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... I write to tell thee of what has befallen us and our army since we embarked on this most sacred project.
I was there in 1095 at Clermont when the Holy Father, Urban II, gave that memorable speech in which he seared men’s minds with a frightening picture of the lands that threaten Christendom in the East (Southern, 1970), and called for men to follow the Cross and embark upon the reclamation of the Holy Land. And I heard those stirring words that the French nobles uttered at the end of his speech, “God will’s it.” This venture which we have embarked upon will forever live in men’s minds, and, I fervently hope (though much I doubt) that what has been established here in the Holy Land will long endure. ...
I have trod weary ways over the Alps, through Illyria, thence to Constantinople, through Asia Minor and Syria, and thence to here. ... I have seen much. I have been changed. I have learned how narrow our world is, my brother, how vast the world beyond it, and I have been exposed to many new things. I have gained some sense of the vast, peopled lands that lie in the hands of the enemy. I have also seen many of the deeds of men. I have not been edified by many of these deeds. Surely no thinking man could gaze upon all that I have seen without feeling a profound sense of contemptus mundi. ... I had not witnessed many feats of arms before embarking on this journey and, my time having been spent at the Papal Court, had little contact with men of a martial spirit. It is foreign to my nature to understand this delight in combat, but I no longer hold any doubt that this delight is not feigned, but real. ...
This puissant spirit is surely most pleasing to our Lord when employed in the service of the faith, but there can be no doubt that the men who have this spirit have deployed it in ways which I doubt would find favor with the Prince of Peace. I have been blessedly spared the sight of some of the innocent blood that was shed in Europe for I was not with the armies that traveled up the Rhine valley and drunkenly put fire and sword to the Jews along the way (Cantor, 1991).
I deplore this destruction of the Jews, but others do not. ... ” But, I say, we were sent to reclaim the lands where He walked, not to destroy and despoil peaceful Hebrews who have lived among us for centuries. ... These are men who believe in a chivalric code, but let them come up against any who, in their perception, lie outside the domain of the code, and they give free reign to a terrible and—though I hesitate to dare to say it—a most unchristian brutality.
Approximate Word count = 2195
Approximate Pages = 8.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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