AVEYRONMAGAZINE

Issue 4Templars in Aveyron | Chapter 2

Birds of Aveyron | Chapter 2

AVEYRONMAGAZINE

ART, HISTORY, HERITAGE, FOOD, WINE, ETC.published by Experience (my) France

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ÝCover photo: La Couvertoirade

The first of the Crusades began in 1095, when

armies of Christians from Western Europe responded to

Pope Urban II’s plea to go to war against Muslim forces

in the Holy Land. After the First Crusade achieved its

goal with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the invad-

ing Christians set up several Latin Christian states, even

as Muslims in the region vowed to wage holy war (jihad)

to regain control over the region. Deteriorating relations

between the Crusaders and their Christian allies in the

Byzantine Empire culminated in the sack of Constanti-

nople in 1204 during the Third Crusade. Near the end

of the 13th century, the rising Mamluk dynasty in Egypt

provided the final reckoning for the Crusaders, toppling

the coastal stronghold of Acre and driving the European

invaders out of Palestine and Syria in 1291.

The crusades: background

By the end of the 11th century, Western Eu-

rope had emerged as a significant power in its own right,

though it still lagged far other Mediterranean civilization

such as that of the Byzantine Empire —formerly the

eastern half of the Roman Empire— and the Islamic

empire of the Middle East and North Africa. Meanwhile,

Byzantium was losing considerable territory to the invad-

ing Seljuk Turks, who defeated the Byzantine Army at the

battle of Manzikirt in 1071 and went on to gain control

over much of Anatolia. After years of chaos and civil

war, the general Alexius Comnenus seized the Byzantine

throne in 1081 and consolidated control over the re-

maining empire as Emperor Alexius I.

In 1095, Alexius sent envoys to Pope Urban II asking

for mercenary troops from the West to help confront

the Turkish threat. Though relations between Christians

in East and West had

long been fractious,

Alexius’ request came

at a time when the

situation was improv-

ing. In November

1095, at the Council

of Clermont in south-

ern France, the pope

called on Western

Christians to take up

arms in order to aid

the Byzantines and re-

capture the Holy Land

from Muslim control.

Pope Urban’s plea met

with a tremendous re-

sponse, both among

lower levels of the mili-

tary elite —who would

form a new class of

knights— as well as

ordinary citizens; it was

determined that those who joined the armed pilgrimage

would wear a cross as a symbol of the Church.

Templars in Aveyron | Chapter 2

The first crusade (1096-99)

Four armies of Crusaders were formed from troops of different Western European re-

gions, led by Raymond de Saint-Gilles, Godefroy de Bouillon, Hugues de Vermandois

and Bohémond de Tarante —with his nephew Tancred—; they were set to depart for

Byzantium in August 1096. A less organized band of knights and commoners known

as the ‘People’s Crusade’ set off before the others under the command of a popu-

lar preacher known as Pierre L’ermite. Pierre’s army traipsed through the Byzantine Em-

pire, leaving destruction in their wake. Resisting Alexius’ advice to wait for the rest of the

Crusaders, they crossed the Bosporus in early August. In the first major clash between

the Crusaders and the Muslims, Turkish forces crushed the invading Europeans at Ci-

botus. Another group of Crusaders, led by the notorious Count Emich von Flonheim,

carried out a series of massacres of Jews in various towns in the Rhineland in 1096,

drawing widespread outrage and causing a major crisis in Jewish-Christian relations.

When the four main armies of Crusaders arrived in Constantinople, Alexius insisted that their

leaders swear an oath of loyalty to him and recognize his authority over any land regained

from the Turks, as well as any other territory they might conquer; all but Bohémond resisted

taking the oath. In May 1097, the Crusaders and their Byzantine allies attacked Nicea —

now Iznik, Turkey—, the Seljuk capital in Anatolia; the city surrendered in late June. Despite

deteriorating relations between the Crusaders and Byzantine leaders, the combined force

continued its march through Anatolia, capturing the great Syrian city of Antioch in June

1098. After various internal struggles over control of Antioch, the Crusaders began their

march toward Jerusalem, then occupied by Egyptian Fatimids —who as Shi’ite Muslims

were enemies of the Sunni Seljuks—. Encamping before Jerusalem in June 1099, the

Christians forced the besieged city’s governor to surrender by mid-July. Despite Tancred’s

promise of protection, the Crusaders slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children in

their victorious entrance into the city.

The crusader states and the second crusade (1147-49)

Having achieved their goal in an unexpectedly short period of time, many of the Crusaders

departed for home. To govern the conquered territory, those who remained established four

large western settlements, or Crusader states, in Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch and Tripoli.

Guarded by formidable castles, the Crusader states retained the upper hand in the region

until around 1130, when Muslim forces began gaining ground in their own holy war —or

jihad— against the Christians, whom they called “Franks”. In 1144, the Seljuk general

Zangi, governor of Mosul, captured Edessa, leading to the loss of the northernmost Cru-

sader state.

News of Edessa’s fall stunned Europe, and led Christian authorities in the West to call for

another Crusade. Led by two great rulers, King Louis VII de France and King Conrad III of

Germany, the Second Crusade began in 1147. That October, the Turks crushed Conrad’s

forces at Dorylaeum, site of a great victory during the First Crusade. After Louis and Conrad

managed to assemble their armies at Jerusalem, they decided to attack the Syrian strong-

hold of Damascus with an army of some 50,000 —the largest Crusader force yet—. Pre-

viously well disposed towards the Franks, Damascus’ ruler was forced to call on Nur al-Din,

Zangi’s successor in Mosul, for aid. The combined Muslim forces dealt a humiliating defeat

to the Crusaders, decisively ending the Second Crusade; Nur al-Din would add Damascus

to his expanding empire in 1154.

The third crusade (1189-92)

After numerous attempts by the Crusaders of Jerusalem to capture Egypt, Nur al-Din’s

forces —led by the general Shirkuh and his nephew, Saladin— seized Cairo in 1169 and

forced the Crusader army to evacuate. Upon Shirkuh’s subsequent death, Saladin assumed

control and began a campaign of conquests that accelerated after Nur al-Din’s death in

1174. In 1187, Saladin began a major campaign against the Crusader Kingdom of Jeru-

salem. His troops virtually destroyed the Christian army at the battle of Hattin, taking the city

along with a large amount of territory.

Outrage over these defeats inspired the Third Crusade, led by rulers such as the aging Em-

peror Frederick Barbarossa —who was drowned at Anatolia before his entire army reached

Syria—, King Philippe II de France and King Richard I of England —known as Richard the

Lionheart—. In September 1191, Richard’s forces defeated those of Saladin in the battle

of Arsuf; it would be the only true battle of the Third Crusade. From the recaptured city of

Jaffa, Richard reestablished Christian control over some of the region and approached Jeru-

salem, though he refused to lay siege to the city. In September 1192, Richard and Saladin

signed a peace treaty that reestablished the Kingdom of Jerusalem —though without the

city of Jerusalem— and ended the Third Crusade.

From the fourth to the sixth crusade (1198-1229)

Though the powerful Pope Innocent III called for a new Crusade in 1198, power struggles

in and between Europe and Byzantium drove the Crusaders to divert their mission in order

to topple the reigning Byzantine emperor, Alexius III, in favor of his nephew, who became

Alexius IV in mid-1203. The new emperor’s attempts to submit the Byzantine church to

Rome met with stiff resistance, and Alexius IV was strangled after a palace coup in early

1204. In response, the Crusaders declared war on Constantinople, and the Fourth Crusade

ended with the conquest and looting of the magnificent Byzantine capital later that year.

The remainder of the 13th century saw a variety of Crusades aimed not so much at top-

pling Muslim forces in the Holy Land as at combating any and all of those seen as enemies

of the Christian faith. The Albigensian Crusade (1208-29) aimed to root out the heretical

Cathari or Albigensian sect of Christianity in France, while the Baltic Crusades (1211-25)

sought to subdue pagans in Transylvania. In the Fifth Crusade, put in motion by Pope In-

nocent III before his death in 1216, the Crusaders attacked Egypt from both land and sea,

but were forced to surrender to Muslim defenders led by Saladin’s nephew, Al-Malik al-

Kamil, in 1221. In 1229, in what became known as the Sixth Crusade, Emperor Frederick

II achieved the peaceful transfer of Jerusalem to Crusader control through negotiation with

al-Kamil. The peace treaty expired a decade later, and Muslims easily regained control of

Jerusalem.

End of the crusades

Through the end of the 13th century, groups of Crusaders sought to gain ground in the Holy

Land through short-lived raids that proved little more than an annoyance to Muslim rulers

in the region. The Seventh Crusade (1239-41), led by Thibault IV de Champagne, briefly

recaptured Jerusalem, though it was lost again in 1244 to Khwarazmian forces enlisted by

the sultan of Egypt. In 1249, King Louis IX de France led the Eighth Crusade against Egypt,

which ended in defeat at Mansura —site of a similar defeat in the Fifth Crusade— the fol-

lowing year. As the Crusaders struggled, a new dynasty known as the Mamluks–descended

from former slaves of the sultan–took power in Egypt. In 1260, Mamluk forces in Palestine

managed to halt the advance of the Mongols, an invading force led by Genghis Khan and

his descendants that had emerged as a potential ally for the Christians in the region. Under

the ruthless Sultan Baybars, the Mamluks demolished Antioch in 1268, prompting Louis

IX to set out on another Crusade, which ended in his death in North Africa —he was later

canonized—.

