son of Aboo Sofian, the +most violent of the opponents of the Prophet, assumed the office of the +avenger of Othman, whose death he charged on Ali and his party, and, +declaring himself to be the rightful khalif, roused Syria to arms +against the Prophet's son-in-law. In the war success was on the side of +Ali, till the superstition of his troops obliged him to agree to a +treaty; and shortly afterwards he was murdered by a fanatic in the mosk +of Coofa. His son Hassan was induced by Moawiya to resign his claims and +retire to the city of Medina; but his more high-spirited brother, +Hussein, took arms against the khalif Yezid, the son of Moawiya; and the +narrative of his death is one of the most pathetic and best related +incidents of Oriental history[10]. The sisters and children of Hussein +were spared by the clemency of the victorious Yezid, and from them +descend a numerous race, glorying in the blood of Ali and the Prophet. + +[Footnote 10: See Ockley's History of the Saracens.] + +The Arabian empire was now of immense extent. Egypt, Syria, and Persia +had been conquered in the reign of Omar. Under the first khalifs of the +dynasty of the Ommiades (so called from Ommiyah, the great-grandfather +of Moawiya), the conquest of Africa and Spain was achieved, and the +later princes of this family ruled over the most extensive empire of the +world. + +The great schism of the Mohammedan church (we must be permitted to +employ this term, the only one our language affords) commences with the +accession of the house of Ommiyah. The Mohammedans have, as is generally +known, been from that time to the present day divided into two great +sects, the Soonees and the Sheaehs, the orthodox and the dissenters, as +we might venture to call them, whose opposite doctrines, like those of +the Catholics and the Protestants of the Christian church, are each the +established faith of great and independent nations. The Ottoman and the +Usbeg Turks hold the Soonee faith; the Persians are violent Sheaehs; and +national and religious animosity concur in making them the determined +and inveterate foes of each other. + +The Soonees hold that the first four khalifs were all legitimate +successors of the Prophet; but as their order was determined by their +degree of sanctity, they assign the lowest rank to Ali. The Sheaehs, on +the contrary, maintain that the dignity of the Prophet rightfully +descended to the son of his uncle and the husband of his daughter. They +therefore regard Aboo Bekr, Omar, and Othman, as usurpers, and curse and +revile their memory, more especially that of the rigid Omar, whose +murderer they venerate as a saint. It must be steadily kept in mind, in +every discussion respecting the Mohammedan religion, that Mohammed and +his successors succeeded in establishing what the lofty and capacious +mind of Gregory VII. attempted in vain--the union of the civil and +ecclesiastical powers in the same person. Unlike the schisms of the +eastern and western, of the Catholic and Protestant churches, which +originated in difference of opinion on points of discipline or matters +of doctrine, that of the Mohammedans arose solely from ambition and the +struggle for temporal power. The sceptre of the greatest empire of the +world was to be the reward of the party who could gain the greatest +number of believers in his right to grasp the staff and ascend the +pulpit of the Prophet of God. Afterwards, when the learning of the +Greeks and the Persians became familiar to the Arabs, theological and +metaphysical niceties and distinctions were introduced, and the two +great stems of religion threw out numerous sectarian branches. The +Soonees are divided into four main sects, all of which are, however, +regarded as orthodox, for they agree in the main points, though they +differ in subordinate ones. The division of the Sheaehs is also into four +sects, the point of agreement being the assertion of the right of Ali +and his descendants to the imamat, or supreme ecclesiastical dignity; +the point of difference being the nature of the proof on which his +rights are founded, and the order of succession among his descendants. +These four sects and their opinions are as follows:-- + +I. The first and most innocuous of the sects which maintained the rights +of the family of Ali were the Keissanee, so named from Keissan, one of +his freed-men. These, who were subdivided into several branches, held +that Ali's rights descended, not to Hassan or Hussein, but to their +brother, Mohammed-ben-Hanfee. One of these branch-sects maintained that +the imamat _remained_[11] in the person of this Mohammed, who had never +died, but had since appeared, from time to time, on earth, under various +names. Another branch, named the Hashemites, held that the imamat +descended from Mohammed-ben-Hanfee to his son Aboo-Hashem, who +transmitted it to Mohammed, of the family of Abbas, from whom it +descended to Saffah, the founder of the Abbasside dynasty of +khalifs[12]. It is quite evident that the object of this sect was to +give a colour to the claims of the family of Abbas, who stigmatized the +family of Ommiyah as usurpers, and insisted that the khalifat belonged +of right to themselves. Aboo-Moslem, the great general who first gave +dominion to the family of Abbas, was a real or pretended maintainer of +the tenets of this sect, the only branch, by the way, of the Sheaehs +which supported the house of Abbas. + +[Footnote 11: Hence they were named the Standing (_Wakfiyah_).] + +[Footnote 12: Abbas, the ancestor of this family, was one of the uncles +of the Prophet. They obtained possession of the khalifat A.D. 750, and +retained it through an hereditary succession of princes for 500 years. +Al-Mansoor, the second khalif of this dynasty, transferred the royal +residence from Damascus, where the Ommiades had dwelt, to Bagdad, which +he founded on the banks of the Tigris. This city, also named the City of +Peace, the Vale of Peace, the House of Peace, has acquired, beyond what +any other town can claim, a degree of romantic celebrity by means of the +inimitable Thousand and One Nights. Such is the ennobling power of +genius!] + +II. A second branch of the Sheaehs was named Zeidites. These held that +the imamat descended through Hassan and Hussein to Zein-al-Abedeen, the +son of this last, and thence passed to Zeid (whence their name), the son +of Zein; whereas most other Sheaehs regarded Mohammed Bakir, the brother +of Zeid, as the lawful imam. The Zeidites differed from the other Sheaehs +in acknowledging the three first khalifs to have been legitimate +successors of the Prophet. Edris, who wrested a part of Africa from the +Abbasside khalifs, and founded the kingdom of Fez, was a real or +pretended descendant of Zeid. + +III. The Ghoollat (_Ultras_), so named from the extravagance of their +doctrines, which, passing all bounds of common sense, were held in equal +abomination by the other Sheaehs and by the Soonees. This sect is said to +have existed as early as the time of Ali himself, who is related to have +burnt some of them on account of their impious and extravagant +opinions. They held, as we are told, that there was but one imam, and +they ascribed the qualities of divinity to Ali. Some maintained that +there were two natures (the divine and the human) in him, others that +the last alone was his. Some again said that this perfect nature of Ali +passed by transmigration through his descendants, and would continue so +to do till the end of all things; others that the transmission stopped +with Mohammed Bakir, the son of Zein-al-Abedeen, who still abode on +earth, but unseen, like Khizer, the Guardian of the Well of Life, +according to the beautiful eastern legend[13]. Others, still more bold, +denied the transmission, and asserted that the divine Ali sat enthroned +in the clouds, where the thunder was the voice and the lightning the +scourge wherewith he terrified and chastised the wicked. This sect +presents the first (though a very early) instance of the introduction +into Islam of that mysticism which appears to have had its original +birth-place in the dreamy groves of India. As a political party the +Ghoollat never seem to have been formidable. + +[Footnote 13: Khizer, by some supposed, but perhaps erroneously, to be +the prophet Elias, is regarded by the Mohammedans in the light of a +beneficent genius. He is the giver of youth to the animal and the +vegetable world. He is clad in garments of the most brilliant green, and +he stands as keeper of the Well of Life in the Land of Darkness. +According to the romances of the East, Iskander, that is, Alexander the +Great, resolved to march into the West, to the Land of Darkness, that he +might drink of the water of immortality. During seven entire days he and +his followers journeyed through dark and dismal deserts. At length they +faintly discerned in the distance the green light which shone from the +raiment of Khizer. As they advanced it became more and more resplendent, +like the brightest and purest emeralds. As the monarch approached, +Khizer dipped a cup in the verdant Water of Life, and reached it to him; +but the impatience of Iskander was so great that he spilt the contents +of the cup, and the law of fate did not permit the guardian of the fount +to fill it for him again. The moral of this tale is evident. Its +historic foundation is the journey of the Macedonian to the temple of +Ammon.] + +IV. Such, however, was not the case with the Imamee, the most dangerous +enemies of the house of Abbas. Agreeing with the Ghoollat in the +doctrine of an _invisible_ imam, they maintained that there had been a +series of _visible_ imams antecedent to him, who had vanished. One +branch of this sect (thence called the Seveners--_Sebiin_) closed the +series with Ismail, the grandson of Mohammed Bakir, the _seventh_ imam, +reckoning Ali himself the first. These were also called Ismailites, from +Ismail. The other branch, called Imamites, continued the series from +Ismail, through his brother Moosa Casim, down to Askeree, the twelfth +imam. These were hence called the Twelvers (_Esnaashree_). They believed +that the imam Askeree had vanished in a cavern at Hilla, on the banks of +the Euphrates, where he would remain invisible till the end of the +world, when he would again appear under the name of the Guide (_Mehdee_) +to lead mankind into the truth. The Imamee, wherever they might stop in +the series of the visible imams, saw that, for their political purposes, +it was necessary to acknowledge a kind of _locum tenentes_ imams; but, +while the Zeidites, who agreed with them in this point, required in +these princes the royal virtues of valour, generosity, justice, +knowledge, the Imamee declared themselves satisfied if they possessed +the saintly ones of the practice of prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. +Hence artful and ambitious men could set up any puppet who was said to +be descended from the last of the visible imams, and aspire to govern +the Mohammedan world in his name. + +The Twelvers were very near obtaining possession of the khalifat in the +time of the first Abbassides; for the celebrated Haroon Er-Rasheed's +son, Al-Mamoon, the eighth khalif of that house, moved either by the +strength or preponderance which the Sheaeh party had arrived at, or, as +the eastern historians tell us, yielding to the suggestions of his +vizir, who was devoted to that sect, named Ali Riza, the eighth imam, to +be his successor on the throne. He even laid aside the black habiliments +peculiar to his family, and wore green, the colour of Ali and the +Prophet. But the family of Abbas, which now numbered 30,000 persons, +refused their assent to this renunciation of the rights of their line. +They rose in arms, and proclaimed as khalif Al-Mamoon's uncle Ibrahim. +The obnoxious vizir perished, and the opportune death of Ali Riza (by +poison, as was said) relieved the son of Haroon Er-Rasheed from +embarrassment. Ali Riza was interred at Meshed, in the province of +Khorasan; and his tomb is, to the present day, a place of pilgrimage for +devout Persians[14]. + +[Footnote 14: See Frazer's Khorasan.] + +The Ismailites were more successful in their attempts at obtaining +temporal power; and, as we shall presently see, a considerable portion +of their dominions was wrested from the house of Abbas. + +Religion has, in all ages, and in all parts of the world, been made the +mask of ambition, for which its powerful influence over the minds of the +ignorant so well qualifies it. But the political influence of religion +among the calmer and more reasoning nations of Europe is slight compared +with its power over the more ardent and susceptible natives of Asia. +Owing to the effects of this principle the despotism of the East has +never been of that still, undisturbed nature which we might suppose to +be its character. To say nothing of the bloody wars and massacres which +have taken place under the pretext of religion in the countries from +Japan to the Indus, the Mohammedan portion of the East has been, almost +without ceasing, the theatre of sanguinary dramas, where ambition, under +the disguise of religion, sought for empire; and our own days have seen, +in the case of the Wahabees, a bold though unsuccessful attempt of +fanaticism to achieve a revolution in a part of the Ottoman empire. It +was this union of religion with policy which placed the Suffavee family +on the throne of Persia in the fifteenth century; and it was this also +which, at a much earlier period, established the dominion of the +Fatimite khalifs of Egypt. The progress of this last event is thus +traced by oriental historians[15]:-- + +[Footnote 15: Lari and Macrisi, quoted by Hammer.] + +The encouragement given to literature and science by the enlightened +Al-Mamoon had diffused a degree of boldness of speculation and inquiry +hitherto unknown in the empire of the Arabs. The subtile philosophy of +the Greeks was now brought into contact with the sublime but corrupted +theology of the Persians, and the mysticism of India secretly mingled +itself with the mass of knowledge. We are not, perhaps, to give credit +to the assertion of the Arab historian that it was the secret and +settled plan of the Persians to undermine and corrupt the religion, and +thus sap the empire, of those who had overcome them in the field; but it +is not a little remarkable that, as the transformation of the Mosaic +religion into Judaism may be traced to Persia, and as the same country +sent forth the monstrous opinions which corrupted the simplicity of the +Gospel, so it is in Persia that we find the origin of most of the sects +which have sprung up in Islam. Without agreeing with those who would +derive all knowledge from India, it may be held not improbable that the +intricate metaphysics and mysticism of that country have been the source +of much of the corruption of the various religions which have prevailed +in Cis-Indian Asia. It is at least remarkable that the north-east of +Persia, the part nearest to India, has been the place where many of the +impostors who pretended to intercourse with the Deity made their +appearance. It was here that Mani (_Manes_), the head of the Manichaeans, +displayed his arts, and it was in Khorasan (_Sun-land_) that Hakem, who +gave himself out for an incarnation of the Deity, raised the standard of +revolt against the house of Abbas. But, be this as it may, on surveying +the early centuries of Islam, we may observe that all the rebellions +which agitated the empire of the khalifs arose from a union of the +claims of the family of Ali with the philosophical doctrines current in +Persia. + +We are told that, in the ninth century of the Christian era, Abdallah, a +man of Persian lineage, residing at Ahwaz, in the south of Persia, +conceived the design of overturning the empire of the khalifs by +secretly introducing into Islam a system of atheism and impiety. Not to +shock deep-rooted prejudices in favour of the established religion and +government, he resolved to communicate his doctrines gradually, and he +fixed on the mystic number seven as that of the degrees through which +his disciples should pass to the grand revelation of the vanity of all +religions and the indifference of all actions. The political cloak of +his system was the assertion of the claims of the descendants of +Mohammed, the son of Ismail, to the imamat, and his missionaries +(_dais_) engaged with activity in the task of making proselytes +throughout the empire of the khalifs. Abdallah afterwards removed to +Syria, where he died. His son and grandsons followed up his plans, and +in their time a convert was made who speedily brought the system into +active operation[16]. + +[Footnote 16: Macrisi is Hammer's authority for the preceding account of +Abdallah. It is to be observed that this Abdallah is unnoticed by +Herbelot.] + +The name of this person was Carmath, a native of the district of Koofa, +and from him the sect was called Carmathites. He made great alterations +in the original system of Abdallah; and as the sect was now grown +numerous and powerful, he resolved to venture on putting the claims of +the descendants of Ismail to the test of the sword. He maintained that +the indefeasible right to earthly dominion lay with what he styled the +imam Maaessoom (_spotless_), a sort of ideal of a perfect prince, like +the wise man of the Stoics; consequently all the reigning princes were +usurpers, by reason of their vices and imperfections; and the warriors +of the perfect prince were to precipitate them all, without distinction, +from their thrones. Carmath also taught his disciples to understand the +precepts and observances of Islam in a figurative sense. Prayer +signified obedience to the imam Maaessoom, alms-giving was paying the +tithe due to him (that is, augmenting the funds of the society), fasting +was keeping the political secrets relating to the imam and his service. +It was not the tenseel, or outward word of the Koran, which was to be +attended to; the taweel, or exposition, was alone worthy of note. Like +those of Mokanna, and other opponents of the house of Abbas, the +followers of Carmath distinguished themselves by wearing white raiment +to mark their hostility to the reigning khalifs, whose garments and +standards retained the black hue which they had displayed against the +white banners of the house of Ommiyah. A bloody war was renewed at +various periods during an entire century between the followers of +Carmath and the troops of the khalifs, with varying success. In the +course of this war the holy city of Mecca was taken by the sectaries (as +it has been of late years by the Wahabees), after the fall of 30,000 +Moslems in its defence. The celebrated black stone was taken and +conveyed in triumph to Hajar, where it remained for two-and-twenty +years, till it was redeemed for 50,000 ducats by the emir of Irak, and +replaced in its original seat. Finally, like so many of their +predecessors, the Carmathites were vanquished by the yet vigorous power +of the empire, and their name, though not their principles, was +extinguished. + +During this period of contest between the house of Abbas and the +Carmathites, a dai (_missionary_) of the latter, named Abdallah, +contrived to liberate from the prison into which he had been thrown by +the khalif Motadhad a real or pretended descendant of Fatima, named +Obeid-Allah[17], whom he conveyed to Africa, and, proclaiming him to be +the promised Mehdi (_guide_), succeeded in establishing for him a +dominion on the north coast of that country. The gratitude of +Obeid-Allah was shown by his putting to death him to whom he was +indebted for his power; but talent and valour can exist without the +presence of virtue, and Obeid-Allah and his two next descendants +extended their sway to the shores of the Atlantic. Moez-ladin-Allah, his +great-grandson, having achieved the conquest of Egypt and Syria, wisely +abandoned his former more distant dominions along the coast of the +Mediterranean, his eye being fixed on the more valuable Asiatic empire +of the Abbassides. This dynasty of Fatimite khalifs, as they were +called, reigned during two centuries at Cairo, on the Nile, the foes and +rivals of those who sat in Bagdad, on the banks of the Tigris. Like +every other eastern dynasty, they gradually sank into impotence and +imbecility, and their throne was finally occupied by the renowned Koord +Saladin. + +[Footnote 17: The genuineness of the descent of Obeid-Allah has been a +great subject of dispute among the eastern historians and jurists. Those +in the interests of the house of Abbas strained every nerve to make him +out an impostor.] + +Obeid-Allah derived his pedigree from Ismail, the seventh imam. His +house, therefore, looked to the support of the whole sect of the +Seveners, or Ismailites, in their projects for extending their sway over +the Mohammedan world; and it was evidently their interest to increase +the numbers and power of that sect as much as possible. We are +accordingly justified in giving credit to the assurances of the eastern +historians, that there was a secret institution at Cairo, at the head of +which was the Fatimite khalif, and of which the object was the +dissemination of the doctrines of the sect of the Ismailites, though we +may be allowed to hesitate as to the correctness of some of the details. + +This society, we are told, comprised both men and women, who met in +separate assemblies, for the common supposition of the insignificance of +the latter sex in the east is erroneous. It was presided over by the +chief missionary (Dai-al-Doat[18]), who was always a person of +importance in the state, and not unfrequently supreme judge +(_Kadhi-al-kodhat_[19]). Their assemblies, called Societies of Wisdom +(_Mejalis-al-hicmet_), were held twice a-week, on Mondays and +Wednesdays. All the members appeared clad in white. The president, +having first waited on the khalif, and read to him the intended lecture, +or, if that could not be done, having gotten his signature on the back +of it, proceeded to the assembly and delivered a written discourse. At +the conclusion of it those present kissed his hand and reverently +touched with their forehead the hand-writing of the khalif. In this +state the society continued till the reign of that extraordinary madman +the khalif Hakem-bi-emr-illah (_Judge by the command of God_), who +determined to place it on a splendid footing. He erected for it a +stately edifice, styled the House of Wisdom (_Dar-al-hicmet_), +abundantly furnished with books and mathematical instruments. Its doors +were open to all, and paper, pens, and ink were profusely supplied for +the use of those who chose to frequent it. Professors of law, +mathematics, logic, and medicine were appointed to give instructions; +and at the learned disputations which were frequently held in presence +of the khalif, these professors appeared in their state caftans +(_Khalaae_), which, it is said, exactly resembled the robes worn at the +English universities. The income assigned to this establishment, by the +munificence of the khalif, was 257,000 ducats annually, arising from the +tenths paid to the crown. + +[Footnote 18: That is, _Missionary of Missionaries_.] + +[Footnote 19: _Cadhi of Cadhis._] + +The course of instruction in this university proceeded, according to +Macrisi, by the following nine degrees:--1. The object of the first, +which was long and tedious, was to infuse doubts and difficulties into +the mind of the aspirant, and to lead him to repose a blind confidence +in the knowledge and wisdom of his teacher. To this end he was perplexed +with captious questions; the absurdities of the literal sense of the +Koran, and its repugnance to reason, were studiously pointed out, and +dark hints were given that beneath this shell lay a kernel sweet to the +taste and nutritive to the soul. But all further information was most +rigorously withheld till he had consented to bind himself by a most +solemn oath to absolute faith and blind obedience to his instructor. 2. +When he had taken the oath he was admitted to the second degree, which +inculcated the acknowledgment of the imams appointed by God as the +sources of all knowledge. 3. The third degree informed him what was the +number of these blessed and holy imams; and this was the mystic seven; +for, as God had made seven heavens, seven earths, seas, planets, metals, +tones, and colours, so seven was the number of these noblest of God's +creatures. 4. In the fourth degree the pupil learned that God had sent +_seven_ lawgivers into the world, each of whom was commissioned to alter +and improve the system of his predecessor; that each of these had +_seven_ helpers, who appeared in the interval between him and his +successor; these helpers, as they did not appear as public teachers, +were called the mute (_samit_), in contradistinction to the _speaking_ +lawgivers. The seven lawgivers were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, +Mohammed, and Ismail, the son of Jaaffer; the seven principal helpers, +called Seats (_soos_), were Seth, Shem, Ishmael (the son of Abraham), +Aaron, Simon, Ali, and Mohammed, the son of Ismail. It is justly +observed[20] that, as this last personage was not more than a century +dead, the teacher had it in his power to fix on whom he would as the +mute prophet of the present time, and inculcate the belief in, and +obedience to, him of all who had not got beyond this degree. 5. The +fifth degree taught that each of the seven mute prophets had twelve +apostles for the dissemination of his faith. The suitableness of this +number was also proved by analogy. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, +twelve months, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve joints in the four +fingers of each hand, and so forth. 6. The pupil being led thus far, and +having shown no symptoms of restiveness, the precepts of the Koran were +once more brought under consideration, and he was told that all the +positive portions of religion must be subordinate to philosophy. He was +consequently instructed in the systems of Plato and Aristotle during a +long space of time; and (7), when esteemed fully qualified, he was +admitted to the seventh degree, when instruction was communicated in +that mystic Pantheism which is held and taught by the sect of the +Soofees. 8. The positive precepts of religion were again considered, the +veil was torn from the eyes of the aspirant, all that had preceded was +now declared to have been merely scaffolding to raise the edifice of +knowledge, and was to be flung down. Prophets and teachers, heaven and +hell, all were nothing; future bliss and misery were idle dreams; all +actions were permitted. 9. The ninth degree had only to inculcate that +nought was to be believed, everything might be done[21]. + +[Footnote 20: Hammer, p. 54.] + +[Footnote 21: Mr. De Sacy (_Journal des Savans_, an 1818) is of opinion +that the Arabic words _Taleel_ and _Ibahat_ will not bear the strong +sense which Hammer gives them. The former, he says, only signifies that +Deism which regards the Deity as merely a speculative being, and +annihilates the moral relations between him and the creature; the latter +only denotes emancipation from the positive precepts of laws, such as +fasting, prayer, &c., but not from moral obligations.] + +In perusing the accounts of secret societies, their rules, regulations, +degrees, and the quantity or nature of the knowledge communicated in +them, a difficulty must always present itself. Secrecy being of the very +essence of everything connected with them, what means had writers, who +were generally hostile to them, of learning their internal constitution +and the exact nature of their maxims and tenets? In the present case our +authority for this account of a society which chiefly flourished in the +tenth and eleventh centuries is Macrisi, a writer of the fifteenth +century. His authorities were doubtless of more ancient date, but we +know not who they were or whence they derived their information. Perhaps +our safest course in this, as in similar cases, would be to admit the +general truth of the statement, but to suffer our minds to remain in a +certain degree of suspense as to the accuracy of the details. We can +thus at once assent to the fact of the existence of the college at +Cairo, and of the mystic tenets of Soofeeism being taught in it, as also +to that of the rights of the Fatimites to the khalifat being inculcated +on the minds of the pupils, and missionaries being thence sent over the +east, without yielding implicit credence to the tale of the nine degrees +through which the aspirant had to pass, or admitting that the course of +instruction terminated in a doctrine subversive of all religion and of +all morality. + +As we have seen, the Dai-al-doat, or chief missionary, resided at Cairo, +to direct the operations of the society, while the subordinate dais +pervaded all parts of the dominions of the house of Abbas, making +converts to the claims of Ali. The dais were attended by companions +(_Refeek_), who were persons who had been instructed up to a certain +point in the secret doctrines, but who were neither to presume to teach +nor to seek to make converts, that honour being reserved to the dais. By +the activity of the dais the society spread so widely that in the year +1058 the emir Bessassiri, who belonged to it, made himself master of +Bagdad, and kept possession of it during an entire year, and had money +struck, and prayer made, in the name of the Egyptian khalif. The emir, +however, fell by the sword of Toghrul the Turk, whose aid the feeble +Abbasside implored, and these two distinguishing acts of Mohammedan +sovereignty were again performed by the house of Abbas. Soon afterwards +the society at Cairo seems to have declined along with the power of the +Fatimite khalifs. In 1123 the powerful vizir Afdhal, on occasion of some +disturbance caused by them, shut up the Dar-al-hicmet, or, as it would +appear, destroyed it. His successor Mamoon permitted the society to hold +their meetings in a building erected in another situation, and it +lingered on till the fall of the khalifat of Egypt. The policy of Afdhal +is perhaps best to be explained by a reference to the state of the East +at that time. The khalif of Bagdad was become a mere pageant devoid of +all real power; the former dominions of the house of Abbas were in the +hands of the Seljookian Turks; the Franks were masters of a great part +of Syria, and threatened Egypt, where the khalifs were also fallen into +incapacity, and the real power had passed to the vizir. As this last +could aspire to nothing beyond preserving Egypt, a society instituted +for the purpose of gaining partisans to the claims of the Fatimites must +have been rather an impediment to him than otherwise. He must therefore +have been inclined to suppress it, especially as the society of the +Assassins, a branch of it, had now been instituted, which, heedless of +the claims of the Fatimites, sought dominion for itself alone. To the +history of that remarkable association we now proceed. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Ali of Rei--His son Hassan Sabah--Hassan sent to study at + Nishaboor--Meets there Omar Khiam and Nizam-al-Moolk--Agreement + made by them--Hassan introduced by Nizam to Sultan Malek + Shah--Obliged to leave the Court--Anecdote of him--His own account + of his Conversion--Goes to Egypt--Returns to Persia--Makes himself + Master of Alamoot. + + +There was a man named Ali, who resided in the city of Rei, in Persia. He +was a strenuous Sheaeh, and maintained that his family had originally +come from Koofa, in Arabia; but the people of Khorasan asserted that his +family had always dwelt in one of the villages near Toos, in that +province, and that consequently his pretensions to an Arabian extraction +were false. Ali, it would appear, was anxious to conceal his opinions, +and employed the strongest asseverations to convince the governor of the +province, a rigid Soonite, of his orthodoxy, and finally retired into a +monastery to pass the remainder of his days in meditation. As a further +means of clearing himself from the charge of heresy he sent his only son +Hassan Sabah[22] to Nishaboor to be instructed by the celebrated imam +Mowafek, who resided at that place. What lessons he may have given the +young Hassan previously to parting with him, and what communication he +may have afterwards kept up with him, are points on which history is +silent. + +[Footnote 22: Or Hassan-ben-Sabah (_son of Sabah_), so named from Sabah +Homairi, one of his pretended Arabian ancestors.] + +The fame of the imam Mowafek was great over all Persia, and it was +currently believed that those who had the good fortune to study the +Koran and the Soonna[23] under him were secure of their fortune in +after-life. His school was consequently thronged by youths ambitious of +knowledge and future distinction; and here Hassan met, and formed a +strict intimacy with, Omar Khiam, afterwards so distinguished as a poet +and an astronomer, and with Nizam-al-Moolk (_Regulation of the Realm_), +who became vizir to the monarchs of the house of Seljook. This last, in +a history which he wrote of himself and his times, relates the following +instance of the early development of the ambition of Hassan. As these +three, who were the most distinguished pupils of the imam, were one day +together, "It is the general opinion," said Hassan, "that the pupils of +the imam are certain of being fortunate. This opinion may be verified in +one of us. So come, let us pledge ourselves to one another that he who +shall be successful will make the other two sharers in his good +fortune." His two companions readily assented, and the promise was +mutually given and received. + +[Footnote 23: The Soonna is the body of traditions, answering to the +Mishua of the Jews, held by the orthodox Mussulmans.] + +Nizam-al-Moolk entered the path of politics, where his talents and his +noble qualities had free course, and he rose through the various +gradations of office, till at length he attained the highest post in the +realm, the viziriate, under Alp Arslan (_Strong Lion_), the second +monarch of the house of Seljook. When thus exalted he forgot not his +former friends; and calling to mind the promise which he had made, he +received with great kindness Omar Khiam, who waited on him to +congratulate him on his elevation; and he offered at once to employ all +his interest to procure him a post under the government. But Omar, who +was devoted to Epicurean indulgences, and averse from toil and care, +thanking his friend, declined his proffered services; and all that the +vizir could prevail on him to accept was an annual pension of 1,200 +ducats on the revenues of Nishaboor, whither he retired to spend his +days in ease and tranquillity. + +The case was different with Hassan. During the ten years' reign of Alp +Arslan he kept aloof from the vizir, living in obscurity, and probably +maturing his plans for the future. But when the young prince Malek Shah +(_King King_) mounted the throne he saw that his time was come. He +suddenly appeared at the court of the new monarch, and waited on the +powerful vizir. The story is thus told by the vizir himself in his work +entitled Wasaya (_Political Institutes_), whence it is given by +Mirkhond. + +"He came to me at Nishaboor in the year that Malek Shah, having got rid +of Kaward, had quieted the troubles which his rebellion had caused. I +received him with the greatest honours, and performed, on my part, all +that could be expected from a man who is a faithful observer of his +oaths, and a slave to the engagements which he has contracted. Each day +I gave him a new proof of my friendship, and I endeavoured to satisfy +his desires. He said to me once, 'Khojah (_master_), you are of the +number of the learned and the virtuous; you know that the goods of this +world are but an enjoyment of little duration. Do you then think that +you will be permitted to fail in your engagements by letting yourself be +seduced by the attractions of greatness and the love of the world? and +will you be of the number of _those who violate the contract made with +God_?' 'Heaven keep me from it!' replied I. 'Though you heap honours +upon me,' continued he, 'and though you pour upon me benefits without +number, you cannot be ignorant that that is not the way to perform what +we once pledged ourselves to respecting each other.' 'You are right,' +said I; 'and I am ready to satisfy you in what I promised. All that I +possess of honour and power, received from my fathers or acquired by +myself, belongs to you in common with me.' I then introduced him into +the society of the sultan, I assigned him a rank and suitable titles, +and I related to the prince all that had formerly passed between him and +me. I spoke in terms of such praise of the extent of his knowledge, of +his excellent qualities, and his good morals, that he obtained the rank +of minister and of a confidential man. But he was, like his father, an +impostor, a hypocrite, one who knew how to impose, and a wretch. He so +well possessed the art of covering himself with an exterior of probity +and virtue that in a little time he completely gained the mind of the +sultan, and inspired him with such confidence that that prince blindly +followed his advice in most of those affairs of a greater and more +important nature which required good faith and sincerity, and he was +always decided by his opinion. I have said all this to let it be seen +that it was I who had raised him to this fortune, and yet, by an effect +of his bad character, there came quarrels between the sultan and me, the +unpleasant result of which had like to have been that the good +reputation and favour which I had enjoyed for so many years were near +going into dust and being annihilated; for at last his malignity broke +out on a sudden, and the effects of his jealousy showed themselves in +the most terrible manner in his actions and in his words." + +In fact, Hassan played the part of a treacherous friend. Everything that +occurred in the divan was carefully reported to the sultan, and the +worst construction put upon it, and hints of the incapacity and +dishonesty of the vizir were thrown out on the fitting occasions. The +vizir himself has left us an account of what he considered the worst +trick which his old schoolfellow attempted to play him. The sultan, it +seems, wishing to see a clear and regular balance-sheet of the revenues +and expenditure of his empire, directed Nizam-al-Moolk to prepare it. +The vizir required a space of more than a year for the accomplishment of +the task. Hassan deemed this a good opportunity for distinguishing +himself, and boldly offered to do what the sultan demanded in forty +days, not more than one-tenth of the time required by the vizir. All the +clerks in the finance department were immediately placed at the disposal +of Hassan; and the vizir himself confesses that at the end of the forty +days the accounts were ready to be laid before the sultan. But, just +when we might expect to see Hassan in triumph, and enjoying the highest +favour of the monarch, we find him leaving the court in disgrace and +vowing revenge on the sultan and his minister. This circumstance is left +unexplained by the Ornament of the Realm, who however acknowledges, with +great _naivete_, that, if Hassan had not been obliged to fly, he should +have left the court himself. But other historians inform us that the +vizir, apprehensive of the consequences, had recourse to art, and +contrived to have some of Hassan's papers stolen, so that, when the +latter presented himself before the sultan, full of hope and pride, and +commenced his statement, he found himself obliged to stop for want of +some of his most important documents. As he could not account for this +confusion, the sultan became enraged at the apparent attempt to deceive +him, and Hassan was forthwith obliged to retire from court with +precipitation. + +Nizam-al-Moolk determined to keep no measures with a man who had thus +sought his ruin, and he resolved to destroy him. Hassan fled to Rei, +but, not thinking himself safe there, he went further south, and took +refuge with his friend the reis[24] Aboo-'l-Fazl (_Father of +Excellence_), at Isfahan. What his plans may have hitherto been is +uncertain; but now they seem to have assumed a definite form, and he +unceasingly meditated on the means of avenging himself on the sultan and +his minister. In consultation one day with Aboo-'l-Fazl, who appears to +have adopted his speculative tenets, after he had poured out his +complaints against the vizir and his master, he concluded by +passionately saying, "Oh that I had but two faithful friends at my +devotion! soon should I overthrow the Turk and the peasant," meaning the +sultan and the vizir. Aboo-'l-Fazl, who was one of the most clear-headed +men of his time, and who still did not comprehend the long-sighted views +of Hassan, began to fancy that disappointment had deranged the intellect +of his friend, and, believing that reasoning would in such a case be +useless, commenced giving him at his meals aromatic drinks and dishes +prepared with saffron, in order to relieve his brain. Hassan perceived +what his kind host was about, and resolved to leave him. Aboo-'l-Fazl in +vain employed all his eloquence to induce him to prolong his visit; +Hassan departed, and shortly afterwards set out for Egypt. + +[Footnote 24: _Reis_, from the Arabic Ras (_the head_), answers in some +respects to _captain_, a word of similar origin. Thus the master of a +shin is called the Reis. Sir John Malcolm says, "it is equivalent to +_esquire_, as it was originally understood. It implies in Persia the +possession of landed estates and some magisterial power. The reis is in +general the hereditary head of a village."] + +Twenty years afterwards, when Hassan had accomplished all he had +projected, when the sultan and the vizir were both dead, and the society +of the Assassins was fully organized, the reis Aboo-'l-Fazl, who was one +of his most zealous partisans, visited him at his hill-fort of Alamoot. +"Well, reis," said Hassan, "which of us was the madman? did you or I +stand most in need of the aromatic drinks and the dishes prepared with +saffron which you used to have served up at Isfahan? You see that I kept +my word as soon as I had found two trusty friends." + +When Hassan left Isfahan, in the year 1078, the khalif Mostanser, a man +of some energy, occupied the throne of Egypt, and considerable exertions +were made by the missionaries of the society at Cairo to gain proselytes +throughout Asia. Among these proselytes was Hassan Sabah, and the +following account of his conversion, which has fortunately been +preserved in his own words, is interesting, as affording a proof that, +like Cromwell, and, as we have supposed, Mohammed, and all who have +attained to temporal power by means of religion, he commenced in +sincerity, and was deceived himself before he deceived others. + +"From my childhood," says he, "even from the age of seven years, my sole +endeavour was to acquire knowledge and capacity. I had been reared up, +like my fathers, in the doctrine of the twelve imams, and I made +acquaintance with an Ismailite companion (_Refeek_), named Emir Dhareb, +with whom I knit fast the bonds of friendship. My opinion was that the +tenets of the Ismailites resembled those of the Philosophers, and that +the ruler of Egypt was a man who was initiated in them. As often, +therefore, as Emir said anything in favour of these doctrines I fell +into strife with him, and many controversies on points of faith ensued +between him and me. I gave not in to anything that Emir said in +disparagement of our sect, though it left a strong impression on my +mind. Meanwhile Emir parted from me, and I fell into a severe fit of +sickness, during which I reproached myself, saying, that the doctrine of +the Ismailites was assuredly the true one, and that yet out of obstinacy +I had not gone over to it, and that should death (which God avert!) +overtake me, I should die without having attained to the truth. At +length I recovered of that sickness, and I now met with another +Ismailite, named Aboo Nejm Zaraj, of whom I inquired touching the truth +of his doctrine. Aboo Nejm explained it to me in the fullest manner, so +that I saw quite through the depths of it. Finally I met a dai, named +Moomin, to whom the sheikh Abd-al-Melik (_Servant of the King_, i. e. +_of God_) Ben Attash, the director of the missions of Irak, had given +permission to exercise this office. I besought that he would accept my +homage (in the name of the Fatimite khalif), but this he at the first +refused to do, because I had been in higher dignities than he; but when +I pressed him thereto beyond all measure, he yielded his consent. When +now the sheikh Abd-al-Melik came to Rei, and through intercourse learned +to know me, my behaviour was pleasing unto him, and he bestowed on me +the office of a dai. He said unto me, 'Thou must go unto Egypt, to be a +sharer in the felicity of serving the imam Mostander.' When the sheikh +Abd-al-Melik went from Rei to Isfahan I set forth for Egypt[25]." + +[Footnote 25: Mirkhond.] + +There is something highly interesting in this account of his thoughts +and feelings given by Hassan Sabah, particularly when we recollect that +this was the man who afterwards organized the society of the Assassins, +so long the scourge of the East. We here find him, according to his own +statement, dreading the idea of dying without having openly made +profession of the truth, yet afterwards, if we are to credit the +Oriental historians, he inculcated the doctrine of the indifference of +all human actions. Unfortunately this declension from virtue to vice has +been too often exhibited to allow of our doubting that it may have +happened in the case of Hassan Sabah. A further reflection which +presents itself is this: Can anything be more absurd than those points +which have split the Moslems into sects? and yet how deeply has +conscience been engaged in them, and with what sincerity have they not +been embraced and maintained! Will not this apply in some measure to the +dissensions among Christians, who divide into parties, not for the +essential doctrines of their religion, but for some merely accessory +parts? + +Hassan, on his arrival in Egypt, whither his fame had preceded him, was +received with every demonstration of respect. His known talents, and the +knowledge of the high favour and consideration which he had enjoyed at +the court of Malek Shah, made the khalif esteem him a most important +acquisition to the cause of the Ismailites, and no means were omitted to +soothe and flatter him. He was met on the frontiers by the Dai-al-Doat, +the sherif Taher Casvini, and several other persons of high +consideration; the great officers of state and court waited on him as +soon as he had entered Cairo, where the khalif assigned him a suitable +abode, and loaded him with honours and tokens of favour. But such was +the state of seclusion which the Fatimite khalifs had adopted, that +during the eighteen months which Hassan is said to have passed at Cairo +he never once beheld the face of Mostanser, though that monarch always +evinced the utmost solicitude about him, and never spoke of him but in +terms of the highest praise. + +While Hassan abode in Egypt the question of the succession to the throne +(always a matter of dispute in Oriental monarchies) became a subject of +dissension and angry debate at court. The khalif had declared his eldest +son, Nesar, to be his legitimate successor; but Bedr-al-Jemali, the +Emir-al-Juyoosh, or commander-in-chief of the army, who enjoyed almost +unlimited power under the Fatimites, asserted the superior right of +Musteaeli, the khalif's second son, which right his power afterwards made +good. Hassan Sabah, not very wisely, as it would seem, took the side of +Prince Nesar, and thereby drew on himself the hostility of +Bedr-al-Jemali, who resolved on his destruction. In vain the reluctant +khalif struggled against the might of the powerful Emir-al-Juyoosh; he +was obliged to surrender Hassan to his vengeance, and to issue an order +for committing him to close custody in the castle of Damietta. + +While Hassan lay in confinement at Damietta one of the towers of that +city fell down without any apparent cause. This being looked upon in the +light of a miracle by the partisans of Hassan and the khalif, his +enemies, to prevent his deriving any advantage from it, hurried him on +board of a ship which was on the point of sailing for Africa. Scarcely +had the vessel put to sea when a violent tempest came on. The sea rolled +mountains high, the thunder roared, and the lightning flamed. Terror +laid hold on all who were aboard, save Hassan Sabah, who looked calm and +undisturbed on the commotion of the elements, while others gazed with +agony on the prospect of instant death. On being asked the cause of his +tranquillity he made answer, in imitation probably of St. Paul, "Our +Lord (_Seydna_) has promised me that no evil shall befall me." Shortly +afterwards the storm fell and the sea grew calm. The crew and passengers +now regarded him as a man under the especial favour of Heaven, and when +a strong west wind sprung up, and drove them to the coast of Syria, they +offered no opposition to his leaving the vessel and going on shore. + +Hassan proceeded to Aleppo, where he staid some time, and thence +directed his course to Bagdad. Leaving that city he entered Persia, +traversed the province of Khuzistan, and, visiting the cities of +Isfahan and Yezd, went on to the eastern province of Kerman, everywhere +making proselytes to his opinions. He then returned to Isfahan, where he +made a stay of four months. He next spent three months in Khuzistan. +Having fixed his view on Damaghan and the surrounding country in Irak as +a district well calculated to be the seat of the power which he +meditated establishing, he devoted three entire years to the task of +gaining disciples among its inhabitants. For this purpose he employed +the most eloquent dais he could find, and directed them to win over by +all means the inhabitants of the numerous hill-forts which were in that +region. While his dais were thus engaged he himself traversed the more +northerly districts of Jorjan and Dilem, and when he deemed the time fit +returned to the province of Irak, where Hussein Kaini, one of the most +zealous of his missionaries, had been long since engaged in persuading +the people of the strong hill-fort of Alamoot to swear obedience to the +khalif Mostanser. The arguments of the dai had proved convincing to the +great majority of the inhabitants, but the governor, Ali Mehdi, an +upright and worthy man, whose ancestors had built the fort, remained, +with a few others, faithful to his duty, and would acknowledge no +spiritual head but the Abbasside khalif of Bagdad; no temporal chief but +the Seljookian Malek Shah. Mehdi, when he first perceived the progress +of Ismailism among his people, expelled those who had embraced it, but +afterwards permitted them to return. Sure of the aid of a strong party +within the fort, Hassan is said to have employed against the governor +the same artifice by which Dido is related to have deceived the +Lybians[26]. He offered him 3,000 ducats for as much ground as he could +compass with an ox-hide. The guileless Mehdi consented, and Hassan +instantly cutting the hide into thongs surrounded with it the fortress +of Alamoot. Mehdi, seeing himself thus tricked, refused to stand to the +agreement. Hassan appealed to justice, and to the arms of his partisans +within the fortress, and by their aid compelled the governor to depart +from Alamoot. As Mehdi was setting out for Damaghan, whither he proposed +to retire, Hassan placed in his hand an order on the reis Mozaffer, the +governor of the castle of Kirdkoo, couched in these terms: "Let the reis +Mozaffer pay to Mehdi, the descendant of Ali, 3,000 ducats, as the price +of the fortress of Alamoot. Peace be upon the Prophet and his family! +God, the best of directors, sufficeth us." Mehdi could hardly believe +that a man of the consequence of the reis Mozaffer, who held an +important government under the Seljookian sultans, would pay the +slightest attention to the order of a mere adventurer like Hassan Sabah; +he, however, resolved, out of curiosity, or rather, as we are told, +pressed by his want of the money, to try how he would act. He +accordingly presented the order, and, to his infinite surprise, was +forthwith paid the 3,000 ducats. The reis had in fact been long in +secret one of the most zealous disciples of Hassan Sabah. + +[Footnote 26: Sir J. Malcolm says that the person with whom he read this +portion of history in Persia observed to him that the English were well +acquainted with this stratagem, as it was by means of it that they got +Calcutta from the poor Emperor of Delhi.] + +Historians are careful to inform us that it was on the night of +Wednesday, the sixth of the month Rejeb, in the 483d year of the Hejra, +that Hassan Sabah made himself master of Alamoot, which was to become +the chief seat of the power of the sect of the Ismailites. This year +answers to the year 1090 of the Christian era, and thus the dominion of +the Assassins was founded only nine years before the Christians of the +west established their empire in the Holy Land. + +[Illustration: Hill Fort.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Description of Alamoot--Fruitless Attempts to recover it--Extension + of the Ismailite Power--The Ismailites in Syria--Attempt on the + Life of Aboo-Hard Issa--Treaty made with Sultan Sanjar--Death of + Hassan--His Character. + + +Alamoot, a name so famous in the history of the East, signifies the +Vulture's Nest, an appellation derived from its lofty site. It was built +in the year 860, on the summit of a hill, which bears a fancied +resemblance to a lion couching with his nose to the ground, situated, +according to Hammer, in 50-1/2 deg. E. long. and 36 deg. N. lat. It was regarded +as the strongest of 50 fortresses of the same kind, which were scattered +over the district of Roodbar (_River-land_), the mountainous region +which forms the border between Persian Irak and the more northerly +provinces of Dilem and Taberistan, and is watered by the stream called +the King's River (_Shahrood_). As soon as Hassan saw himself master of +this important place he directed his thoughts to the means of increasing +its strength. He repaired the original walls, and added new ones; he +sunk wells, and dug a canal, which conveyed water from a considerable +distance to the foot of the fortress. As the possession of Alamoot made +him master of the surrounding country, he learned to regard the +inhabitants as his subjects, and he stimulated them to agriculture, and +made large plantations of fruit-trees around the eminence on which the +fortress stood. + +But before Hassan had time to commence, much less complete these plans +of improvement, he saw himself in danger of losing all the fruits of +his toil. It was not to be expected that the emir, on whom the sultan +had bestowed the province of Roodbar, would calmly view its strongest +fort in the possession of the foe of the house of Seljook. Hassan, +therefore, had not had time to collect stores and provisions when he +found all access to the place cut off by the troops of the emir. The +inhabitants were about to quit Alamoot, but Hassan exerted the usual +influence of a commanding spirit over their minds, and confidently +assured them that that was the place in which fortune would favour them. +They yielded faith to his words and staid; and at length their +perseverance wore out the patience of the emir, and Alamoot thence +obtained the title of the Abode of Fortune. The sultan, who had at first +viewed the progress of his ex-minister with contempt, began soon to grow +apprehensive of his ultimate designs, and in 1092 he issued orders to +the emir Arslantash (_Lion-stone_) to destroy Hassan and his adherents. +Arslantash advanced against Alamoot. Hassan, though he had but 70 men +with him, and was scantily supplied with provisions, defended himself +courageously till Aboo Ali, the governor of Casveen, who was in secret +one of his dais, sent 300 men to his aid. These fell suddenly, during +the night, on the troops of the emir; the little garrison made at the +same time a sortie; the sultan's troops took to flight, and Alamoot +remained in the possession of the Ismailites. Much about the same time +Malek Shah sent troops against Hussein Kaini, who was actively engaged +in the cause of Hassan Sabah in Kuhistan. Hussein threw himself into +Moominabad, a fortress nearly as strong as that of Alamoot, and the +troops of the sultan assailed him in vain. It was now that Hassan began +to display the system which we shall presently unveil. The aged vizir, +the great and good Nizam-al-Moolk, perished by the daggers of his +emissaries, and the sultan himself speedily followed his minister to the +tomb, not without suspicion of poison. + +Circumstances were now particularly favourable to the plans of Hassan +Sabah. On the death of sultan Malek Shah a civil war broke out among his +sons for the succession. All the military chiefs and persons of eminence +were engaged on one side or the other, and none had leisure or +inclination to attend to the progress of the Ismailites. These, +therefore, went on gradually extending their power, and fortress after +fortress fell into their hands. In the course of ten years they saw +themselves masters of the principal hill-forts of Persian Irak; they +held that of Shahdorr[27] (_King's pearl_), and two other fortresses, +close to Isfahan; that of Khalankhan, on the borders of Fars and +Kuhistan; Damaghan, Kirdkoo, and Firoozkoo, in the district of Komis; +and Lamseer and several others in Kuhistan. It was in vain that the most +distinguished imams and doctors of the law issued their _fetuas_ against +the sect of the Ismailites, and condemned them to future perdition; in +vain they called on the orthodox to employ the sword of justice in +freeing the earth from this godless and abominable race. The sect, +strong in its secret bond of unity and determination of purpose, went on +and prospered; the dagger avenged the fate of those who perished by the +sword, and, as the Orientalized European historian of the society +expresses it[28], "heads fell like an abundant harvest beneath the +twofold sickle of the sword of justice and the dagger of murder." + +[Footnote 27: This castle was built by sultan Malek Shah. The following +was its origin:--As Malek Shah, who was a great lover of the chase, was +out one day a hunting, one of the hounds went astray on the nearly +inaccessible rock on which the castle was afterwards erected. The +ambassador of the Byzantine emperor, who was of the party, observed to +the sultan, that in his master's dominions so advantageous a situation +would not be left unoccupied, but would long since have been crowned +with a castle. The sultan followed the ambassador's advice, and erected +the castle of the King's Pearl on this lofty rock. When the castle fell +into the hands of the Ismailites, pious Moslems remarked that it could +not have better luck, since its site had been pointed out by a dog (an +unclean beast in their eyes), and its erection advised by an infidel.] + +[Footnote 28: Hammer, 97.] + +The appearance of the Ismailites, under their new form of organization, +in Syria, happened at the same time with that of the crusaders in the +Holy Land. The Siljookian Turks had made the conquest of that country, +and the different chiefs who ruled Damascus, Aleppo, and the other towns +and their districts, some of whom were of Turkish, others of Syrian +extraction, were in a constant state of enmity with each other. Such +powerful auxiliaries as the followers of Hassan Sabah were not to be +neglected; Risvan, Prince of Aleppo, so celebrated in the history of the +crusades, was their declared favourer and protector, and an Ismailite +agent always resided with him. The first who occupied this post was an +astrologer, and on his death the office fell to a Persian goldsmith, +named Aboo Taher Essaigh. The enemies of Risvan felt the effects of his +alliance with the Ismailites. The Prince of Emessa, for example, fell by +their daggers, as he was about to relieve the castle of the Koords, to +which Raymond, Count of Toulouse, had laid siege. + +Risvan put the strong castle of Sarmin, which lay about a day's journey +south of Aleppo, into the hands of Aboo-'l-Fettah, the nephew of Hassan +Sabah, and his Dai-el-Kebir (_Great Missionary_) for the province of +Syria. The governor of this fortress was Aboo Taher Essaigh. A few years +afterwards (1107) the people of Apamea invoked the aid of Aboo Taher +against Khalaf, their Egyptian governor. Aboo Taher took possession of +the town in the name of Risvan, but Tancred, who was at war with that +prince, having come and attacked it, it was forced to surrender. Aboo +Taher stipulated for free egress for himself; but Tancred, in violation +of the treaty, brought him to Antioch, where he remained till his ransom +was paid. Aboo-'l-Fettah and the other Ismailites were given up to the +vengeance of the sons of Khalaf. Tancred took from them at the same time +another strong fortress, named Kefrlana. This is to be noted as the +first collision between the Crusaders and the Assassins, as we shall now +begin to call them. The origin of this name shall presently be +explained. + +On the return of Aboo Taher to Aleppo a very remarkable attempt at +assassination took place. There was a wealthy merchant, named Aboo-Hard +Issa,[29] a sworn foe to the Ismailites, and who had spent large sums of +money in his efforts to injure them. He was now arrived from the borders +of Toorkistan with a richly laden caravan of 500 camels. An Ismailite, +named Ahmed, a native of Rei, had secretly accompanied him from the time +he left Khorasan, with the design of avenging the death of his father, +who had fallen under the blows of Aboo-Hard's people. The Ismailite, on +arriving at Aleppo, immediately communicated with Aboo Taher and Risvan. +Revenge, and the hope of gaining the wealth of the hostile merchant, +made them yield assent at once to the project of assassination. Aboo +Taher gave Ahmed a sufficient number of assistants; Risvan promised the +aid of his guards; and one day, as the merchant was in the midst of his +slaves, counting his camels, the murderers fell on him. But the faithful +slaves valiantly defended their master, and the Ismailites expiated +their guilt with their lives. The princes of Syria heaped reproaches on +Risvan for this scandalous violation of the rights of hospitality, and +he vainly endeavoured to justify himself by pretending ignorance of the +fact. Aboo Taher, as the increasing hatred of the people of Aleppo to +the sect made that town an unsafe abode, returned to Persia, his native +country, leaving his son, Aboo-'l-Fettah, to manage the affairs of the +society in his stead. + +[Footnote 29: That is, Jesus. It may be here observed that the proper +names of the Old Testament are still used in the East. Ibrahim, Ismael, +Yahya, Joossuf, Moossa, Daood, Suleiman, Issa, are Abraham, Ishmael, +Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and Joshua, or Jesus.] + +The acquisition of castles and other places of strength was now the open +and avowed object of the society, whose aim was evidently at the empire +of Asia, and no mean was left unemployed for the effecting of this +design. In the year 1108 they made a bold attempt at making themselves +masters of the strong castle of Khizar, also in Syria, which belonged to +the family of Monkad. The festival of Easter being come, when the +Mussulman garrison was in the habit of going down into the town to +partake in the festivities of the Christians, during their absence the +Ismailites entered the castle, and barred the gates. When the garrison +returned towards night, they found themselves excluded; but the +Ismailites, in their reliance on the strength of the place, being +negligent, the women drew up their husbands by cords at the windows, and +the intruders were speedily expelled. + +In the year 1113, as Mevdood, Prince of Mosul, was walking up and down, +on a festival day, in the mosk of Damascus, with the celebrated +Togteghin, he was fallen on and slain by an Ismailite. The murderer was +cut to pieces on the spot. + +This year was, however, near proving fatal to the society in Syria. +Risvan, their great protector, died; and the eunuch Looloo, the guardian +of his young son, was their sworn enemy. An order for their +indiscriminate destruction was forthwith issued, and, in consequence, +more than 300 men, women, and children were massacred, while 200 more +were thrown into prison. Aboo-'l-Fettah was put to death with torture; +his body was cut to pieces and burnt at the gate looking towards Irak, +and his head sent through all Syria. They did not, however, fall totally +unavenged; the daggers of the society were directed against the +governors and men in power, many of whom became their victims. Thus, in +the year 1115, as the Attabeg Togteghin was receiving an audience at the +court of the khalif of Bagdad, the governor of Khorasan was fallen upon +by three Ismailites, who probably mistook him for the Attabeg, and he +and they perished. In 1119 as Bedii, the governor of Aleppo, was +journeying with his sons to the court of the emir Il-Ghazi, they were +fallen upon by two assassins; Bedii and one of his sons fell by their +blows; his other sons cut the murderers down; but a third then sprang +forth, and gave the finishing stroke to one of the young men, who was +already wounded. The murderer was taken, and brought before Togteghin +and Il-Ghazi, who only ordered him to be put in prison; but he drowned +himself to escape their vengeance, from which he had, perhaps, nothing +to apprehend. + +In fact at this time the dread of the followers of Hassan Sabah had sunk +deep into the hearts of all the princes of the East, for there was no +security against their daggers. Accordingly, when the next year (1120) +Aboo Mohammed, the head of them at Aleppo, where they had re-established +themselves, sent to the powerful Il-Ghazi to demand of him possession +of the castle of Sherif, near that town, he feared to refuse; but the +people of Aleppo, at the persuasion of one of their fellow-citizens (who +speedily paid for his advice with his blood), rose _en masse_, levelled +the walls, filled up the ditches, and united the castle to the town. +Even the great Noor-ed-deen (_Lamp of Religion_) was some years +afterwards obliged to have recourse to the same artifice to save the +castle of Beitlaha from becoming one of their strong-holds. + +The same system was pursued in Persia, where sultan Sanjar, the son of +Malek Shah, had united under his sceptre the greater part of the +dominions of his father and Fakhr-al-Moolk (_Fame of the Realm_). The +son and successor of Nizam-al-Moolk and Chakar Beg, the great uncle of +the sultan, perished by the daggers of the emissaries of Hassan Sabah. +Sultan Sanjar was himself on his march, intending to lay siege to +Alamoot, and the other strong-holds of the Ismailites, when one morning, +on awaking, he found a dagger struck in the ground close to his pillow. +The sultan was dismayed, but he concealed his terror, and a few days +afterwards there came a brief note from Alamoot, containing these words: +"Were we not well affected towards the sultan, the dagger had been +struck in his bosom, not in the ground." Sanjar recollected that his +brother Mohammed, who had laid siege to the castles of Lamseer and +Alamoot, had died suddenly just as they were on the point of +surrendering--an event so opportune for the society, that it was but +natural to ascribe it to their agency--and he deemed it the safest +course to proceed gently with such dangerous opponents. He accordingly +hearkened to proposals of peace, which was concluded on the following +conditions: 1. That the Ismailites should add no new works to their +castles; 2. That they should purchase no arms or military machines; 3. +That they should make no more proselytes. The sultan, on his part, +released the Ismailites from all tolls and taxes in the district of +Kirdkoh, and assigned them a part of the revenue of the territory of +Komis by way of annual pension. To apprehend clearly what the power of +the society was, we must recollect that sultan Sanjar was the most +powerful monarch of the East, that his mandate was obeyed from Cashgar +to Antioch, from the Caspian to the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. + +Thirty-four years had now elapsed since the acquisition of Alamoot, and +the first establishment of the power of Hassan Sabah. In all that time +he had never been seen out of the castle of Alamoot, and had been even +known but twice to leave his chamber, and to make his appearance on the +terrace. In silence and in solitude he pondered the means of extending +the power of the society of which he was the head, and he drew up, with +his own hand, the rules and precepts which were to govern it. He had +outlived most of his old companions and early disciples, and he was now +childless, for he had put to death his two only sons, the elder for +having been concerned in the murder of his faithful adherent Hussein +Kaini; the younger for having violated the precept of the Koran against +drinking wine. Feeling the approaches of death, he summoned to Alamoot +Keaeh Buzoorg Oomeid (_Keaeh of Good Hope_), who was residing at Lamseer, +which he had conquered twenty years before, and Aboo Ali, of Casveen, +and committed the direction of the society to them, appointing the +former to be its proper spiritual head and director, and placing in the +hands of the latter the administration of the civil and external +affairs. He then calmly expired, apparently unconscious of or +indifferent to the fact of having, by the organization of his pernicious +society, rendered his name an object of execration, a by-word and a +proverb among the nations. + +Dimly as we may discern the character of Hassan Sabah through the medium +of prejudice and hatred through which the scanty notices of it have +reached us, we cannot refuse him a place among the higher order of +minds. The founder of an empire or of a powerful society is almost +always a great man; but Hassan seems to have had this advantage over +Loyola and other founders of societies, that he saw clearly from the +commencement what might be done, and formed all his plans with a view to +one ultimate object. He surely had no ordinary mind who could ask but +two devoted adherents to shake the throne of the house of Seljook, then +at the acme of its power. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Organization of the Society--Names given to the Ismailites--Origin + of the name Assassin--Marco Polo's description of the Paradise of + the Old Man of the Mountain--Description of it given by Arabian + writers--Instances of the obedience of the Fedavee. + + +Having traced thus far the history of this celebrated society, having +shown its origin, and how it grew out of the claims of the descendants +of Ali to the khalifat, mixed with the mystic tenets which seem to have +been ultimately derived from India, we proceed to describe its +organization, and its secret doctrines, as they are related by oriental +historians. + +Hassan Sabah clearly perceived that the plan of the society at Cairo was +defective as a mean of acquiring temporal power. The Dais might exert +themselves, and proselytes might be gained; but till possession was +obtained of some strongholds, and a mode of striking terror into princes +devised, nothing effectual could be achieved. He first, therefore, as we +have seen, made himself master of Alamoot and the other strong places, +and then added to the Dais and the Refeek another class, named Fedavee +(_Devoted_), whose task it was to yield implicit obedience to the +mandate of their chief, and, without inquiry or hesitation, plunge their +daggers into the bosom of whatever victim was pointed out to them, even +though their own lives should be the immediate sacrifice. The ordinary +dress of the Fedavee was (like that of all the sects opposed to the +house of Abbas) white; their caps, girdles, or boots, were red. Hence +they were named the White (_Mubeiyazah_), and the Red (_Muhammere_[30]); +but they could with ease assume any guise, even that of the Christian +monk, to accomplish their murderous designs. + +[Footnote 30: Ahmar, fem. Hamra, is _red_ in Arabic; hence the +celebrated Moorish palace at Granada was called Alhambra (_Al-Hamra_), +_i. e._ the Red.] + +The gradations in the society were these. At the head of it stood Hassan +himself and his successors, with the title of Seydna, or Sidna[31] (_Our +Lord_), and Sheikh-al-Jebal (_Mountain Chief_), a name derived from that +of the territory which was the chief seat of the power of the society. +This last, owing to the ambiguity of the word _sheikh_ (which, like +_seigneur_ and _signore_, signifies either an _elder_ or _chief_), has +been ridiculously translated by the early European historians _Old Man +of the Mountain_. Under him were the Dai-'l-Kebir (_Great +Missionaries_), of which there were three, for the three provinces of +Jebal, Kuhistan, and Syria[32]. Then came the Dais, next the Refeek, +then the Fedavee, and lastly the Lazik, or aspirants. + +[Footnote 31: Hence the Spanish _Cid_.] + +[Footnote 32: Hammer, book ii.] + +Hassan was perfectly aware that without the compressing power of +positive religion no society can well be held together. Whatever, +therefore, his private opinions may have been, he resolved to impose on +the bulk of his followers the most rigid obedience to the positive +precepts of Islam, and, as we have seen, actually put his own son to +death for a breach of one of them. + +Hassan is said to have rejected two of the degrees of the Ismailite +society at Cairo, and to have reduced them to seven, the original number +in the plan of Abdallah Maimoon, the first projector of this secret +society. Besides these seven degrees, through which the aspirants +gradually rose to knowledge, Hassan, in what Hammer terms the breviary +of the order, drew up seven regulations or rules for the conduct of the +teachers in his society. 1. The first of these, named Ashinai-Risk +(_Knowledge of duty_), inculcated the requisite knowledge of human +nature for selecting fit persons for admission. To this belonged the +proverbial expressions said to have been current among the Dais, similar +to those used by the ancient Pythagoreans, such as _Sow not on barren +ground_ (that is, Waste not your labour on incapable persons). _Speak +not in a house where there is a lamp_, (that is, Be silent in the +presence of a lawyer). 2. The second rule was called Teenis (_Gaining of +confidence_), and taught to win the candidates by flattering their +passions and inclinations. 3. The third, of which the name is not given, +taught to involve them in doubts and difficulties by pointing out the +absurdities of the Koran, and of positive religion. 4. When the aspirant +had gone thus far, the solemn oath of silence and obedience, and of +communicating his doubts to his teacher alone, was to be imposed on the +disciple; and then (5.) he was to be informed that the doctrines and +opinions of the society were those of the greatest men in church and +state. 