Oct. 3, 1187, Jerusalem was taken by Saladin, and Gregory VIII. preached a new crusade. Frederic Barbarossa of Germany, Phillippe Auguste of France, and Richard I. (Coeur-de--Leon) of England, followed the summons; and all Christendom paid the Saladin tithe to support the undertaking. Frederic Barbarossa forced his way through Asia Minor, but was drowned in the Kalykadnus (.July 10, 1190); and his army was much reduced when it reached Acre, led by his son, Frederic of Sua'bia. The French and English kings arrived by sea, splendidly equipped, and in full vigor; but the siege of the city was long, and cost, it is said, about three hundred thousand lives; and, immediately after its capture, Phillippe Auguste returned to France. Richard continued the contest, but rather as if it were only a chivalresque tournament between himself and Saladin; and the result was very meagre, - permission for the Christian pilgrims to visit Jerusalem. He left the Holy Land in 1192; but on his journey back to England he was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria, and sold to the emperor, Henry VI., who, to the great scandal of the whole Christian world, made a good bargain by exacting an immense ransom.
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |