volume one

HISTORY OF THE CEUSADES. 317
in affairs of state, and tlie autliority of the prince, which
hitherto had been but that of the general of an armj, lost
under the regency of Queen Melisende the consideration
and splendour it had derived from victory. The government
insensibly assumed the turbulent form of a republic, and in
the political relations which the Christians held at this
period with the Saracens,* the latter believed that several
chiefs were at the head of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
Baldwin did not wait for the period of his majority to be
crowned king, being scarcely fourteen years old, when, in
the presence of the barons and the clergy, he received the
sword t with which he was to defend religion and justice ; the
ring, the symbol of faith ; the sceptre and the crown, marks
of dignity and power ; and the apple or globe, as an image
of the earth and the kingdom he was called upon to govern.
Young Baldwin already displayed courage above his age ; in
the very first days of his reign he achieved a glorious expedition
beyond the Jordan, in which he gained possession of
the Valley of Moses ; but he had not experience enough to
know what enemies he ought to attack or what allies he
ought to defend. On his return from the expedition of the
Jordan he undertook an unjust and unfortunate war, the
presage of a sad future for the kingdom of Jerusalem.
An Armenian, who governed the city of Bosra in the name
of the sultan of Damascus, came to Jerusalem to offer to
deliver up to the Christians the place which he commanded,
and the barons and principal people were convoked to hear
his proposals. The wiser part of the assembly referred to
the aUiance made wdth the Saracens of Damascus ; the
* In William of Tyre may be seen the letter which the vizir of Damascus
addressed to the Christian princes of Jerusalem.
t The Assizes of Jerusalem speak thus of the coronation of the king :
Ly met I'anneau au doi«t, qui sinefie foi ; et aspres ly ceint I'espee, qui
sinefie justice, a deffendre foi et sainte esglise ; et aspres la couronne, qui
sinefie la dignite ; et aspres le sceptre, qui sinefie chastier et deffendre ; et
aspres la pomme, qui sinefie la terre du royaume. [Although oftering a
translation, I cannot resist giving this very curious piece of old French.
Trans.]
They put the ring on his finger, as signifying faith ; then they girded
on the sword, which means he must defend justice, faith, and the holy
church; next the crown, which denotes dignity; after that the sceptre,
with which he is both to punish and defend ; and at last the apple or globe,
which signifies the kingdom of the earth.
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