* * *
On the Walls Of Acre
Saladin and Taqi al-Din walked across the walls; they could see the crusader army from below, and they knew at once that they were still under siege.
"So many men.'' said Taqi al-Din, quaking in fear. He saw the vast numbers totaling tens of thousands in the crusader army. He had never before seen an army so well equipped, so well-prepared and organized, as the new crusader army that had just arrived. His eyes opened widely as he looked at Saladin. ''They are strong.'' he said.
''Especially the new one that has just arrived.This new army must be the army of England. Is this the army of King Richard of England?''
''Yes, my nephew,'' said Saladin.''This is the army of England.'' He went forward toward the end of the battlements to look closer at the opposing army.''Ah,'' said Saladin. ''Those Kings and Crusaders have arrived.The one whom they call Lionheart is here.''
''May Allah protect us.'' said Taqi al-Din.
''Our men are brave,'' reflected Saladin,''they shall fight to their death if need be.''
Imad ad-Din ascended the staircase to the stonewall, and was now with them, for he had overheard the conversation. ''Let us hope they don't have to have to fight till their death.'' he sneered.
''They will all die before I hand over Jerusalem to the Christians.'' said Saladin with a small grin. The two other men partly stared at him for a minute.
Dust blew into Taqi al-Din's face.He covered his eyes until the desert wind was gone. He saw the sun flash, felt the air thickening. He saw the trees twist, trying to overcome their own weakness. Above him the sun was setting, and soon the entire sky was pitch black with no light, except from the torches of the armies in sight. He thought, ''Terrible, this is a wretched place with darkness and hatred.'' He heard the clinking and clattering of metal from the crusader army as the soldiers organized themselves for battle.
Imad ad-Din backed up.''I'm going to the keep,'' he said fearfully.
Saladin gasped with the dry air, "'Let the Third Crusade began.''
* * *
Casal Imbert
King Richard mounted upon his steed outside his tent. He draped his chainmail over himself and his Templar tunic bearing the red cross. ''Wearing 60,000 rings of chainmail is not always very easy,'' he thought.''But at least we don't have to worry about wearing much armor.'' His shield was tied to his back, his sword was in his scabbard, his left hand was holding the reigns of his horse, while his right hand was holding his helmet. He saw his fair wife Berengaria, with a purple dress encircled at the bottom by golden linen running towards him from her tent.
Berengaria looked upon Richard and said, ''Where are you going?''
''Off to battle,'' replied Richard.''I must fight. Now you and Joan must return to your tents. I'm going toward Acre with my men so that we may take place in this siege.'' He quickly put on his helmet with the crown of England etched into it. He spurred his steed as it started running off to battle.
A guard ran up to Berengaria.''My queen,'' he said.''You heard the king's order, you are not safe here.
You must return to your tent. The battlefield is no place for a woman.''
''And so I shall,'' said Berengaria. She walked back to the tent she shared with Joan.
King Richard was now with his crusader army which was already formed into many lines by his right hand men. Beside him were Peter de Preaux, Robert de Sable, Robert of Leicester and others. He knew the crusader army at this point of the crusade consisted of 8,000 English men, no more than 5,000 from Germany, 2,000 Frenchmen that came with King Philip II of France, 2,000 Pisan and Genoewn crossbowmen, and 10,000 more English and French that had arrived lower than him and before either he or Philip had arrived at Acre. He also knew that King Guy of Jerusalem had had an army of 7,400 when entering the siege of Acre, and was supported by an army of 12,000 soldiers under Marquis Conrad, but most of those men were probably still not alive.
''There is a 6,000 Muslim garrison inside the city,'' said Earl Robert of Leicester to Richard, "do you also realize that Saladin has 20,000 Muslim garrisons inside the cities of Ascalon and Jerusalem, with an army of 30,000 soldiers?''
''Did Joshua have the greater army when defeating the armies that totaled as many as the sand on the seashore at Merom?'' asked Richard. ''Did David have tough and slick arms to kill a giant, or was it because God took one who was weak and made him strong? Better to have many men serve God than some, but we know that that will not happen, and so we are forced to fight evil with the little we have. It is of no concern which army is the largest, but rather more important is the one that has a greater reason and worthy cause for fighting.This is a holy war, and so we have a great reason for fighting.We fight so that Christians may be set free, and we fight to preserve the land of our Savior's birth.''
Robert of Leicester nodded and scratched his head.''I think I understand now, sire,'' he said.
''Good,'' said Richard.''May God always protect us and the mother always look over us. ''He looked around at his army as his voice deepend and the leadership of a commander fell upon him. ''Men of England, France, and across Europe!'' he exclaimed. ''Men of Christendom! Today we fight to set those Christian people who are captives to the Muslims free! We fight because we are crusaders! We fight because we are part of God's army.'' He pulled out his sword as fast as lightning and then he yelled,'' We are part of God's army and through God's army Islam shall fall by the grace of God!'' He spurred his horse riding to the front line of his men as he always did in battle. They cheered, and Richard yelled ''Attack Acre!''
The crusader catapults unleashed their stones which stormed upon the walls of Acre. Crusader ladders came up on the walls as knights and men-at -arms climbed up them to fight the Saracens. The Muslim troops upon the walls poured down burning oil on the crusaders, threw rocks upon them, and tried to shoot them with their arrows.
King Philip saw the battle rage and yelled to his men to charge as he and his men of France shortly thereafter attacked the walls, as well.
Siege towers came up to the walls, and a battering ram was being constructed by engineers. At least three Norman knights were on top of one siege tower before it was destroyed by a rock from a Saracen catapult.The knights on top of the siege tower died, as well.
King Richard saw that the fight on top of the walls was vivid but far from finished.
Earl Robert of Leicester who was next to him said,''I have to admit it. I'm not so for certain that we are going to take Acre.''
''God wills it,'' said Richard. He looked around at his army and yelled,''to the walls!''
The fight was becoming more bloody after Richard's recent yell. He looked at Robert of Leicester and asked,''Where is my royal standard bearer? Where is Peter de Preaux?''
Robert shook his head.''I don't know."
From Kings and Crusaders, Part Two, Chapter Ten: The Arrival of Kings.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Horror Beyond Any Dream A Short Story of the Batttle of Omaha Beach
A note from the Author
This story is only a short story, and is not intended to be fully historically accurate. However, it may reflect the mood of this epic strugle and spark an interest into my reader to read my book, The Killer Fighters, which tells far more of the battle of Normandy than this short story does. Every important person in this story that has a point of view is fictional.
A Note From the Editor:
Hello, I am Philip Anderson. I have written books for a very long time. I was never very much into Historical Fiction until I met Joshua. I have recently started writing a book entitled, The Battle For the Universe , along with him. I don't have a blog or website of my own, but in return for my helping Josh write, he has given me a voice of my through his blog. If you ever visit Omaha Beach as I have, you should recognize that this is not just another historical sight, but is well preserved. It touches me so much that every year for me and my wife, Fannie's anniversary, we come and visit it, and we show are love for one another by studying the historical facts of the battlefield.What most people do not understand is that the battle of Normandy was not just on Omaha Beach, but on four other beaches, and took places in many other places, as well.Of course, Josh is the historian and historical writer, not me. This short story is well written, but Joshua has done far greater in The Killer Fighters. He is the author of this, and I'll let him tell this story as he wishes, for there is almost nothing I have to change in this work.
A Note From the Publisher
Hello, I am John Ransom. I now work for Crusader Kingdom, L.T.D. and I have published numerous articles by Wilfred Langton on Modern Wars. One particular part in Modern Wars that stuck out in my mind was World War II.
When I was a boy, I would line up what I called ''army men'' with my older brother, Mike,while my younger sisters would play dolls with one another and pretend their husbands were off in war, and so had to take care of their children. My brother and I would often tease our sisters, Sibylla and Martha, and tell them that their husbands had been found missing in action. That December of 1950, when I was eight, my nine-year- old brother died of pneumonia, and that great sadness has affected me ever since.What's neat about Josh's blog is that all that are part of it have been rejected by many, but we have the chance to reach out to someone else who, like me, has no friends on earth except my own family, and those who are part of this blog. I feel like many of us here are from all over, and such is a good way for those who are part of the last alliance to have communion with one another. But anyway, the story here is very well written, thanks to Philip Anderson.
A Note From the Printer
Hi, I'm Marry Ewell. I work for World books, and am a professor at Hospitaller University and the Samari Award winning author of twenty-five books. I am also the author of four short stories. I write about karate and Mongels since I have been amazed with them and almost all Eastern Culture since childhood. Not only have I won the Samari Award, but also the Earth Day Award, the States of Family Award, The Children's Pick Award, The National Holiday of Japan Award, The Fortune of China Award,The Chonging Sentnal Accomplishment, The United Kingdom Peace Award, and, most importantly,The Apple of Stinking Creek Winner. I was hoping Josh was going to write a book about the Mongels, but to my disappointment, he wrote about the crusades. His stories weren't exactly like my books,and my mouth dropped as I read them. I'm now bigger into the crusades than any history in China or Japan, thanks to him. I didn't read this story before, but went ahead and printed it, because I knew if the king of the war novel wrote it, it had to be good.
Horror Beyond Any Dream: by Joshua
Around Omaha Beach, June 6,1994
The men swallowed. A number of 43,250 American infantry soldiers were to participate in the battle of Omaha Beach.They began to look around, they could see seagulls flying, the water whispering in their ears, the dead crying for their voices to be heard.Their faces were sweating, their voices began to crack and give.
Sergeant James Ridgeway stood with his men as the transport moved. He held tightly onto a picture of Jane Garnet and himself just before he went off to war.
Private Frank Burnside pulled out some cards, and was playing with Private Elmo Washington.They stared at one another as Frank pulled up a card from his sleeve and they made their last laughs.
Private First Class Billy Gamble read Psalm 23 out of his Bible, and prayed that his Mama wouldn't die of sorrow over him in case he never returned. He could now see the beach in close distance with sloping ground. He had never seen anything like it.
Journalist Lewis Prawer pushed back his gray hair. As he saw the beach at close distance, he pulled out his pen from his sleeve. He took hold of a piece of paper and began to write. He hadn't written in days, for he could hardly find anything to write on.When he did not get a chace to write, he often found that it was hard for him to get to sleep.
''What are you writing about, Louie?''said Dr.George Pender.
''I'm sorry,'' said Lieutenant William Early,''but tell us what you are writing about, Lewis.''
''About what we'redoing,''said Prawer.
''Read it to us.''said Early.
''I'm sorry,''said Prawer.''But I'm afraid that I can't tell you until I'm done writing it. Now, I'm writing about you all.'' He saw that they were now indeed paying attention to him, and he smiled. ''However, to those of you who survive, I shall read it to you after we storm the beach.''