6. The Tessees (_Confirmation_) directed to put the pupil again +through all he had learned, and to confirm him in it. And, (7.) finally, +the Teevil (_Instruction in allegory_) gave the allegorical mode of +interpreting the Koran, and drawing whatever sense might suit their +purposes from its pages. Any one who had gone through this course of +instruction, and was thus become perfectly imbued with the spirit of the +society, was regarded as an accomplished Dai, and employed in the +important office of making proselytes and extending its influence. + +We must again express our opinion that the minute accounts which are +given to us by some writers, respecting the rules and doctrines of +secret associations, should be received with a considerable degree of +hesitation, owing to the character and the means of information of those +from whom we receive them. In the present case our authority is a very +suspicious one. We are told that when Alamoot was taken by Hoolekoo +Khan, the Mongol prince, he gave his vizir, the learned Ata-Melek +(_King's father_) Jowani, permission to examine the library, and to +select such books as were worthy of being preserved. The vizir took out +the Korans and some other books of value in his eyes; the rest, among +which are said to have been the archives and the secret rules and +doctrines of the society, he committed, after looking cursorily through +them, to the flames. In an historical work of his own he gave the result +of his discoveries in those books, and he is the authority from which +Mirkhond and other writers have derived the accounts which they have +transmitted to us. It is quite clear, therefore, that the vizir of +Hoolakoo was at liberty to invent what atrocities he pleased of the sect +which was destroyed by his master, and that his testimony is +consequently to be received with suspicion. On the other hand it +receives some confirmation from its agreement with the account of the +society at Cairo given by Macrisi, and is not repugnant to the spirit of +Soofeism. + +This last doctrine, which is a kind of mystic Pantheism, viewing God in +all and all in God, may produce, like fatalism, piety or its opposite. +In the eyes of one who thus views God, all the distinctions between vice +and virtue become fleeting and uncertain, and crime may gradually lose +its atrocity, and be regarded as only a mean for the production of a +good end. That the Ismailite Fedavee murdered innocent persons without +compunction, when ordered so to do by his superiors, is an undoubted +fact, and there is no absurdity in supposing that he and they may have +thought that in so doing they were acting right, and promoting the cause +of truth. Such sanctifying of crime is not confined to the East; the +maxim that the end sanctions the means is of too convenient a nature not +to have prevailed in all parts of the world; and the assassins of Henry +III. and Henry IV. of France displayed all the sincerity and constancy +of the Ismailite Fedavees. Without, therefore, regarding the heads of +the Ismailites, with Hammer, mere ruthless and impious murderers, who +trampled under foot religion and morals with all their obligations, we +may assent to the opinion of their leading doctrine being Soofeism +carried to its worst consequences. + +The followers of Hassan Sabah were called the Eastern Ismailites, to +distinguish them from those of Africa. They were also named the +Batiniyeh (_Internal or Secret_), from the secret meaning which they +drew from the text of the Koran, and Moolhad, or Moolahid (_Impious_) on +account of the imputed impiety of their doctrines,--names common to them +with most of the preceding sects. It is under this last appellation that +they were known to Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller. The name, +however, by which they are best known in Europe, and which we shall +henceforth chiefly employ, is that of Assassins. This name is very +generally derived from that of the founder of their society; but M. De +Sacy has made it probable that the oriental term Hashisheen, of which +the Crusaders made Assassins, comes from Hashish, a species of hemp, +from which intoxicating opiates were made, which the Fedavee were in the +habit of taking previously to engaging in their daring enterprises, or +employed as a medium of procuring delicious visions of the paradise +promised to them by the Sheikh-al-Jebal. + +It is a curious question how Hassan Sabah contrived to infuse into the +Fedavee the recklessness of life, joined with the spirit of implicit +obedience to the commands of their superiors, which they so invariably +displayed. We are told[33] that the system adopted for this purpose was +to obtain, by purchase or otherwise, from their parents, stout and +healthy children. These were reared up in implicit obedience to the will +of the Sheikh, and, to fit them for their future office, carefully +instructed in various languages. The most agreeable spots were selected +for their abode, they were indulged in the gratification of their +senses, and, in the midst of their enjoyments, some persons were +directed to inflame their imaginations by glowing descriptions of the +far superior delights laid up in the celestial paradise for those who +should be admitted to repose in its bowers; a happiness only to be +attained by a glorious death met in obedience to the commands of the +Sheikh. When such ideas had been impressed on their minds, the glorious +visions ever floated before their eyes, the impression was kept up by +the use of the opiate above-mentioned, and the young enthusiast panted +for the hour when death, obtained in obeying the order of the Sheikh, +should open to him the gates of paradise to admit him to the enjoyment +of bliss never to end. + +[Footnote 33: Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzuege, vol. ii.] + +The celebrated Venetian, Marco Polo, who traversed the most remote parts +of the East in the 13th century, gave on his return to Europe an account +of the regions which he had visited, which filled the minds of men with +wonder and amazement. As is usual in such cases this was followed or +accompanied by unbelief, and it is only by the inquiries and discoveries +of modern travellers that the veracity of Marco Polo, like that of +Herodotus, has been established and placed beyond doubt. + +Among other wonderful narratives which we meet in the travels of Marco +Polo is the account which he gives of the people whom he calls +Mulehetites (that is, Moolahid), and their prince the Old Man of the +Mountain. He describes correctly the nature of this society, and gives +the following romantic narrative of the mode employed by that prince to +infuse the principle of implicit obedience into the minds of his +followers[34]. + +[Footnote 34: Marsden's Translation.] + +"In a beautiful valley," says he, "enclosed between two lofty mountains, +he had formed a luxurious garden, stored with every delicious fruit and +every fragrant shrub that could be procured. Palaces of various sizes +and forms were erected in different parts of the grounds, ornamented +with works of gold, with paintings, and with furniture of rich silks. By +means of small conduits contained in these buildings streams of wine, +milk, honey, and some of pure water, were seen to flow in every +direction. The inhabitants of these palaces were elegant and beautiful +damsels, accomplished in the arts of singing, playing upon all sorts of +musical instruments, dancing, and especially those of dalliance and +amorous allurement. Clothed in rich dresses, they were seen continually +sporting and amusing themselves in the garden and pavilions, their +female guardians being confined within doors, and never suffered to +appear. The object which the chief had in view in forming a garden of +this fascinating kind was this: that Mahomet having promised to those +who should obey his will the enjoyments of paradise, where every species +of sensual gratification should be found in the society of beautiful +nymphs, he was desirous of its being understood by his followers that he +also was a prophet, and a compeer of Mahomet, and had the power of +admitting to paradise such as he should choose to favour. In order that +none without his licence should find their way into this delicious +valley, he caused a strong and inexpugnable castle to be erected at the +opening of it, through which the entry was by a secret passage. At his +court, likewise, this chief entertained a number of youths, from the age +of twelve to twenty years, selected from the inhabitants of the +surrounding mountains, who showed a disposition for martial exercises, +and appeared to possess the quality of daring courage. To them he was in +the daily practice of discoursing on the subject of the paradise +announced by the Prophet and of his own, of granting admission, and at +certain times he caused draughts of a soporific nature to be +administered to ten or a dozen of the youths, and when half dead with +sleep he had them conveyed to the several apartments of the palaces in +the garden. Upon awakening from this state of lethargy their senses were +struck with all the delightful objects that have been described, and +each perceived himself surrounded by lovely damsels, singing, playing, +and attracting his regards by the most fascinating caresses, serving him +also with delicious viands and exquisite wines, until, intoxicated with +excess of enjoyment, amidst actual rivers of milk and wine, he believed +himself assuredly in paradise, and felt an unwillingness to relinquish +its delights. When four or five days had thus been passed, they were +thrown once more into a state of somnolency and carried out of the +garden. Upon their being introduced to his presence, and questioned by +him as to where they had been, their answer was, 'In paradise, through +the favour of your highness;' and then, before the whole court, who +listened to them with eager curiosity and astonishment, they gave a +circumstantial account of the scenes to which they had been witnesses. +The chief thereupon addressing them said, 'We have the assurance of our +Prophet that he who defends his lord shall inherit paradise, and if you +show yourselves devoted to the obedience of my orders, that happy lot +awaits you.' Animated to enthusiasm by words of this nature all deemed +themselves happy to receive the commands of their master, and were +forward to die in his service." + +This romantic narrative, more suited to a place among the wonders of the +"Thousand and One Nights" than to admission into sober history, has been +very generally rejected by judicious inquirers such as De Sacy and +Wilkin, the able historians of the Crusades; but it has found credence +with Hammer, to whose work we are indebted for the far greater part of +the present details on the subject of the Assassins. This industrious +scholar has, as he thinks, found a proof of its truth in the +circumstance of similar narratives occurring in the works of some +Arabian writers which treat of the settlements of the society in Syria, +forgetting that a fabulous legend is often more widely diffused than +sober truth. All, therefore, that can be safely inferred from this +collection of authorities is that the same marvellous tale which the +Venetian traveller heard in the north of Persia was also current in +Syria and Egypt. Its truth must be established by a different species of +proof. + +In the Siret-al-Hakem (_Memoirs of Hakem_), a species of Arabian +historic romance, the following account of the gardens at Massyat, the +chief seat of the Assassins in Syria, was discovered by Hammer[35]:-- + +[Footnote 35: Fundgruben des Orients, vol. iii.] + +"Our narrative now returns to Ismail the chief of the Ismailites. He +took with him his people laden with gold, silver, pearls, and other +effects, taken away from the inhabitants of the coasts, and which he had +received in the island of Cyprus, and on the part of the king of Egypt, +Dhaher, the son of Hakem-biemr-Illah. Having bidden farewell to the +sultan of Egypt at Tripolis, they proceeded to Massyat, when the +inhabitants of the castles and fortresses assembled to enjoy themselves, +along with the chief Ismail and his people. They put on the rich dresses +with which the sultan had supplied them, and adorned the castle of +Massyat with everything that was good and fine. Ismail made his entry +into Massyat with the Devoted (_Fedavee_), as no one has ever done at +Massyat before him or after him. He stopped there some time to take into +his service some more persons whom he might make Devoted both in heart +and body. + +"With this view he had caused to be made a vast garden, into which he +had water conducted. In the middle of this garden he built a kiosk +raised to the height of four stories. On each of the four sides were +richly-ornamented windows joined by four arches, in which were painted +stars of gold and silver. He put into it roses, porcelain, glasses, and +drinking-vessels of gold and silver. He had with him Mamlooks (_i. e._ +slaves), ten males and ten females, who were come with him from the +region of the Nile, and who had scarcely attained the age of puberty. He +clothed them in silks and in the finest stuffs, and he gave unto them +bracelets of gold and of silver. The columns were overlaid with musk and +with amber, and in the four arches of the windows he set four caskets, +in which was the purest musk. The columns were polished, and this place +was the retreat of the slaves. He divided the garden into four parts. In +the first of these were pear-trees, apple-trees, vines, cherries, +mulberries, plums, and other kinds of fruit-trees. In the second were +oranges, lemons, olives, pomegranates, and other fruits. In the third +were cucumbers, melons, leguminous plants, &c. In the fourth were roses, +jessamine, tamarinds, narcissi, violets, lilies, anemonies, &c. &c. + +"The garden was divided by canals of water, and the kiosk was surrounded +with ponds and reservoirs. There were groves in which were seen +antelopes, ostriches, asses, and wild cows. Issuing from the ponds, one +met ducks, geese, partridges, quails, hares, foxes, and other animals. +Around the kiosk the chief Ismail planted walks of tall trees, +terminating in the different parts of the garden. He built there a great +house, divided into two apartments, the upper and the lower. From the +latter covered walks led out into the garden, which was all enclosed +with walls, so that no one could see into it, for these walks and +buildings were all void of inhabitants. He made a gallery of coolness, +which ran from this apartment to the cellar, which was behind. This +apartment served as a place of assembly for the men. Having placed +himself on a sofa there opposite the door, the chief made his men sit +down, and gave them to eat and to drink during the whole length of the +day until evening. At nightfall he looked around him, and, selecting +those whose firmness pleased him, said to them, 'Ho! such-a-one, come +and seat thyself near me.' It is thus that Ismail made those whom he had +chosen sit near him on the sofa and drink. He then spoke to them of the +great and excellent qualities of the imam Ali, of his bravery, his +nobleness, and his generosity, until they fell asleep, overcome by the +power of the _benjeh_[36] which he had given them, and which never +failed to produce its effects in less than a quarter of an hour, so that +they fell down as if they were inanimate. As soon as the man had fallen +the chief Ismail arose, and, taking him up, brought him into a +dormitory, and then, shutting the door, carried him on his shoulders +into the gallery of coolness, which was in the garden, and thence into +the kiosk, where he committed him to the care of the male and female +slaves, directing them to comply with all the desires of the candidate, +on whom they flung vinegar till he awoke. When he was come to himself +the youths and maidens said to him, 'We are only waiting for thy death, +for this place is destined for thee. This is one of the pavilions of +paradise, and we are the hoories and the children of paradise. If thou +wert dead thou wouldest be for ever with us, but thou art only dreaming, +and wilt soon awake.' Meanwhile the chief Ismail had returned to the +company as soon as he had witnessed the awakening of the candidate, who +now perceived nothing but youths and maidens of the greatest beauty, and +adorned in the most magnificent manner. + +[Footnote 36: The Arabic name of the hyoscyamus, or henbane. Hammer +conjectures that the word _benge_, or, with the Coptic article +in the plural, _ni-benje_, is the same with the nepenthe of the +ancients.--Fundgruben des Orients, iii. 202.] + +"He looked round the place, inhaled the fragrance of musk and +frankincense, and drew near to the garden, where he saw the beasts and +the birds, the running water, and the trees. He gazed on the beauty of +the kiosk, and the vases of gold and silver, while the youths and +maidens kept him in converse. In this way he remained confounded, not +knowing whether he was awake or only dreaming. When two hours of the +night had gone by, the chief Ismail returned to the dormitory, closed +the door, and thence proceeded to the garden, where his slaves came +around him and rose before him. When the candidate perceived him he said +unto him, 'O chief Ismail, do I dream, or am I awake?' The chief Ismail +then made answer to him, 'O such-a-one, beware of relating this vision +to any one who is a stranger to this place! Know that the Lord Ali has +shown thee the place which is destined for thee in paradise. Know that +at this moment the Lord Ali and I have been sitting together in the +regions of the empyrean. So do not hesitate a moment in the service of +the imam who has given thee to know his felicity.' Then the chief Ismail +ordered supper to be served. It was brought in vessels of gold and of +silver, and consisted of boiled meats and roast meats, with other +dishes. While the candidate ate he was sprinkled with rose-water; when +he called for drink there were brought to him vessels of gold and silver +filled with delicious liquors, in which also had been mingled some +_benjeh_. When he had fallen asleep, Ismail carried him through the +gallery back to the dormitory, and, leaving him there, returned to his +company. After a little time he went back, threw vinegar on his face, +and then, bringing him out, ordered one of the Mamlooks to shake him. On +awaking, and finding himself in the same place among the guests, he +said, 'There is no god but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet of God!' The +chief Ismail then drew near and caressed him, and he remained, as it +were, immersed in intoxication, wholly devoted to the service of the +chief, who then said unto him, 'O such-a-one, know that what thou hast +seen was not a dream, but one of the miracles of the imam Ali. Know that +he has written thy name among those of his friends. If thou keep the +secret thou art certain of thy felicity, but if thou speak of it thou +wilt incur the resentment of the imam. If thou die thou art a martyr; +but beware of relating this to any person whatever. Thou hast entered by +one of the gates to the friendship of the imam, and art become one of +his family; but if thou betray the secret, thou wilt become one of his +enemies, and be driven from his house.' Thus this man became one of the +servants of the chief Ismail, who in this manner surrounded himself with +trusty men, until his reputation was established. This is what is +related of the chief Ismail and his Devoted." + +To these romantic tales of the paradise of the Old Man of the Mountain +we must add a third of a still more juggling character, furnished by the +learned and venerable Sheikh Abd-ur-Rahman (_Servant of the +Compassionate_, i. e., _of God_) Ben Ebubekr Al-Jeriri of Damascus, in +the twenty-fourth chapter of his work entitled "A Choice Book for +discovering the Secrets of the Art of Imposture[37]." + +[Footnote 37: Fundgruben des Orients, vol. iv.] + +After giving some account of Sinan, the chief of the Syrian Assassins, +whom we shall presently have occasion to mention, the sheikh proceeds to +narrate the artifice which he employed to deceive his followers:-- + +"There was near the sofa on which he sat a hole in the ground +sufficiently deep for a man to sit down in it. This he covered with a +thin piece of wood, leaving only so much of it open as would contain the +neck of a man. He placed on this cover of wood a disk of bronze with a +hole in the middle of it, and put in it two doors. Then taking one of +his disciples, to whom he had given a considerable sum of money to +obtain his consent, he placed the perforated disk round his neck, and +kept it down by weights, so that nothing appeared but the neck of the +man; and he put warm blood upon it, so that it looked as if he had just +cut off his head. He then called in his companions, and showed them the +plate, on which they beheld the head of their comrade. 'Tell thy +comrades,' said the master to the head, 'what thou hast seen, and what +has been said unto thee.' The man then answered as he had been +previously instructed. 'Which wouldest thou prefer,' said the master, +'to return to the world and thy friends, or to dwell in paradise?' 'What +need have I,' replied the head, 'to return to the world after having +seen my pavilion in paradise, and the hoories, and all that God has +prepared for me? Comrades, salute my family, and take care not to +disobey this prophet, who is the lord of the prophets in the state of +time, as God has said unto me. Farewell.' These words strengthened the +faith of the others; but when they were gone the master took the man up +out of the hole, and cut off his head in right earnest. It was by such +means as this that he made himself obeyed by his people." + +The preceding accounts, whatever may be thought of their truth, serve to +testify a general belief throughout the East of some extraordinary means +being employed by the mountain chief to acquire the power which he was +known to possess over the minds of his Fedavee. And, in fact, there is +no great improbability in the supposition of some artifice of that +nature having been occasionally employed by him; for, when we recollect +that an Asiatic imagination is coarse, especially among the lower +orders, and that in the East men rarely see any females but those of +their own family, the chief might find no great difficulty in persuading +a youth, whom he had transported in a state of stupor into an apartment +filled with young girls, of his having been in the actual paradise +promised to the faithful. + +But, laying aside supposition, we may observe that the very power over +the minds of their followers ascribed to Hassan Sabah and his successors +has been actually exercised in our own days by the chief of the +Wahabees. Sir John Malcolm[38] informs us, from a Persian manuscript, +that a few years ago one of that sect, who had stabbed an Arab chief +near Bussora, when taken, not only refused to do anything towards saving +his life, but, on the contrary, seemed anxiously to court death. He was +observed to grasp something firmly in his hand, which he appeared to +prize beyond life itself. On its being taken from him and examined, it +proved to be an order from the Wahabee chief for an emerald palace and a +number of beautiful female slaves in the blissful paradise of the +Prophet. This story, however, it must be confessed, appears to be little +consistent with the principles of the sect of the Wahabees, and we may +suspect that it has originated in some misapprehension. + +[Footnote 38: History of Persia, vol. i.] + +The following instance of the implicit obedience of the Fedavee to the +orders of Hassan Sabah is given by a respectable oriental historian[39]. +An ambassador from the Sultan Malek Shah having come to Alamoot to +demand the submission and obedience of the sheikh, Hassan received him +in a hall in which he had assembled several of his followers. Making a +sign to one youth, he said, "Kill thyself!" Instantly the young man's +dagger was plunged into his own bosom, and he lay a corpse upon the +ground. To another he said, "Fling thyself down from the wall." In an +instant his shattered limbs were lying in the castle ditch. Then turning +to the terrified envoy, "I have seventy thousand followers who obey me +after this fashion. This be my answer to thy master." + +[Footnote 39: Elmacin, Historia Saracenica, l. iii. p. 286.] + +Very nearly the same tale is told of the Assassins of Syria by a western +writer[40]. As Henry Count of Champagne was journeying, in the year +1194, from Palestine to Armenia[41], his road lay through the confines +of the territory of the Ismailites. The chief sent some persons to +salute him, and to beg that, on his return, he would stop at, and +partake of the hospitality of his castle. The count accepted the +invitation. As he returned the Dai-al-Kebir advanced to meet him, showed +him every mark of honour, and led him to view his castles and +fortresses. Having passed through several, they came at length to one +the towers of which rose to an exceeding height. On each tower stood two +sentinels clad in white. "These," said the chief, pointing to them, +"obey me far better than the subjects of you Christians obey their +lords;" and at a given signal two of them flung themselves down, and +were dashed to pieces. "If you wish," said he to the astonished count, +"all my white ones shall do the same." The benevolent count shrank from +the proposal, and candidly avowed that no Christian prince could presume +to look for such obedience from his subjects. When he was departing, +with many valuable presents, the chief said to him significantly, "By +means of these trusty servants I get rid of the enemies of our society." + +[Footnote 40: Marinus Sanutus, l. iii. p. x. c. 8.] + +[Footnote 41: This was the Armenia in Cilicia.] + +In oriental, and also in occidental history, the same anecdote is often +told of different persons, a circumstance which might induce us to doubt +of its truth altogether, or at least of its truth in any particular +case. The present anecdote, for instance, with a slight variation in the +details, is told of Aboo Taher, a celebrated leader of the Carmathites. +This chief, after his expedition to Mecca, in which he had slain 30,000 +of the inhabitants, filled the hallowed well Zemzem with the bodies of +dead men, and carried off the sacred black stone in triumph, had the +hardihood to approach Bagdad, the residence of the khalif, with only 500 +horsemen. The pontiff of Islam, enraged at the insult, ordered his +general Aboo Saj to take 30,000 men, and make him a prisoner. The +latter, having collected his forces, sent a man off to Aboo Taher to +tell him on his part that out of regard for him, who had been his old +friend, he advised him, as he had so few troops with him, either to +yield himself at once to the khalif or to see about making his escape. +Aboo Taher asked of the envoy how many men Aboo Saj had with him. The +envoy replied, "Thirty thousand." "He still wants three like mine," said +Aboo Taher; and calling to him three of his men, he ordered one of them +to stab himself, another to throw himself into the Tigris, a third to +fling himself down from a precipice. His commands were at once obeyed. +Then turning to the envoy, "He who has such troops fears not the number +of his enemies. I give thyself quarter; but know that I shall soon let +thee see thy general Aboo Saj chained among my dogs." In fact, that very +night he attacked and routed the troops of the khalif, and Aboo Saj, +happening to fall into his hands, soon appeared chained among the +mastiffs of the Carmathite chief[42]. + +[Footnote 42: D'Herbelot, _titre_ Carmath.] + +The preceding details on the paradise of the Sheikh-al-Jebal, and his +power over the minds of his followers, will at least help to illustrate +the manners and modes of thinking of the orientals. We now resume the +thread of our narrative, and proceed to narrate the deeds of the +Assassins, as we shall henceforth designate them. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Keaeh Buzoorg Oomeid--Affairs of the Society in Persia--They acquire + the Castle of Banias, in Syria--Attempt to betray Damascus to the + Crusaders--Murders committed during the reign of Keaeh Buzoorg. + + +Keaeh Buzoorg Oomeid trod faithfully in the footprints of his +predecessor. He built the strong fortress of Maimoondees, and he made +the enemies of the society feel that it was still animated by the spirit +of Hassan Sabah. Sultan Sanjar, who, on account of the favourable terms +on which he had made peace with the Assassins, was regarded by the +rigidly orthodox as a secret follower of their doctrine, declared +himself once more their open enemy, and sent an army to ravage Kirdkoh. +These troops were defeated by those which Keaeh sent against them; but +the following year Sanjar put to the sword a great number of the members +of the sect. The dagger, as usual, retaliated. Mahmood, the successor of +Sanjar, having first tried in vain the effect of arms, sent his grand +falconer Berenkesh to Alamoot, to desire that an envoy might be sent to +him to treat of peace. The Khojah (_Master_) Mohammed Nassihi +accompanied Berenkesh back to court, and kissed the hand of the sultan, +who spoke to him a few words about the peace; but as the Khojah was +going out of the palace, he and his followers were fallen upon and +massacred by the people. + +When the sultan sent an ambassador to Alamoot to exculpate himself from +the guilt of participation in this violation of the laws of nations, +Keaeh made answer, "Go back to the sultan, and tell him, in my name, +Mohammed Nassihi trusted to your perfidious assurances, and repaired to +your court; if you speak truly, deliver up the murderers to justice; if +not, expect my vengeance." On the refusal of the sultan to surrender the +murderers, a corps of Assassins appeared at the gates of Casveen, slew +400 men, and led away 3,000 sheep, 200 horses, and 200 oxen. Next year +the sultan took, and retained for a short time, the fortress of Alamoot; +but a body of 2,000 men which he sent against Lamseer fled, without +drawing a sword, when they heard that the Refeek (_Companions_) of the +society were marching against them. Shortly afterwards the sultan died, +and the Assassins made another incursion into the district of Casveen, +where they carried off booty and prisoners. + +The mountain chief would tolerate no rival near his throne. Hearing that +one Aboo Hashem, a descendant of Ali, had arrogated to himself the +dignity of imam in the province of Ghilan, which lies north of Kuhistan, +and had issued letters calling on the people to acknowledge him, Keaeh +wrote to him to desist from his pretensions. The self-appointed imam +only replied by reviling the odious tenets of the Ismailites. The sheikh +forthwith sent a body of his troops against him, took him prisoner, and, +after trying him by a court-martial, committed him to the flames. + +Though, as we have seen, the settlements of the Assassins were in the +mountainous region of Irak, in the north-west of Persia, their power was +of such a nature that no distance was a security against it. A Fedavee +could speedily traverse the intervening regions to plant his dagger in +the bosom of any prince or minister who had incurred the vengeance of +the Sheikh-al-Jebal. Accordingly we find the shah (_King_) of Khaurism, +between which and Irak lies the extensive province of Khorasan, coming +to Sultan Massood, the successor of Mahmood, to concert with him a plan +for the destruction of these formidable foes to princes. The shah of +Khaurism had been formerly rather disposed to favour the Ismailites, but +his eyes were now opened, and he was become their most inveterate enemy. +Sultan Massood, we know not for what reason, bestowed on him the lands +which Berenkesh, the grand falconer, had held of the sultan. Berenkesh, +mortally offended at this unworthy treatment, retired, with his family, +to the territory of the Ismailites, and sought the protection of Keaeh, +whose open enemy he had hitherto been. Policy, or a regard to good faith +and humanity, made the Assassin prince grant the protection which was +required; and when the shah of Khaurism wrote, reminding Keaeh of his own +former friendship, and the bitter hostility of Berenkesh, and requesting +him, on that plea, to give up the fugitive, the sheikh replied, "The +shah of Khaurism speaks true, but we will never give up our suppliants." +Long and bloody enmity between the sheikh and the shah was the +consequence of this refusal to violate the rights of hospitality. + +The Syrian branch of the society begins at this time to attract rather +more attention than that of Persia, chiefly on account of its connexion +with the Crusaders, who had succeeded in establishing an empire +extending from the frontiers of Egypt to those of Armenia. A Persian +Ismailite, named Behram of Astrabad, who is said to have commenced his +career by the murder of his own father, gained the confidence of the +vizir of the prince of Damascus, who gave him the castle of Banias, or +Panias (the ancient Balanea), for the use of the society. This place, +which became the nucleus of the power of the Assassins in Syria, lies in +a fertile, well-watered plain, about 4,000 paces from the sea. The +valley whence the numerous streams which fructify it issue is called the +Wadi-al-Jinn (_Valley of Demons_), "a place," observes Hammer, whom no +casual coincidence escapes, "from its very name worthy of becoming a +settlement of the Assassins." From Banias they extended their power over +the neighbouring castles and fortresses, until, twelve years afterwards, +the seat of dominion was transferred thence to Massyat. + +Behram fell shortly afterwards in an engagement against the people of +the valley of Taim, the brother of whose chief had perished by the +daggers of the Assassins. His successor was Ismail, a Persian, who +continued the bond of amity with the vizir of Damascus, whither he sent, +by way of resident, a man named, rather inappropriately as it would +appear, Aboo-'l-Wefa (_Father of Fidelity_). This man so won the favour +of the vizir and prince that he was appointed to the office of Hakem, or +supreme judge; and having thus acquired power and influence, he +immediately turned his thoughts to the best mode of employing them for +the advantage of the society, an object always near the heart of a true +Ismailite. A place of strength on the sea-coast would, he conceived, be +of the utmost importance to them; so he fixed his eyes upon Tyre, and +fell upon the following expedient to obtain possession of it. + +The Franks had been now upwards of thirty years established in the East. +Their daring and enthusiastic valour was at once the dread and the +admiration of their Mussulman foes, and feats almost surpassing the +fables of the romances of chivalry had been performed by their gallant +warriors. These were the auxiliaries to whom Aboo-'l-Wefa directed his +attention; for we are to observe that as yet the fanatic spirit had not +united all the Moslems in enmity against the followers of the Cross, +and the princes of Aleppo, Damascus, and the other districts of Syria, +had been more than once in alliance with the Christian realms of +Jerusalem and Antioch. Aboo-'l-Wefa sent therefore and concluded a +secret treaty with Baldwin II., king of Jerusalem, in which he engaged, +if the Christian warriors would secretly march and appear before +Damascus on a Friday, when the emir and his officers would be at the +mosk, to give them possession of the gates of the town. The king was in +return to put Tyre into the hands of the Ismailites. + +The Christian army was assembled; all the barons of the kingdom appeared +in arms; the king in person led the host; the newly-formed military +order of the Templars displayed for the first time in the field their +striped banner _Beauseant_, afterwards so well known in many a bloody +fray. Prince Bernard of Antioch, Count Pontius of Tripolis, the brave +Joscelin of Edessa, led their knights and footmen to share in the +capture of the wealthy city of Damascus. The mountains which environ +Lake Tiberias were left behind, and the host joyfully emerged into the +plain watered by the streams Abana and Pharpar. But here defeat awaited +them. Taj-al-Molook (_Diadem of Kings_) Boozi, the emir of Damascus, had +in time discovered the plot of his hakem. He had put him and the vizir +to death, and had ordered a general massacre of the Ismailites in the +city[43]. The Christian army was now at a place named Marj Safar, and +the footmen had begun to plunder the villages for food, when a small +body of gallant Damascene warriors rushed from the town and fell upon +them. The defenceless Christians sank beneath their blows, incapable of +resistance. The rest of the army advanced to aid or avenge their +brethren, when suddenly[44] the sky became overcast, thick darkness +enveloped all objects, the thunder roared, the lightning flashed, the +rain poured down in torrents, and, by a rapid transition, peculiar to +Eastern climates, the rain and waters turned into snow and ice, and +augmented the horrors of the day. The superstitious and +conscience-stricken Crusaders viewed in this awful phenomenon the +immediate agency of heaven, and deemed it to be sent as a punishment for +their sins; and, recollecting that on that very spot but four years +before King Baldwin had gained, with a handful of men, a victory over an +army of the Damascenes, they were plunged into grief and humiliation. +The only advantage which they derived from this expedition was the +acquisition of the castle of Banias, which the Ismailite governor put +into their hands, that under their protection he might escape the fate +of his brethren. + +[Footnote 43: The number slain was 6,000.] + +[Footnote 44: It was the month of December.] + +Banias was given up to the Christians in the same year in which Alamoot +was taken by the Seljookian sultan, and thus the power of the Assassins +seemed to be almost gone. But it had in it a conservative principle, +and, hydra-like, it grew by its wounds. Alamoot was speedily recovered, +and three years afterwards Banias was once more the seat of a +Dai-al-Kebir. At the same time the dagger raged with unwonted fury +against all of whom the society stood in apprehension, and the annals of +the reign of Keaeh Buzoorg Oomeid furnish a list of illustrious victims. + +The first of these was the celebrated Aksunkur, Prince of Mossul, a +warrior equally dreaded by the Christians and by the Assassins. As this +prince, on his return from Maaerra Mesrin, where the Moslem and Christian +hosts had parted without venturing to engage, entered the mosk at Mossul +to perform his devotions, he was attacked at the moment when he was +about to take his usual seat by eight assassins, disguised as dervishes. +Three of them fell beneath the blows of the valiant emir, but ere his +people could come to his aid he had received his death-wound and +expired. The remainder of the murderers became victims to the vengeance +of the people; one youth only escaped. The Arabian historian, +Kemal-ed-Deen, relates on this occasion a curious trait of the +fanaticism and Spartan spirit which animated the members of the sect of +the Ismailites. When the mother of the youth above-mentioned heard that +the formidable Aksunkur had been slain, she painted her face and put on +her gayest raiment and ornaments, rejoicing that her son had been found +worthy to die the glorious death of a martyr in the cause of the Imam. +But when she saw him return alive and unscathed, she cut off her hair +and blackened her countenance, and would not be comforted. + +In the following year (1127) fell Moin-ed-deen, the vizir of Sultan +Sanjar. In this case the Assassin had engaged himself as a groom in the +service of the vizir. As Moin-ed-deen went one day into the stable to +look at his horses the Assassin appeared before him, stripped, and +holding one of the horses by the bridle. As the vizir, unsuspicious of +danger, came near where he was, the false groom made the horse rear, +and, under the pretence of soothing and pacifying the restive animal, he +took out a small dagger which he had concealed in the horse's mane, and +plunged it into the bosom of the vizir. + +The slaughter of the Ismailites by the Prince of Damascus was not +forgotten, and two years afterwards he received two dagger wounds, one +of which proved mortal. Their vengeance was not appeased by his blood, +and his son and successor, Shems-al-Molook (_Sun of Kings_), perished by +a conspiracy with the guilt of which the Assassins were charged. In the +catalogue of the victims of this period appear also the names of the +Judges of the East and of the West, of the Mufti of Casveen, of the Reis +of Isfahan, and the Reis of Tebreez. + +The East has been at all times prolific of crime; human life is not +there held to be of the value at which it is estimated in Europe; and +the dagger and poison are freely employed to remove objects of +apprehension, to put obstacles out of the way of ambition, or to satiate +the thirst of vengeance. We are not, therefore, lightly to give credit +to every charge made against the Assassins, and to believe them guilty +of murders from which they had no advantage to derive. Thus, when at +this time the Fatimite Khalif Amir bi-ahkami-llah (_Commander of the +observance of the laws of God_) fell by the hands of murderers, the +probability is that he was not a victim to the vengeance of the +Ismailite society, whom he had never injured, but rather to that of the +family of the powerful vizir Afdal, who had been assassinated some time +before by the khalif's order, as we have every reason to suppose. + +With a greater show of reason may the murder of Mostarshed, the Khalif +of Bagdad, be imputed to the policy of the mountain chief. The +Seljookian princes, the predecessors of Massood, had been satisfied to +exercise all real power in the empire which had once obeyed the house of +Abbas, leaving to that feeble _Shadow of God upon Earth_ the +unsubstantial privilege of having the coin of the realm struck and +prayers offered on Friday in the mosk in his name. But Massood arrogated +even these rights to himself, and the helpless successor of the Prophet +was obliged to submit to the indignity which he could not prevent. At +length some discontented military chiefs passed with their troops over +to the khalif, and persuaded him that by one bold effort he might +overthrow the might of the Turkish sultan, and recover all his rights. +The khalif listened to their arguments, and, placing himself at the head +of an army, marched against Sultan Massood. But fortune proved adverse +to him. At the first shock the greater part of the troops of Bagdad +abandoned him, and he remained a captive in the hands of the sultan, who +brought him with him a prisoner to Maragha. Here a treaty was concluded +between them, and the khalif bound himself not to go any more outside of +the walls of Bagdad, and annually to pay a sum of money. This treaty +appears to have been displeasing to the Assassins; and, watching their +opportunity, when Massood was gone to meet the ambassadors of Sultan +Sanjar, a party of them fell upon and massacred the khalif and his +train. The lifeless body of the Commander of the Faithful was mangled by +them in the most scandalous manner. + +After a blood-stained reign of fourteen years and three days Keaeh +Buzoorg Oomeid died. Departing from the maxims of Hassan Sabah, who it +is probable wished to imitate the conduct of the Prophet, and leave the +supreme dignity elective, he appointed his own son, Keaeh Mohammed, to be +his successor, induced either by paternal partiality, or believing him +to be the person best qualified for the office. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Keaeh Mohammed--Murder of the Khalif--Castles gained in + Syria--Ismailite Confession of Faith--Mohammed's Son Hassan gives + himself out for the promised Imam--His Followers + punished--Succession of Hassan--He abolishes the Law--Pretends to + be descended from the Prophet--Is murdered. + + + +The policy of the society underwent no alteration on the accession of +Mohammed. The dagger still smote its enemies, and as each victim fell, +the people who maintained the rights of Ismail, and who were kept in +rigid obedience to the positive precepts of the Koran, beheld nothing +but the right hand of Heaven made bare for the punishment of crime and +usurpation. The new mountain prince had hardly taken the reins of +government into his hands when Rasheed, the successor of the late +khalif, eager to avenge the murder of his father, assembled an army and +marched against Alamoot. He had reached Isfahan, but there his march +terminated. Four Assassins, who had entered his service for the purpose, +fell upon him in his tent and stabbed him. When the news was conveyed to +Alamoot great rejoicings were made, and for seven days and seven nights +the trumpets and kettle-drums resounded from the towers of the fortress, +proclaiming the triumph of the dagger to the surrounding country. + +The Syrian dominion of the Ismailites was at this time considerably +extended. They purchased from Ibn Amroo, their owner, the castles of +Cadmos and Kahaf, and took by force that of Massyat from the lords of +Sheiser. This castle, which was situated on the west side of Mount +Legam, opposite Antaradus, became henceforth the chief seat of Ismailite +power in Syria. The society had now a line of coast to the north of +Tripolis, and their possessions extended inland to the verge of the +Hauran. + +The reign of Mohammed presents few events to illustrate the history of +the Assassins. It was probably in his time that the following confession +of the Ismailite faith was made to the persons whom Sultan Sanjar sent +to Alamoot to inquire into it[45]: + +[Footnote 45: As Sanjar lived to a great age he was contemporary with +several of the Ismailite sheikhs.] + +"This is our doctrine," said the heads of the society. "We believe in +the unity of God, and acknowledge as the true wisdom and right creed +only that which accords with the word of God and the commands of the +Prophet. We hold these as they are delivered in the holy writ, the +Koran, and believe in all that the Prophet has taught of the creation, +and the last things, of rewards and punishments, of the last judgment, +and the resurrection. To believe this is necessary, and no one is +authorized to judge of the commands of God for himself, or to alter a +single letter in them. These are the fundamental doctrines of our sect, +and if the sultan does not approve of them, let him send hither one of +his learned divines, that we may argue the matter with him." + +To this creed no orthodox Mussulman could well make any objection. The +only question was, what was the Ismailite system of interpretation, and +what other doctrines did they deduce from the sacred text; and the +active employment of the dagger of the Fedavee suggested in tolerably +plain terms that there were others, and that something not very +compatible with the peace and order of society lay behind the veil. +Indeed the circumstance of the Ismailite chiefs professing themselves +to be only the ministers and representatives of the invisible imam was +in itself highly suspicious; for what was to prevent their enjoining any +atrocity which might be for their interest, in the name of their +viewless master? They are ignorant indeed of human nature who suppose +that a prompt obedience would not be yielded to all such commands by the +ignorant and bigoted members of the sect. + +The ill leaven of the secret doctrine displayed itself before very long. +Keaeh Mohammed, who appears to have been a weak, inefficient man, was +held in little esteem by his followers. They began to attach themselves +to his son Hassan, who had the reputation of being a man of prodigious +knowledge, learned in tradition and the text of the Koran, versed in +exposition, and well acquainted with the sciences. Hassan, either +through vanity or policy, began secretly to disseminate the notion of +his being himself the imam whose appearance had been promised by Hassan +Ben Sabah. Filled with this idea, the more instructed members of the +society vied with each other in eagerness to fulfil his commands, and +Keaeh Mohammed, seeing his power gradually slipping from him, was at +length roused to energy. Assembling the people, he reprobated in strong +terms the prevailing heresy. "Hassan," said he, "is my son, and I am not +the imam, but only one of his missionaries. Whoever maintains the +contrary is an infidel." Then, in true Assassin fashion, he gave effect +to his words by executing 250 of his son's adherents, and banishing an +equal number from the fortress. Hassan himself, in order to save his +life, was obliged publicly to curse those who held the new opinions, and +to write dissertations condemning their tenets, and defending those of +his father. By these means he succeeded in removing suspicion from the +mind of the old chief; but, as he continued to drink wine in private, +and violated several of the other positive precepts of the law, his +adherents became only the more convinced of his being the imam, at whose +coming all the precepts of the law were to cease to be of any force. + +Hassan was obliged to be cautious and conceal his opinions during the +lifetime of his father; for, whatever their opinion might be of the +capacity and intellectual power of the head of their sect, the Assassins +believed themselves to be bound to obey his orders, as proceeding from +the visible representative of the sacred invisible imam; and, high as +their veneration for Hassan was, his blood would have flowed on the +ground the instant an order to that effect had passed the lips of his +father. But no sooner was Keaeh Mohammed dead, after a reign of +twenty-four years, and the supreme station was come to Hassan himself, +than he resolved to fling away the mask at once, and not only to trample +on the law himself, but to authorize and encourage all his people to do +the same. + +Accordingly, when the month Ramazan (the Mohammedan Lent) of the 559th +year of the Hejra (A.D. 1163) was come, he ordered all the inhabitants +of Roodbar to assemble on the place of prayer (_Mosella_), or esplanade, +before the castle of Alamoot. Facing the direction of the Keblah[46] he +caused a pulpit to be erected, at whose four corners were displayed +banners of the different hues familiar to Islam, namely, a white, a red, +a yellow, a green, colours adverse to the black of the Abbassides. + +[Footnote 46: That is, the point towards which they turn in prayer, +namely, Mecca.] + +On the 17th day of the month the people, in obedience to his commands, +appeared in great numbers beneath the walls of the fortress. After a +little time Hassan came forth and ascended the pulpit. All voices were +hushed; expectation waited on the words of the Sheikh-al-Jebal. He +commenced his discourse by perplexing the minds of his auditors by +enigmatical and obscure sentences. When he had thus deluded them for +some time, he informed them that an envoy of the imam (that is, the +phantom of a khalif who was still sitting on the throne at Cairo) had +arrived, and had brought him a letter addressed to all Ismailites, +whereby the fundamental tenets of the sect were renewed and confirmed. +He proceeded to assure them that, by this letter, the gates of mercy and +compassion had been opened for all who would follow and obey him; that +they were the true elect; that they were freed from all obligations of +the law, and delivered from the burden of all commands and prohibitions; +that he had now conducted them to the day of the resurrection, that is, +of the revelation of the imam. He then commenced in Arabic the Khootbeh, +or public prayer, which he said he had received from the imam; and an +interpreter, who stood at the foot of the pulpit, translated it for them +to the following effect:-- + +"Hassan, the son of Mohammed, the son of Buzoorg Oomeid, is our khalif +(_successor_), dai, and hoojet (_proof_). All who follow our doctrine +must hearken to him in affairs of faith and of the world, and regard his +commands as imperative, his words as impressive. They must not +transgress his prohibitions, and they must regard his commands as ours. +They should know that our lord has had compassion upon them, and has +conducted them to the most high God." + +When this proclamation was made known Hassan came down from the pulpit, +directed tables to be spread, and commanded the people to break the +fast, and to give themselves up, as on festival days, to all kinds of +enjoyment, with music, and various games and sports. "For this," cried +he, "this is the day of the resurrection;" that is, according to the +Ismailite mode of interpreting the Koran, the day of the manifestation +of the imam. + +What the orthodox had before only suspected was now confirmed. It was +now manifest, beyond doubt, that the Ismailites were heretics who +trampled under foot all the most plain and positive precepts of Islam; +for, though they might pretend to justify their practice by their +allegorical system of interpretation, it was clearly repugnant to common +sense, and might be made the instrument of sanctioning, under the name +of religion, every species of enormity. From this time the term Moolahid +(_impious_) began to become the common and familiar appellation of the +Ismailites in the mouths of the orthodox Moslems. As to the Ismailites +themselves, they rejoiced in what they had done; they exalted like +emancipated bondsmen in the liberty which they had acquired; and they +even commenced a new era from the 17th (or, according to some +authorities, the 7th) Ramazan of the 559th year, namely, the day of the +manifestation of the imam. To the name of Hassan they henceforth affixed +the formula "_On his memory be peace_;" which formula, it would appear, +was employed by itself to designate him; for the historian Mirkhond +assures us that he had been informed by a credible person that over the +door of the library in Alamoot was the following inscription:-- + + "With the aid of God, the bonds + Of the law he took away, + The commander of the world, + Upon whose name be peace." + +The madness of Hassan now attained its climax. He disdained to be +regarded, like his predecessors, as merely the representative of the +imam on earth, but asserted himself to be the true and real imam, who +was now at length made manifest to the world. He sent letters to all the +settlements of the society, requiring them to acknowledge him in his new +capacity. He was prudent enough, however, to show a regard for the +dignity and power of his different lieutenants in these letters, as +appears by the following specimen, being the letter which was sent to +Kuhistan, where the reis Mozaffar commanded:-- + +"I Hassan say unto you that I am the representative of God upon earth, +and mine in Kuhistan is the reis Mozaffar, whom the men of that country +are to obey, and to receive his word as mine." + +The reis erected a pulpit in the castle of Moominabad, the place of his +residence, and read the letter aloud to the people, the greater part of +whom listened to its contents with joy. The tables were covered before +the pulpit, the wine was brought forth, the drums and kettle-drums +resounded, the notes of the pipe and flute inspired joy, and the day of +the abolition of the positive precepts of the law was devoted to mirth +and festivity. Some few, who were sincere and upright in their obedience +to Islam, quitted the region which they now regarded as the abode of +infidelity, and went in search of other abodes; others, of a less +decided character, remained, though shocked at what they were obliged +every day to behold. The obedience to the commands of the _soi-disant_ +imam was, however, tolerably general, and, according to Hammer, who can +scarcely, however, be supposed to regard the system of Hassan as really +more licentious than he has elsewhere described that of Mahomet, "the +banner of the freest infidelity, and of the most shameless immorality, +now waved on all the castles of Roodbar and Kuhistan, as the standard of +the new illumination; and, instead of the name of the Egyptian khalif, +resounded from all the pulpits that of Hassan as the true successor of +the Prophet." + +The latter point had presented some difficulty to Hassan; for, in order +to satisfy the people on that head, it was necessary to prove a descent +from the Prophet, and this was an honour to which it was well known the +family from which he was sprung had never laid claim. He might take upon +him to abolish the positive precepts of the law as he pleased, and the +people, whose inclinations were thereby gratified, would not perhaps +scan very narrowly the authority by which he acted; but the attempt to +deprive the Fatimite khalif of the honour which he had so long enjoyed, +and to assume the rank of God's viceregent on earth in his room, was +likely to give too great a shock to their prejudices, if not cautiously +managed. + +It was necessary, therefore, that he should prove himself to be of the +blood of the Fatimites. He accordingly began to drop some dark hints +respecting the truth of the received opinion of his being the son of +Keaeh Mohammed. Our readers will recollect that, when Hassan Sabah was in +Egypt, a dispute had taken place respecting the succession to the +throne, in which Hassan had nearly lost his life for opposing the +powerful commander-in-chief (_Emir-al-Jooyoosh_), and Nezar, the prince +for whom the khalif Mostanser had designed the succession, had been +deprived of his right by the influence of that officer. The confidents +of Hassan now began to give out that, in about a year after the death of +the khalif Mostanser, a certain person named Aboo-'l-Zeide, who had been +high in his confidence, had come to Alamoot, bearing with him a son of +Nezar, whom he committed to the care of Hassan Sabah, who, grateful to +the memory of the khalif and his son, had received the fugitive with +great honour, and assigned a village at the foot of Alamoot for the +residence of the young imam. When the youth was grown up he married and +had a son, whom he named _On his Memory be Peace_. Just at the time when +the imam's wife was confined in the village, the consort of Keaeh +Mohammed lay in at the castle; and, in order that the descendant of +Fatima might come to the temporal power which was his right, a +confidential woman undertook and succeeded in the task of secretly +changing the children. Others went still further, and did not hesitate +to assert that the young imam had intrigued with the wife of Keaeh +Mohammed, and that Hassan was the fruit of their adulterous intercourse. +Like a true pupil of ambition, Hassan was willing to defame the memory +of his mother, and acknowledge himself to be a bastard, provided he +could succeed in persuading the people to believe him a descendant of +the Prophet. + +These pretensions of Hassan to a Fatimite pedigree gave rise to a +further increase of the endless sects into which the votaries of Islam +were divided. Those who acknowledged it got the name of Nezori, and by +them Hassan was called the Lord of the Resurrection (_Kaim-al-Kiamet_), +and they styled themselves the Sect of the Resurrection. + +The reign of the vain, inconsiderate Hassan was but short. He had +governed the society only four years when he was assassinated by his +brother-in-law, Namver, a descendant, we are told, of the family of +Buyah, which had governed the khalifs and their dominions before the +power passed into the hands of the Turkish house of Seljook. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Mohammed II.--Anecdote of the Imam + Fakhr-ed-deen--Noor-ed-deen--Conquest of Egypt--Attempt on the Life + of Saladin. + + +The death of Hassan was amply avenged by his son and successor, Mohammed +II. Not only was the murderer himself put to death; vengeance, in its +oriental form, extended itself to all his kindred of both sexes, and +men, women, and children bled beneath the sword of the executioner. +Mohammed, who had been carefully trained up in the study of philosophy +and literature, was, like his father, puffed up with vanity and +ambition, and, far from receding from any of his predecessor's +pretensions to the imamat, he carried them to even a still greater +length than he had done. At the same time he maintained a high character +for knowledge and talent among his literary contemporaries, who were +numerous, for his reign extended through a period of forty-six years, +and the modern Persian literature was now fast approaching its climax. +Not to mention other names, less familiar to our readers, we shall +remark, as a proof of what we have said, that this was the period in +which Nizamee of Ghenj sang in harmonious numbers the loves of Khosroo +and Shireen, and of Mujnoon and Leila (these last the Romeo and Juliet +of the east), the crown and flower of the romantic poetry of Persia. +Then too flourished the great panegyrist Enveree, and a crowd of +historians, jurists, and divines. + +One of the most celebrated men of this time was the imam Fakhr-ed-deen +(_Glory of Religion_) Rasi, who gave public lectures on the law in his +native city of Rei. It being slanderously reported that he was devoted +in secret to the opinions of the Ismailites, and was even one of their +missionaries, he adopted the ordinary expedient of abusing and reviling +that sect, and each time he ascended the pulpit to preach he reprobated +and cursed the _Impious_ in no measured terms. Intelligence of what he +was about was not long in reaching the eyrie of the Sheikh-al-Jebal, and +a Fedavee received his instructions, and forthwith set out for Rei. He +here entered himself as a student of the law, and sedulously attended +the lectures of the learned imam. During seven months he watched in vain +for an opportunity of executing his commission. At length he discovered +one day that the attendants of the imam had left him to go to fetch him +some food, and that he was alone in his study. The Fedavee entered, +fastened the doors, seized the imam, cast him on the ground, and +directed his dagger at his bosom. "What is thy design?" said the +astonished imam. "To rip up thy belly and breast." "And wherefore?" +"Wherefore? Because thou hast spoken evil of the Ismailites in the +pulpit." The imam implored and entreated, vowing that, if his life was +spared, he would never more say aught to offend the sect of Ismail. "I +cannot trust thee," cried the Assassin; "for when I am gone thou wilt +return to thy old courses, and, by some ingenious shift or other, +contrive to free thyself from the obligation of thy oath." The imam +then, with a most solemn oath, abjured the idea of explaining away his +words, or seeking absolution for perjury. The Assassin got up from over +him, saying, "I had no order to slay thee, or I should have put thee to +death without fail. Mohammed, the son of Hassan, greets thee, and +invites thee to honour him by a visit at his castle. Thou shalt there +have unlimited power, and we will all obey thee like trusty servants. We +despise, so saith the sheikh, the discourses of the rabble, which +rebound from our ears like nuts from a ball; but _you_ should not revile +us, since your words impress themselves like the strokes of the graver +in the stone." The imam replied that it was totally out of his power to +go to Alamoot, but that in future he should be most careful never to +suffer a word to pass his lips to the discredit of the mountain prince. +Hereupon the Fedavee drew 300 pieces of gold from his girdle, and, +laying them down, said, "See! here is thy annual pension; and, by a +decree of the divan, thou shalt every year receive an equal sum through +the reis Mozaffer. I also leave thee, for thy attendants, two garments +from Yemen, which the Sheikh-al-Jebal has sent thee." So saying, the +Fedavee disappeared. The imam took the money and the clothes, and for +some years his pension was paid regularly. A change in his language now +became perceptible, for, whereas he was used before, when, on treating +of any controverted point, he had occasion to mention the Ismailites, to +express himself thus, "Whatever the Ismailites, whom God curse and +destroy! may say,"--now that he was pensioned he contented himself with +merely saying, "Notwithstanding what the Ismailites may say." When one +of his scholars asked him the cause of this change he made answer, "We +cannot curse the Ismailites, they employ such _sharp_ and _convincing_ +arguments." This anecdote is related by several of the Persian +historians, and it serves to prove, like the case of sultan Sanjar, +related above, that the Ismailites were not so thoroughly ruthless and +bloodthirsty as not to prefer rendering an enemy innocuous by gentle +means to depriving him of life. + +Historians record no other event connected with the eastern +establishment of the Ismailite society during the long-reign of Mohammed +II. We shall now, therefore, turn our view to the Syrian branch, which +attracts attention by the illustrious names which appear in oriental +history at that time, and with which the ruler of Massyat came into +hostile or friendly relations. The names of Noor-ed-deen (_Light of +Religion_), Salah-ed-deen (_Integrity of Religion_), the Noradin and +Saladin of western writers, and the Lion-hearted king of England, will +at once awake the attention of the reader. + +The celebrated Emod-ed-deen (_Pillar of Religion_) Zengi, who gave the +Christian power in the east its first shock by the conquest of Edessa, +perished by the hand of a slave shortly after that achievement. His +power and the title Atabeg fell to his son Noor-ed-deen, who carried on +the war against the Christians with all the activity of his father, and +with more of the gentleness and courtesies which shed a lustre on zeal +and valour. Noor-ed-deen was one of the most accomplished characters +which the East has exhibited. He was generous and just, and strict in +the observance of all the duties of Islam. No pomp or magnificence +surrounded him. He wore neither silk nor gold. With the fifth part of +the booty, which was his share as prince, he provided for all his +expenses. A zealous Moslem, he was evermore engaged in the combats of +the Holy War,--either the _greater_, which was held to be fought against +the world and its temptations by fasting and prayer, by study, and the +daily practice of the virtues required of him who is placed in +authority,--or the _lesser_, which was fought with natural weapons +against the foes of Islam. From this union of piety and valour he +acquired the titles of Gasi (_Victor_) and Sheheed (_Martyr_); for, +though he did not fall in the defence of the faith, he was regarded as +being entitled to all the future rewards attendant on actual martyrdom. +Notwithstanding his being one of the most deadly foes that the +Christians ever encountered, their historians did justice to the +illustrious Noor-ed-deen, and the learned William, Archbishop of Tyre, +says of him, "He was a prudent, moderate man, who feared God according +to the faith of his people, fortunate, and an augmenter of his paternal +inheritance." + +The possession of Mossul and Aleppo made Noor-ed-deen master of northern +Syria; the southern part of that country was under the Prince of +Damascus. Twice did the atabeg lay siege, without effect, to that city; +at length the inhabitants, fearing the Crusaders, invited him to take +possession of it, and the feeble prince was obliged to retire, accepting +Emessa in exchange for the "Queen of Syria." The power of Noor-ed-deen +now extended from the Euphrates to the Holy Land, and his thoughts were +directed towards his grand object of expelling the Franks from the East, +when an opportunity presented itself of bringing Egypt once more under +the spiritual dominion of the house of Abbas. + +Degeneracy is the inevitable lot of unlimited power. The Fatimite +Commanders of the Faithful were now become mere puppets in the hands of +their ministers, and the post of vizir was now, as was so often the case +with the throne, contended for with arms. A civil war was at this time +raging in Egypt between Shaver and Dhargam, rival candidates for the +viziriate. The former came in person to Damascus, and offered the atabeg +Noor-ed-deen a third of the revenues of Egypt if he would aid him to +overcome his rival. Without hesitation Noor-ed-deen ordered Asad-ed-deen +(_Lion of Religion_) Sheerkoh (_Mountain Lion_)[47], a Koordish chief +who commanded for him at Emessa, to assemble an army and march for +Egypt. Sheerkoh obeyed, and sorely against his will, and only at the +urgent command of Noor-ed-deen, did his nephew, the then little known, +afterwards so justly famous, Saladin, quit the banquets and enjoyments +of Damascus, and the other towns of Syria, to accompany his uncle to the +toils and the perils of war. Dhargam was victorious in the first action, +but he being murdered shortly afterwards by one of his slaves, Shaver +obtained possession of the dignity which he sought. The new vizir then +tried to get rid of his allies, but such was not the intention of +Noor-ed-deen, and Sheerkoh took his post with his troops in the +north-eastern part of the kingdom, where he occupied the frontier town +of Belbeis, on the most eastern branch of the Nile, under pretext of +receiving the third part of the revenue which had been promised to +Noor-ed-deen. Shaver, anxious to get rid of such dangerous guests, +formed a secret league with Amalric, King of Jerusalem, and engaged to +give him 60,000 ducats for his aid against them. Sheerkoh, who had been +reinforced, advanced into Upper Egypt, and Saladin took the command of +Alexandria, which he gallantly defended for three months against the +combined forces of the Christians and Egyptians, and, after some +fighting, peace was made on condition of Noor-ed-deen receiving 50,000 +ducats, and double that sum being paid annually to the King of +Jerusalem. + +[Footnote 47: The former of these names is Arabic, the latter Persian.] + +Shortly afterwards an unprincipled attempt was made on Egypt by Amalric, +at the suggestion of the Master of the Hospitallers, and Shaver, in his +distress, had once more recourse to Noor-ed-deen. The phantom-khalif +joined in the supplication, and sent what is the greatest mark of need +in the east--locks of the hair of his women, which is as much as to say, +"Aid! aid! the foe is dragging the women forth by the hair." Belbeis had +now been conquered, and Cairo was besieged by the Christians. Shaver +had burnt the old town, and defended himself and the khalif in the new +town, the proper Cairo. Sheerkoh appeared once more in Egypt with a +larger army than before[48], but, ere he reached the beleaguered town, +Shaver and Amalric had entered into a composition, and the former had +withdrawn on receiving a sum of 50,000 ducats. Sheerkoh however +advanced, and pitched his tents before the walls of Cairo. The khalif +Adhad and his principal nobles came forth to receive him, and that +unhappy prince made his complaints of the tyranny and selfishness of +Shaver, who had brought so much misery on him and his kingdom. He +concluded by requesting the head of his vizir at the hand of the general +of Noor-ed-deen. Shaver, aware of the danger which menaced him, invited +Sheerkoh, his nephew, and the other chiefs of the army, to a banquet, +with the intention of destroying them, but his plot was discovered, and +his head cast at the feet of the khalif. Sheerkoh was forthwith +appointed to the vacant dignity, with the honourable title of +Melik-el-Mansoor (Victorious King), but he enjoyed it only for a short +time, having been carried off by death in little more than two months +after his elevation. He was succeeded in his rank, and in the command +of the army, by his nephew Saladin, who now became in effect master of +Egypt. Noor-ed-deen, thinking the time was come for establishing the +spiritual sway of the house of Abbas, sent directions to Saladin to fill +all the offices which had been occupied by the Sheaehs with the orthodox, +and hear prayer celebrated in the name of the Khalif of Bagdad; but this +prudent chief, who knew that the great majority of the people of Egypt +were firmly attached to the belief of the Fatimites being the rightful +successors of the Prophet, hesitated to comply. At length the death of +the Fatimite khalif occurred most opportunely to free him from +embarrassment. Adhad-ladin-Allah, the last of the descendants of +Moez-ladin-Allah, the founder of the dynasty, died suddenly--of disease, +according to the oriental historians,--by the hand of Saladin, according +to the rumour which went among the Christians[49]. All obstacles being +now removed, public prayer was celebrated in the mosks of Egypt in the +name of the Abbasside khalif, and the power of the western Ismailites, +after a continuance of 200 years, brought completely to an end. + +[Footnote 48: He was accompanied by Saladin, who gives the following +account of his own repugnance to the expedition:--"When Noor-ed-deen +ordered me to go to Egypt with my uncle, after Sheerkoh had said to me +in his presence, 'Come Yoossuf, make ready for the journey!' I replied, +'By God, if thou wert to give me the kingdom of Egypt I would not go, +for I have endured in Alexandria what I shall not forget while I live.' +But Sheerkoh said to Noor-ed-deen, 'It cannot be but that he should +accompany me.' Whereupon Noor-ed-deen repeated his command, but I +persisted in my refusal. As Noor-ed-deen also adhered to his +determination, I excused myself by pleading the narrowness of my +circumstances. Noor-ed-deen then gave me all that was requisite for my +outfit, but I felt as if I was going to death."--_Abulfeda._] + +[Footnote 49: William of Tyre xx. 12.] + +Noor-ed-deen, who saw that the power of his lieutenant was now too great +to be controlled, adopted the prudent plan of soothing him by titles and +marks of confidence. The khalif of Bagdad sent him a dress of honour and +a letter of thanks for having reduced under his spiritual dominion a +province which had been so long rebellious against his house. But the +most important consequence of the timely death of the khalif to Saladin +was the acquisition of the accumulated treasures of the Fatimites, which +fell into his hands, and which he employed as the means of securing the +fidelity of his officers and soldiers. As a specimen of oriental +exaggeration, we shall give the list of these treasures as they are +enumerated by eastern writers. There were, we are assured, no less than +700 pearls, each of which was of a size that rendered it inestimable, an +emerald a span long, and as thick as the finger, a library consisting of +2,600,000 books, and gold, both coined and in the mass; aloes, amber, +and military arms and weapons past computation. A large portion of this +enormous treasure was distributed by Saladin among his soldiers; the +remainder was applied, during ten successive years, to defray the +expenses of his wars and buildings. As Saladin's name was Yoossuf +(_Joseph_), the same with that of the son of Jacob, the minister of king +Pharaoh, it is not an improbable supposition that, in Egyptian +tradition, the two Josephs have been confounded, and the works of the +latter been ascribed to the former; for it is the character of popular +tradition to leap over centuries, and even thousands of years, and to +form out of several heroes one who is made to perform the actions of +them all. + +As long as Noor-ed-deen lived, Saladin continued to acknowledge his +superiority; and when, on his death, he left his dominions to his son +Malek-es-Saleh, the coins of Egypt bore the name of the young prince. As +Malek-es-Saleh was a minor, and entirely under the guidance of the +eunuch Kameshtegin, great discontent prevailed among the emirs; and +Seif-ed-deen (_Sword of Religion_), the cousin of the young prince, who +was at the head of an army in Mesopotamia, prepared to wrest the +dominion from the young Malek-es-Saleh. All eyes were turned to Saladin, +as the only person capable of preserving the country. He left Egypt with +only 700 horsemen. The governor and people of Damascus cheerfully opened +the gates to him. Hems and Hama followed the example of Damascus. +Saladin took the government under the modest title of lieutenant of the +young atabeg, whose rights he declared himself ready to maintain on all +occasions. He advanced to Aleppo, where Malek-es-Saleh was residing; but +the militia of that town, moved by the tears of the young prince, who +was probably influenced by the eunuch Kameshtegin, who feared to lose +his power, marched out and put to flight the small force with which +Saladin had approached the town. Having collected a larger army, Saladin +laid siege regularly to Aleppo, and Kameshtegin, despairing of force, +resolved to have recourse to treachery. He sent accordingly to Sinan, +the Sheikh of the Assassins, who resided at Massyat, representing to him +how dangerous a foe to the Ismailites was the valiant Koord, who was so +ardent in his zeal for the house of Abbas, and had put an end to the +dynasty of the Fatimites, who had so long given lustre to the +maintainers of the rights of Ismail by the possession of extensive +temporal power and dignity. He reminded him that, if Saladin succeeded +in his ambitious projects in Syria, he would, in all probability, turn +his might against the Assassins, and destroy their power in that +country. These arguments were enforced by gold, and the sheikh, readily +yielding to them, despatched without delay three Fedavees, who fell on +Saladin in the camp before Aleppo. The attempt, however, miscarried, and +the murderers were seized and put to death. Saladin, incensed at this +attempt on his life, and guessing well the quarter whence it came, now +pressed on the siege with greater vigour. + +Finding the benefit which might be derived from the daggers of the +Fedavee, Kameshtegin resolved to employ them against his personal +enemies. The vizir of the young prince, and two of the principal emirs, +had laid a plot for his destruction. Coming to the knowledge of it, he +determined to be beforehand with them, and, watching the moment when +Malek-es-Saleh was about to mount his horse to go to the chase, he +approached him, requesting his signature to a blank paper, under +pretence of its being necessary for some affair of urgent importance. +The young prince signed his name without suspicion, and Kameshtegin +instantly wrote on the paper a letter to the Sheikh of the Assassins, in +which Malek-es-Saleh was made to request him to send men to put those +three emirs out of the way. The Ismailite chief readily complied with +the request, as he supposed it to be, of his young friend and neighbour, +and several Fedavees were despatched to execute his wishes. Two of these +fell on the vizir as he was going out of the eastern gate of a mosk near +his own house. They were cut to pieces on the spot. Soon after three +fell on the emir Mujaheed as he was on horseback. One of them caught +hold of the end of his cloak, in order to make more sure of him, but the +emir gave his horse the spurs, and broke away, leaving his cloak behind. +The people seized the Assassins, two of whom were recognized as being +acquaintances of the emir's head groom. One of them was crucified, and +along with him the groom as an accomplice: on the breast of the latter +was placed this inscription, "This is the reward of the concealer of the +Impious." The others were dragged to the castle, and beaten on the soles +of their feet to make them confess what had induced them to attempt the +commission of such a crime. In the midst of his tortures one of them +cried out, "Thou didst desire of our lord Sinan the murder of thy +slaves, and now thou dost punish us for performing thy wishes.". Full of +wrath Malek-es-Saleh wrote a letter to the sheikh Sinan filled with the +bitterest reproaches. The sheikh made no other reply than that of +sending him back the letter bearing his own subscription. Historians do +not tell us what the final result was; and it is also in a great +measure uncertain at what time this event occurred. + +The Assassins did not give over their attempts upon Saladin, whose power +became more formidable to them after he had deprived the family of +Noor-ed-deen of their honours and dominions; and he was again attacked +by them in his camp before the fortress of Ezag. One of them assailed +him and wounded him in the head, but the sultan (he had now assumed that +title) caught him by the arm and struck him down. A second rushed on--he +was cut down by the guards; a third, a fourth, shared the same fate. +Terrified at their obstinate perseverance, the sultan shut himself up in +his tent during several days, and ordered all strangers and suspicious +persons to quit the camp. + +Next year (1176) the sultan, being at peace with his other enemies, +resolved to take exemplary vengeance on those who had so unprovokedly +attempted his life. Assembling an army, he entered the mountains, wasted +with fire and sword the territory of the Ismailites, and came and laid +siege to Massyat. The power of the Syrian Ismailites would have been now +extinguished but for the intercession of the Prince of Hama, the +sultan's uncle, who, at the entreaty of Sinan, prevailed on his nephew +to grant a peace on condition of no attempt being made at any future +time on his life. Sinan gladly assented to these terms, and he +honourably kept his engagement, for the great Saladin reigned fifteen +years after this time, carried on continual wars, conquered Jerusalem +and the Holy Land, exposed himself to danger in the field and in the +camp, but no Assassin was ever again known to approach him with hostile +intentions. