Stewart Binns - Anarchy

Long trestle tables had been made to feed the hordes, and food and drink were being consumed on a scale reminiscent of the baronial banquets of our European homelands. In fact, had it not been for the arid surroundings of Palestine, the scene could easily have been in Normandy or England. There were hawkers and minstrels, jugglers and jesters, artisans of every trade and merchants selling any product you could wish for.

The serious business of the Council began the next day – on 15 January 1120, a day that changed the history of the Holy Land – presided over by Garmond, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. The great and the good of the Holy Land were assembled: Ehremar, Archbishop of Caesarea; Bernard, Bishop of Nazareth; Ansquitinus, Bishop of Bethlehem; Roger, Bishop of Ramla; Achardus, Prior of the Temple; Arnaldus, Prior of Mount Sion; Girardus, Prior of the Holy Sepulchre; Pagan, Chancellor of Jerusalem; Eustace Grenier, Lord of Caesarea and Sidon; and Baldwin, Lord of Ramla. I had never seen so many fine robes and glittering insignia of office.

They met in the an-Nasr, an ancient Byzantine church which the Muslims had converted into a mosque and which, in turn, King Baldwin was in the throes of transforming into a Christian church once again. Reputedly built on the exact spot where Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, was brought the bloody and tattered coat of Joseph by his sons, it was one of the holiest of all places for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Its scale reminded me of Norwich and the stories my mother had told me about how she and my grandmother had been inspired by the wonders of antiquity.

Garmond opened proceedings by outlining what he thought was the extent of the decline in Christian values and behaviour.

‘My Lords, the sins of our people are reaping a bitter harvest. Our cities are plagued by mice and rats, our granaries are diseased, our wells foul. Locusts come every year and strip our fields bare. The infidels attack us on our roads and storm the gates of our citadels. Like beasts, they smell our weakness. Our domains are only twenty years old; if they are to survive for our children and grandchildren, we must act now, or the Almighty will turn his face against us and we will be cast into the wilderness. Remember, the Lord said he will “give us as meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven”.’

The Patriarch’s impassioned words brought a rapturous response from the audience. Many knights thumped their shields with their swords and maces. All the speakers at the Council kept to the same theme: wholesale sin in the Christian community was turning God against the Christian States, and their punishment was nigh. Immorality and adultery were the worst crimes. Many spoke about the increasing fetish for young Arab boys, claiming that sodomy was widespread in the garrisons of soldiers – and even among knights and priests.

When it was time for Hugh de Payens to speak, he rose deliberately and paused to look slowly around the entire gathering before uttering a word. He was greeted by total silence; although his station as a mere knight from a modest region of Champagne was far below the status enjoyed by most of his audience, his reputation and bearing stilled the gathering.

‘Your Majesty, Eminence, Lords, fellow knights, we all know what ails us. But I want to talk to you about redemption.’

His voice rose and rose as his oratory blossomed, until he had the entire gathering on the edge of their seats.

‘My order of brothers, the Knights Templar, will drive sin from our domains. No stone will be left unturned, no dark hiding place of evil will remain in shadow. All sinners will be exposed and face the wrath of God.’

He then turned to the theme of safety and security.

‘As you all have been witness to, our roads are now much more secure since the patrols of my Knights Templar began. We will maintain our vigilance on behalf of all Christians in the Holy Land and will show no mercy to any infidel who dares harm even a single hair of our Christian brothers and sisters.’

More cheers and cries ensued as the Grand Master reached his crescendo.

‘But I want to rekindle the flame of the Great Crusade, a flame that burned in the hearts of our fathers and grandfathers with an intensity that swept all before it. As you know, the city of Tyre is still in the hands of the Fatimid Caliph of Cairo, al-Amir, and is the only Muslim port in the Holy Land. From there, the Muslims who harass our cities and roads get their weapons and supplies. Now that His Majesty King Baldwin has control of Sinai as far as Aqaba, if we can capture Tyre, we will cut the umbilical cord of the Muslim brigands. Give me an army and I will give you Tyre!’

The roars from the audience meant that there was little doubt about the answer to the Grand Master’s request. I looked at Eadmer, who was standing right behind me. He nodded his head; he knew as well as I did that we would soon be preparing an army for war. It had been a charismatic performance from Hugh de Payens, who had caught the mood of the Christians of the Holy Land perfectly and in a massive leap had elevated himself to the front rank of the hierarchy of the Latin Princes.

The rest of the Council’s business involved setting new laws for the Holy Land in a series of canons – something that had been neglected since the Great Crusade – the tone of which was as severe as any I had ever heard. Canon 23 referred to theft and decreed that any theft of a value more than one bezant would cost the perpetrator an eye or a hand. Canon 4 dealt with adultery, which was punishable by branding with a hot iron and repeat offences by emasculation, while adulterous women would have their noses removed. Canon 12 required the same fate for any man who had sexual intercourse with a Muslim woman. Canons 8 to 11 addressed the growing problem of sodomites. ‘An abomination that is desecrating God’s most beautiful creation’ declared Arnaldus, Prior of Sidon. But whether he was referring to the whole of the human body, or just one part of it, was a source of amusing conjecture between Eadmer and myself when we reflected on the proceedings that evening. More importantly, for those indulging in sodomy Canon 8 stated that they ‘be burned at the stake, so that their evil be extinguished as in the fires of Hell’.

Two days later, we joined our Grand Master in a council of war with King Baldwin, to begin the planning for an attack on Tyre.

The King had his senior commanders with him, all of whom were visibly furious that Hugh de Payens had been given command of the attacking forces. Baldwin was a man of medium build, with a thick head of hair and dark beard. He had only been King for eighteen months but already had an air of easy authority about him. He had restored the security of Antioch and defeated Il-Ghazi’s army decisively.

‘Tyre is a mighty fortress with a high, easily defended position and with its back to the sea. It will be a long siege.’

Hugh de Payens then went through the tactics he intended to use in detail. It was an impressive plan, which partly won over the King’s senior men. The King, who was clearly in awe of Hugh, as were many people, then put in a word of caution.

‘In order to have the money and resources required for success, we’re going to need help. I am told that an agreement was struck between Roger, Prince of Antioch, and the Venetians immediately before he was killed at the Battle of Sarmada.’

‘That is true, Your Majesty–’

I had spoken without thinking, forgetting that I should not have spoken without being invited to. Hugh made to speak, but the King raised his hand to stop him.

‘How do you know this?’

‘Forgive me, Your Majesty; I am Harold of Hereford, an English knight and a Knight Commander of Venice before I joined Master Hugh’s Templars. I was there at Sarmada, as escort to her Serenity, Princess Livia of Venice. She told me on the eve of the battle that Prince Roger had agreed to the pact with Venice.’