“To the very reverend father in Christ, the Lord Honorius, by the providence of God chief pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, William de Chartres, humble Master of the poor chivalry of the Temple, proffereth all due obedience and reverence, with the kiss of the foot.
“By these our letters we hasten to inform your paternity of the state of that Holy Land which the Lord hath consecrated with his own blood. Know that, at the period of the departure of these letters, an immense number of pilgrims, both knights and foot soldiers, marked with the emblem of the life-giving cross, arrived at Acre from Germany and other parts of Europe. Saphadin, the great sultan of Egypt, hath remained closely within the confines of his own dominions, not daring in any way to molest us. The arrival of the king of Hungary, and of the dukes of Austria and Moravia, together with the intelligence just received of the near approach of the fleet of the Friths, has not a little alarmed him. Never do we recollect the power of the Pagans so low as at the present time; and may the omnipotent God, O holy father, make it grow weaker and weaker day by day. But we must inform you that in these parts corn and barley, and all the necessaries of life, have become extraordinarily dear. This year the harvest has utterly disappointed the expectations of our husbandmen, and has almost totally failed. The natives, indeed, now depend for support altogether upon the corn imported from the West, but as yet very little foreign grain has been received; and to increase our uneasiness, nearly all our knights are dismounted, and we cannot procure horses to supply the places of those that have perished. It is therefore of the utmost importance, O holy father, to advertise all who design to assume the cross of the above scarcity, that they may furnish themselves with plentiful supplies of grain and horses.
“Before the arrival of the king of Hungary and the duke of Austria, we had come to the determination of marching against the city of Naplous, and of bringing the Saracen chief Coradin to an engagement if he would have awaited our attack, but we have all now determined to undertake an expedition into Egypt to destroy the city of Damietta, and we shall then march upon Jerusalem....”[256]
Peter de Montaigu.
A. D. 1218.
It was in the month of May, A. D. 1218, that the galleys of the Templars set sail from Acre on the above-mentioned memorable expedition into Egypt. They cast anchor in the mouth of the Nile, and, in conjunction with a powerful army of crusaders, laid siege to Damietta. A pestilence broke out shortly after their arrival, and hurried the Grand Master, William de Chartres, to his grave.[257] He was succeeded by the veteran warrior, Brother Peter de Montaigu, Grand Preceptor of Spain.[258]
James of Vitry, bishop of Acre, who accompanied the Templars on this expedition, gives an enthusiastic account of their famous exploits, and of the tremendous battles fought upon the Nile, in one of which a large vessel of the Templars was sunk, and every soul on board perished. He describes the great assault on their camp towards the middle of the year 1219, when the trenches were forced, and all the infantry put to flight. “The insulting shouts of the conquering Saracens,” says he, “were heard on all sides, and a panic was rapidly spreading through the disordered ranks of the whole army of the cross, when the Grand Master and brethren of the Temple made a desperate charge, and bravely routed the first ranks of the infidels. The spirit of Gideon animated the Templars, and the rest of the army, stimulated by their example, bravely advanced to their support.... Thus did the Lord on that day, through the valour of the Templars, save those who trusted in Him.”[259] Immediately after the surrender of Damietta, the Grand Master of the Temple returned to Acre to repel the forces of the sultan of Damascus, who had invaded the Holy Land, as appears from the following letter to the bishop of Ely.
A. D. 1222.
“Brother Peter de Montaigu, Master of the Knights of the Temple, to the reverend brother in Christ, N., by the grace of God bishop of Ely, health. We proceed by these letters to inform your paternity how we have managed the affairs of our Lord Jesus Christ since the capture of Damietta and of the castle of Taphneos.” The Grand Master describes various military operations, the great number of galleys fitted out by the Saracens to intercept the supplies and succour from Europe, and the arming of the galleys, galliots, and other vessels of the order of the Temple to oppose them, and clear the seas of the infidel flag. He states that the sultan of Damascus had invaded Palestine, had ravaged the country around Acre and Tyre, and had ventured to pitch his tents before the castle of the Pilgrims, and had taken possession of Cæsarea. “If we are disappointed,” says he, “of the succour we expect in the ensuing summer, all our newly-acquired conquests, as well as the places that we have held for ages past, will be left in a very doubtful condition. We ourselves, and others in these parts, are so impoverished by the heavy expenses we have incurred in prosecuting the affairs of Jesus Christ, that we shall be unable to contribute the necessary funds, unless we speedily receive succour and subsidies from the faithful. Given at Acre, xii. kal. October, A. D. 1222.”[260]
The troops of the sultan of Damascus were repulsed and driven beyond the frontier, and the Grand Master then returned to Damietta, to superintend the preparations for a march upon Cairo. The results of that disastrous campaign are detailed in the following letter to Brother Alan Marcel, Preceptor of England, and Master of the Temple at London.
“Brother Peter de Montaigu, humble Master of the soldiers of Christ, to our vicegerent and beloved brother in Christ, Alan Marcel, Preceptor of England.