Acts of Valor During the Crusades

Welcome to Real Crusades History. This video is going to highlight some of my favorite displays of bravery and virtue during the Crusades. Of course, there are far too many of such acts to recount in one video. These are just a few. I hope all of you will send me suggestions for great feats during the Crusades for a future video. To start off, let's begin in A.D. 1097, during the First Crusade, with Tancred, Prince of Galilee. This is an episode recounted by Tancred's personal friend and biographer, Ralf Cain. It was a fortunate old woman, weakened by starvation, who was found by Tancred just as she was about to set her feet on the banks of a flooded river. Food was immediately made available to the starving woman. She was given a horse in place of a boat, and a horseman in place of an oar. Tancred, I say, freely offered himself to serve as this horseman. Now, we'll go to Syria, in A.D. 1124. This is from the chronicle of Usama ibn Munkid, whose family ruled the fortress of Shizar. We had with us in Shizar certain hostages consisting of Frankish and Armenian knights, whom Baldwin, the king of the Franks, had offered as security for a financial obligation, which he owed to Hassan al-Din, Timutash ibn il-Ghassi. When the amount due was paid and the hostages were waiting to go back home, Kirkan, the lord of hymns, dispatched some horsemen who lay in ambush for them in the suburbs of Shizar. As the hostages were on their way home, the men in ambush came out and captured them. When the cry for help reached us, my uncle and my father, may Allah's mercy rest upon their souls, mounted their horses and stood in a certain spot, sending to the release of the hostages everyone who came. I then arrived. My father said to me, Pursue the marauders with thy men. Hurl yourselves on them and deliver your hostages. Accordingly, I pursued them, overtook them after a race covering most of the day, and delivered those of the hostages who had fallen into their hands. In addition to capturing some of the hymns' horsemen. But the thing that surprised me was my father's words, Hurl yourselves on them. Next, we're going a year later, to A.D. 1125, still in Syria, where King Baldwin II of Jerusalem led the crusader army to victory over Il-Bursuk and Tokhtekin of Damascus. This is the battle as documented by an eyewitness, Fouker of Chartres. But after Hassar had been vexed to the point of capture, and the time was at hand for assaulting our garrison, behold, our king arrives with thirteen companies of men, arranged in perfect order. The men of Antioch were stationed on the right wing, the two counts of Tripoli and Edessa on the left, while the king was in the rear with a denser formation. Since the Turks were divided into twenty-one phalanxes, their number was indeed very great. They promptly shifted their bows, already strung, from their hands to rest in their arms, and drawing their swords, attacked our men in hand-to-hand combat. Our king, seeing this, hesitated no longer, but, armed with the protection of prayer, on the sign of the cross, shouted, With a loud blast of the trumpets, he attacked the Turks and ordered his men to do the same, for they did not dare to begin the battle until the king had ordered it. The Turks, in truth, at first resisted bravely. Then, by the will of the Creator of the universe, they wilted in despair and became confused by the great carnage, and those who could turned and scattered in flight. Next, let's go to Spain, amid the crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa in A.D. 1212. In this episode, King Alfonso VIII of Castile is watching the vanguard of his army in the thick of battle against the fearsome Muslim Almohads. This is from James Fitzhenry's book, Fernando III, King of Castile and León. Let us go then, Alfonso thundered, driving in his spurs, to aid those in the front line who are under such heavy attack. Alfonso tightened his grip and braced himself, as his mount leapt forward, the bishop right beside him, as the two ploughed into the fray. So sudden was their action, that the rear guard was left momentarily behind, leaving the knight, Ferdinand Garcia, to shout after his king, Lord, go slowly, so as not to entrap yourself. Too late, for the king and the archbishop had already vaulted into the midst of massed savagery. Alfonso, the noble, attacked furiously, killing some, wounding others, and terrifying the rest into a panic-stricken flight. A wail of despair rose to the skies, while desert warriors scattered and leapt aside to avoid the flailing hooves. King Alfonso had seemingly come from nowhere to burst upon the very point on which the whole battle turned. The valorous king was prepared to die rather than be conquered, as his smoldering eyes gave evidence. It seemed to the Moors that an avenging angel had spent down to earth from the heavens, and like men gone mad with terror, they cast down their spears and began to flee in all directions, running wildly into each other. Finally, let's go to the Seventh Crusade, when Jean of Joinville participated in an inspiring rescue operation. This incident took place in A.D., December 1249, after the Crusaders had occupied Damietta and Egypt. On Christmas Day, I and my knights were dining with Pierre d'Avlon. While we were at table, the Saracens came spurring hotly up to our camp and killed several poor fellows who had gone for a stroll in the fields. We all went off to arm ourselves, but, quick as we were, we did not return in time to rejoin our host, for he was already outside the camp and had gone to fight the Saracens. We spurred after him and rescued him from the enemy, who had thrown him to the ground. Then we brought him back to our camp with his brother, the Lord Duval. The Templars, who had come up on hearing the alarm, covered our retreat well and valiantly. That's it for this video. I hope you've enjoyed these heroic incidents. Please check out Real Crusades History on Facebook and help spread the truth about the Crusades.