Colonel Robert Jones said,''This place is so misty that I can't see a thing.This is the slowest drive I've ever seen.''
''I've seen slower than this.'' said Private Johnny Meade.
''Where you from?'' asked Colonel Jones.
''Down South,''said Meade, "why, I'm from Alabama.''
''Really?''said Early. ''I've never been there.''
Prawer glanced away as he spotted a beach that looked flat at first, but as he continued looking it indeed looked like terrible,wet,sloping ground.
''Here comes the landings, men,'' said Jones.
The ships and transports now stopped as the men departed from them and entered the water.Private Billy Gamble carried his gun swiftly and moved through the waves dramatically like an angel fighting to earn his wings. His baggage felt heavy on him, and his boots felt wet. He could now see the Germans in close distance, lined up on the beach. They formed like evil dogs after innocent pray.''Lord Christ,'' he thought, "help us today.''
The mist increased, and some men slipped into the water.One man, Sergeant Reynald Clark, with flaming green eyes, made the first step onto the beach with stunning motion.
Gamble and the rest of the regiment were now on the beach. A first wave of guns and artillery came showering upon them from the enemy. Gamble saw Sergeant James Ridgeway lose his face from a German machine gun. He turned his head as he saw Ridgeway's picture of Jane Garnet on the ground. He looked at Ridgeway and his picture, but, as he did, a bullet came streaming into his neck, bringing him to the ground. He had yelled when the bullet hit him, and put his hand on his neck, but it stinged as he did it. There were dead corpses in front of him, and he stacked them up so that he would not be shot again. Bullets were whistling over his head, shooting other men that had been in back of him in the line of battle. He saw a U.S.tank roll over dead body pieces and hurl fire into German troops from above. He fainted from his pain. The Battle for Omaha Beach was not over.
Afterword
Soon the U.S. troops break through the German lines at Omaha Beach, but the battle for Normandy does not end until August 25,1994.
Do you think this storytelling is excellent work for describing the Battle of Omaha Beach?
This story is only a short story, and is not intended to be fully historically accurate. However, it may reflect the mood of this epic strugle and spark an interest into my reader to read my book, The Killer Fighters, which tells far more of the battle of Normandy than this short story does. Every important person in this story that has a point of view is fictional.
A Note From the Editor:
Hello, I am Philip Anderson. I have written books for a very long time. I was never very much into Historical Fiction until I met Joshua. I have recently started writing a book entitled, The Battle For the Universe , along with him. I don't have a blog or website of my own, but in return for my helping Josh write, he has given me a voice of my through his blog. If you ever visit Omaha Beach as I have, you should recognize that this is not just another historical sight, but is well preserved. It touches me so much that every year for me and my wife, Fannie's anniversary, we come and visit it, and we show are love for one another by studying the historical facts of the battlefield.What most people do not understand is that the battle of Normandy was not just on Omaha Beach, but on four other beaches, and took places in many other places, as well.Of course, Josh is the historian and historical writer, not me. This short story is well written, but Joshua has done far greater in The Killer Fighters. He is the author of this, and I'll let him tell this story as he wishes, for there is almost nothing I have to change in this work.
A Note From the Publisher
Hello, I am John Ransom. I now work for Crusader Kingdom, L.T.D. and I have published numerous articles by Wilfred Langton on Modern Wars. One particular part in Modern Wars that stuck out in my mind was World War II.
When I was a boy, I would line up what I called ''army men'' with my older brother, Mike,while my younger sisters would play dolls with one another and pretend their husbands were off in war, and so had to take care of their children. My brother and I would often tease our sisters, Sibylla and Martha, and tell them that their husbands had been found missing in action. That December of 1950, when I was eight, my nine-year- old brother died of pneumonia, and that great sadness has affected me ever since.What's neat about Josh's blog is that all that are part of it have been rejected by many, but we have the chance to reach out to someone else who, like me, has no friends on earth except my own family, and those who are part of this blog. I feel like many of us here are from all over, and such is a good way for those who are part of the last alliance to have communion with one another. But anyway, the story here is very well written, thanks to Philip Anderson.
A Note From the Printer
Hi, I'm Marry Ewell. I work for World books, and am a professor at Hospitaller University and the Samari Award winning author of twenty-five books. I am also the author of four short stories. I write about karate and Mongels since I have been amazed with them and almost all Eastern Culture since childhood. Not only have I won the Samari Award, but also the Earth Day Award, the States of Family Award, The Children's Pick Award, The National Holiday of Japan Award, The Fortune of China Award,The Chonging Sentnal Accomplishment, The United Kingdom Peace Award, and, most importantly,The Apple of Stinking Creek Winner. I was hoping Josh was going to write a book about the Mongels, but to my disappointment, he wrote about the crusades. His stories weren't exactly like my books,and my mouth dropped as I read them. I'm now bigger into the crusades than any history in China or Japan, thanks to him. I didn't read this story before, but went ahead and printed it, because I knew if the king of the war novel wrote it, it had to be good.
Horror Beyond Any Dream: by Joshua
Around Omaha Beach, June 6,1994
The men swallowed. A number of 43,250 American infantry soldiers were to participate in the battle of Omaha Beach.They began to look around, they could see seagulls flying, the water whispering in their ears, the dead crying for their voices to be heard.Their faces were sweating, their voices began to crack and give.
Sergeant James Ridgeway stood with his men as the transport moved. He held tightly onto a picture of Jane Garnet and himself just before he went off to war.
Private Frank Burnside pulled out some cards, and was playing with Private Elmo Washington.They stared at one another as Frank pulled up a card from his sleeve and they made their last laughs.
Private First Class Billy Gamble read Psalm 23 out of his Bible, and prayed that his Mama wouldn't die of sorrow over him in case he never returned. He could now see the beach in close distance with sloping ground. He had never seen anything like it.
Journalist Lewis Prawer pushed back his gray hair. As he saw the beach at close distance, he pulled out his pen from his sleeve. He took hold of a piece of paper and began to write. He hadn't written in days, for he could hardly find anything to write on.When he did not get a chace to write, he often found that it was hard for him to get to sleep.
''What are you writing about, Louie?''said Dr.George Pender.
''I'm sorry,'' said Lieutenant William Early,''but tell us what you are writing about, Lewis.''
''About what we'redoing,''said Prawer.
''Read it to us.''said Early.
''I'm sorry,''said Prawer.''But I'm afraid that I can't tell you until I'm done writing it. Now, I'm writing about you all.'' He saw that they were now indeed paying attention to him, and he smiled. ''However, to those of you who survive, I shall read it to you after we storm the beach.''
Colonel Robert Jones said,''This place is so misty that I can't see a thing.This is the slowest drive I've ever seen.''
''I've seen slower than this.'' said Private Johnny Meade.
''Where you from?'' asked Colonel Jones.
''Down South,''said Meade, "why, I'm from Alabama.''
''Really?''said Early. ''I've never been there.''
Prawer glanced away as he spotted a beach that looked flat at first, but as he continued looking it indeed looked like terrible,wet,sloping ground.
''Here comes the landings, men,'' said Jones.
The ships and transports now stopped as the men departed from them and entered the water.Private Billy Gamble carried his gun swiftly and moved through the waves dramatically like an angel fighting to earn his wings. His baggage felt heavy on him, and his boots felt wet. He could now see the Germans in close distance, lined up on the beach. They formed like evil dogs after innocent pray.''Lord Christ,'' he thought, "help us today.''
The mist increased, and some men slipped into the water.One man, Sergeant Reynald Clark, with flaming green eyes, made the first step onto the beach with stunning motion.
Gamble and the rest of the regiment were now on the beach. A first wave of guns and artillery came showering upon them from the enemy. Gamble saw Sergeant James Ridgeway lose his face from a German machine gun. He turned his head as he saw Ridgeway's picture of Jane Garnet on the ground. He looked at Ridgeway and his picture, but, as he did, a bullet came streaming into his neck, bringing him to the ground. He had yelled when the bullet hit him, and put his hand on his neck, but it stinged as he did it. There were dead corpses in front of him, and he stacked them up so that he would not be shot again. Bullets were whistling over his head, shooting other men that had been in back of him in the line of battle. He saw a U.S.tank roll over dead body pieces and hurl fire into German troops from above. He fainted from his pain. The Battle for Omaha Beach was not over.
Afterword
Soon the U.S. troops break through the German lines at Omaha Beach, but the battle for Normandy does not end until August 25,1994.
Do you think this storytelling is excellent work for describing the Battle of Omaha Beach?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sneak Peak to Kings and Crusaders
Somewhere between the rivers of Al-Mafjir and Al-Qasab
Monday September 2,1191
The crusader army awakened, and was ready to move. Horses were sent by stable-boys to their masters and, squires put on each knight their armor and chainmail.
Richard placed over his head a silver helmet that covered his entire head, and had one of his knights place upon it his golden crown. He thought of Berengaria, and wanted to hold her face. He departed from his tent, and leaped upon his white steed as he took control over the reigns of his horse.The loud sound of metal clinking and clattering could be heard from far off. Straw and water was being given to the horses, and weapons to soldiers.
Robert de Sable rode up to King Richard , ''Sire,'' he said, ''my men are ready.''
Hugh of Burgendy rode up, ''The French are ready.'' he said.
''Good,'' said Richard.
''It looks like a hot day.'' Robert de Sable observed.
''Indeed,'' agreed Richard,''but God will protect us.''
Garnier de Nablus rode up with King Guy de Lusignan, Geoffrey de Lusignan,and Earl Robert of Leicester.
''Let's move,'' commanded Garnier.
Richard ordered the army to move again, and so it did.The army began marching in quick motion with the blazing sun in their faces.Their mouths felt dry, and sweat streamed down their faces. It reminded King Guy of Hattin, and gave him fear.
Richard knew that Saladin's army was not the only danger; so was the ferocious heat. He rubbed his steed's neck and stood up straight. He looked back at the long line of men behind him marching, and looked forward towards the miles of land that they still had to go through. His sword was in his scabbard, his shield was tied to his back, and, as his left hand held onto the reigns of his horse, a hatchet was in his right hand.
''This has been a long march, and we are still going.'' he thought. The golden lion on the uniform of his chest made him stand out from the rest of the army. He saw Sir Peter de Preaux ride up with the colors toward the front of the line, just a few yards back from him. Richard saw dry ground in front of him, where there was dust---almost nothing living---and tough rocks. He felt thirsty, and licked his mouth. He opened one of his bags on his horse and took out a glass of water, drank it whole, and then put it away. He pulled the reigns of his horse and made it halt.