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Sinan the Dai-al-Kebir of Syria--Offers to become a Christian--His + Ambassador murdered by the Templars--Cardinal de Vitry's Account of + the Assassins--Murder of the Marquis of Montferrat--Defence of King + Richard. + + +The person who had the chief direction of the affairs of the society in +Syria in the time of Saladin was one of the most remarkable characters +which appear in the history of the Assassins. His name was +Rasheed-ed-deen (_Orthodox in Religion_) Sinan, the son of Suleiman of +Basra. Like so many others of the impostors who have appeared from time +to time in the east, he had the audacity to give himself out for an +incarnation of the Divinity. No one ever saw him eat, drink, sleep, or +even spit. His clothing was of coarse hair-cloth. From the rising to the +setting of the sun he stood upon a lofty rock, preaching to the people, +who received his words as those of a superior being. Unfortunately for +his credit, his auditors at length discovered that he had a halt in his +gait, caused by a wound which he received from a stone in the great +earthquake of 1157. This did not accord with the popular idea of the +perfection which should belong to the corporeal vehicle of Divinity. The +credit of Sinan vanished at once, and those who had just been adoring +the god now threatened to take the life of the impostor. Sinan lost not +his self-possession; he calmly entreated them to be patient, descended +from his rock, caused food to be brought, invited them to eat, and by +the persuasive powers of his eloquence induced them to recognise him as +their sole chief, and all unanimously swore obedience and fidelity to +him. + +The neglect of chronology by the oriental historians, or their European +translators and followers, is frequently such that we are left in great +uncertainty as to the exact time of particular events, and are thus +unable to trace them to their real causes and occasions. The mention of +the earthquake of 1157 would however seem to make it probable that it +was about that time that Sinan put forward his claims to divinity; and +as, at that very period, Hassan, the son of Keaeh Mohammed, was giving +himself out for the promised imam, we may suppose that it was his +example which stimulated Sinan to his bold attempt at obtaining +independent dominion over the Syrian branch of the Ismailites. + +Sinan was, like Hassan, a man of considerable learning. His works are +held in high estimation by the remains of the sect of the Ismailites +still lingering among the mountains of Syria. These works, we are told, +consist of a chaotic mixture of mutilated passages of the Gospel and the +Koran, of contradictory articles of belief, of hymns, prayers, sermons, +and regulations, which are unintelligible even to those who receive and +venerate them. + +The sacred books of the Christians formed, as we see, a part of the +studies of the Sheikh of Massyat, and, as it would appear, he thought he +might derive some advantage from his acquaintance with them. The +religio-military society of the Knights of the Temple, whose history we +shall soon have to record, had possessions in the neighbourhood of those +of the Assassins, and their superior power had enabled them, at what +time is uncertain, to render the latter tributary. The tribute was the +annual sum of 2,000 ducats, and Sinan, to whom probably all religions +were alike, and who had unbounded power over the minds of his people, +conceived the idea of releasing himself from it by professing the same +religion with his neighbours. He accordingly sent, in the year 1172, one +of his most prudent and eloquent ministers on a secret embassy to +Amalric King of Jerusalem, offering, in the name of himself and his +people, to embrace the Christian religion, and receive the rite of +baptism, provided the king would engage to make the Templars renounce +the tribute of 2,000 ducats, and agree to live with them henceforward as +good neighbours and friends and brethren. Overjoyed at the prospect of +making converts of such importance, the king readily assented to the +desires of the Ismailite chief, and he at the same time assured the +Templars that their house should not be a loser, as he would pay them +2,000 ducats annually out of his treasury. The brethren of the Temple +made no objection to the arrangement: and after the Ismailite ambassador +had been detained and treated honourably for some days by the king, he +set out on his return, accompanied by a guide and escort sent by the +king to conduct him as far as the borders of the Ismailite territory. +They passed in safety through the country of Tripolis, and were now in +the vicinity of the first castles of the Ismailites, when suddenly some +Templars rushed forth from an ambush, and murdered the ambassador. The +Templars were commanded by a knight named Walter du Mesnil, a one-eyed, +daring, wicked man, but who, on this occasion, it would appear, acted by +the orders of his superiors, who probably did not consider the royal +promise good security for the 2,000 ducats; for, when Amalric, filled +with indignation at the base and perfidious action, assembled his barons +at Sidon to deliberate on what should be done, and by their advice sent +two of their number to Ado de St. Amand, the Master of the Temple, to +demand satisfaction for the iniquitous deed, the master contented +himself by saying that he had imposed a penance on brother Du Mesnil, +and had moreover directed him to proceed to Rome without delay, to know +what farther the apostolic father would order him to do, and that, on +this account he must, in the name of the pope, prohibit any violence +against the aforesaid brother. The king, however, was not regardless of +justice and of his own dignity. Shortly afterwards, when the master and +several of the Templars were at Sidon, he assembled his council again, +and, with their consent, sent and dragged Du Mesnil from the house of +the Templars, and threw him into prison, where he would probably have +expiated his crime but for the speedy death of the king. All hopes of +the conversion of the Ismailites were now at an end. + +It is on this occasion that the Archbishop of Tyre gives an account of +what he had been able to learn respecting the Assassins. As what we have +previously related of them has been exclusively drawn from eastern +sources, it will not be useless to insert in this place the accounts of +them given by the Cardinal de Vitry, who has followed and enlarged the +sketch of the archbishop[50]. + +[Footnote 50: Gesta Dei per Francos, vol. i. pp. 994, 1062.] + +"In the province of Phoenicia, near the borders of the Antaradensian +town which is now called Tortosa, dwells a certain people, shut in on +all sides by rocks and mountains, who have ten castles, very strong and +impregnable, by reason of the narrow ways and inaccessible rocks, with +their suburbs and the valleys, which are most fruitful in all species of +fruits and corn, and most delightful for their amenity. The number of +these men, who are called Assassins, is said to exceed 40,000[51]. They +set a captain over themselves, not by hereditary succession, but by the +prerogative of merit, whom they call the Old Man (_Veterem seu Senem_), +not so much on account of his advanced age as for his pre-eminence in +prudence and dignity. The first and principal _abbot_ of this unhappy +_religion_ of theirs, and the place where they had their origin and +whence they came to Syria, is in the very remote parts of the east, near +the city of Bagdad and the parts of the province of Persia. These +people, who do not divide the hoof, nor make a difference between what +is sacred and what is profane, believe that all obedience indifferently +shown by them towards their superior is meritorious for eternal life. +Hence they are bound to their master, whom they call the Old Man, with +such a bond of subjection and obedience that there is nothing so +difficult or so dangerous that they would fear to undertake, or which +they would not perform with a cheerful mind and ardent will, at the +command of their lord. The Old Man, their lord, causes boys of this +people to be brought up in secret and delightful places, and having had +them diligently trained and instructed in the different kinds of +languages, sends them to various provinces with daggers, and orders them +to slay the great men of the Christians, as well as of the Saracens, +either because he is at enmity with them for some cause or other, or at +the request of his friends, or even for the lucre of a large sum of +money which has been given him, promising them, for the execution of +this command, that they shall have far greater delights, and without +end, in paradise, after death, than even those amidst which they had +been reared. If they chance to die in this act of obedience they are +regarded as martyrs by their companions, and being placed by that people +among their saints, are held in the greatest reverence. Their parents +are enriched with many gifts by the master, who is called the Old Man, +and if they were slaves they are let go free ever after. Whence these +wretched and misguided youths, who are sent from the convent +(_conventu_) of the aforesaid brethren to different parts of the world, +undertake their deadly legation with such joy and delight, and perform +it with such diligence and solicitude, transforming themselves in +various ways, and assuming the manners and dress of other nations, +sometimes concealing themselves under the appearance of merchants, at +other times under that of priests and monks, and in an infinity of other +modes, that there is hardly any person in the whole world so cautious as +to be able to guard against their machinations. They disdain to plot +against an inferior person. The great men to whom they are hostile +either redeem themselves by a large sum of money, or, going armed and +attended by a body of guards, pass their life in suspicion and in dread +of death. They kept the law of Mahomet and his institutions diligently +and straitly beyond all other Saracens till the times of a certain +master of theirs, who, being endowed with natural genius, and exercised +in the study of different writings, began with all diligence to read and +examine the law of the Christians and the Gospels of Christ, admiring +the virtue of the miracles, and the sanctity of the doctrine. From a +comparison with these he began to abominate the frivolous and irrational +doctrine of Mahomet, and at length, when he knew the truth, he studied +to recall his subjects by degrees from the rites of the cursed law. +Wherefore he exhorted and commanded them that they should drink wine in +moderation and eat the flesh of swine. At length, after many discourses +and serious admonitions of their teacher, they all with one consent +agreed to renounce the perfidy of Mahomet, and, by receiving the grace +of baptism, to become Christians." + +[Footnote 51: William of Tyre makes their number 60,000. He declares his +inability to give the origin of the name Assassins.] + +We may, from this account, perceive that the Crusaders had a tolerably +clear idea of the nature and constitution of the society of the +Assassins. The Cardinal de Vitry plainly describes them as forming a +_religion_, that is, an order under an abbot; and perhaps the +resemblance which Hammer traces between them and the Templars, which we +shall notice when we come to speak of this last society, is not quite so +fanciful as it might at first sight appear. It is curious, too, to +observe that the Christians also believed that the Sheikh-al-Jebal had +some mode of inspiring the Fedavee with a contempt of life and an +aspiration after the joys of paradise. + +The dagger had not been unsheathed against the Christian princes since, +forty-two years before (1149), Raymond, the young Count of Tripolis, was +murdered as he knelt at his devotions, and the altar was sprinkled with +his blood. A more illustrious victim was now to bleed; and, as the +question of who was the real author of his death forms a curious +historical problem, we shall here discuss it at some length. + +Conrad Marquis of Montferrat, a name celebrated in the history of the +third crusade, had just been named King of Jerusalem by Richard +Lion-heart King of England. In the latter end of the month of April 1192 +the marquis, being at Tyre, went to dine with the Bishop of Beauvais. +One writer says that, the marchioness having stayed too long in the +bath, and the marquis being averse to dining alone, he mounted his horse +and rode to dine with the Bishop; but, finding that that prelate had +already finished his meal, he was returning home to his palace. As he +passed through a narrow street, and was come near the toll-house, two +Assassins, having watched their opportunity, approached him. The one +presented a petition, and, while he was engaged reading it, both struck +him with their daggers, crying, "Thou shalt be neither marquis nor +king." One of them was cut down instantly, the other sought refuge in a +neighbouring church, and, according to an Arabian historian, when the +wounded marquis was brought into the same church, he rushed on him anew, +and completed his crime. Others relate that the marquis was carried home +to his palace, where he lived long enough to receive the holy sacrament +and to give his last instructions to his wife. The two accounts, we may +perceive, are by no means repugnant. + +These Assassins, who were both youths, had been for some time--six +months it is said--in Tyre, watching for an opportunity to perform the +commission which had been given them. They had feigned a conversion from +Islam, or, as some say, had assumed the habit of monks, in order to win +the confidence of the marquis, and thus procure more ready access to +him. One of them, we are told, had even entered his service, and the +other that of Balian of Ibelin. + +The question now comes, at whose instigation was the murder committed? +Here we find several both oriental and occidental witnesses disposed to +lay the guilt on Richard, King of England, those writers who were his +own subjects indignantly repelling the accusation, and some indifferent +witnesses testifying in his favour. Previous to examining these +witnesses we must state that king Richard was at enmity with Philip +Augustus, King of France; that though he had given the crown of +Jerusalem to the Marquis of Montferrat, there was little kind feeling +between them, and they had been enemies; and, finally, that the history +of the English monarch exhibits no traits of such a generous chivalrous +disposition as should put him beyond suspicion of being concerned in an +assassination. + +Of the writers who charge king Richard with the murder it is to be +observed that the only ones that are contemporary are the Arabian +historians. The following passage is quoted from the History of +Jerusalem and Hebron, by Hammer, who regards it as quite decisive of the +guilt of the English king:--"The marquis went, on the 13th of the month +Rebi-al-Ewal, to visit the Bishop of Tyre. As he was going out he was +attacked by two Assassins, who slew him with their daggers. When taken +and stretched on the rack, they confessed that they had been employed by +the King of England. They died under the torture." Boha-ed-deen, the +friend and biographer of Saladin, writes to the same effect. It is +therefore evident that, at the time, it was reported that the marquis +had been murdered by persons employed by the King of England; and +Vinisauf and the other English writers assure us that the French party +and the friends of the murdered marquis endeavoured to throw the odium +of the deed on king Richard. As that mode of getting rid of an enemy was +far too familiar in the east, it was natural enough that the Arabian +writers should adopt the report without much inquiry. This consideration +alone ought very much to invalidate their testimony. Some German +chroniclers also, following the reports which were industriously spread +to the disadvantage of the English king at the time he was a prisoner in +Austria, did not hesitate to accuse him of the murder of the marquis; +but, as has been justly observed, these, as well as the preceding, were +either partial or at a distance[52]. + +[Footnote 52: Raumer, Geschichte der Hohenstauffen, ii., p. 490. Wilken, +Geschichte der Kreuzzuege, iv., 489.] + +In opposition to these assertions, we have the unanimous testimony of +all the English writers, such as Vinisauf (the companion and historian +of king Richard's crusade), Hoveden, Brompton, William of Newbridge. +The Syrian bishop, Aboo-'l-Faraj, mentions the report of the Assassin +who was put to the rack having laid the guilt on king Richard, but adds +that the truth came afterwards to light. Hugo Plagon, a judicious and +impartial writer, so far from imputing the death of the marquis to king +Richard, assigns the cause which moved the Assassin prince to order the +death of the marquis, namely, the same which we shall presently see +stated in the letter ascribed to the Old Man of the Mountain. Rigord, +who wrote the history of Philip Augustus, does not by any means impute +the murder of the marquis to king Richard, though he says that while +Philip was at Pontoise letters were brought to him from beyond sea, +warning him to be on his guard, as Assassins (_Arsacidae_) had been sent, +at the suggestion and command of the King of England, to kill him, "for +at that time they had slain the king's kinsman, the marquis." Philip, in +real, but more probably feigned alarm, immediately surrounded his person +with a guard of serjeants-at-mace. The Arabic historian, Ebn-el-Athir, +the friend of Saladin, says that the sultan had agreed with the Old Man +of the Mountain, for a sum of 10,000 pieces of gold, to deliver him of +both king Richard and the marquis, but that Sinan, not thinking it to be +for his interest to relieve the sultan of the English king, had taken +the money and only put the marquis out of the way. This narrative is +wholly improbable, for treachery was surely no part of the character of +Saladin; but it serves to prove the impartiality which is so justly +ascribed to the Arabic writers in general. The testimony of Abulfeda is +as follows: "And in it (the year of the Hejra 588, or A.D. 1192,) was +slain the Marquis, Lord of Soor (or Tyre); may God, whose name be +exalted, curse him! A Batinee, or Assassin (in one copy Batinees), who +had entered Soor in the disguise of a monk, slew him[53]." + +[Footnote 53: Annales Muslemici, tom. iv., pp. 122, 123. Hafniae, 1792.] + +We thus see that the evidence in favour of the King of England greatly +preponderates, not a single writer who was on the spot laying the murder +to his charge; on the contrary, those who had the best means of being +informed treated the imputation with contempt, as a base calumny devised +by the French party. But there is a still more illustrious witness in +his behalf, if the testimony ascribed to him be genuine--the Old Man of +the Mountain himself. Brompton gives two letters purporting to have been +written by this personage, the one to the Duke of Austria, the other to +the princes and people of Europe in general. The latter is also given by +William of Newbridge, with some variation. Both have been admitted by +Rymer into his Foedera. Gibbon, who seems to have known only the last, +pronounces it to be an "absurd and palpable forgery." Hammer, whose +arguments we shall presently consider, undertakes to demonstrate that +these epistles are forgeries. Raumer, more prudently, only says that +this last is not genuine in its present form. + +The following are translations of these documents:-- + +"The Old Man of the Mountain to Limpold, Duke of Austria, greeting. +Since several kings and princes beyond sea accuse Richard, King of +England, and lord, of the death of the marquis, I swear by the God who +reigneth for ever, and by the law which we hold, that he had no guilt in +his death; for the cause of the death of the marquis was as follows. + +"One of our brethren was coming in a ship from Satelia (_Salteleya_) to +our parts, and a tempest chancing to drive him to Tyre the marquis had +him taken and slain, and seized a large sum of money which he had with +him. But we sent our messengers to the marquis, requiring him to restore +to us the money of our brother, and to satisfy us respecting the death +of our brother, which he laid upon Reginald, the Lord of Sidon, and we +exerted ourselves through our friends till we knew of a truth that it +was he himself who had had him put to death, and had seized his money. + +"And again we sent to him another of our messengers, named Eurisus, whom +he was minded to fling into the sea; but our friends made him depart +with speed out of Tyre, and he came to us quickly and told us these +things. From that very hour we were desirous to slay the marquis; then +also we sent two brethren to Tyre, who slew him openly, and as it were +before all the people of Tyre. + +"This, then, was the cause of the death of the marquis; and we say to +you in truth that the lord Richard, King of England, had no guilt in +this death of the marquis, and these who on account of this have done +evil to the lord King of England have done it unjustly and without +cause. + +"Know for certain that we kill no man in this world for any hire or +money, unless he has first done us evil. + +"And know that we have executed these letters in our house at our castle +of Messiat, in the middle of September. In the year from Alexander M. D. +& V." + + * * * * * + +"The Old Man of the Mountain to the princes of Europe and all the +Christian people, greeting. + +"We would not that the innocence of any one should suffer by reason of +what we have done, since we never do evil to any innocent and guiltless +person; but those who have transgressed against us we do not, with God +to aid, long suffer to rejoice in the injuries done to our simplicity. + +"We therefore signify to the whole of you, testifying by him through +whom we hope to be saved, that that Marquis of Montferrat was slain by +no machination of the King of England, but he justly perished, by our +will and command, by our satellites, for that act in which he +transgressed against us, and which, when admonished, he had neglected to +amend. For it is our custom first to admonish those who have acted +injuriously in anything to us or our friends to give us satisfaction, +which if they despise, we take care to take vengeance with severity by +our ministers, who obey us with such devotion that they do not doubt but +that they shall be gloriously rewarded by God if they die in executing +our command. + +"We have also heard that it is bruited about of that king that he has +induced us, as being less upright and consistent (_minus integros et +constantes_), to send some of our people to plot against the King of +France, which, beyond doubt, is a false fiction, and of the vainest +suspicion, when neither he, God is witness, has hitherto attempted +anything against us, nor would we, in respect to our honour, permit any +undeserved evil to be planned against any man. Farewell." + + * * * * * + +We will not undertake to maintain the genuineness of these two epistles, +but we may be permitted to point out the futility of some of the +objections made to them. Hammer pronounces the first of them to be an +undoubted forgery because it commences with swearing by the law, and +ends by being dated from the era of the Seleucides. Both, he says, were +equally strange to the Ismailites, who precisely at this time had begun +to trample the law under foot, and had abandoned the Hejra, the only era +known in Mohammedan countries, for a new one commencing with the reign +of Hassan II. He further sees, in the circumstance of a letter from the +Old Man of the Mountain (_Sheikh-al-Jebal_) being dated from Massyat, a +proof of the ignorance of the Crusaders respecting the true head and +seat of the Ismailite power. These objections are regarded by Wilken as +conclusive. They will, however, lose much of their force if we bear in +mind that the letters are manifestly translations, and that the chief of +Massyat at that time was Sinan, who some years before had offered to +become a Christian, and who does not seem at all to have adopted the +innovations of Hassan the Illuminator. Sinan might easily have been +induced by the friends of the King of England, one of the most steady of +whom was Henry of Champagne[54], who succeeded Conrad of Montferrat in +the kingdom, to write those letters in his justification, and it is very +probable that the translations were made in Syria, where the Arabic +language was of course better understood than in Europe, and sent either +alone or with the originals. The translator might have rendered the +title which Sinan gave himself by _Senex de Monte_, which would be +better understood in the west, and he may also have given the +corresponding year of the era of the Seleucides (the one in use among +the Syrian Christians) for the year of the Hejra used by the Ismailite +chief, or indeed Sinan may have employed that era himself. In this case +there would remain little to object to the genuineness of the letter to +the Duke of Austria. Hammer regards the expression _our simplicity_ +(_simplicitas nostra_) as being conclusive against the genuineness of +the second letter. We must confess that we can see no force in the +objection. Sinan might wish to represent himself as a very plain, +simple, innocent sort of person. It might further be doubted if a +European forger would venture to represent the prince of the +Assassins--the formidable Old Man of the Mountain--in such a respectable +light as he appears in these two epistles[55]. + +[Footnote 54: An instance of Henry's intimacy with the Assassins has +been given in p. 81.] + +[Footnote 55: Sir J. Mackintosh (History of England, i. 187) seems to +regard the letters as genuine.] + +But there is another account of the death of the Marquis of Montferrat, +which is probably much better known to the generality of readers than +any of the preceding ones. The far-famed author of "Waverley" has, in +his romantic tale of the "Talisman," made Conrad to be wounded and +vanquished in the lists by the son of the King of Scotland, the champion +of king Richard, and afterwards slain by the dagger, not of the +Assassins, but of his confederate in villany the Master of the Temple, +to prevent his making confession of their common guilt! + +Yielding to none in rational admiration of the genius of Sir W. Scott, +we cannot avoid expressing a wish that he had ceased to write when he +had exhausted that rich field of national feelings and manners with +which he was alone familiar, and from which he drew the exquisite +delineations of "Waverley" and its Scottish brethren. All his later +works, no doubt, exhibit occasional scenes far beyond the power of any +of his imitators; but when his muse quits her native soil, she takes +leave of nature, truth, and simplicity. Even the genius of a Scott is +inadequate to painting manners he never witnessed, scenery he never +beheld. + +The tale of the "Talisman" is a flagrant instance. Topography, +chronology, historic truth, oriental manners, and individual character, +are all treated with a most magnanimous neglect, indeed, even, we might +say, with contempt; for, careless, from "security to please," as the +author is known to have been, his vagaries must sometimes have proceeded +from mere wilfulness and caprice. It would, we apprehend, perplex our +oriental travellers and geographers to point out the site of the +fountain named the Diamond of the Desert, not far from the Dead Sea, and +yet lying half-way between the camp of the Saracens and that of the +Crusaders, which last, we are told, lay between Acre and Ascalon, that +is, on the sea-coast, or to show the interminable sandy desert which +stretches between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. As to historic +truth, we may boldly say that there is hardly a single circumstance of +the romance in strict accordance with history; and as to the truth of +individual character, what are we to say to the grave, serious, +religious Saladin, but the very year before his death, being in the +flower of his age, rambling alone through the desert, like an errant +knight, singing hymns to the Devil, and coming disguised as a physician +to the Christian camp, to cure the malady of the English monarch, whom +he never, in reality, did or would see[56]? We might enumerate many +additional instances of the violation of every kind of unity and +propriety in this single tale[57]. + +[Footnote 56: May it not be said that real historic characters should +not be misrepresented? Sir W. Scott was at full liberty to make his +Varneys and his Bois Gilberts as accomplished villains as he pleased; he +might do as he pleased with his own; but what warrant had he from +history for painting Conrad of Montferrat and the then Master of the +Templars under such odious colours as he does?] + +[Footnote 57: The author invariably writes _Montserrat_ for +_Montferrat_. The former is in Spain, and never was a marquisate. As it +were to show that it was no error of the press, it is said, "The shield +of the marquis bore, in reference to his title, a serrated and rocky +mountain." We also find _naphtha_ and _bitumen_ confounded, the former +being described as the solid, the latter as the liquid substance.] + +Let not any deem it superfluous thus to point out the errors of an +illustrious writer. The impressions made by his splendid pages on the +youthful mind are permanent and ineffaceable, and, if not corrected, +may lead to errors of a graver kind. The "Talisman" moreover affects a +delusive show of truth and accuracy; for, in a note in one part of it, +the author (ironically, no doubt) affects to correct the historians on a +point of history. The natural inference, then, is that he has himself +made profound researches, and adhered to truth; and we accordingly find +another novelist, in what he terms a history of chivalry, declaring the +"Talisman" to be a faithful picture of the manners of the age. Sir W. +Scott, however, has himself informed us, in the preface to "Ivanhoe," of +his secret for describing the manners of the times of Richard Coeur de +Lion. With the chronicles of the time he joined that of Froissart, so +rich in splendid pictures of chivalric life. Few readers of these +romances perhaps are aware that this was the same in kind, though not in +degree, as if, in his tales of the days of Elizabeth and James I., he +had had recourse to the manner-painting pages of Henry Fielding; for the +distance in point of time between the reign of Richard I. and that of +Richard II., in which last Froissart wrote, is as great as that between +the reigns of Elizabeth and George II.; and, in both, manners underwent +a proportional change. But we are in the habit of regarding the middle +ages as one single period of unvarying manners and institutions, and we +are too apt to fancy that the descriptions of Froissart and his +successors are equally applicable to all parts of it. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Jellal-ed-deen--Restoration of Religion--His Harem makes the + Pilgrimage to Mecca--Marries the Princess of Ghilan--Geography of + the Country between Roodbar and the Caspian--Persian Romance--Zohak + and Feridoon--Kei Kaoos and Roostem--Ferdoosee's Description of + Mazanderan--History of the Shah Nameh--Proof of the Antiquity of + the Tales contained in it. + + +The unhallowed rule of Mohammed II. lasted for the long space of +thirty-five years, during which time all the practices of Islam were +neglected by the Ismailites. The mosks were closed, the fast of Ramazan +neglected, the solemn seasons of prayer despised. But such a state can +never last; man must have religion; it is as essential to him as his +food; and those pseudo-philosophers who have endeavoured to deprive him +of it have only displayed in the attempt their ignorance and folly. The +purification of the popular faith is the appropriate task of the true +philanthropist. + +We may often observe the son to exhibit a character the diametrically +opposite of that of his father, either led by nature or struck by the +ill effects of his father's conduct. This common appearance was now +exhibited among the Assassins. Mohammed disregarded all the observances +of the ceremonial law; his son and successor, Jellal-ed-deen (_Glory of +Religion_) Hassan, distinguished himself, from his early years, by a +zeal for the ordinances of Islam. The avowal of his sentiments caused +considerable enmity and suspicion between him and Mohammed; the father +feared the son, and the son the father. On the days of public audience, +at which Jellal-ed-deen was expected to appear, the old sheikh used the +precaution of wearing a shirt of mail under his clothes, and of +increasing the number of his guards. His death, which occurred when his +son had attained his twenty-fifth year, is ascribed by several +historians, though apparently without any sufficient reason, to poison +administered to him by his successor. + +The succession of Jellal-ed-deen was uncontested. He immediately set +about placing all things on the footing which they had been on previous +to the time of _On his Memory be Peace_. The mosks were repaired and +reopened; the call to prayer sounded as heretofore from the minarets; +and the solemn assemblies for worship and instruction were held once +more on every Friday. Imams, Koran-readers, preachers, and teachers of +all kinds, were invited to Alamoot, where they were honourably +entertained and richly rewarded. Jellal-ed-deen wrote to his lieutenants +in Kusistan and Syria, informing them of what he had done, and inviting +them to follow his example. He also wrote to the khalif, to the powerful +Shah of Khaurism, and to all the princes of Persia, to assure them of +the purity of his faith. His ambassadors were everywhere received with +honour, and the khalif and all the princes gave to Jellal-ed-deen, in +the letters which they wrote in reply, the title of prince, which had +never been conceded to any of his predecessors. The imams, and the men +learned in the law, loudly upheld the orthodoxy of the faith of the +mountain-chief, on whom they bestowed the name of Nev (_New_) Musulman. +When the people of Casveen, who had always been at enmity with the +Ismailites, doubted of his orthodoxy, Jellal-ed-deen condescended to ask +of them to send some persons of respectability to Alamoot, that he might +have an opportunity of convincing them. They came, and in their +presence he committed to the flames a pile of books which he said were +the writings of Hassan Sabah, and contained the secret rules and +ordinances of the society. He cursed the memory of Hassan and his +successors, and the envoys returned to Casveen, fully convinced of his +sincerity. + +In the second year of his reign Jellal-ed-deen gave a further proof of +the purity of his religious faith by permitting, or, perhaps, directing, +his harem, that is, his mother, his wife, and a long train of their +female attendants, to undertake the pilgrimage to the holy city of +Mecca, to worship at the tomb of the Prophet. The sacred banner was, +according to custom, borne before the caravan of the pilgrims from +Alamoot, and the Tesbeel, or distribution of water to the pilgrims, +usual on such occasions[58], was performed by the harem of the +mountain-prince on such a scale of magnificence and liberality as far +eclipsed that of the great Shah of Khaurism, whose caravan reached +Bagdad at the same time on its way to Mecca. The khalif +Nassir-ladin-Illah even gave precedence to the banner of the pilgrims +from Alamoot, and this mark of partiality drew on him the wrath of the +potent prince of Khaurism. Twice did the latter afterwards collect an +army to make war on the successor of the Prophet. With the first, +consisting of nearly 300,000 men, he marched against Bagdad, and had +reached Hamadan and Holuan, when a violent snow-storm obliged him to +retire. He had collected his forces a second time, when the hordes of +Chinghis Khan burst into his dominions. His son and successor resumed +his plans, and reached Hamadan, when again a snow-storm came to avert +destruction from the City of Peace. As the power of the Mongol conqueror +was now great and formidable, the prudent prince of Alamoot sent in +secret ambassadors to assure him of his submission, and to tender his +homage. + +[Footnote 58: "Sebil, in Arabic 'the way,' means generally the road, and +the traveller is hence called _Ibn-es-sebil_, the son of the road; but +it more particularly signifies the way of piety and good works, which +leads to Paradise. Whatever meritorious work the Moslem undertakes, he +does _Fi sebil Allah_, on the way of God, or for the love of God; and +the most meritorious which he can undertake is the holy war, or the +fight for his faith and his country, _on God's way_. But since pious +women can have no immediate share in the contest, every thing which they +can contribute to the nursing of the wounded, and the refreshment of the +exhausted, is imputed to them as equally meritorious as if they had +fought themselves. The distribution of water to the exhausted and +wounded warriors is the highest female merit in the holy war on God's +way."--_Hammer's History of the Assassins_, Wood's translation, p. 144.] + +Jellal-ed-deen took a more active part in the politics of his neighbours +than his predecessors had done. He formed an alliance with the Atabeg +Mozaffer-ed-deen (_Causing the Religion to be victorious_), the governor +of Azerbeijan, against the governor of Irak, who was their common enemy. +He even visited the Atabeg at his residence, where he was received with +the utmost magnificence, and each day the Atabeg sent 1,000 dinars for +the expenses of his table. The two princes sent to the khalif for aid; +their request was granted; and they marched against, defeated, and slew +the governor of Irak, and appointed another in his place. After an +absence of eighteen months Jellal-ed-deen returned to Alamoot, having in +the mean time, by his prudent conduct, greatly augmented the fame of his +orthodoxy. He now ventured to aspire to a connexion with one of the +ancient princely houses of the country, and asked in marriage the +daughter of Ky Kaoos, the prince of Ghilan. The latter having expressed +his readiness to give his consent, provided that of the khalif could be +obtained, envoys were despatched to Bagdad, who speedily returned with +the approbation of Nassir-ladin-Illah, and the princess of Ghilan was +sent to Alamoot. + +The mention of Ghilan and of Ky Kaoos presents an opportunity, which we +are not willing to let pass, of diversifying our narrative by an +excursion into the regions of Persian geography and romance, which may +cast a gleam of the sunshine of poetry over the concluding portion of +our history of the dark and secret deeds of the Ismailites. + +The mountain range named Demavend, on the south side of which Roodbar, +the territory of the Ismailites, lies, is the northern termination of +the province of Irak Ajemee, or Persian Irak. Beyond it stretches to the +Caspian Sea a fertile region, partly hilly, partly plain[59]. This +country is divided into five districts, which were in those times +distinct from and independent of each other. At the foot of the +mountains lay Taberistan and Dilem, the former to the east, the latter +to the west. Dilem is celebrated as having been the native country of +the family of Buyah, which, rising from the humblest station, exercised +under the khalifs, and with the title of Ameer-al-Omra (_Prince of the +Princes_), a power nearly regal over Persia during a century and a +half[60]. North of Dilem lay Ghilan, and north of Taberistan Mazenderan, +the ancient Hyrcania. In the midst of these four provinces lay Ruyan +and Rostemdar, remarkable for having been governed for a space of 800 +years by one family of princes, while dynasty after dynasty rose and +fell in the neighbouring states. In these provinces the names of the +royal lines recall to our mind the ancient history, both true and +fabulous, of Iran (Persia), as we find it in the poem of Ferdoosee, the +Homer of that country. The family of Kawpara, which governed Ruyan and +Rostemdar, affected to derive their lineage from the celebrated +blacksmith Gavah, who raised his apron as the standard of revolt against +the Assyrian tyrant Zohak; and the family of Bavend, which ruled for +nearly seven centuries, with but two interruptions, over Mazenderan and +Taberistan, were descended from the elder brother of Noosheerwan the +Just, the most celebrated monarch of the house of Sassan. + +[Footnote 59: This part of Persia also acquires interest from the +circumstance of Russia being believed to be looking forward to obtaining +it, one day or other, by conquest or cession.] + +[Footnote 60: Azed-ud-dowlah, one of the most celebrated of these +princes, had a dyke constructed across the river Kur, in the plain of +Murdasht, near the ruins of Persepolis, to confine the water, and permit +of its being distributed over the country. It was called the Bund-Ameer +(_Prince's Dyke_), and travellers ignorant of the Persian language have +given this name to the river itself. We must not, therefore, be +surprised to find in "Lalla Rookh" a lady singing, + + "There's a bower of roses by Bendameer's _stream_;" + +and asking, + + "Do the roses still bloom by the _calm_ Bendameer?" + +Calm and still, beyond doubt, is the Bendameer. ] + +This region is the classic land of Persia. When, as their romantic +history relates, Jemsheed, the third monarch of Iran after Cayamars, the +first who ruled over men, had long reigned in happiness and prosperity, +his head was lifted up with pride, and God withdrew from him his favour. +His dominions were invaded by Zohak, the prince of the Tauzees +(Assyrians or Arabs); his subjects fell away from him, and, after +lurking for a hundred years in secret places, he fell into the hands of +the victor, who cut him asunder with a saw. A child was born of the race +of Jemsheed, named Feridoon, whom, as soon as he came to the light (in +the village of Wereghi, in Taberistan), his mother Faranuk gave to a +herdsman to rear, and his nourishment was the milk of a female buffalo, +whose name was Poormayeh. Zohak meantime had a dream, in which he beheld +two warriors, who led up to him a third, armed with a club which +terminated in the head of a cow. The warrior struck him on the head with +his club, and took him and chained him in the cavern of a mountain. He +awoke with a loud cry, and called all the priests, and astrologers, and +wise men, to interpret his dream. They feared to speak. At last they +told him of the birth and nurture of Feridoon, who was destined to +overcome him. Zohak fell speechless from his throne at the intelligence. +On recovering, he sent persons in all directions to search for and put +to death the fatal child; but the maternal anxiety of Faranuk was on the +watch, and she removed the young Feridoon to the celebrated mountain +Elburz, where she committed him to the care of a pious anchorite. Zohak, +after a long search, discovered the place where Feridoon had been first +placed by his mother, and in his rage he killed the beautiful and +innocent cow Poormayeh. + +Zohak is represented as a most execrable tyrant. Acting under the +counsel of the Devil, he had murdered his own father to get his throne. +His infernal adviser afterwards assumed the form of a young man, and +became his cook. He prepared for him all manner of curious and +high-seasoned dishes; for hitherto the food of mankind had been rude and +plain. As a reward, he only asked permission to kiss the shoulders of +the king. Zohak readily granted this apparently moderate request; but +from the spots where the Devil impressed his lips grew forth two black +snakes. In vain every art was employed to remove them, in vain they were +cut away, they grew again like plants. The physicians were in +perplexity. At length the Devil himself came in the shape of a +physician, and said that the only mode of keeping them quiet was to feed +them with human brains. His object, we are told, was gradually in this +way to destroy the whole race of man. + +The design of the Devil seemed likely to be accomplished. Each day two +human beings were slain, and the serpents fed with their brains. At +length two of the tyrant's cooks discovered that the brain of a man +mixed with that of a ram satisfied the monsters, and, of the two men who +were given to be killed each day, they always secretly let go one, and +those who were thus delivered became the progenitors of the Koords who +dwell in the mountains west of Persia. Among those unfortunate persons +who were condemned to be food for the serpents was the son of a +blacksmith named Gavah. The afflicted father went boldly before the +tyrant, and remonstrated with him on the injustice of his conduct. Zohak +heard him with patience and released his son. He also made him bearer of +a letter addressed to all the provinces of the empire, vaunting his +goodness, and calling on all to support him against the youthful +pretender to his throne. But Gavah, instead of executing the mandate, +tore the tyrant's letter, and, raising his leathern apron on a lance by +way of standard, called on all the inhabitants of Iran to arise and take +arms in support of Feridoon, the rightful heir to the throne of +Jemsheed. + +[Illustration: From the Shah Nameh, illuminated Persian MS.] + +Meantime Feridoon, who had attained the age of twice eight years, came +down from Elburz, and, going to his mother, besought her to tell him +from whom he derived his birth. Faranuk related to him his whole +history, when the young hero, in great emotion, vowed to attack the +tyrant, and avenge on him the death of his father; but his mother +sought, by representing the great power of Zohak, to divert him from his +purpose, and exhorted him to abandon all such thoughts, and to enjoy in +quiet the good things of this life. But a numerous army, led by Gavah in +search of the true heir to the throne, now came in sight. Feridoon, +joyfully advancing to meet them, adorned with gold and precious stones +the leathern banner, placed upon it the orb of the moon, and, naming it +Direfsh-e-Gavanee (_Gavah's Apron_), selected it for the banner of the +empire of Iran. Each succeeding prince, we are told, at his accession, +added jewels to it, and Direfsh-e-Gavanee blazed in the front of battle +like a sun. Feridoon, then calling for smiths, drew for them in the sand +the form of a club, with a cow's head at the end of it, and when they +had made it he named it Gawpeigor (_Cow-face_), in honour of his nurse. +Taking leave of his mother, he marches against the tyrant; an angel +comes from heaven to aid the rightful cause; Zohak is deserted by his +troops; he falls into the hands of Feridoon, who, by the direction of +the angel, imprisons him in a cavern of the mountain Demavend. Feridoon, +on ascending the throne of his forefathers, governed with such mildness, +firmness, and justice, that his name is to the present day in Persia +significative of the ideal of a perfect monarch[61]. + +[Footnote 61: Four lines, quoted by Sir J. Malcolm from the Gulistan of +Saadi, may be thus _literally_ rendered in the measure of the +original:-- + + The blest Feridoon an angel was not; + Of musk or of amber he formed was not; + By justice and mercy good ends gained he; + Be just and merciful, thou'lt a Feridoon be.] + +Mazenderan is not less celebrated in Persian romance than the region at +the foot of Demavend. It was the scene of the dangers of the +light-minded Kej Kaoos (supposed to be the Cyaxares of the Greeks), and +of the marvellous adventures called the Seven Fables or Stages of the +Hero Roostem, the Hercules of Persia, who came to his aid. When Kej +Kaoos mounted the throne of Iran, he exulted in his wealth and in his +power. A deev (_Demon_), desirous of luring him to his destruction, +assumed the guise of a wandering minstrel, and, coming to his court, +sought to be permitted to sing before the padisha (_Emperor_). His +request was acceded to,--his theme was the praises of Mazenderan, and he +sang to this effect:-- + +"Mazenderan deserves that the shah should think on it; the rose blooms +evermore in its gardens, its hills are arrayed with tulips and +jessamines, mild is the air, the earth is bright of hue, neither cold +nor heat oppresses the lovely land, spring abides there evermore, the +nightingale sings without ceasing in the gardens, and the deer bound +joyously through the woods. The earth is never weary of pouring forth +fruits, the air is evermore filled with fragrance, like unto rose-water +are the streams, the tulip glows unceasingly on the meads, pure are the +rivers, and their banks are smiling: ever mayest thou behold the falcon +at the chase. All its districts are adorned with abundance of food, +beyond measure are the treasures which are there piled up, the flowers +bend in worship before the throne, and around it stand the men of renown +richly girded with gold. Who dwelleth not there knoweth no pleasure, as +joy and luxuriant pastime are to him unknown." + +Kej Kaoos was beguiled by the tempter, and, eager to get possession of +so rich a land, he led a large army into it. The Shah of Mazenderan was +aided by a potent demon or enchanter named the Deev Seffeed (_White +Deev_), who, by his magic arts, cast a profound darkness over the +Iranian monarch and his host, in which they would have all been +destroyed but for the timely arrival of Roostem, who, after surmounting +all the impediments that magic could throw in his way, slew the Deev +Seffeed, and delivered his sovereign. + +Kej Kaoos, we are afterwards told by the poet, formed the insane project +of ascending to heaven, which he attempted in the following manner. A +stage was constructed on which a throne was set for the monarch; four +javelins were placed at the corners, with pieces of goat's flesh on +them, and four hungry eagles were tied at the bottom, who, by their +efforts to reach the meat, raised the stage aloft into the air; but when +the strength of the birds was exhausted the whole fell with the royal +aeronaut in the desert, where he was found by Roostem and the other +chiefs. + +[Illustration: From the Same.] + +The history of the Shah-nameh (_King-book_), in which these legends are +contained, is one of the most curious in literature. The fanaticism of +the Arabs, who conquered Persia, raged with indiscriminate fury against +the literature, as well as the religion, of that country; and when, in +the time of Al-Mansoor and his successors Haroon-er-Rasheed and +Al-Mamoon, the Arabs themselves began to devote their attention to +literature and science, it was the science of Greece and the poetry of +their native language that they cultivated. The Persian literature +meantime languished in obscurity, and the traditional, heroic, and +legendary tales of the nation were fading fast from memory, when a +governor of a province, zealous, as it would appear, for the honour of +the Persian nation, made a collection of them, and formed from them a +continuous narrative in prose. The book thus formed was called the +Bostan-nameh (_Garden-book_). It was in great repute in the northern +part of Persia, where, at a distance from the court of the khalifs, the +Persian manners, language, and nationality were better preserved; and +when the Turkish family of the Samenee founded an empire in that part of +Persia, sultan Mansoor I., of that race, gave orders to a poet named +Dakeekee to turn the Bastan-nameh into Persian verse. The poet undertook +the task, but he had not made more than a thousand verses when he +perished by assassination. There being no one supposed capable of +continuing his work, it was suspended till twenty years afterwards, when +the celebrated Mahmood of Ghizni, the conqueror of India, meeting with +the Bastan-nameh, gave portions of it to three of the most renowned +poets of the time to versify. The palm of excellence was adjudged to +Anseri, who versified the tale of Sohrab slain by his own father +Roostem, one of the most pathetic and affecting narratives in any +language. The sultan made him Prince of the Poets, and directed him to +versify the entire work; but, diffident of his powers, Anseri shrank +from the task, and having some time afterwards met a poet of Toos in +Khorasan, named Isaac, the son of Sheriff-Shah, surnamed Ferdoosee +(_Paradisal_[62]), either from his father's employment as a gardener, or +from the beauty of his verses, he introduced him to the sultan, who +gladly committed the task to him. Ferdoosee laboured with enthusiasm in +the celebration of the ancient glories of his country; and in the space +of thirty or, as some assert, of only eight years, he brought the poem +to within two thousand lines of its termination, which lines were added +by another poet after his death. + +[Footnote 62: Paradise, we are to recollect, is a word of Persian +origin, adopted by the Greeks, from whom we have received it. A Paradise +was a place planted with trees, a park, garden, or pleasure-ground, as +we may term it.] + +The Shah-nameh is, beyond comparison, the finest poem of the Mohammedan +east. It consists of 60,000 rhymed couplets, and embraces the history of +Persia, from the beginning of the world to the period of its conquest by +the Arabs. The verses move on with spirit and rapidity, resembling more +the flow of our lyrical, than that of our common heroic, lines[63]. + +[Footnote 63: Hammer has, in his "Belles Lettres of Persia" (_Schoene +Redekunst Persians_), and in the "Mines de l'Orient," translated a +considerable portion of the Shah-nameh in the measure of the original. +MM. Campion and Atkinson have rendered a part of it into English heroic +verse. Goerres has epitomised it, as far as to the death of Roostem, in +German prose, under the title of "Das Heldenbuch von Iran." An epitome +of the poem in English prose, by Mr. Atkinson, has also lately +appeared.] + +Ferdoosee wrote his poem in the early part of the eleventh century from +a book which had been in existence a long time before, for he always +calls it an _old book_. No proof therefore is needed that he did not +invent the tales which compose the Shah-nameh, and they have every +appearance of having been the ancient traditionary legends of the +Persian nation. But we are able to show that these legends were popular +in Persia nearly six centuries before his time; and it was chiefly with +a view to establishing this curious point that we related the tale of +Zohak and Feridoon. + +Moses of Choren, the Armenian historian, who wrote about the year 440, +thus addresses the person to whom his work is dedicated. "How should the +vain and empty fables about Byrasp Astyages gain any portion of thy +favour, or why shouldest thou impose on us the fatigue of elucidating +the absurd, tasteless, senseless legends of the Persians about him? to +wit, of his first injurious benefit of the demoniac powers which were +subject to him, and how he could not deceive him who was deception and +falsehood itself. Then, of the kiss on the shoulders, whence the dragons +came, and how thenceforward the growth of vice destroyed mankind by the +pampering of the belly, until at last a certain Rhodones bound him with +chains of brass, and brought him to the mountain which is called +Demavend; how Byraspes then dragged to a hill Rhodones, when he fell +asleep on the way, but this last, awaking out of his sleep, brought him +to a cavern of the mountain, where he chained him fast, and set an image +opposite to him, so that, terrified by it, and held by the chains, he +might never more escape to destroy the world." + +Here we have evidently the whole story of Zohak and Feridoon current in +Persia in the fifth century; and any one who has reflected on the nature +of tradition must be well aware that it must have existed there for +centuries before. The very names are nearly the same. Taking the first +syllable from Feridoon, it becomes nearly Rodon, and Biyraspi Aidahaki +(the words of the Armenian text) signify the dragon Byrasp: Zohak is +evidently nearly the same with the last word. This fable could hardly +have been invented in the time of the Sassanian dynasty, who had not +then been more than two centuries on the throne, much less during the +period of the dominion of the Parthian Arsacides, who were adverse to +everything Persian. We are therefore carried back to the times of the +Kejanians, the Achaemenides of the Greeks; and it is by no means +impossible that the tale of Zohak and Feridoon was known even to the +host which Xerxes led to the subjugation of Greece. + +It is well known to those versed in oriental history that, when the +founder of the house of Sassan mounted the throne of Persia in the year +226, he determined to bring back everything, as far as was possible, to +its state in the time of the Kejanians, from whom he affected to be +descended, and that his successors trod in his footsteps. But, as Persia +had been for five centuries and a half under the dominion of the Greeks +and Parthians, there was probably no authentic record of the ancient +state of things remaining. Recourse was therefore had to the traditional +tales of the country; and, as the legend of Zohak and Feridoon was, as +we have seen, one of the most remarkable of these tales, it was at once +adopted as a genuine portion of the national history, and a banner +formed to represent the Apron of Gavah, which was, as the poet describes +it, adorned with additional jewels by each monarch of the house of +Sassan at his accession. This hypothesis will very simply explain the +circumstance of this banner being unnoticed by the Greek writers, while +it is an undoubted fact that it was captured by the Arabs at the battle +of Kadiseaeh, which broke the power of Persia,--a circumstance which has +perplexed Sir John Malcolm. + +We will finally observe that the historian just alluded to, as well as +some others, thinks that the darkness cast by the magic art of the White +Deev over Ky Kaoos and his army in Mazanderan coincides with the eclipse +of the sun predicted by Thales, and which, according to Herodotus, +parted the armies of the Medians and the Lydians when engaged in +conflict. Little stress is however, we apprehend, to be laid on such +coincidences. Tradition does not usually retain the memory of facts of +this nature, though fiction is apt enough to invent them. The only +circumstances which we have observed in the early part of the Shah-nameh +agreeing with Grecian history, are some relating to the youthful days of +Kei Khoosroo, which are very like what Herodotus relates of Cyrus. + +We now return to the history of the Assassins. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Death of Jellal-ed-deen--Character of Ala-ed-deen, his + successor--The Sheikh Jemal-ed-deen--The Astronomer + Nasir-ed-deen--The Vizir Sheref-al-Moolk--Death of + Ala-ed-deen--Succession of Rukn-ed-deen, the last Sheikh-al-Jebal. + + +The reign of Jellal-ed-deen, which, unfortunately for the society, +lasted but twelve years, was unstained by blood; and we see no reason to +doubt the judgment of the oriental historians, who consider his faith in +Islam as being sincere and pure. It was probably his virtue that caused +his death, for his life, it was suspected, was terminated by poison +administered by his own kindred. His son Ala-ed-deen[64] (_Eminence of +Religion_), who succeeded him, was but nine years old; but as, according +to the maxims of the Ismailites, the visible representative of the imam +was, to a certain extent, exempted from the ordinary imperfections of +humanity, and his commands were to be regarded as those of him whose +authority he bore, the young Ala-ed-deen was obeyed as implicitly as any +of his predecessors. At his mandate the blood was shed of all among his +relatives who were suspected of having participated in the murder of his +father. + +[Footnote 64: This is the name which, in the form of Aladdin, is so +familiar to us from the story of the Wonderful Lamp.] + +Ala-ed-deen proved to be a weak, inefficient ruler. His delight was in +the breeding and tending of sheep, and he spent his days in the cotes +among the herdsmen, while the affairs of the society were allowed to run +into disorder. All the restraints imposed by his father were removed, +and every one was left to do what was right in his own eyes. The +weakness of this prince's intellect is ascribed to his having, in the +fifth year of his reign, had himself most copiously bled without the +knowledge of his physician, the consequence of which was an extreme +degree of debility and a deep melancholy, which never afterwards left +him. From that time no one could venture to offer him advice respecting +either his health or the state of the affairs of the society, without +being rewarded for it by the rack or by instant death. Everything was +therefore kept concealed from him, and he had neither friend nor +adviser. + +Yet Ala-ed-deen was not without some estimable qualities. He had a +respect and esteem for learning and learned men. For the sheikh +Jemal-ed-deen Ghili, who dwelt at Casveen, he testified on all occasions +the utmost reverence, and sent him annually 500 dinars to defray the +expenses of his household. When the people of Casveen reproached the +learned sheikh with living on the bounty of the Impious, he made answer, +"The imams pronounce it lawful to execute the Ismailites, and to +confiscate their goods; how much more lawful is it for a man to make use +of their property and their money when they give them voluntarily!" +Ala-ed-deen, who probably heard of the reproaches directed against his +friend, sent to assure the people of Casveen that it was solely on +account of the sheikh that he spared them, or else he would put the +earth of Casveen into bags, hang the bags about the necks of the +inhabitants, and bring them to Alamoot. The following instance of his +respect for the sheikh is also related. A messenger coming with a letter +to him from the sheikh was so imprudent as to deliver it to him when he +was drunk. Ala-ed-deen ordered him to have a hundred blows of the +bastinade, at the same time crying out to him, "O foolish and +thoughtless man, to give me a letter from the sheikh at the time when I +was drunk! Thou shouldest have waited till I was come out of the bath, +and was come to my senses." + +The celebrated astronomer Nasir-ed-deen (_Victory of Religion_) had also +gained the consideration of Ala-ed-deen, who was anxious to enjoy the +pleasure of his society. But the philosopher, who resided at Bokhara, +testified little inclination to accept of the favour intended him. +Ala-ed-deen therefore sent orders to the Dai-al-Kebir of Kuhistan to +convey the uncourteous sage to Alamoot. As Nasir-ed-deen was one day +recreating himself in the gardens about Bokhara, he found himself +suddenly surrounded by some men, who, showing him a horse, directed him +to mount, telling him he had nothing to fear if he conducted himself +quietly. It was in vain that he argued and remonstrated; he was far on +the road to Kuhistan, which was 600 miles distant, before his friends +knew he was gone. The governor made every apology for what he had been +obliged to do. The philosopher was sent on to Alamoot to be the +companion of Ala-ed-deen, and it was while he was there that he wrote +his great work called the Morals of Nasir (_Akhlaak-Nasiree_).[65] + +[Footnote 65: Malcolm's History of Persia, vol. i. In the clever work +called "Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry," which is the best +picture ever given of the language, manners, and modes of thinking of +that class, there is an amusing account (and an undoubtedly true one) of +the "Abduction of Mat Kavanagh," one of that curious order of men called +in that country hedge-schoolmasters, which, as indicative of a passion +for knowledge, may be placed in comparison with this anecdote of +Ala-ed-deen.] + +It was during the administration of Ala-ed-deen that the following +event, so strongly illustrative of the modes of procedure of the +Assassins, took place. The sultan Jellal-ed-deen, the last ruler of +Khaurism, so well known for his heroic resistance to Chingis Khan, had +appointed the emir Arkhan governor of Nishaboor, which bordered closely +on the Ismailite territory of Kuhistan. Arkhan being obliged to attend +the sultan, the deputy whom he left in his stead made several +destructive incursions into Kuhistan, and laid waste the Ismailite +districts of Teem and Kain. The Ismailites sent to demand satisfaction, +but the only reply made to their complaints and menaces by the +deputy-governor was one of those symbolical proceedings so common in the +east. He came to receive the Ismailite envoy with his girdle stuck full +of daggers, which he flung on the ground before him, to signify either +his disregard for the daggers of the society, or to intimate that he +could play at that game as well as they. The Ismailites were not, +however, persons to be provoked with impunity, and shortly afterwards +three Fedavees were despatched to Kunja, where Arkhan was residing at +the court of the sultan. They watched till the emir came without the +walls of the town, and then fell upon and murdered him. They then +hastened to the house of Sheref-al-Moolk (_Nobleness of the Realm_), the +vizir, and penetrated into his divan. Fortunately he was at that time +engaged with the sultan, and they missed him; but they wounded severely +one of his servants, and then, sallying forth, paraded the streets, +proclaiming aloud that they were Assassins. They did not however escape +the penalty of their temerity, for the people assembled and stoned them +to death. + +An envoy of the Ismailites, named Bedr-ed-deen (_Full Moon of Religion_) +Ahmed, was meantime on his way to the court of the sultan. He stopped +short on hearing what had occurred, and sent to the vizir to know +whether he should go on or return. Sheref-al-Moolk, who feared to +irritate the Assassins, directed him to continue his journey, and, when +he was arrived, showed him every mark of honour. The object of +Bedr-ed-deen's mission was to obtain satisfaction for the ravages +committed on the Ismailite territory and the cession of the fortress of +Damaghan. The vizir promised the former demand without a moment's +hesitation, and he made as little difficulty with regard to the second. +An instrument was drawn out assigning to the Ismailites the fortress +which they craved, on condition of their remitting annually to the royal +treasury the sum of 30,000 pieces of gold. + +When this affair was arranged the sultan set out for Azerbeijan, and the +Ismailite ambassador remained the guest of the vizir. One day, after a +splendid banquet, when the wine, which they had been drinking in +violation of the law, had mounted into their heads, the ambassador told +the vizir, by way of confidence, that there were several Ismailites +among the pages, grooms, guards, and other persons who were immediately +about the sultan. The vizir, dismayed, and at the same time curious to +know who these dangerous attendants were, besought the ambassador to +point them out to him, giving him his napkin as a pledge that nothing +evil should happen to them. Instantly, at a sign from the envoy, five of +the persons who were attendants of the chamber stepped forth, avowing +themselves to be concealed Assassins. "On such a day, and at such an +hour," said one of them, an Indian, to the vizir, "I might have slain +thee without being seen or punished; and, if I did not do so, it was +only because I had no orders from my superiors." The vizir, timid by +nature, and rendered still more so by the effects of the wine, stripped +himself to his shirt, and, sitting down before the five Assassins, +conjured them by their lives to spare him, protesting that he was as +devotedly the slave of the sheikh Ala-ed-deen as of the sultan +Jellal-ed-deen. + +As soon as the sultan heard of the meanness and cowardice of his vizir, +he sent a messenger to him with the keenest reproaches, and an order to +burn alive the five Ismailites without an instant's delay. The vizir, +though loth, was obliged to comply, and, in violation of his promise, +the five chamberlains were cast on the flaming pyre, where they died +exulting at being found worthy to suffer in the service of the great +Sheikh-al-Jebal. The master of the pages was also put to death for +having admitted Ismailites among them. The sultan then set out for Irak, +leaving the vizir in Azerbeijan. While he was there an envoy arrived +from Alamoot, who, on being admitted to an audience, thus spake, "Thou +hast given five Ismailites to the flames; to redeem thy head, pay 10,000 +pieces of gold for each of these unfortunate men." The vizir heaped +honours on the envoy, and directed his secretary to draw out a deed in +the usual forms, by which he bound himself to pay the Ismailites the +annual sum of 10,000 pieces of gold, besides paying for them the 30,000 +which went to the treasury of the sultan. Sheref-al-Moolk was then +assured that he had nothing to apprehend. + +The preceding very characteristic anecdote rests on good authority, for +it is related by Aboo-'l-Fetah Nissavee, the vizir's secretary, in his +life of sultan Jellal-ed-deen. + +The astronomer Nasir-ed-deen was not the only involuntary captive of +Alamoot. Ala-ed-deen sent once to Farsistan to the atabeg +Mozaffer-ed-deen, to request that he would send him an able physician. +Requests from Alamoot were not lightly to be disregarded, and the atabeg +despatched the imam Beha-ed-deen, one of the most renowned physicians of +the time, to the mountains of Jebal. The skill of the imam proved of +great benefit to the prince, but when the physician applied for leave to +return to his family he found that he was destined to pass the +remainder of his days in Alamoot, unless he should outlive his patient. + +The imam's release, however, was more speedy than he expected. +Ala-ed-deen, who had several children, had nominated the eldest of them, +Rukn-ed-deen (_Support of Religion_), while he was yet a child, to be +his successor. As Rukn-ed-deen grew up the people began to hold him in +equal respect with his father, and to consider his commands as equally +binding on them. Ala-ed-deen took offence, and declared that he would +give the succession to another of his children; but, as this directly +contravened one of the Ismailite maxims, namely, that the first +nomination was always the true one, it was little heeded. Rukn-ed-deen, +in apprehension for his life, which his father threatened, retired to a +strong castle to wait there the time when he should be called to the +succession. Meantime the tyranny and caprice of Ala-ed-deen had given +many of the principal persons about him cause to be apprehensive for +their lives, and they resolved to anticipate him. There was a man at +Alamoot named Hassan, a native of Mazenderan, who, though no Ismailite, +was of a vile and profligate character. He was the object of the doating +attachment of Ala-ed-deen, and consequently had free and constant access +to him. Him they fixed upon as their agent, and they found no difficulty +in gaining him. Ala-ed-deen, whose fondness for breeding and tending +sheep had never diminished, had built for himself a wooden house close +by his sheep-cotes, whither he was wont to retire, and where he indulged +himself in all the excesses in which he delighted. Hassan of Mazenderan +seized the moment when Ala-ed-deen was lying drunk in this house, and +shot him through the neck with an arrow. Rukn-ed-deen, who is said to +have been engaged in the conspiracy, assuming the part of the avenger +of blood, the murderer and all his family were put to death, and their +bodies committed to the flames; but this act of seeming justice did not +free Rukn-ed-deen from suspicion, and the bitter reproaches of his +mother were poured forth on him as a parricide. + +The termination of the power of the Ismailites was now at hand. +Rukn-ed-deen had hardly ascended the throne of his murdered father when +he learned that an enemy was approaching against whom all attempts at +resistance would be vain. + + + + +Chapter XI. + +The Mongols--Hoolagoo sent against the Ismailites--Rukn-ed-deen +submits--Capture of Alamoot--Destruction of the Library--Fate +of Rukn-ed-deen--Massacre of the Ismailites--St. Louis and +the Assassins--Mission for the Conversion of the People of +Kuhistan--Conclusion. + + +Half a century had now elapsed since the voice of the Mongol seer on the +banks of the Selinga had announced to the tribes of that race that he +had seen in a vision the Great God sitting on his throne and giving +sentence that Temujeen, one of their chiefs, should be Chingis Khan +(_Great Khan_), and the obedient tribes had, under the leading of +Temujeen, commenced that career of conquest which extended from the +eastern extremity of Asia to the confines of Egypt and of Germany. At +this time the chief power over the Mongols was in the hands of Mangoo, +the grandson of Chingis, a prince advantageously made known to Europe by +the long abode of the celebrated Venetian Marco Polo at his court. The +Mongols had not yet invaded Persia, though they had, under Chingis +himself, overthrown and stripped of his dominions the powerful sultan of +Khaurism. It was however evident that that country could not long escape +the fate of so many extensive and powerful states, and that a pretext +would soon be found for pouring over it the hordes of the Mongols. + +We are told, though it seems scarcely credible, that ambassadors came +from the Khalif of Bagdad to Nevian, the Mongol general who commanded on +the northern frontier of Persia, requiring safe conduct to the court of +Mangoo. The object of their mission was to implore the great khan to +send his invincible troops to destroy those pests of society the bands +of the Ismailites. The prayer of the envoys of the successor of the +Prophet was supported by the Judge of Casveen, who happened to be at +that time at the court of Mangoo, where he appeared in a coat of mail, +to secure himself, as he professed, from the daggers of the Assassins. +The khan gave orders to assemble an army; his brother Hoolagoo was +appointed to command it, and, as he was setting forth, Mangoo thus +addressed him:-- + +"With heavy cavalry and a mighty host I send thee from Tooran to Iran, +the land of mighty princes. It behoves thee now strictly to observe, +both in great and in small things, the laws and regulations of Chinghis +Khan, and to take possession of the countries from the Oxus to the Nile. +Draw closer unto thee by favour and rewards the obedient and the +submissive; tread the refractory and the rebellious, with their wives +and children, into the dust of contempt and misery. When thou hast done +with the Assassins begin the conquest of Irak. If the Khalif of Bagdad +comes forward ready to serve thee, thou shalt do him no injury; if he +refuses, let him share the fate of the rest." + +The army of Hoolagoo was reinforced by a thousand families of Chinese +firemen to manage the battering machines and fling the flaming naphtha, +known in Europe under the name of Greek fire. He set forward in the +month Ramazan of the 651st year of the Hejra (A.D. 1253). His march was +so slow that he did not cross the Oxus till two years afterwards. On the +farther bank of this river he took the diversion of lion-hunting, but +the cold came on so intense that the greater part of his horses +perished, and he was obliged to wait for the ensuing spring before he +could advance. All the princes of the menaced countries sent embassies +to the Mongol camp announcing their submission and obedience. The +head-quarters of Hoolagoo were now in Khorassan, whence he sent envoys +to Rukn-ed-deen, the Ismailite chief, requiring his submission. By the +advice of the astronomer Nasir-ed-deen, who was his counsellor and +minister, Rukn-ed-deen sent to Baissoor Noobeen, one of Hoolagoo's +generals, who had advanced to Hamadan, declaring his obedience and his +wish to live in peace with every one. The Mongol general recommended +that, as Hoolagoo himself was approaching, Rukn-ed-deen should wait on +him in person. After some delay, the latter agreed to send his brother +Shahinshah, who accompanied the son of Baissoor to the quarters of the +Mongol prince. Meantime Baissoor, by the orders of Hoolagoo, entered the +Ismailite territory and drew near to Alamoot. The troops of the +Assassins occupied a steep hill near that place. The Mongols attacked +them, but were repelled each time they attempted the ascent. Being +forced to give over the attack, they contented themselves with burning +the houses and ravaging the country round. + +When Shahinshah reached the camp of Hoolagoo and notified the submission +of his brother, orders to the following effect were transmitted to the +mountain-chief:--"Since Rukn-ed-deen has sent his brother unto us, we +forgive him the offences of his father and his followers. He shall +himself, as, during his short reign, he has been guilty of no crime, +demolish his castles and come to us." Orders were sent at the same time +to Baissoor to give over ravaging the district of Roodbar. Rukn-ed-deen +began casting down some of the battlements of Alamoot, and at the same +time sent to beg the delay of a year before appearing in the presence of +Hoolagoo. But the orders of the Mongol were imperative; he was required +to appear at once, and to commit the defence of his territory to the +Mongol officer who was the bearer of Hoolagoo's commands. Rukn-ed-deen +hesitated. He sent again to make excuses and ask more time; and, as a +proof of his obedience, he directed the governors of Kuhistan and +Kirdkoh to repair to the Mongol camp. The banners of Hoolagoo were now +floating at the foot of Demavend, close to the Ismailite territory, and +once more orders came to Maimoondees, where Rukn-ed-deen and his family +had taken refuge:--"The Ruler of the World is now arrived at Demavend, +and it is no longer time to delay. If Rukn-ed-deen wishes to wait a few +days he may in the mean time send his son." The affrighted chief +declared his readiness to send his son, but, at the persuasion of his +women and advisers, instead of his own, he sent the son of a slave, who +was of the same age, requesting that his brother might be restored to +him. Hoolagoo was soon informed of the imposition, but disdained to +notice it otherwise than by sending back the child, saying he was too +young, and requiring that his elder brother, if he had one, should be +sent in place of Shahinshah. He at the same time dismissed Shahinshah +with these words:--"Tell thy brother to demolish Maimoondees and come to +me; if he does not come, the eternal God knows the consequences." + +The Mongol troops now covered all the hills and valleys, and Hoolagoo in +person appeared before Maimoondees. The Assassins fought bravely, but +Rukn-ed-deen had not spirit to hold out. He sent his other brother, his +son, his vizir Nasir-ed-deen, and the principal persons of the society, +bearing rich presents to the Mongol prince. Nasir-ed-deen was directed +to magnify the strength of the Ismailite fortresses in order to gain +good terms for his master; but, instead of so doing, he told Hoolagoo +not to regard them, assuring him that the conjunction of the stars +announced the downfall of the Ismailites, and that the sun of their +power was hastening to its setting. It was agreed that the castle should +be surrendered on condition of free egress. Rukn-ed-deen, his ministers, +and his friends, entered the Mongol camp on the first day of the month +Zoo-l-Kaadeh. His wealth was divided among the Mongol troops. Hoolagoo +took compassion on himself, and spoke kindly to him, and treated him as +his guest. Nasir-ed-deen became the vizir of the conqueror, who +afterwards built for him the observatory of Meragha. + +Mongol officers were now dispatched to all the castles of the Ismailites +in Kuhistan, Roodbar, and even in Syria, with orders from Rukn-ed-deen +to the governors to surrender or demolish them. The number of these +strong castles was upwards of one hundred, of which there were forty +demolished in Roodbar alone. Three of the strongest castles in this +province, namely, Alamoot, Lamseer, and Kirdkoh, hesitated to submit, +their governors replying to the summons that they would wait till +Hoolagoo should appear in person before them. In a few days the Mongol +prince and his captive were at the foot of Alamoot. Rukn-ed-deen was led +under the walls, and he ordered the governor to surrender. His command +was disregarded, and Hoolagoo, not to waste time, removed his camp to +Lamseer, leaving a corps to blockade Alamoot. The people of Lamseer came +forth immediately with their homage, and a few days afterwards envoys +arrived from Alamoot entreating Rukn-ed-deen to intercede for the +inhabitants with the brother of Mangoo. The conqueror was moderate; he +allowed them free egress, and gave them three days to collect and remove +their families and property. On the third day the Mongol troops +received permission to enter and plunder the fortress. They rushed, +eager for prey, into the hitherto invincible, now deserted, Vulture's +Nest, and rifled it of all that remained in it. As they hurried through +its subterrane recesses in search of treasure they frequently, to their +amazement, found themselves immersed in honey, or swimming in wine; for +there were large receptacles of wine, honey, and corn, hewn into the +solid rock, the nature of which was such that, though, as we are told, +they had been filled in the time of Hassan Sabah, the corn was perfectly +sound, and the wine had not soured. This extraordinary circumstance was +regarded by the Ismailites as a miracle wrought by that founder of their +society. + +When Alamoot fell into the hands of the Mongols Ata-Melek +(_King's-father_) Jowainee, a celebrated vizir and historian, craved +permission of Hoolagoo to inspect the celebrated library of that place, +which had been founded by Hassan Sabah and increased by his successors, +and to select from it such works as might be worthy of a place in that +of the khan. The permission was readily granted, and he commenced his +survey of the books. But Ata-Melek was too orthodox a Mussulman, or too +lazy an examiner, to make the best use of his opportunity; for all he +did was to take the short method of selecting the Koran and a few other +books which he deemed of value out of the collection, and to commit the +remainder, with all the philosophical instruments, to the flames, as +being impious and heretical. All the archives of the society were thus +destroyed, and our only source of information respecting its doctrines, +regulations, and history, is derived from what Ata-Melek has related in +his own history as the result of his search among the archives and books +of the library of Alamoot, previous to his making an _auto da fe_ of +them. + +The fate of the last of a dynasty, however worthless and insignificant +his character may be, is always interesting from the circumstance alone +of his being the last, and thus, as it were, embodying in himself the +history of his predecessors. We shall therefore pause to relate the +remainder of the story of the feeble Rukn-ed-deen. + +When Hoolagoo, after the conclusion of his campaign against Roodbar, +retired to Hamadan, where he had left his children, he took with him +Rukn-ed-deen, whom he continued to treat with kindness. Here the +Assassin prince became enamoured of a Mongol maiden of the very lowest +class. He asked permission of Hoolagoo to espouse her, and, by the +directions of that prince, the wedding was celebrated with great +solemnity. He next craved to be sent to the court of Mangoo Khan. +Hoolagoo, though surprised at this request, acceded to it also, and gave +him a corps of Mongols as an escort. He at the same time directed him to +order on his way the garrison of Kirdkoh, who still held out, to +surrender, and demolish the fortress. Rukn-ed-deen, as he passed by +Kirdkoh, did as directed, but sent at the same time a private message to +the governor to hold out as long as possible. Arrived at Kara-Kooroom, +the residence of the khan, he was not admitted to an audience, but the +following message was delivered to him:--"Thus saith Mangoo: Since thou +affectest to be obedient to us, wherefore has not the castle of Kirdkoh +been delivered up? Go back, and demolish all the castles which remain; +then mayest thou be partaker of the honour of viewing our imperial +countenance." Rukn-ed-deen was obliged to return, and, soon after he had +crossed the Oxus, his escort, making him dismount under pretext of an +entertainment, ran him through with their swords. + +Mangoo Khan was determined to exterminate the whole race of the +Ismailites, and orders to that effect had already reached Hoolagoo, who +was only waiting to execute them till Kirdkoh should have surrendered. +As the garrison of that place continued obstinate, he no longer ventured +to delay. Orders for indiscriminate massacre were issued, and 12,000 +Ismailites soon fell as victims. The process was short; wherever a +member of the society was met he was, without any trial, ordered to +kneel down, and his head instantly rolled on the ground. Hoolagoo sent +one of his vizirs to Casveen, where the family of Rukn-ed-deen were +residing, and the whole of them were put to death, except two (females +it is said), who were reserved to glut the vengeance of the princess +Boolghan Khaloon, whose father Jagatai had perished by the daggers of +the Assassins. + +The siege of Kirdkoh was committed by Hoolagoo (who was now on his march +to Bagdad to put an end to the empire of the khalifs) to the princes of +Mazenderan and Ruyan. The castle held out for three years, and the siege +was rendered remarkable by the following curious occurrence:--It was in +the beginning of the spring when a poet named Koorbee of Ruyan came to +the camp. He began to sing, in the dialect of Taberistan, a celebrated +popular song of the spring, beginning with these lines:-- + + When the sun from the fish to the ram doth return, + Spring's banner waves high on the breeze of the morn.