A new Mamluk sultan, Qalawan, had defeated the Mongols by the end of 1281 and turned

his attention back to the Crusaders, capturing Tripoli in 1289. In what was considered the

last Crusade, a fleet of warships from Venice and Aragon arrived to defend what remained

of the Crusader states in 1290. The following year, Qalawan’s son and successor, al-Ashraf

Khalil, marched with a huge army against the coastal port of Acre, the effective capital of the

Crusaders in the region since the end of the Third Crusade. After only seven weeks under

siege, Acre fell, effectively ending the Crusades in the Holy Land after nearly two centuries.

Though the Church organized minor Crusades with limited goals after 1291—mainly mili-

tary campaigns aimed at pushing Muslims from conquered territory or conquering pagan

regions— support for such efforts disappeared in the 16th century, with the rise of the

Reformation and the corresponding decline of papal authority.

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CHAPEL/CHURCH MAIN TEMPLAR SITES IN FRANCERunan (Church)

Laon

Metz

Villedieu-lès-Maurepas

Saulce d’Island

La Courroirie

Beaune

La Bergerie

Blaudeix

Grand Mas-Dieu

Petit Mas-Dieu

Yvrac-et-Malleyrand

Cressac

Sergeac (Church)

Genis-au-Bois (Church)

Ydes (Church)

Notre-Dame-de-Mésage

Hyères

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COMMANDERY

Neuilly-sous-Clermont

Moisy-le-Temple

Coulommiers

Arville

Coulours

Villemoison

Voulaines

Épailly

Mormant

Bure-les-Templiers

Fontenote

Sainte-Catherine

Celles

Jalès

Montricoux

Vaour

Montsaunès

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TOWN/VILLAGE

Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon

La Cavalerie

La Couvertoirade

Richerenches (Village)

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OTHER BUILDINGS

Bridge at Balisy (Town of Longjumeau)

Ruins at Chalou-Moulineux

Museum at Payns

Wine cellar at Pavillon-Sainte-Julie

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Ruins at Temple-de-Boixe

Peyrassol

La Couvertoirade Ý

La Cavalerie Ý

THE TEMPLARS IN AVEYRON [CHAPTER II]THE TEMPLARS IN AVEYRON [CHAPTER II]

Out of four preserved templar major sites such as towns or villages, three can

be found extremely well preserved in Aveyron.

La Couvertoirade Ý

La Cavalerie Ý

Sainte Eulalie de Cernon Ý

The struggle against Saladin

On a hot summer day of 1187 Saladin defeated the

army of the King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan and his

turbulent ally Renaud de Châtillon. The place is called

the Horns of Hattin, near the Sea of Galilee. This July 4,

1187, was the most important step in Jerusalem recon-

quest by Saladin.

It all started when he succeeded at unifying the Muslims.

The Crusader army exterminated at Hattin, it was just a

matter of time for the Holy City to be re-captured. It hap-

pened on October 2, 1187.

Since the death of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in 1185,

nicknamed the leper, the Latin kingdom has been de-

caying. Guy de Lusignan political maneuvers, supported

by his wife Sibylle, allowed him to ascend the throne of

Jerusalem, following the early death of the young Baldwin

V. With the help of Renaud de Châtillon, but against the

advice of the Regent Raymond, Count of Tripoli, the new

protector of the Holy Sepulchre decided to resume hostili-

ties with Saladin, although Saladin signed a two-year truce

with the leper king and the regent. The Baron Renaud de

Châtillon, nicknamed the elephant, violated the truce by

attacking a caravan part of Cairo at the end of the year

1186. Hence, Saladin decided to walk against the Latin

Kingdom.

The Ayyûbid —Saladin— has in-

deed free hand as he managed to

unite the Muslims, after several years of struggle against

the descendants of Nûr al-Dîn. He now controlled Aleppo,

Damascus and Cairo, where he deposed the Fatimids ten

years earlier. Saladin had built a legitimacy on a jihad-

driven propaganda for the reconquest of Jerusalem. For

years, he tried unsuccessfully to push the defenses of the

Latin Kingdom, defended by Baldwin IV and the military

orders like the Templars. Hampered by divisions within his

camp and the Frankish skill, he had to be patient. The

death of the Leper King, he respected, as well as Renaud

de Châtillon’s provocations therefore seemed quite timely.