''Are you alright, sire?'' asked Garnier de Nablus as he took off his helmet and pushed the chainmail on his head back.
''Yes,'' said Richard. He looked up into the sky as a cloud above him dissolved and more sunlight came down.''Let us keep moving,'' he said. He slightly spurred his horse on to keep going, but not to run off from the rest of his army.The ground seemed to become more dry as his army continued marching. He thought of England, could see the green valleys, the open fields, the wetlands, but they all quickly vanished from his mind, and there was no coolness or whispering of the air,but only deadly heat and the loud sound of marching.
There was a large hill in front of him full full of sharp rocks and dead pieces of land. He had the horse move up hill until it reached the very top. In front of him seemed to be more wasteland, and nowhere to cleanse the thirst of his crusader army. Garnier was behind him and riding up the hill.
''Sire,'' said Garnier, ''King Richard, sire.We have not yet reached the Wadi Al-Qasab river.Until then we must keep up the good march.''
Richard nodded.''Yes,'' he thought. "There is still a river not far away. God just wants us to have faith in Him. The river cannot be far.'' He looked at Garnier in the face.''You're right,'' he said, ''We must keep marching.'' He looked forward and thought, ''We are here to re-capture the holy city of Jerusalem, and to save Christians.'' He rode forward as Garnier did the same, and the rest of the army came up hill.The hill presently sloped down and Richard realized that his army was in a small valley with mountains and hills on both sides.On both sides of the army the place was partly wooded.The hills around them were sloping and piled up with rocks.In front of his own eyes he saw pieces and what remained of a dead family laying across the ground.He got off his horse and walked down to one of the dead men whose fist was clenched and full of blood.
''What are you looking at?'' said Garnier.
Richard opened up the dead man's fist and touched the cross that was in the man's hand. He looked closely at the man.''Be at peace,'' he said. He saw a few saracen arrows across the ground and at the centerpiece, a merchant bag with no merchandise in it left. He got back onto his steed.''They were Christian merchants,'' he said.''They were killed by Saladin's army.'' He saw a small girl, lying flatly across the ground as she still had a doll held tight in her hands. He swelled with anger inside.'' This is Saladin's doing,'' he thought.
''What do you think these Christian merchants were doing here?'' asked Garnier.
Richard no longer looked at the Christian merchants,could not bear to look at them, could not bear to think of them.''It does not matter, Garnier,'' he said.''We must keep going.We must hold tight formation.''He spurred the horse, and the army began marching once again.
''This is terrible ground.'' said Garnier. He looked on, saw a stag eating small pieces of grass just a few hundred yards away, and then run out of sight. He turned his face to the left as a group of fleas attached onto his left arm. He smacked them all off, but they came back and his body began to itch. He took hold of a glass of water from one of his bags and threw out the water at the fleas, killing them.
Richard looked back at the crusader army as he halted his steed. He said, ''Keep up the good steady pace, men.'' He felt a hard push. He looked on his shield, saw a saracen arrow. As he looked up in panic he saw saracen archers come out and shoot arrows at his own men. He saw his crossbowmen form lines and release their bolts into the faces of the saracens.''They are tyring to break us!'' he yelled.''We must stay together!
Hold formation!''
Muslim horse-archers came out with curved swords and attacked the crusader columns as Muslim swordsman followed.
Robert de Sable lifted up his sword.''Hold Templars!'' he yelled.''Hold!''
The lines were holding against the small waves of the enemy. Two saracen horse-archers were on both sides of Garnier. One was killed by him, but the other one knocked him to the ground.Garnier panicked and reached for his sword, which had also fallen.He saw a bolt of a crossbowman fly into the back head of the horse-archer behind him.
Sir Peter de Preaux stuck down the colors in a small clump of dirt.With his sword, he was fighting in hand to hand combat with a Muslim amir whose name he knew was Ayaz al-Tawil. The Muslim tried to stick his spear into Peter's side, but Peter blocked. However, the force of the spear pushed Peter off his horse and onto the ground. He saw his horse run off into the trees in fear.Ayaz al-Tawil was charging at Peter again, but Peter,with his sword, stabbed the stomach of the saracen and Ayaz al-Tawil fell mortally wounded. He took hold of the saracen's weapon as a souvenir. He saw that the small battle was now ending.The saracens began to retreat back into the hills and Peter looked up into the sky.
Garnier was back on his steed with his sword in his hand.
Richard rubbed the sweat off his face.He gave a smile, the best one he could make.''We won the fight,'' he said. He saw Peter de Preaux with no horse. Richard looked at a stable boy.''Give Sir Peter a new horse,'' he said.
The stable boy scratched his head.''Yes, sire,'' he said as he ran off to do as he was told.
Richard looked on and noticed a flowing river in front of him that he had not seen before.
''It is the Wadi Al-Qasab,'' said Garnier.''We reached the river.''
Peter lifted up the spear of Ayaz al-Tawil.''I killed a Muslim amir,'' he said.''the spear's name is Ayaz Estos which means "Ayaz's spear."
Garnier de Nablus stood up from the ground as he looked at his Hospitallers in shock and surprise that he was still alive.''Well done,'' he said.
Robert de Sable and his Templars cheered for their victory.''We succeeded,'' he said as he looked at the Wadi Al-Qasab river.''We reached our destination for today.''
''Let us set up camp near the river,'' said Richard,''and let us be careful of saracens nearby.''
The crusaders went with their horses toward the river and satisfied their thirst.
~~~From Kings and Crusaders: Part Three, Chapter XIV, "The Beginning Of the Long March Southwards"~~~~
Monday September 2,1191
The crusader army awakened, and was ready to move. Horses were sent by stable-boys to their masters and, squires put on each knight their armor and chainmail.
Richard placed over his head a silver helmet that covered his entire head, and had one of his knights place upon it his golden crown. He thought of Berengaria, and wanted to hold her face. He departed from his tent, and leaped upon his white steed as he took control over the reigns of his horse.The loud sound of metal clinking and clattering could be heard from far off. Straw and water was being given to the horses, and weapons to soldiers.
Robert de Sable rode up to King Richard , ''Sire,'' he said, ''my men are ready.''
Hugh of Burgendy rode up, ''The French are ready.'' he said.
''Good,'' said Richard.
''It looks like a hot day.'' Robert de Sable observed.
''Indeed,'' agreed Richard,''but God will protect us.''
Garnier de Nablus rode up with King Guy de Lusignan, Geoffrey de Lusignan,and Earl Robert of Leicester.
''Let's move,'' commanded Garnier.
Richard ordered the army to move again, and so it did.The army began marching in quick motion with the blazing sun in their faces.Their mouths felt dry, and sweat streamed down their faces. It reminded King Guy of Hattin, and gave him fear.
Richard knew that Saladin's army was not the only danger; so was the ferocious heat. He rubbed his steed's neck and stood up straight. He looked back at the long line of men behind him marching, and looked forward towards the miles of land that they still had to go through. His sword was in his scabbard, his shield was tied to his back, and, as his left hand held onto the reigns of his horse, a hatchet was in his right hand.
''This has been a long march, and we are still going.'' he thought. The golden lion on the uniform of his chest made him stand out from the rest of the army. He saw Sir Peter de Preaux ride up with the colors toward the front of the line, just a few yards back from him. Richard saw dry ground in front of him, where there was dust---almost nothing living---and tough rocks. He felt thirsty, and licked his mouth. He opened one of his bags on his horse and took out a glass of water, drank it whole, and then put it away. He pulled the reigns of his horse and made it halt.
''Are you alright, sire?'' asked Garnier de Nablus as he took off his helmet and pushed the chainmail on his head back.
''Yes,'' said Richard. He looked up into the sky as a cloud above him dissolved and more sunlight came down.''Let us keep moving,'' he said. He slightly spurred his horse on to keep going, but not to run off from the rest of his army.The ground seemed to become more dry as his army continued marching. He thought of England, could see the green valleys, the open fields, the wetlands, but they all quickly vanished from his mind, and there was no coolness or whispering of the air,but only deadly heat and the loud sound of marching.
There was a large hill in front of him full full of sharp rocks and dead pieces of land. He had the horse move up hill until it reached the very top. In front of him seemed to be more wasteland, and nowhere to cleanse the thirst of his crusader army. Garnier was behind him and riding up the hill.
''Sire,'' said Garnier, ''King Richard, sire.We have not yet reached the Wadi Al-Qasab river.Until then we must keep up the good march.''
Richard nodded.''Yes,'' he thought. "There is still a river not far away. God just wants us to have faith in Him. The river cannot be far.'' He looked at Garnier in the face.''You're right,'' he said, ''We must keep marching.'' He looked forward and thought, ''We are here to re-capture the holy city of Jerusalem, and to save Christians.'' He rode forward as Garnier did the same, and the rest of the army came up hill.The hill presently sloped down and Richard realized that his army was in a small valley with mountains and hills on both sides.On both sides of the army the place was partly wooded.The hills around them were sloping and piled up with rocks.In front of his own eyes he saw pieces and what remained of a dead family laying across the ground.He got off his horse and walked down to one of the dead men whose fist was clenched and full of blood.
''What are you looking at?'' said Garnier.
Richard opened up the dead man's fist and touched the cross that was in the man's hand. He looked closely at the man.''Be at peace,'' he said. He saw a few saracen arrows across the ground and at the centerpiece, a merchant bag with no merchandise in it left. He got back onto his steed.''They were Christian merchants,'' he said.''They were killed by Saladin's army.'' He saw a small girl, lying flatly across the ground as she still had a doll held tight in her hands. He swelled with anger inside.'' This is Saladin's doing,'' he thought.
''What do you think these Christian merchants were doing here?'' asked Garnier.
Richard no longer looked at the Christian merchants,could not bear to look at them, could not bear to think of them.''It does not matter, Garnier,'' he said.''We must keep going.We must hold tight formation.''He spurred the horse, and the army began marching once again.
''This is terrible ground.'' said Garnier. He looked on, saw a stag eating small pieces of grass just a few hundred yards away, and then run out of sight. He turned his face to the left as a group of fleas attached onto his left arm. He smacked them all off, but they came back and his body began to itch. He took hold of a glass of water from one of his bags and threw out the water at the fleas, killing them.
Richard looked back at the crusader army as he halted his steed. He said, ''Keep up the good steady pace, men.'' He felt a hard push. He looked on his shield, saw a saracen arrow. As he looked up in panic he saw saracen archers come out and shoot arrows at his own men. He saw his crossbowmen form lines and release their bolts into the faces of the saracens.''They are tyring to break us!'' he yelled.''We must stay together!
Hold formation!''
