[254] We will relate in full the decrees of the council of Naplouse, which form a precious monument of the history of these distant times; but the greater part of the crimes and offences against which the fathers of this council raised their voices, do not permit us to give these statutes in French or English, or present the most curious details of them.
[255] The castle of Puyset, near Orleans, was besieged three times by all the forces of Louis le Gros; this castle was at length taken and demolished. Veilly, and all the French historians, having neglected to read William of Tyre, make the seigneur de Puyset die in the kingdom of Naples.
[256] When quoting William of Tyre, I avail myself always of the old translation, whose naïf and simple style associates best with the spirit and manners of the twelfth century.
[257] In William of Tyre may be seen the letter which the vizir of Damascus addressed to the Christian princes of Jerusalem.
[258] The Assizes of Jerusalem speak thus of the coronation of the king:—Ly met l’anneau au doigt, qui sinefie foi; et asprès ly ceint l’espée, qui sinefie justice, à deffendre foi et sainte esglise; et asprès la couronne, qui sinefie la dignité; et asprès le sceptre, qui sinefie chastier et deffendre; et asprès la pomme, qui sinefie la terre du royaume. [Although offering 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.
[259] William of Tyre attributes the determination of the king and the barons to the cries of the populace of Jerusalem; the same historian relates this expedition with many details in his sixteenth book, ch. vii.-xiii.
[260] Kemaleddin, an Arabian historian, and William of Tyre agree as to the principal circumstances of this siege.
[261] We have before us in manuscript some historical and geographical notes upon the city of Edessa, communicated to us by M. J. Chahan de Cerbied, an Armenian professor. This work is rendered more valuable by M. J. Chahan de Cerbied’s ’its author) being born at Edessa, where he passed many years. These notes are to be published in a general picture of Armenia, which will not fail to attract the attention of the learned.
[262] The greater part of the Arabian historians assert that Zengui sought to repair the evils his army had caused to the inhabitants of Edessa. Kemaleddin relates the following anecdote on this subject, which makes us at the same time acquainted with the Mussulman spirit of history and manners. We will transcribe the Latin extract from Dom. Berthereau:—Norredinus ingressus est urbem, diripuit eam, incolas jugo captivitatis submisit; illis evacuata fuit urbs, pauci tantùm remanserunt. Ex captivis unam misit ancillam Norredinus ad Zeineddinum Ali Koudgoucum, pro rege, patris sui in Mosulâ inter munera quæ ad eum misit; quam cum vidisset ille, statim illâ usus est; lavit se posteà, dixitque suis: Nostisne quid mihi hac die acciderit? Dixerunt, non. Dixit: Cum Roham cepimus, regnante Zengui, inter res raptas in manus meas incidit ancilla pulchra, ejusque pulchritudo mihi admodùm placuit; ad eam declinavit cor meum, statimque jussu Zengui martyris fuit inclamatum: Redde servos opesque raptas. Metuendus porrò erat et reverendus; ancillam reddidi, ei vero semper adhæsit cor meum: novè verò misit mihi dona Norredinus, quæ inter, ancillas misit plures, quas inter eamdem ancillam. Coitu earn subegi, nè adhuc etiam tolletur.—Kemaleddin, Hist. de Halep. p. 62, translation of Dom. Berthereau.