They heard, and up they sprung upon the wing
Innumerable. As when the potent rod
Of Amram's son, in Egypt's evil day,
Waved round the coast, up call'd a pitchy cloud
Of locusts, warping on the eastern wind
That o'er the realm of impious Pharaoh hung
Like night, and darken'd all the realm of Nile,
So numberless were they. * * *
* * * * * * * *
All in a moment through the gloom were seen
Ten thousand banners rise into the air,
With orient colours waving. With them rose
A forest huge of spears; and thronging helms
Appear'd, and serried shields, in thick array,
Of depth immeasurable.
Paradise Lost.
Every age has its peculiar folly—some scheme, project, or phantasyinto which it plunges, spurred on either by the love of gain, thenecessity of excitement, or the mere force of imitation. Failing inthese, it has some madness, to which it is goaded by political orreligious causes, or both combined. Every one of these causesinfluenced the Crusades, and conspired to render them the mostextraordinary instance upon record of the extent to which popularenthusiasm can be carried. History in her solemn page informs us, thatthe crusaders were but ignorant and savage men, that their motives werethose of bigotry unmitigated, and that their pathway was one of bloodand tears. Romance, on the other hand, dilates upon their piety andheroism and pourtrays in her most glowing and impassioned hues theirvirtue and magnanimity, the imperishable honour they acquired forthemselves, and the great services they rendered to Christianity. Inthe following pages we shall ransack the stores of both, to discoverthe true spirit that animated the motley multitude who took up arms inthe service of the Cross, leaving history to vouch for facts, but notdisdaining the aid of contemporary poetry and romance to throw lightupon feelings, motives, and opinions.
In order to understand thoroughly the state of public feeling in Europeat the time when Peter the Hermit preached the holy war, it will benecessary to go back for many years anterior to that event. We mustmake acquaintance with the pilgrims of the eighth, ninth, and tenthcenturies, and learn the tales they told of the dangers they hadpassed, and the wonders they had seen. Pilgrimages to the Holy Landseem at first to have been undertaken by converted Jews, and byChristian devotees of lively imagination, pining with a naturalcuriosity to visit the scenes which of all others were most interestingin their eyes. The pious and the impious alike flocked toJerusalem,—the one class to feast