volume one

IIISTOllT or THE CRUSADES. 77
which Adctory itself could not make triumphant, and which
the greater part of Christendom considered sacrilegious.
To expiate exploits condemned as useless by the spirit of
his age, he made a vow to go to Jerusalem, not as a simple
pilgrim, but as a liberator.
Contemporary historj^, which has transmitted his portrait
to us, infonns us that he joined the bravery and virtues of a
hero to the simplicity of a cenobite.* His prowess in fight
and his extraordinary strength of body made him the pride
of camps. Prudence and moderation tempered his valour ;
his devotion was sincere and disinterested; and in no
instance during the holy war did he employ his courage or
inflict his vengeance but upon the enemies of Christ. Faithful
to his word, Hkeral, affable, full of humanity, the princes
and knights looked upon him as their model, the soldiers as
their father—all were eager to fight under his standard. If
he was not the leader of the crusade, as some writers pretend,
he at least obtained that empire which virtue bestows.
Amidst their quarrels and divisions, the princes and barons
constantly appealed to the wisdom of Godfrey, and in the
dangers of war, his counsels became absolute orders.
At the signal of the duke of Lorraine, the nobility of
Prance and the borders of the E;hine were prodigal of their
treasures in preparing for the crusades. All things service-
able in war mounted to so exorbitant a price, that the produce
of an estate was scarcely sufiicient to defray the equipment
of a single knight. The women despoiled themselves
of their most precious ornaments to furnish forth their sons
and their husbands for the expedition. Men even, say the
historians, who in other times would have suffered a thousand
deaths rather than give up their hereditary domains, either
sold them for a low price or exchanged them for arms. Gold
and steel appeared to be the only desirable objects in
existence.
Now appeared the stores of riches w^hich had been concealed
by fear or avarice. Ingots of gold, coined pieces,
* An anonymous historian of the crusades, when speaking of Godfrey,
expresses himself thus : Tantum lems, nt magis in se monachum quam
militem figuraret. Guibert further says : Cujus mira humilitas et
monachis jam imitmida modestia.— See Bongars, p. 548.