When
the Holy City had, by the superabundant grace of the Lord, been restored
and affairs had returned to a more or less tranquil state, the army spent
seven days rejoicing greatly, With spiritual gladness and fear of the
Lord. On the eighth day [July 22 1099] the princes gathered in order that,
after calling on the grace of the Holy Spirit, they might deal with the
business of electing one of their group to rule over the area and take
charge of the royal duties in the province. While they were gathered,
some of the clergy assembled. The latter were puffed up with spiritual
pride. They sought their own ends, not those of Jesus Christ. They professed
to have a secret message which they wished to convey to the princes who
were participating in the conclave. The clergy's representatives, when
admitted, said: "It has been announced to the clergy that you have
assembled in order to elect one of yourselves as king. Your proposal seems
to us a just and useful one and worthy to be carried out if only the proper
order in this matter be observed, For it is certain that spiritual matters
are of greater dignity than secular affairs and, truly, what is of greater
dignity ought to have precedence. It seems to us, therefore, that unless
a backward order be followed, a religious person, a man pleasing to God,
ought first to be chosen, who will know how to preside and rule over the
Church of God. This, rather than the election of a secular power, ought
to be done first. If you will follow this procedure, we shall indeed be
pleased and we shall be with you body and soul. If you do not, however,
we shall judge and decree that whatsoever you have ordained out of our
order is invalid and without force among men .... "
The princes, however, considered the aforementioned message frivolous
and without weight.... Some say that in order to proceed to an election
which was pleasing to God and which took account of individual merits,
the princes called in some of the household of each of the great leaders,
made them take a solemn oath, and questioned them about the conduct and
habits of their lords so that they would tell the truth without any admixture
of falsehood. This was done so that the electors might thus be more fully
and more faithfully informed of the merits of the candidates. Those who
were later very closely questioned under the required oath by the electors
were forced to confess in secret the vices of their lords and likewise
to enumerate their virtues, so that it might be made plain just what sort
of men their lords were. When the Duke 'S6 household were questioned among
the others, they replied that, among all the Duke's actions, the one which
most irritated his servants was this: that when he entered a church, even
after the celebration of the liturgy had been finished, he could not be
drawn out. Rather, be demanded of the priests and those who seemed experienced
in such matters an account of each picture and statue. His associates,
who were interested in other things, found this boring, even nauseating.
Further, his meals, which had been prepared for a certain and appropriate
hour, grew cold and most unappetizing because of these long and vexing
delays. The electors who heard these things said: "Blessed is the
man to whom are ascribed as faults those traits which would be called
virtues in another." At length, after consulting with one another
and after many deliberations, they unanimously elected the lord Duke.
They brought him to the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord most devoutly, chanting
hymns and canticles.
It is said, however, that most of the nobles bad agreed upon Lord Raymond,
Count of Toulouse. When they learned, however, that if the kingdom were
not given to Raymond he would immediately return home, they were led by
their desire for their native land to invent reasons to bold him unfitted,
and they even went against the dictates of their consciences to do so.
Count Raymond, nonetheless, spurned his native land and did not return
home, but, instead, most devoutly followed Christ. He extended further
the pilgrimage upon which be bad embarked and followed it in voluntary
poverty to the end....
After the oftmentioned Lord Duke had, by God's grace, been confirmed as
the bead of the Kingdom and after all the quarrels which had arisen had
abated, the Kingdom in his days grew more secure and well established.
He reigned but one year, for, because men's sins, the Kingdom was deprived
of the continued consolation of such a prince. He refreshed the newly
planted Kingdom and gave it protection against the molestations of attacker
He was wrenched away in midcareer, lest his heart be affected by evil;
as it is written: "The men of mercy are taken away and there is none
that understandeth."',
Duke Godfrey was born in the French kingdom, in the province of Reims,
in the city of Boulogne by the English Sea. He w descended from illustrious
and religious forebears. His father was the elder Lord Eustace, the famous
and splendid Count of that region, whose many and memorable works are
still recalled by the old men of the neighboring provinces and his memory
as a religious and Godfearing man is like a blessing" in the pious
recollection of men. Duke Godfrey's mother was wellknown among the noble
matrons of the West, as much for her way of life as for her noble generosity.
She was named Ida and was a sister of the exalted Duke Godfrey of Lorraine
who was known as Struma. That Duke Godfrey, since he had no children,
adopted his nephew Godfrey as his own son and bestowed his entire patrimony
upon young Godfrey as his heir. Thus, when the elder Duke Godfrey died,
the young Godfrey succeeded him as Duke.
The younger Duke Godfrey had three brothers who, by reason of their worthy
lives and their distinguished virtues, were true brothers to such a prince.
They were the Lord Baldwin, Count of Edessa, who succeeded Godfrey in
the kingdom; and the Lord Eustace, Count of Boulogne, who was his father's
namesake, successor to his father as Count and inheritor of the paternal
estate…The third was Lord William, a famous man, no less virtuous and
energetic than his father and brothers. Of these three, the first two
followed their lord and brother, Duke Godfrey, on the expedition, while
the third remained at home. Godfrey was the eldest of them by birth and
the foremost in his inner qualities as well.... He was a religious man,
mild mannered, virtuous, and Godfearing. He was just, he avoided evil,
he was trustworthy and dependable in his undertakings. He scorned the
vanities of the world, a quality rare in that age and especially among
men of the military profession. He was assiduous in prayer and pious works,
renowned for his liberality, graciously affable, civil, and merciful.
His whole life was commendable and pleasing to God. His body was tall
and although he was shorter than the very tall, yet he was taller than
men of average height. He was a man of incomparable strength, with stout
limbs, a manly chest, and a handsome face. His hair and beard were a medium
blond. He was considered by everyone to be most outstanding in the use
of weapons and in military operations.
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