Muslim horse-archers came out with curved swords and attacked the crusader columns as Muslim swordsman followed.
Robert de Sable lifted up his sword.''Hold Templars!'' he yelled.''Hold!''
The lines were holding against the small waves of the enemy. Two saracen horse-archers were on both sides of Garnier. One was killed by him, but the other one knocked him to the ground.Garnier panicked and reached for his sword, which had also fallen.He saw a bolt of a crossbowman fly into the back head of the horse-archer behind him.
Sir Peter de Preaux stuck down the colors in a small clump of dirt.With his sword, he was fighting in hand to hand combat with a Muslim amir whose name he knew was Ayaz al-Tawil. The Muslim tried to stick his spear into Peter's side, but Peter blocked. However, the force of the spear pushed Peter off his horse and onto the ground. He saw his horse run off into the trees in fear.Ayaz al-Tawil was charging at Peter again, but Peter,with his sword, stabbed the stomach of the saracen and Ayaz al-Tawil fell mortally wounded. He took hold of the saracen's weapon as a souvenir. He saw that the small battle was now ending.The saracens began to retreat back into the hills and Peter looked up into the sky.
Garnier was back on his steed with his sword in his hand.
Richard rubbed the sweat off his face.He gave a smile, the best one he could make.''We won the fight,'' he said. He saw Peter de Preaux with no horse. Richard looked at a stable boy.''Give Sir Peter a new horse,'' he said.
The stable boy scratched his head.''Yes, sire,'' he said as he ran off to do as he was told.
Richard looked on and noticed a flowing river in front of him that he had not seen before.
''It is the Wadi Al-Qasab,'' said Garnier.''We reached the river.''
Peter lifted up the spear of Ayaz al-Tawil.''I killed a Muslim amir,'' he said.''the spear's name is Ayaz Estos which means "Ayaz's spear."
Garnier de Nablus stood up from the ground as he looked at his Hospitallers in shock and surprise that he was still alive.''Well done,'' he said.
Robert de Sable and his Templars cheered for their victory.''We succeeded,'' he said as he looked at the Wadi Al-Qasab river.''We reached our destination for today.''
''Let us set up camp near the river,'' said Richard,''and let us be careful of saracens nearby.''
The crusaders went with their horses toward the river and satisfied their thirst.
~~~From Kings and Crusaders: Part Three, Chapter XIV, "The Beginning Of the Long March Southwards"~~~~
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Psalm Of Thanksgiving
Lord, You are my Avenger, my Rock and my Shield. When people discourage me, You comfort me with Your presence. You make me stronger, and show me that there is still good in this world. When I fail or falter, you lift me up and strengthen me. It is only because of You that I have hope. May Your name be praised above all names, and may Your Son be regarded the King of kings just as He is. Help me to serve you in everything I do, in times of victory and despair.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Note From Myself
I have recently realized I must go back to being more dedicated to my books than to my blog. I may not be able to write much more, if any on this blog, until September 2011. Don't think that I ignore yours or anyone else's comments. Every comment that has been put on here from other people I have read, and they have inspired me to write more of my books, as well as on this blog. Over the past few months, I have discovered there are a great many other people besides myself and historians that want to learn about the crusades and respect that it is part of church history. My father has been an excellent listener to my stories, and relates himself to one of the heroes in my story, Sir Peter de Preaux. Sometimes I may seem a little loud while giving out free cards of my blog, and saying that I write books, but I am inspired to write about the thousands of men before me, and this is their story (which I am privileged to be mine through writing about it).
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
List of my Crusader Historians
Philip Steele
Helen Nicholson
David Nicolle
Thomas Asbridge
Thomas F.Madden
J.Riley Smith
Jonathan Webb
Peter W.Edbury
Norman F.Cantor
James Reston Jr.
The letters by Richard the Lionheart
The letters by Taqi al Din
The letters by Imad ad Din
The letters by Beh ad Din
William of Tyre
Monday, July 25, 2011
How To Write a Book
Writing Action/War/Adventure
When writing about war or adventure, if it is to be historical, you don't want to write a story of history that provides the same stuff that you read in high school that many students hate. Instead, you want to give a good historical story that is not fully well known. For example, how many Americans know that many men from their nation fought in North Africa and the Atlantic, not just Europe and the Pacific? How many Americans know that the allies landed on the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword, and not just Omaha Beach during the battle of Normandy? When you come down to it, you realize that most Americans don't know much about history.When a lot of people go to a historical site, they are not always appreciative to the fact that they can walk where thousands of people walked before them. Too often, they are thinking about how they want to get back to the hotel and watch a sports game.
Try to write a historical story in a fictional way, but without twisting history. I would advise your story having no more than four men or women that have an important role in your story, in most books you write.When writing a good war story, I think it is often good to take a few people from one or more armies so that both forces have a voice of their own.You don't usually want all your characters to do the same thing; you want your people to be the commanders, who make the decisions, and the infantry soldiers on the field confronting the enemy and experiencing the action.You also want your people that you write about to be real and to get an idea of how you think they are by reading letters that were written by them. If they were religious, let them be so; if they were weak, let them be so. If they were cruel, let them be so. Keep your characters very accurate to how you feel they were, and don't make them a certain way just because Hollywood turned them out to be that way; bring them back to life in your interpretation of them. If you keep your story historical, don't worry about accepting criticism for it. If people don't like your story, it may just be that they don't like the history you write about, not how you write. Unless you twist history---which I don't like---never expect your book to leap to the New York Times Bestseller list.
Michael Shaara worked on The Killer Angels for seven years since he was so inspired to write about the three day battle of Gettysburg; however, nothing he wrote, including his seventy short stories, did well in his life-time. Dr.Seuss wrote four hundred books in two years, and would write a thousand page book, only to keep sixty pages of it. It took J.R.R.Tolkien sixteen years to write The Lord of the Rings.Tolkien also wrote seventeen volumes to the history of Middle Earth, and made up his own languages. A possible new theory is that C.S.Lewis had a code behind his Narnia books, and that each book of The Chronicles of Narnia symbolized a different planet in the solar system. As you can see, some writers really get into their work and re-word and plan out everything carefully to make it a good book. I also think it is often good when writing historical fiction not to throw out your personal views on every character in the book, but let the reader make some choices for himself or herself.
Writing Science Fiction
When writing about space in science fiction, you don't want to write something without human life, but you still want to make it very different.What's very strange to me is that this was one of the first subjects I ever wrote about. I don't enjoy writing science fiction much anymore, and when I write it I think I'm often in a strange mood.When writing this subject, I would suggest studying the universe first and trying to think deeply and about things that perhaps only your imagination has covered, but you feel that you must write down. I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you out much with this subject.
Writing Fantasy
This was actually one of the first subjects I ever wrote about. Like Science Fiction, I don't write it much anymore, but, like many of my old stories that I don't mention much anymore, I am still proud of them because without them there would be no such thing as Kings and Crusaders.I hadn't read many stories and my first story,originally called The Fast Car, was only three pages long. The only books I had read befere this were probably only no longer than a hundred pages. I continued on in The Burnwheel Stories,as they were called, and then The Fight For Life, The Stories of Kabok, and some other works including some that have been thrown away; by 2008, through some advice from Seth and Samuel Shipley, I wrote The Robbit, which was sort of my first book.The Stories of Kabok and The Robbit, along with The Lord of the Cornbreads were all fantasy and are perhaps my best known old works.I think it is good to study history and to sort of tie it together with your fantasy work. I also think that in fantasy it is good to put a Christian-underlying message behind it; otherwise, it is a waste of time.
Writing Anything Non-Fiction
In the past and now, I write theology, church history, and military history.When writing non-fiction, to make a good book, you want to definitely know what you are writing about, and to get your information from not just one source.You want to back up your feelings with historical evidence.One of my books, .When writing non-fiction, you might want to first take notes of what you're writing about, and then write them in a good way, as you put it in your book.
When writing about war or adventure, if it is to be historical, you don't want to write a story of history that provides the same stuff that you read in high school that many students hate. Instead, you want to give a good historical story that is not fully well known. For example, how many Americans know that many men from their nation fought in North Africa and the Atlantic, not just Europe and the Pacific? How many Americans know that the allies landed on the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword, and not just Omaha Beach during the battle of Normandy? When you come down to it, you realize that most Americans don't know much about history.When a lot of people go to a historical site, they are not always appreciative to the fact that they can walk where thousands of people walked before them. Too often, they are thinking about how they want to get back to the hotel and watch a sports game.
Try to write a historical story in a fictional way, but without twisting history. I would advise your story having no more than four men or women that have an important role in your story, in most books you write.When writing a good war story, I think it is often good to take a few people from one or more armies so that both forces have a voice of their own.You don't usually want all your characters to do the same thing; you want your people to be the commanders, who make the decisions, and the infantry soldiers on the field confronting the enemy and experiencing the action.You also want your people that you write about to be real and to get an idea of how you think they are by reading letters that were written by them. If they were religious, let them be so; if they were weak, let them be so. If they were cruel, let them be so. Keep your characters very accurate to how you feel they were, and don't make them a certain way just because Hollywood turned them out to be that way; bring them back to life in your interpretation of them. If you keep your story historical, don't worry about accepting criticism for it. If people don't like your story, it may just be that they don't like the history you write about, not how you write. Unless you twist history---which I don't like---never expect your book to leap to the New York Times Bestseller list.
Michael Shaara worked on The Killer Angels for seven years since he was so inspired to write about the three day battle of Gettysburg; however, nothing he wrote, including his seventy short stories, did well in his life-time. Dr.Seuss wrote four hundred books in two years, and would write a thousand page book, only to keep sixty pages of it. It took J.R.R.Tolkien sixteen years to write The Lord of the Rings.Tolkien also wrote seventeen volumes to the history of Middle Earth, and made up his own languages. A possible new theory is that C.S.Lewis had a code behind his Narnia books, and that each book of The Chronicles of Narnia symbolized a different planet in the solar system. As you can see, some writers really get into their work and re-word and plan out everything carefully to make it a good book. I also think it is often good when writing historical fiction not to throw out your personal views on every character in the book, but let the reader make some choices for himself or herself.
Writing Science Fiction
When writing about space in science fiction, you don't want to write something without human life, but you still want to make it very different.What's very strange to me is that this was one of the first subjects I ever wrote about. I don't enjoy writing science fiction much anymore, and when I write it I think I'm often in a strange mood.When writing this subject, I would suggest studying the universe first and trying to think deeply and about things that perhaps only your imagination has covered, but you feel that you must write down. I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you out much with this subject.
