The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-08-22
From tie Knickcrbocker
THE CRUsADEs.

lad 4 Z.
Bright rose the sun over the hills of Pales-
tine, and never, since the world had birth. did
il rise on brighter or more inspiring scene.
There, her gorgeous palaces ana beautiful
temples bathed in the sunlight Of an eastern
morn, rose Jerusaem
Her towers her domes, her pinnacies her walls,
Her glittering palaces, her splendid halls,
Showed in the lusirous air like some bright dream
Wove by gay fancy from the bedming morn"
Jerusalem, What haIIowed associations
rush upon the mind at that name! Once,
Queen Of the East, and mistress ofthe world;
unsurpassed in Importance, and unrivalicd Id
splendor the Home and pride Of Judea's
sons. Now, the jackall howls where her kings
reigned, and the crumbled marble, once mark
ing where her warriors slept, now mingles
with the whirling sands Of Arabia.
hol back the tide Of time! Retrace the
scron OF history to that epoch when Europe
sent forth her nobest and her best, to battle
with the Saracen, to rescue the sepulchre of
their Redeemer from defiIement and disgrace.
Under the city's walls were encamped the
Army Of the Cross. Companions in former
wars, and victors in former battles, they had
come determined to accomplish their errant,
or die in the attempt. There were the flower
and boast of Europe's chivalry. Steel hau-
berk and coat Of mail cleaned in the sun
beams, and the trumpet's note of defiance rang
on the morning air, with the haunting clash Of
the Turkish cynibal. That pennon which had
foated DER the head of its gallant lord amid
former conflicts of his house, now danced
gaily to an Asiatic breeze. The emblem Of
an ancient line, it was not there to be disho-
nored; the cherished relic Of past splendor its
fair blazonry was not there to be stained or
sulIied.
Who would blame the enthusiasm which
had thus led them forth to battle Who can
censure that piety which gave strength and
snew to their arms in the battles shock, and
was their last solace in the hour of danger
and of death? Yet, there are those who call
the age Of chivalry an age Of folly-who de-
nounce the Crusades but as an act Of madness.
Madness and folly they may have been un-
just they certainly were but who of Us, had
he lived in that day, would not have also bound
the sacred emblem to his shoulder, and fol
lowed the crusading host to the holy land 3
The enthusiasm of the hermit Of Amiens, the
oratory of 81. Bernard, and the commanding
talents Of Fulk, had successfully been used to
spur them on to action. The commands Of
the papal prelate were imperative. were not
these enough to impel them to almost any
deed. But the Saracen's insulting heel was
on the very sepuchre Of their Lord The
Turks proud foot spurned the dust once
pressed by the meek footsteps Of Christ Je-
rusalem was captive! Through her. courts
and palaces Moslem strobe in defiance, and
reigned without rebuke. Were they Chris
tians, and could they endure this 7 Were they
knights, and could they brook il Drawing
the avenging steel, they swore never again to
sheathe it, till their object was accomplished,
or till the last drop Of their lfe's blood had
ceased to circle around those hearts which
bea, only for their honor and their God.
But why seek to excuse the Crusades by
the motives which led to them 1t is their
consequences that gave them importance in
history, and furnish ample apology for all their
foies, ifnot for all their crimes. Apology!
Sleep Richard Of the lion heart,
Sleep on nor from thy cerements star"
at the wrong done thy memory and thy name.
But the age of chivalry has passed, like
bright vision Of the morning.
FIVE contemplate for moment the dreary
picture which the civilized world presented in
the age of the Crusades, and compare it with
the succeeding, we must allow that the politi
cal advantages resulting from them were such
as Europe will never cease to feel, so long as
her aiIls shall stand, or her name be known.
Torn by intestine leuds, the western world