[66] + +[Footnote 66: + + "And Day, with his _banner_ of radiance _unfurled_, + Shines in through the mountainous portal that opes + Sublime from that valley of bliss to the world," + +says Mr. Moore in his "Lalla Rookh," undoubtedly without any knowledge +of the eastern song. His original was perhaps Campbell's + + "Andes, giant of the western star, + His meteor _standard_ to the winds _unfurled_, + Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the _world_;" + +which was again, in all probability, suggested, like Gray's + + "Loose his beard, and hoary hair + Stream'd like a _meteor_ to the troubled air," + +by Milton's + + "Imperial _ensign_, which, full high advanced, + Shone like a _meteor_ streaming to the wind." + +It is thus that the particles of poetry, like those of matter, are in +eternal circulation, and forming new combinations.] + +The song awoke in the minds of princes and soldiers the recollection of +the vernal delights they had left behind them; an invincible longing +after them seized the whole army; and, without reflecting on the +consequences, they broke up the siege, and set forth to enjoy the season +of flowers in the fragrant gardens of Mazenderan. Hoolagoo was greatly +incensed when he heard of their conduct, and sent a body of troops +against them, but forgave them on their making due apologies and +submissions. + +The Ismailite power in Persia was now completely at an end; the +khalifat, whose destruction had been its great object, was also involved +in its ruin, and the power of the Mongols established over the whole of +Iran. The Mongol troops failed in their attempts on the Ismailite +castles in Syria; but, at the end of fourteen years, what they could not +effect was achieved by the great Beibars, the Circassian Mamlook sultan +of Egypt, who reduced all the strongholds of the Assassins in the Syrian +mountains, and extinguished their power in that region. + +The last intercourse of the Assassins with the western Christians which +we read of was that with St. Louis. William of Nangis relates--but the +tale is evidently apocryphal--that in the year 1250 two of the +_Arsacidae_ were sent to France to murder that prince, who was then only +twenty-two years of age. The _Senex de Monte_ however repented, and sent +others to warn the French monarch. These arriving in time, the former +were discovered, on which the king loaded them all with presents, and +dismissed them with rich gifts for their master. + +Rejecting this idle legend, we may safely credit the account of +Joinville, that in 1250, when St. Louis was residing at Acre, after his +captivity in Egypt, he was waited on by an embassy from the Old Man of +the Mountain, the object of which was to procure, through his means, a +remission of the tribute which he paid to the Templars and the +Hospitallers. As if to obviate the answer which might naturally be made, +the ambassador said that his master considered that it would be quite +useless to sacrifice the lives of his people by murdering the masters of +these orders, as men as good as they would be immediately appointed to +succeed them. It being then morning, the king desired them to return in +the evening. When they appeared again, he had with him the masters of +the Temple and the Hospital, who, on the propositions being repeated, +declared them to be most extravagant, and assured the ambassadors that, +were it not for the sacredness of their character, and their regard for +the word of the king, they would fling them into the sea. They were +directed to go back, and to bring within fifteen days a satisfactory +letter to the king. They departed, and, returning at the appointed time, +said to the king that their chief, as the highest mark of friendship, +had sent him his own shirt and his gold ring. They also brought him +draught and chess-boards, adorned with amber, an elephant and a giraffe +(_orafle_) of crystal. The king, not to be outdone in generosity, sent +an embassy to Massyat with presents of scarlet robes, gold cups, and +silver vases, for the Ismailite chief. + +Speculative tenets will continue and be propagated long after the sect +or society which holds them may have lost all temporal influence and +consideration. Accordingly, seventy years after the destruction of +Alamoot, in the reign of Aboo-Zeid, the eighth successor of Hoolagoo, it +was found that nearly all the people of Kuhistan were devoted to the +Ismailite opinions. The monarch, who was an orthodox Soonnee, advised +with the governor of the province, and it was resolved to send a +mission, composed of learned and zealous divines, for the conversion of +the heretics. At the head of the mission was placed the pious and +orthodox sheikh Emad-ed-deen of Bokhara; the other members of it were +the sheikh's two sons and four other learned ulemas (_Doctors of law_), +in all seven persons. Full of enthusiasm and zeal for the good cause +which they had in hand, the missionaries set forth. They arrived at +Kain, the chief place of the province, and found with grief and +indignation none of the ordinary testimonies of Moslem devotion. The +mosks were in ruins, no morning or evening call to prayer was to be +heard, no school or hospital was to be seen. Emad-ed-deen resolved to +commence his mission by the solemn call to prayer. Adopting the +precaution of arraying themselves in armour, he and his companions +ascended the terrace of the castle, and all at once from its different +sides shouted forth, "Say God is great! There is no god but God, and +Mohammed is his prophet. Up to prayer; to good works!" The inhabitants, +to whom these sounds were unusual and offensive, ran together, +determined to bestow the crown of martyrdom on the missionaries; but +these good men, whose zeal was of a prudent complexion, did not, though +armed, abide the encounter. They took refuge in an aqueduct, where they +concealed themselves till the people had dispersed, when they came forth +once more, ascended the terrace, and gave the call to prayer. The people +collected again, and again the missionaries sought their retreat. By +perseverance, however, and the powerful support of the governor of the +province, they gradually accustomed the ears of the people to the forms +of orthodoxy. Many years afterwards sultan Shahrokh, the son of Timoor, +resolved to send a commission to ascertain the state of religion in +Kohistan. At the head of it he placed Jelalee of Kain, the grandson of +Emad-ed-deen, a man of learning and talent and a distinguished writer. +Jelalee deemed himself especially selected by heaven for this purpose, +as his grandsire had headed the former mission, and the Prophet had +appeared to himself in a dream, and given to him a broom to sweep the +land, which he interpreted to be a commission to sweep away the impurity +of infidelity out of the country. He therefore entered on his office +with joy, and, after a peregrination of eleven months, reported +favourably of the faith of the people of Kohistan, with the exception of +some dervishes and others, who were addicted to _Soofeeism_. + +At the present day, nearly six centuries after the destruction of the +Ismailite power, the sect is still in existence both in Persia and in +Syria. But, like that of the Anabaptists, it has lost its terrors, and +the Ismailite doctrine is now merely one of the speculative heresies of +Islam. The Syrian Ismailites dwell in eighteen villages around Massyat, +and pay an annual sum of 16,500 piastres to the governor of Hama, who +nominates their sheikh or emir. They are divided into two sects or +parties, the Sooweidanee, so named from one of their former sheikhs, and +the Khisrewee, so called on account of their great reverence for Khiser, +the guardian of the Well of Life. They are all externally rigid +observers of the precepts of Islam, but they are said to believe in the +divinity of Ali, in the uncreated light as the origin of all things, and +in the sheikh Rasheed-eddeen Sinan as the last representative of God +upon earth. + +The Persian Ismailites dwell chiefly in Roodbar, but they are to be met +all over the east, and even appear as traders on the banks of the +Ganges. Their imam, whose pedigree they trace up to Ismail, the son of +Jaaffer-es-Sadik, resides, under the protection of the Shah of Persia, +at the village of Khekh, in the district of Koom. As, according to their +doctrine, he is an incarnate ray of the Divinity, they hold him in the +utmost veneration, and make pilgrimages from the most distant places to +obtain his blessing. + +We have thus traced the origin, the growth, and the decline of this +formidable society, only to be paralleled by that of the Jesuits in +extent of power and unity of plan and purpose. Unlike this last, +however, its object was purely evil, and its career was one of blood: it +has therefore left no deeds to which its apologists might appeal in its +defence. Its history, notwithstanding, will always form a curious and +instructive chapter in that of the human race. + + + + +THE TEMPLARS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Introduction--The Crusades--Wrong Ideas respecting their + Origin--True Causes of them--Pilgrimage--Pilgrimage of Frotmond--Of + the Count of Anjou--Striking Difference between the Christianity of + the East and that of the West--Causes of their different + Characters--Feudalism--The Extent and Force of this Principle. + + +Among the many extraordinary phenomena which the middle ages present, +none is more deserving of attention, or more characteristic of the times +and the state of society and opinion, than the institution of the +religio-military orders of the Hospitallers, the Templars, and the +Teutonic Knights. Of these orders, all of which owed their origin to the +Crusades, and commenced in the 12th century, the last, after the final +loss of the Holy Land, transferring the scene of their activity to the +north of Germany, and directing their arms against the heathens who +still occupied the south coast of the Baltic, became the founders, in a +great measure, of the Prussian power; while the first, planting their +standard on the Isle of Rhodes, long gallantly withstood the forces of +the Ottoman Turks, and, when at length obliged to resign that island, +took their station on the rock of Malta, where they bravely repelled the +troops of the greatest of the Ottoman sultans, and maintained at least a +nominal independence till the close of the 18th century. A less +glorious fate attended the Knights of the Temple. They became the +victims of the unprincipled rapacity of a merciless prince; their +property was seized and confiscated; their noblest members perished in +the flames; their memory was traduced and maligned; the foulest crimes +were laid to their charge; and a secret doctrine, subversive of social +tranquillity and national independence, was asserted to have animated +their councils. Though many able defenders of these injured knights have +arisen, the charges against them have been reiterated even in the +present day; and a distinguished Orientalist (Von Hammer) has recently +even attempted to bring forward additional and novel proofs of their +secret guilt.[67] To add one more to the number of their defenders, to +trace the origin, develope the internal constitution of their society, +narrate their actions, examine the history of their condemnation and +suppression, and show how absurd and frivolous were the charges against +them, are the objects of the present writer, who, though he is +persuaded, and hopes to prove, that they held no secret doctrine, yet +places them among the secret societies of the middle ages, because it is +by many confidently maintained that they were such. + +[Footnote 67: The principal works on the subject of the Templars are +Raynouard Monumens historiques relatifs a la Condamnation des Templiers; +Dupuy Histoire de la Condamnation des Templiers; Muenter Statutenbuch des +Ordens der Tempelherren; and Wilike Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens. +There is scarcely anything on the subject in English.] + +As the society of the Templars was indebted for its origin to the +Crusades, we will, before entering on our narrative, endeavour to +correct some erroneous notions respecting the causes and nature of these +celebrated expeditions. + +The opinion of the Crusades having been an emanation of the spirit of +chivalry is one of the most erroneous that can be conceived, yet it is +one most widely spread. Romancers, and those who write history as if it +were romance, exert all their power to keep up the illusion, and the +very sound of the word Crusade conjures up in most minds the ideas of +waving plumes, gaudy surcoats, emblazoned shields, with lady's love, +knightly honour, and courteous feats of arms. A vast deal of this +perversion of truth is no doubt to be ascribed to the illustrious writer +of the splendid epic whose subject is the first Crusade. Tasso, who, +living at the time when the last faint gleam of expiring chivalry was +fitfully glowing through the moral and political gloom which was +overspreading the former abodes of freedom and industry in Italy, may be +excused if, young and unversed in the philosophy of history, he mistook +the character of European society six centuries before his time, or +deemed himself at liberty to minister to the taste of a court which +loved the fancied image of former times, and stimulate it to a generous +emulation by representing the heroes of the first Crusade as animated +with the spirit and the virtues of the ideal chivalry. But the same +excuse is not to be made for those who, writing at the present day, +confound chivalry and the Crusades, give an epitome of the history of +the latter under the title of that of the former, and venture to assert +that the valiant Tancred was the _beau ideal_ of chivalry, and that the +"Talisman" contains a faithful picture of the spirit and character of +the Crusades.[68] + +[Footnote 68: On the subject of chivalry see Ste. Palaye Memoires sur la +Chevalerie, Sir W. Scott's Essay on the same subject, and Mills's and +James's histories of chivalry. We do not recollect that any of these +writers has fairly proved that the chivalry which they describe ever +existed as an institution, and we must demur to the principle which they +all assume of romances like Perceforest being good authority for the +manners of the age in which they were composed.] + +We venture to assert that the Crusades did _not_ originate in chivalry, +and that the first Crusade, the most important of them, and that which +gave the tone and character to all the succeeding ones, does not present +a single vestige of what is usually understood by the term chivalry, not +a trace of what the imagination rather than the knowledge of Burke +described as embodying "the generous loyalty to rank and sex, the proud +submission, the dignified obedience, and that subordination of the heart +which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted +freedom--that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honour, which +felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated +ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice +itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness." Little surely +does he know of the 11th century and its spirit who can suppose any part +of the foregoing description to apply to those who marched in arms to +Asia to free the sepulchre of Christ; slightly must he have perused the +_Gesta Tancredi_ of Radulphus Cadomens, who can conceive that gallant +warrior, as he undoubtedly was, to have been the mirror of chivalry. + +Chivalry and the Crusades commenced in the same century, and drew their +origin from the same source. One was not the cause of the other, but +both were effects of the same cause, and that cause was _feudalism_. +This inculcated "the proud submission, the dignified obedience," &c., +&c., which were gradually idealised into chivalry; it impressed on the +mind of the vassal those principles of regard to the rights and property +of his lord which seemed to justify and sanction the Holy War. +Previously, however, to explaining the manner in which this motive +acted, we must stop to notice another concurring cause of the Crusades, +without which it would perhaps never have begun to operate. + +Man has at all periods been led by a strong impulse of his nature to +visit those spots which have been distinguished as the scenes of great +and celebrated actions, or the abode of distinguished personages. The +operation of this natural feeling is still stronger when it is combined +with religion, and there arises a conviction that the object of his +worship is gratified by this act of attention, and his favour thereby +secured to the votary. Hence we find _pilgrimage_, or the practice of +taking distant journeys to celebrated temples, and other places of +devotion, to have prevailed in all ages of the world. In the most remote +periods of the mythic history of Greece, where historic truth is not to +be sought, and only manners and modes of thinking are to be discerned, +we constantly meet the _theoria_, or pilgrimage to Delphi, mentioned in +the history of the heroes, whence we may with certainty collect that it +formed at all times a portion of the manners of the Greeks. India, at +the present day, witnesses annually the pilgrimage of myriads to the +temple of Juggernaut, and Jerusalem has been for thousands of years the +resort of pious Israelites. + +The country which had witnessed the life and death of their Lord +naturally acquired importance in the eyes of the early Christians, many +of whom, moreover, were Jews by birth, and had always viewed Jerusalem +with feelings of veneration. All, too, confounded--as has unfortunately +been too much the case in later times--the old and the new law, and saw +not that the former was but "beggarly elements" in comparison with the +latter, and deemed that the political and economical precepts designed +for a single nation, inhabiting one small region, were obligatory on the +church of Christ, which was intended to comprise the whole human race. +Many of the practices of Judaism were therefore observed by the +Christians, and to this principle we are perhaps in a great measure to +ascribe the rapid progress of the practice, and the belief in the +efficacy, of pilgrimage to the Holy City. + +The abuses of pilgrimage were early discerned, and some of the more +pious Fathers of the Church preached and wrote against the practice. But +piety and eloquence were vain, and could little avail to stem the +torrent when men believed that the waters of Jordan had efficacy to wash +every sin, though unattended by sincere repentance. The Church, as she +advanced in corruption, improved in worldly wisdom, and, taking +pilgrimage under her protection, made it a part of her penal discipline. +The sinner was now ordered a journey to the Holy Land as a means of +freeing his soul from the guilt of his perhaps manifold enormities. Each +year saw the number of the pilgrims augment, while the growing +veneration for relics, of which those which came from the Holy Land were +esteemed the most efficacious, stimulated pilgrimage by adding the +incentive of profit, as a small stock of money laid out in the purchase +of the generally counterfeit relics always on sale at Jerusalem would +produce perhaps a thousand per cent. on the return of the pilgrim to his +native country. A pilgrim was also held in respect and veneration +wherever he came, as an especial favourite of the Divinity, having been +admitted by him to the high privilege of visiting the sacred places, a +portion of whose sanctity it would be supposed might still adhere to +him. + +The 11th century was the great season of pilgrimage. A strange +misconception of the meaning of a portion of Scripture had led men to +fancy that the year 1000 was to be that of the advent of Christ, to +judge the world. As the valley of Jehoshaphat was believed to be the +spot on which this awful event would take place, the same feeling which +leads people at the present day to lay a flattering unction to their +souls by supposing that death-bed repentance will prove equivalent in +the sight of God to a life passed in obedience to his will and in the +exercise of virtue, impelled numbers to journey to the Holy Land, in the +belief that this officiousness, as it were, of hitherto negligent +servants would be well taken by their Lord, and procure them an +indulgent hearing before his judgment-seat. Pilgrimage, therefore, +increased greatly; the failure of their expectations, the appointed time +having passed away without the Son of Man coming in the clouds of +Heaven, gave it no check, but, on the contrary, rather an additional +impulse; and during this century the caravans of pilgrims attained to +such magnitude and strength as to be deserving of the appellation of +_The armies of the Lord_--precursive of the first and greatest Crusade. + +In truth the belief in the merit and even the obligation of a +pilgrimage, to Jerusalem, in the sight of God, was now as firmly +impressed on the mind of every Christian, be his rank what it might, as +that of the necessity and advantage of one to the Kaaba of Mecca is in +the apprehension of the followers of Mohammed; and in the degraded state +of the human intellect at that period a pilgrimage was deemed adequate +to the removal of all sin. As a proof of this we shall narrate the +pilgrimages of two distinguished personages of those times. The first +occurred in the 9th, the second in the 11th century. + +In the reign of Lothaire, son of Louis the Debonnaire, a nobleman of +Brittany, named Frotmond, who had murdered his uncle and his youngest +brother, began to feel remorse for his crimes. Arrayed in the habit of a +penitent, he presented himself before the monarch and an assembly of his +prelates, and made confession of his guilty deeds. The king and bishops +had him straitly bound in chains of iron, and then commanded him, in +expiation of his guilt, to set forth for the East, and visit all the +holy places, clad in hair-cloth, and his forehead marked with ashes. +Accompanied by his servants and the partners of his crime, the Breton +lord directed his course to Palestine, which he reached in safety. +Having, in obedience to the mandates of his sovereign and of the church, +visited all the holy places, he crossed the Arabian desert, which had +been the scene of the wanderings of Israel, and entered Egypt. He thence +traversed a part of Africa, and went as far as Carthage, whence he +sailed for Rome. Here the Pope, on being consulted, advised him to make +a second pilgrimage, in order to complete his penance, and obtain the +perfect remission of his sins. Frotmond accordingly set forth once more, +and having performed the requisite duties at the Holy City, proceeded to +the shore of the Red Sea, and there took up his abode for three years on +Mount Sinai, after which time he made a journey to Armenia, and visited +the mountain on which the ark of Noah had rested. His crimes being now, +according to the ideas of those times, expiated, he returned to his +native country, where he was received as a saint, and taking up his +abode in the convent of Redon, passed there the remainder of his days, +and died deeply regretted by his brethren.[69] + +[Footnote 69: Michaud, Histoire des Croisades, I., p. 59.] + +Fulk de Nerra, Count of Anjou, had spilt much innocent blood; he had had +his first wife burnt alive, and forced his second wife to seek refuge +from his barbarity in the Holy Land. The public odium pursued him, and +conscience asserting her rights presented to his disturbed imagination +the forms of those who had perished by him issuing from their tombs, and +reproaching him with his crimes. Anxious to escape from his invisible +tormentors, the count put on him the habit of a pilgrim, and set forth +for Palestine. The tempests which he encountered in the Syrian seas +seemed to his guilty soul the instruments of divine vengeance, and +augmented the fervour of his repentance. Having reached Jerusalem in +safety, he set heartily about the work of penance. He traversed the +streets of the Holy City with a cord about his neck, and beaten with +rods by his servants, while he repeated these words, _Lord, have mercy +on a faithless and perjured Christian, on a sinner wandering far from +his home_. During his abode in Jerusalem he gave abundant alms, +relieving the wants of the pilgrims, and leaving numerous monuments of +his piety and munificence. + +Deep as was the penitence of the Count of Anjou, it did not stand in the +way of the exercise of a little pious fraud. By an ingenious device he +deceived the impious malignity of the profane Saracens, who would have +made him defile the holy sepulchre; and the chroniclers tell us that as +he lay prostrate before the sacred tomb he contrived to detach from it a +precious stone, which he carried back with him to the West. On his +return to his duchy he built, at the castle of Loches, a church after +the model of that of the Resurrection at Jerusalem, and here he every +day implored with tears the divine forgiveness. His mind, however, could +not yet rest; he was still haunted by the same horrid images; and he +once more visited the Holy Land, and edified the faithful by the +austerity of his penance. Returning home by the way of Italy, he +delivered the supreme pontiff from a formidable enemy who was ravaging +his territory, and the grateful pope conferred on him in return the full +absolution of all his sins. Fulk brought with him to Anjou a great +quantity of relics, with which he adorned the churches of Loches and +Angers; and his chief occupation thenceforward was the building of +towns and monasteries, whence he acquired the name of _The Great +Builder_. His people, who blessed heaven for his conversion, honoured +and loved him; the guilt of his sins had been removed by the means which +were then deemed of sovereign efficacy; yet still the monitor placed by +God in the human breast, and which in a noble mind no power can reduce +to perfect silence, did not rest; and the Holy Land beheld, for the +third time, the Count of Anjou watering the sepulchre of Christ with his +tears, and groaning afresh over his transgressions. He quitted Jerusalem +for the last time, recommending his soul to the prayers of the pious +brethren whose office it was to receive the pilgrims, and turned his +face homewards. But Anjou he was never more to behold; death surprised +him at Metz. His body was transferred to Loches, and buried in his +church of the Holy Sepulchre. + +These instances may suffice to show what the opinion of the efficacy and +merit of pilgrimage to the Holy Land was at the time of which we write. +We here find convincing proof that in the minds of princes and prelates, +the highest and most enlightened order of society, it was confidently +believed to avail to remove the guilt of crimes of the deepest die. And +let not any one say that the clergy took advantage of the ignorance of +the people, and made it the instrument of extending their own power and +influence; for such an assertion would evince ignorance both of human +nature in general and of the temper and conduct of the Romish hierarchy +at that, and we might almost say at all periods of its existence. +However profligate the lives of many of the clergy may have been, they +never called in question the truth of the dogmas of their religion. Even +the great and daring Gregory VII., in the midst of what appear to us his +arrogant and almost impious assumptions, never for a moment doubted of +the course which he was pursuing being the right one, and agreeable to +heaven. The clergy, as well as the laity, were firmly persuaded of the +efficacy of pilgrimage, and in both the persuasion was naturally +stronger in proportion to the ignorance of the believer. We accordingly +find that vast numbers of all ranks, and both sexes, clergy as well as +laity, annually repaired to the tomb of Christ. + +It remains to be explained what the principle was which gave origin to +the idea of the right and justice of recovering the Holy Land, which was +now in the hands of the fanatic Turks, instead of those of the tolerant +Saracens. This cause was, as we have above asserted, the feudal spirit, +that is, the spirit of the age, and not that emanation of it termed +chivalry. + +Religion, whatever its original nature and character, will always take a +tinge from the manners and temper of those who adopt it. Nothing can be +more illustrative of the truth of this observation than the history of +the Christian religion. Any one who opens the Gospel, and reads it +without preconception or prejudice, cannot fail at once to recognise the +rational and fervent piety, the active benevolence, the pure morality, +the noble freedom from the trammels of the world, joined with the +zealous discharge of all the social duties, which every page of it +inculcates. Yet we find this religion in the East degenerating into +abject grovelling superstition and metaphysical quibbling, pursued with +all the rancour of the _odium theologicum_, while in the West it assumed +a fiery fanatic character, and deemed the sword an instrument of +conversion superior to reason and argument. This difference, apparently +so strange, arose from the difference of the social state and political +institutions of the people of the East and of the West at the time when +they embraced Christianity. + +The free spirit had long since fled from Greece when the first +Christian missionaries preached the faith among its people. But the +temper of the Greek was still lively, and his reasoning powers acute. +Moreover, he had still the same leaning towards a sensible and material +religion which has at all times distinguished him, and the increasing +despotism of the empire depressed and enfeebled more and more every day +the martial spirit which he had displayed in the days of his freedom. No +field remained for his mental activity but that of philosophy and +religion. The former, which had long been his delight, he had contrived +to subtilize into an almost unintelligible mysticism; and in this form +it speedily spread its infection through his new faith, which was +besides further metamorphosed and changed in character by an infusion +from the dualistic system of Persia. Meantime the ascetic spirit which +had come from the East joined with the timidity engendered by the +pressure of despotism to make him mistake the spirit of the Gospel, and +convert Christianity into a crouching cowardly superstition. When the +emperor Nicephorus Phocas sought to infuse a martial and fanatic spirit +into his subjects, and to rouse them to vigorous exertion against the +Saracens, his bishops replied to his exhortations by citing a canon of +St. Basil, which directed that he who had slain an enemy in battle +should abstain during three years from participation in the holy +sacraments. The priest of a little town in Cilicia was engaged one day +in saying mass when a band of Saracens burst in, and began to plunder +the town. Without waiting to take off his sacerdotal vestments, he +seized the hammer, which in the churches of the East frequently serves +the purpose of a bell, and, flying among the infidels, plied his weapon +to such effect that he forced them to a precipitate flight, and saved +the town. What was the reward of the gallant priest? He was censured by +his diocesan, interdicted the exercise of his ghostly functions, and so +ill-treated in other respects, that he flung off his robes and joined +the Saracens, whose more martial and energetic creed accorded better +with his manly sentiments. When the pilgrims of the first Crusade began +to arrive in such terrific numbers at Constantinople, the Greek emperor +and his subjects could hardly persuade themselves of the possibility of +religion being the actuating cause of such a portentous movement--so +little did religion and deeds of arms accord in their minds! + +But with the nations of the West the case was different. In these the +ruling portion, that which gave tone to the whole, were of the Gothic +and Germanic races, whose hardy bands had dashed to pieces the worn-out +fabric of the Western empire. Worshippers in their native forests of +Thor and Odin, and the other deities of Valhalla, who admitted none but +the valiant dead to share in the celestial pork and mead which each day +crowned the board in their lucid abode, their manners, their sentiments, +their whole being was martial, and they infused this spirit into the +religion which they adopted from their Roman subjects. In making this +change in its tone they derived aid from the Jewish portion of the +sacred volume, which has been in all ages abused, by men ignorant of its +character and original use, to purposes of fanaticism and persecution; +and the religion of Christian Europe, from the fifth century downwards, +became of a martial and conquering character. By the sword Charlemagne +converted the pagan Saxons; his successors employed the sword against +the heathen Vends; and by fire and sword Olof Triggva-son spread +Christianity throughout the North. In former times this mode of +conversion had been in a great degree foreign to the Western church; and +persuasion had been chiefly employed in the dissemination of the faith +among the heathen nations. + +The religion of the West we thus see was martial; but this spirit alone +would not have sufficed to produce the Crusade which was to interest and +appear as a duty to all orders of men. Here the feudal principle came +into operation, and gave the requisite impulse. + +In the 11th century the feudal system was completely developed in France +and Germany, and the modes of thinking, speaking, and acting derived +from it pervaded all the relations of life. From the top to the bottom +of society the mutual obligations of lords and vassals were recognised +and acted upon, and each vassal deemed it a most sacred duty to defend +by arms the honour and property of his superior lord. There was also a +kind of supreme temporal chief of the Christian world acknowledged in +the person of the Emperor of Germany, who was viewed as the successor of +Charlemagne, and the representative of the Roman emperors. The feudal +ideas extended even to the hierarchy, which now put forth such +exorbitant claims to supremacy over the temporal power. The head of the +church was an acknowledged vicegerent of Him who was styled in scripture +Lord of all the kingdoms of the earth. Jesus Christ was, therefore, the +apex of the pyramid of feudal society; he was the great suzerain and +lord paramount of all princes and peoples, and all were equally under +obligation to defend his rights and honour. Such were evidently the +sentiments of the age. + +It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that the religion of the +period which we treat of was of a gross and material character, and that +the passions and infirmities of human nature were freely bestowed on the +glorified Son of God. He was deemed to take a peculiar interest in the +spot of land where he had sojourned when on earth, and more especially +in the tomb in which his body had been deposited, and with grief and +indignation to see them in the hands of those who contemptuously derided +his divinity, and treated with insult and cruelty those of his faithful +vassals who underwent the toils and dangers of a distant journey to +offer their homage at his tomb. Nothing could, therefore, be more +grateful to his feelings than to behold the sacred soil of Palestine +free from heathen pollution, and occupied and defended by his faithful +vassals, and no true son of the church could hesitate a moment to +believe that it was his bounden duty to arm himself in the cause of his +lord, and help to reinstate him in his heritage. Here, then, without +having recourse to the romantic principle of chivalry, we have an +adequate solution of the phenomenon of the first Crusade. Here we have a +motive calculated to operate on the minds of all orders, equally +effectual with men of piety, virtue, and wealth, like Godfrey of +Bouillon and Stephen of Chartres, who looked for no temporal advantages, +as with the meanest and most superstitious of the vassals and serfs who +might be supposed to have only sought a refuge from misery and +oppression by assuming the cross. We would not by any means be supposed +to deny that many other causes and motives were in operation at the same +time; but this we deem the grand one. This was the motive which gave +dignity to and hallowed all others, and which affected the mind of every +Crusader, be his rank or station in society what it might. + +Pilgrimage then was esteemed a duty, and a powerful mean of removing +guilt and appeasing the wrath of the Almighty; the spirit of the age was +martial, and its religion, tinged by the ancient system of the North of +Europe, was of the same character; the feudal principle was in its +vigour, and extended even to the relations of man with the deity; the +rude and barbarous Turks had usurped the heritage, the very crown-lands, +as we may say, of Jesus Christ, and insulted his servants, whose duty it +plainly was to punish them, and free the tomb of their lord;--the +natural result of such a state of circumstances and opinion was the +first Crusade. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + First Hospital at Jerusalem--Church of Santa Maria de + Latina--Hospital of St. John--The Hospitallers--Origin of the + Templars--Their original Poverty--They acquire Consideration--St. + Bernard--His Character of the Templars--The Order approved of and + confirmed by the Council of Troyes--Proofs of the Esteem in which + they were held. + + +In consequence of the resort of pilgrims and traders from the West to +Jerusalem it had been found necessary to build there, with the consent +of the Saracens, _hospitia_, or places of entertainment for them during +their abode in the holy city. For they could not, consistently with the +religious animosity which prevailed between them and the Moslems, seek +the hospitality of these last, and the Christians of the Greek church +who dwelt in the Holy City, besides that they had no very friendly +feeling towards their Catholic brethren, were loth to admit them into +their houses, on account of the imprudent language and indecorous acts +in which they were too frequently in the habit of indulging, and which +were so likely to compromise their hosts with their Saracen lords. +Accordingly the monk Bernard, who visited Jerusalem in the year 870, +found there, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, near the church of the Holy +Virgin, a hospital consisting of twelve mansions, for western pilgrims, +which was in the possession of some gardens, vineyards, and corn-fields. +It had also a good collection of books, the gift of Charlemagne. There +was a market held in front of it, which was much resorted to, and every +dealer paid two pieces of gold to the overseer for permission to have a +stand there. + +In the 11th century, when the ardour of pilgrimage was inflamed anew, +there was a hospital within the walls of Jerusalem for the use of the +Latin pilgrims, which had been erected by Italian traders, chiefly of +Amalfi. Near this hospital, and within a stone's cast of the church of +the Holy Sepulchre, they erected, with the permission of the Egyptian +khalif, a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin, which was usually called +Sta. Maria de Latina. In this hospital abode an abbot and a good number +of monks, who were of the Latin church, and followed the rule of St. +Benedict. They devoted themselves to the reception and entertainment of +pilgrims, and gave alms to those who were poor, or had been rifled by +robbers, to enable them to pay the tax required by the Moslems for +permission to visit the holy places. When the number of the pilgrims +became so great that the hospital was incapable of receiving them all, +the monks raised another _hospitium_ close by their church, with a +chapel dedicated to a canonized patriarch of Alexandria, named St. John +Eleemon, or the Compassionate. This new hospital had no income of its +own; the monks and the pilgrims whom they received derived their support +from the bounty of the abbot of the convent of the Holy Virgin, or from +the alms of pious Christians. + +At the time when the army of the crusaders appeared before the walls of +Jerusalem the Hospital of St. John was presided over by Gerard, a native +of Provence, a man of great uprightness and of exemplary piety. His +benevolence was of a truly Christian character, and far transcended that +of his age in general; for during the period of the siege he relieved +all who applied to him for succour, and not merely did the schismatic +Greek share his bounty, even the unbelieving Moslem was not repelled +when he implored his aid. When the city was taken, numbers of the +wounded pilgrims were received, and their wounds tended in the hospital +of St. John, and the pious Duke Godfrey, on visiting them some days +afterwards, heard nothing but the praises of the good Gerard and his +monks. + +Emboldened by the universal favour which they enjoyed, Gerard and his +companions expressed their wish to separate themselves from the +monastery of Sta. Maria de Latina, and pursue their works of charity +alone and independently. Their desire met no opposition: they drew up a +rule for themselves, to which they made a vow of obedience in presence +of the patriarch, and assumed as their dress a black mantle with a white +cross on the breast. The humility of these Hospitallers was extreme. +They styled the poor and the sick their lords and themselves their +servants; to them they were liberal and compassionate, to themselves +rigid and austere. The finest flour went to compose the food which they +gave to the sick and poor; what remained after they were satisfied, +mingled with clay, was the repast of the monks. + +As long as the brotherhood were poor they continued in obedience to the +abbot of Sta. Maria de Latina, and also paid tithes to the patriarch. +But a tide of wealth soon began to flow in upon them. Duke Godfrey, +enamoured of their virtue, bestowed on them his lordship of Montboire, +in Brabant, with all its appurtenances; and his brother and successor, +Baldwin, gave them a share of all the booty taken from the infidels. +These examples were followed by other Christian princes; so that within +the space of a very few years the Hospital of St. John was in possession +of numerous manors both in the East and in Europe, which were placed +under the management of members of their society. The Hospitallers now +coveted a total remission of all the burdens to which they were subject, +and they found no difficulty in obtaining all that they desired. Pope +Paschal II., in the year 1113, confirmed their rule, gave them +permission, on the death of Gerard, to elect their own head, without the +interference of any temporal or spiritual power whatever, freed them +from the obligation of paying tithes to the patriarch, and confirmed all +the donations made or to be made to them. The brotherhood of the +Hospital was now greatly advanced in consideration, and reckoned among +its members many gallant knights, who laid aside their arms, and devoted +themselves to the humble office of ministering to the sick and needy. + +The worthy Gerard died in the same year with King Baldwin I. (1118), and +Raymond Dupuy, a knight of Dauphine, who had become a brother of the +order, was unanimously elected to succeed him in his office. Raymond, +who was a man of great vigour and capacity, drew up a series of rules +for the direction of the society, adapted to its present state of +consequence and extent. From these rules it appears that the order of +St. John admitted both the clergy and the laity among its members, and +that both were alike bound to yield the most implicit obedience to the +commands of their superior. Whether Raymond had any ulterior views is +uncertain, but in the regulations which he made we cannot discern any +traces of the spirit which afterwards animated the order of St. John. + +Just, however, as Raymond had completed his regulations there sprang up +a new society, with different maxims, whose example that of St. John +found itself afterwards obliged to adopt and follow. The Holy Land was +at that time in a very disturbed and unquiet state; the Egyptian power +pressed it on the south, the Turkish on the north and east; the Arab +tribes indulged in their usual predatory habits, and infested it with +hostile incursions; the Mussulman inhabitants were still numerous; the +Syrian Christians were ill affected towards the Latins, from whom they +frequently experienced the grossest ill-treatment; the Latins were few +and scattered. Hence the pilgrim was exposed to numerous dangers; peril +beset him on his way from the port at which he landed to the Holy City, +and new perils awaited him when he visited the banks of the Jordan, or +went to pluck his branch of consecrated palm in the gardens of Jericho. +Many a pilgrim had lost his life on these occasions. + +Viewing these evils, nine valiant and pious knights resolved to form +themselves into an association which should unite the characters of the +monk and the knight, by devoting themselves to a life of chastity and +piety at the tomb of the Saviour, and by employing their swords in the +protection of the pilgrims on their visits to the holy places. They +selected as their patroness the sweet Mother of God (_La doce Mere de +Dieu_), and their resolution, according so perfectly with the spirit of +the Crusades, which combined piety and valour, gained at once the warm +approbation of the king and the patriarch. In the presence of the latter +they took the three ordinary vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, +and a fourth of fighting incessantly in the cause of pilgrims and the +Holy Land against the heathen. They bound themselves to live according +to the rule of the canons of St. Augustine, and elected as their first +master Hugh de Payens. The king, Baldwin II., assigned them a portion of +his palace for their abode, and he and his barons contributed to their +support. As the palace stood close by the church and convent of the +Temple, the abbot and canons gave them a street leading from it to the +palace, for keeping their magazines and equipments in, and hence they +styled themselves the Soldiery of the Temple (_Militia Templi_), and +Templars. They attracted such immediate consideration, owing in great +part, no doubt, to the novelty of their plan, that the very year after +their establishment (1120), Fulk, Count of Anjou, who was come on +pilgrimage to Jerusalem, joined their society as a married brother, and +on his return home annually remitted them thirty pounds of silver in +furtherance of their pious objects, and the example of the Count of +Anjou was followed by several other princes and nobles of the West. + +The English historian, Brompton, who wrote in the 12th century, asserts +that the founders of the order of the Temple had originally been members +of that of St. John. We know not what degree of credit this may be +entitled to[70], but it is certain that there had been as yet nothing of +a military character in this last, and that its assumption of such a +character was an imitation of the society of the Temple; for, urged by +the praise which they saw lavished on the Templars for their meritorious +conduct, the Hospitallers resolved to add the task of protecting to that +of tending and relieving pilgrims, and such of their members as were +knights resumed their arms, joyful to employ them once more in the cause +of God. The amplitude of their revenues enabled them to take a number of +knights and footmen into their pay--a practice in which they had +probably been preceded by the Templars, who thus employed the money +which was remitted to them from Europe. But during the lifetime of +Raymond Dupuy the order of the Hospital did not become completely a +military one; he always bore the simple title of director +(_procurator_) of the Hospital, and it was not till some time afterwards +that the head of the society was, like that of the Templars, styled +master, and led its troops to battle. At all times the tendence of the +poor and the sick formed a part of the duties of the brethren of the +Hospital, and this was always a marked distinction between them and the +rival order of the Temple, whose only task was that of fighting against +the infidels. + +[Footnote 70: The other writers of that century agree in the account +given above. Brompton's authority has been preferred by some modern +writers, who probably wished to pay their court to the order of Malta.] + +[Illustration] + +During the first nine years which elapsed after the institution of their +order the knights of the Temple lived in poverty, religiously devoting +all the money which was sent to them from Europe to the advantage of the +Holy Land, and the service of pilgrims. They had no peculiar habit, +their raiment was such as the charity of the faithful bestowed upon +them; and though knights, and engaged in constant warfare against the +infidels, their poverty and moderation were such that Hugh des Payens +and his companion, Godfrey, of St. Omer, had but one war-horse between +them--a circumstance which they afterwards, in their brilliant period, +commemorated by their seal, which represented two knights mounted on the +one horse, a device chosen with a view to inculcating humility on the +brethren, now beginning to wax haughty and insolent. + +A chief cause of the extraordinary success of the first Crusaders had +been the want of union among their enemies. The Saracens and Turks +mutually hated each other, and would not combine for a common object, +and the Turks were, moreover, at enmity among themselves, and one prince +frequently allied himself with the Christians against another. But they +were now beginning to perceive the necessity of union, and were becoming +every day more formidable to their Christian neighbours. King Baldwin +II., who had been a prisoner in their hands, made every effort when he +had obtained his freedom to strengthen his kingdom, and, among other +means for this purpose, he resolved to gain for the Templars, whose +valour, humility, and single-mindedness were the theme of general +applause, additional consideration, by obtaining from the Holy Father +the confirmation of their order. With this view he despatched, in the +year 1127, two of their members, named Andreas and Gundemar, to Rome, +with this request to the Pope, to whom they were also to make a strong +representation of the perilous state of the Holy Land. The king, +moreover, furnished them with a letter of recommendation to St. Bernard, +Abbot of Clairvaux, whose influence was then all-powerful in the +Christian world, and who was nephew of the envoy Andreas. Shortly +afterwards Hugh de Payens himself arrived in Europe with five others of +the brethren. + +Nothing could be more advantageous to the new order than the favour and +countenance of the illustrious Abbot of Clairvaux, who had been for some +time past an admirer of its objects and deeds. Three years before this +time he had written a letter to the Count of Champagne, who had entered +the order of the Templars, praising the act as one of eminent merit in +the sight of God. He now, on occasion of the visit of the Master[71], +wrote, at his request, an eloquent work, exhorting the brethren of the +new order to persevere in their toilsome but highly laudable task of +fighting against the tyranny of the heathens, and commending their piety +to the attention of all the faithful, setting in strong opposition to +the luxury of the knights of his time the modesty and simplicity of +these holy warriors. He extolled the unlimited obedience of the Templars +to their Master, both at home and in the field. "They go and come," says +he, "at a sign from their Master; they wear the clothing which he gives +them, and ask neither food nor clothing from any one else; they live +cheerfully and temperately together, without wives and children, and, +that nothing may be wanting for evangelical perfection, without +property, in one house, endeavouring to preserve the unity of the spirit +in the bond of peace, so that one heart and one soul would appear to +dwell in them all. They never sit idle, or go about gaping alter news. +When they are resting from warfare against the infidels, a thing which +rarely occurs, not to eat the bread of idleness, they employ themselves +in repairing their clothes and arms, or do something which the command +of the Master or the common need enjoins. There is with them no respect +of persons; the best, not the noblest, are the most highly regarded; +they endeavour to anticipate one another in respect and to lighten each +other's burdens. No unseemly word or light mocking, no murmur or +immoderate laughter, is let to pass unreproved, if any one should allow +himself to indulge in such. They avoid games of chess and tables; they +are adverse to the chase, and equally so to hawking, in which others so +much delight. They hate all jugglers and mountebanks, all wanton songs +and plays, as vanities and follies of this world. They cut their hair in +obedience to these words of the apostle, 'it is not seemly in a man to +have long hair;' no one ever sees them dressed out; they are seldom ever +washed; they are mostly to be seen with disordered hair, and covered +with dust, brown from their corslets and the heat of the sun. When they +go forth to war they arm themselves within with faith, without with +iron, but never adorn themselves with gold, wishing to excite fear in +the enemy, and not the desire of booty. They delight in horses which are +strong and swift, not in such as are handsomely marked and richly +caparisoned, wishing to inspire terror rather than admiration. They go +not impetuously and headlong into battle, but with care and foresight, +peacefully, as the true children of Israel. But as soon as the fight has +begun, then they rush without delay on the foes, esteeming them but as +sheep; and know no fear, even though they should be few, relying on the +aid of the Lord of Sabaoth. Hence one of them has often put a thousand, +and two of them ten thousand, to flight. Thus they are, in union +strange, at the same time gentler than lambs and grimmer than lions, so +that one may doubt whether to call them monks or knights. But both names +suit them, for theirs is the mildness of the monk and the valour of the +knight. What remains to be said but that this is the Lord's doing, and +it is wonderful in our eyes? Such are they whom God has chosen out of +the bravest in Israel, that, watchful and true, they may guard the holy +sepulchre, armed with swords, and well skilled in war." + +[Footnote 71: Wilken I. 28, gives 1135 as the year in which this piece +was written.] + +Though in these expressions of St. Bernard there may be perceived some +marks of rhetorical exaggeration, they prove incontestibly the high +character and sincere virtue of the founders of the society of the +Templars, and that it was organized and regulated with none but worthy +objects in view. They also offer, if such were required, an additional +proof that the crusade was no emanation of chivalry; for those to whom +St. Bernard throughout sets the Templars in opposition were the chivalry +of the age. + +This epistle of the Abbot of Clairvaux had been circulated, and every +other just and honest mean employed to conciliate the public favour for +the Templars, when, on the 31st January, 1128, the Master, Hugh de +Payens, appeared before the council of Troyes, consisting of the +Archbishops of Rheims and Sens, ten bishops, and a number of abbots, +among whom was St. Bernard himself, and presided over by the Cardinal of +Albano, the papal legate. The Master having given an account of the +principles and exploits of the Templars, the assembled fathers approved +of the new order, and gave them a new rule, containing their own +previous regulations, with several additions drawn from that of the +Benedictines, and chiefly relating to spiritual matters. The validity of +this rule was made to depend on the approbation of it by the Holy Father +and by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, neither of whom hesitated to confirm +it. By the direction of the Pope Honorius, the synod appointed a white +mantle to be the distinguishing dress of the brethren of the Temple, +that of those of the Hospital being black. This mantle was plain, +without any cross, and such it remained till the pontificate of Pope +Eugenius III., who, in 1146, appointed the Templars to wear a _red_ +cross on the breast, as a symbol of the martyrdom to which they stood +constantly exposed: the cross worn on their black mantles, by the +knights of St. John, was, as we have seen[72], _white_. The order now +assumed, or were assigned, a peculiar banner, formed of cloth, striped +black and white, called in old French, _Bauseant_[73], which word became +the battle-cry of the knights of the Temple, and often struck terror +into the hearts of the infidels. It bore on it the ruddy cross of the +order, and the pious and humble inscription, _Non nobis, Domine, non +nobis, sed nomini tuo, da gloriam_, (Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but +to thy name give the glory!) + +[Footnote 72: _See_ p. 187. Sir W. Scott describes his Templar in +Ivanhoe, as wearing a white mantle with a _black_ cross of eight points. +The original cross of the Hospitallers, we may observe, had not eight +points. That of the order of Malta was of this form.] + +[Footnote 73: _Bauseant_, or _Bausant_, was, in old French, a piebald +horse, or a horse marked white and black. Ducange, Roquefort. The word +is still preserved with its original meaning in the Scotch dialect, in +the form _Bawsent_: + + "His honest, sonsie, baws'nt face + Aye gat him friends in ilka place," + +says Burns, describing the "ploughman's collie," in his tale of the "Twa +Dogs;" and in the Glossary, Dr. Currie explains _Baws'nt_ as meaning +"having a white stripe down the face." As, however, some notion of +handsomeness or attractiveness of appearance seems to be involved in the +epithet, _Bauseant_, or _Beauseant_, may possibly be merely an older +form of the present French word, _Bienseant_.] + +Several knights now assumed the habit of the order, and in a progress +which Hugh de Payens, accompanied by some of the brethren, made through +France and England, he acquired for it universal favour. He did not +neglect the charge, committed to him by the king of Jerusalem, of +invoking aid for the Holy Land, now so hard bested, and his exhortations +were not without effect. Fulk, Count of Anjou, now rejoined his Master +and brethren; but as he had gotten an invitation to repair to Jerusalem, +and espouse the only daughter of the King, he set out before them to the +East. + +Hugh de Payens would admit no knight into the order who did not +terminate all his feuds and enmities, and amend his life. Thus, when a +knight, named Hugh d'Amboise, who had oppressed the people of +Marmoutier, and had refused obedience to the judicial sentence of the +Count of Anjou, was desirous to enter the order, he refused to admit him +to take the vows till he had given perfect satisfaction to those whom he +had injured. + +Honour and respect awaited the Templars wherever they appeared, and +persons of all ranks were eager to do what might be grateful to them. +When the Templar who came with the seal of Godfrey of St. Omer, as his +credential to the governor of that place, to demand his goods which +Godfrey had given the order, he met with a most favourable reception, +not only from the governor, but from the bishop; and on their applying, +as was necessary in this case, to the Count of Flanders and Alsatia, +that prince was so far from throwing any impediments in the way, that, +in a very short space of time, the buildings which had belonged to +Godfrey were converted into a church and a temple-house. Many Flemish +gentlemen followed the example of Godfrey, and bestowed a part of their +property on the Templars. King Henry I. of England, who met and +conversed with Hugh de Payens in Normandy, was so pleased with his +account of the new order, that he presented him with many rich gifts, +and gave him strong recommendations to the principal of the English +barons. The Emperor Lothaire bestowed in 1130 on the order a large part +of his patrimony of Supplinburg. The old Count Raymond Berenger, of +Barcelona and Provence, weary of the world and of the toils of +government, became a Templar, and took up his abode in the temple-house +at Barcelona; and, as he could not go personally to combat the infidels +in the Holy Land, he continually sent rich gifts to the brethren at +Jerusalem, and he complied rigorously with all the other duties of the +order. In 1133 Alfonso, king of Arragon and Navarre, a valiant and +warlike monarch, who had been victor in nine and twenty battles against +the Moors, finding himself old and without children, made a will, by +which he appointed the knights of the Temple and of the Hospital, +together with the canons of the Holy Sepulchre, to be his joint-heirs, +deeming, perhaps, that the most gallant defenders of the Holy Land would +best prosecute his favourite object of breaking the power of the +infidels. The aged monarch fell the following year in the battle of +Fraga, against the Moors; and, negligent of his disposition of the +realm, the nobles of Arragon and Navarre met and chose sovereigns out of +his family. The orders were not strong enough to assert their rights; +and this instance, therefore, only serves to show the high degree of +consideration to which they had so early attained. + +[Illustration: Seal of the Templars.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Return of the Templars to the East--Exoneration and Refutation of + the Charge of a Connection with the Ismailites--Actions of the + Templars--Crusade of Louis VII.--Siege of Ascalon--Sale of + Nassir-ed-deen--Corruption of the Hospitallers--The bull, _Omne + Datum Optimum_--Refusal of the Templars to march against + Egypt--Murder of the Ismailite Envoy. + + +In the year 1129 Hugh de Payens, accompanied by 300 knights of the +noblest families in Europe, who had become members of the order, and +followed by a large train of pilgrims, returned to the Holy Land. +Shortly after his arrival, the unlucky expedition to Damascus above +narrated[74], was undertaken, and the Templars formed a portion of the +troops which marched, as they fancied, to take possession of that city. +As has been observed, this is the first occasion on which we find the +Christians in alliance and connection with the Ismailites; and as +Hammer, the historian of the last, makes the grave charge against Hugh +de Payens, of having modelled his new society on the plan of that deadly +association, and of having been the chief planner and instigator of the +treacherous attempt on Damascus, we will suspend the course of our +narration, to discuss the probability of that opinion, though in so +doing we must anticipate a little respecting the organisation of the +Order of the Temple. + +[Footnote 74: _See_ p. 88.] + +Hammer argues an identity between the two orders, as he styles them, of +the Ismailites and the Templars, from the similarity of their dress, +their internal organisation, and their secret doctrine; and as the two +societies existed in the same country, and that of the Ismailites was +first instituted, he infers that this was the original, and that of the +Templars the copy. + +First, with respect to the outward habiliment, the dress of the order. +Nothing, as appears to us, can be weaker than to lay any stress on so +casual a circumstance as similarity of forms or colours, more especially +when a true and distinct cause for the assumption of them on either side +can be assigned. The colour of the khalifs of the house of Ommiyah was +_white_; hence the house of Abbas, in their contest with them, adopted +_black_, as their distinguishing hue; and hence, when the Abbassides +were in possession of the supreme power, all those who, under pretence +of supporting the rights of the family of Ali, or on any other pretext, +raised the standard of revolt against them, naturally selected _white_, +as the sign of their opposition. Hassan Sabah, therefore, only retained +the use of the colour which he found already established. When he formed +the institution of the Fedavee, or the _Devoted to Death_, what more +suitable mark of distinction could he assign them than a _red_ girdle or +cap, which indicated their readiness to spill their own blood or that of +others? With respect to the Templars, the society of the Hospitallers +was already existing when Hugh de Payens and his companions resolved to +form themselves into a new association. The mantle worn by the members +of the Hospital was _black_: what colour then was so natural for them to +adopt as its opposite, _white_? and when, nearly thirty years after +their institution, the pope appointed them or gave them permission to +wear a cross on their mantle, like the rival order, no colour could +present itself so well suited to those who daily and hourly exposed +themselves to martyrdom, as that of blood, in which there was so much of +what was symbolical. + +With respect to internal organisation, it will, we apprehend, be always +found that this is, for the most part, the growth of time and the +product of circumstances, and is always nearly the same where these last +are similar. The dominion of the Assassins extended over large tracks of +country; hence arose the necessity of appointing lieutenants. In like +manner, when the Templars got large possessions in the West and the +East, they could not avoid, after the example of the Hospitallers, +appointing persons to manage the affairs of the society in different +countries. Hence, then, as the Ismailites had their Sheikh-al-Jebal, +with his Dais-al-Kebir of Kuhistan and Syria, so the Templars had their +Master and their Priors of different provinces. The resemblance is so +far exact, but, as we see, easily accounted for. That which Hammer goes +on to draw between the component parts of each society is altogether +fanciful. To the Refeek, Fedavee and Lazik of the Ismailites, he sets as +counterparts the knights, esquires, and serving-brethren of the +Templars. It is needless to point out the arbitrariness of this +comparison. The chaplains of the Templars, we may see, are omitted, and +it was, perhaps, they who bore the greatest resemblance to the Refeeks, +while neither knights nor esquires had the smallest similarity to the +Fedavee. + +As to a secret doctrine, we shall hereafter discuss the question whether +the Templars had one or not. Here we shall only observe, that the proof +of it, and of the ultimate object of the Templars being the same with +that of the Ismailites, namely, the acquisition of independent power, +adduced by Hammer, is by no means satisfactory. He says that it was the +object of both societies to make themselves masters of the surrounding +country, by the possession of fortresses and castles, and thus become +formidable rivals to princes; and he sees, in the preceptories or houses +of the Templars, the copies of the hill-forts of the Ismailites. That +such was the design of this last society is quite apparent from the +preceding part of our work; but what resemblance is there between such +formidable places of defence as Alamoot and Lamseer, and the simple +structures in which a few knights and their attendants dwelt in the +different parts of Europe, and which were hardly, if at all, stronger +than the ordinary baronial residences? and what resistance could the +Temple of London or that of Paris offer to the royal strength, if put +forth? Hammer has here again fallen into his usual error of arguing too +hastily from accidental resemblances. The preceptories of the Templars +were, as we shall show, the necessary consequence of the acquisition of +property by the order, and had nothing hostile to society in their +nature. + +When we reflect on the character of the first crusaders, and +particularly on that of the first Templars, and call to mind their +piety, ignorance, and simplicity, nothing can appear more absurd than to +ascribe to them secret philosophical doctrines of impiety, imbibed from +those whose language they did not even understand, and whose religion +and manners they held in abhorrence, and to suppose that the first poor +knights of the Temple could have had visions of the future power of +their order, and have looked forward to its dominion over the Christian +world. "But this is a common mistake with ingenious men, who are for +ever ascribing to the founders of empires, religions, and societies, +that attribute of divinity which sees from the beginning the ultimate +end, and forms all its plans and projects with a view to it. It is thus +that some would fain persuade us that Mahommed, in his solitary cave at +Mecca, saw clearly and distinctly the future triumphs of Islam, and its +banners floating at the Pyrenees and the Oxus; that Cromwell, when an +obscure individual, already in fancy grasped the sceptre of England; and +that Loyola beheld the members of his order governing the consciences of +kings, and ruling an empire in Paraguay. All such results are in fact +the slow and gradual growth of time; one step leads to another, till the +individual or the society looks back with amazement to the feeble +commencement." + +The Templars and the Ismailites are mentioned together by history in +only one more relation, that is, on occasion of the tribute paid to the +former by the Syrian branch of the latter, and the murder of the +Ismailite ambassador above related[75]. As this act was very probably +committed by order of the Master of the Temple, who, it might be, +doubted the ability or the future inclination of the king to pay the +3000 byzants a year, it testifies but little for any very friendly +feeling between the Templars and the Ismailites. Yet Hammer opines that +the 3000 byzants were paid, not as the tribute of the weaker to the +stronger, but by way of pension for the secret services which the +Templars were in the habit of rendering their cause; such, for example, +as refusing on one occasion to join in the expedition against the khalif +of Egypt, the great head of the society of the Assassins. + +[Footnote 75: Page 116.] + +To narrate the various exploits of the knights of the Temple, would be +to write the history of the Crusades; for, from the time that the order +acquired strength and consistency, no action with the Infidels ever was +fought in which the chivalry of the Temple did not bear a distinguished +part. Their war-cry was ever heard in the thickest of the fray, and +rarely was _Bauseant_ seen to waver or give back in the conflict. The +knights of St. John fought with emulative valour; the example of the +rival orders stimulated all parts of the Christian army; and to this +influence may be, in great measure, ascribed many of the most wonderful +triumphs of the Cross during the twelfth century. + +In the year 1147, when Pope Eugenius III. came to Paris to arrange the +proposed crusade with Louis VII., both the pope and the king honoured +with their presence a general chapter of the order of the Temple, which +was holden at that place. It was probably on this occasion that the +supreme pontiff conferred on the order the important privilege of having +mass said once a year in places lying under interdict. The newly-elected +Master of the Temple, Eberhard de Bar, and 130 knights, accompanied the +king on his march for the Holy Land; and their valour and their skill +greatly contributed towards the preservation of the crusading army in +their unfortunate march through Lesser Asia. The siege of Damascus, +which was undertaken after the arrival of the French and German kings in +the Holy Land, miscarried, as is well known, through treachery. The +traitors were doubtless the _Pullani_, as the Latins of Syria were +called, who were at this time capable of every thing that is bad. Some +writers most unjustly charge the Templars with this guilt; but those who +are the best informed on the subject make no accusation against them. +The charge, however, while it shows the power and consideration of the +Templars at that time, may be considered to prove also that they had +degenerated somewhat from their original virtue; for otherwise it could +never have been made. + +The Christian army laid siege in 1153 to the town of Ascalon, which the +Saracens still held, and would have taken it, but for the cupidity of +the Templars. A large heap of wood had been piled by the besiegers +against a part of the wall, and set fire to. The wind blew strong +towards the town during an entire night, carrying the smoke and heat +into the town, so that the garrison was forced to retire from that +quarter. The Christians fed the flames with pitch, oil, and other +inflammable substances, and the wall next the pile, cracked by the heat, +fell down, leaving a considerable breach. The army was preparing to +enter at this opening when Bernard de Tremelai, the Master of the +Temple, taking his station at it with his knights, refused all ingress. +It was the law of war in those days, among the crusaders, that whatever +house or spoil any one took when a town was stormed, became his +property. The Templars, therefore, were eager to have the first choice; +and having kept off all others, Tremelai, with forty of his knights, +boldly entered a strongly-garrisoned town. But they paid the penalty of +their rashness and cupidity; for the garrison surrounded and slew them +all, and then closed up the breach. + +One of the most disgraceful acts which stain the annals of the Templars +occurred in the year 1155, when Bertrand de Blancford, whom William of +Tyre calls a "pious and God-fearing man," was Master of the order. In a +contest for the supreme power in Egypt, which the viziers, bearing the +proud title of _Sultan_, exercised under the phantom-khalifs, Sultan +Abbas, who had put to death the khalif his master, found himself obliged +to fly from before the vengeance of the incensed people. With his harem, +and his own and a great part of the royal treasures, he took his way +through the Desert. A body of Christians, chiefly Templars, lay in wait +for the fugitives near Ascalon; the resistance offered by the Moslems +was slight and ineffectual; Abbas himself was either slain or fled, and +his son Nassir-ed-deen and the treasures became the prize of the +victors. The far larger part of the booty of course fell to the +Templars; but this did not satisfy their avarice; and though +Nassir-ed-deen had professed his desire to become a Christian, and had +begun, by way of preparation for that change, to learn the Latin +language, they sold him to his father's enemies for 60,000 pieces of +gold, and stood by to see him bound hand and foot, and placed in a sort +of cage or iron-latticed sedan, on a camel, to be conducted to Egypt, +where a death by protracted torture awaited him. + +The Hospitallers were at this time become as corrupt as the Templars; +and in this same year, when the patriarch demanded from them the tithes +which they were bound to pay him, they treated the demand with scorn; +raised, to show their superior wealth, stately and lofty buildings, +before the humble church of the Holy Sepulchre; and whenever the +patriarch entered it to exhort the people, or pronounce the absolution +of sins, they rang, by order of their Master, the bells of the Hospital +so loud, that, with the utmost efforts, he could not succeed in making +himself heard. One day, when the congregation was assembled in the +church, the Hospitallers rushed into it in arms, and shot arrows among +them as if they were robbers or infidels. These arrows were collected +and hung up on Mount Calvary, where Christ had been crucified, to the +scandal of these recreant knights. On applying to the Pope Adrian IV. +for redress, the Syrian clergy found him and his cardinals so +prepossessed in favour of their enemies,--bribed by them, as was +said,--that they had no chance of relief. The insolence of the +Hospitallers became in consequence greater than ever. + +In fact, as an extremely judicious writer[76] observes, valiantly as the +knights of the spiritual orders fought against the heathens, and great +as was their undoubted merit in the defence of the helpless pilgrims, it +cannot be denied that these knights were, if not the original promoters, +at least active participators in all the mischiefs which prevailed in +the Holy Land, and that they were often led to a shameful dereliction of +their duties, by avarice and thirst after booty. + +[Footnote 76: Wilken Geschichte der Kreuzzuege, Vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 39.] + +The year 1162 is conspicuous in the annals of the Templars, as the date +of the bull _Omne Datum Optimum_, the Magna Charta of the order, and the +great key-stone of their power. On the death of Adrian IV. two rival +popes were elected,--Alexander III. by the Sicilian,--Victor III. by the +Imperial party. The Templars at first acknowledged the latter; but at a +synod, held at Nazareth, in 1161, they took the side of his rival. +Alexander, who came off victor, was not ungrateful; and on the 7th +January, of the following year, the aforesaid bull was issued. By this +document, which would almost appear to be the dictation of the order, +the Templars were released from all spiritual obedience except to the +Holy See; they were allowed to have peculiar burial-grounds at their +houses, and to have chaplains of their own; they were freed from the +obligation to pay tithes, and could, with the consent of the bishop, +receive them. It was also prohibited to any one who had once entered the +order, to leave it, unless it were to enter into a stricter one. These +great privileges necessarily awakened the envy and enmity of the clergy +against the Templars and the Hospitallers, which last were equally +favoured by the pontiffs; but these artful prelates, who were now aiming +at universal power, knew well the advantage which they might derive from +attaching firmly to them these associations, which united the valour of +the knight to the obedience of the monk, whose members were of the +noblest families in Europe, and whose possessions were extensive and +spread over all parts of the Christian world. + +In 1167 occurred one of the few instances of cowardice, or rather, we +might say, treachery, which the annals of the Templars present. Almeric, +king of Jerusalem, had committed to the Templars the charge of guarding +one of those strong fortified caverns which were on the other side of +the Jordan. Here they were besieged by the Turks, and, though the king +was hastening to their relief, they capitulated. Almeric, incensed at +their conduct, though he was a great friend of the order, and +particularly of the Master, Philip of Naploos, instantly had twelve of +the cowardly or treacherous knights hanged, and he experienced no +opposition whatever on the part of the order. Philip, we may observe, +was the first Master of the Temple who was a born Syrian; but he appears +to have been a man of fair and honourable character. He was lord of the +fortresses of Krak and Montreal in the Stony Arabia, which he had +obtained with his wife. It was not till after her death that he became a +Templar. Alter holding the dignity of Master for three years he resigned +it. The cause of his resignation is unknown; but he was highly honoured +and respected during the remainder of his life, and was employed on +various important occasions. + +It was during the mastership of Philip of Naploos, that King Almeric, at +the instigation of the Master of the Hospital, and in violation of a +solemn treaty, undertook an unprosperous expedition into Egypt. The +Templars loudly protested against this act of perfidy, and refused to +take any share in the war, either, as William, the honest Archbishop of +Tyre, observes, "because it was against their conscience, or because +the Master of the rival order was the author and projector of it." The +prelate seems to regard the more honourable as the true cause. Perhaps +we should express ourselves correctly if we said that in this, as in +many other cases, duty and prejudice happily combined, and the path +which was the most agreeable was also the most honourable. + +In the mastership of Ado of St. Amando, the successor of Philip of +Naploos, occurred the treacherous murder of the Ismailite envoy above +narrated[77]--an act which brought the Templars into great disrepute +with pious Christians, as it was quite manifest that they preferred +money to winning souls to Christ. + +[Footnote 77: Page 116.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Heroism of the Templars and Hospitallers--Battle of Hittin--Crusade + of Richard of England and Philip of France--Corruption of the + Order--Pope Innocent III. writes a Letter of Censure--Frederic + II.--Great Slaughter of the Templars--Henry III. of England and the + Templars--Power of the Templars in Moravia--Slaughter of them by + the Hospitallers--Fall of Acre. + + +The fall of the Christian power in the East was now fast approaching, +and it was not a little hastened by the enmity of the rival orders. The +truth of the old sentence, that the Deity deprives of sense those whom +he will destroy, was manifested on this as on so many other similar +occasions; and while the great and able Saladin was consolidating his +power and preparing for the accomplishment of the object which, as a +true Moslem, lay nearest his heart, the recovery of the Holy City, +discord, enmity, and animosity, prevailed among those who should have +been actuated by one soul and by one spirit. + +Yet the two orders of religious chivalry had not derogated from their +original valour, and the last days of Jerusalem were illumined by some +noble feats of prowess. On the 1st of May, 1187, when Malek-el-Afdal, +the son of Saladin, was returning from an expedition into the Holy Land, +which he had undertaken with the consent of the Count of Tripolis, +regent of the kingdom, the Masters of the Temple and of the Hospital, +having collected about 140 knights and 500 footmen, met the Moslems, who +were 7,000 in number, at the celebrated brook Kishon. They immediately +charged them with the utmost impetuosity; the Turks, according to +custom, turned and fled; the Christian knights pursued, leaving their +infantry unprotected. Suddenly a large body of the Turks emerged from a +valley, and fell on and slaughtered the footmen. Their cries brought +back the knights to their aid, but, impeded by the narrowness of the +ground, they could neither lay their lances in rest nor run their horses +against the enemy, and all fell beneath the weapons of the Turks, with +the exception of the Master of the Temple and three of his knights, who +were saved by the fleetness of their horses. The Master of the Hospital +was among the slain. In this unfortunate fight, James De Mailly, the +marshal of the Templars, and a Hospitaller, named Henry, especially +distinguished themselves. After all their brave companions had been +slain around them, they still maintained the conflict; the Turks, filled +with admiration of their valour, repeatedly offered them quarter, but in +vain; and they fell at last, overwhelmed with darts flung from a +distance, no one venturing to approach them. The historian, Vinisauf, +tells us that De Mailly was mounted on a white horse, which, joined with +his relucent arms and white mantle, made him appear to the infidels to +be St. George, and they exulted greatly in having slain the tutelar +saint of the Christians. He adds, what is not an unlikely circumstance, +that the Turks covered his body with dust, which they afterwards +powdered on their heads, thinking thereby to acquire some portion of his +valour. + +At the fatal battle of Hittin, where 30,000 Christians lost their lives, +where the king and all his princes became captives, and where the Latin +power in the East was broken for ever, the Master of the Temple, Gerard +of Ridefort, and several of his knights and those of the Hospital, were +among the captives. Saladin, who bore a particular hatred to the +spiritual knights, would spare them on no condition but that of their +renouncing their faith. To a man they gallantly refused; and, with the +exception of the Master, the heads of all were struck off. Many who +belonged not to the orders, smit with desire for the glory of martyrdom, +cast the mantles of Templars around them, and went cheerfully to death +as such. One Templar, named Nicolaus, evinced such joy and impatience +for this glorious fate, that, according to the ideas of those times, +heaven was believed to testify its approbation by a visible sign, and +during three nights a celestial light illumined the unburied corpse of +the Christian martyr. + +It was indeed rare for a Templar to renounce his faith: prejudice, or +honour, we may style it, or a better principle, always kept him steady +in it, whatever the irregularities of his life might be. We recollect +but one instance of a brother of the Temple abjuring his faith, and he +was unhappily an English knight, named Robert of St. Albans. From some +unassigned cause, he flung away the dress of his order, broke his vows, +went over to Saladin, and became a Musselman. The sultan gave him one of +his female relatives in marriage, and the recreant knight appeared +before Jerusalem at the head of an army of the infidels. He had promised +to Saladin to reduce the Holy City; but her hour was not yet come; and +after wasting all the country from Mont-royal to Jericho with fire and +sword, he was forced to retreat before the chivalry of Jerusalem, who +came forth with the holy cross, and gave him a signal defeat. This event +occurred in the year 1184; and the apostacy of this Templar caused +extreme dismay among the Christians, and excited great ill-will against +the order in general. + +It had hitherto been the maxim of the order, not to redeem any of their +members out of captivity with any higher ransom than a girdle, or a +knife, or some other insignificant matter, acting in this on the same +principle with the old Romans, who never redeemed prisoners. The Master, +Ado de St. Amando, had died in captivity; but to redeem Gerard de +Ridefort, no less a ransom was given than the city of Ascalon.--Gerard +died of a wound received in battle the following year. + +During the memorable crusade of Philip of France and Richard of England +to the Holy Land, which their rivalry and animosity rendered utterly +ineffectual, we find the Hospitallers on the side of the king of +England, and of course the Templars the warm partizans of the king of +France. Yet, when Richard was on his return to Europe, he sent for the +Master of the Temple, and said to him, that he knew by many he was not +loved, and that he ran great risk of his life on his way to his kingdom; +he therefore besought him that he would permit him to assume the dress +of the order, and send two of the brethren with him. The Master readily +granted the request of so potent a monarch, and the king went on board +in the habit of a Templar. It was probably on account of the known +enmity of the order to him, that King Richard adopted this expedient, +thinking that no one would ever suspect him of being with the Templars. +His brother John, we may here observe, was, on the contrary, a great +favourer of the order, to whom he gave Lundy Island, at the mouth of the +Bristol Channel. Throughout his reign, this odious prince attached +himself to the Templars as the faithful servants of his lord the pope, +reckoning on their aid against his gallant barons, who would not leave +the liberties of the nation at the feet of a faithless tyrant. It was +now very much the custom for monarchs to deposit their treasures in the +Temple houses; and in the year 1213 we find King John demanding 20,000 +marks which he had committed to the Templars to keep. We meet with no +instance of breach of trust on the part of the knights. + +The Templars shared in the common dishonesty of the church with respect +to false miracles, and they felt no scruple at augmenting their wealth +by deceptions calculated to impose on the ignorance and zeal of the +laity. In the year 1204 it was given out that an image of the Virgin, in +a convent not far from Damascus, had become clothed with flesh, and that +there issued from its breasts a kind of juice or liquor of wondrous +efficacy in removing the sins of pious pilgrims. As the place was +distant, and the road beset with danger, the knights of the Temple took +upon themselves the task of fetching the mirific fluid to the part of +the coast still held by the Latins, and accommodating pilgrims with it, +and the coffers of the order were largely replenished by this pious +traffic. + +Though, like all other proprietors in the Holy Land, the order of the +Temple had been losers in consequence of the conquest of it by Saladin, +their possessions in the West were so extensive that they hardly felt +the loss. At this very time we find the number of their possessions of +various kinds in Europe, stated at 7050, principally situated in France +and in England. Their arrogance and luxury naturally kept pace with +their wealth; and, though writers of the twelfth century, and even the +Troubadours--the satirists of the age--always speak of the knights of +the Temple with honour, there was a secret dislike of them gaining +ground, especially with the clergy, in consequence of the great +privileges granted to them by the bull _Omne Datum Optimum_, and the +insolent manner in which these privileges were exercised. + +Accordingly we find, in the year 1208, the great Innocent III. the most +ambitious of popes, and one who was a steady friend to the order, under +the necessity of passing the first public censure of them, and +endeavouring to set, by authority, a limit to their excesses. In his +epistle to the Master on this occasion, the holy father says that they +abused the privilege of having mass celebrated in places which were +under interdict, by causing their churches to be thrown open, and mass +to be said every day, with loud ringing of bells, bearing the cross of +Christ on their breast, but not caring to follow his doctrines, who +forbids to give offence to any of the little ones who believe on him. He +goes on to state that, following the doctrines of demons, they affixed +the cross of their order on the breast of (i.e. _affiliated_) every kind +of scoundrel, asserting that whoever, by paying two or three pence a +year, became one of their fraternity, could not, even though +interdicted, be deprived of Christian burial; and that hence, known +adulterers, usurers, and others who were lying under sentence of +interdict, were honourably interred in their cemeteries; "and thus they +themselves, being captive to the devil, cease not to make captive the +souls of the faithful, seeking to make alive those whom they know to be +dead." The pontiff laments, that instead of, like religious men, using +the world for the sake of God, they employed their religious character +as a means of indulging in the pleasures of the world. Though, on +account of these and such abuses, they deserved to be deprived of the +privileges which had been conferred on them, the holy father will not +proceed to extremity, relying on the exertions of the Master to effect a +reformation. + +In this epistle we have all the charges, which, as will hereafter +appear, could be at any time brought with justice against the order, +whose corruption proceeded in the ordinary course of human nature, and +no otherwise,--privileges and exemptions producing insolence and +assumption, and wealth generating luxury and relaxation of morals. It +was the lavish generosity of popes, princes, and nobles, that caused the +ruin of the Templars. + +The Templars bore a distinguished part in the expedition to Egypt and +siege of Damietta, in 1219, as the chief commander on that occasion was +the papal legate, whose conduct, under show of obedience, they chiefly +directed. But when, in 1228, the Emperor Frederic II., then under the +sentence of the church, undertook the crusade which he had vowed, he +found nothing but opposition and treachery from these staunch adherents +of the pope. Considering the spirit of the age, their opposition is, +perhaps, not so much to be blamed; but no principle will excuse the act +of their writing to inform the Egyptian sultan of the plans of the +emperor. The generous Moslem, instead of taking advantage of this +treachery, sent the letter to Frederic, to the confusion of its authors. +Frederic checked his indignation at the time, but on his return to +Europe he took his satisfaction on those who were most guilty, and he +seized the property of the order in Sicily and his Italian dominions. +Though he was excommunicated again for so doing, Frederic persisted in +his enmity both to them and the Hospitallers; and though, perhaps, the +least given to superstition and illiberality of any man of his age, he +did not disdain to make friendly intercourse with the Moslems a serious +charge against them. "The haughty religion of the Templars," writes he, +"reared on the pleasures of the native barons of the land, waxes +wanton.... We know, on good authority, that sultans and their trains are +received with pompous alacrity within the gates of the Temple, and that +the Templars suffer them to celebrate secular plays, and to perform +their superstitious rites with invocation of Mahommet." + +The hostility between the Templars and the Hospitallers still continued, +though the Christian power was now nearly restricted to the walls of +Acre. The Templars were in alliance with the prince of Damascus: the +Hospitallers were the friends of the sultan of Egypt. The Templars +extended their enmity against the emperor to the Teutonic knights, whom +they deprived of their possessions in Syria. The appearance of a new +enemy, however, brought concord for a time among them. The Turks of +Khaurizm, on the east of the Caspian, were now in flight before the +hordes of the Mongols, and 20,000 of their horsemen burst into the Holy +Land. They took and plundered Jerusalem, which was unfortified and open, +and then united themselves with the troops of Egypt. The Christians +applied to the prince of Damascus for aid, who forthwith sent the +required troops, and their combined forces went in quest of the foes. In +the battle the Templars and the militia occupied the centre; the +Hospitallers were posted on the left wing, the light horse on the right. +The battle lasted two days, and ended in the total defeat of the +Christians, a result which is ascribed, though probably with injustice, +to the treachery of the Damascenes. The Master of the Temple and the +whole chapter, with the knights, in all 300, were slain; only four +knights and fourteen esquires escaped. + +The improvident and needy Henry III. of England, in general such a +dutiful son of the holy father, who, for a share of the spoil, usually +aided him in the pious work of robbing his subjects, summoned courage in +1252 to speak of seizing some of the property of the church and the +military orders. "You prelates and religious," said he, "especially you +Templars and Hospitallers, have so many liberties and charters, that +your enormous possessions make you rave with pride and haughtiness. What +was imprudently given, must be therefore prudently revoked; and what was +inconsiderately bestowed must be considerately recalled.... I will break +this and other charters which my predecessors and myself have rashly +granted." But the prior of the Templars immediately replied, "What +sayest thou, O king? Far be it that thy mouth should utter so +disagreeable and silly a word. So long as thou dost exercise justice +thou wilt reign; but if thou infringe it, thou wilt cease to be a king!" +These bold words appear to have checked the feeble king, who next year +besought the two orders to become his security for a large sum of money +which he owed. They refused his request, and Henry thenceforth did them +all the injury in his power. + +There occurred an event in Moravia in 1252, which may serve to show the +power of the order in Europe. A nobleman, named Vratislaf, who had been +obliged to fly from that country, became a Templar in France. He made +over all his property, among which was the castle of Eichhorn in +Moravia, to the order. But his elder brother, Burian, took possession of +his property, as having fallen to himself as head of the family. King +Winzel, on being applied to, decided in favour of the order. Burian, +however, still kept possession. The next year the Templars collected +some thousands of men, and marched, under the command of their Great +Prior, to take the castle. Burian, assembling 6000 men, 900 of whom he +placed in the castle, advanced to give them battle. The engagement was +bloody; 1700 men, among them the Great Prior of the Templars, lay slain, +when night terminated the conflict. A truce was made for three days, at +the end of which Burian and his men were driven into the castle, which +they defended bravely, till king Attocar sent to threaten them with his +wrath if they did not give it up. Burian surrendered it, and Vratislaf, +returning to Moravia, became Prior of Eichhorn, in which thirty Templars +took up their abode. + +Though the Templars were so extremely numerous in Europe, they were +little disposed to go out to the East to encounter toil and danger, in +the performance of their duties. They preferred living in ease and +luxury on their rich possessions in the West; and the members of the +chapter alone, with a few knights, and other persons attached to the +order, abode in Syria. It would even seem that the heads of the society +were meditating a final retreat from the East, where they probably saw +that nothing of permanent advantage was to be achieved. The +Hospitallers, on the other hand, whatever may have been the cause, +appear to have been more zealous in their calling, and to have had a +greater number of their members in Syria; and it is, probably, to this +cause, that we are to assign the total defeat which they were enabled to +give their rivals in 1259: for the animosity between the orders had come +to such a height, that, in this year, they came to open war. A bloody +battle was fought, in which the Templars were defeated, when, such was +the bitterness of their enmity, that the victors made no prisoners, but +cut to pieces every Templar who fell into their hands, and scarce a +Templar remained to carry the intelligence to Europe. + +From this period till the capture of Acre and final destruction of the +Latin power in the East in 1291, after a continuance of nearly two +centuries, the annals of the Templars are bare of events. The rivalry +between them and the other orders still continued; and in the opinion of +some historians, it was their jealousy that hastened the fall of that +last remnant of the Christian dominion in the East. Not more than ten +knights of the Temple escaped in the storm of the town, and these, with +the remnants of the other orders, and the garrison, sought a retreat in +Cyprus. + +We have now traced the history of the order from its institution to +within a few years of the period of its suppression. Of this most +important event we shall delay the consideration for some time, and +shall occupy the intervening space with an account of the internal +organisation of the society, its officers, its wealth, and various +possessions. This will, we trust, prove no slight contribution to our +knowledge of one of the most curious portions of the history of the +world--that of the middle ages--and gratify the reader by the display of +manners and institutions which have long since passed away[78]. + +[Footnote 78: The organisation and the rules of the Hospitallers were +similar to those of the Templars; but as that order existed down to +modern times, the rules, &c., given by Vertot, contain a great number of +modern additions.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Classes of the Templars--The Knights--Their Qualifications--Mode of + Reception--Dress and Arms of the Knight--Mode of Burial--The + Chaplains--Mode of Reception--Dress--Duties and Privileges--The + Serving-Brethren--Mode of Reception--Their Duties--The + Affiliated--Causes and Advantages of Affiliation--The Donates and + Oblates. + + +The founders of the order of the Templars were, as we have seen, +knights; and they were the first who conceived the novel idea, and happy +one, as we may call it in accordance with the sentiments of those times, +of uniting in the same person the two characters held in highest +estimation--the knight and the monk. The latter added sanctity to the +former, the former gave dignity and consideration to the latter, in the +eyes of a martial generation. Hence, the Templar naturally regarded +himself as the first of men; and the proudest nobles of the Christian +world esteemed it an honour to belong to the order. The knights were, +therefore, the strength, the flower, the ornament of the society. + +The order of the Templars, when it was fully developed, consisted not of +_degrees_, but of distinct and separate _classes_. These were the +knights, the chaplains, and the serving-brethren; to which may be added +the affiliated, the donates, and the oblates, or persons attached to the +order without taking the vows. + +I. The Knights.--Whoever presented himself to be received as a knight of +the order must solemnly aver that he was sprung from a knightly family, +and that his father was or might have been a knight. He was further to +prove, that he was born in lawful wedlock, for, like the church in +general, the Templars excluded bastards from their society. In this rule +there was prudence, though, possibly, it was merely established in +accordance with the ideas of the time; for, had a king of France or an +emperor of Germany been able to get his natural child into the order, +and should he then have been chosen Master of it, as he probably would, +it might have lost its independence, and become the mere tool of the +monarch. The candidate was, moreover, to declare that he was free from +all previous obligations; that he was neither married nor betrothed; had +not made any vows, or received any consecration in another order; and +that he was not involved in debt. He had finally to declare himself to +be of a sound and healthy constitution, and free from disease. When the +order was grown great and powerful, and candidates for admission were +numerous and of the highest families, it became the custom to require +the payment of a large fee on admission. + +It was necessary that the candidate for admission among the knights of +the Temple should already be a knight; for as knighthood was a secular +honour, the order would have regarded it as derogating from its dignity +if any of its members were to receive it. The Hospitallers and Teutonic +knights thought differently, and with them the aspirant was knighted on +his admission. If the candidate Templar, therefore, had not been +knighted, he was obliged to receive knighthood, in the usual manner, +from a secular knight, or a bishop, previous to taking his vows. + +A noviciate forms an essential and reasonable part of the course of +admission into the spiritual orders in general; for it is but right that +a person should become, in some measure, acquainted with the rules and +duties of a society before he enters it. But, though the original rule +of the Templars enjoined a noviciate, it was totally neglected in +practice; a matter which was afterwards made one of the charges against +the order. Perhaps there was in their case little necessity for this +preparatory process; the Templars were so much in the world, and those +who joined them had been in general so frequently among them, and were +consequently so well acquainted with their mode of life, that they +hardly required any such preliminary discipline to familiarize them with +their duties. The neglect of the practice at the same time gave the +Templars an advantage over the rival orders who enjoined it; for a young +nobleman would, in all likelihood, feel most disposed to join the +society into which he could be admitted at once; and perhaps no small +part of the corruption of the Templars, in which they undoubtedly +surpassed their rivals, may be ascribed to the facility which was thus +afforded to unworthy persons entering among them. + +With respect to the age at which persons were admitted, it is plain, +from the previously required reception of knighthood, that it must have +been that of adolescence or manhood. All that is said by the statutes +is, that no child could be received; and that the parents or relatives +of a child destined to be a member of the order, should keep and breed +him till _he could manfully and with armed hand extirpate the enemies of +Christ out of the land_. This formed a marked distinction between the +Templars and the mere religious orders, who, even at the present day, we +believe, admit children, taking the charge of their rearing and +education; whereas, children could only be destined to the order of the +Temple, and could not be presented for admission, till able to bear +arms, that is, usually in the twenty-first year of their age. + +The reception of a knight took place in one of the chapels of the order, +in presence of the assembled chapter. It was secret, not even the +relatives of the candidate being allowed to be present. The ceremony +commenced by the Master[79] or prior, who presided, saying, "Beloved +brethren, ye see that the majority are agreed to receive this man as a +brother. If there be any among you who knows any thing of him, on +account of which he cannot lawfully become a brother, let him say it; +for it is better that this should be signified beforehand than after he +is brought before us." + +[Footnote 79: When we use the word "Master," we would always be +understood to mean the Master or his representative.] + +The aspirant, if no objection was made, was then led into a chamber near +the chapter-room; and two or three reputable knights of the oldest in +the house were sent to lay before him what it was needful for him to +know. They commenced by saying, "Brother, are you desirous of being +associated to the order?" If he replied in the affirmative, they stated +to him the whole rigour of the order. Should he reply that he was +willing to endure everything for God's sake, and to be all his life long +the servant and slave of the order, they asked him if he had a wife or +was betrothed? if he had made profession or vows in any other order? if +he owed to any man in the world more than he could pay? if he was of +sound body, and had no secret infirmity, and if he was the servant of +any one? Should his answers be in the negative, the brethren went back +to the chapter and informed the Master or his representative of the +result of the examination. The latter then asked once more, if any one +knew any thing to the contrary. If all were silent, he said "Are you +willing that he should be brought in in God's name?" The knights then +said, "Let him be brought in in God's name." Those who had been already +with him then went out again, and asked him if he persisted in his +resolution. If he said that he did, they instructed him in what he was +to do when suing for admission. They then led him back to the chapter, +where, casting himself on his knees, with folded hands, before the +receptor, he said, "Sir, I am come, before God, and before you and the +brethren, and pray and beseech you, for the sake of God and our dear +Lady, to admit me into your society, and the good deeds of the order, as +one who will be, all his life long, the servant and slave of the order." +The receptor then replied, "Beloved brother, you are desirous of a great +matter, for you see nothing but the outward shell of our order. It is +only the outward shell when you see that we have fine horses and rich +caparisons, that we eat and drink well, and are splendidly clothed. From +this you conclude that you will be well off with us. But you know not +the rigorous maxims which are in our interior. For it is a hard matter +for you, who are your own master, to become the servant of another. You +will hardly be able to perform, in future, what you wish yourself. For +when you may wish to be on this side of the sea, you will be sent to the +other side; when you will wish to be in Acre, you will be sent to the +district of Antioch, to Tripolis, or to Armenia; or you will be sent to +Apulia, to Sicily, or to Lombardy, or to Burgundy, France, England, or +any other country where we have houses and possessions. When you will +wish to sleep you will be ordered to watch; when you will wish to watch, +then you will be ordered to go to bed; when you will wish to eat, then +you will be ordered to do something else. And as both we and you might +suffer great inconvenience from what you have, mayhap, concealed from +us, look here on the holy Evangelists and the word of God, and answer +the truth to the questions which we shall put to you; for if you lie you +will be perjured, and may be expelled the order, from which God keep +you!" + +He was now asked over again, by the receptor, the same questions as +before; and, moreover, if he had made any simoniacal contract with a +Templar or any other for admission. If his answers proved satisfactory, +the receptor proceeded, "Beloved brother, take good care that you have +spoken the truth to us; for should you have spoken false in any one +point, you might be put out of the order, from which God keep you! Now, +beloved brother, attend strictly to what we shall say unto you. Do you +promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, to be, all your life long, +obedient to the Master of the Temple, and to the prior who shall be set +over you?" + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"Do you promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, to live chaste of your +body all your life long?" + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"Do you promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, to observe, all your +life long, the laudable manners and customs of our order, both those +which are already in use, and those which the Master and knights may +add?" + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"Do you promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, that you will, with the +strength and powers which God has bestowed on you, help, as long as you +live, to conquer the Holy Land of Jerusalem; and that you will, with all +your strength, aid to keep and guard that which the Christians possess?" + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"Do you promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, never to hold this order +for stronger or weaker, for better or worse, than with permission of +the Master, or of the chapter which has the authority[80]?" + +[Footnote 80: That is, never to quit the order.] + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"Do you finally promise to God, and our dear Lady Mary, never to be +present when a Christian is unjustly and unlawfully despoiled of his +heritage, and that you will never, by counsel or by act, take part +therein?" + +"Yea, Sir, with the help of God!" + +"In the name, then, of God, and our dear Lady Mary, and in the name of +St. Peter of Rome, and of our father the pope, and in the name of all +the brethren of the Temple, we receive to all the good works of the +order which have been performed from the beginning, and shall be +performed to the end, you, your father, your mother, and all of your +family whom you will let have share therein. In like manner do you +receive us to all the good works which you have performed and shall +perform. We assure you of bread and water, and the poor clothing of the +order, and labour and toil enow." + +The Master then took the distinguishing habit of the order, namely, the +white mantle with the red cross, and putting it about the neck of the +candidate, clasped it firmly. The chaplain then repeated the 132d psalm, +_Ecce quam bonum_, and the prayer of the Holy Ghost, _Deus qui corda +fidelium_, and each brother repeated a _Pater noster_. The Master and +the chaplain then kissed him on the mouth; and he sat down before the +Master, who delivered to him a discourse, of which the following is the +substance. + +He was not to strike or wound any Christian; not to swear; not to +receive any service or attendance from a woman without the permission of +his superiors; not on any account to kiss a woman, even if she was his +mother or his sister; to hold no child at the baptismal font, or be a +god-father; to abuse no man or call him foul names; but to be always +courteous and polite. He was to sleep in a linen shirt, drawers, and +hose, and girded with a small girdle. He was to attend divine service +punctually, and at table he was to commence and conclude with prayer; +during the meal he was to preserve silence. When the Master died, he +was, be he where he might, to repeat 200 _Pater nosters_ for the repose +of his soul. + +Each knight was supplied with clothes, arms, and equipments, out of the +funds of the order. His dress was a long white tunic, nearly resembling +that of priests in shape, with a red cross on the back and front of it; +his girdle was under this, over his linen shirt. Over all he wore his +white mantle with its red cross of four arms (the under one being the +longest, so that it resembled that on which the Saviour suffered) on the +left breast. His head was covered by a cap or a hood attached to his +mantle. His arms were shield, sword, lance, and mace; and, owing to the +heat of the East, and the necessity of activity in combats with the +Turks and Saracens, his arms and equipments in general were lighter than +those used by the secular knights. He was allowed three horses and an +esquire, who was either a serving-brother of the order or some layman +who was hired for the purpose. At times this office was performed by +youths of noble birth, whom their parents and relatives gladly placed in +the service of distinguished knights of the Temple, that they might have +an opportunity of acquiring the knightly virtues; and these often became +afterwards members of the order. + +[Illustration: Costume of Knight Templar.] + +When a knight had become, from age or wounds, incapable of service, he +took up his abode in one of the temple-houses, where he lived in ease, +and was treated with the utmost respect and consideration. These +emeriti knights are frequently mentioned under the name of _Prodomes_ +(_Good men_); they were present at all deliberations of importance; and +their experience and knowledge of the rules of the order were highly +prized and attended to. + +When the Templar died, he was placed in a coffin in his habit, and with +his legs crossed, and thus buried. Masses were said for his soul; his +arms and clothes were partly given back to the marshal or draper of the +order--partly distributed among the poor. + +II. The Chaplains.--The order of the Templars, being purely military in +its commencement, consisted then solely of laymen. That of the Hospital, +on the contrary, on account of its office of attending the sick, had, +necessarily, priests in it from its origin. This advantage of the latter +society excited the jealousy of the Templars, and they were urgent with +the popes to be allowed a similar privilege. But the pontiffs were loth +to give offence to the oriental prelates, already displeased at the +exemption from their control granted in this case to the Hospitallers; +and it was not till the year 1162, that is, four years after the +founding of the order, when their great favourer, Alexander III., +occupied the papal throne, that the Templars attained their object. + +[Illustration: Knights in Temple Church, London.] + +The bull, _Omne Datum Optimum_, issued on this occasion, gave permission +to the Templars to receive into their houses spiritual persons, in all +countries, who were not bound by previous vows. If they were clergy of +the vicinity, they were to ask them of the bishop; and if he refused his +consent, they were empowered, by the bull, to receive them without it. +The clergy of the Temple were to perform a noviciate of a year--a +practice which, as in the case of the knights, was dispensed with in the +days of the power and corruption of the order. The reception of the +clergy was the same as that of the knights, with the omission of such +questions as did not apply to them. They were only required to take the +three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The ritual of their +reception was in Latin, and was almost precisely the same with that of +the Benedictines. Like that of the knights, their reception was secret. +When the psalms had been sung the Master put on the recipient the dress +of the order and the girdle, and, if he was a priest, the cap called +_baret_. + +[Illustration: Effigies of Knights in Temple Church.] + +The habit of the chaplains of the order was a white close-fitting tunic, +with a red cross on the left breast. Though, according to the statutes, +they were to have the best clothes in the order, they were not permitted +to assume the white mantle as long as they were mere priests. But should +one of them, as was not unfrequently the case, arrive at the episcopal +dignity, he was, if desirous of it, cheerfully granted that privilege. +It was a further distinction between the knights and the chaplains, that +the former wore their beards, while the latter were close-shaven. The +chaplains were also to wear gloves, _out of respect to the body of the +Lord_. + +All who had received the _first tonsure_ were eligible to the office of +chaplain to the order. When those who were only sub-deacons and deacons +were to be raised to the rank of priests, the Master or his deputy sent +them with letters dimissory to a bishop of the vicinity, who was bound +to confer the required order. + +The clergy were, like all other members of the order, bound to obey the +Master and the chapter. The Master and the chief officers of the order +had always chaplains in their train to celebrate mass and other +religious offices, as also to act as secretaries, the knights being in +general as illiterate as their secular brethren. It was by this last +office that the chaplains acquired their chief influence in the society; +mind and superior knowledge vindicating, as they always do, their +natural rights. For though it was specially provided that the clergy +should take no share in the government of the society without being +invited thereto by their superiors, the opinion of the secretary was +naturally taken in general, and if he was a man of sense and talent, it +was most commonly followed[81]. + +[Footnote 81: This influence of the clergy excited the spleen of the +knights. Gerard de Caux, in his examination hereafter to be noticed, +said, "The aged men of the order were unanimous in maintaining that the +order had gained nothing in _internal goodness_ by the admission of +learned members."] + +The duties of the clergy of the order were nearly the same as those of +monks in general. They performed all religious offices, and officiated +at all the ceremonies of the order, such as the admission of members, +the installation of a Master, &c. Their privileges were very +unimportant; they had merely the best clothes, sat next the Master in +the chapter and in the refectory, and were first served at table; when +they committed any offence, they were also more lightly punished than +others. They could, however, if it so pleased the heads of the order, +arrive at high rank in it; and we find that they were not unfrequently +among the preceptors. The attorney-general of the order at Rome, who was +always a person of considerable importance, was most probably a priest +of the order; at least we know that Peter de Bononia, the last of them, +was such. + +It is worthy of notice, that even in the most flourishing period of the +order it never had a sufficient number of chaplains, and was always +obliged to have recourse to the ministry of secular priests. The causes +of this were probably the circumstance of the order having attained its +full form and consistency long before the clergy formed a part of it, +and they consequently had not an opportunity of arranging it so as to +give themselves their due share of power and importance. It must have +been galling to the pride of those who were used to rule, obeying only +their spiritual superiors, to find themselves subject to the command of +mere laymen, as they esteemed the knights of the order. Further, though +they shared in the good things of the order and enjoyed the advantage of +the consideration in which it stood, yet they had no dignities to look +forward to; whereas an entrance into a Benedictine order held out to the +ambitious a prospect of rich priories, abbacies, and bishoprics, and, at +the least, a voice in the chapter. It may well be supposed that the +pride of the knights of the Temple refused to admit into their society +such persons as those who afterwards joined the mendicant +orders--peasants and others who preferred a life of ease and idleness to +the labours of the plough and the workshop. The number consequently of +those who presented themselves for admission was small. But the knights +felt no disadvantage thereby; enow of secular priests were to be had, +who were willing to have the master of the Temple as their ordinary, and +to share in the good things of the order, and as neither party was bound +to the other, they could easily part if they disagreed. + +III. The Serving-brethren. The order, consisting at first of only +knights and men of noble birth, had no serving-brethren in it. The +knights probably found esquires for a limited time among those who +fought under their banner and received their pay. The Hospitallers seem +to have set the example of introducing into the order the class of +serving-brethren, which is not to be found with the Templars till some +time after the council of Troyes. The advantage of this alteration was +very apparent. Hitherto only knights and nobles were interested in the +fate of the society to which their relatives belonged; the regards of +burghers and traders would now be obtained by the formation of this +class, to admission into which their sons and brothers were eligible. +They felt themselves honoured by their relatives coming into contact +with knights, and were therefore liberal in the admission-fee and in +other contributions to the _quetes_ of the order. + +We should be wrong in supposing the serving-brethren to have been all +persons of mean birth. The high consideration in which the order stood +induced many men of wealth, talent, and valour, but who were not of +noble birth, to join it. We thus find among the serving-brethren William +of Arteblay, almoner to the king of France; Radulf de Gisi, collector of +the taxes in Champagne; John de Folkay, an eminent lawyer. Bartholomew +Bartholet gave property to the amount of 1,000 _livres Tournois_ to be +admitted; William of Liege gave 200 _livres Tournois_ a year. The +serving-brother, indeed, could never arrive at the dignity of knight +(for which he was disqualified by birth), and consequently never +exercise any of the higher offices of the order, but in other respects +he enjoyed the same advantages and privileges as the knights and +priests. + +The reception of the serving-brethren was the same as that of the two +higher classes, the necessary difference being made in the questions +which were asked. As the order would receive no slave into their body, +the candidate was required to aver that he was a free-born man: he was +moreover obliged to declare that he was not a knight. This last +condition may cause surprise, but it was probably justified by +experience, as it is not unlikely that evil may have been felt or +apprehended from men of noble birth, out of humility, or by way of +atoning for the sins of their youth, or from some other of the causes +which might operate on the minds of superstitious men, or even from +poverty, if, as is likely, the admission-fee was lower for a +serving-brother than for a knight, concealing their birth, and entering +the order as serving-brethren. As the more disagreeable duties of the +order probably fell to their share, the general duties and obligations +were laid before them in stronger and more explicit terms than were +thought necessary in the case of knights and priests. + +In the times of the poverty of the order, the clothing of the +serving-brethren was the cast-off garments of the knights. But this +custom did not long continue, and as some abuses arose from all the +members of the order being clad in white, the serving-brethren were +appointed to wear black or brown kirtles, with the red cross upon them, +to indicate that they belonged to the order. In battle, their arms were +nearly the same as those of the knights, but of a lighter kind, as they +had frequently to jump down from their horses, and fight on foot. A +serving-brother was allowed but one horse by the order, but the Master +was empowered to lend him another if he thought it expedient, which +horse was to be afterwards returned. + +The serving-brethren were originally all of one kind; they fought +in the field; they performed the menial offices in the houses of +the order; but, in after-times, we find them divided into two +classes--the brethren-in-arms (_Freres servons des armes_), and the +handicraft-brethren (_Freres servons des mestiers_). These last, who +were the least esteemed of the two, dwelt in the houses and on the lands +of the order, exercising their various trades, or looking after the +property of the society. We read in the statutes of the smiths and +bakers of the order, and we hear of _preceptors_ (as was the phrase) of +the mares, cows, swine, &c. of the order. These handicraft-brethren +practised the usual religious duties of the order, and were even allowed +to be present at chapters. The farrier, who was also armourer, +enjoyed a much higher degree of consideration than the other +handicraft-brethren, for this profession was highly prized by the +martial generation of the middle ages[82]. + +[Footnote 82: Sir W. Scott is perfectly correct in making the smith so +important a character in his St. Valentine's Eve.] + +The other class were more highly regarded. The knights associated with +them on a footing of equality. They ate in the same refectory with the +knights and priests, although at separate tables, and with always one +dish less than the higher classes. They were, however, strictly +subordinate to the knights; the master and all the great officers of the +order had each several serving-brethren to attend him, and each knight +had some of the serving-brethren among his esquires. The statutes +provided carefully against their being tyrannized over or otherwise +ill-treated by the knights. + +The statutes make a distinction between the serving-brethren who were +armed with iron and those who were not. The former were the proper +light-horse of the order; they were chiefly intended to support the +knights in the action, and were usually placed in the second rank. The +place of the unarmed was with the baggage; and as they were exposed to +little danger, they wore only linen corslets. The others were enjoined +to fight, without flinching, as long as a Christian banner flew on the +field: it was matter of praise to these last if they managed to come +safe out of the fight. When the troops of the Temple were on their +march, the esquires rode before the knights with their baggage. When the +knights were going to action, one esquire rode before each with his +lance, another behind with his war-horse. + +There were various offices in the society, hereafter to be noticed, +which were appropriated to the serving-brethren, or to which they were +eligible. + +The knights, the chaplains, and the serving-brethren, were the proper +members of the order, and it is to them alone that the name Templars +applies. But both the Templars and the Hospitallers devised a mode of +attaching secular persons to their interest, and of deriving advantages +from their connexion with them, in which they were afterwards imitated +by the mendicant orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans; the Jesuits +also, who were always so keen at discerning what might be for the +advantage of their society, adopted it; and it is, we believe, still +practised in Catholic countries. This system is styled _affiliation_. + +The affiliated were persons of various ranks in society, and of both +sexes, who, without giving up their secular mode of life, or wearing any +peculiar habit, joined the order, with a view to the advantages, both +spiritual and temporal, which they expected to derive from it. These +advantages will appear to have been very considerable when we recollect +that all who joined the order were admitted to a share in the merits of +its good works, which were what those times esteemed of the highest +order. Nothing could have more contributed to the extent of affiliation +than the exemption which the Templars enjoyed from the effects of +interdict. At a time when it was in the power of every bishop to lay +entire towns under this formidable sentence it must have been highly +consolatory to pious or superstitious minds to belong to a society who +disregarded this spiritual thunder, and who could afford them an +opportunity of at least occasionally hearing mass and receiving the +sacraments, and secured them, if they should die while the interdict +continued, the advantage of Christian burial. In those days also, when +club-law prevailed so universally, and a man's safety depended not so +much on his innocence or the justice of his cause as on the strength of +his party, it was a matter of no small consequence to belong to so +powerful a body as the Templars, and it must have been highly gratifying +to both the secular and spiritual pride of a lawyer or a burgher to be a +member of the same body with the high-born soldier-monks of the Temple. + +These important advantages were not conceded by the Templars without +equivalent considerations. This ambitious and covetous order required +that he who sought the honor of affiliation with them should, besides +taking the three vows, pledge himself to lead a reputable life, to +further the interests of the order to the best of his power, and leave +it the entire of his property at his death. If he was married, and died +before his wife, he might leave her a competent provision for life; but +from the day of his admission into the order he was to abstain from her +bed, though he might continue to reside in the same house with her; for +were he to have children, he might provide for them to the disadvantage +of the order, or on his death they might give trouble to it by claiming +his property. For a similar reason the affiliated were forbidden to be +sponsors, lest they might covertly or openly give some of their property +to their godchildren. They were not even permitted to give offerings to +the clergy. If they dared to violate these injunctions, a severe +punishment--in general, confinement for life--awaited them. + +All orders of men were ambitious of a union with this honourable and +powerful society. We find among the affiliated both sovereign princes +and dignified prelates: even the great Pope Innocent III., in one of his +bulls, declares himself to stand in this relation to the order. Many of +the knights who dwelt with the Templars, and fought under their banner, +were also affiliated, and the history of the order more than once makes +mention of the _sisters_--that is, women who were affiliated to it, for +there were no nuns of the Temple similar to those of the order of Malta +in later times. + +In less intimate connexion with the order than the affiliated stood +those who were styled _Donates_ and _Oblates_. These were persons who, +as their titles denote, were given or presented to the order. They were +either children whom their parents or relations destined to the service +of the order when they should have attained a sufficient age, or they +were full-grown persons who pledged themselves to serve the order as +long as they lived without reward, purely out of reverence to it, and +with a view to enjoying its protection, and sharing in its good works. +Persons of all ranks, princes and priests, as well as others, were to be +found among the oblates of the Temple. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Provinces of the Order--Eastern Provinces--Jerusalem--Houses of + this Province--Tripolis--Antioch--Cyprus--Western + Provinces--Portugal--Castile and Leon--Aragon--France and + Auvergne--Normandy--Aquitaine--Provence--England--Germany--Upper + and Central Italy--Apulia and Sicily. + + +We have thus seen what a number of persons of all ranks were more or +less intimately connected with the order of the Temple, and how powerful +its influence must have been throughout the Christian world. To enable +the reader to form some conception of its wealth and power, we shall, +previous to explaining its system of internal regulation, give a view of +its possessions in various countries. + +The extensive possessions of the order of the Temple, in Asia and in +Europe, were divided into provinces, each containing numerous +preceptories or temple-houses, and each under its appointed governor. +These provinces may be classified under the heads of Eastern and +Western. + +The eastern provinces of the order were,-- + +I. Jerusalem.--This province was always regarded as the ruling one; the +chief seat and capital of the order. The Master and chapter resided here +as long as the Holy City was in the hands of the Christians. This being +the province which was first established, its regulations and +organization served as a model for all others. Its provincial Master, +or, as he was styled, the Preceptor of the Land and Kingdom of +Jerusalem, took precedence of all others of the same rank. + +The bailiwicks, or commanderies, in this province, were,-- + +1. The Temple of Jerusalem, the cradle of the order, and the original +residence of the Master and the chapter. + +2. Chateau Pelerin, or the Pilgrim's Castle, renowned in the history of +the crusades. This castle was built by the Templars in 1217, in order +that it might be their chief seat after the loss of Jerusalem. It was +situated on the east side of Mount Carmel, which runs out into the sea +between Caipha and Caesarea. The Templars had long had a tower at a pass +of this mountain, called _Destruction_, or the Tower of the Pass, for +the defence of pilgrims against the robbers who lurked in the gorges of +the mountains. They were aided in building the castle, which was also +designed to be a defence to Acre, by Walter D'Avesnes and by the German +knights and pilgrims who were at that time in the Holy Land, and hence, +perhaps, they called it Chateau Pelerin. The Cardinal de Vitry, who was +at that time bishop of Acre, thus describes it. It was built on the +promontory, three sides of which were washed by the sea. As they were +sinking the foundation, they came to two walls of ancient masonry, and +to some springs of remarkably pure water; they also found a quantity of +ancient coins with unknown inscriptions, given, as the bishop piously +deems, by God to his beloved sons and warriors, to alleviate the toil +and expense which they were at. The place had probably been fortified in +former times by the Jews or the Romans. The builders raised two huge +towers of large masses of rock on the landward side, each 100 feet high, +and 74 broad; these were united by a lofty wall, broad enough at its +summit for an armed knight to stand at his ease upon it. It had a +parapet and battlements, with steps leading up to them. In the space +within this wall were a chapel, a palace, and several houses, with +fish-ponds, salt-works, woods, meads, gardens, and vineyards. Lying at a +distance of six miles from Mount Tabor, it commanded the interjacent +plain and the sea-coast to Acre. There the Master and the chapter took +up their final abode, after having dwelt from 1118 to 1187 at Jerusalem, +from 1187 to 1191 at Antioch, and from this last year till 1217 at Acre. +"The chief use," says D'Vitry, "of this edifice is, that the whole +chapter of the Templars, withdrawn from the sinful city of Acre, which +is full of all impurity, will reside under the protection of this castle +till the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt." A prophecy never to be +fulfilled! On the fall of Acre, in 1291, Chateau Pelerin was abandoned +by the knights, and its walls were levelled by the infidels. + +3. The castle of Safat, at the foot of Mount Tabor. This strong castle +was taken by Saladin. It was demolished in 1220, by Coradin, but +afterwards rebuilt by the Templars, who then held it till 1266, when +they lost it finally. + +4. The temple at Acre, a remarkably strong building, the last place +taken in the capture of that town. + +5. The hill-fort, Dok, between Bethel and Jericho. + +6. Faba, the ancient Aphek, not far from Tyre, in the territory of the +ancient tribe of Ashur. + +7. Some small castles near Acre, mentioned in the history +of the war with Saladin, such as _La Cave_, _Marle_, _Citerne-rouge_, +_Castel-blanc_, _La Sommellerie du Temple_. + +8. The house at Gaza. + +9. The castle of Jacob's-ford, at the Jordan, built in 1178 by King +Baldwin IV., to check the incursions of the roving Arabs. When Saladin +took this castle, he treated the Templars whom he found in it with great +cruelty. + +10. The house at Jaffa. + +11. The castle of Assur, near this town. + +12. _Gerinum parvum._ + +13. The castle of Beaufort, near Sidon, purchased by the order, in 1260, +from Julian, the lord of that town. + +We may observe that most of these abodes of the Templars were strong +castles and fortresses. It was only by means of such that possession +could be retained of a country like Palestine, subject to the constant +inroads of the Turks and Saracens. The Templars possessed, besides these +strongholds, large farms and tracts of land, of which, though their +names are unknown, frequent mention is made in the history of the order. + +II. Tripolis.--The principal houses of the order in this province were +at Tripolis itself; Tortosa, the ancient Antaradus; Castel-blanc, in the +same neighbourhood; Laodicea, Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus. + +III. Antioch.--Of this province but little is known. There was a house +at Aleppo; and the jurisdiction of the prior probably extended into +Armenia[83], where the order had estates to the value of 20,000 byzants. + +[Footnote 83: The Armenia of the crusades was a part of Cilicia.] + +IV. Cyprus.--As long as the Templars maintained their footing on the +continent, Cyprus, it would appear, formed no distinct province, but +belonged either to that of Tripolis or of Antioch. At the time when +Richard, King of England, made the conquest of this island, he sold the +sovereignty of it for 25,000 marks of silver to the Templars, who had +already extensive possessions in it. The following year, with the +consent of the order, who were, of course, reimbursed, he transferred +the dominion to Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem. On the capture of +Acre the chief seat of the order was fixed at Limesal, also called +Limissa and Nemosia, in this island, which town, having an excellent +harbour, they strongly fortified. They had also a house at Nicosia, and +one at the ancient Paphos, named Gastira, and, at the same place, the +impregnable castle of Colossa. + +Some idea of the value of the possessions of the Templars in Cyprus may +be formed from the circumstance, that when, in 1316, after the +suppression of the order, the Pope directed the Bishop of Limissa to +transfer their property there to the Hospitallers, there were found, in +the house in that town, 26,000 byzants of coined money, and silver plate +to the value of 1,500 marks. As the last Master, when setting out for +France ten years before, had carried with him the treasure of the order, +this property must have been accumulated during that time out of the +surplus revenue of the possessions of the order in the island. + +The Western provinces of the order were-- + +I. Portugal.--So early as the year 1130 (a strong proof of the rapid +increase of the order) Galdin Paez, the first provincial master of the +Temple in Portugal, built the castles of Tomar, Monsento, and Idanna. +The Templars had also settlements at Castromarin, Almural, and +Langrovia. Tomar was the residence of the great-prior. + +II. Castile and Leon.--In this province the possessions of the order +were so extensive as to form twenty-four bailiwicks in Castile alone. It +is needless to enumerate their names[84]. + +[Footnote 84: They will be found in Campomanes, p. 80, and Muenter, p. +424.] + +III. Aragon.--In this province, which abounded in castles, several +belonged to the Templars; and the bailiwick of Majorca, where they were +also settled, was under the jurisdiction of the great-prior of Aragon. + +It is to be observed that most of the castles possessed by the order in +Spain and Portugal were on the borders of the Moorish territory. Some of +these had been given to the Templars as the inveterate foes of the +infidels; others had been conquered by them from the Moors. + +France, where the possessions of the order were so considerable, was +divided into four provinces, namely-- + +IV. France and Auvergne, including Flanders and the Netherlands. + +V. Normandy. + +VI. Aquitaine, or Poitou. + +VII. Provence. + +The residences of the great-priors of these four provinces were, for +France, the capacious and stately Temple at Paris, which was, as we are +informed by Matthew Paris, large and roomy enough to contain an army; +for Normandy, as is supposed, _La ville Dieu en la Montagne_; for +Poitou, the Temple at Poitiers; for Provence, that at Montpellier. + +VIII. England.--The province of England included Scotland and Ireland. +Though each of these two last kingdoms had its own great-prior, they +were subordinate to the great-prior of England, who resided at the +Temple of London. + +The principal bailiwicks of England were--1. London; 2. Kent; 3. +Warwick; 4. Waesdone; 5. Lincoln; 6. Lindsey; 7. Bolingbroke; 8. Widine; +9. Agerstone; 10. York. In these were seventeen preceptories; and the +number of churches, houses, farms, mills, &c., possessed by the order +was very considerable[85]. + +[Footnote 85: The possessions of the Templars in England will be found +in the works of Dugdale and Tanner.] + +[Illustration: Interior of Round Tower, in Temple Church, London.] + +[Illustration: Saxon Doorway, Temple Church, London.] + +[Illustration: Details of Saxon Capitals.] + +[Illustration: Round Temple Church, Cambridge.] + +The chief seat of the order in Scotland appears to have been Blancradox. +Its possessions were not extensive in that poor and turbulent country; +and in Ireland the Templars seem to have been few, and confined to the +Pale. We hear of but three of their houses in that country--namely, +Glaukhorp, in the diocese of Dublin; Wilbride, in that of Ferns; and +Siewerk, in that of Kildare. + +IX. Germany.--It is difficult to ascertain how the order was regulated +in Germany, where its possessions were very extensive. We hear of three +great-priors: those of Upper Germany, of Brandenburg, and of Bohemia and +Moravia; one of whom, but it cannot be determined which, had probably +authority over the others. Though the Templars got lands in Germany as +early as the year 1130, their acquisitions were not large in that +country till the thirteenth century. Poland was included in the province +of Germany. Great-prior in Alemania and Slavia was a usual title of the +great-prior of Germany. Though the possessions of the Templars in +Hungary were very considerable, there are no grounds for supposing that +it formed a separate province: it was probably subject to the +great-prior of Germany. + +X. Upper and Central Italy.--There was no town of any importance in this +part of the Italian peninsula in which the Templars had not a house. The +principal was that on the Aventine Hill at Rome, in which the +great-prior resided. Its church still remains, and is called _Il +Priorato_, or the Priory. + +XI. Apulia and Sicily.--The possessions of the Templars in Sicily were +very considerable. They had houses and lands at Syracuse, Palermo, +Trapani, Butera, Lentini, &c.; all of which were dependent on the +principal house, which was in Messina. The great-prior resided either at +Messina or at Benevento in Apulia. Possibly the seat was removed to this +last place, after the Emperor Frederic II. had seized so much of the +property of the order in Sicily. + +In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the order had no possessions whatever. +Though the people of these countries took some share in the crusades, +and were, therefore, not deficient in religious zeal, their poor and +little-known lands offered no strong inducements to the avarice or +ambition of the knights of the Temple, and they never sought a +settlement in them. + +We thus see that, with the exception of the northern kingdoms, there was +no part of Europe in which the order of the Temple was not established. +Everywhere they had churches, chapels, tithes, farms, villages, mills, +rights of pasturage, of fishing, of venery, and of wood. They had also, +in many places, the right of holding annual fairs, which were managed, +and the tolls received, either by some of the brethren of the nearest +houses or by their _donates_ and servants. The number of their +preceptories is, by the most moderate computation, rated at 9,000; and +the annual income of the order at about six millions sterling--an +enormous sum for those times! Masters of such a revenue, descended from +the noblest houses of Christendom, uniting in their persons the most +esteemed secular and religious characters, regarded as the chosen +champions of Christ, and the flower of Christian knights, it was not +possible for the Templars, in such lax times as the twelfth and +thirteenth centuries, to escape falling into the vices of extravagant +luxury and overweening pride. Nor are we to wonder at their becoming +objects of jealousy and aversion to both the clergy and the laity, and +exciting the fears and the cupidity of an avaricious and faithless +prince. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Officers of the Order--The Master--Mode of Election--His + Rights and Privileges--Restraints on him--The Seneschal--The + Marshal--The Treasurer--The Draper--The Turcopilar--Great- + Priors--Commanders--Visitors--Sub-Marshal--Standard-bearer. + + +An order consisting of so many members, and whose wealth and possessions +were of such extent, must necessarily have had numerous officers and +various ranks and dignities. The elucidation of this branch of their +constitution is now to engage our attention. + +At the head of the order stood the Master, or, as he was sometimes +called, the Great-Master[86] of the Temple. This personage was always a +knight, and had generally held one of the higher dignities of the order. +Though, like the Doge of Venice, his power was greatly controlled by the +chapter, he enjoyed very great consideration, and was always regarded as +the representative of the order. In the councils, the Masters of the +Temple and the Hospital took precedence of all ambassadors, and sat next +the prelates. All monarchs conceded princely rank and place to the +Master of the Temple. + +[Footnote 86: _Magister_, _Maistre_, is the almost invariable expression +in the historians, the statutes of the order, and most documents. +_Magnus Magister_ was, however, early employed. Terricus, the Master of +the order, thus styles himself when writing to Henry II. of England. The +term Grand-Master is apt to convey erroneous ideas of pomp and +magnificence to the minds of many readers.] + +A situation which offered so much state and consideration must, of +necessity, have been an object of ambition; but the scanty records +remaining of the society do not enable us to point out any specific +cases of intrigue employed for the attainment of it. That of the last +Master, hereafter to be mentioned, is somewhat problematic. + +The election of a Master of the Temple was as follows:-- + +When the Master was dead, an event which always occurred in the East, as +he was bound to reside there, if it took place in the kingdom of +Jerusalem, and the marshal of the order was on the spot, he took upon +him the exercise of the vacant dignity till, with the aid of the chapter +and of all the bailiffs on this side of the sea (_i. e._ in the East), he +had appointed a great-prior to represent the Master. But this election +did not take place till after the funeral. Should the death of the +Master have occurred in the province of Tripolis, or that of Antioch, +the prior of the province took the direction of the order till the +great-prior was appointed. + +Owing to the constant state of war which prevailed in the East, and to +other causes, a considerable space of time occasionally intervened +between the death of one Master and the appointment of his successor. +During the _interregnum_ the society was directed by the great-prior who +bore the seal of the Master. + +When the day appointed for the election was arrived, the great officers +of the order and all the bailiffs who were invited to be present +assembled in the place selected for holding the election--generally the +chapel of the order. The great-prior, taking several of the knights +aside, consulted with them; and they then made two or three or more of +the knights who were most highly-esteemed retire. The great-prior took +the voices of those present on the merits of the absent knights; and he +who had most in his favour was declared the electing-prior. The knights +were then called in, and the choice of the assembly notified to them. A +knight, possessing the same virtues of piety, love of peace, and +impartiality with himself, was then assigned for an assistant to the +electing-prior: and the whole assemblage withdrew, leaving the two alone +in the chapel, where they passed the entire night in prayer. + +Early next morning, after performing their usual devotions and hearing +the mass of the Holy Ghost, the chapter re-assembled. The great-prior +then exhorted the two electing brethren to perform their duty truly and +honestly. These, then retiring, chose two other brethren; these four +chose two more, and so on, till the number amounted to twelve, in honour +of the apostles. The twelve then chose a brother-chaplain to represent +the person of Jesus Christ, and maintain peace and concord. It was +necessary that these thirteen should be of different provinces--eight of +them knights, four serving-brethren, and one priest. The thirteen +electors then returned to the chapter, and the electing-prior besought +all present to pray for them, as a great task had been laid on them. All +then fell on their knees and prayed; and the great-prior solemnly +reminded the electors of their duty, and conjured them to perform it +truly and uprightly. Having again implored the prayers of the assembly, +the electing-prior and his companions retired to the place appointed for +their deliberations. If the electors, or the majority of them, declared +for any knight on this or the other side of the sea, he was appointed; +if they were divided into parties, the electing-prior came with one of +the knights, and, informing the assembly of the circumstance, asked +their prayers. All fell on their knees, and the two electors returned +to their companions; if they now agreed, the person whom they chose was +declared Master. + +Should the object of their choice be, as was not unfrequently the case, +actually present in the chapter, the thirteen came in; and the +electing-prior speaking in their name, said, "Beloved sirs, give praise +and thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to our dear Lady, and to all +the saints, that we are agreed, and have, according to your command, +chosen, in the name of God, a Master of the Temple. Are ye content with +what we have done?" All then replied, "In the name of God!" "Do ye +promise to yield him obedience as long as he lives?" "Yea, with the help +of God!" The electing-prior then turned to the great-prior, and said, +"Prior, if God and we have chosen thee for the Master, wilt thou promise +to obey the chapter as long as thou live, and to maintain the good +morals and good usages of the order?" and he answered, "Yea, with the +aid of God!" The same question was then put to some of the most +distinguished knights; and if the person elected was present, the +electing-prior went up to him, and said, "In the name of the Father, the +Son, and the Holy Ghost, we have chosen you brother, N. N., for Master, +and do choose you!" He then said, "Beloved sirs and brethren, give +thanks unto God: behold our Master." The chaplains then chanted aloud +the _Te Deum laudamus_, the brethren arose, and, with the utmost +reverence and joy, taking the new Master in their arms, carried him into +the chapel, and placed him before the altar, where he continued kneeling +while the brethren prayed, the chaplains repeating _Kyrie Eleison_, +_Pater noster_, and other devotional forms. + +The election of the Master of the Temple required no papal +confirmation: the choice of the chapter was conclusive. Two knights were +assigned to him as his companions. + +The allowances and train of the Master were suitable to the rank which +he was to support in the world, and to the dignity of the order which he +represented. He was allowed four horses, and an esquire of noble birth. +He had a chaplain and two secretaries; one for managing his Latin +correspondence, whom he might, after a time, admit to become a knight of +the order; the other, who was called his Saracenic secretary, and who +was probably an eastern Christian, for carrying on his Arabic +correspondence with the Infidels. He had, moreover, a farrier, a cook, +and a Turcopole[87], two footmen, and a Turcoman[88], to serve as guide. +On a march, the Turcoman rode on a horse behind an esquire: during the +time of war he was led by a cord, to prevent his escape. On any ordinary +journey, the Master might take two beasts of burden with him; but in +war-time, or in case of his going beyond the Jordan, or the Dog's +Pass[89], he might extend the number to four, which the statutes +thriftily direct to be put into the stable when he arrives at the house +where he is going to stop, and to be employed in the service of the +house. The Master was finally commander-in-chief of the order in the +field; and then, like the Spartan kings, he could act in some degree +unfettered by the chapter. When he died, he was buried with great +solemnity and pomp, by the light of torches and wax tapers--an honour +bestowed by the order on no other of its members. All the knights were +required to attend the funeral; and the prelates were invited to give +their presence at it. Each brother who was present was to repeat 200 +_Pater nosters_ within seven days, for the repose of the soul of the +deceased; and 100 poor persons were fed at home in the evening, with the +same design. + +[Footnote 87: The Turcopoles were the offspring of a Turkish father, by +a Christian mother; or also those who had been reared among the Turks, +and had learned their mode of fighting. The Christians employed them as +light cavalry; and the Templars had always a number of them in their +pay.] + +[Footnote 88: The Turcomans were, as their name denotes, born Turks. The +Christians used them as guides on their expeditions.] + +[Footnote 89: _Le pas de chien._ Muenter (p. 66) declares his ignorance +of where it lay. It was evidently the dangerous pass at the +Nahr-el-Kelb, (_Dog's River_), near the sea, on the way to Antioch.] + +On the other hand, the Master was bound to obey the chapter; and he +could do nothing without consulting some of the brethren. He could not +nominate to any of the higher dignities of the order; but he might, with +the advice and consent of some of the most reputable knights, appoint to +the inferior priories and preceptories. He could not sell, or in any +other way dispose of, any of the lands of the order, without the consent +of the chapter; neither could he make peace or truce without their +approbation. Their consent was also required to enable him to make any +alteration in the laws of the society, to receive any person into it, or +to send a brother beyond sea. He could take no money out of the treasury +without the consent of the prior of Jerusalem, who was the treasurer of +the society. In fact, the Master of the Temple was so curbed and +restrained in every way, and his office made so much an honorary one, +that his dignity may best be compared with that of a Spartan king or a +Venetian doge. It is rather curious that the Master of the Temple should +be thus limited in authority, when the abbot of the Benedictines, whose +rules the Templars in a great measure adopted, enjoyed monarchical +power. + +Next in rank to the Master stood the seneschal, who, as his name +denotes[90], was the Master's representative and lieutenant. He had a +right to be present at all chapters of the order; and to be acquainted +with all transactions of consequence. He was allowed the same number of +horses as the Master; but, instead of a mule, he was to have a palfrey: +he had two esquires, and was assigned a knight as his companion; a +deacon acted as his chaplain and Latin secretary; he had also a +Saracenic secretary and a Turcopole, with two footmen. Like the Master, +he bore the seal of the order. + +[Footnote 90: Seneschal is one _qui alterius vicem gerit_. Charpentier +Supplem. ad Dufresne Gloss. iii. p. 759.] + +The marshal was the general of the order; he had charge of the banner, +and led the brethren to battle. All the arms, equipments, and stables of +the order were under his superintendence. It was he who nominated the +sub-marshal and the standard-bearer. Like all the other great officers, +he was appointed by the Master and the chapter. As we have seen, when +the Master died in the kingdom of Jerusalem, the marshal occupied his +place till a great-prior was chosen. The marshal was allowed four +horses, two esquires, a serving-brother, and a Turcopole. + +The office of treasurer of the order was always united with the dignity +of preceptor of the kingdom of Jerusalem. This officer had the charge of +all the receipts and expenditure of the order, of which he was bound to +give an account, when required, to the Master and the chapter. The +wardrobe of the order was also under him; and the draper was assigned as +his companion, without whose knowledge he could not dispose of any of +the clothes. As the ships, though few in number, which the Templars +possessed, were under him, he may be regarded as, also, in some sort, +the admiral of the order; and on this account the preceptor of Acre was +subordinate to him. The treasurer had the same allowance of horses, &c. +as the seneschal. + +The draper had charge of the clothing of the order: he was to see that +each brother was decently and properly dressed. His allowance was four +horses, two esquires, and a pack-servant. + +The Turcopilar was the commander of the light horse. All the armed +serving-brethren and the Turcopoles were under his command. He was +himself subordinate to the marshal. When he was going into action, some +of the knights were sent with him. These were under his orders; but if +their number amounted to ten, and they had with them a banner and a +knight-preceptor, the Turcopilar became subordinate to this officer; +which proves that the office of Turcopilar was not one of the higher +dignitaries of the order. The Turcopilar was allowed four horses. + +Besides these offices of the order in the East, there were the +great-priors, great-preceptors, or provincial-masters (for the terms are +synonymous) of the three provinces of Jerusalem, Tripolis, and Antioch; +and the preceptors, who were subordinate to them. + +The great-prior of the kingdom of Jerusalem was also treasurer. His +office has been already noticed. The great-priors of Tripolis and +Antioch had the superintendence over the brethren and the possessions of +the order in these provinces. They had the same allowances of attendants +and horses as the seneschal. The prior of Antioch, when on a journey to +Armenia, which bordered on his province, and in which the order had +possessions, was allowed to take with him a chaplain and a portable +chapel, as the Armenians were monophysite heretics, with whom the +orthodox brethren of the Temple could not join in worship. + +The prior of the town of Jerusalem had peculiar duties to perform. It +was his office, with ten knights who stood under his command, to escort +the pilgrims on their way to and from the Jordan--one of the principal +objects of the institution of the order. On this occasion he had with +him the banner of the order and a round tent, into which he might take +any persons whom he should find sick when he encamped: he was also to +take with him provisions, and beasts of burden on which to place such of +the pilgrims as might be fatigued on the return. + +When the true cross was brought forth on any expedition, it was the duty +of the prior of Jerusalem to keep by it, with his ten knights, night and +day, and to guard it; he was to encamp close to it; and two brethren +were to watch it every night. + +All the secular knights who associated themselves to the order in +Jerusalem were under his orders, and fought beneath his banner. All the +brethren of the order who were in Jerusalem were, in the absence of the +marshal, under his command. One half of the booty captured beyond the +Jordan fell to him, the other half to the prior of the kingdom. + +As we have seen above, the West was, like the East, divided into +provinces of the order. Each of these provinces was presided over by a +lieutenant of the master, named the provincial-master, great-prior, or +great-preceptor, with his chapter and officers corresponding to those of +the kingdom of Jerusalem. He was appointed, as it would appear, by the +Master and chapter; and when entering on his office, he bound himself by +oath to defend the Catholic religion, not only with his lips, but with +arms and all his strength; to follow the rules drawn up by St. Bernard; +to obey the Master; to come over the sea to his aid whenever it was +necessary; to defend him against all unbelieving kings and princes; not +to fly before these unbelieving foes; not to alienate the goods of the +order; to be loyal to the prince of the country; to be chaste; and to +aid all spiritual persons, especially the Cistercians, by words and by +deeds. + +Under the provincial-masters stood the priors, bailiffs, or masters, who +governed large districts of the provinces, and had under their +inspection several of the houses of the order and their preceptors. They +dwelt in large temple-houses, with a good number of knights; they had +the power of holding chapters, and of receiving members into the order. + +The preceptors were subordinate to the priors; they presided over one or +more houses. They were generally knights, but they were sometimes +priests. They were of two kinds--house-preceptors and knight-preceptors; +the former, as their name denotes, merely presided over the houses, and +might be priests or serving-brethren; the latter, who were probably only +to be found in the East or in Spain, led each ten knights in the battle. + +Another office to be found among the Templars was that of visitors. +These were knights, who, as the representatives of the Master, visited +the different provinces of the order, especially in the West, to reform +abuses, make new regulations, and terminate such disputes and law-suits +as were usually reserved for the decision of the Master and the chapter. +All the provincial officers, even the great-priors, were subject to the +visitors, as the representatives of the Master. The powers of the +visitors ceased as soon as the business ended for which they were sent, +or when they were recalled. + +[Illustration: Preceptory, Swingfield, Dover] + +Besides the foregoing offices, which were almost exclusively confined to +the knights, there were some inferior ones appropriated to the +serving-brethren. These offices were five in number--namely, those of +sub-marshal, standard-bearer, farrier, cook, and preceptor of the coast +of Acre. Each of these was allowed two horses. + +The sub-marshal had the charge of all the inferior sort of accoutrements +(_le petit harnois_) of the order, in which the horse-furniture seems to +have been included. All the handicraftsmen of the order were under him, +and were obliged to account to him for their work. He supplied them with +the needful tools and materials; could send them where he pleased on the +service of the house; and on holidays give them permission to go from +one house to another to amuse themselves. The sub-marshal and the +standard-bearer were each the representative of the other in his +absence. + +The standard-bearer had the command over all the esquires of the house; +that is, those who were engaged for a limited time in the service of the +order, whom he was bound to make acquainted with the rules to which they +were subject, and the punishments to which they were liable in case of +disobedience; he was also to pay them their wages. Whenever the esquires +took the horses out to graze, he was bound to precede them with a +standard of the order. He always presided at the table of the +serving-brethren and esquires. When the order was marching to battle, it +was his task to ride before the standard, which was borne after him by +an esquire, or carried on a wain[91]; he was to lead whithersoever the +marshal directed him. When the battle commenced, those esquires who led +the horses of the knights were to combat behind their masters; the +others were to take the mules on which their masters rode, and remain +with the standard-bearer, who was to have a banner rolled about his +lance, which, when he saw the marshal engaged in action, he was to +unfurl, and draw up the esquires in as handsome order as possible behind +the combatants, in order to support them. + +[Footnote 91: The _Carroccio_ of the Italian republics.] + +The serving-brethren were eligible to the office of house-preceptor; but +there was this distinction made between them and knights who held that +office, that, the serving-brethren being allowed but one horse, their +esquire was a serving-brother. As Acre was the sea-port at which all the +shipments of the order to and from Europe took place, the preceptory +there was necessarily an office which entailed a good deal of toil and +business on the person who held that situation, and required a knowledge +of commerce and of the affairs of the world. It was therefore not +considered suitable to a knight, and was always given to a +serving-brother. The serving-brethren were also set over the +various farms and estates of the order. These were named the +brother-stewards,--in Latin, _grangiarii_ and _preceptores +grangiarum_,--and were probably selected from the craftsmen of the +order. They were allowed two horses and an esquire. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Chapters--Mode of holding them--Templars' Mode of + Living--Amusements--Conduct in War. + + +Such as we have described them were the members, the possessions, and +the various offices of the powerful society of the Temple. In order to +complete our view, it only remains to trace its internal government and +most important regulations. We shall therefore commence with an account +of the chapters, from which all the acts and rules of the society +emanated. + +It is frequently declared in the statutes, that the Master was in the +place of God; and that all his commands were to be obeyed as those of +God. But these expressions, which were borrowed from the rule of the +Benedictines, are, as we have already seen, not to be understood too +literally; for the constitution of the order of the Templars was +aristocratic, and not monarchic; and the Master was anything but +absolute. In every matter he was to be guided by the opinion of the +majority of the chapter. + +The general chapter, or high legislative assembly of the order, +consisted of all the great officers, of the great-priors of the +provinces, and the most distinguished of the knights who could attend. +Every brother, even the lowest of the serving-brethren, was at liberty +to be present as a spectator; but only the proper members of the chapter +had the privilege of speaking. The place of holding the chapter was +undetermined, and was left to the choice of the Master. All laws and +regulations were made or confirmed in the general chapter: there +brethren were received--the great officers appointed--visitors chosen to +be sent to the different provinces. It is remarkable, that a papal +legate never seems to have been present at a chapter of the Templars; +though the legates frequently assisted at those of the other orders. +This is, most probably, to be ascribed to the secrecy in which the +Templars were pleased to envelope their councils and proceedings; and as +they rarely held general chapters, a suitable pretext could not well be +wanting for freeing themselves from the presence of the legate when they +desired it. Those who impute to the Templars the holding of a secret +doctrine naturally regard this as the cause of their not admitting to +their chapters those who were not initiated in it. + +A general chapter was not often assembled--a circumstance easily to be +accounted for. Though the order was wealthy, it might not be well able +to bear, without inconvenience, the expense of deputies from all the +provinces journeying to the kingdom of Jerusalem, where the chapters +were in general held; and further, it was obviously the interest of the +Master and the great officers to avoid assembling a body which would at +once assume the powers which they were in the habit of exercising. + +In the intervals between the meetings of general chapters, the powers of +the order were exercised by the chapter of the Temple at Jerusalem. This +was composed of the Master, the dignitaries of the order, such of the +provincial masters as happened to be present, the two assistants of the +Master, and such knights as he chose to invite to it. This last +provision was the great source of the Master's power; and, when he was a +man of talent and address, he could, by managing to get his friends and +those whom he could depend on into the different offices, and by +summoning to the chapter such knights as were attached or looked up to +him, contrive to carry any matters that he desired. The laws, however, +by way of check upon him, made it imperative that the high officers of +the order should have seats in the chapter; and as these were not +appointed by the Master, and were independent of him, it was supposed +that they would not be his creatures. This chapter could decide on all +matters relating to the order, some important affairs, such as war and +peace, excepted; make laws and regulations, which were binding on the +whole society; and send visitors to the different provinces. All public +documents, such as papal bulls, were addressed to it and the Master; all +decisions in matters of importance came from it; and all the brethren +who were received in the West were sent to it to be distributed where +they might be wanting. The declaration made by a French knight on his +examination, that the receptions in the chapter of Jerusalem were rare, +as the members could be seldom brought to agree respecting a candidate, +gives a hint that it was not in general a scene of the greatest harmony +and unity. It is, indeed, but natural to suppose, that, as it was the +chief seat of the power of the order, it was also the great theatre of +intrigue and cabal. + +Each province of the order had its general chapter, and also a smaller +one, presided over by the great-prior, and composed of the principal +officers and such knights of character and estimation as the prior chose +to call to it. In like manner every preceptory and every large house of +the order had its chapter, at which all the brethren were required to +attend. The commander was president, and each question was decided by +the majority of voices. The chief transactions in it consisted in the +reception of new brethren, and the making up of quarrels and disputes, +which must have frequently fallen out among men like the Templars, who +were almost all soldiers. It was holden early on a Sunday morning; and +the strictest secrecy, as to what took place, was enjoined on all +present, for _secrecy was the soul of the order_. + +The ordinary chapters were held in the following manner. Each brother, +as he entered, made the sign of the cross, and, unless he was bald, took +off his cap. The president then rose and said, "Stand up, beloved +brethren, and pray to God to send his holy grace among us to-day." Each +member repeated a _pater noster_, and, if there was a chaplain present, +he said a prayer. Search was then made to see that there was no one +present but those who belonged to the order. The president then +delivered a discourse, exhorting the brethren to amendment of life. +During this discourse no one was on any account to leave the room. When +it was ended, any one who had transgressions to acknowledge went up to +the president and made confession. He then retired out of sight and +hearing, and the sentiments of the assembly were taken, which were +afterwards signified to him. The brethren were also to remind each other +of their transgressions, and exhort to confession and penitence. If any +one accused a brother falsely, he was severely punished for it: while +the inquiry was going on the accused was obliged to retire from the +chapter. The discipline was usually administered in presence of the +assembled chapter, with a scourge, or with a girdle. Those who were sick +were not punished till they were recovered. + +When these matters were over, the president explained a portion of the +statutes, and exhorted all present to live suitably thereto. He then +said, "Beloved brethren, we may now close our chapter, for, praise be to +God, all is well; and may God and our dear Lady grant that it may so +continue, and goodness be every day increased. Beloved brethren, ye must +know how it is with pardon in our chapter, and who has not part therein; +know, then, that those have no part either in the pardon of our chapter, +or in the other good works of the chapter; who live as they should not; +who depart from the righteousness of the order; who do not acknowledge +their offences and do penance in the mode prescribed by the order; who +treat the alms of the order as their own property, or in any other way +contrary to law, and squander them in an unrighteous, scandalous, and +foolish manner. But those who honestly acknowledge their faults, and +conceal nothing out of shame or fear of the punishment of the order, and +are right sorry for their transgressions, have a large share in the +forgiveness of our chapter, and in the good works which take place in +our order. And to such, in virtue of my authority, I dispense +forgiveness in the name of God and of our dear Lady, in the names of the +apostles Peter and Paul, of our father the pope, and of you all who have +given me authority; and pray to God that, according to his mercy, he +will, for the merits of his mother, and of himself, and all the saints, +forgive you your sins, as he forgave the famous Mary Magdalene." He then +implored the forgiveness of those to whom he might have given any +offence or done any injury; and prayed for peace, for the church, for +the holy kingdom of Jerusalem, for the order and all its houses and +people, for the brethren and sisters of the order, and for its living +and dead benefactors; finally, for all the dead who waited for the mercy +of God, especially those who lay buried in the Temple burial-grounds, +and for the souls of the fathers and mothers of the Templars. The +chaplain, if present, repeated a confession of sin, in which all +followed him, and then pronounced an absolution. If there was no +chaplain present, each brother repeated a _pater_ and an _ave_, and so +the chapter ended. + +The statutes of the order are full of the most minute directions +respecting the equipment, clothing, and mode of living of the various +members of the order. They were obliged to attend divine service +punctually each day at all the different hours at which it was +celebrated, and regularly to observe all the fasts of the church; they +were also to have at their houses both public and private devotions. +Their meals were also strictly regulated. They assembled by sound of +bell: if there was a priest in the house he said grace for them, if not, +each brother repeated a _pater_ before he began to eat. During the meal +a clergyman read out something edifying for them, and when it was over +no one was to speak till grace was said. There was no difference made in +the quality of the food; all, both high and low, fared alike, and they +ate two off one plate. They had flesh-meat but three times a week, +unless when festival days occurred. On days when they had no flesh-meat +they had but two dishes. When the order were in the field a server +regulated the supply and distribution of provisions. Before giving out +the provisions he was to direct the serving-brethren to notify it to the +superiors of the order, that they might come and select the best for +themselves; he distributed the remainder without any other distinction +than that of giving the best to the sick. The plate given to every two +of the brethren was so large that what remained when they were done was +sufficient to satisfy two of the poor. Two brethren were allowed as much +food as three Turcopoles, and two of these as much as three of the +servants. The brethren were not allowed to seek for any food elsewhere +than from the server, vegetables, game, and venison excepted. But as by +the rules of the order the chase was prohibited to them, they could not +procure these themselves. + +Amusements could not be rigorously prohibited to men who were +semi-secular, and had to mingle so much in the world as the Templars. +They were therefore allowed to tilt, but only with headless lances; +whether only among themselves, or also at public tournaments, is +uncertain[92]. They were permitted to run races with their horses, but +for no higher wager than a headless cross-bow bolt, or some other +trifle. Chess and draughts were prohibited games; nor were they allowed +to play at any other game whatever for a stake. Hawking was absolutely +forbidden to the Templar, probably on account of the high price of +hawks, and of this being the favourite amusement of the secular knights. +The reason assigned by the statutes is:--"Because it is not seemly in +the members of an order to play sinfully, but willingly to hearken to +the commands of God, to pray often, and daily in their prayers before +God to bewail their sins with weeping and tears." A Templar might not +even accompany one who was going out a-hawking. Moreover, as shouting +and bawling were unseemly in a member of an order, he might not go +a-hunting in a wood with bow and crossbow, nor accompany any one thus +engaged, except to protect him against the heathen. In fine, every +species of chase was forbidden to the Templar, except that of the lion +'who goes about seeking whom he may devour, whose hand is against every +one, and every one's hand against him'[93]. + +[Footnote 92: Sir W. Scott would probably find some difficulty in +justifyin his making his Templar accept the combat _a outrance_ at the +"gentle and free passage of Ashby de la Zouche."] + +[Footnote 93: It is not clear whether this is to be understood literally +or metaphorically.] + +The battle was the Templar's scene of glory, and consequently every +thing relating to the conduct of the order in war was strictly +regulated. On the march the Templars, as the guardians of the holy +cross, formed the vanguard of the Christian army; in the array they were +in the right wing. The Hospitallers usually formed the rear-guard, and +in the field were posted on the left. The Templars mounted and set +forward at the voice of their marshal, the standard-bearer preceding +them with the standard of the order. They moved in a walk or a small +trot. The march usually took place by night, on account of the heat of +eastern climes, and every precaution was adopted to prevent confusion or +inconvenience. When the standard halted for encampment, the marshal +selected a place for his own tent and the chapel, which was to contain +the true cross; the tents of the server, and of the great-prior of the +province, had also their places marked out. It was then cried out, +"Brethren, pitch your tents in the name of God!" on which each Templar +forthwith raised his tent in his rank. All the tents were around the +chapel, outside of its cords. The herald pitched by the standard. No +brother was allowed, on any account, to go out of hearing of the +war-cry, or to visit the quarters of any others than the Hospitallers, +in case these last should be encamped beside them. The place for +encamping was selected by the prior of the province in which the war +was, who was therefore in some sort quartermaster-general; the marshal +assigned the different quarters, and over each he set a knight-preceptor +to govern and regulate it. + +When the battle commenced, the marshal usually took the standard out of +the hands of the sub-marshal and unfurled it in the name of God. He then +nominated from five to ten of the brethren to surround and guard it; +one of these he made a knight-preceptor, who was to keep close by him +with a banner furled on a spear, that, in case of that which the marshal +carried being torn, or having fallen, or met with any other mishap, he +might display it. If the marshal was wounded or surrounded, this knight +was to raise the banner in his stead. No one was to lower a banner, or +thrust with it, on any account, for fear of causing confusion. The +brethren were to fight on all sides, and in every way in which they +could annoy the foe, but still to keep near enough to be able to defend +the banner of the order, if needful. But if a Templar saw a Christian in +imminent danger, he was at liberty to follow the dictates of his +conscience, and hasten to his relief. He was to return to his place as +speedily as possible; but if the Turks had gotten between him and the +banner, he was to join the nearest Christian squadron, giving the +preference to the Hospitallers, if they were at hand. Should the +Christians meet with defeat, the Templar, under penalty of expulsion +from the order, was not to quit the field so long as the banner of the +order flew; and, should there be no red-cross flag to be seen, he was to +join that of the Hospitallers, or any other. Should every Christian +banner have disappeared, he was to retreat as well as he could. + +Such were the military principles of the order of the Temple--principles +which, + + instead of rage, + Deliberate valour breathed, firm and unmoved + With dread of death to flight or foul retreat; + +and never, unquestionably, was more unflinching valour displayed than by +the Templars. Where all were brave and daring as the fabled heroes of +romance, the Templar was still regarded as prominent, and the Cardinal +of Vitry could thus speak of them in the early part of the thirteenth +century, when they may be regarded as somewhat declined from their +original elevation:-- + +"They seek to expel the enemies of the cross of Christ from the lands of +the Christians, by fighting manfully, and by moving to battle at the +signal and command of him who is at the head of their forces, _not +impetuously or disorderly, but prudently and with all caution_--the +first in advance, the last in retreat; nor is it permitted to them to +turn their backs in flight, or to retreat without orders. They are +become so formidable to the adversaries of the faith of Christ, that one +chases a thousand, and two ten thousand; not asking, when there is a +call to arms, how many they are, but where they are: lions in war, +gentle lambs at home; rugged warriors on an expedition, like monks and +eremites in the church." The language of the worthy cardinal is no doubt +declamatory and rhetorical, and some deduction must consequently be made +from it; but still enough will remain to prove that the chivalry of the +Temple must still have retained no small portion of the virtues for +which they had been originally renowned. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Molay elected Master--Last attempt of the Christians in + Syria--Conduct of the Three Military Orders--Philip the Fair and + Pope Boniface VIII.--Seizure of the Pope--Election of Clement + V.--The Papal See removed to France--Causes of Philip's enmity to + the Templars--Arrival of Molay in France--His interviews with the + Pope--Charges made against the Templars--Seizure of the + Knights--Proceedings in England--Nature of the Charges against the + Order. + + +We have, in what precedes, traced the order of the Templars from its +institution to the period when the Latin dominion was overthrown for +ever on the coast of Syria, and have described, at some length, its +internal organisation, and exhibited its power and extent of +possessions. It remains for us to tell how this mighty order was +suddenly annihilated, to examine the charges made against it[94], and, +as we have promised, to establish the falsehood and futility of them--a +task far from ungrateful, though not unattended with pain; for it is of +advantage to strengthen our love of justice and hatred of tyranny and +oppression, by vindicating the memory even of those who perished their +victims centuries agone. It is also of use to furnish one instance more +to the world of the operation of the principle which will be found so +generally to prevail, that, let falsehood and sophistry exert their +utmost to conceal the truth, means will always remain of refuting them, +and of displaying vice, however high seated, in its true colours. + +[Footnote 94: The proceedings against the Templars have been published +from the original documents by Mowdenhaler, in Germany; but the work has +been bought up by the freemasons, who fancy themselves descended from +the Templars, so that we have been unable to procure a copy of it. +Wilike has, however, extracted largely from it.] + +In the year 1297, when the order had established its head-quarters in +the isle of Cyprus, James de Molay, a native of Besancon, in the Franche +Comte, was elected Master. The character of Molay appears to have been +at all times noble and estimable; but if we are to credit the statement +of a knight named Hugh de Travaux, he attained his dignity by an +artifice not unlike that said to have been employed by Sixtus V. for +arriving at the papacy. The chapter, according to De Travaux, could not +agree, one part being for Molay, the other, and the stronger, for Hugh +de Peyraud. Molay, seeing that he had little chance of success, assured +some of the principal knights that he did not covet the office, and +would himself vote for his competitor. Believing him, they joyfully made +him great-prior. His tone now altered. "The mantle is done, now put the +hood on it. You have made me great-prior, and whether you will or not I +will be great-master also." The astounded knights instantly chose him. + +If this account be true, the mode of election at this time must have +differed very considerably from that which we have described above out +of the statutes of the order. This election, moreover, took place in +France, where, in 1297, Molay, we are told, held the fourth son of the +king at the baptismal font. + +One feeble attempt, the last military exploit of the Templars, was made +by the Christians to acquire once more a footing on the continent of +Asia during the mastership of Molay. In 1300, the Mongol chief Gazan +came to the aid of the king of Armenia, against the Turks. As it was the +policy of the Tartars, who had not as yet embraced Islam, to stir up +enemies to the Mohammedans, Gazan, after over-running the country as +far as Damascus, sent an embassy to the Pope, Boniface VIII., inviting +the Christians, particularly the three military orders, to come and take +possession of the Holy Land. The Templars, Hospitallers, and Henry, king +of Cyprus, forthwith manned seven galleys and five smaller vessels. +Almeric de Lusignan, Lord of Tyre, and the Masters of the two orders, +landed at Tortosa, and endeavoured to maintain that islet against the +Egyptian sultan, but were forced to yield to numbers. The Templars +fought gallantly to no purpose, and a few of them, who defended a tower +into which they had thrown themselves, surrendered, and were carried +prisoners to Egypt. + +The Hospitallers, in the year 1306, renewed their attacks on the isle of +Rhodes, where they finally succeeded in expelling the Turks, and +planting the standard of their order. The Teutonic knights transferred +the sphere of their warfare to Russia, and the adjacent country, whose +inhabitants were still heathens. The Templars meantime remained inactive +in Cyprus, and seem even to have been meditating a retreat to Europe. + +France was at this time governed by Philip the Fair, son of St. Louis. +Philip, who had come to the throne at the early age of seventeen years, +had been educated by Giles de Colonna, afterwards archbishop of Bourges, +a man distinguished for his learning and for the boldness of his +opinions. One of his favourite maxims was, "that Jesus Christ had not +given any temporal dominion to his church, and that the king of France +has his authority from God alone." Such principles having been early +instilled into his mind, the young monarch was not likely to be a very +dutiful son of the Church, and the character of Boniface VIII., who, +without possessing the talents or the virtues of a Gregory or an +Innocent, attempted to stretch the papal pretensions to their greatest +extent, soon roused him to resistance. In the plenitude of his fancied +authority, the pope issued a bull, forbidding the clergy to give any +subsidies to lay-powers without permission from Rome. Philip, in return, +issued an order prohibiting the exportation of gold, silver, or +merchandize from France, thereby cutting off a great source of papal +revenue. In the course of the dispute, Boniface maintained that princes +were subject to him in temporals also. Philip's reply was,--"Philip, by +the grace of God, king of the French, to Boniface, acting as supreme +pontiff, little or no health. Let your extreme folly know, that in +temporals we are not subject to any one." Shortly afterwards he publicly +burned a bull of the pope, and proclaimed the deed by sound of trumpet +in Paris. Boniface, raving with indignation, summoned the French clergy +to Rome, to deliberate on the means of preserving the liberties of the +Church. Philip convoked a national assembly to Paris, in which, for the +first time, there appeared deputies of the third estate, who readily +expressed their resolution to stand by their monarch in defence of his +rights, and the clergy willingly denied the temporal jurisdiction of the +pontiff. Several prelates and abbots having obeyed the summons of the +pope, the king seized on their temporalities. The pope menaced with +deprivation all those who had not attended, and, in his famous bull of +_Unam sanctam_, asserted that every human being was subject to the Roman +pontiff. Another bull declared that every person, be his rank what it +might, was bound to appear personally when summoned to Rome. Philip +forbade the publication of these bulls; and the states general being +again convoked appealed to a council against the pope. Commissaries were +sent through France to procure the adhesion of the clergy to this act, +which was given in some cases voluntarily, in others obtained by means +of a little wholesome rigour. The king, his wife, and his son, pledged +themselves to stand by those who adhered to the resistance made by +France to papal usurpation. Boniface next excommunicated the king, who +intercepted the bull, and prevented its publication. The pope finally +offered the crown of France to the emperor Albert of Austria. Matters +were now come to an extremity, and Philip ventured on one of the boldest +acts that have ever been attempted in the Christian world. + +Philip had afforded an asylum at his court to some members of the +Colonna family, the personal enemies of the pope. His chancellor and +fast adherent was William de Nogaret, who had been his agent in the +affair of appealing to a general council, by presenting to the states +general a charge of simony, magic, and the usual real or imaginary +crimes of the day against the pontiff. This man, and some of the Italian +exiles, attended by a body of 300 horse, set out for Italy, and took up +his abode at a castle between Florence and Sienna, under pretext of its +being a convenient situation for carrying on negociations with Rome. The +pope was meantime residing at Anagni, his native town. Nogaret having, +by a liberal distribution of money, acquired a sufficient number of +partisans, appeared before the gate of Anagni early on the morning of +the 7th September, 1303. The gate was opened by a traitor, and the +French and their partisans ran through the streets, crying _Live the +king of France, die Boniface_. They entered the palace without +opposition; the French ran here and there in search of plunder, and +Sciarra Colonna and his Italians alone came in presence of the pope. +Boniface, who was now eighty-six years of age, was clad in his +pontifical vestments, and on his knees before the altar, in expectation +of death. At the sight of him the conspirators, whose intention had been +to slay him, stopped short, filled with involuntary awe, and did not +dare to lay a hand upon him. During three days they kept him a +prisoner; on the fourth the people of the town rose and expelled them, +and released the pontiff. Boniface returned to Rome; but rage at the +humiliation which he had undergone deranged his intellect, and in one of +his paroxysms he dashed his head against the wall of his chamber, and +died in consequence of the injury which he received[95]. + +[Footnote 95: Sismondi Republiques Italiennes, iv. p. 143.] + +Benedict XI., the successor of Boniface, absolved Philip, and his +ministers and subjects, from the sentence of excommunication. As he felt +his power, he was proceeding to more vigorous measures to avenge the +insulted dignity of the holy see, when he died of poison, administered, +as a contemporary historian asserts, by the agents of Philip. During ten +months the conclave were unable to agree on his successor among the +Italian cardinals. It was then proposed by the partisans of the king of +France, that one party in the conclave should name three ultramontane +prelates, from among whom the other party should select one. The choice +fell on Bertrand de Gotte, archbishop of Bordeaux, who had many serious +causes of enmity to Philip and his brother Charles of Valois. Philip's +friend, the cardinal of Prato, instantly sent off a courier with the +news, advising the king to acquiesce in the election as soon as he had +secured him to his interest. Philip set out for Gascony, and had a +private interview with the pontiff elect, in an abbey in the midst of a +forest near St. Jean d'Angely. Having sworn mutual secresy, the king +told the prelate that it was in his power to make him pope on condition +of his granting him six favours. He showed him his proofs, and the +ambitious Gascon, falling at his feet, promised everything. The six +favours demanded by Philip were a perfect reconciliation with the +Church; admission to the communion for himself and friends; the tithes +of the clergy of France for five years, to defray the expenses of his +war in Flanders; the persecution and destruction of the memory of Pope +Boniface; the conferring the dignity of cardinal on James and Peter +Colonna. "The sixth favour," said he, "is great and secret, and I +reserve the asking of it for a suitable time and place." The prelate +swore on the host, and gave his brother and two of his nephews as +hostages. The king then sent orders to the cardinal of Prato, to elect +the archbishop of Bordeaux, who took the name of Clement V. + +Whether urged by the vanity of shining in the eyes of his countrymen, or +by dread of the tyranny exercised by the cardinals over his +predecessors, or, what seems more probable, in compliance with the +wishes of Philip, or in consequence of impediments thrown by that +monarch in the way of his departure, Clement, to the dismay of all +Christendom, instead of repairing to Rome, summoned the cardinals to +Lyons for his coronation. They reluctantly obeyed, and he was crowned in +that city on the 17th December, 1305, the king, his brother, and his +principal nobles, assisting at the ceremony. Clement forthwith created +twelve new cardinals, all creatures of Philip, whose most devoted slave +the pope showed himself to be on all occasions. His promises to him were +most punctually fulfilled, with the exception of that respecting the +memory of Boniface, which the cardinal of Prato proved to Philip it +would be highly impolitic and dangerous to perform; but Clement +cheerfully authorised him to seize, on the festival of St. Madelaine, +all the Jews in his kingdom, to banish them, and confiscate their +property in the name of religion. + +What the sixth and secret grace which Philip required was is unknown. +Many conjectures have been made to little purpose. It is not at all +improbable that the king had at the time no definite object in view, +and that, like the fabled grant of Neptune to Theseus, it was to be +claimed whenever an occasion of sufficient importance should present +itself. + +Such as we have described them were Philip and the sovereign pontiff; +the one able, daring, rapacious, ambitious, and unprincipled; the other +mean, submissive, and little scrupulous. As it was the object of Philip +to depress the papal power, and make it subservient to his ambition, he +must naturally have desired to deprive it of support. The Templars, +therefore, who had been on all occasions the staunch partizans of the +papacy, must on this account alone have been objects of his aversion; +they had, moreover, loudly exclaimed against his repeated adulteration +of the coin, by which they sustained so much injury; and they were very +urgent in their demands for repayment of the money which they had lent +him on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Isabella with the +son of the king of England. Their wealth was great; their possessions in +France were most extensive; they were connected with the noblest +families in the realm; they were consequently, now that they seemed to +have given up all idea of making any farther efforts in the East, likely +to prove a serious obstacle in the way of the establishment of the +absolute power of the crown. They were finally very generally disliked +on account of their excessive pride and arrogance, and it was to be +expected that in an attack on their power and privileges the popular +favour would be with the king. These motives will, we apprehend, +sufficiently account for Philip's anxiety to give a check to the order, +beyond which, as it would appear, his plans did not at first extend. We +cannot venture to say when this project first entered the mind of king +Philip; whether he had the Hospitallers also in view, and whether he +impelled the pope to invite the Masters of the two orders to France. + +As the rivalry and ill-feeling between the two orders had long been +regarded as one of the principal causes of the little success of the +Christians in the East, the idea of uniting them had been conceived, and +Gregory X. and St. Louis had striven, but in vain, at the council at +Lyons, to effect it. Pope Boniface VIII. had also been anxious to bring +this project to bear, and Clement now resolved to attempt it. On the 6th +June, 1306, only six months after his coronation, he wrote to the +Masters of the two orders to the following effect;--The kings of Armenia +and Cyprus were calling on him for aid; he therefore wished to confer +with them, who knew the country well, and were so much interested in it, +as to what were best to be done, and desired that they would come to him +as secretly as possible, and with a very small train, as they would find +plenty of their knights on this side of the sea; he directed them to +provide for the defence of Limisso during their absence. + +The Master of the Hospital, William de Villaret, was, when the letter +arrived, engaged in the attack on Rhodes, and, therefore, could not obey +the summons. But De Molay, the Master of the Temple, having confided +Limisso and the direction of the order to the marshal, embarked with +sixty of his most distinguished knights, taking with him the treasure of +the order, consisting of 150,000 florins of gold, and so much silver, +that the whole formed the lading of twelve horses. When they arrived in +France, he proceeded to Paris, where the king received him with the +greatest marks of favour and distinction, and he deposited the treasure +in the Temple of that city. Shortly afterwards he set out for Poitiers, +where he had an interview with Clement, who consulted him on the affairs +of the East. On the subject of a new crusade, Molay gave it as his +opinion that nothing but a simultaneous effort of all the Christian +powers would be of any avail. He objected to the union of the orders on +the following grounds, which were, on the whole, sufficiently frivolous. +He said, 1st. That what is new is not always the best; that the orders, +as they were, had done good service in Palestine, and, in short, used +the good old argument of anti-reformists, _It works well_. 2dly. That as +the orders were spiritual as well as temporal, and many a one had +entered them for the weal of his soul, it might not be a matter of +indifference to such to leave the one which he had selected and enter +another. 3dly. There might be discord, as each order would want its own +wealth and influence, and seek to gain the mastery for its own rules and +discipline. 4thly. The Templars were generous of their goods, while the +Hospitallers were only anxious to accumulate--a difference which might +produce dissension. 5thly. As the Templars received more gifts and +support from the laity than the Hospitallers, they would be the losers, +or at least be envied by their associates. 6thly. There would probably +be some disputing between the superiors about the appointment to the +dignities in the new order. He however candidly acknowledged, that the +new order would be stronger than the old one, and so more zealous to +combat the infidels, and that many commanderies might be suppressed, and +some saving effected thereby. Having thus delivered his sentiments, +Molay took leave of the pope, and returned to Paris. Vague rumours of +serious charges made, or to be made, against the order now beginning to +prevail, Molay, accompanied by Rimbaud de Caron, preceptor of Outre-mer, +Jeffrey de Goneville, preceptor of Aquitaine, and Hugh de Perando, +preceptor of France, repaired once more to Poitiers, about April, 1307, +to justify himself and the order in the eyes of the pope. Clement, we +are told, informed them of the serious charges of the commission of +various crimes which had been made against them; but they gave him such +explanations as appeared to content him, and returned to Paris, +satisfied that they had removed all doubts from his mind. + +The following was the way in which the charges were made against the +Templars. + +There was lying in prison, at Paris or Toulouse, for some crime, a man +named Squin de Flexian, a native of Beziers, who had been formerly a +Templar, and prior of Mantfaucon, but had been put out of the order for +heresy and other offences. His companion in captivity was a Florentine, +named Noffo Dei--"a man (says Villani) full of all iniquity." These two +began to plan how they might best extricate themselves from their +present hopeless state; and, as it would appear, aware of the king's +dislike to the Templars, and hating them for having punished him for his +crimes, Squin de Flexian resolved to accuse them of the most monstrous +offences, and thus obtain his liberation. Accordingly, calling for the +governor of the prison, he told him that he had a discovery to make to +the king, which would be more for his advantage than the acquisition of +a new kingdom, but that he would only reveal it to the king in person. +Squin was immediately conveyed to Paris, and brought before the king, to +whom he declared the crimes of the order; and some of the Templars were +seized and examined by order of Philip. + +Another account says that Squin Flexian and Noffo Dei, who were both +degraded Templars, had been actively engaged in an insurrection of the +people some time before, from which the king was obliged to take shelter +in the Temple. They had been taken, and were lying in prison without any +hope of their lives, when they hit on the plan of accusing their former +associates. They were both set at liberty; but Squin was afterwards +hanged, and Noffo Dei beheaded, as was said with little probability, by +the Templars. + +It is also said, that, about the same time, Cardinal Cantilupo, the +pope's chamberlain, who had been in connexion with the Templars from his +eleventh year, made some discoveries respecting it to his master. + +The charges made by Squin Flexian against the order were as follows:-- + +1. Each Templar, on his admission, was sworn never to quit the order; +and to further its interests, by right or by wrong. + +2. The heads of the order are in secret alliance with the Saracens; and +have more Mahommedan infidelity than Christian faith; in proof of which, +they make every novice spit and trample on the cross of Christ, and +blaspheme his faith in various ways. + +3. The heads of the order are heretical, cruel, and sacrilegious men. +Whenever any novice, on discovering the iniquity of the order, attempts +to quit it, they put him to death, and bury him privately by night. They +teach the women who are pregnant by them how to procure abortion, and +secretly murder the new-born babes. + +4. The Templars are infected with all the errors of the Fraticelli; they +despise the pope and the authority of the Church; they contemn the +sacraments, especially those of penance and confession. They feign +compliance with the rites of the Church merely to escape detection. + +5. The superiors are addicted to the most infamous excesses of +debauchery; to which, if any one expresses his repugnance, he is +punished by perpetual captivity. + +6. The temple-houses are the receptacles of every crime and abomination +that can be committed. + +7. The order labours to put the Holy Land into the hands of the +Saracens; and favours them more than the Christians. + +8. The installation of the Master takes place in secret, and few of the +younger brethren are present at it; whence there is a strong suspicion +that he denies the Christian faith or promises, or does something +contrary to right. + +9. Many statutes of the order are unlawful, profane, and contrary to the +Christian religion; the members are, therefore, forbidden, under pain of +perpetual confinement, to reveal them to any one. + +10. No vice or crime committed for the honour or benefit of the order is +held to be a sin. + +Such were the charges brought against the order by the degraded prior of +Montfaucon--charges in general absurd, or founded on gross exaggeration +of some of the rules of the society. Others, still more incredible, were +subsequently brought forward in the course of the examinations of +witnesses. + +Philip and his ministers, having now what they regarded as a plausible +case against the Templars, prepared their measures in secret; and on the +12th September, 1307, sealed letters were sent to all the governors and +royal officers throughout France, with orders to arm themselves on the +12th of the following month; and in the night to open the letters and +act according to the instructions contained therein. The appointed day +arrived; and, on the morning of Friday, the 13th October, nearly all the +Templars throughout France saw themselves captives in the hands of their +enemies. So well had Philip taken his measures, that his meditated +victims were without suspicion; and, on the very eve of his arrest, +Molay was chosen by the treacherous monarch to be one of the four +pall-bearers at the funeral of the Princess Catherine, wife of the Count +of Valois. + +The directions sent by the king to his officers had been to seize the +persons and the goods of the Templars; to interrogate, torture, and +obtain confessions from them; to promise pardon to those who confessed; +and to menace those who denied. + +On the day of the arrest of the Master and his knights, the king took +possession of the Temple at Paris; and the Master and the preceptors of +Aquitaine, France, and beyond sea, were sent prisoners to Corbeil. The +following day the doctors of the University of Paris and several canons +assembled with the royal ministers in the church of Notre Dame, and +William de Nogaret, the chancellor, stated to them that the knights had +been proceeded against on account of their heresies. On the 15th the +University met in the Temple; and some of the heads of the order, +particularly the Master, were examined, and are said to have made some +confessions of the guilt of the order for the last forty years. + +The king now published an act of accusation, conceived in no moderate or +gentle terms. He calls the accused in it devouring wolves, a perfidious +and idolatrous society, whose deeds, whose very words alone, are enough +to pollute the earth and infect the air, &c., &c. The inhabitants of +Paris were then assembled in the royal gardens; and the king's agents +spoke, and some monks preached to them against the accused. + +Philip, in his hostility to the order, would be content with nothing +short of its utter ruin. Almost immediately after his _coup d'etat_ of +the 13th October, he despatched a priest, named Bernard Peletus, to his +son-in-law, Edward II., king of England, inviting him to follow his +example. Edward wrote, on the 30th of the same month, to say that the +charges made against the Templars by Philip and his agent appeared to +him, his barons, and his prelates, to be incredible; and that he would, +therefore, summon the senechal of Agen, whence this rumour had +proceeded, to inform him thereupon, before proceeding any farther. + +Clement had been at first offended at the hasty and arbitrary +proceedings of the king of France against the Templars; but Philip +easily managed to appease him; and on the 22d November the pope wrote to +the king of England, assuring him that the Master of the Temple, had +spontaneously confessed that the brethren, on their admission, denied +Christ; and that several of the brethren in different parts of France +had acknowledged the idolatry and other crimes laid to the charge of the +order; and that a knight of the highest and most honourable character, +whom he had himself examined, had confessed the denial of Jesus Christ +to be a part of the ceremony of admission. He therefore calls on the +king to arrest all the Templars within his realms, and to place their +lands and goods in safe custody, till their guilt or innocence should be +ascertained. + +Edward, in a letter, dated November 26, inquired particularly of the +senechal of Agen, in Guienne, respecting the charges against the +Templars. On the 4th December he wrote to the kings of Portugal, +Castile, Aragon, and Sicily, telling them of what he had heard, and +adding that he had given no credit to it; and begging of them not to +hearken to these rumours. On the 10th, evidently before he had received +the bull, he wrote to the pope, stating his disbelief of what he had +heard, and praying of his holiness to institute an inquiry. But when the +papal bull, so strongly asserting the guilt of the order, arrived, the +good-hearted king did not venture to refuse compliance with it; and he +issued a writ on the 15th December, appointing the morn of Wednesday +after Epiphany, in the following month, for seizing the Templars and +their property, but directing them to be treated with all gentleness. +Similar orders were forwarded to Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, on the +20th; and on the 26th he wrote to assure the pope that his mandates +would be speedily obeyed. The arrests took place accordingly; and the +Templars and their property were thus seized in the two countries in +which they were most powerful[96]. + +[Footnote 96: The arrests were made in England in the same secret and +sudden manner as in France. Rymer iii. 34, 43.] + +The reluctance of the king of England and his parliament to proceed to +any harsh measures against the Templars affords some presumption in +their favour, and would incline us to believe that, had Philip been +actuated by a similar love of justice, the order would not have been so +cruelly treated in France. But Philip had resolved on the destruction of +the society, and his privy councillors and favourites were not men who +would seek to check him in his career of blood and spoliation. These men +were William Imbert, his confessor, a Dominican monk, one of an order +inured in Languedoc to blood, and deeply versed in all inquisitorial +arts and practices; William Nogaret, his chancellor, the violator of the +sanctity of the head of the church; William Plasian, who had shared in +that daring deed, and afterwards sworn, in an assembly of the peers and +prelates of France, that Boniface was an atheist and a sorcerer, and had +a familiar demon. The whole order of the Dominicans also went heart and +hand in the pious work of detecting and punishing the heretics. We must +constantly bear in mind that the charges made against the Templars, if +they may not all be classed under the term heresy, were all such as the +Church was in the habit of making against those whom she persecuted as +public heretics. And in this, Philip and his advisers acted wisely in +their generation; for treason, or any other political charge, would have +sounded dull and inefficient in the ears of the people, in comparison +with the formidable word _heresy_. + +[Illustration: Philip le Bel.] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Examination of the captive Knights--Different kinds of + Torture--Causes of Confession--What Confessions were made--Templars + brought before the Pope--Their Declarations--Papal + Commission--Molay brought before it--Ponsard de Gisi--Defenders of + the Order--Act of Accusation--Heads of Defence--Witnesses against + the Order--Fifty-four Templars committed to the flames at + Paris--Remarkable words of Aymeric de Villars-le-Duc--Templars + burnt in other Places--Further Examinations--The Head worshipped by + the Templars--John de Pollincourt--Peter de la Palu. + + +The charge of conducting the inquiry against the society was committed +by Philip, without asking or waiting for the Pope's approbation, to +Imbert, who lost no time in proceeding to action. He wrote to all the +inquisitors of his order, directing them to proceed against the +Templars, as he had already done himself; and, in case of ascertaining +the truth of the charges, to communicate it to the Minorite Friars, or +some other order, that the people might take no offence at the +procedure; and to send the declarations as soon as possible to the king +and himself. They were to use no cruelty towards the prisoners; but, if +necessary, they might employ the torture. On the 19th October, six days +after their seizure, Imbert commenced his examinations at the Temple of +Paris. One hundred and forty prisoners were examined; when, by promises +and by the aid of the torture, confessions in abundance were procured. +Thirty-six of the knights expired under the gentle method employed to +extract the truth from them. The zealous Imbert then proceeded to +Bayeux, Metz, Toul, and Verdun; in all which places examinations were +held and confessions extorted in the same way. It was, however, +carefully stated in each deposition, that the witness had spoken without +any constraint. + +As our readers fortunately cannot be supposed familiarly acquainted with +the mild and gentle modes employed by the brethren of St. Dominic, for +eliciting the truth, we will present a slight sketch of some of them, +that they may be able to form some idea of the value of rack-extorted +testimony. + +Sometimes the patient was stripped naked, his hands were tied behind his +back, heavy weights were fastened to his feet, and the cord which +confined his hands passed over a pulley. At a given signal he was +hoisted into the air, where he hung suspended by his arms, which were +thus drawn out of their natural position: then suddenly the cord would +be let run, but checked before the patient reached the ground, and thus +a tremendous shock given to his frame. Another mode of torture was to +fasten the feet of the patient on an instrument, which prevented his +drawing them back; they were then rubbed with some unctious substance, +and set before a flaming fire; a board was occasionally placed between +his feet and the fire, and withdrawn again, in order to increase his +pain by intervals of cessation. The heel of the patient was at times +enclosed in an iron heel, which could be tightened at pleasure, and thus +caused excruciating pain. What was regarded as a very gentle mode, and +only indulged to those who had not strength to undergo the preceding +tortures, was to place round sticks between their fingers, and compress +them till the bones of the fingers were cracked. The teeth of the +Templars were occasionally drawn, their feet roasted, weights suspended +from all parts of their bodies; and thus they gave their testimony +without constraint! + +What is understood as testimony or confession, by inquisitors, is an +affirmative answer to such questions as they ask. They usually assume +the guilt of the accused; and no witnesses for the defence are heard. It +is useless to prove the absurdity and unreasonableness of the charges; +for that would be impugning the sense and judgment of those who gave ear +to them; and promises are always held out that, if full and free +confession is made, the criminal will be gently dealt with. The accused +is, moreover, always confined in a solitary cell; he has none to console +and cheer him; he feels abandoned by the whole world; conscious +innocence is of no avail; his only hope is in the mercy of his judge. +The Templars, we must recollect, were seized towards the commencement of +winter; and at that season a dungeon of the middle ages must have been +cheerless beyond description. They were barely allowed the necessaries +of life; they were stripped of the habit of the order, and denied the +consolations of religion, for they were treated as heretics; and they +were shown a real or pretended letter of their Master, in which he +confessed the crimes of the order, and exhorted them to do the same. +Enthusiasts in religion or politics are supported by the consciousness +of rectitude, and bear up against privations or torture in firm reliance +on the favour of the Divinity, or the praise and esteem of a grateful +and admiring posterity. But the great majority of the Templars were far +from being such characters; they were illiterate knights, who had long +lived in luxury and indulged in arrogance; they knew themselves to be +objects of dislike to many, and felt that their power was gone. Need we +then be surprised that, beguiled by the hopes held out, numbers of them +readily acknowledged all the charges made against their order? and must +we not so much the more admire the constancy of those who, unseduced by +flattering hopes, and undismayed by menaces and torture, yielded up +their breath rather than confess a falsehood? + +At Paris the knights who confessed acknowledged the denial of Christ +(this was the point which the inquisitors were most anxious to +establish), but in an uncertain, contradictory manner, as what was said +on one examination was retracted on another, or was enlarged or +diminished. It was also confessed that an idol was adored in their +chapters. At Nimes, in November, 1307, forty-five knights confessed the +guilt of the order. They afterwards retracted; but in 1311 the torture +made them revert to their original declaration. At Troyes two knights +confessed everything that was required of them. At Pont de l'Arche seven +confessed. These and six others were again examined at Caen; they +terminated their declarations by imploring the mercy of the Church, and +entreating with tears to be spared the torture. Those examined at +Carcassonne all deposed to the worship of the image; but some of them +afterwards retracted that admission, and died maintaining the innocence +of the order. Six Templars at Bigorre[97] and seven at Cahors confessed; +but several of them afterwards retracted. + +[Footnote 97: In the church of the romantic hamlet of Gavarnic, a few +leagues from Bareges, on the road to Spain, in the heart of the Hautes +Pyrenees, are shown twelve skulls, which are said to have been those of +Templars who were beheaded in that place. The tradition is, in all +probability, incorrect; but the Templars had possessions in Bigorre.] + +Philip and his creatures were at this stage of their career, when the +pope began to testify some little dissatisfaction at the irregularity of +the proceedings. The king instantly wrote to upbraid him with his +lukewarmness in the cause of religion. He stated that the bishops, who +were his (the king's) helpers in the government of the Church, were the +fittest persons to carry on the business, on account of their local +knowledge; and added that neither he nor they could comply with the +desires of the pope: "he acted," he said, "as the servant of God, and +must render to God his account." Clement could not venture to impede the +pious labours of such a zealous servant of the Lord; he cancelled the +bull which he had prepared on the subject, only requiring that each +bishop's inquisitors should be confirmed by a provincial council, and +that the examination of the heads of the order should be reserved for +himself. Philip then condescended to offer to put the captives into the +hands of the papal judges, and to devote the goods of the order to the +profit of the Holy Land. The clergy declined taking charge of the +knights, and the king and pope managed the property of the order in +common. + +In the beginning of the year 1308, we are told[98], the Master of the +Templars, the preceptor of Cyprus, the visiter of France, and the +great-priors of Aquitaine and Normandy, were brought before the pope at +Chinon, where they voluntarily, and without the application of any +torture, confessed the truth of the enormities laid to the charge of the +order. They abjured their errors, and the cardinals implored the king in +their favour. + +[Footnote 98: This is mentioned in a private letter from Clement to +Philip, of the 30th December, 1308.] + +M. Raynouard[99], we know not on what authority, positively denies that +the Master and his companions were ever brought before the pope. He says +that, in the month of August following, they were on their way to +Poitiers, in order to be examined by the pontiff in person; but that, +under pretext of some of them being sick, they were detained at Chinon, +instead of being brought on to Poitiers, where the pope remained, and +were finally conducted back to Paris without having seen him. He does +not give the date of this occurrence, but it would seem to have been in +the following autumn. + +[Footnote 99: Monumens Historiques, &c. p. 46.] + +The proceedings against the Templars were so manifestly contrary to the +interest of the pope, that Philip deemed it necessary to keep a strict +eye over him. Having, in May, 1308, convoked an assembly of the states +at Tours, and obtained from them a declaration of his right to punish +notorious heretics without asking the consent of the pope, and in which +he was called upon to act with rigour against the Templars, he proceeded +with it himself to Poitiers, and presented it to Clement. During the +negociations which took place at that time, the pope attempted to make +his escape to Bordeaux, but his baggage and his treasures were stopped +by the king's orders at the gate of the town, and Clement remained in +effect a prisoner. + +While the supreme pontiff was thus in his power, Philip, who still +remained at Poitiers, by way of removing all his scruples, had, on the +29th and 30th June, and 1st July, seventy-two of the Templars, who had +confessed, brought before Clement and examined. As was to be expected, +the greater part repeated their former declarations of the impiety, +idolatry, and licentiousness of the order. From these depositions it +appears clearly that the torture had been employed to extract the former +confessions. + +Pierre de Broel said that he had been stripped and put to the torture, +but that he had said neither more nor less on that account. He added +that those who tortured him were all drunk. + +Guillaume de Haymes had not been tortured, but he had been kept a month +in solitary confinement on bread and water before he made any +confession. + +Gerard de St. Martial, who confessed to having denied Christ, and +spitten _beside_ the cross, said that he had been cruelly tortured, +being at first ashamed to acknowledge these facts, although they were +true. + +Deodat Jafet had been tortured, but it was the inspiration of God and +the blessed Virgin Mary, and not the rack, which had made him confess. +He acknowledged every crime imputed to the order. Speaking of the idol, +he said, "I was alone in a chamber with the person who received me: he +drew out of a box a head, or idol, which appeared to me to have three +faces, and said, _Thou shouldst adore it as thy Saviour and that of the +order of the Temple_. We then bent our two knees, and I cried, _Blessed +be he who will save my soul_, and I worshipped it." Yet Jafet afterwards +retracted this deposition, and stood forth as one of the defenders of +the order. + +Iter de Rochefort, though he said he had confessed, had been tortured +repeatedly, with a view to extracting more from him. He declared that, +having been received in the unlawful way, he had confessed himself to +the patriarch of Jerusalem, who had wept bitterly at hearing of such +wickedness. As Raynouard very justly observes, the patriarch, who could +hardly be a friend to the Templars, was not very likely to content +himself with shedding a few useless tears had the knowledge of such a +heresy come to his ears. + +Pierre de Conders had confessed at the sight of the rack. + +Raymond de Stephani had been severely tortured at Carcassonne. Being +asked why he did not then tell the truth, he replied, "Because I did not +recollect it; but I prayed the senechal to allow me to confer with my +companions, and when I had deliberated with them I recollected." + +Who can give credit to depositions like these, most of which were +subsequently revoked? Yet it was by these that the pope declared himself +to be perfectly satisfied of the guilt of the order, and justified the +rigorous measures which he authorized against it. Philip, we are to +observe, was all this time at Poitiers: the prisoners were examined +before the cardinals, and only those who had not retracted their former +rack-extorted confessions were produced in the large concourse of +nobles, clergy, and people assembled on this occasion[100]. + +[Footnote 100: Raynouard, p. 253.] + +Clement and Philip now arranged the convocation of an oecumenic +council at Vienne, to pronounce the abolition of the order. The pope +also appointed a commission to take at Paris a juridical information +against it; and, on the 1st August, he authorised the bishops and his +delegates to proceed in their inquiries. On the 12th August by the bull +_Faciens misericordiam_, after asserting the guilt of the order, he +called upon all princes and prelates throughout the Christian world to +assist him in making inquiry into this affair. + +The commission appointed by the pope was composed of the archbishop of +Narbonne, the bishops of Bayeux, Mende, and Limoges; Matthew of Naples, +archdeacon of Rouen, notary of the Holy See; John of Mantua, archdeacon +of Trent; John of Montlaur, archdeacon of Maguelone; and William Agelin, +provost of Aix, which last was prevented by business from giving +attendance. They entered on their functions on the 7th August, 1309, and +ordered that the brethren of the Temple should be cited before them on +the first day of business after the festival of St. Martin, in +November. The citations were to be published in presence of the people +and clergy in the cathedrals, churches, and schools, in the principal +houses of the order, and in the prisons in which the knights were +confined. No one appearing, new citations were issued; and at length the +Bishop of Paris was called on by the commission to go himself to the +prison where the Master and the heads of the order were confined, and +notify it to them. Having done so, he caused the same notification to be +made throughout his diocese. The following circumstance, which occurred +at this time, would seem to indicate that impediments were thrown in the +way of those who were disposed to defend the order by the royal +ministers. The commissioners were informed that the governor of the +Chatelet had arrested and imprisoned some persons who were presumed to +have come to defend the order. The governor being summoned before them, +declared that, by order of the ministers, he had arrested seven persons +who were denounced as being Templars in a lay habit, who had come to +Paris with money in order to procure advocates and defenders for the +accused. He acknowledged that he had put them to the torture, but said +that he did not believe them to be Templars. + +On Wednesday, Nov. 26, the commission sat, and Molay, the Master of the +Temple, was brought before it. He was asked if he would defend the +order, or speak for himself. He replied by expressing his surprise that +the Church should proceed with such precipitation in this case, when the +sentence relative to the Emperor Frederic had been suspended for +thirty-two years. Though he had neither knowledge nor talent sufficient +to defend the order, he should consider himself vile in his own eyes, +and in those of others, if he hesitated to do so; but being the +prisoner of the king and the pope, and without money, he asked for aid +and counsel. + +The commissioners desired him to reflect on his offer, and to consider +the confessions respecting himself and the order which he had made. They +agreed, however, to give him time; and, that he might not be ignorant of +what was alleged against him, had the documents containing their powers +read to him in the vulgar language. + +During the reading of the letters which recited his confession made to +the cardinals at Chinon, he crossed himself repeatedly, and gave other +signs of indignation and surprise, and said, that, were it not for the +respect due to the envoys of the pope, he should express himself +differently. They said they were not come there to receive challenges. +He replied that he spoke not of cartels, he only wished they acted in +this case as the Saracens and Tartars did, who cut off the head and cut +the body in two of those who were found to be guilty. + +Two circumstances are worthy of note in this examination; one, that +William Plasian was present at it, and, as the commissioners expressly +declared, without being invited by them; the other, that the +confessions, which were imputed to Molay, and which he evidently +intimated to be false, were inserted in the bull _Faciens +misericordiam_, which bears the date of the 12th August, although the +festival of the Assumption, that is the 16th of August, is given as the +day on which they were made[101]. It was there declared that the heads +of the order had confessed and been absolved; yet here we find the +Master treated as a heretic who was still unreconciled. + +[Footnote 101: Raynouard, 61. This circumstance was first remarked by +Fleury, _Hist. Eccles._, lib. xci. Yet it seems hardly credible that the +pope and his secretaries could have made so gross a mistake.] + +The following day (Nov. 27), Ponsard de Gisi, prior of Payens, appeared +before the commission. On being asked if he would defend the order, he +replied, "Yes; the imputations cast on us of denying Christ, of spitting +on the cross, of authorising infamous crimes, and all such accusations, +are false. If I, myself, or other knights, have made confessions before +the bishop of Paris, or elsewhere, we have betrayed the truth--we have +yielded to fear, to danger, to violence. We were tortured by Flexien de +Beziers, prior of Montfaucon, and the monk William Robert, our enemies. +Several of the prisoners had agreed among themselves to make these +confessions, in order to escape death, and because thirty-six knights +had died at Paris, and a great number in other places, under the +torture. As for me, I am ready to defend the order in my own name, and +in the names of those who will make common cause with me, if I am +assigned out of the goods of the order as much as will defray the +needful expense. I require to be granted the counsel of Raynaud of +Orleans and of Peter of Bologna, priests of the order." He was asked if +he had been tortured. He replied that he had, three months before he +made his confession. + +Next day the Master was brought up again. He demanded to be brought +before the pope, appealed to the valour and charity of the Templars, and +their zeal in adorning churches, in proof of their piety, and made an +orthodox confession of his own faith. Nogaret, who was present, then +observed, that it was related in the chronicles of St. Denis that the +Master of the order had done homage to Saladin; and that the sultan had +ascribed their ill fortune to their secret vices and impiety. Molay +declared that he had never heard of such calumnies; and gave an +instance of the prudence and good faith of a former Master, when himself +and some other young men wanted him to break a truce. Molay concluded by +praying the chancellor and the commissioners to procure him the favour +of hearing mass, and being attended by his chaplains. + +Orders having been given that all the Templars who were desirous to +undertake the defence of the order should be conveyed to Paris, they +were brought thither strongly guarded. The commission then renewed its +sittings. As the prisoners were successively brought before it, they, +with few exceptions, declared their readiness to defend their +order--_till death_, cried some; _till the end_, cried others; _because +I wish to save my soul_, added one. Bertrand de St. Paul declared that +he never did, and never would, confess the guilt of the order, because +it was not true; and that he believed that God would work a miracle if +the body of Christ was administered to those who confessed and those who +denied. Seven of those who had been examined before the pope, and had +confessed, now declared that they had lied, and revoked what they then +said. John de Valgelle maintained that he had made no confession on that +occasion. "I was tortured so much, and held so long before a burning +fire," said Bernard de Vado, "that the flesh of my heels was burnt, and +these two bones (which he showed) came off." + +In the course of these examinations, a Templar, named Laurent de Beaune, +showed a letter with the seals of Philip de Voet and John Jainville, the +persons set by the pope and king over the prisoners, addressed to the +Templars confined at Sens, inviting them to confess what was required, +and declaring that the pope had given orders that those who did not +persevere in their confessions should be committed to the flames. +Philip de Voet, on being interrogated, said that he did not believe that +he had sent that letter; his seal had often lain in the hands of his +secretary; he had always advised the prisoners to speak the truth. +Jainville was not examined, neither was John Carpini, the bearer of the +letter. De Beaune was one of the first afterwards committed to the +flames; the supposition is natural, that the letter was a stratagem of +the king and his ministers. + +The Master having been again brought before the commissioners, and +having renewed his demand of being sent to the pope, they promised to +write to the pope on the subject, but there is no proof of their having +done so. + +On the 28th March all the Templars who had expressed their willingness +to defend the order were assembled in the garden of the bishop's palace. +Their number was 546. The Master was not among them. The articles of +accusation were then read over to them in Latin; the commissioners +ordered that they should be read again to them in the vulgar tongue, but +the knights all cried out that it was enough, they did not desire that +such abominations, which were false and not to be named, should be +repeated in the vulgar language. Again, they complained of the +deprivation of their religious habits and the sacraments of the church, +and desired that the Master and the heads of the order should be called +thither also. But this reasonable request was not complied with. In vain +the Master demanded to be brought before the pope; in vain the knights +required to be permitted to enjoy the presence of their chief. Neither +the one nor the other suited the interest or the designs of the king. + +The number of the Templars in Paris soon amounted to near 900. The +commissioners were desirous that they should appoint agents to manage +their defence; but this they declined to do, some alleging that they +could not do so without the consent of their chief, others insisting on +defending the order in person. At length, after a great deal of argument +and deliberation, seventy-five Templars were chosen to draw up the +defence of the order; and the priests of the order, Raynaud de Pruino +and Peter of Bologna, and the knights, William de Chambonnet and +Bertrand de Sartiges, were appointed to be present at the deposition of +the witnesses. + +The act of accusation against the Templars, drawn up in the name of the +pope, ran thus. At the time of their reception they were made to deny +God, Christ, the Virgin, &c.; in particular to declare that Christ was +not the true God, but a false prophet, who had been crucified for his +own crimes, and not for the redemption of the world. They spat and +trampled on the cross, especially on Good Friday. They worshipped a cat +which sometimes appeared in their chapters. Their priests, when +celebrating mass, did not pronounce the words of consecration. They +believed that their Master could absolve them from their sins. They were +told at their reception that they might abandon themselves to all kinds +of licentiousness. They had idols in all their provinces, some with +three faces, some with one. They worshipped these idols in their +chapters, believed that they could save them, regarded them as the +givers of wealth to the order, and of fertility to the earth; they +touched them with cords which they afterwards tied round their own +bodies. Those who at the time of their reception would not comply with +these practices were put to death or imprisoned. All this, it was +stated, took place _according to the statutes of the order_; it was a +general and ancient custom, and there was no other mode of reception. +The act of accusation stated farther that the Templars stopped at no +means of enriching the order[102]. + +[Footnote 102: All these crimes had been acknowledged by various members +of the order. Yet what can be more improbable than the worship of the +cat for instance? This charge, by the way, had already been made against +the sect of the Cathari, who were said to have derived their name _a +catta:_--rather their name gave origin to the invention.] + +The Templars, in their reply, asserted that all these imputations were +false, and that if any of them had confessed them, they had done so +under terror and violence, thirty-six having expired by torture at Paris +and several others elsewhere. The forms of law had been violated with +respect to them; to obtain from them false depositions letters of the +king had been shown them declaring that the order had been condemned +irrevocably, and offering life, liberty, and pensions, to those who +would depose falsely. "All these facts, said they, are so public and so +notorious that there are no means or pretexts for disavowing them." The +heads of accusation were nothing but falsehoods and absurdities, and the +bull contained nothing but horrible, detestable, and iniquitous +falsehoods. Their order was pure, and if their statutes were consulted +they would be found to be the same for all Templars and for all +countries. Their belief was that of the Church; parents brought their +children, brothers each other, uncles their nephews, into the order, +because it was pure and holy. When in captivity to the infidels, the +Templars died sooner than renounce their religion. They declared their +readiness to defend their innocence in every way, and against every +person except the pope and the king, demanded to be brought personally +before the general council, required that those who had quitted the +order and deposed against it should be kept in close custody till their +truth or falsehood should be ascertained, and that no layman should be +present to intimidate the accused when under examination. The knights, +they maintained, had been struck with such terror, that the false +confessions made by some were less matter of surprise than the courage +of those who maintained the truth was of admiration. Inquire, said they, +of those who were present at the last moments of the knights who died in +prison; let their confessions be revealed, and it will be seen if the +accusations are true. Is it not strange, asked they in conclusion, that +more credit should be given to the lies of those who yielded to tortures +or to promises than to the asseverations of those who, in defence of the +truth, have died with the palm of martyrdom--of the sound majority of +those knights who have suffered and still suffer so much for conscience' +sake? + +On the 11th April, 1310, the hearing of the witnesses against the order +commenced. Only twenty-one were produced, two of whom did not belong to +the order, the others being principally those who had persisted in their +declarations before the pope. As might be expected, all the crimes laid +to the charge of the order in the papal bull were again deposed to by +these men; but the commission had only got as far as the examination of +the thirteenth witness when the impatience of the king manifested itself +in a barbarous and illegal act, which had apparently long been +meditated. + +The Archbishop of Sens, whose suffragan the Bishop of Paris was, had +died about Easter, 1309, and the pope had reserved the nomination to +himself. Philip wrote to him requiring of him to nominate Philip de +Marigny, Bishop of Cambray, brother to Enquerrand, his prime minister, +alleging that his youth was no just impediment, and that his acts would +prove how much he was beyond his age. The pope, though very reluctant, +was obliged to consent, and in April, 1310, Marigny was installed. No +time was now lost in proceeding to operation. On Sunday, May 10, the +four defenders of the order learned that the provincial council of Sens +was convoked at Paris in order to proceed against the knights +individually. They took alarm, and applied to the commission, which, +though it did not sit on Sundays, assembled, and Peter of Bologna +informed them of what he had heard. He begged that they would suffer him +to read an appeal which he had drawn up. This they declined doing, but +said that, if he had any defence of the order to give in, they would +receive it. He forthwith laid down a written paper, stating the danger +which the prisoners were in dread of, appealing to the holy see, and +entreating the commission to stop the proceedings of the archbishop and +his suffragans. The defenders of the order then retired, and the further +consideration of the affair was put off till after vespers, when they +re-appeared and gave in an address to the Archbishop of Sens, containing +an appeal to the pope. The commissioners, however, declined interfering +for the present. + +It is to be noticed that the defenders of the order prayed on this +occasion of the commission to nominate one or more of its notaries to +draw up their act of defence, because they could find no notary who +would act for them, owing probably to fear of the royal displeasure, or +to the want of funds by the accused. + +On Monday and Tuesday two more of the witnesses were heard. One of them +named Humbert de Puy declared that, having refused to acknowledge the +crimes laid to the charge of the order, he had been tortured three times +and kept for thirty-six weeks on bread and water in the bottom of an +infected tower, by order of John de Jainville. + +While thus engaged, the commissioners learned to their dismay that the +council was about to commit to the flames fifty-four of the knights who +had stepped forth as the defenders of the order. They instantly sent one +of their notaries and one of the keepers of the prison of the Templars +to entreat the archbishop to act with caution, as there were strong +reasons for doubting the truth of the charges; and representing that the +witnesses were so terrified at what they had heard of the intentions of +the council, that they were incapable of giving their evidence; that +moreover the Templars had delivered in an appeal to the pope. + +The archbishop, who was paying the price of his elevation to a hard +creditor, was not to be stopped by these considerations. He was making +short work of the business. On the Monday he had a number of those who +had undertaken the defence of the order brought before the council, and +he interrogated them once more himself. Those of them who, having +confessed, had afterwards retracted, and now persisted in their +retractation, were declared to be _relapsed heretics_, and were +delivered over to the secular arm and condemned to the flames; those +who, had not confessed, and would not, were sentenced to imprisonment as +_unreconciled_ Templars; those who persisted in their confession of the +enormities laid to the charge of the order were set at liberty, and +called _reconciled_ Templars. + +The next morning the fifty-four Templars who had been declared relapsed +were taken from their prison, placed in carts, and conducted to the +place of execution, where they beheld the piles prepared, and the +executioners standing with flaming torches in their hands. An envoy from +the court was present, who proclaimed liberty and the royal favour for +those who would even then retract their declarations and confess the +guilt of the order. The friends and relatives of the unhappy victims +crowded round them, with tears and prayers, imploring of them to make +the required acknowledgment and save their lives. In vain. These gallant +knights, who, yielding to the anguish of torture, and worn down by +solitude and privations, had confessed to the truth of the most absurd +charges, now that they beheld the certain limit of their sufferings, +disdained to purchase by falsehood a prolongation of life to be spent in +infamy and contempt. With one voice they re-asserted their own innocence +and that of their order. They called on God, the Virgin, and all the +saints to aid and support them, raised the hymn of death, and expired +amidst the tears and commiseration of the by-standers. + +Felons convicted on the clearest evidence will, as is well known, die +asserting their innocence; but this is when they have no hope of escape +remaining. Here life and liberty were offered, and the victims were +implored by those whom they most loved to accept of them. May we not +then assert that the men who resisted all solicitations were sincere and +spoke the truth, and were supported by their confidence of being +received as martyrs by that God whom they devoutly adored according to +the doctrines of their church? + +On Wednesday, Aymeric de Villars-le-Duc, aged about fifty years, was +brought before the commissioners. He was quite pallid, and seemed +terrified beyond measure. On the articles to which he was to depose +being explained to him, he asseverated in the strongest manner his +resolution to speak the truth; then striking his breast with his +clenched hands, he bent his knees, and stretching his hands towards the +altar, spake these memorable words:-- + +"I persist in maintaining that the errors imputed to the Templars are +absolutely false, though I have confessed some of them myself, overcome +by the tortures which G. de Marcillac and Hugh de Celle, the king's +knights, ordered to be inflicted on me. I have seen the fifty-four +knights led in carts to be committed to the flames because they would +not make the confessions which were required of them. I have heard that +they were burnt; and I doubt if I could, like them, have had the noble +constancy to brave the terrors of the pile. I believe that, if I were +threatened with it, I should depose on oath before the commission, and +before any other persons who should interrogate me, that these same +errors imputed to the order are true. _I would kill God himself if it +was required of me._" + +He then earnestly implored the commissioners and the notaries who were +present not to reveal to the king's officers, and to the keepers of the +Templars, the words which had escaped him, lest they should deliver him +also to the flames. + +Ought not these simple honest words, the very accents of truth, to +prevail with us against all the confessions procured by torture, or by +promises or threats, and satisfy us as to their value? + +The commissioners, whose conduct throughout the whole affair was +regulated by humanity and justice, declared that the evening before one +of the witnesses had come to them and implored of them to keep his +deposition secret, on account of the danger which he ran if it should be +known; and, judging that in their present state of terror it would not +be just to hear the witnesses, they deliberated on proroguing their +session to a future period. + +We thus see that even the papal commission could not protect against the +king such of the witnesses as were honest and bold enough to maintain +the innocence of the order. Strict justice was therefore out of the +question, Philip _would_ have the order guilty of the most incredible +crimes, and death awaited the witness who did not depose as he wished. +Meantime his agents were busily engaged in tampering with the prisoners; +and by threats and promises they prevailed on forty-four of them to give +up their design of defending the order. + +On the 21st May the commissioners met, in the absence of the Archbishop +of Narbonne and the Archdeacon of Trent, and, declaring their labours +suspended for the present, adjourned to the 3d November. + +In the interval the conduct of the council of Sens had been imitated in +other provinces. The Archbishop of Rheims held a council at Senlis, by +whose sentence nine Templars were committed to the flames. Another +council was held at Pont-de-l'Arche by the Archbishop of Rouen, and +several knights were burnt. The Bishop of Carcassonne presided at a +council which delivered many victims to the secular arm. On the 18th +August the Archbishop of Sens held a second council, and burned four +knights. Thibault, Duke of Lorraine, the close friend of King Philip, +put many Templars to death, and seized the property of the order. + +On the 3d November three of the papal commissioners met at Paris: they +asked if any one wished to defend the order of the Templars. No one +appearing they adjourned to the 27th December. On resuming their +sittings they called on William de Chambonnet and Bertrand de Sartiges +to give their presence at the hearing of the witnesses. These knights +required the presence of Raynaud de Pruino and Peter of Bologna, but +were informed that these priests had solemnly and voluntarily renounced +the defence of the order, and revoked their retractations; that the +latter had escaped from his prison and fled, and that the former could +not be admitted to defend the order, as he had been degraded at the +council of Sens. The knights reiterated their refusal and retired. The +commissioners then proceeded in their labours without them, and +continued the examination of witnesses till the 26th May, 1311. + +The whole number of persons examined before the commission amounted to +231, for the far greater part serving-brethren. Of these about +two-thirds acknowledged the truth of the principal charges against the +order. The denial of Christ and spitting on the cross were very +generally confessed, but many said they had spitten _beside_ it, not +_on_ it, and also that they had denied God with their lips, not with +their hearts. + +With respect to the head which the Templars were said to worship, as it +was of some importance to prove this offence, in order to make out the +charge of heresy, it was testified to by a few. Some said it was like +that of a man with a long white beard, others that it was like that of a +woman, and that it was said to be the head of one of the 11,000 virgins. +One witness gave the following account of it, which he said he had had +from a secular knight at Limisso, in Cyprus. + +A certain nobleman was passionately in love with a maiden. Being unable, +however, to overcome her repugnance to him, he took her body, when she +was dead, out of her grave, and cut off her head, and while thus engaged +he heard a voice crying--_Keep it safe, whatever looks on it will be +destroyed_. He did as desired, and made the first trial of it on the +Grissons, an Arab tribe, which dwelt in Cyprus and the neighbouring +country, and whenever he uncovered the head and turned it towards any of +their towns, its walls instantly fell down. He next embarked with the +head for Constantinople, being resolved to destroy that city also. On +the way his nurse, out of curiosity, opened the box which contained the +head. Instantly there came on a terrific storm, the ship went to pieces, +and nearly all who were on board perished. The very fish vanished from +that part of the sea. + +Another of the witnesses had heard the same story. The common tradition +of the East, he said, was, that in old times, before the two spiritual +orders of knighthood were founded, a head used to rise in a certain +whirlpool named Setalia, the appearance of which was very dangerous for +the ships which happened to be near it. We are to suppose, though it +does not appear that the witnesses said so, that the Templars had +contrived to get possession of this formidable head. + +We are to observe that the witnesses who thus deposed had been picked +and culled in all parts of France, by the king's officers, out of those +who had confessed before the different prelates and provincial councils, +and who were, by threats and promises, engaged to persist in what they +had said. The terror they were under was visible in their countenances, +their words, and their actions. Many of them began by saying that they +would not vary from what they had deposed before such a bishop or such a +council; yet even among these some were bold enough to revoke their +confessions, declaring that they had been drawn from them by torture, +and asserted the innocence of the order. Others retracted their +confessions when brought before the commissioners, but shortly +afterwards, having probably in the interval been well menaced or +tortured by the king's officers, returned and retracted their +retraction. + +The case of John de Pollencourt, the thirty-seventh witness, is a +remarkable instance. He began in the usual way, by declaring that he +would persist in his confession made before the Bishop of Amiens, +touching the denial of Christ, &c. The commissioners, observing his +paleness and agitation, told him to tell the truth and save his soul, +and not to persist in his confession if it had not been sincere, +assuring him that neither they nor their notaries would reveal any thing +that he said. After a pause he replied:-- + +"I declare then, on peril of my soul, and on the oath which I have +taken, that, at the time of my reception, I neither denied God nor spat +upon the cross, nor committed any of the indecencies of which we are +accused, and was not required so to do. It is true that I have made +confessions before the inquisitors; but it was through the fear of +death, and because Giles de Rotangi had, with tears, said to me, and +many others who were with me in prison at Montreuil, that we should pay +for it with our lives, if we did not assist by our confessions to +destroy the order. I yielded, and afterwards I wished to confess myself +to the Bishop of Amiens; he referred me to a Minorite friar; I accused +myself of this falsehood, and obtained absolution, on condition that I +would make no more false depositions in this affair. I tell you the +truth; I persist in attesting it before you; come what may of it, I +prefer my soul to my body." + +Nothing can bear more plainly the character of truth than this +declaration; yet three days afterwards the witness came back, revoked it +all, spoke of the cat which used to appear in the chapters, and said +that, if the order had not been abolished, he would have quitted it. Had +he not been well menaced and tortured in the _interim_? + +The examination of Peter de la Palu, a bachelor in theology of the order +of the preachers, the 201st witness, brought from him these remarkable +words: "I have been present at the examination of several Templars, some +of whom confessed many of the things contained in the said articles, and +some others totally denied them; and for many reasons it appeared to me +that greater credit was to be given to those who denied than to those +who confessed." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Examinations in England--Germany--Spain--Italy--Naples and + Provence--Sicily--Cyprus--Meeting of the Council of + Vienne--Suppression of the order--Fate of its Members--Death of + Molay. + + +The time fixed for the meeting of the council at Vienne was now at hand, +in which the fate of the order was to be decided. Before we proceed to +narrate its acts we will briefly state the result of the examinations of +the Templars in other countries. + +The pope sent, as his judges, to England, Dieu-donne, abbot of Lagny, +and Sicard de Vaux, canon of Narbonne; and the examinations commenced at +York, London, Lincoln, and other places, on the 25th November, 1309. The +inquiry continued till the council held in London in 1311; the number of +Templars examined was two hundred and twenty-eight; that of the +witnesses against the order was seventy-two, almost all Carmelites, +Minorites, Dominicans, and Augustinians, the natural foes of the order. +The Templars were treated with great mildness; and in England, Ireland, +and Scotland, they were unanimous and constant in their assertion of the +innocence of the order. The evidence against the order was almost all +hearsay: its nature will be shown by the following specimens. + +John de Goderal, a Minorite, had _heard_ that Robert de Raxat, a +Templar, had once gone about a meadow crying "Wo, wo is me! that ever I +was born. I have been forced to deny God, and give myself up to the +devil." + +A Templar had said to William de Berney, in the presence of several +respectable people, at the funeral of the parish-priest of Duxworth, +near Cambridge, that a man has no more a soul, after death, than a dog. + +John De Eure, a secular knight, said that he once invited the prior +William de Fenne to dine with him. After dinner the prior took from his +bosom a book, and gave it to the knight's lady to read. She found on a +paper which was fastened into the book the following words, "Christ was +not the Son of God, nor born of a virgin, but conceived by Mary, the +wife of Joseph, in the same way as all other men. Christ was not a true +but a false prophet, and was crucified for his own crimes and not for +the redemption of mankind, &c." The lady showed this paper to her +husband, who spoke to the prior, who only laughed at it; but, being +brought before a court of justice, he confessed the truth, excusing +himself on the grounds of his being illiterate and ignorant of what the +book contained. + +Robert of Oteringham, a Minorite, said, "One evening my prior did not +appear at table, as relics were come from Palestine which he wished to +show the brethren. About midnight I heard a confused noise in the +chapel; I got up, and, looking through the keyhole, saw that it was +lighted. In the morning I asked a brother who was the saint in whose +honour they had celebrated the festival during the night? He turned pale +with terror, thinking I had seen something, and said 'Ask me not; and if +you value your life say nothing of it before the superiors.'" + +Another witness said that the son of a Templar had peeped through the +slits of the door into the chapter-room, and seen a new member put to +death for hesitating to deny Christ. Long afterwards, being asked by +his father to become a Templar, he refused, telling what he had seen: +his father instantly slew him. + +John of Gertia, a Minorite, was told by a woman named Agnes Lovecote, +who said she had it from Exvalethus, prior in London, that when in one +of the chapters a brother had refused to spit on the cross, they +suspended him in a well and covered it up. This witness also deposed to +some other enormities which he said he had heard of from the same woman, +herself speaking from hearsay. + +In June, 1310, the pope wrote to King Edward, blaming his lenity and +calling on him to employ the torture in order to elicit the truth. The +council of London, after a long discussion, ordered it to be employed, +but so as not to mutilate the limbs or cause an incurable wound or +violent effusion of blood. The knights persisted in asserting their +innocence. + +In Germany the different prelates examined the Templars in their +respective dioceses. Nothing was elicited. At Mentz the order was +pronounced innocent. The Wildgraf Frederic, preceptor on the Rhine, +offered to undergo the ordeal of glowing iron. He had known the Master +intimately in the East, and believed him to be as good a Christian as +any man. + +The Templars in the Spanish peninsula were examined, and witnesses heard +for and against them in Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Portugal, and nothing +was proved against them. The council of Tarragona in Aragon, after +applying the torture, pronounced the order free from the stain of +heresy. At the council of Medina del Campo in Leon, one witness said +that he had heard that, when some Minorites visited the preceptor at +Villalpando, they found him reading a little book, which he instantly +locked up in three boxes, saying, "This book might fall into hands +where it may be very dangerous to the order." + +The influence of the pope may be supposed to have been stronger in Italy +than in the countries above mentioned, and accordingly we find that +declarations similar to those made in France were given there. Yet it +was at Florence that the adoration of the idols, the cat, &c., was most +fully acknowledged. In the patrimony of St. Peter some confessions to +the same effect were made; but at Bologna, Cesena, and Ancona, nothing +transpired. Nine Templars maintained the innocence of the order before +the council of Ravenna. It was debated whether the torture should be +employed. Two Dominican inquisitors were for it, the remainder of the +council declared against it. It was decreed that the innocent should be +absolved, the guilty punished according to law. _Those who had revoked +the confessions made under torture, or through fear of it, were to be +regarded as innocent_--a very different rule from that acted on by King +Philip. + +Charles II. of Anjou, the relation of King Philip, and the enemy of the +Templars, who were on the side of Frederick, king of Sicily, had the +Templars seized and examined in Provence and Naples. Those examined in +Provence were all serving-brethren, and some of them testified to the +impiety and idolatry of the order. Two Templars were examined at +Brindisi, in the kingdom of Naples, in June, 1310; one had denied the +cross in Cyprus, he said, six years after he had entered the order; the +other had trampled on the cross at the time of his reception. He, as +well as others, had bowed down and worshipped a grey cat in the +chapters. + +In Sicily six Templars, the only ones who were arrested, deposed against +the order. One of them said he had been received in the unlawful way in +Catalonia, where, as we have just seen, the innocence of the order was +fully recognized. His evidence was full of absurdity. He said the cat +had not appeared for a long time in the chapters but that the ancient +statutes of Damietta said that it used to appear and be worshipped. + +In Cyprus 110 witnesses were examined; 75 belonged to the order and +maintained its innocence; the testimony of the remainder was also in +favour of it. + +We thus find that, in every place beyond the sphere of the influence of +the king of France and his creature the pope, the innocence of the order +was maintained and acknowledged; and undoubtedly the same would have +been the case in France if the proceedings against it had been regulated +by justice and the love of truth. + +The time appointed for the meeting of the general council was now +arrived. On the 1st October, 1311, the pope came to Vienne, which is a +short distance from the city of Lyons, and found there 114 bishops, +besides several other prelates, already assembled. On the 13th, the +anniversary of the arrest of the Templars four years before, the council +commenced its sittings in the cathedral. The pope, in his opening +speech, stated the grounds of its having been convoked, namely, the +process against the Templars, the support of the Holy Land, the +reformation of the Church. The bishops of Soissons, Mende, Leon, and +Aquila, who had been appointed to draw up a report of the result of the +different examinations respecting the order, read it before the +assembled fathers, who then once more invited any Templars who wished to +defend the order to appear. + +Though the order was now broken up and persecuted, and numbers of its +ablest members dead or languishing in dungeons with their superiors, +yet nine knights had the courage to come forward in defence of their +order, and present themselves before the council as the representatives +of from 1500 to 2000 Templars, who were still dwelling or rather lurking +in Lyons and its vicinity. The pope was not present when they appeared, +but his letter of the 11th November shows how he acted when he heard +that defenders of the order had presented themselves. Clement had these +brave knights arrested and thrown into prison, and, in real or affected +terror at the number of Templars at large, he took additional +precautions for the security of his person, and counselled the king to +do the same. + +To the honour of the assembled fathers, they refused to sanction this +flagrant act of injustice. The prelates of Spain, Germany, Denmark, +England, Ireland, and Scotland, without exception; the Italians, all but +one; the French, with the exception of the archbishops of Rheims, Sens, +and Rouen, declared, but in vain, for admitting the Templars and hearing +their defence. Instead of complying with this demand of justice and +humanity, Clement suddenly put an end to the session. The winter passed +away in arguments and negociations. + +Philip, whose practice it was always to look after his affairs himself, +deeming his presence necessary at Vienne, set out for that place, where +he arrived early in February, accompanied by his three sons, his +brother, and several nobles and men-at-arms. The effect of his presence +was soon perceptible; the pope assembled the cardinals and several other +prelates in a secret consistory, and abolished the order, by his sole +authority, on the 22d March, 1313. + +The second session of the council was opened on the 3d April, with great +solemnity; the king of France, his sons, and his brother, gave their +presence at it, and the royal guards appeared for honour, for +protection, or for intimidation. The pope read his bull of abolition. +All present listened in silence. No one ventured to raise his voice in +the cause of justice. The wealthy and powerful order of the knights of +the Temple was suppressed. On the 2d May the bull was published, and the +order as such ceased to exist. + +The order being suppressed, persecution became needless, and it +consequently ceased in a great measure. The king and the pope converted +to their own use the moveable property of the order in France. Its other +possessions were, sorely against the will of the king, assigned to the +order of the Hospitallers, who were, however, obliged to pay such large +fines to the king and pope as completely impoverished them. This +extended to all countries, except the Spanish peninsula and Majorca. The +property of the Templars in Aragon was given to the order of Our Lady of +Montesa, which was founded in 1317. Its destination was to combat the +Moors; its habit was similar to that of the Templars; and it might, +therefore, be almost called the same order. Diniz, the able and +enlightened king of Portugal, did not suppress the order, whose +innocence his prelates had recognised. To yield a show of obedience to +the papal will, he made it change its name, and the great-prior of the +Templars in Portugal became the master of the Order of Christ, which has +continued to the present times. + +With respect to the remaining Templars, who were in prison, it was +ordered in council that those who should be found guiltless should be +set at liberty, and maintained out of the property of the order; that +the guilty, if they confessed and lamented their offences, should be +treated with mildness; if they did not, dealt with according to the +ecclesiastical law, and kept in custody in the former temple-houses and +in the convents. Those who had escaped were, if they did not appear +within a year before the council or their diocesan, to be +excommunicated. + +Most of the knights were immediately set at liberty; but the property of +the order was all gone, and no means of support remained for them: they +were, therefore, reduced to the greatest distress, and many of them +obliged to submit to the most menial employment in order to gain a +livelihood. A great number were received into the order of St. John, on +the same footing as they had stood on in their own order--a strong proof +that the guilt of the order of the Templars was not, by any means, +regarded as proved. Gradually, as the members died off, or merged into +other orders, the name of the Templars fell into oblivion, or was only +recollected with pity for their unmerited fate. + +While the noble order over which he had presided was thus suppressed, +its members scattered, its property bestowed on others, the Master, +James de Molay, with his three companions, the great-prior of Normandy, +Hugh de Peyraud, visiter of France, and Guy, brother to the Dauphin of +Auvergne, still languished in prison. Molay had there but one attendant, +his cook; the allowance made to him was barely sufficient to procure him +common necessaries, and life had now lost all its value in his eyes. The +pope at length determined to inform the captives of the fate destined +for them. + +A papal commission, composed of the bishop of Alba and two other +cardinals, proceeded to Paris, not to hear the prisoners, but, taking +their guilt for proved, to pronounce their sentence. To give all +publicity to this act, probably in accordance with the desire of the +king, a stage was erected in front of the church of Notre Dame, on which +the three commissioners, with the archbishop of Sens and several other +prelates, took their places, on the 18th March, 1314. An immense +concourse of people stood around. The four noble prisoners were +conducted from their dungeons, and led up on the stage. The cardinal of +Alba read out their former confessions, and pronounced the sentence of +perpetual imprisonment. He was then proceeding to expose the guilt of +the order, when the Master interrupted him, and thus spoke, taking all +the spectators to witness:-- + +"It is just that, in so terrible a day, and in the last moments of my +life, I should discover all the iniquity of falsehood, and make the +truth to triumph. I declare, then, in the face of heaven and earth, and +acknowledge, though to my eternal shame, that I have committed the +greatest of crimes; but it has been the acknowledging of those which +have been so foully charged on the order. I attest, and truth obliges me +to attest, that it is innocent. I made the contrary declaration only to +suspend the excessive pains of torture, and to mollify those who made me +endure them. I know the punishments which have been inflicted on all the +knights who had the courage to revoke a similar confession; but the +dreadful spectacle which is presented to me is not able to make me +confirm one lie by another. The life offered me on such infamous terms I +abandon without regret." + +Molay was followed by Guy in his assertion of the innocence of the +order; the other two remained silent. The commissioners were confounded, +and stopped. The intelligence was conveyed to the king, who, instantly +calling his council together, without any spiritual person being +present, condemned the two knights to the flames. + +A pile was erected on that point of the islet in the Seine where +afterwards was erected the statue of Henry IV., and the following day +Molay and his companion were brought forth and placed upon it. They +still persisted in their assertion of the innocence of the order. The +flames were first applied to their feet, then to their more vital parts. +The fetid smell of their burning flesh infected the surrounding air, and +added to their torments; yet still they persevered in their +declarations. At length death terminated their misery. The spectators +shed tears at the view of their constancy, and during the night their +ashes were gathered up to be preserved as relics. + +[Illustration: Portrait of last Grand Master.] + +It is mentioned as a tradition, by some historians, that Molay, ere he +expired, summoned Clement to appear within forty days before the Supreme +Judge, and Philip to the same tribunal within the space of a year. The +pontiff actually _did_ die of a cholic on the night of the 19th of the +following month, and, the church in which his body was laid taking fire, +the corpse was half consumed. The king, before the year had elapsed, +died of a fall from his horse. Most probably it was these events which +gave rise to the tradition, which testifies the general belief of the +innocence of the Templars. It was also remarked that all the active +persecutors of the order perished by premature or violent deaths. + +It remains to discuss the two following points:--Did the +religio-military order of the Knights Templars hold a secret doctrine +subversive of religion and morality? Has the order been continued down +to our own days? + +We have seen what the evidence against the Templars was, and it is very +plain that such evidence would not be admitted in any modern court of +justice. It was either hearsay, or given by persons utterly unworthy of +credit, or wrung from the accused by agony and torture. The articles +themselves are absurd and contradictory. Are we to believe that the same +men had adopted the pure deism of the Mahommedans, and were guilty of a +species of idolatry[103] almost too gross for the lowest superstition? +But when did this corruption commence among the Templars? Were those +whom St. Bernard praised as models of Christian zeal and piety, and whom +the whole Christian world admired and revered, engaged in a secret +conspiracy against religion and government? Yes, boldly replies Hammer, +the two humble and pious knights who founded the order were the pupils +and secret allies of the Mahommedan Ismaelites. This was going too far +for Wilike, and he thinks that the guilt of introducing the secret +doctrine lies on the chaplains; for he could discern that the doctrines +of gnosticism, which the Templars are supposed to have held, were beyond +the comprehension of illiterate knights, who, though they could fight +and pray, were but ill qualified to enter into the mazes of mystic +metaphysics. According, therefore, to one party, the whole order was +corrupt from top to bottom; according to another, the secrets were +confined to a few, and, contrary to all analogy, the heads of the order +were frequently in ignorance of them. Neither offer any thing like +evidence in support of their assumption. + +[Footnote 103: Almost every charge brought against the Templars had been +previously made against the Albigenses, with how much truth every one is +aware.] + +The real guilt of the Templars was their wealth and their pride[104]: +the last alienated the people from them, the former excited the cupidity +of the king of France. Far be it from us to maintain that the morals of +the Templars were purer than those of the other religious orders. With +such ample means as they possessed of indulging all their appetites and +passions, it would be contrary to all experience to suppose that they +always restrained them, and we will even concede that some of their +members were obnoxious to charges of deism, impiety, breaches of their +religious vows, and gross licentiousness. We only deny that such were +the rules of the order. Had they not been so devoted as they were to the +Holy See they would perhaps have come down to us as unsullied as the +knights of St. John[105]; but they sided with Pope Boniface against +Philip the Fair, and a subservient pontiff sacrificed to his own avarice +and personal ambition the most devoted adherents of the court of +Rome[106]. + +[Footnote 104: Our readers will call to mind the well-known anecdote of +King Richard I. When admonished by the zealous Fulk, of Neuilly, to get +rid of his three favourite daughters, pride, avarice, and +voluptuousness,--"You counsel well," said the king, "and I hereby +dispose of the first to the Templars, of the second to the Benedictines, +and of the third to my prelates."] + +[Footnote 105: Similar charges are said to have been brought against the +Hospitallers in the year 1238, but without effect. There was no Philip +the Fair at that time in France.] + +[Footnote 106: Clement, in a bull dated but four days after that of the +suppression, acknowledged that the whole of the evidence against the +order amounted only to suspicion!] + +We make little doubt that any one who coolly and candidly considers the +preceding account of the manner in which the order was suppressed will +readily concede that the guilt of its members was anything but proved. +It behoves their modern impugners to furnish some stronger proofs than +any they have as yet brought forward. The chief adversary of the +Templars at the present day is a writer whose veracity and love of +justice are beyond suspicion, and who has earned for himself enduring +fame by his labours in the field of oriental literature, but in whose +mind, as his most partial friends must allow, learning and imagination +are apt to overbalance judgment and philosophy[107]. He has been replied +to by Raynouard, Muenter, and other able advocates of the knights. + +[Footnote 107: We mean the illustrious Jos. von Hammer, whose essay on +the subject is to be found in the sixth volume of the Mines de l'Orient, +where it will be seen that he regards Sir W. Scott, in his Ivanhoe, as a +competent witness against the Templars, on account of his _correct and +faithful_ pictures of the manners and opinions of the middle ages. We +apprehend that people are beginning now to entertain somewhat different +ideas on the subject of our great romancer's fidelity, of which the +present pages present some instances.] + +We now come to the question of the continuance of the order to the +present day. That it has in some sort been transmitted to our times is a +matter of no doubt; for, as we have just seen, the king of Portugal +formed the Order of Christ out of the Templars in his dominions. But our +readers are no doubt aware that the freemasons assert a connexion with +the Templars, and that there is a society calling themselves Templars, +whose chief seat is at Paris, and whose branches extend into England and +other countries. The account which they give of themselves is as +follows:-- + +James de Molay, in the year 1314, in anticipation of his speedy +martyrdom, appointed Johannes Marcus Lormenius to be his successor in +his dignity. This appointment was made by a regular well-authenticated +charter, bearing the signatures of the various chiefs of the order, and +it is still preserved at Paris, together with the statutes, archives, +banners, &c., of the soldiery of the Temple. There has been an unbroken +succession of grand-masters down to the present times, among whom are to +be found some of the most illustrious names in France. Bertrand du +Guesclin was grand-master for a number of years; the dignity was +sustained by several of the Montmorencies; and during the last century +the heads of the society were princes of the different branches of the +house of Bourbon. Bernard Raymond Fabre Palaprat is its head at present, +at least was so a few years ago[108]. + +[Footnote 108: See Manuel des Templiers. As this book is only sold to +members of the society, we have been unable to obtain a copy of it. Our +account has been derived from Mills's History of Chivalry. That this +writer should have believed it implicitly is, we apprehend, no proof of +its truth.] + +This is no doubt a very plausible circumstantial account; but, on +applying the Ithuriel spear of criticism to it, various ugly shapes +resembling falsehood start up. Thus Molay, we are told, appointed his +successor in 1314. He was put to death on the 18th March of that year, +and the order had been abolished nearly a year before. Why then did he +delay so long, and why was he become so apprehensive of martyrdom at +that time, especially when, as is well known, there was then no +intention of putting him to death? Again, where were the chiefs of the +society at that time? How many of them were living? and how could they +manage to assemble in the dungeon of Molay and execute a formal +instrument! Moreover, was it not repugnant to the rules and customs of +the Templars for a Master to appoint his successor? These are a few of +the objections which we think may be justly made; and, on the whole, we +feel strongly disposed to reject the whole story. + +As to the freemasons, we incline to think that it was the accidental +circumstance of the name of the Templars which has led them to claim a +descent from that order; and it is possible that, if the same fate had +fallen on the knights of St. John, the claim had never been set up. We +are very far from denying that at the time of the suppression of the +order of the Temple there was a secret doctrine in existence, and that +the overthrow of the papal power, with its idolatry, superstition, and +impiety, was the object aimed at by those who held it, and that +freemasonry may possibly be that doctrine under another name[109]. But +we are perfectly convinced that no proof of any weight has been given of +the Templars' participation in that doctrine, and that all probability +is on the other side. We regard them, in fine, whatever their sins may +have been, as martyrs--martyrs to the cupidity, blood-thirstiness, and +ambition of the king of France. + +[Footnote 109: This has, we think, been fully proved by Sr. Rossetti. It +must not be concealed that this writer strongly asserts that the +Templars were a branch of this society.] + + + + +THE + +SECRET TRIBUNALS OF WESTPHALIA[110]. + +[Footnote 110: Dr. Berck has, in his elaborate work on this subject +(_Geschichte der Westphaelischen Femgerichte_, Bremen, 1815), collected, +we believe, nearly all the information that is now attainable. This work +has been our principal guide; for, though we have read some others, we +cannot say that we have derived any important information from them. As +the subject is in its historical form entirely new in English +literature, we have, at the hazard of appearing occasionally dry, traced +with some minuteness the construction and mode of procedure of these +celebrated courts.] + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Introduction--The Original Westphalia--Conquest of the Saxons by + Charlemagne--His Regulations--Dukes of Saxony--State of + Germany--Henry the Lion--His Outlawry--Consequences of it--Origin + of German Towns--Origin of the Fehm-gerichte, or Secret + Tribunals--Theories of their Origin--Origin of their + Name--Synonymous Terms. + + +We are now arrived at an association remarkable in itself, but which has +been, by the magic arts of romancers, especially of the great archimage +of the north, enveloped in darkness, mystery, and awe, far beyond the +degree in which such a poetical investiture can be bestowed upon it by +the calm inquirer after truth. The gloom of midnight will rise to the +mind of many a reader at the name of the Secret Tribunals of +Westphalia: a dimly lighted cavern beneath the walls of some castle, or +peradventure Swiss _hostelrie_, wherein sit black-robed judges in solemn +silence, will be present to his imagination, and he is prepared with +breathless anxiety to peruse the details of deeds without a name[111]. + +[Footnote 111: The romantic accounts of the Secret Tribunals will be +found in Sir W. Scott's translation of Goethe's Goetz von Berlichingen, +and in his House of Aspen and Anne of Geierstein. From various passages +in Sir W. Scott's biographical and other essays, it is plain that he +believed such to be the true character of the Secret Tribunals.] + +We fear that we cannot promise the full gratification of these +high-wrought expectations. Extraordinary as the Secret Tribunals really +were, we can only view them as an instance of that compensating +principle which may be discerned in the moral as well as in the natural +empire of the Deity; for, during the most turbulent and lawless period +of the history of Germany, almost the sole check on crime, in a large +portion of that country, was the salutary terror of these Fehm-Gerichte, +or Secret Tribunals. And those readers who have taken their notions of +them only from works of fiction will learn with surprise that no courts +of justice at the time exceeded, or perhaps we might say equalled, them +in the equity of their proceedings. + +Unfortunately their history is involved in much obscurity, and we +cannot, as in the case of the two preceding societies, clearly trace +this association from its first formation to the time when it became +evanescent and faded from the view. While it flourished, the dread and +the fear of it weighed too heavily on the minds of men to allow them to +venture to pry into its mysteries. Certain and instantaneous death was +the portion of the stranger who was seen at any place where a tribunal +was sitting, or who dared so much as to look into the books which +contained the laws and ordinances of the society. Death was also the +portion of any member of the society who revealed its secrets; and so +strongly did this terror, or a principle of honour, operate, that, as +AEneas Sylvius (afterwards Pope Pius II.), the secretary of the Emperor +Frederick III., assures us, though the number of the members usually +exceeded 100,000, no motive had ever induced a single one to be +faithless to his trust. Still, however, sufficient materials are to be +found for satisfying all reasonable curiosity on the subject. + +To ascertain the exact and legal sphere of the operation of this +formidable jurisdiction, and to point out its most probable origin, are +necessary preliminaries to an account of its constitution and its +proceedings. We shall therefore commence with the consideration of these +points. + +Westphalia, then, was the birth-place of this institution, and over +Westphalia alone did it exercise authority. But the Westphalia of the +middle ages did not exactly correspond with that of the later times. In +a general sense it comprehended the country between the Rhine and the +Weser; its southern boundary was the mountains of Hesse; its northern, +the district of Friesland, which at that time extended from Holland to +Sleswig. In the records and law-books of the middle ages, this land +bears the mystic appellation of the _red earth_, a name derived, as one +writer thinks, from the _gules_, or red, which was the colour of the +field in the ducal shield of Saxony; another regards it as synonymous +with the _bloody earth_; and a third hints that it may owe its origin to +the _red_ colour of the soil in some districts of Westphalia. + +This land formed a large portion of the country of the Saxons, who, +after a gallant resistance of thirty years, were forced to submit to +the sway of Charlemagne, and to embrace the religion of their conqueror. +The Saxons had hitherto lived in a state of rude independence, and their +dukes and princes possessed little or no civil power, being merely the +presidents in their assemblies and their leaders in war. Charlemagne +thought it advisable to abolish this dignity altogether, and he extended +to the country of the Saxons the French system of counts and counties. +Each count was merely a royal officer who exercised in the district over +which he was placed the civil and military authority. The _missi +dominici_ or _regii_ were despatched from the court to hold their +visitations in Saxony, as well as in the other dominions of Charles, and +at these persons of all classes might appear and prefer their complaints +to the representative of the king, if they thought themselves aggrieved +by the count or any of the inferior officers. + +In the reign of Louis the German, the excellent institutions of +Charlemagne had begun to fall into desuetude; anarchy and violence had +greatly increased. The incursions of the Northmen had become most +formidable, and the Vends[112] also gave great disturbance to Germany. +The Saxon land being the part most immediately exposed to invasion, the +emperor resolved to revive the ancient dignity of dukes, and to place +the district under one head, who might direct the energies of the whole +people against the invaders. The duke was a royal lieutenant, like the +counts, only differing from them in the extent of the district over +which he exercised authority. The first duke of Saxony was Count Ludolf, +the founder of Gandersheim; on his death the dignity was conferred on +his son Bruno, who, being slain in the bloody battle of Ebsdorf fought +against the Northmen, was succeeded by his younger brother Otto, the +father of Henry the Fowler. + +[Footnote 112: The Vends (_Wenden_) were a portion of the Slavonian race +who dwelt along the south coast of the Baltic.] + +On the failure of the German branch of the Carlovingians, the different +nations which composed the Germanic body appointed Conrad the Franconian +to be their supreme head; for a new enemy, the Magyars, or Hungarians, +now harassed the empire, and energy was demanded from its chief. Of this +Conrad himself was so convinced, that, when dying, after a short reign, +he recommended to the choice of the electors, not his own brother, but +Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony, who had, in his conflicts with the +Vends and the Northmen, given the strongest proofs of his talents and +valour. Henry was chosen, and the measures adopted by him during his +reign, and the defeat of the Hungarians, justified the act of his +elevation. + +On the death of Henry, his son Otto, afterwards justly styled the Great, +was unanimously chosen to succeed him in the imperial dignity. Otto +conferred the Duchy of Saxony on Herman Billung. From their constant +warfare with the Vends and the Northmen, the Saxons were now esteemed +the most valiant nation in Germany, and they were naturally the most +favoured by the emperors of the house of Saxony. This line ending with +Henry II. in 1024, the sceptre passed to that of Franconia, under which +and the succeeding line of Suabia, owing to the contests with the popes +about investitures and to various other causes, the imperial power +greatly declined in Germany; anarchy and feuds prevailed to an alarming +extent; the castles of the nobles became dens of robbers; and law and +justice were nowhere to be found. + +The most remarkable event of this disastrous period, and one closely +connected with our subject, is the outlawry of Henry the Lion, Duke of +Saxony and Bavaria. Magnus, the last of the Billungs of Saxony, died, +leaving only two daughters, of whom the eldest was married to Henry the +Black, Duke of Bavaria, who consequently had, according to the maxims of +that age, a right to the Duchy of Saxony; but the Emperor Henry V. +refused to admit his claim, and conferred it on Lothaire of Supplinburg. +As, however, Henry the Black's son, Henry the Proud, was married to the +only daughter of Lothaire, and this prince succeeded Henry V. in the +empire, Henry found no difficulty in obtaining the Duchy of Saxony from +his father-in-law, who also endeavoured to have him chosen his successor +in the imperial dignity. But the other princes were jealous of him, and +on the death of Lothaire they hastily elected Conrad of Suabia, who, +under the pretext that no duke should possess two duchies, called on +Henry to resign either Saxony or Bavaria. On his refusal, Conrad, in +conjunction with the princes of the empire, pronounced them both +forfeited, and conferred Bavaria on the Margraf of Austria, and Saxony +on Albert the Bear, the son of the second daughter of Duke Magnus of +Saxony. + +Saxony was, however, afterwards restored by Conrad to Henry the Lion, +son of Henry the Proud, and Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa, +gave him again Bavaria. Henry had himself carried his arms from the Elbe +to the Baltic, and conquered a considerable territory from the Vends, +which he regarded as his own peculiar principality. He was now master of +the greater part of Germany, and it was quite evident that he must +either obtain the imperial dignity or fall. His pride and his severity +made him many enemies; but as he had no child but a daughter, who was +married to a cousin of the emperor, his power was regarded without much +apprehension. It was, however, the ambition of Henry to be the father of +a race of heroes, and, after the fashion of those times, he divorced his +wife and espoused Matilda, daughter of Henry II. of England, by whom he +had four sons. Owing to this and other circumstances all friendly +feeling ceased between Henry and the emperor, whom, however, he +accompanied on the expedition to Italy, which terminated in the battle +of Legnano. But he suddenly drew off his forces and quitted the imperial +army on the way, and Frederick, imputing the ill success which he met +with in a great measure to the conduct of the Duke of Saxony, was, on +his return to Germany, in a mood to lend a ready ear to any charges +against him. These did not fail soon to pour in: the Saxon clergy, over +whom he had arrogated a right of investiture, appeared as his principal +accusers. Their charges, which were partly true, partly false, were +listened to by Frederick and the princes of the empire, and the downfall +of Henry was resolved upon. He was thrice summoned, but in vain, to +appear and answer the charges made against him. He was summoned a fourth +time, but to as little purpose; the sentence of outlawry was then +formally pronounced at Wuertzburg. He denied the legality of the +sentence, and attempted to oppose its execution; several counts stood by +him in his resistance; but he was forced to submit and sue for grace at +Erfurt. The emperor pardoned him and permitted him to retain his +allodial property on condition of his leaving Germany for three years. +He was deprived of all his imperial fiefs, which were immediately +bestowed upon others. + +In the division of the spoil of Henry the Lion Saxony was cut up into +pieces; a large portion of it went to the Archbishop of Cologne; and +Bernhard of Anhalt, son of Albert the Bear, obtained a considerable +part of the remainder; the supremacy over Holstein, Mecklenburg, and +Pomerania, ceased; and Luebeck became a free imperial city. All the +archbishops, bishops, counts, and barons, seized as much as they could, +and became immediate vassals of the empire. Neither Bernhard nor the +Archbishop of Cologne was able completely to establish his power over +the portion assigned him, and lawless violence everywhere prevailed. +"There was no king in Israel, and every one did that which was right in +his own eyes," is the language of the Chronicler[113]. + +[Footnote 113: Arnold of Luebeck, Chronica Slavorum, l. iii. c. 1., apud +Leibnitz Scriptores Rerum Brunsvicarum, t. ii. p. 653.] + +We here again meet an instance of the compensatory principle which +prevails in the arrangements of Providence. It was the period of +turbulence and anarchy succeeding the outlawry of Henry the Lion which +gave an impulse to the building or enlarging of towns in the north of +Germany. The free Germans, as described by Tacitus, scorned to be pent +up within walls and ditches; and their descendants in Saxony would seem +to have inherited their sentiments, for there were no towns in that +country till the time of Henry the Fowler. As a security against the +Northmen, the Slavs, and the Magyars, this monarch caused pieces of land +to be enclosed by earthen walls and ditches, within which was collected +a third part of the produce of the surrounding country, and in which he +made every ninth man of the population fix his residence. The courts of +justice were held in these places to give them consequence; and, their +strength augmenting with their population, they became towns capable of +resisting the attacks of the enemy, and of giving shelter and defence to +the people of the open country. Other towns, such as Muenster, Osnabrueck +(_Osnaburgh_), Paderborn, and Minden, grew up gradually, from the desire +of the people to dwell close to abbeys, churches, and episcopal +residences, whence they might obtain succour in time of temporal or +spiritual need, and derive protection from the reverence shown to the +church. A third class of towns owed their origin to the stormy period of +which we now write; for the people of the open country, the victims of +oppression and tyranny, fled to where they might, in return for their +obedience, meet with some degree of protection, and erected their houses +at the foot of the castle of some powerful nobleman. These towns +gradually increased in power, with the favour of the emperors, who, like +other monarchs, viewing in them allies against the excessive power of +the church and the nobility, gladly bestowed on them extensive +privileges; and from these originated the celebrated Hanseatic League, +to which almost every town of any importance in Westphalia belonged, +either mediately or immediately. + +But the growth of cities, and the prosperity and the better system of +social regulation which they presented, were not the only beneficial +effects which resulted from the overthrow of the power of Henry the +Lion. There is every reason to conclude that it was at this period that +the Fehm-gerichte, or Secret Tribunals, were instituted in Westphalia; +at least, the earliest document in which there is any clear and express +mention of them is dated in the year 1267. This is an instrument by +which Engelbert, Count of the Mark, frees one Gervin of Kinkenrode from +the feudal obligations for his inheritance of Broke, which was in the +county of Mark; and it is declared to have been executed at a place +named Berle, the court being presided over by Bernhard of Henedorp, and +the _Fehmenotes_ being present. By the Fehmenotes were at all times +understood the initiated in the secrets of the Westphalian tribunals; so +that we have here a clear and decisive proof of the existence of these +tribunals at that time. In another document, dated 1280, the Fehmenotes +again appear as witnesses, and after this time the mention of them +becomes frequent. + +We thus find that, in little more than half a century after the outlawry +of Henry the Lion, the Fehm-gerichte were in operation in Westphalia; +and there is not the slightest allusion to them before that date, or any +proof, at all convincing, to be produced in favour of their having been +an earlier institution. Are we not, therefore, justified in adopting the +opinion of those who place their origin in the first half of the +thirteenth century, and ascribe it to the anarchy and confusion +consequent on the removal of the power which had hitherto kept within +bounds the excesses of the nobles and the people? And is it a conjecture +altogether devoid of probability that some courageous and upright men +may have formed a secret determination to apply a violent remedy to the +intolerable evils which afflicted the country, and to have adopted those +expedients for preserving the public peace, out of which gradually grew +the Secret Tribunals? or that some powerful prince of the country, +acting from purely selfish motives, devised the plan of the society, and +appointed his judges to make the first essay of it[114]? + +[Footnote 114: Berck, pp. 259, 260.] + +Still it must be confessed that the origin of the Fehm-gerichte is +involved in the same degree of obscurity which hangs over that of the +Hanseatic league and so many other institutions of the middle ages; and +little hopes can be entertained of this obscurity ever being totally +dispelled. Conjecture will, therefore, ever have free scope of the +subject; and the opinion which we have just expressed ourselves as +inclined to adopt is only one of nine which have been already advanced +on it. Four of these carry back the origin of the Fehm-gerichte to the +time of Charlemagne, making them to have been either directly instituted +by that great prince, or to have gradually grown out of some of his +other institutions for the better governing of his states. A fifth +places their origin in the latter half of the eleventh century, and +regards them as an invention of the Westphalian clergy for forwarding +the views of the popes in their attempt to arrive at dominion over all +temporal princes. A sixth ascribes the institution to St. Engelbert, +Archbishop of Cologne, to whom the Emperor Frederic II. committed the +administration of affairs in Germany during his own absence in Sicily, +and who was distinguished for his zeal in the persecution of heretics. +He modelled it, the advocates of this opinion say, on that of the +Inquisition, which had lately been established. The seventh and eighth +theories are undeserving of notice. On the others we shall make a few +remarks. + +The first writers who mention the Fehm-gerichte are Henry of Hervorden, +a Dominican, who wrote against them in the reign of the Emperor Charles +IV., about the middle of the fourteenth century; and AEneas Sylvius, the +secretary of Frederic III., a century later. These writers are among +those who refer the origin of the Fehm-gerichte to Charlemagne, and such +was evidently the current opinion of the time--an opinion studiously +disseminated by the members of the society, who sought to give it +consequence in the eyes of the emperor and people, by associating it +with the memory of the illustrious monarch of the West. There is, +however, neither external testimony nor internal probability to support +that opinion. Eginhart, the secretary and biographer of Charlemagne, and +all the other contemporary writers, are silent on the subject; the +valuable fragments of the ancient Saxon laws collected in the twelfth +century make not the slightest allusion to these courts; and, in fine, +their spirit and mode of procedure are utterly at variance with the +Carlovingian institutions. As to the hypothesis which makes Archbishop +Engelbert the author of the Fehm-gerichte, it is entirely unsupported by +external evidence, and has nothing in its favour but the coincidence, in +point of time, of Engelbert's administration with the first account +which we have of this jurisdiction, and the similarity which it bore in +the secrecy of its proceedings to that of the Holy Inquisition--a +resemblance easy to be accounted for, without any necessity for having +recourse to the supposition of the one being borrowed from the other. + +We can therefore only say with certainty that, in the middle of the +thirteenth century, the Fehm-gerichte were existing and in operation in +the country which we have described as the Westphalia of the middle +ages. To this we may add that this jurisdiction extended over the whole +of that country, and was originally confined to it, all the courts in +other parts of Germany, which bore a resemblance to the Westphalian +Fehm-gerichte, being of a different character and nature[115]. + +[Footnote 115: See Berck, l. i. c. 5, 6, 7.] + +It remains, before proceeding to a description of these tribunals, to +give some account of the origin of their name. And here again we find +ourselves involved in as much difficulty and uncertainty as when +inquiring into the origin of the society itself. + +Almost every word in the German and cognate languages, which bears the +slightest resemblance to the word _Fehm_[116], has been given by some +writer or other as its true etymon. It is unnecessary, in the present +sketch of the history of the Fehm-gerichte, to discuss the merits of +each of the claimants: we shall content ourselves with remarking that, +among those which appear to have most probability in their favour, is +the Latin _Fama_, which was first proposed by Leibnitz. At the time when +we have most reason for supposing these tribunals to have been +instituted the Germans were familiar with the language of the civil and +canonical laws; the Fehm-gerichte departed from the original maxim of +German law, which was--_no accuser, no judge_, and, in imitation of +those foreign laws[117], proceeded on _common fame_, and without any +formal accusation against persons suspected of crime or of evil courses. +Moreover, various tribunals, not in Westphalia, which proceeded in the +same manner, on common report, were also called Fehm-gerichte, which may +therefore be interpreted Fame-tribunals, or such as did not, according +to the old German rule, require a formal accusation, but proceeded to +the investigation of the truth of any charge which common fame or +general report made against any person--a dangerous mode of proceeding, +no doubt, and one liable to the greatest abuse, but which the lawless +state of Germany at that period, and the consequent impunity which great +criminals would else have enjoyed, from the fear of them, which would +have kept back accusers and witnesses, perhaps abundantly justified. It +is proper to observe, however, that _fem_ appears to be an old German +word, signifying condemnation; and it is far from being unlikely, after +all, that the Fehm-gerichte may mean merely the tribunals of +condemnation--in other words, courts for the punishment of crime, or +what we should call criminal courts. + +[Footnote 116: Spelt also _Fem_, _Faem_, _Vem_, _Vehm_. In German _f_ and +_v_ are pronounced alike, as also are _ae_ and _e_. The words from which +_Fahm_ has been derived are _Fahne_, a standard; _Femen_, to skin; +_Fehde_, feud; _Vemi_ (i. e. vae mihi), wo is me; _Ve_ or _Vaem_, which +Dreyer says signifies, in the northern languages, _holy_; _Vitte_ (old +German), prudence; _Vette_, punishment; the _Fimmiha_ of the Salic law; +Swedish _Fem_, Islandic _Fimm_, five, such being erroneously supposed to +be the number of judges in a Fehm, or court. Finally, Moezer deduces it +from _Fahm_, which he says is employed in Austria and some other +countries for _Rahm_, cream.] + +[Footnote 117: Common fame was a sufficient ground of arraignment in +England, also, in the Anglo-Saxon period.] + +The Fehm-gerichte was not the only name which these tribunals bore; they +were also called _Fehm-ding_, the word _ding_[118] being, in the middle +ages, equivalent to _gericht_, or tribunal. They were also called the +Westphalian tribunals, as they could only be holden in the _Red Land_, +or Westphalia, and only Westphalians were amenable to their +jurisdiction. They were further styled free-seats (_Frei-stuehle_, +_stuehl_ also being the same as _gericht_), free-tribunals, &c., as only +freemen were subject to them. A Frei-gericht, however, was not a +convertible term with a Westphalian Fehm-gericht; the former was the +genus, the latter the species. They are in the records also named +Secret Tribunals, (_Heimliche Gerichte_), and Silent Tribunals +(_Stillgerichte_), from the secrecy of their proceedings; Forbidden +Tribunals (_Verbotene Gerichte_), the reason of which name is not very +clear; Carolinian Tribunals, as having been, as was believed, instituted +by Charles the Great; also the Free Bann, which last word was equivalent +to _jurisdiction_. A Fehm-gericht was also termed a _Heimliche Acht_, +and a _Heimliche beschlossene Acht_ (secret and secret-closed tribunal); +_acht_ also being the same as _gericht_, or tribunal. + +[Footnote 118: In the northern languages, _Ting_; hence the _Store Ting_ +(in our journals usually written _Storthing_), i. e. _Great Ting_, or +Parliament of Norway.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + The Tribunal-Lord--The Count--The Schoeppen--The Messengers--The + Public Court--The Secret Tribunal--Extent of its + Jurisdiction--Places of holding the Courts--Time of holding + them--Proceedings in them--Process where the criminal was caught in + the fact--Inquisitorial Process. + + +Having traced the origin of the Fehm-gerichte and their various +appellations, as far as the existing documents and other evidences +admit, we are now to describe the constitution and procedure of these +celebrated tribunals, and to ascertain who were the persons that +composed them; whence their authority was derived; and over what classes +of persons their jurisdiction extended. + +Even in the periods of greatest anarchy in Germany, the emperor was +regarded as the fountain of all judicial power and authority, more +particularly where it extended to the right of inflicting capital +punishment. The Fehm-gerichte, therefore, regarded the emperor as their +head, from whom they derived all the power which they possessed, and +acknowledged his right to control and modify their constitution and +decisions. These rights of the emperors we shall, in the sequel, +describe at length. + +Between the emperor and the Westphalian tribunal-lords (_Stuhlherren_), +as they were styled, that is, lay and ecclesiastical territorial lords, +there was no intermediate authority until the fourteenth century, when +the Archbishop of Cologne was made the imperial lieutenant in +Westphalia. Each tribunal-lord had his peculiar district, within which +he had the power of erecting-tribunals, and beyond which his authority +did not extend. He either presided in person in his court, or he +appointed a count (_Freigraf_) to supply his place. The rights of a +stuhlherr[119] had some resemblance to those of the owner of an advowson +in this country. He had merely the power of nominating either himself or +another person as count; the right to inflict capital punishment was to +be conferred by the emperor or his deputy. To this end, when a +tribunal-lord presented a count for investiture, he was obliged to +certify on oath that the person so presented was truly and honestly, +both by father and mother, born on Westphalian soil; that he stood in no +ill repute; that he knew of no open crime he had committed; and that he +believed him to be perfectly well qualified to preside over the county. + +[Footnote 119: _Stuhlherr_ is _tribunal-lord_, or, literally, _lord of +the seat_ (of judgment); _stuhl_ (_Anglice_, stool) being a seat, or +chair.] + +The count, on being appointed, was to swear that he would judge truly +and justly, according to the law and the regulations of the emperor +Charles and the _closed tribunal_; that he would be obedient to the +emperor or king, and his lieutenant; and that he would repair, at least +once in each year, to the general chapter which was to be held on the +Westphalian land, and give an account of his conduct, &c. + +The income of the free-count arose from fees and a share in fines; he +had also a fixed allowance in money or in kind from the stuhlherr. Each +free-schoeppe who was admitted made him a present, _to repair_, as the +laws express it, _his countly hat_. If the person admitted was a knight, +this fee was a mark of gold; if not, a mark of silver. Every one of the +initiated who cleared himself by oath from any charge paid the count a +cross-penny. He had a share of all the fines imposed in his court, and a +fee on citations, &c. + +There was in general but one count to each tribunal; but instances occur +of there being as many as seven or eight. The count presided in the +court, and the citations of the accused proceeded from him. + +Next to the count were the assessors or (_Schoeppen_)[120]. These formed +the main body and strength of the society. They were nominated by the +count with the approbation of the tribunal-lord. Two persons, who were +already in the society, were obliged to vouch on oath for the fitness of +the candidate to be admitted. It was necessary that he should be a +German by birth; born in wedlock of free parents; of the Christian +religion; neither ex-communicate nor outlawed; not involved in any +Fehm-gericht process; a member of no spiritual order, &c. + +[Footnote 120: This word, which cannot be adequately translated, is the +low-Latin _Scabini_, the French _Echevins_. We shall take the liberty of +using it throughout. The schoeppen were called frei-(_free_) schoeppen, as +the count was called _frei-graf_, the court _frei-stuhl_, on account of +the jurisdiction of the tribunals being confined to freemen.] + +These schoeppen were divided into two classes, the knightly, and the +simple, respectable assessors; for, as the maxim that every man should +be judged by his peers prevailed universally during the middle ages, it +was necessary to conform to it also in the Fehm-tribunals. + +Previous to their admission to a knowledge of the secrets of the +society, the schoeppen were named Ignorant; when they had been initiated +they were called Knowing (_Wissende_) or Fehmenotes. It was only these +last who were admitted to the secret-tribunal. The initiation of a +schoeppe was attended with a good deal of ceremony. He appeared +bare-headed before the assembled tribunal, and was there questioned +respecting his qualifications. Then, kneeling down, with the thumb and +forefinger of his right hand on a naked sword and a halter, he +pronounced the following oath after the count:-- + +"I promise, on the holy marriage, that I will, from henceforth, aid, +keep, and conceal the holy Fehms, from wife and child, from father and +mother, from sister and brother, from fire and wind, from all that the +sun shines on and the rain covers, from all that is between sky and +ground, especially from the man who knows the law, and will bring before +this free tribunal, under which I sit, all that belongs to the secret +jurisdiction of the emperor, whether I know it to be true myself, or +have heard it from trustworthy people, whatever requires correction or +punishment, whatever is Fehm-free (_i. e._ a crime committed in the +county), that it may be judged, or, with the consent of the accuser, be +put off in grace; and will not cease so to do, for love or for fear, for +gold or for silver, or for precious stones; and will strengthen this +tribunal and jurisdiction with all my five senses and power; and that I +do not take on me this office for any other cause than for the sake of +right and justice; moreover, that I will ever further and honour this +free tribunal more than any other free tribunals; and what I thus +promise will I stedfastly and firmly keep, so help me God and his Holy +Gospel." + +He was further obliged to swear that he would ever, to the best of his +ability, enlarge the holy empire; and that he would undertake nothing +with unrighteous hand against the land and people of the stuhlherr. + +The count then inquired of the officers of the court (the _Frohnboten_) +if the candidate had gone through all the formalities requisite to +reception, and when that officer had answered in the affirmative, the +count revealed to the aspirant the secrets of the tribunal, and +communicated to him the secret sign by which the initiated knew one +another. What this sign was is utterly unknown: some say that when they +met at table they used to turn the point of their knife to themselves, +and the haft away from them. Others take the letters S S G G, which were +found in an old MS. at Herford, to have been the sign, and interpret +them _Stock Stein, Gras Grein_. These are, however, the most arbitrary +conjectures, without a shadow of proof. The count then was bound to +enter the name of the new member in his register, and henceforth he was +one of the powerful body of the initiated. + +Princes and nobles were anxious to have their chancellors and ministers, +corporate towns to have their magistrates, among the initiated. Many +princes sought to be themselves members of this formidable association, +and we are assured that in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (which +are the only ones of which we have any particular accounts) the number +of the initiated exceeded 100,000. + +The duty of the initiated was to go through the country to serve +citations and to trace out and denounce evil-doers; or, if they caught +them in the fact, to execute instant justice upon them. They were also +the count's assessors when the tribunal sat. For that purpose seven at +least were required to be present, all belonging to the county in which +the court was held; those belonging to other counties might attend, but +they could not act as assessors; they only formed a part of the +by-standers of the court. Of these there were frequently some hundreds +present. + +All the initiated of every degree might go on foot and on horseback +through the country, for daring was the man who would presume to injure +them, as certain death was his inevitable lot. A dreadful punishment +also awaited any one of them who should forget his vow and reveal the +secrets of the society; he was to be seized, a cloth bound over his +eyes, his hands tied behind his back, a halter put about his neck; he +was to be thrown upon his belly, his tongue pulled out behind by the +nape of his neck, and he was then to be hung seven feet higher than any +other felon. It is doubtful, however, if there ever was a necessity for +inflicting this punishment, for AEneas Sylvius, who wrote at the time +when the society had degenerated, assures us that no member had ever +been induced, by any motives whatever, to betray its secrets; and he +describes the initiated as grave men and lovers of right and justice. +Similar language is employed concerning them by other writers of the +time. + +Besides the count and the assessors, there were required, for the due +holding a Fehm-court, the officers named _Frohnboten_[121], or +serjeants, or messengers, and a clerk to enter the decisions in what was +called the blood-book (_Liber sanguinis_). These were, of course, +initiated, or they could not be present. It was required that the +messengers should be freemen belonging to the county, and have all the +qualifications of the simple schoeppen. Their duty was to attend on the +court when sitting, and to take care that the ignorant, against whom +there was any charge, were duly cited[122]. + +[Footnote 121: _Frohnbote_ is interpreted a _Holy Messenger_, or a +_Servant of God_.] + +[Footnote 122: When a person was admitted into the society he paid, +besides the fee to the count already mentioned, to each schoeppe who was +assisting there, and to each frohnbote, four livres Tournois.] + +The count was to hold two kinds of courts, the one public, named the +Open or Public Court (_Offenbare Ding_), to which every freeman had +access; the other private, called the Secret Tribunal (_Heimliche +Acht_), at which no one who was not initiated could venture to appear. + +The former court was held at stated periods, and at least three times in +each year. It was announced fourteen days previously by the messengers +(_Frohnboten_), and every householder in the county, whether initiated +or not, free or servile, was bound under a penalty of four heavy +shillings, to appear at it and declare on oath what crimes he knew to +have been committed in the county. + +When the count held the Secret Court, the clergy, who had received the +tonsure and ordination, women and children, Jews and Heathens[123], and, +as it would appear, the higher nobility, were exempted from its +jurisdiction. The clergy were exempted, probably, from prudential +motives, as it was not deemed safe to irritate the members of so +powerful a body, by encroaching on their privileges; they might, +however, voluntarily subject themselves to the Fehm-gerichte if they +were desirous of partaking of the advantages of initiation. Women and +children were exempt on account of their sex and age, and the period of +infancy was extended, in the citations, to fourteen, eighteen, and +sometimes twenty years of age. Jews, Heathens, and such like, were +exempted on account of their unworthiness. The higher nobility were +exempted (if such was really the case) in compliance with the maxim of +German law that each person should be judged by his peers, as it was +scarcely possible that in any county there could be found a count and +seven assessors of equal rank with accused persons of that class. + +[Footnote 123: The natives of Prussia were still heathens at that time.] + +In their original constitution the Fehm-gerichte, agreeably to the +derivation of the name from _Fem_, condemnation, were purely criminal +courts, and had no jurisdiction in civil matters. They took cognizance +of all offences against the Christian faith, the holy gospel, the holy +ten commandments, the public peace, and private honour--a category, +however, which might easily be made to include almost every +transgression and crime that could be committed. We accordingly find in +the laws of the Fehm-gerichte, sacrilege, robbery, rape, murder, +apostacy, treason, perjury, coining, &c., &c., enumerated; and the +courts, by an astute interpretation of the law, eventually managed to +make matters which had not even the most remote appearance of +criminality _Fehmbar_, or within their jurisdiction. + +But all exceptions were disregarded in cases of contumacy, or of a +person being taken in the actual commission of an offence. When a +person, after being duly cited, even in a civil case, did not appear to +answer the charge against him, he was outlawed, and his offence became +_fehmbar_; every judge was then authorized to seize the accused, whether +he belonged to his county or not; the whole force of the initiated was +now directed against him, and escape was hardly possible. Here it was +that the superior power of the Fehm-gerichte exhibited itself. Other +courts could outlaw as well as they, but no other had the same means of +putting its sentences into execution. The only remedy which remained for +the accused was to offer to appear and defend his cause, or to sue to +the emperor for protection. In cases where a person was caught +_flagranti delicto_, the Westphalian tribunals were competent to +proceed to instant punishment. + +Those who derive their knowledge of the Fehm-gerichte from plays and +romances are apt to imagine that they were always held in subterranean +chambers, or in the deepest recesses of impenetrable forests, while +night, by pouring her deepest gloom over them, added to their awfulness +and solemnity. Here, as elsewhere, we must, however reluctantly, lend +our aid to dispel the illusions of fiction. They were _not_ held either +in woods or in vaults, and rarely even under a roof. There is only _one_ +recorded instance of a Fehm-gericht being held under ground, viz., at +Heinberg, under the house of John Menkin. At Paderborn indeed it was +held in the town-house; there was also one held in the castle of +Wulften. But the situation most frequently selected for holding a court +was some place under the blue canopy of heaven, for the free German +still retained the predilection of his ancestors for open space and +expansion. Thus at Nordkirchen and Suedkirchen (_north and south church_) +the court was held in the churchyard; at Dortmund, in the market-place +close by the town-house. But the favourite place for holding these +courts was the neighbourhood of trees, as in the olden time: and we read +of the tribunal at Arensberg in the orchard; of another under the +hawthorn; of a third under the pear-tree; of a fourth under the linden, +and so on. We also find the courts denominated simply from the trees by +which they were held, such as the tribunal at the elder, that at the +broad oak, &c. + +The idea of their being held at night is also utterly devoid of proof, +no mention of any such practice being found in any of the remaining +documents. It is much more analogous to Germanic usage to infer that, as +the Public Court, and the German courts in general, were held in the +morning, soon after the break of day, such was also the rule with the +Secret Court. + +When an affair was brought before a Fehm-court, the first point to be +determined was whether it was a matter of Fehm-jurisdiction. Should such +prove to be the case, the accused was summoned to appear and answer the +charge before the Public Court. All sorts of persons, Jews and Heathens +included, might be summoned before this court, at which the uninitiated +schoeppen also gave attendance, and which was as public as any court in +Germany. If the accused did not appear, or appeared and could not clear +himself, the affair was transferred to the Secret Court. Civil matters +also, which on account of a denial of satisfaction were brought before +the Fehm-court, were, in like manner, in cases of extreme contumacy, +transferred thither. + +The Fehm-tribunals had three different modes of procedure, namely, that +in case of the criminal being taken in the fact, the inquisitorial, and +the purely accusatorial. + +Two things were requisite in the first case; the criminal must be taken +in the fact, and there must be three schoeppen, at least, present to +punish him. With respect to the first particular, the legal language of +Saxony gave great extent to the term _taken in the fact_. It applied not +merely to him who was seized in the instant of his committing the crime, +but to him who was caught as he was running away. In cases of murder, +those who were found with weapons in their hands were considered as +taken in the fact; as also, in case of theft, was a person who had the +key of any place in which stolen articles were found, unless he could +prove that they came there without his consent or knowledge. The +Fehm-law enumerated three tokens or proofs of guilt in these cases; the +Habende Hand (_Having Hand_), or having the proof in his hand; the +Blickende Schein (_looking appearance_), such as the wound in the body +of one who was slain; and the Gichtige Mund (_faltering mouth_), or +confession of the criminal. Still, under all these circumstances, it was +necessary that he should be taken immediately; for if he succeeded in +making his escape, and was caught again, as he was not this time taken +in the fact, he must be proceeded against before the tribunal with all +the requisite formalities. + +The second condition was, that there should be at least three initiated +persons together, to entitle them to seize, try, and execute a person +taken in the fact. These then were at the same time judges, accusers, +witnesses, and executioners. We shall in the sequel describe their mode +of procedure. It is a matter of uncertainty whether the rule of trial by +peers was observed on these occasions: what is called the Arensberg +Reformation of the Fehm-law positively asserts, that, in case of a +person being taken _flagranti delicto_, birth formed no exemption, and +the noble was to be tried like the commoner. The cases, however, in +which three of the initiated happened to come on a criminal in the +commission of the fact must have been of extremely rare occurrence. + +When a crime had been committed, and the criminal had not been taken in +the fact, there remained two ways of proceeding against him, namely, the +_inquisitorial_ and the _accusatorial_ processes. It depended on +circumstances which of these should be adopted. In the case, however, of +his being initiated, it was imperative that he should be proceeded +against accusatorially. + +Supposing the former course to have been chosen,--which was usually done +when the criminal had been taken in the fact, but had contrived to +escape, or when he was a man whom common fame charged openly and +distinctly with a crime,--he was not cited to appear before the court +or vouchsafed a hearing. He was usually denounced by one of the +initiated; the court then examined into the evidence of his guilt, and +if it was found sufficient he was outlawed, or, as it was called, +_forfehmed_[124], and his name was inscribed in the blood-book. A +sentence was immediately drawn out, in which all princes, lords, nobles, +towns, every person, in short, especially the initiated, were called +upon to lend their aid to justice. This sentence, of course, could +originally have extended only to Westphalia; but the Fehm-courts +gradually enlarged their claims; their pretensions were favoured by the +emperors, who regarded them as a support to their authority; and it was +soon required that their sentence should be obeyed all over the empire, +as emanating from the imperial power. + +[Footnote 124: In German _Verfehmt_. We have ventured to coin the word +in the text. The English for answers to the German _ver_; _vergessen_ is +_forget_; _verloren_ is _forlorn_.] + +Unhappy now was he who was _forfehmed_; the whole body of the initiated, +that is 100,000 persons, were in pursuit of him. If those who met him +were sufficient in number, they seized him at once; if they felt +themselves too weak, they called on their brethren to aid, and every one +of the society was bound, when thus called on by three or four of the +initiated, who averred to him on oath that the man was _forfehmed_, to +help to take him. As soon as they had seized the criminal they proceeded +without a moment's delay to execution; they hung him on a tree by the +road-side and not on a gallows, intimating thereby that they were +entitled to exercise their office in the king's name anywhere they +pleased, and without any regard to territorial jurisdiction. The halter +which they employed was, agreeably to the usage of the middle ages, a +_withy_; and they are said to have had so much practice, and to have +arrived at such expertness in this business, that the word _Fehmen_ at +last began to signify simply _to hang_, as _execution_ has come to do in +English. It is more probable, however, that this, or something very near +it, was the original signification of the word from which the tribunals +took their name. Should the malefactor resist, his captors were +authorised to knock him down and kill him. In this case they bound the +dead body to a tree, and stuck their knives beside it, to intimate that +he had not been slain by robbers, but had been executed in the name of +the emperor. + +Were the person who was _forfehmed_ uninitiated, he had no means +whatever of knowing his danger till the halter was actually about his +neck; for the severe penalty which awaited any one who divulged the +secrets of the Fehm-courts was such as utterly to preclude the chance of +a friendly hint or warning to be on his guard. Should he, however, by +any casualty, such, for instance, as making his escape from those who +attempted to seize him, become aware of how he stood, he might, if he +thought he could clear himself, seek the protection and aid of the +Stuhlherr, or of the emperor. + +If any one knowingly associated with or entertained a person who was +_forfehmed_, he became involved in his danger. It was necessary, +however, to prove that he had done so knowingly--a point which was to be +determined by the emperor, or by the judge of the district in which the +accused resided. This rule originally had extended only to Westphalia, +but the Fehm-judges afterwards assumed a right of punishing in any part +of the empire the person who entertained one who was _forfehmed_. + +Nothing can appear more harsh and unjust than this mode of procedure to +those who would apply the ideas and maxims of the present to former +times. But violent evils require violent remedies; and the disorganized +state of Europe in general, and of Germany in particular, during the +middle ages, was such as almost to exceed our conception. Might it not +then be argued that we ought to regard as a benefit, rather than as an +evil, any institution which set some bounds to injustice and violence, +by infusing into the bosom of the evil-doer a salutary fear of the +consequences? When a man committed a crime he knew that there was a +tribunal to judge it from which his power, however great it might be, +would not avail to protect him; he knew not who were the initiated, or +at what moment he might fall into their hands; his very brother might be +the person who had denounced him; his intimate associates might be those +who would seize and execute him. So strongly was the necessity of such a +power felt in general, that several cities, such as Nuremberg, Cologne, +Strasburg, and others, applied for and obtained permission from the +emperors, to proceed to pass sentence of death on evil-doers even +unheard, when the evidence of common fame against them was satisfactory +to the majority of the town-council. Several counts also obtained +similar privileges, so that there were, as we may see, Fehm-courts in +other places besides Westphalia, but they were far inferior to those in +power, not having a numerous body of schoeppen at their devotion. + +It is finally to be observed that it was only when the crimes were of +great magnitude, and the voice of fame loud and constant, that the +inquisitorial process could be properly adopted. In cases of a minor +nature the accused had a right to be heard in his own behalf. Here then +the inquisitorial process had its limit: if report was not sufficiently +strong and overpowering, and the matter was still dubious, the offender +was to be proceeded against accusatorially. If he was one of the +initiated, such was his undoubted right and privilege in all cases. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Accusatorial process--Persons liable to it--Mode of citation--Mode + of procedure--Right of appeal. + + +As we have stated above, the first inquiry when a matter was brought +before a Fehm-court was, did it come within its jurisdiction, and, on +its being found to do so, the accused was summoned before the Public +Court, and when he did not appear, or could not clear himself, the cause +was transferred to the Secret Court. We shall now consider the whole +procedure specially. + +The summons was at the expense of the accuser; it was to be written on +good new parchment, without any erasures, and sealed with at least seven +seals, to wit, those of the count and of six assessors. The seals of the +different courts were different. The summonses varied according to +whether the accused was a free-count, a free-schoeppe, or one of the +ignorant and uninitiated, a community, a noth-schoeppe, or a mere +vagabond. In all cases they were to be served by schoeppen. They were to +have on them the name of the count, of the accuser, and of the accused, +the charge, and the place where the court was to be holden. The +stuhlherr was also to be previously informed of it. + +For a good and legal service it was requisite that two schoeppen should +either serve the accused personally or leave the summons openly or +clandestinely at his residence, or at the place where he had taken +refuge. If he did not appear to answer the charge within six weeks and +three days, he was again summoned by four persons. Six weeks was the +least term set for appearing to this summons, and it was requisite that +a piece of imperial coin should be given with it. Should he still +neglect appearing, he was summoned for the third and last time by six +schoeppen and a count, and the term set was six weeks and three days as +before. + +If the accused was not merely initiated but also a count, he was treated +with corresponding respect. The first summons was served by seven +schoeppen, the second by fourteen and four counts, and the third by +twenty-one and six counts. + +The uninitiated, whether bond or free, did not share in the preceding +advantages. The summons was served on themselves, or at their residence, +by a messenger, and only once. There is some doubt as to the period set +for their appearance, but it seems to have been in general the ordinary +one of six weeks and three days. + +The summons of a town or community was usually addressed to all the male +inhabitants. In general some of them were specially named in it; the +Arensberg Reformation directed that the names of at least thirty persons +should be inserted. The term was six weeks and three days, and those who +served the summons were required to be _true and upright_ schoeppen. + +The noth-schoeppe, that is, the person who had surreptitiously become +possessed of the secrets of the society, was summoned but once. The +usual time was allowed him for appearing to the charge. + +Should the accused be a mere vagabond, one who had no fixed residence, +the course adopted was to send, six weeks and three days before the day +the court was to sit, and post up four summonses at a cross-road which +faced the four cardinal points, placing a piece of imperial money with +each. This was esteemed good and valid service, and if the accused did +not appear the court proceeded to act upon it. + +Notwithstanding the privileges which the members of the society enjoyed, +and the precautions which were employed to ensure their safety, and +moreover the deadly vengeance likely to be taken on any one who should +aggrieve them, we are not to suppose the service of a summons to appear +before a Fehm-court to have been absolutely free from danger. The +tyrannic and self-willed noble, when in his own strong castle, and +surrounded by his dependents, might not scruple to inflict summary +chastisement on the audacious men who presumed to summon him to answer +for his crimes before a tribunal; the magistrates of a town also might +indignantly spurn at the citation to appear before a Fehm-court, and +treat its messengers as offenders. To provide against these cases it was +determined that it should be considered good service when the summons +was affixed by night to the gate of a town or castle, to the door of the +house of the accused, or to the nearest alms-house. The schoeppen +employed were then to desire the watchman, or some person who was going +by, to inform the accused of the summons being there, and they were to +take away with them a chip cut from the gate or door, as a proof of the +service for the court. + +If the accused was resolved to obey the summons, he had only to repair +on the appointed day to the place where the court was to be held, the +summons being his protection. Those who would persuade us that the +Fehm-courts were held by night in secret places say that the mode +appointed for the accused to meet the court was for him to repair +three-quarters of an hour before midnight to the next cross-roads, where +a schoeppe was always waiting for him, who bound his eyes and led him to +where the court was sitting. This, however, is all mere fiction; for +the place where the court was to be held was expressly mentioned in +every summons. + +The Fehm-courts (like the German courts in general) were holden on a +Tuesday[125]. If on this day the accused, or his attorney, appeared at +the appointed place, and no court was holden, the summons abated or lost +its force; the same was the case when admission was refused to him and +his suite, a circumstance which sometimes occurred. But should he not +appear to the first summons, he was fined the first time thirty +shillings, the second time sixty, the third time he was _forfehmed_. The +court had however the power of granting a further respite of six weeks +and three days previous to passing this last severe sentence. This term +of grace was called the King's Dag, or the Emperor Charles's Day of +Grace. + +[Footnote 125: In German, _Dienstag_, probably _Dinstag_, i.e. +_Court-day_.] + +The plea of necessary and unavoidable absence was, however, admitted in +all cases, and the Fehm-law distinctly recognised four legal impediments +to appearance, namely, imprisonment, sickness, the service of God (that +is, pilgrimage), and the public service. The law also justly added the +following cases:--inability to cross a river for want of a bridge or a +boat, or on account of a storm; the loss of his horse when the accused +was riding to the court, so that he could not arrive in time; absence +from the country on knightly, mercantile, or other honest occasions; and +lastly, the service of his lord or master. In short, any just excuse was +admitted. As long as the impediment continued in operation all +proceedings against the accused were void. If the impediment arose from +his being in prison, or in the public service, or that of his master, he +was to notify the same by letter sealed with his seal, or else by his +own oath and those of two or three other persons. The other impediments +above enumerated were to be sworn to by himself alone. + +If the accused neglected answering the two first summonses, but appeared +to the third, he was required to pay the two fines for non-appearance; +but if he declared himself too poor to pay them, he was obliged to place +his two fore-fingers on the naked sword which lay before the court, and +swear, _by the death which God endured on the cross_, that such was the +case. It was then remitted to him, and the court proceeded to his trial. + +When a Fehm-court sat the count presided; before him lay on the table a +naked sword and a withy-halter; the former, says the law, signifying the +cross on which Christ suffered and the rigour of the court, the latter +denoting the punishment of evil-doers, whereby the wrath of God is +appeased. On his right and left stood the clerks of the court, the +assessors, and the audience. All were bare-headed, to signify, says the +law, that they would proceed openly and fairly, punish men only for the +crimes which they had committed, and _cover no right with unright_. They +were also to have their hands uncovered to signify that they would do +nothing covertly and underhand. They were to have short cloaks on their +shoulders, significatory of the warm love which they should have for +justice; _for as the cloak covers all the other clothes and the body, so +should their love cover justice_. They were to wear neither weapons nor +harness, that no one might feel any fear of them, and to indicate that +they were under the peace of the emperor, king, or empire. Finally, they +were to be free from wrath and sober, that drunkenness might not lead +them to pass unrighteous judgment, _for drunkenness causes much +wickedness_. + +If one who was not initiated was detected in the assembly, his process +was a brief one. He was seized without any ceremony, his hands and feet +were tied together, and he was hung on the next tree. Should a +noth-schoeppe be caught in the assembly, a halter of oaken twigs was put +about his neck, and he was thrown for nine days into a dark dungeon, at +the end of which time he was brought to trial, and, if he failed in +clearing himself, he was proceeded with according to law, that is, was +hanged. + +The business of the day commenced, as in German courts in general, by +the count asking of the messengers if it was the day and time for +holding a court under the royal authority. An affirmative answer being +given, the count then asked how many assessors should there be on the +tribunal, and how the seat should be filled. When these questions were +answered, he proclaimed the holding of the court. + +Each party was permitted to bring with him as many as thirty friends to +act as witnesses and compurgators. Lest, however, they might attempt to +impede the course of justice, they were required to appear unarmed. Each +party had, moreover, the right of being represented by his attorney. The +person so employed must be initiated; he must also be the peer of the +party, and if he had been engaged on either side he could not, during +any stage of the action, be employed on the other, even with the +permission of the party which had just engaged him. When he presented +himself before the court, his credentials were carefully examined, and +if found strictly conformable to what the law had enjoined, they were +declared valid. It was necessary that they should have been written on +good, new, and sound parchment, without blot or erasure, and be sealed +by the seals of at least two frei-schoeppen. + +The attorney of a prince of the empire appeared with a green cross in +his right hand, and a golden penny of the empire in his left. He was +also to have a glove on his right hand. If there were two attorneys, +they were both to bear crosses and pence. The attorney of a simple +prince bore a silver penny. The old law, which loves to give a reason +for every thing, says, "By the cross they intimate that the prince whom +they represent will, in case he should be found guilty, amend his +conduct according to the direction of the faith which Jesus Christ +preached, and be constant and true to the holy Christian faith, and +obedient to the holy empire and justice." + +All the preliminaries being arranged, the trial commenced by the charge +against him being made known to the accused, who was called upon for his +defence. If he did not wish to defend himself in person, he was +permitted to employ an advocate whom he might have brought with him. If +it was a civil suit, he might, however, stay the proceedings at once by +giving good security for his satisfying the claims of the plaintiff, in +which case he was allowed the usual grace of six weeks and three days. +He might also except to the competence of the court, or to the legality +of the summons, or to anything else which would, if defective, annul the +proceedings. + +If the accused did not appear, the regular course was for the prosecutor +to _overswear_ him; that is, himself to swear by the saints to the truth +of what he had stated, and six true and genuine frei-schoeppen to swear +that they believed him to have spoken the truth. + +The older Fehm-law made a great distinction between the initiated and +the ignorant, and one very much to the advantage of the former. The +accused, if initiated, was allowed to clear himself from the charge by +laying his two fore-fingers on the naked sword, and swearing by the +saints "that he was innocent of the things and the deed which the court +had mentioned to him, and which the accuser charged him with, so help +him God and all the saints." He then threw a cross-penny (Kreutzer?) to +the court and went his way, no one being permitted to let or hinder him. +But if he was one of the uninitiated, he was not permitted to clear +himself in this manner, and the truth of the fact was determined by the +evidence given. + +It is plain, however, that such a regulation as this could properly only +belong to the time when none but persons of irreproachable character +were initiated. As the institution degenerated, this distinction was +gradually lost sight of, and facts were determined by evidence without +any regard to the rank of the accused. + +The accuser could prevent the accused from clearing himself thus easily, +by offering himself and six compurgators to swear to the truth of his +charge. If the accused wanted to outweigh this evidence, he was obliged +to come forward with thirteen or twenty compurgators and swear to his +innocence. If he could bring the last number he was acquitted, for the +law did not allow it to be exceeded; but if he had but thirteen, the +accuser might then overpower him by bringing forward twenty to vouch for +his veracity. + +If the accuser had convicted the accused, he forthwith prayed the count +to grant him a just sentence. The count never took on himself the office +of finding the verdict; he always directed one of the assessors to +perform it. If the assessor thought the matter too difficult for his +judgment, he averred on oath that such was the case, and the court then +gave the duty to another, who might free himself from the responsibility +in the same manner. Should none of the assessors be able to come to a +decision, the matter was put off till the next court-day. + +But if the assessor undertook the finding of the verdict, it lay with +himself whether he should do so alone, or retire to take the opinion of +the other assessors and the by-standers. To give the verdict due force +it must be found sitting, otherwise it might be objected to. Whether or +not the assessor was bound to decide according to the majority of voices +is uncertain. When the verdict had been found the assessor appeared with +his colleagues before the tribunal, and delivered it to the count, who +then passed sentence. What, the penalties were for different offences +was a secret known only to the initiated; but, if they were of a capital +nature, the halter, as was intimated by the one which lay before the +count, was the instrument of punishment. + +Should the accused not have appeared, and been in consequence outlawed, +he was _forfehmed_ by the following awful curse: it was declared that +"he should be excluded from the public peace, from all liberties and +rights, and the highest _un-peace_, _un-grace_, and halter be appointed +for him; that he should be cut off from all communication with any +Christian people, and be cursed so that he might wither in his body, and +neither become any more verdant, nor increase in any manner; that his +wife should be held to be a widow, and his children orphans; that he +should be without honour and without right, and given up to any one; +that his neck should be left to the ravens, his body to all beasts, to +the birds of the air and the fishes in the water; but his soul should be +commended to God," &c., &c. + +If he continued a year and a day under the sentence of outlawry, all his +goods then fell to the emperor or king. A prince, town, or community, +that incurred the sentence of outlawry, lost thereby at once all +liberties, privileges, and graces. + +Should the sentence passed be a capital one, the count flung the halter +over his head out of the inclosure of the tribunal, the schoeppen spat on +it, and the name of the condemned was entered in the blood-book. If the +criminal was present he was instantly seized, and, according to the +custom of the middle ages, when, as in the East, no disgrace was +attached to the office of executioner, the task of executing him was +committed to the youngest schoeppe present, who forthwith hung him from +the nearest tree. The quality of the criminal was duly attended to; for +if he was initiated he was hung seven feet higher than any other, as +being esteemed a greater criminal. If the accused was not present, all +the schoeppen were, as we have already described, set in pursuit of him, +and wherever they caught him they hanged him without any further +ceremony. + +The sentence was kept a profound secret from the uninitiated. A copy of +it, drawn up in the usual form, and sealed with seven seals, was given +to the accuser. + +We thus see that the proceedings in the Fehm-courts were strictly +consonant to justice, and even leaned to the side of mercy. But this was +not all: the right of appeal was also secured to the accused in case the +schoeppen who consulted about the verdict did not agree, or that the +witnesses did not correspond in their evidence; or, finally, if the +verdict found was considered unjust or unsuitable; which last case +afforded a most ample field of appeal, for it must have been very rarely +that a sentence did not appear unjust or over-severe to the party who +was condemned. It was, however, necessary that the appeal should be made +on publication of the sentence, or at least before the court broke up. +The parties were allowed to retire for a few minutes, to consult with +their friends who had accompanied them. If they did not then say that +they would appeal, the sentence was declared absolute, and they were +forbidden, under heavy penalties, to oppose it in any other court. If +they did resolve to appeal, both parties were obliged to give security +_de lite prosequenda_. Should either party, being poor or a stranger, be +unable to give security, his oath was held to be sufficient, that, as +the law humanely and justly expresses it, "the stranger or the poor man +may be able to seek his right in the Holy Roman Empire as well as the +native or the rich man." + +The appeal lay to the general chapter of the _Secret closed Tribunal of +the Imperial Chamber_, which usually, if not constantly, sat at +Dortmund; or it lay to the emperor, or king, as the supreme head of +these tribunals. In case of the monarch being initiated, he could +examine into the cause himself; otherwise he was obliged to commit the +inquiry to such of his councillors as were initiated, or to initiated +commissioners, and that only on Westphalian soil. Of this species of +appeal there are numerous instances. Finally, the appeal might be made +to the imperial lieutenant, who then inquired into the matter himself, +with the aid of some initiated schoeppen, or brought it before the +general chapter of which he was president. There was no appeal to the +emperor from his sentence, or from that of the chapter. + +There were, besides the right of appeal, other means of averting the +execution of the sentence of a Fehm-court. Such was what was called +_replacing in the former state_, of which, however, it was only the +initiated who could avail himself. Sentence having been passed on a +person who had not appeared, he might voluntarily and personally repair +to where the secret tribunal was sitting, and sue for this favour. He +was to appear before the court which had passed the sentence, +accompanied by two frei-schoeppen, with a halter about his neck, with +white gloves on him, and his hands folded, with an imperial coin and a +green cross in them. He and his companions were then to fall down on +their knees, and pray for him to be placed in the condition which he was +in before the proceedings commenced against him. There was also what was +called the complaint of nullity, in case the prescribed form of the +proceedings had been violated. Some other means shall presently be +noticed. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + The General Chapter--Rights of the Emperor--Of his Lieutenant--Of + the Stuhlherrn, or Tribunal-Lords. + + +To complete the sketch of the Fehm-tribunals and their proceedings, we +must state the rights and powers of the general chapter and of the +emperor, his lieutenant, and the tribunal-lords. + +The general chapter was a general assembly of the Westphalian +tribunal-lords, counts, and schoeppen, summoned once a-year by the +emperor or his lieutenant. Every count was bound by oath to appear at +it. It could only be holden in Westphalia, and almost exclusively at +Dortmund or Arensberg. No one could appear at it who was not initiated, +not even the emperor himself. The president was the emperor, if present +and initiated, otherwise the lieutenant or his substitute. + +The business of the general chapter was to inquire into the conduct and +proceedings of the different Fehm-courts. The counts were therefore to +give an account of all their proceedings during the past year; to +furnish a list of the names of the schoeppen who had been admitted, as +well as of the suits which had been commenced, with the names of the +accusers, the accused, the _forfehmed_, &c. Such counts as had neglected +their duty were deposed by the general chapter. + +The general chapter was, as we have above observed, a court of appeal +from all the Fehm-tribunals. In matters of great importance the decrees +of the lower courts were, to give them greater weight, confirmed by the +general chapter. It was finally at the general chapter that all +regulations, laws, and reformations, concerning the Fehm-law and courts, +were made. + +The emperor, even when the imperial authority was at the lowest, was +regarded in Germany as the fountain of judicial authority. The right of +passing capital sentence in particular was considered to emanate either +mediately or immediately from him. The Fehm-courts were conspicuous for +their readiness to acknowledge him as the source of their authority, and +all their decrees were pronounced in his name. + +As superior lord and judge of all the counts and tribunals, the emperor +had a right of inspection and reformation over them. He could summon and +preside in a general chapter; he might enter any court; and the +presiding count was obliged to give way and allow him to preside in his +stead. He had the power to make new schoeppen, provided he did so on +Westphalian soil. Every schoeppe was moreover bound to give a true answer +to the emperor when he asked whether such a one was _forfehmed_ or not, +and in what court. He could also depose disobedient counts, but only in +Westphalia. + +The emperor could even withdraw a cause out of the hands of the +tribunals. The right of appeal to him has been already noticed; but, +besides this, he had a power of forbidding the count to proceed in the +cause when the accused offered himself to him _for honour and right_; +and it was at his own risk then that the count proceeded any further in +the business. The emperor could also grant a safe-conduct to any person +who might apply for it under apprehension of having been _forfehmed_, +which safe-conduct the schoeppen dared not violate. Even when a person +had been _forfehmed_, the emperor could save him by issuing his command +to stay execution of the sentence for a hundred years, six weeks, and a +day. + +It is plain, that, to be able to exercise these rights, the emperor must +be himself _initiated_, for otherwise he could not, for instance, appear +where a court was sitting, make alterations in laws with which, if +_ignorant_, he must necessarily be unacquainted, or extend mercy when he +could not know who was _forfehmed_ or not. In the laws establishing the +rights of the emperor it was therefore always inserted, _provided he be +initiated_, and the acts of uninitiated emperors were by the Fehm-courts +frequently declared invalid. The emperor had, therefore, his choice of +setting a substitute over the Fehm-courts, or of being himself +initiated. The latter course was naturally preferred, and each emperor, +at his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, was initiated by the hereditary +Count of Dortmund. Though Aix-la-Chapelle was not in Westphalia, the law +sanctioned this departure from the general rule that frei-schoeppen +should only be made in that country. + +The emperor's lieutenant, who was almost always the Archbishop of +Cologne, had the right of confirming such counts as were presented to +him by the Tribunal-lords, and of investing them with the powers of life +and death. He could also summon general chapters, and preside and +exercise the other imperial rights in them. He might decide, with the +aid of some schoeppen, in cases of appeal to him, without bringing the +affair before the general chapter; and he had the power of making +schoeppen at any tribunal in Westphalia, which proves that, like the +emperor, he had free access to them all. Hence it is clear that he also +must have been initiated. + +The dignity and pre-eminence of the Archbishop of Cologne, when this +office had been conferred on him, caused a good deal of envy and +jealousy among the lords of Westphalia, who had been hitherto his +equals, and who considered themselves equally entitled to it with him. +They never let slip an occasion of showing their feelings, and they +always had their counts invested by the emperor, and not by the +archbishop; nay, there are not wanting instances of their having such +counts as he had invested confirmed and re-invested by the emperor. + +There now remain only the Tribunal-Lords (_Stuhl-herrn_) to be +considered. + +The Tribunal-lord was the lord of the district in which there was a +Fehm-tribunal. He might himself, if initiated, become the count of it, +having previously obtained the power of life and death from the emperor, +or his lieutenant; or, if he did not choose to do so, he might, as we +have already seen, present a count to be invested, for whose conduct he +was held responsible; and, if the count appointed by him misconducted +himself, the Stuhl-herr was liable to a forfeiture of his rights. He +was, in consequence, permitted to exercise a right of inspection over +the Fehm-courts in his territory; no schoeppe could be made, no cause +brought into the court, not even a summons issued, without his +approbation. There even lay a kind of appeal to him from the sentence of +the count; and he could also, like the emperor, withdraw certain persons +and causes from his jurisdiction. But as his power did not extend beyond +his own territory, the count might refer those causes in which he +wished, but was prohibited, to proceed, to the courts in other +territories; he might also, if he apprehended opposition from the +Tribunal-lord, require him (if initiated) to be present at the +proceedings. + +The Tribunal-lord, if uninitiated, could, like the emperor in the same +case, exercise these powers only by initiated deputies. + +The great advantage which resulted from the right of having +Fehm-tribunals induced the high lords, both spiritual and temporal, to +be very anxious to become possessed of this species of territorial +property, and in consequence nearly all the lords in Westphalia had +Fehm-tribunals. Even towns, such as Dortmund, Soest, Muenster, and +Osnabrueck, had these tribunals, either within their walls, or in their +districts, or their neighbourhood, for it would not have been good +policy in them to suffer this sort of _Status in Statu_, to be +independent of their authority. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Fehm-courts at Celle--At Brunswick--Tribunal of the Knowing in the + Tyrol--The Castle of Baden--African Purrahs. + + +We have now gone through the constitution and modes of procedure of the +Fehm-tribunals of Westphalia, as far as the imperfect notices of them +which have reached the present age permit. It remains to trace their +history down to the last vestiges of them which appear. A matter of some +curiosity should, however, be previously touched on, namely, how far +they were peculiar to Westphalia, and what institutions resembling them +may be elsewhere found. + +Fehm-tribunals were, in fact, as we have already observed, not peculiar +to Westphalia. In a MS. life of Duke Julius of Celle, by Francis +Algermann[126], of the year 1608, we read the following description of a +Fehm-court, which the author remembered to have seen holden at Celle in +his youth:-- + +[Footnote 126: Berck, p. 231, from Spittler's History of Hanover.] + +"When the Fehm-law[127] was to be put in operation, all the inhabitants +of the district who were above twelve years of age were obliged to +appear, without fail, on a heath or some large open place, and sit down +on the ground. Some tables were then set in the middle of the assembly, +at which the prince, his councillors, and bailiffs, took their seats. +The Secret Judges then reported the delinquents and the offences; and +they went round with a white wand and smote the offenders on the legs. +Whoever then had a bad conscience, and knew himself to be guilty of a +capital offence, was permitted to stand up and to quit the country +within a day and a night. He might even wait till he got the second +blow. But if he was struck the third time, the executioner was at hand, +a pastor gave him the sacrament, and away with him to the nearest tree. + +[Footnote 127: _Vimricht_, i.e. _Fehm-law_, the German word, of which +the author presently gives a childish etymology.] + +"But if a person was struck but once or twice, that was a paternal +warning to him to amend his life thenceforward. Hence it was called _Jus +Veniae_, because there was grace in it, which has been corrupted and made +_Vim-richt_." + +There were similar courts, we are told, at places named Woelpe and +Rotenwald. Here the custom was for the Secret Judges, when they knew of +any one having committed an offence which fell within the +Fehm-jurisdiction, to give him a private friendly warning. To this end +they set, during the night, a mark on his door, and at drinking-parties +they managed to have the can sent past him. If these warnings took no +effect the court was held. + +According to an ancient law-book, the Fehm-court at Brunswick was thus +regulated and holden. Certain of the most prudent and respectable +citizens, named _Fehmenotes_, had the secret duty of watching the +conduct of their fellow-citizens and giving information of it to the +council. Had so many offences been committed that it seemed time to hold +a Fehm-court, a day was appointed for that purpose. Some members of the +council from the different districts of the town met at midnight in St. +Martin's churchyard, and then called all the council together. All the +gates and entrances of the town were closed; all corners and bridges, +and the boats both above and below the town, were guarded. The +Fehm-clerk was then directed to begin his office, and the Fehmenotes +were desired to give their informations to him to be put into legal form +if the time should prove sufficient. + +At daybreak it was notified to the citizens that the council had +resolved that the Fehm-court should be holden on this day, and they were +directed to repair to the market-place as soon as the tocsin sounded. + +When the bell had tolled three times all who had assembled accompanied +the council, through the gate of St. Peter, out of the town to what was +called the Fehm-ditch. Here they separated; the council took their +station on the space between the ditch and the town-gate, the citizens +stood at the other side of the ditch. The Fehmenotes now mingled +themselves among the townsmen, inquired after such offences as were not +yet come to their knowledge, and communicated whatever information they +obtained, and also their former discoveries (if they had not had time to +do so in the night) to the clerk, to be put by him into proper form and +laid before the council. + +The clerk having delivered his protocol to the council, they examined it +and ascertained which of the offences contained in it were to be brought +before a Fehm-court, and which not; for matters under the value of four +shillings did not belong to it. The council then handed the protocol +back to the clerk, who went with it to the Fehm-court, which now took +its seat in presence of a deputation of the council. + +Those on whom theft had been committed were first brought forward and +asked if they knew the thief. If they replied in the negative, they were +obliged to swear by the saints to the truth of their answer; if they +named an individual, and that it was the first charge against him, he +was permitted to clear himself by oath; but if there was a second charge +against him, his own oath was not sufficient, and he was obliged to +bring six compurgators to swear along with him. Should there be a third +charge, his only course was to clear himself by the ordeal. He was +forthwith to wash his hand in water, and to take in it a piece of +glowing-hot iron, which the beadles and executioners had always in +readiness on the left of the tribunal, and to carry it a distance of +nine feet. The Fehm-count, according to ancient custom, chose whom he +would to find the verdict. The council could dissolve the court whenever +they pleased. Such causes as had not come on, or were put off on account +of sickness, or any other just impediment, were, on such occasions, +noted and reserved for another session. + +It is evident, however, that this municipal court, of which the chief +object was the punishment of theft, the grand offence of the middle +ages, though called a Fehm-court, was widely different from those of the +same name in Westphalia. + +The Tribunal of the Knowing (_Gericht der Wissenden_), in Tyrol, has +also been erroneously supposed to be the same with the Westphalian +courts. The mode of procedure in this was for the accuser to lay his +finger on the head of the accused, and swear that he knew him to be an +infamous person, while six reputable people, laying their fingers on the +arm of the accuser, swore that they knew him to have sworn truly and +honestly. This was considered sufficient evidence against any person, +and the court proceeded to judgment on it. + +The ideal Fehm-court beneath the castle of Baden must not be passed over +without notice, as it seems to be the model after which our popular +novelist described his Fehm-tribunal in Switzerland! A female writer in +Germany[128] informs us that beneath the castle of Baden the vaults +extend to a considerable distance in labyrinthine windings, and were in +former times appropriated to the secret mysteries of a Fehm-tribunal. +Those who were brought before this awful tribunal were not conducted +into the castle-vaults in the usual way; they were, lowered into the +gloomy abyss by a cord in a basket, and restored to the light, if so +fortunate as to be acquitted, in the same manner; so that they never +could, however inclined, discover where they had been. The ordinary +entrance led through a long dark passage, which was closed by a door of +a single stone as large as a tombstone. This door revolved on invisible +hinges, and fitted so exactly, that when it was shut the person who was +inside could not distinguish it from the adjoining stones, or tell where +it was that he had entered. It could only be opened on the outside by a +secret spring. Proceeding along this passage you reached the +torture-room, where you saw hooks in the wall, thumb-screws, and every +species of instruments of torture. A door on the left opened into a +recess, the place of the _Maiden's Kiss_. When any person who had been +condemned was led hither, a stone gave way under his feet, and he fell +into the arms of the Maiden, who, like the wife of Nabis, crushed him to +death in her arms, which were thick set with spikes. Proceeding on +farther, after passing through several doors, you came to the vault of +the Tribunal. This was a long spacious quadrangle hung round with black. +At the upper end was a niche in which were an altar and crucifix. In +this place the chief judge sat; his assessors had their seats on wooden +benches along the walls. + +[Footnote 128: Friederika Brun. Episoden aus Reisen durch das Suedliche +Deutschland, &c.] + +We need not to observe how totally different from the proceedings of a +genuine Fehm-tribunal is all this. That there are vaults under the +castle of Baden is certain, and the description above given is possibly +correct. But the Fehm-court which was held in them is the mere coinage +of the lady's brain, and utterly unlike any thing real, unless it be the +Holy Office, whose secret proceedings never could vie in justice or +humanity with those of the Westphalian Fehm-courts. It is, moreover, not +confirmed by any document, or even by the tradition of the place, and +would be undeserving of notice were it not for the reason assigned +above. + +The similarity between the Fehm-courts and the Inquisition has been +often observed. In the secrecy of their proceedings, and the great +number of agents which they had at their devotion, they resemble each +other; but the Holy Office had nothing to correspond to the public and +repeated citations of the Fehm-courts, the fair trial given to the +accused, the leaning towards mercy of the judges, and the right of +appeal which was secured. + +The most remarkable resemblance to the Fehm-tribunals is (or was) to be +found among the negroes on the west coast of Africa, as they are +described by a French traveller[129]. These are the Purrahs of the +Foollahs, who dwell between Sierra Leone river and Cape Monte. + +[Footnote 129: Golberry, Voyage en Afrique, t. i. p. 114, and seq.] + +There are five tribes of this people, who form a confederation, at the +head of which is a union of warriors, which is called a Purrah. Each +tribe has its own separate Purrah, and each Purrah has its chiefs and +its tribunal, which is, in a more restricted sense, also called a +Purrah. The general Purrah of the confederation is formed from the +Purrahs of the five tribes. + +To be a member of the inferior Purrahs, a man must be thirty years of +age; no one under fifty can have a seat in the general Purrah. The +candidate for admission into an inferior Purrah has to undergo a most +severe course of probation, in which all the elements are employed to +try him. Before he is permitted to enter on this course, such of his +relatives as are already members are obliged to pledge themselves for +his fitness, and to swear to take his life if ever he should betray the +secrets of the society. Having passed through the ordeal, he is admitted +into the society and sworn to secrecy and obedience. If he is unmindful +of his oath, he becomes the child of death. When he least expects it a +warrior in disguise makes his appearance and says, "The great Purrah +sends thee death." Every one present departs; no one ventures to make +any opposition, and the victim falls. + +The subordinate Purrahs punish all crimes committed within their +district, and take care that their sentences are duly executed. They +also settle disputes and quarrels between the leading families. + +It is only on extraordinary occasions that the great Purrah meets. It +then decides on the punishment of traitors and those who had resisted +its decrees. Frequently too it has to interfere to put an end to wars +between the tribes. When it has met on this account it gives information +to the belligerents, directing them to abstain from hostilities, and +menacing death if a drop more of blood should be spilt. It then inquires +into the causes of the war, and condemns the tribe which is found to +have been the aggressor to a four days' plundering. The warriors to whom +the execution of this sentence is committed must, however, be selected +from a neutral district. They arm and disguise themselves, put +horrible-looking vizards on their faces, and with pitch-torches in their +hands set out by night from the place of assembly. Making no delay, they +reach the devoted district before the break of day, and in parties of +from forty to sixty men, they fall unexpectedly on the devoted tribe, +and, with fearful cries, making known the sentence of the great Purrah, +proceed to put it into execution. The booty is then divided: one half is +given to the injured tribe, the other falls to the great Purrah, who +bestow one half of their share on the warriors who executed their +sentence. + +Even a single family, if its power should appear to be increasing so +fast as to put the society in fear for its independence, is condemned to +a plundering by the Purrah. It was thus, though under more specious +pretexts, that the Athenian democracy sought to reduce the power of +their great citizens by condemning them to build ships, give theatrical +exhibitions, and otherwise spend their fortunes. + +Nothing can exceed the dread which the Purrah inspires. The people speak +of it with terror and awe, and look upon the members of it as enchanters +who are in compact with the devil. The Purrah itself is solicitous to +diffuse this notion as much as possible, esteeming it a good mean for +increasing its power and influence. The number of its members is +estimated at upwards of 6000, who recognise each other by certain words +and signs. Its laws and secrets are, notwithstanding the great number of +the members, most religiously concealed from the knowledge of the +uninitiated. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + The Emperor Lewis the Bavarian--Charles IV.--Wenceslaus--Rupertian + Reformation--Encroachments of the Fehm-courts--Case of Nickel + Weller and the town of Goerlitz--Of the City of Dantzig--Of Hans + David and the Teutonic Knights--Other instances of the presumption + of the Free-counts--Citation of the Emperor Frederic III.--Case of + the Count of Teckenburg. + + +The history of the Fehm-gerichte, previous to the fifteenth century, +offers but few events to detain attention. The Emperor Lewis the +Bavarian appears to have exerted his authority on several occasions in +granting privileges in Westphalia according, as it is expressly stated, +to the Fehm-law. His successor, the luxurious Charles IV., acted with +the same caprice respecting the Fehm-tribunals as he did in every thing +else, granting privileges and revoking them just as it seemed to accord +with his interest at the moment. This monarch attempted also to extend +the Fehm-system beyond Westphalia, deeming it perhaps a good mean for +bringing all Germany under the authority of his patrimonial kingdom of +Bohemia. He therefore gave permission to the Bishop of Hildesheim to +erect two Free-tribunals out of Westphalia. On the representations of +the Archbishop of Cologne and the lords of Westphalia, however, he +afterwards abolished them. + +Wenceslaus, the son of Charles, acted with his usual folly in the case +of the Fehm-tribunals; he is said, as he could keep nothing secret, to +have blabbed their private sign, and he took on him to make +frei-schoeppen, contrary to the law, out of Westphalia. These schoeppen of +the emperor's making did not, however, meet with much respect from the +genuine ones, as the answer given to the Emperor Rupert by the +Westphalian tribunals evinces. On his asking how they acted with regard +to such schoeppen, their reply was, "We ask them at what court they were +made schoeppen. Should it appear that they were made schoeppen at courts +which had no right so to do, we hang them, in case of their being met in +Westphalia, on the instant, without any mercy." Wenceslaus, little as he +cared about Germany in general, occasionally employed the Fehm-courts +for the furtherance of his plans, and, in the year 1389, he had Count +Henry of Wernengerode tried and hanged for treason by Westphalian +schoeppen. The reign of Wenceslaus is particularly distinguished by its +being the period in which the Archbishop of Cologne arrived at the +important office of lieutenant of the emperor over all the Westphalian +tribunals. + +The reign of Rupert was, with respect to the Westphalian Fehm-courts, +chiefly remarkable by the reformation of them named from him. This +reformation, which is the earliest publicly-accredited source from which +a knowledge of the Fehm-law can be derived, was made in the year 1404. +It is a collection of decisions by which the rights and privileges of a +king of the Romans are ascertained with respect to these tribunals. + +The Rupertian reformation, and the establishment of the office of +lieutenant in the person of the Archbishop of Cologne, which was +completed by either Rupert or his successor Sigismund, form together an +epoch in the history of the Fehm-gerichte. Hitherto Westphalia alone was +the scene of their operations, and their authority was of evident +advantage to the empire. Their power had now attained its zenith; +confidence in their strength led them to abuse it; and, during the +century which elapsed between the Rupertian reformation and the +establishment of the Perpetual Public Peace and the Imperial Chamber by +the Emperor Maximilian, we shall have to contemplate chiefly their +abuses and assumptions. + +The right of citation was what was chiefly abused by the Free-courts. +Now that they were so formally acknowledged to act under the imperial +authority, they began to regard Westphalia as too narrow a theatre for +the display of their activity and their power. As imperial +commissioners, they maintained that their jurisdiction extended to every +place which acknowledged that of the emperor's, and there was hardly a +corner of Germany free from the visits of their messengers; nay, even +beyond the limits of the empire men trembled at their citations. + +It was chiefly the towns which were harassed by these citations, which +were frequently issued at the instance of persons whom they had punished +or expelled for their misdeeds. Their power and consequence did not +protect even the greatest: we find, during the fifteenth century, some +of the principal cities of the empire summoned before the tribunals of +Westphalian counts. Thus in the records of those times we read of +citations served on Bremen, Luebeck, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Erfurt, +Goerlitz, and Dantzig. Even Prussia and Livonia, then belonging to the +order of the Teutonic knights, were annoyed by their interference. + +One of the most remarkable cases which this period presents is that of +the uneasiness caused to the town of Goerlitz by means of one of its +inhabitants named Nickel Weller. This man, who was a Westphalian +schoeppe, was accused of having disinterred an unchristened child, and of +having made a candle of the bone of its arm, which he had filled with +the wax of an Easter-taper and with incense, and of having employed it +in a barn in presence of his mother, his wife, and an old peasant, for +magical purposes. As he could not deny the fact, he was, according to +the law of those times, liable to be hanged; but the high-bailiff of +Stein, and some other persons of consequence, interfering in his favour, +the magistrates contented themselves with expelling him from the town +and confiscating his goods. As it afterwards proved, they would have +acted more wisely had they condemned him to perpetual imprisonment. + +Weller immediately repaired to Bresslau, and besought the council, the +Bishop of Waradein, and the imperial chancellor, to advocate his cause. +They acceded to his desire; but the magistrates of Goerlitz perfectly +justified their conduct. Weller, still indisposed to rest, applied to +the pope, Innocent VIII., asserting that he could not to any purpose +bring an accusation against the council of Goerlitz within the town of +the diocese of Meissen, and that he had no chance of justice there. The +pope forthwith named John de' Medici and Dr. Nicholas Tauchen of +Bresslau spiritual commissioners in this affair, and these desired the +high-bailiff of Stein to do his best that Weller should recover his +rights within the space of a month, on his taking his oath to the truth +of his statements, otherwise they should be obliged themselves to take +measures for that purpose. + +From some unassigned cause, however, nothing came of this, and Weller +once more addressed himself to the pope, with whom the Bishop of Ostia +became his advocate. He was re-admitted into the bosom of the Church; +but the decree of the magistracy of Goerlitz still remained in force, and +the new commissioners appointed by the pope even confirmed it. + +Finding that he had nothing to expect from papal interference, Weller +had at last recourse to the Fehm-tribunals, and on the 3d May, 1490, +John of Hulschede, count of the tribunal at Brackel, cited the +burgomasters, council, and all the lay inhabitants of Goerlitz above the +age of eighteen years, before his tribunal. This summons was served in +rather a remarkable manner, for it was found fastened to a twig on a +hedge, on a farm belonging to a man named Wenzel Emmerich, a little +distance from the town. + +As by the Golden Bull of the Emperor Charles IV., and moreover by a +special privilege granted by Sigismund, Goerlitz was exempted from all +foreign jurisdiction, the magistracy informed Vladislaus, King of +Bohemia, of this citation, and implored his mediation. The Bohemian +monarch accordingly addressed himself to the tribunal at Brackel, but +George Hackenberg, who was at that time the free-count of that court, +Hulschede being dead, did not even deign to give him an answer. + +Meanwhile the appointed period had elapsed without the people of Goerlitz +having appeared to the summons, and Weller, charging them with +disobedience and contempt of court, prayed that they might be condemned +in all the costs and penalties thereby incurred, and that he might be +himself permitted to proceed with his complaint. To this end he +estimated the losses and injuries which he had sustained at 500 Rhenish +florins, and made a declaration to that effect on oath, with two +joint-swearers. He was accordingly authorised by the court to indemnify +himself in any manner he could at the expense of the people of Goerlitz. +It was farther added that, if any one should impede Weller in the +prosecution of his rights, that person should _ipso facto_ fall under +the heavy displeasure of the empire and the pains and penalties of the +tribunal at Brackel, and be moreover obliged to pay all the costs of the +accuser. + +On the 16th August of the same year, the count set a new peremptory term +for the people of Goerlitz, assuring them that, in case of disobedience, +"he should be obliged, though greatly against his inclination, to pass +the heaviest and most rigorous sentence on their persons, their lives, +and their honour." The citation was this time found on the floor of the +convent church. The council in consternation applied to the Archbishop +of Cologne and to the free-count himself, to be relieved from this +condition, but in vain; the count did not condescend to take any notice +of their application, and when they did not appear at the set time, +declared the town of Goerlitz outlawed for contumacy. + +It appears that Weller had, for some cause or other, brought an +accusation against the city of Bresslau also; for in the published +decree of outlawry against Goerlitz it was included. By this act it was +prohibited to every person, under penalty of similar outlawry, to +harbour any inhabitant of either of these towns; to eat or drink, or +hold any intercourse with them, till they had reconciled themselves to +the Fehm-tribunals, and given satisfaction to the complainant. Weller +himself stuck up a copy of this decree on a market-day at Leipzig; but +it was instantly torn down by some of the people of Goerlitz who happened +to be there. + +The two towns of Goerlitz and Bresslau held a consultation at Liegnitz, +to devise what measures it were best to adopt in order to relieve +themselves from this system of persecution. They resolved that they +would jointly and separately defend themselves and their proceedings by +a public declaration, which should be posted up in Goerlitz, Bresslau, +Leipzig, and other places. They also resolved to lay their griefs before +the Diet at Prague, and pray for its intercession with the Archbishop of +Cologne and the Landgraf of Hessen. They accordingly did so, and the +Diet assented to their desire; but their good offices were of no avail, +and the answer of the landgraf clearly showed, either that he had no +authority over his count, or that he was secretly pleased with what he +had done. + +The indefatigable Weller now endeavoured to seize some of the people of +Bresslau and Goerlitz, in Hein and other places in Meissen. But they +frustrated his plans by obtaining a promise of protection and +safe-conduct from the Duke George. Weller, however, did not desist, and +when Duke Albert came from the Netherlands to Meissen, he sought and +obtained his protection. But here again he was foiled; for, when the +high-bailiff and council of Goerlitz had informed that prince of the real +state of the case, he withdrew his countenance from him. Wearied out by +this ceaseless teasing, the towns applied, through the king of Bohemia, +to the Emperor Frederic III. for a mandate to all the subjects of the +empire, and an inhibition to the tribunal at Brackel and all the +free-counts and schoeppen. These, when obtained, they took care to have +secretly served on the council of Dortmund and the free-count of +Brackel. By these means they appear to have put an end to their +annoyances for the remainder of Weller's life. But, in the year 1502, +his son and his son-in-law revived his claims on Goerlitz. Count Ernest +of Hohenstein interceded for them; but the council adhered firmly to +their previous resolution, and declared that it was only to their own or +to higher tribunals that they must look for relief. The matter then lay +over for ten years, when it was again stirred by one Guy of Taubenheim, +and was eventually settled by an amicable arrangement. + +As we have said, the Fehm-tribunals extended their claims of +jurisdiction even to the Baltic. We find that a citizen of the town of +Dantzig, named Hans Holloger, who was a free schoeppe, was cited to +appear before the tribunal of Elleringhausen, under the hawthorn, +"because he had spoken what he ought not to have spoken about the Secret +Tribunal." This might seem just enough, as he belonged to the society; +but the town-council were commanded, under a penalty of fifty pounds of +fine gold, to cast the accused into prison till he had given security +for standing his trial. + +Even the powerful order of the Teutonic Knights, who were the masters of +Prussia and Livonia, did not escape being annoyed by the Fehm-tribunals. +How little their power availed against that formidable jurisdiction is +evinced by the answer made by the Grand Master to the towns which sued +to him for protection. "Beloved liegemen! you have besought us to +protect you therefrom; we would cheerfully do it knew we but ways and +means thereto." And when he wrote to Mangolt, the count of the tribunal +at Freyenhagen, warning him against summoning before him the subjects of +the order, the latter haughtily replied, "You have your rights from the +empire, and I have power to judge over all who hold of the empire." + +The following very curious case occurred in the first half of the +fifteenth century:-- + +A shopkeeper at Liebstadt died very much indebted to the two officers of +the Teutonic order, whose business it was to keep the small towns in +Prussia supplied with mercantile goods, and they accordingly seized on +the effects which he had left behind him. These, however, were not +sufficient to satisfy even the demands of one of them, much less of +both, and they had made up their minds to rest content with the loss, +when, to their surprise, Hans David, the son of the deceased, came +forward with an account against the order of such amount, that, as it +was observed, if all the houses in the town were sold, and all the +townsmen taxed to the utmost, the produce would not discharge the +one-half of it. He however produced a document purporting to be a bond +of the order. This instrument bore all the marks of falsification; it +was full of erasures and insertions; among the witnesses to it, some +were set down as priors who were only simple brethren of the order; +there were the names of others who had never seen it; it was asserted to +have been attested and verified by the tribunal at Passnar, but in the +records of that court there were not the slightest traces of it; the +seal of the Grand Master, which was appended to every document of any +importance, was wanting. Of course payment was resisted, but Hans David +was told to pursue his claim, if he pleased, before the emperor and the +pope, whom the order recognised as their superiors. + +As Hans David was under the protection of the king of Poland, he had +recourse to that prince; but he declined interfering any farther than to +apply for a safe-conduct for him that he might apply for a new inquiry. +The Grand Master, on application being made to him, swore on his honour +that he owed to the complainant nothing, and that the bond was a +forgery; he moreover promised to answer the charge in any fit place that +the complainant might select; nay, even in Prussia, and he granted him a +safe-conduct as before. + +It is not known what course Hans David now adopted; but nine years +afterwards (1441) we find him addressing himself to the Free-tribunal at +Freyenhagen, whose count, the notorious Mangolt, forthwith issued his +citations, "because, as he expressed himself, the order judges with the +sword and gentle murder and burning." The Grand Master, indignant at +this piece of arrogance, immediately brought the matter before the +assembly of the free-counts at Coblentz, who declared the proceedings +null, and Mangolt liable to punishment, as the knights were spiritual +persons. He moreover applied to the emperor, who, to gratify him, issued +a mandate, addressed to all princes of the empire, declaring the act of +Mangolt to be a piece of iniquity, and null and void. + +Hans David was now cast into prison at Cologne, and, notwithstanding a +prohibition of the Free-tribunal, was detained there for two years. +Existing documents attest (though the fact is inexplicable) that the +emperor directed the Archbishop of Cologne and the Margraf of Baden to +examine anew into the affair, and to send the acts into the imperial +chancery, and, finally, to set the complainant free on his oath, or on +his giving bail to appear at Nuremberg. As this proceeding can only be +ascribed to the influence of the Secret Tribunals, bent on annoying the +order, it serves to show what their power and consequence must have been +at that time. + +Two years afterwards it was clearly proved at Vienna that the bond had +been forged, at the desire of Hans David, by a scholar of Elbingen, +named Rothofe. As the case against the former was now so plain, it might +be supposed that he would be punished at once. Instead of that, the +emperor referred the parties to the pope, as Hans David had struck a +prior of the order, and this last was not content with the satisfaction +accorded by the emperor. + +The cause of the order was triumphant in Rome also, yet still Hans David +found means to keep off the execution of the sentence already passed on +him at Vienna. It was not till after the death of the then Grand Master +that final judgment was formally delivered by Cardinal Jossi, and Hans +David, his comrade Paul Frankleuen, and the Count Mangolt, were +condemned to perpetual silence, and to payment of the sum of 6,000 +Rhenish florins to the order, and, in case of disobedience, they were +declared to be outlawed. All this, however, did not yet avail, and two +years afterwards Jossi was obliged to apply to the emperor for the aid +of the temporal arm for the execution of the sentence. The chaplain of +the order at Vienna also found that Hans David had still the art to +deceive many and gain them over to his cause, and he accordingly took +care to have the whole account of his conduct posted up on the +church-doors. + +Still the unwearied Hans David did not rest. He now went to the +Free-tribunal at Waldeck, and had the art to deceive the count by his +false representations. He assured him that the order had offered him no +less than 15,000 florins and an annuity, if he would let his action +drop; that they would have been extremely well content if he had escaped +out of prison at Cologne, but that he preferred justice and truth to +liberty. The order however succeeded here again in detecting and +exposing his arts, and the count honestly confessed that he had been +deceived by him. He cast him off forthwith, and Hans David, ceasing to +annoy the order, devoted himself to astrology and conjuring for the rest +of his days[130]. + +[Footnote 130: The following is one of his predictions, delivered by +him, under the name of Master Von Dolete, in the year 1457: "In the +ensuing month, September, the sun will appear like a black dragon; cruel +winds will blow, the sea will roar, and men will be knocked to pieces by +the wind. The sun will then be turned to blood; that betokeneth war in +the East and West. A mighty emperor will die; the earth will quake, and +few men will remain alive. Wherefore secure your houses and chambers; +lay up provisions for thirty days in caverns," &c., &c. The arts of +knaves and the language of impostors are the same in all ages and +countries.] + +He had, however, caused the order abundance of uneasiness and expense. +Existing documents prove that this affair cost them no less than upwards +of 1580 ducats, and 7000 florins, which must be in a great measure +ascribed to the secret machinations of the Free-tribunals, anxious to +depress the Teutonic Knights, who stood in their way. + +In 1410 the Wild and Rhein Graf was summoned before the tribunal at +Nordernau, and, in 1454, the Duke of Saxony before that at Limburg. The +Elector-Palatine found it difficult, in 1448, to defend himself against +a sentence passed on him by one of the Fehm-courts. Duke Henry of +Bavaria found it necessary, on the following occasion, actually to +become a frei-schoeppe in order to save himself. One Gaspar, of +Torringen, had accused him before the tribunal of Waldeck of "having +taken from him his hereditary office of Chief Huntsman; of having seized +and beaten his huntsmen and servants, taken his hounds, battered down +his castle of Torringen, and taken from his wife her property and +jewels, in despite of God, honour, and ancient right." The free-count +forthwith cited the duke, who applied to the emperor Sigismund, and +procured an inhibition to the count. The duke found it necessary, +notwithstanding, to appear before the court; but he adopted the +expedient of getting himself made a frei-schoeppe, and then, probably in +consequence of his rank and influence, procured a sentence to be passed +in accordance with his wishes. Gaspar, who was probably an injured man, +appealed to the emperor, who referred the matter to the Archbishop of +Cologne, and we are not informed how it ended. + +But the audacity of the free-counts went so far as even to cite the head +of the empire himself before their tribunals. The imperial chancery +having, for just and good cause, declared several free-counts and their +Tribunal-lord, Walrabe of Waldeck, to be outlawed, three free-counts +had the hardihood, in 1470, to cite the emperor Frederic III., with his +chancellor, the Bishop of Passau, and the assessors of the +chancery-court, to appear before the free-tribunal between the gates of +Wuennenberg in the diocese of Paderborn, "there to defend his person and +highest honour under penalty of being held to be a disobedient emperor;" +and on his not appearing, they had the impudence to cite him again, +declaring that, if he did not appear, justice should take its course. +Feeble, however, as was the character of the emperor, he did not give +way to such assumptions. + +Even robbery and spoliation could find a defence with the Fehm-courts. +Towards the end of the thirteenth century a count of Teckenburg +plundered and ravaged the diocese of Muenster. The bishop assembled his +own people and called on his allies to aid him, and they took two +castles belonging to the count and pushed him to extremity. To extricate +himself he accused the bishop, and all those who were with him, before +his Fehm-court, and though there were among them the Bishop of +Paderborn, three counts, and several knights, the free-count had the +boldness to cite them all to appear and defend their honour. The affair +was eventually amicably arranged and the citation recalled. + +These instances may suffice to show how far the Fehm-tribunals had +departed from the original object of their institution, and how corrupt +and iniquitous they were become. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Cause of the degeneracy of the Fehm-courts--Attempts at + reformation--Causes of their high reputation--Case of the Duke of + Wuertemberg--Of Kerstian Kerkerink--Causes of the decline of the + Fehm-jurisdiction. + + +The chief cause of the degeneracy of the Fehm-courts was the admission +of improper persons into the society. Originally, as we have seen, no +man was admitted to become a schoeppe without producing satisfactory +evidence as to the correctness of his character; but now, in the case of +either count or schoeppe, a sufficient sum of money availed to supersede +inquiry, and the consequence was that men of the most disgraceful +characters frequently presided at the tribunals and wielded the +formidable powers of the society. A writer in the reign of Sigismund +says, "that those who had gotten authority to hang men were hardly +deserving enough to keep pigs; that they were themselves well worthy of +the gallows if one cast a glance over their course of life; that they +left not unobserved the mote in their brother's eye, but overlooked the +beam in their own, &c." And it required no small courage in the writer +thus to express himself; for, according to his own testimony, people +then hardly ventured even to speak of the Secret Tribunals, so great was +the awe in which they were held. + +The consequence was that justice was not to be had at any tribunal which +was presided over by corrupt judges, as they selected assessors, and +even by-standers, of the same character with themselves, and whatever +verdict they pleased was found. The tribunal-lord generally winked at +their proceedings, while the right of appeal to the emperor was treated +with little respect; for these monarchs had generally affairs of more +immediate importance to themselves to occupy their attention. The right +of exemption was also trampled on; sovereign princes were, as we have +seen, cited before the tribunals; so also were the Jews. Purely civil +matters were now maintained to belong to the Fehm-jurisdiction, and +parties in such cases were cited before the tribunals, and _forfehmed_ +in case of disobedience. In short, the Fehm-jurisdiction was now become +a positive evil instead of being, as heretofore, a benefit to the +country. + +Various attempts were doubtless made to reform the Fehm-law and +tribunals, such as the Arensberg reformation, the Osnaburgh regulation, +and others, but to little purpose. The system, in fact, was at variance +with the spirit which was now beginning to prevail, and could not be +brought to accord with it. + +Before we proceed to the decline of the society, we will pause a moment +to consider the causes of the great reputation and influence which it +obtained and exercised during the period in which it flourished. + +The first and chief cause was the advantage which it was found to be of +for the maintenance of social order and tranquillity. In the very worst +and most turbulent times a portion of mankind will always be found +desirous of peace and justice, even independently of any private +interest; another portion, feeling themselves the victims of oppression, +will gladly catch at any hope of protection; even the mighty and the +oppressive themselves will at times view with satisfaction any +institution which may avail to shield them against power superior to +their own, or which they conceive may be made the instrument of +extending and strengthening their consequence. The Fehm-jurisdiction +was calculated to suit all these orders of persons. The fourteenth and +fifteenth centuries were the most anarchic periods of Germany; the +imperial power was feeble to control; and the characters of most of the +emperors were such as to render still more unavailing the little +authority which, as heads of the empire, they possessed. Sensible of +their weakness, these monarchs generally favoured the Fehm-tribunals, +which so freely, and even ostentatiously, recognised the imperial +superiority, as long as it did not seek to control them or impede them +in their proceedings. The knowledge which, if initiated, they could +derive of the crimes and misdemeanors committed in the empire, and the +power of directing the arms of the society against evil-doers, were also +of no small importance, and they gradually became of opinion that their +own existence was involved in that of the Fehm-courts. The nobles of +Westphalia, in like manner, found their advantage in belonging to the +society, and the office of tribunal-lord was, as we have seen, one of +influence and emolument. + +But it was the more helpless and oppressed classes of society, more +especially the unhappy serfs, that most rejoiced in the existence of the +Fehm-tribunals; for there only could they hope to meet with sure redress +when aggrieved, and frequently was a cause, when other courts had been +appealed to in vain, brought before the Secret Tribunal, which judged +without respect of persons. The accuser had farther not to fear the +vengeance of the evil-doer, or his friends and dependents; for his name +was kept a profound secret if the proofs which he could furnish were +sufficient to justify the inquisitorial process already described, and +thus the robber-noble, or the feudal tyrant, often met his merited +punishment at a time when he perhaps least dreaded it, and when he held +his victim, whose cries to justice had brought it on him, in the +greatest contempt; for, like the Nemesis, or the "gloom-roaming" Erinnys +of antiquity, the retributive justice of the Fehm-tribunals moved to +vengeance with stealthy pace, and caught its victim in the midst of his +security. + +A second cause was the opinion of these courts having been instituted by +Charles the Great, a monarch whose memory was held in such high +estimation and such just veneration during the middle ages. Emperors +thought themselves bound to treat with respect the institution of him +from whom they derived their authority; and the clergy themselves, +exempt from its jurisdiction, were disposed to view with favour an +institution established by the monarch to whom the Church was so deeply +indebted, and of whose objects the punishment of heretics was one of the +most prominent. + +A third, and not the least important cause, was the excellent +organization of the society, which enabled it to give such effect to its +decrees, and to which nothing in those times presented any parallel. The +veil of secrecy which enveloped all its proceedings, and the number of +agents ready to execute its mandates, inspired awe; the strict inquiry +which was known to be made into the character of a man before he was +admitted into it gained it respect. Its sentences were, though the +proofs were unknown, believed to have emanated from justice; and bad men +trembled, and good men rejoiced, as they beheld the body of a criminal +suspended from a tree, and the schoeppe's knife stuck beside it to +intimate by whom he had been judged and condemned. + +The reign of the Emperor Maximilian was a period of great reform in +Germany, and his establishment of the Perpetual Public Peace, and of +the Imperial Chamber, joined with other measures, tended considerably to +alter and improve the condition of the empire. The Fehm-tribunals +should, as a matter of prudence, have endeavoured to accommodate +themselves to the new order of things; but this is a part of wisdom of +which societies and corporate bodies are rarely found capable; and, +instead of relaxing in their pretensions, they even sought to extend +them farther than before. Under their usual pretext--the denial of +justice--they extended their citations to persons and places over which +they had no jurisdiction, and thereby provoked the enmity and excited +the active hostility of cities and powerful territorial lords. + +The most remarkable cases which this period presents of the perversion +of the rights and powers of the Fehm-tribunals are the two following:-- + +Duke Ulrich of Wuertemberg lived unhappily with his duchess Sabina. There +was at his court a young nobleman named Hans Hutten, a member of an +honourable and powerful family, to whose wife the duke was more +particular in his attentions than could be agreeable to a husband. The +duchess, on her side, testified a particular esteem for Hans Hutten, and +the intimacy between them was such as the duke could not forgive. Hutten +was either so vain or so inconsiderate as to wear publicly on his finger +a valuable ring which had been given to him by the duchess. This filled +up the measure of the jealousy and rage of the duke, and one day, at a +hunting-party in the wood of Bebling, he contrived to draw Hutten away +from the rest of the train, and, taking him at unawares, ran him through +with his sword; he then took off his girdle, and with it suspended him +from one of the oak-trees in the wood. When the murder was discovered he +did not deny it, but asserted that he was a free schoeppe, and had +performed the deed in obedience to a mandate of the Secret Tribunal, to +which he was bound to yield obedience. This tale, however, did not +satisfy the family of Hutten, and they were as little content with the +proposal made by the murderer of giving them satisfaction before a +Westphalian tribunal. They loudly appealed to the emperor for justice, +and the masculine eloquence of Ulrich von Hutten interested the public +so strongly in their favour, that the emperor found himself obliged to +issue a sentence of outlawry against the Duke of Wuertemberg. At length, +through the mediation of Cardinal Lang, an accommodation both with the +Hutten family and the duchess was effected; but the enmity of the former +was not appeased, and they some time afterwards lent their aid to effect +the deposition of the duke and the confiscation of his property. + +It would seem that the Fehm-tribunals would have justified the +assassination committed by the duke, at least that all confidence in +their justice was now gone; and, at this period, even those writers who +are most lavish in their praises of the schoeppen of the olden time can +find no language sufficiently strong to describe the iniquity of those +of their own days. It was now become a common saying that the course of +a Fehm-court was first to hang the accused and then to examine into the +charges against him. By a solemn recess of the Diet at Triers, in 1512, +it was declared "that by the Westphalian tribunals many an honest man +had lost his honour, body, life, and property;" and the Archbishop of +Cologne, who must have known them well, shortly afterwards asserted, +among other charges, in a capitulation which he issued, that "by very +many they were shunned and regarded as seminaries of villains." + +The second case to which we alluded affords a still stronger proof of +their degeneracy. + +A man named Kerstian Kerkerink, who lived near the town of Muenster, was +accused, and probably with truth, of having committed repeated acts of +adultery. The Free-tribunal of Muenster determined to take cognizance of +the affair, and they sent and had him taken out of his bed in the dead +of the night. In order to prevent his making any noise and resistance, +the persons who were employed assured him that he was to be brought +before the tribunal of a respectable councillor of the city of Muenster, +and prevailed on him to put on his best clothes. They took him to a +place named Beckman's-bush, where they kept him concealed while one of +them conveyed intelligence of their success to the town-council. + +At break of day the tribunal-lords, free-count, and schoeppen, taking +with them a monk and a common hangman, proceeded to Beckman's-bush, and +had the prisoner summoned before them. When he appeared he prayed to be +allowed to have an advocate; but this request was refused, and the court +proceeded forthwith to pass sentence of death. The unfortunate man now +implored for the delay of but one single day to settle his affairs and +make his peace with God; but this request also was strongly refused, and +it was signified to him that he must die forthwith, and that if he +wished he might make his confession, to which end a confessor had been +brought to the place. When the unhappy wretch sued once more for favour, +it was replied to him that he should find favour and be beheaded, not +hung. The monk was then called forward, to hear his confession; when +that was over the executioner (who had previously been sworn never to +reveal what he saw) advanced and struck off the head of the delinquent. + +Meantime, information of what was going on had reached the town, and old +and young came forth to witness the last act of the tragedy, or perhaps +to interfere in favour of Kerkerink. But this had been foreseen and +provided against; officers were set to watch all the approaches from the +town till all was over, and when the people arrived they found nothing +but the lifeless body of Kerkerink, which was placed in a coffin and +buried in a neighbouring churchyard. + +The bishop and chapter of Muenster expressed great indignation at this +irregular proceeding and encroachment on their rights, and it served to +augment the general aversion to the Fehm-courts. + +Our readers will at once perceive how much the proceedings in this case, +which occurred in the year 1580, differed from those of former times. +Then the accused was formally summoned, and he was allowed to have an +advocate; here he was seized without knowing for what, and was hardly +granted even the formality of a trial. Then the people who came, even +accidentally, into the vicinity of a Fehm-court, would cross themselves +and hasten away from the place, happy to escape with their lives: now +they rush without apprehension to the spot where it was sitting, and the +members of it fly at their approach. Finally, in severity as well as +justice, the advantage was on the side of the old courts. The criminal +suffered by the halter; we hear of no father confessor being present to +console his last moments, and his body, instead of being deposited in +consecrated earth, was left to be torn by the wild beasts and ravenous +birds. The times were evidently altered! + +[Illustration: Seal of the Secret Tribunals.] + +The Fehm-tribunals were never formally abolished; but the excellent +civil institutions of the Emperors Maximilian and Charles V., the +consequent decrease of the turbulent and anarchic spirit, the +introduction of the Roman law, the spread of the Protestant religion, +and many other events of those times, conspired to give men an aversion +for what now appeared to be a barbarous jurisdiction and only suited to +such times as it was hoped and believed never could return. Some of the +courts were abolished; exemptions and privileges against them were +multiplied; they were prohibited all summary proceedings; their power +gradually sank into insignificance; and, though up to the present +century a shadow of them remained in some parts of Westphalia, they have +long been only a subject of antiquarian curiosity as one of the most +striking phenomena of the middle ages. They were only suited to a +particular state of society: while that existed they were a benefit to +the world; when it was gone they remained at variance with the state +which succeeded, became pernicious, were hated and despised, lost all +their influence and reputation, shared the fate of every thing human, +whose character is instability and decay, and have left only their +memorial behind them. + + * * * * * + +It is an important advance in civilization, and a great social gain, to +have got rid, for all public purposes, of Secret Societies--both of +their existence and of their use; for, that, like most of the other +obsolete forms into which the arrangements of society have at one time +or other resolved themselves, some of these mysterious and exclusive +institutions, whether for preserving knowledge or dispensing justice, +served, each in its day, purposes of the highest utility, which +apparently could not have been accomplished by any other existing or +available contrivance, has been sufficiently shown by the expositions +that have been given, in the preceding pages, of the mechanism and +working of certain of the most remarkable of their number. But it has +been made at least equally evident that the evils attendant upon their +operation, and inherent in their nature, were also very great, and that, +considered even as the suitable remedies for a most disordered condition +of human affairs, they were at best only not quite so bad as the +disease. They were institutions for preserving knowledge, not by +promoting, but by preventing that diffusion of it which, after all, both +gives to it its chief value, and, in a natural state of things, most +effectually ensures its purification, as well as its increase; and for +executing justice, by trampling under foot the rights alike of the +wrong-doer and of his victim. Mankind may be said to have stepped out of +night into day, in having thrown off the burden and bondage of this form +of the social system, and having attained to the power of pursuing +knowledge in the spirit of knowledge, and justice in the spirit of +justice. We have now escaped from that state of confusion and conflict +in which one man's gain was necessarily another man's loss, and are +fairly on our way towards that opposite state in which, in everything, +as far as the constitution of this world will permit, the gain of one +shall be the gain of all. This latter, to whatever degree it may be +actually attainable, is the proper hope and goal of all human +civilization. + + +THE END. + + +London: Printed by W. CLOWKS and SONS, Stamford Street. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Note: Variations in spelling, hyphens, and accents left as +printed. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Secret Societies of the Middle Ages, by +Thomas Keightley + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE *** + +***** This file should be named 38785.txt or 38785.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/8/38785/ + +Produced by Delphine Lettau, Clive Pickton, Mary Meehan +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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