Writing Fantasy
This was actually one of the first subjects I ever wrote about. Like Science Fiction, I don't write it much anymore, but, like many of my old stories that I don't mention much anymore, I am still proud of them because without them there would be no such thing as Kings and Crusaders.I hadn't read many stories and my first story,originally called The Fast Car, was only three pages long. The only books I had read befere this were probably only no longer than a hundred pages. I continued on in The Burnwheel Stories,as they were called, and then The Fight For Life, The Stories of Kabok, and some other works including some that have been thrown away; by 2008, through some advice from Seth and Samuel Shipley, I wrote The Robbit, which was sort of my first book.The Stories of Kabok and The Robbit, along with The Lord of the Cornbreads were all fantasy and are perhaps my best known old works.I think it is good to study history and to sort of tie it together with your fantasy work. I also think that in fantasy it is good to put a Christian-underlying message behind it; otherwise, it is a waste of time.
Writing Anything Non-Fiction
In the past and now, I write theology, church history, and military history.When writing non-fiction, to make a good book, you want to definitely know what you are writing about, and to get your information from not just one source.You want to back up your feelings with historical evidence.One of my books, .When writing non-fiction, you might want to first take notes of what you're writing about, and then write them in a good way, as you put it in your book.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Christianity and Islam
These have been called sister religions, even though they are very different from one another.The Christian God wants all to be obedient, even though He knows all cannot and will not be. He created man to serve Him, and when man turned away, God sent His Son to die for all who trusted in Him, although His Son resurrected, and will some day return. The Christian God will have those who are wicked to be cast in the Lake of Fire, but those who do serve Him will live eternally with Him in Heaven. Many Christians who serve Him are persecuted for their beliefs. However, those who serve Him will be rewarded a place in Heaven.There are now 2,000,000,000 people in the world who claim to be Christians. It is the fastest growing religion in the world.
The Muslim, false god, according to the false religious beliefs, hates those who worship Christ, since He is only considered a prophet.What is very interesting is that it has been proven through historical evidence that Christ existed. There is no proof that Allah was real. There are about 1-1.5 billion Muslims in the world now. It is the fastest growing religion in the United States of America.
Something else very interesting is that Mohammed made it where a Muslim could only have five wives even though he had eighteen, including a nine year old.What's very sad is that he probably had very little experience in knowing many Christians, and he probably thought he saw things a lot more than he did. He wrote the Koran in two days while the Bible was written by many different men throughout hundreds of years. I rather believe the many men it took to write the Bible and their beliefs rather than just one man who came hundreds of years later.
In the religion of Islam, Muslims are told to kill anybody who is not a Christian, and that is why Muslim and Jihad warriors killed thousands of innocent citazens in the Twin Towers on September 11,2001. More Americans died in those towers than the amount of Americans on D-Day.Wanting to protect the freedom of Americans, President George W.Bush led America in a war against modern day saracens. For his incredible wisdom given by God, he was accused of acting like Richard the Lionheart.
Christians believe in loving their enemies.This love does not mean agreeing with somebody or not fighting in war against them if need be, but it means to care for their souls, and not wanting to kill them just because you believe differently than them, which is very unlike the Muslims.Why do Christians care for someone's soul?Are the Christians better than anybody else? The Christians care for someone's soul because Christ cared for theirs.Christians aren't perfect,and they are no better than anybody else,except the fact that Christ is in their lives, and has changed them and forgiven them. The crusaders are good examples of those who protected their faith, even for those who might not fully agree with them on everything they did in the crusades.
Every Christian is a threat to evil, but there are some Christians that especially deserve the title ''The Last Alliance.'' I do not throw out this title to anyone I meet, and when I use it, I mean it sincerely. I feel ''The Last Alliance'' are a group of Christians that have been rejected by many heathens that claim to be ''Christians,'' but many have already come together and some are on their way. This brilliant and remarkable force is not perfect, but no one is. This alliance is not one particular person, community, or congregation I have been to. Rather, it is all the Christians I have met throughout the years. But, a great part of it is based upon a certain church I have been to that inspired me to form this title. I believe this "last alliance" will be often far outnumbered in the last years of this world and worse things may happen to it by the infidels before the Returning King Jesus takes His Bride home .I'm sorry if you are not a Christian, and you want me to give you a fairy tale ending, but I would be lying if I told you that you are also going to have a good eternal future. I only do hope that you will turn to Christ and understand the underlying message I have put behind this. I feel there is nothing else I can say.
The Muslim, false god, according to the false religious beliefs, hates those who worship Christ, since He is only considered a prophet.What is very interesting is that it has been proven through historical evidence that Christ existed. There is no proof that Allah was real. There are about 1-1.5 billion Muslims in the world now. It is the fastest growing religion in the United States of America.
Something else very interesting is that Mohammed made it where a Muslim could only have five wives even though he had eighteen, including a nine year old.What's very sad is that he probably had very little experience in knowing many Christians, and he probably thought he saw things a lot more than he did. He wrote the Koran in two days while the Bible was written by many different men throughout hundreds of years. I rather believe the many men it took to write the Bible and their beliefs rather than just one man who came hundreds of years later.
In the religion of Islam, Muslims are told to kill anybody who is not a Christian, and that is why Muslim and Jihad warriors killed thousands of innocent citazens in the Twin Towers on September 11,2001. More Americans died in those towers than the amount of Americans on D-Day.Wanting to protect the freedom of Americans, President George W.Bush led America in a war against modern day saracens. For his incredible wisdom given by God, he was accused of acting like Richard the Lionheart.
Christians believe in loving their enemies.This love does not mean agreeing with somebody or not fighting in war against them if need be, but it means to care for their souls, and not wanting to kill them just because you believe differently than them, which is very unlike the Muslims.Why do Christians care for someone's soul?Are the Christians better than anybody else? The Christians care for someone's soul because Christ cared for theirs.Christians aren't perfect,and they are no better than anybody else,except the fact that Christ is in their lives, and has changed them and forgiven them. The crusaders are good examples of those who protected their faith, even for those who might not fully agree with them on everything they did in the crusades.
Every Christian is a threat to evil, but there are some Christians that especially deserve the title ''The Last Alliance.'' I do not throw out this title to anyone I meet, and when I use it, I mean it sincerely. I feel ''The Last Alliance'' are a group of Christians that have been rejected by many heathens that claim to be ''Christians,'' but many have already come together and some are on their way. This brilliant and remarkable force is not perfect, but no one is. This alliance is not one particular person, community, or congregation I have been to. Rather, it is all the Christians I have met throughout the years. But, a great part of it is based upon a certain church I have been to that inspired me to form this title. I believe this "last alliance" will be often far outnumbered in the last years of this world and worse things may happen to it by the infidels before the Returning King Jesus takes His Bride home .I'm sorry if you are not a Christian, and you want me to give you a fairy tale ending, but I would be lying if I told you that you are also going to have a good eternal future. I only do hope that you will turn to Christ and understand the underlying message I have put behind this. I feel there is nothing else I can say.
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Gift of Christ
Perhaps everybody in the world has somebody that loves them, whether it is by marriage, family, friends, or just pure passion for someone that you might have almost nothing in common with. You want what is best for them even though they may not love you back---and that is probably the rarest of examples.The last of these loves I would say is the most like what Christ has for us; He gave His life for us, even though many of us will not trust Him, and even though none of us deserve Him. Those who put their faith in Him and try to live for Him should recognize that they can never show back the love for Him that He gave to us. However, we should be willing to walk 2,000 miles for our faith just as the crusaders did on the First Crusade. Everybody is at least good at one thing, for everyone has some kind of talent, whether it is speaking, singing, playing musical instruments,or, as in my case, writing books.All these gifts can be used to glorify God, and each is no better than the other. Everyone should be fully committed to Christ, and no one should force a way of worshiping Christ upon anyone else, for each person should glorify Christ in the tasks he or she has been given.We are to worship Christ in every way, even if we are not good at it. Interestingly enough, I do feel the gifts that Christ have given us are the ones that we should use all the time and use mostly. Otherwise, I do not understand why some of us would be created to do some things better than others.Whatever the case, we should all try to serve Christ since He is our Creator, Savior, and Returning King. We should not force how we worship Christ upon anybody else although, with what we have been given, we should all serve Christ to the same extent with our gifts.
The Storming Rage
This is the sequel to Kings and Crusaders. Like Kings and Crusaders, this book will be a novel of the Third Crusade. . It will include almost all of the characters from the previous book. However, unlike Kings and Crusaders, The Storming Rage will concentrate almost completely on war, and not on the men's relationships with their families. This story is about the Siege of Darum and the advance towards Egypt. I thank crusader historians: Helen Nicholson, David Nicolle, Thomas Asbridge, and Thomas F. Madden for the excellent research they have provided for me for my crusader saga. I look forward to writing this book. This book will be finished by it's sequel, The Final Journey.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Future Appearances
There are no other places at which I will be speaking right now. If I am asked, I will gladly speak almost anywhere. Thank you, East County Homeschool group, for knowing the word of God, for knowing history, and for being a joy to my life.God bless you all!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Kings and Crusaders
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Third Crusade
The Third Crusade also known as The Kings' Crusade was led by Emperor Fredrick I Barbarossa of Germany,King Philip II Augustus of France,and King Richard I of England to conquer back Jerusalem from the Muslims under their leader,Saladin.
The Saracen Commanders
al-Malik al-Nasir Salah ed-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
He is probably better known as Saladin.Anyways,he was born in the castle Takrit in Mesopotamia in 1137.He was the son of al -Ayyub and was the nephew of Shirkuh.Since a boy he prepared himself to conquer Jerusalem.He was deeply religious and prayed five times each day.As far as education he wrote ''children are brought up in the way in which their elders were brought up.''
In 1174,the commander of the Muslims,Nur ed-Din Zangi,died and the throne passed to Shirkuh but he died as well and the throne eventually passed to Saladin,who locked his wives up and had other other women with him.He was full of pride of his race and often far outnumbered his enemies.He fought other Muslims more than he did the crusaders and conquered the city of Damascus in 1174.In 1183 he conquered Aleppo and in 1186 he conquered Mosul from other Muslims.Of course,Saladin still wanted to conquer Jerusalem from the Christians and in 1177 with an army of 26,000 men, he battled King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem,at Montgisard, who had less than 8,000 men but yet Saladin still lost 23,000 men and the battle.However,Saladin did not give up and in 1179 he defeated King Baldwin IV at the battle of Marj Ayun before winning the Battle of Jacob's Ford the same year.
Reynald de Chatillon plundered from the Arabs which turned Saladin to attack the city of Kerek in 1183. However,King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem,who had leprosy,arrived at the city with an army,which sent Saladin's army away without a battle between the two kings.
Since Baldwin could no longer rule because of his leprosy,the throne passed to his brother in law Guy de Lusignan. This meant Saladin would have a new opponent.
In September 1183, Saladin's army battled 16,300 crusaders led by King Guy at Al-Fule and neither army really won the battle.Saladin's son,Al-Afdal and another Muslim named Muzzaffar al Din Gokbori with an army of about 7,000 defeated a few hundred crusaders led by Gerard de Ridefort and Roger de Moulins at the battle of Cresson on May 1,1187 for they tricked the crusaders into a domed charge.He joined forces with his son on May 27, 1187.On July 2,1187 he attacked the city of Tiberius on with part of his army.
King Guy heard of this and had a meeting at the castle of Sephorie as he asked his men what he should do. The oldest and most experienced out of the soldiers named Count Raymond III of Tripoli,suggested for them to stay where they were while Gerard de Ridefort,who had been wounded at Cresson,wanted to confront the enemy.That day in July, King Guy went with Raymond's decision but that night he was influenced by Gerard, who had called Raymond a coward, and so King Guy decided to confront Saladin's army which was exactly what Saladin wanted.This would lead up to the Third Crusade.
The crusader army marched out to confront Saladin's army.They probably had 5,000 men from The Kingdom of Jerusalem and 15,000-20,000 more men from the Kingdom of England, and many of them came alone from Europe with the Holy Cross for the kings of Europe would not help them at the time.
The armies meat at the Horns of Hattin where Saladin's tens of thousands of men army trapped the crusaders on a hill.The next morning on July 4,1187,Saladin defeated the crusader army that had been in bad condition and his men killed all the crusaders except some of the top leaders since almost none of them would convert to Islam.
In August 1187 Saladin's brother,Al Adil, arrived with an Egyptian army to the Holy Land which was around the time Saladin conquered Acre and Ascalon from the Christians.He would now move on to the city of Jerusalem.
The defenders of Jerusalem were led by King Guy's wife,Queen Sibylla,a knight named Balian d'Ibelin,and the Patriarch Heraclius against Saladin's army which was perhaps 200.000 strong.After a long siege the Christians surrendered the city to the Muslims .The siege of Jerusalem,which had lasted from September 20-October 2,1187 was a great victory to Saladin even though some Christians such as Queen Sibylla had escaped.After this victory,he attacked the city of Tyre on November 12,1187-January 1,1188 but his siege failed and with this victory for the crusaders at Tyre, it became a future revival for the Third Crusade.
Taqi al-Din
He was actually Saladin's nephew and he often rebelled against his uncle.He also didn't get along with Al Afdal,who was Saladin's son.He played an important role in the battle of Hattin and when the Third crusade came he abandoned the fight.
Muzaffar al Din Gokbori
His name means 'Blue Wolf' in Turkish.He served under Nur al-Din Zangi and became the governor of Harran in what had been one crusader state called the County of Edessa but fell to the Muslims long before the Third Crusade.Little is known about where his division took place during the battle of Hattin.
Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Born March 7,1145, he wrote about the life of Saladin and was an eyewitness of the Third Crusade.
Kilij Arslan
His birth is unknown.He claimed to be a Russian descendant.He often fought with the Byzantine Empire.
The Size and tactics of the Saracen Army
Many Muslim soldiers were called horse-archers which meant they would often ride mares and shoot with the bow.There tactics were often to rain down their arrows on the crusaders and then attack them with their cavalry.Some people may feel that my estimate of how many Muslims fought the Crusaders during the crusade is a not accurate but I would guess their army being the size of at least 300,000 men in the fields, along with 6,000 Muslim garrison inside the city of Acre and 20,000 Muslim garrisons inside Jerusalem and Ascalon. Them having at least 300,000 men is supported by Richard de Templo's account of the crusade. Some sources claim that Saladin's army was as small as 80,000 men during the Battle of Arsuf during the Third Crusade. Others claim his army not to be 30,000 in total. I however, trust the eyewitness sources more than the tongues of modern historians.
The Christian World
The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other crusader states
King Guy of Jerusalem
Born 1150,Guy married Princess Sibylla of Jerusalem in 1180,for she considered him handsome and adored him.Guy's brother in law,Baldwin IV,who might have been won of the finest crusaders in history,became very angry with how Guy and Sibylla ran off together to get married. After their marriage, Baldwin found them together and even tortured Guy.However,some crusaders were out to capture Sibylla and force her to marry Baldwin of Ibelin but Baldwin IV of Jerusalem speedily had his sister marry Guy and so the plot of the other crusaders never worked out.Since King Baldwin of Jerusalem died of leprosy the throne passed to his nephew Baldwin V but he died as well and so the throne passed to his parents which caused Sibylla to crown herself and her husband king and queen of Jerusalem.
Guy was not very famous among his troops and he was often blamed for the campaigns of 1183..He took place in the battle of Al-Fule in September 1183, where neither him or Saladin won the battle.In the battle of Hattin on July 4,1187 his army was virtually destroyed by Saladin and he himself was captured.After Saladin conquered Jerusalem, Guy was put in the Citadel of Neapolis which was in the city of Jerusalem where Guy's wife got to come and see him and eventually payed the ransom for him.Saladin made King Guy promise that if he let him go he wouldn't turn against him and would not attack the Muslims anymore and Guy promised, but he lied.He was set free by Saladin and in 1188 he arrived at the city of Tyre,which was one of the last crusader strongholds but the leader of the city,Marques Conrad,who was under King Guy, did not allow Guy,his two daughters,and his wife to come into the city so Guy went with his family to Acre.
Balian d'Ibelin
Born in the early 1140s Balian married Maria Comnena in 1177 and so he became the step father of Princess Isabella,who was Queen Sibylla's, half sister.On July 4,1187 he was at the rearguard of the army with the Templars at the Horns of Hattin.During the battle he managed to escape and reached the city of Jerusalem where he defended it bravely against Saladin's army but the crusaders lost the battle and he rode off to France but not with Queen Sibylla,who went to the city of Tripoli.He would soon become involved in the Third Crusade.
Gerard de Ridefort
His birth is unknown.He was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar from the end of 1184 until his death in 1189.Though he himself was never in the Third Crusade he was involved in many battles before the crusade and took place in the siege of Acre in 1189.
Marquis Conrad of Montferrat
He was born in the early 1140s and was the son to Marquis William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg.Conrad and his crusaders were victorious over the Muslims at the city of Tyre in 1188. That same year, when King Guy came to the city of Tyre with his family Conrad did not allow him in and so Guy went with his family to the city of Acre.
The Holy Roman Empire
Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany
Born in 1122, he was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt in March 1152.The name Barbarossa means 'red beard'.On June 9,1156,at Wurzburg he married Beatrice of Burgendy.Their children's names were Sophie,Beatrice,Frederick V Duke of Swabia,Henry IV Holy roman Emperor,Conrad who was later on named Frederick VI of Swabia after the death of his brother,{Do not get him confused with Marquis Conrad},Gisela,Otto I Count of Burgendy,Conrad III Duke of Swabia,Reanaud, William,Philip of Swabia, who was King of Germany,and Agnes.He was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on June 18,1155.He was probably very religious and would lead the largest army on the Third Crusade.
Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia
He was born in 1167.He was also betrothed to Princess Constance of Hungary but they never married.
Lepold V,Duke of Austria
He succeeded his father,Henry II of Austria, as Duke of Austria upon his father's death on January 13,1177.Both him and King Philip of France's cossen was Marquis Conrad,who opposed King Guy being the king of Jerusalem and claimed he should be king.
Prince Geza III of Hungary
His older brother was King Bela III of Hungary.His wife is known to be a Byzantine noblewomen.
The French
King Philip II Augustus of France
He was Born August 21, 1165 in Gonesse France and was the son to Louis IIV of France and his third wife,Adela of Champagne.When he was sick at the age of fourteen,his father,who was also sick,went on a journey to Canterbury England to pray for the health of his son at the tomb of his martyred friend,Thomas Becket.Philip got better and was crowned king of France in the cathedral at Rheims on November 1,1179.
He married Isabella of Hainault on April 20,1180.His father died on September 18,1180. He soon conquered more land for his kingdom such as Flanders,Burgundy,and Champagne.He fought alongside Prince Richard I of England against Richard's father,Henry II of England,until King Henry decided to hand some cities over to Philip.His wife gave birth to their first son,Louis VIII of France,on September 5,1187.She also gave birth to twins on March 14,1190,but she died the next day and they died four days later.Before his wife's death,on January 1,1188,he and King Henry II of England took up the cross at Gisors France for they had heard of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin,and the Pope demanded that the kings of Europe put their differences aside and unite for a new crusade.
Duke Hugh, III of Burgundy
Born in 1152 he was the oldest son of Odo II and Maria of Champagne.He married Alice of Lorraine first in 1165 and then married Beatrice of Albon in 1183.He took place in some fighting in France before the Third Crusade and was a belligerent man.
Those of England, and parts of France under English rule
King Richard I of England
Born September 8,1157 probably at Beaumont Palace,he was the Third legitimate child to King Henry II of England and was not expected to get the throne.He had nine siblings.He was wet nursed by a women known as Hodierna.He was considered handsome.His hair was said to be between red and blond.He rebelled against hi father for the throne of England since the age of sixteen.His two older brothers died before him and so that meant that he was the inheritance to the throne.His father,King Henry II, had been a man of great humor,but also had a violent temper.It is highly suspected that Richard's mother,Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, led her sons in the rebellion against their father.Richard allied with King Philip of France against Henry of England's forces and defeated them in the battle of Ballans on July 4,1189.Two days later,
Henry died and Richard was crowned King of England,Duke of Normandy,and Count of Anjou that year.
He would soon challenge Saladin in the Third Crusade, being perhaps Christendom's finest warrior.
Grand Master Robert de Sable
We have no exact date of his birth, but we do know that he probably died at a very old age.Before the third crusade, his wife and son had already died, and his youngest daughter had already been married.He had served under ''Henry the young King'' in a revolt against King Henry II of England.
Sir Peter de Preaux
His birth was around 1165. He was a Norman knight and his father's name was Osbert de Preaux, and his mother's name was Maud de Warenne..During his life time,Peter served under the kings Henry II, Richard I, and John of England.He had four brothers, John, William, Roger, Eudo,
Both Peter and William accompanied King Richard in the Third Crusade.Peter and William were considered in the tournament circle of the day as great warriors. Peter was the royal standard bearer of England during the time.
Count Henry II of Champagne-1170
Also known as Henry I of Jerusalem, he was born July 29, 1166.He was count of Champagne from 1181-1197.His father was Henry I of Champagne and his mother was Maria of France, who was the daughter of King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine.He also had a aunt, whose name was Adela of Champagne and was the queen of France.He was the nephew of both King Richard I of England and King Philip II Augustus of France.
In 1171, he was betrothed to Isabella of Hainault, but she married King Philip II of France.Henry's father died in 1181.In 1190 he set out on the third crusade even before Richard of England or Philip II of France.
Sir William des Roches
William des roches was born around 1165. He married Marguerite de Sable, the daughter of Grand Master Robert de Sable. He was a companion to Peter de Preaux during the third crusade.
Grand Master Garnier de Nablus
Grand Master Garnier de Nablus- in his eighties during the third crusade, he was brilliant strategist of his time. He saved the crusader army from the death at the battle of Arsuf.
Archbishop Hubert Walter-1160
A trusted adviser of King Richard, he was a good political leader, in the fact that he eventually persuaded the saracens to peace.
Chaplain William of Poitiers
Later serving as pries at Jaffa, he was the priest during crusading that King Richard confessed to.
The Size and Tactic of the Crusader Army- the crusaders of the third crusade came mostly from the
holy Roman Empire, France, and England. English and French forces according to Richard de Templo seem to be at 100,000 by the battle of Arsuf, though it could have been more than this from the start. Richard I may have led about two hundred ships on the venture, but the majority of his forces probably did not sail with him, but separated in different groups. His army was made of knights and crossbowmen and footsoldiers. His army brought three siege engines with them, though most siege engines were from King Phillip of France, who led the smaller army of the two. Fredrick Barbarossa's army has varied in size according to historians. But most reliably, was probably at least 100,000 men. This is very possible since Barbarossa was a mighty leader of a vast empire, whom had in the past often quarreled with the pope. If the crusaders could bring the saracens into the field for open combat, they could easily win. This was a common medieval tactic to win the opponent in the open field.
The Saracen Commanders
al-Malik al-Nasir Salah ed-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
He is probably better known as Saladin.Anyways,he was born in the castle Takrit in Mesopotamia in 1137.He was the son of al -Ayyub and was the nephew of Shirkuh.Since a boy he prepared himself to conquer Jerusalem.He was deeply religious and prayed five times each day.As far as education he wrote ''children are brought up in the way in which their elders were brought up.''
In 1174,the commander of the Muslims,Nur ed-Din Zangi,died and the throne passed to Shirkuh but he died as well and the throne eventually passed to Saladin,who locked his wives up and had other other women with him.He was full of pride of his race and often far outnumbered his enemies.He fought other Muslims more than he did the crusaders and conquered the city of Damascus in 1174.In 1183 he conquered Aleppo and in 1186 he conquered Mosul from other Muslims.Of course,Saladin still wanted to conquer Jerusalem from the Christians and in 1177 with an army of 26,000 men, he battled King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem,at Montgisard, who had less than 8,000 men but yet Saladin still lost 23,000 men and the battle.However,Saladin did not give up and in 1179 he defeated King Baldwin IV at the battle of Marj Ayun before winning the Battle of Jacob's Ford the same year.
Reynald de Chatillon plundered from the Arabs which turned Saladin to attack the city of Kerek in 1183. However,King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem,who had leprosy,arrived at the city with an army,which sent Saladin's army away without a battle between the two kings.
Since Baldwin could no longer rule because of his leprosy,the throne passed to his brother in law Guy de Lusignan. This meant Saladin would have a new opponent.
In September 1183, Saladin's army battled 16,300 crusaders led by King Guy at Al-Fule and neither army really won the battle.Saladin's son,Al-Afdal and another Muslim named Muzzaffar al Din Gokbori with an army of about 7,000 defeated a few hundred crusaders led by Gerard de Ridefort and Roger de Moulins at the battle of Cresson on May 1,1187 for they tricked the crusaders into a domed charge.He joined forces with his son on May 27, 1187.On July 2,1187 he attacked the city of Tiberius on with part of his army.
King Guy heard of this and had a meeting at the castle of Sephorie as he asked his men what he should do. The oldest and most experienced out of the soldiers named Count Raymond III of Tripoli,suggested for them to stay where they were while Gerard de Ridefort,who had been wounded at Cresson,wanted to confront the enemy.That day in July, King Guy went with Raymond's decision but that night he was influenced by Gerard, who had called Raymond a coward, and so King Guy decided to confront Saladin's army which was exactly what Saladin wanted.This would lead up to the Third Crusade.
The crusader army marched out to confront Saladin's army.They probably had 5,000 men from The Kingdom of Jerusalem and 15,000-20,000 more men from the Kingdom of England, and many of them came alone from Europe with the Holy Cross for the kings of Europe would not help them at the time.
The armies meat at the Horns of Hattin where Saladin's tens of thousands of men army trapped the crusaders on a hill.The next morning on July 4,1187,Saladin defeated the crusader army that had been in bad condition and his men killed all the crusaders except some of the top leaders since almost none of them would convert to Islam.
In August 1187 Saladin's brother,Al Adil, arrived with an Egyptian army to the Holy Land which was around the time Saladin conquered Acre and Ascalon from the Christians.He would now move on to the city of Jerusalem.
The defenders of Jerusalem were led by King Guy's wife,Queen Sibylla,a knight named Balian d'Ibelin,and the Patriarch Heraclius against Saladin's army which was perhaps 200.000 strong.After a long siege the Christians surrendered the city to the Muslims .The siege of Jerusalem,which had lasted from September 20-October 2,1187 was a great victory to Saladin even though some Christians such as Queen Sibylla had escaped.After this victory,he attacked the city of Tyre on November 12,1187-January 1,1188 but his siege failed and with this victory for the crusaders at Tyre, it became a future revival for the Third Crusade.
Taqi al-Din
He was actually Saladin's nephew and he often rebelled against his uncle.He also didn't get along with Al Afdal,who was Saladin's son.He played an important role in the battle of Hattin and when the Third crusade came he abandoned the fight.
Muzaffar al Din Gokbori
His name means 'Blue Wolf' in Turkish.He served under Nur al-Din Zangi and became the governor of Harran in what had been one crusader state called the County of Edessa but fell to the Muslims long before the Third Crusade.Little is known about where his division took place during the battle of Hattin.
Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Born March 7,1145, he wrote about the life of Saladin and was an eyewitness of the Third Crusade.
Kilij Arslan
His birth is unknown.He claimed to be a Russian descendant.He often fought with the Byzantine Empire.
The Size and tactics of the Saracen Army
Many Muslim soldiers were called horse-archers which meant they would often ride mares and shoot with the bow.There tactics were often to rain down their arrows on the crusaders and then attack them with their cavalry.Some people may feel that my estimate of how many Muslims fought the Crusaders during the crusade is a not accurate but I would guess their army being the size of at least 300,000 men in the fields, along with 6,000 Muslim garrison inside the city of Acre and 20,000 Muslim garrisons inside Jerusalem and Ascalon. Them having at least 300,000 men is supported by Richard de Templo's account of the crusade. Some sources claim that Saladin's army was as small as 80,000 men during the Battle of Arsuf during the Third Crusade. Others claim his army not to be 30,000 in total. I however, trust the eyewitness sources more than the tongues of modern historians.
The Christian World
The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other crusader states
King Guy of Jerusalem
Born 1150,Guy married Princess Sibylla of Jerusalem in 1180,for she considered him handsome and adored him.Guy's brother in law,Baldwin IV,who might have been won of the finest crusaders in history,became very angry with how Guy and Sibylla ran off together to get married. After their marriage, Baldwin found them together and even tortured Guy.However,some crusaders were out to capture Sibylla and force her to marry Baldwin of Ibelin but Baldwin IV of Jerusalem speedily had his sister marry Guy and so the plot of the other crusaders never worked out.Since King Baldwin of Jerusalem died of leprosy the throne passed to his nephew Baldwin V but he died as well and so the throne passed to his parents which caused Sibylla to crown herself and her husband king and queen of Jerusalem.
Guy was not very famous among his troops and he was often blamed for the campaigns of 1183..He took place in the battle of Al-Fule in September 1183, where neither him or Saladin won the battle.In the battle of Hattin on July 4,1187 his army was virtually destroyed by Saladin and he himself was captured.After Saladin conquered Jerusalem, Guy was put in the Citadel of Neapolis which was in the city of Jerusalem where Guy's wife got to come and see him and eventually payed the ransom for him.Saladin made King Guy promise that if he let him go he wouldn't turn against him and would not attack the Muslims anymore and Guy promised, but he lied.He was set free by Saladin and in 1188 he arrived at the city of Tyre,which was one of the last crusader strongholds but the leader of the city,Marques Conrad,who was under King Guy, did not allow Guy,his two daughters,and his wife to come into the city so Guy went with his family to Acre.
Balian d'Ibelin
Born in the early 1140s Balian married Maria Comnena in 1177 and so he became the step father of Princess Isabella,who was Queen Sibylla's, half sister.On July 4,1187 he was at the rearguard of the army with the Templars at the Horns of Hattin.During the battle he managed to escape and reached the city of Jerusalem where he defended it bravely against Saladin's army but the crusaders lost the battle and he rode off to France but not with Queen Sibylla,who went to the city of Tripoli.He would soon become involved in the Third Crusade.
Gerard de Ridefort
His birth is unknown.He was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar from the end of 1184 until his death in 1189.Though he himself was never in the Third Crusade he was involved in many battles before the crusade and took place in the siege of Acre in 1189.
Marquis Conrad of Montferrat
He was born in the early 1140s and was the son to Marquis William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg.Conrad and his crusaders were victorious over the Muslims at the city of Tyre in 1188. That same year, when King Guy came to the city of Tyre with his family Conrad did not allow him in and so Guy went with his family to the city of Acre.
The Holy Roman Empire
Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany
Born in 1122, he was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt in March 1152.The name Barbarossa means 'red beard'.On June 9,1156,at Wurzburg he married Beatrice of Burgendy.Their children's names were Sophie,Beatrice,Frederick V Duke of Swabia,Henry IV Holy roman Emperor,Conrad who was later on named Frederick VI of Swabia after the death of his brother,{Do not get him confused with Marquis Conrad},Gisela,Otto I Count of Burgendy,Conrad III Duke of Swabia,Reanaud, William,Philip of Swabia, who was King of Germany,and Agnes.He was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on June 18,1155.He was probably very religious and would lead the largest army on the Third Crusade.
Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia
He was born in 1167.He was also betrothed to Princess Constance of Hungary but they never married.
Lepold V,Duke of Austria
He succeeded his father,Henry II of Austria, as Duke of Austria upon his father's death on January 13,1177.Both him and King Philip of France's cossen was Marquis Conrad,who opposed King Guy being the king of Jerusalem and claimed he should be king.
Prince Geza III of Hungary
His older brother was King Bela III of Hungary.His wife is known to be a Byzantine noblewomen.
The French
King Philip II Augustus of France
He was Born August 21, 1165 in Gonesse France and was the son to Louis IIV of France and his third wife,Adela of Champagne.When he was sick at the age of fourteen,his father,who was also sick,went on a journey to Canterbury England to pray for the health of his son at the tomb of his martyred friend,Thomas Becket.Philip got better and was crowned king of France in the cathedral at Rheims on November 1,1179.
He married Isabella of Hainault on April 20,1180.His father died on September 18,1180. He soon conquered more land for his kingdom such as Flanders,Burgundy,and Champagne.He fought alongside Prince Richard I of England against Richard's father,Henry II of England,until King Henry decided to hand some cities over to Philip.His wife gave birth to their first son,Louis VIII of France,on September 5,1187.She also gave birth to twins on March 14,1190,but she died the next day and they died four days later.Before his wife's death,on January 1,1188,he and King Henry II of England took up the cross at Gisors France for they had heard of the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin,and the Pope demanded that the kings of Europe put their differences aside and unite for a new crusade.
Duke Hugh, III of Burgundy
Born in 1152 he was the oldest son of Odo II and Maria of Champagne.He married Alice of Lorraine first in 1165 and then married Beatrice of Albon in 1183.He took place in some fighting in France before the Third Crusade and was a belligerent man.
Those of England, and parts of France under English rule
King Richard I of England
Born September 8,1157 probably at Beaumont Palace,he was the Third legitimate child to King Henry II of England and was not expected to get the throne.He had nine siblings.He was wet nursed by a women known as Hodierna.He was considered handsome.His hair was said to be between red and blond.He rebelled against hi father for the throne of England since the age of sixteen.His two older brothers died before him and so that meant that he was the inheritance to the throne.His father,King Henry II, had been a man of great humor,but also had a violent temper.It is highly suspected that Richard's mother,Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, led her sons in the rebellion against their father.Richard allied with King Philip of France against Henry of England's forces and defeated them in the battle of Ballans on July 4,1189.Two days later,
Henry died and Richard was crowned King of England,Duke of Normandy,and Count of Anjou that year.
He would soon challenge Saladin in the Third Crusade, being perhaps Christendom's finest warrior.
Grand Master Robert de Sable
We have no exact date of his birth, but we do know that he probably died at a very old age.Before the third crusade, his wife and son had already died, and his youngest daughter had already been married.He had served under ''Henry the young King'' in a revolt against King Henry II of England.
Sir Peter de Preaux
His birth was around 1165. He was a Norman knight and his father's name was Osbert de Preaux, and his mother's name was Maud de Warenne..During his life time,Peter served under the kings Henry II, Richard I, and John of England.He had four brothers, John, William, Roger, Eudo,
Both Peter and William accompanied King Richard in the Third Crusade.Peter and William were considered in the tournament circle of the day as great warriors. Peter was the royal standard bearer of England during the time.
Count Henry II of Champagne-1170
Also known as Henry I of Jerusalem, he was born July 29, 1166.He was count of Champagne from 1181-1197.His father was Henry I of Champagne and his mother was Maria of France, who was the daughter of King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine.He also had a aunt, whose name was Adela of Champagne and was the queen of France.He was the nephew of both King Richard I of England and King Philip II Augustus of France.
In 1171, he was betrothed to Isabella of Hainault, but she married King Philip II of France.Henry's father died in 1181.In 1190 he set out on the third crusade even before Richard of England or Philip II of France.
Sir William des Roches
William des roches was born around 1165. He married Marguerite de Sable, the daughter of Grand Master Robert de Sable. He was a companion to Peter de Preaux during the third crusade.
Grand Master Garnier de Nablus
Grand Master Garnier de Nablus- in his eighties during the third crusade, he was brilliant strategist of his time. He saved the crusader army from the death at the battle of Arsuf.
Archbishop Hubert Walter-1160
A trusted adviser of King Richard, he was a good political leader, in the fact that he eventually persuaded the saracens to peace.
Chaplain William of Poitiers
Later serving as pries at Jaffa, he was the priest during crusading that King Richard confessed to.
The Size and Tactic of the Crusader Army- the crusaders of the third crusade came mostly from the
holy Roman Empire, France, and England. English and French forces according to Richard de Templo seem to be at 100,000 by the battle of Arsuf, though it could have been more than this from the start. Richard I may have led about two hundred ships on the venture, but the majority of his forces probably did not sail with him, but separated in different groups. His army was made of knights and crossbowmen and footsoldiers. His army brought three siege engines with them, though most siege engines were from King Phillip of France, who led the smaller army of the two. Fredrick Barbarossa's army has varied in size according to historians. But most reliably, was probably at least 100,000 men. This is very possible since Barbarossa was a mighty leader of a vast empire, whom had in the past often quarreled with the pope. If the crusaders could bring the saracens into the field for open combat, they could easily win. This was a common medieval tactic to win the opponent in the open field.
Answers to Questions You may Ask
The following have not all actually been asked but are here in case you were to ask one.
Q: Have you ever considered writing anything besides the crusades?
A: Yes. Someday I would like to tell the story of The Hundred Years War in many volumes, and the story of William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce of Scotland as they fought against the English in two or three volumes. There are some additional ideas also, such as the War of the Roses, The Norman Conquest of England, and some other thoughts as well.
Q: Why didn't you write about my ancestor in the Crusades?
A: I have had in the past a very hard time finding the research I want in vivid detail for my crusader saga, but I try hard to do the research I need for it. I have learned to research better and it's not as hard anymore but it can't be tough and it certainly takes work. Even if I could find about every character in the Crusades, I would not have the time to write about them all, but only select a few that I find important and write about them. I simply cannot tell the story to all the Crusaders although my books are dedicated to the noble ones.
Q: Do you think your books will be successful?
A: I hope so!
Q: How long will it take you to write this Kings and Crusaders?
A: Actually I'm not for certain. Years for now, still it will probably take. I am careful about my books as good and perfect as they can be, before I release them to the public.
Q: I've seen you with a cast on before. I don't understand. Is your arm broken?
A: No, it isn't. I broke my arm a long time ago and wore a cast for nine weeks but I soon healed. However, I'm very committed to my writing career and so I have gained carpal-tunnel from writing so much. Interestingly enough, my arm hasn't had many problems in a while since I've probably gotten used to it. There have been a few people in the past who have questioned my problem, but they under-estimate how much I truly write, and have never seen any of my writings. My hand still has problems however.
Q: On this blog, is it really you or someone else who reads these people's comments?
A: No, it's really me. Sometimes I may not have the chance to check it right away for I write a lot and someone else may check it for me, but when I get the chance to I check every comment.
A:Will you ever write about any other crusades?
A: Yes, I very much like to, and probably not only the crusades in the Holy Land, but the ones against other heretics in Europe or against the Moors in Spain.
Q: What will the sequel to Kings and Crusaders be called?
A: Kings and Crusaders is the name to the whole series.
Q: Have you ever considered writing anything besides the crusades?
A: Yes. Someday I would like to tell the story of The Hundred Years War in many volumes, and the story of William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce of Scotland as they fought against the English in two or three volumes. There are some additional ideas also, such as the War of the Roses, The Norman Conquest of England, and some other thoughts as well.
Q: Why didn't you write about my ancestor in the Crusades?
A: I have had in the past a very hard time finding the research I want in vivid detail for my crusader saga, but I try hard to do the research I need for it. I have learned to research better and it's not as hard anymore but it can't be tough and it certainly takes work. Even if I could find about every character in the Crusades, I would not have the time to write about them all, but only select a few that I find important and write about them. I simply cannot tell the story to all the Crusaders although my books are dedicated to the noble ones.
Q: Do you think your books will be successful?
A: I hope so!
Q: How long will it take you to write this Kings and Crusaders?
A: Actually I'm not for certain. Years for now, still it will probably take. I am careful about my books as good and perfect as they can be, before I release them to the public.
Q: I've seen you with a cast on before. I don't understand. Is your arm broken?
A: No, it isn't. I broke my arm a long time ago and wore a cast for nine weeks but I soon healed. However, I'm very committed to my writing career and so I have gained carpal-tunnel from writing so much. Interestingly enough, my arm hasn't had many problems in a while since I've probably gotten used to it. There have been a few people in the past who have questioned my problem, but they under-estimate how much I truly write, and have never seen any of my writings. My hand still has problems however.
Q: On this blog, is it really you or someone else who reads these people's comments?
A: No, it's really me. Sometimes I may not have the chance to check it right away for I write a lot and someone else may check it for me, but when I get the chance to I check every comment.
A:Will you ever write about any other crusades?
A: Yes, I very much like to, and probably not only the crusades in the Holy Land, but the ones against other heretics in Europe or against the Moors in Spain.
Q: What will the sequel to Kings and Crusaders be called?
A: Kings and Crusaders is the name to the whole series.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The early life and faith of Joshua Dotson
I was born on September 5, 1996 in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the child to Allen and Sherry Dotson, as well as the younger sibling to Whitney and Ashley Dotson. For twenty years, my daddy served in the 2nd Marine Division in the Persian Gulf War, as well as in the war against Terrorism against modern-day Saracens, while my mama homeschooled me and taught me how God is working through mankind in History {His-story}.
Of course, my family members were average attendants, always at church, which probably had a great impact on me. I'm not for sure when I gave my life to Christ, but whenever it was, it does not matter except for the fact I did.
When we left North Carolina, we moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in July 2005 where we went to First Baptist of Powell for some time, but left when we felt God leading us to a different church body. It was around the time that we went there that I started writing my first short stories, and under the influence of no one except for C.S.Lewis, I wrote books and tried to glorify God through my writing.That's how I became a writer.
To be continued with: The life Of a Writer
References
A Writer's Life: by Joshua Dotson Printed by Crusader Kingdom L.T.D.
Of course, my family members were average attendants, always at church, which probably had a great impact on me. I'm not for sure when I gave my life to Christ, but whenever it was, it does not matter except for the fact I did.
When we left North Carolina, we moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in July 2005 where we went to First Baptist of Powell for some time, but left when we felt God leading us to a different church body. It was around the time that we went there that I started writing my first short stories, and under the influence of no one except for C.S.Lewis, I wrote books and tried to glorify God through my writing.That's how I became a writer.
To be continued with: The life Of a Writer
References
A Writer's Life: by Joshua Dotson Printed by Crusader Kingdom L.T.D.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
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