By March 1187, Saladin is on his way from Damascus

and an army of fifteen to twenty thousand men. Along

the way the surrounding land has been ravaged, and the

crusader troops were trying to stop him. These troops are

highly diminished by years of raids organized by the Sultan

throughout the kingdom, and the divisions amongst the

crusaders that have bled their power. However, the Tem-

plars led by Gérard Ridefort attacked a Muslim vanguard

of seven thousand horsemen with barely two hundred

knights! The Battle of Cresson, on May 1, 1187 was

obviously a massacre, only the Master and three other

Templars stayed alive.

Raymond of Tripoli was in a quite awkward position. The

count had agreements with Saladin, but as a Frankish

prince he had allegiance to the King of Jerusalem. While

trying to delay the deadline, the Battle of Cresson which

took place on his land was a trigger for him to switch

sides, let go the Latin side in Saladin’s favour. However, he

did not intend to let Guy de Lusignan, Renaud de Châtillon

and Gérard Ridefort free of direction.

As of early July 1187, the two sides were ready for a decisive battle. The question was more in regards to where it should take place

and who would take the initiative to launch it.

On the Franc side, around six hundred Templar knights were present, but those killed at the battle of Cresson were dearly missed.

The rest of the Jerusalem army had just over fifteen thousand men. Was present the cream of the nobility and the following famous

Frankish knights such as King Guy of Lusignan, the Count of Tripoli, Renaud of Châtillon, the Master of the Templar Knights Gérard

Ridefort, and Guillaume de Montferrat.

Saladin, meanwhile, had an obvious advantage lining up more than twenty thousand men, half of them horseback riders, notwithstand-

ing the famous mounted archers, a nightmare for the heavy the Frankish horseback riders. As an addition, the sultan had the initiative

and the control of the land.

Saladin decided to attract the Latins into a trap by attacking Tiberias on July 2. The city was under siege, and in it the Count of Tripoli’s

wife. Yet it seems he tried to dissuade the King Guy de Lusignan against an attack to liberate the city and his wife. He knew well Saladin

and grasped the danger. It is still unknown if he was sure of the presence of his wife in the besieged city.

La Couvertoirade Ý

In any case, on the evening of July 2, the Crusader army had not started yet its march

for Galilee.

The Master of the Templars, Gérard de Ridefort, driven by a genuine hatred of Islam,

would have persuaded Guy de Lusignan to break camp and to march with his whole

army to crush the threat Saladin.

So the next day, much to the surprise —and some fear— of the knights and soldiers of

Jerusalem, order was given to move towards Tiberias. Climatic conditions —in July—

are hellish, and the crusading army was already quite far from its supply sources. Ad-

vance had to be made but large risks were to be taken. Guy and Gérard Ridefort, did

not change their minds. Although Raymond of Tripoli made desperate attempts to stop

them, he, as a good vassal, rejoined the on-the-move army.

Saladin had not lost sight of the Frankish army. Soon he sent his light cavalry to harass

it. However, The Latins, had hoped to reach the city and the lake for fresh supplies.

To make it they had to cross a rocky plateau, located between two hills, the famous

Horns of Hattin. The sweltering heat and the Muslim archers’ arrows warped the army

of Jerusalem into a disorganized and exhausted mass, which soon found itself facing

the Saladin’s army, twenty thousand men, well bunkered and healthy.

A massive kill followed, just outside the Horns of

Hattin. Saladin set fire to the surrounding bushes,

thus the Crusaders were blinded and choked by the

smoke and the furnace. They received flocks of thou-

sands of arrows but unable to appropriately react.

A few of them, including Raymond of Tripoli, managed

to flee towards Tyre. The rest of the army went dead at

night, corpses resting on the hot plateau, or trapped in the

fortress of Tiberias.

The Battle of Hattin was over.

The next day, the King of Jerusalem and his entourage

surrendered to Saladin. Saladin killed himself Renaud de

Châtillon, to punish him for his —many— crimes against

Islam. As well, the sultan directed to execute the still alive

but captured Templars. Gérard Ridefort would have been

killed during the battle. Similarly, Turcoples, were tried as

traitors to Islam and beheaded. Guy de Lusignan mean-

while, was saved by his rank, and taken prisoner. As for

any other captured noble, Saladin was expecting a ran-

som. The other captured men were enslaved.

Most of the Frankish army was wiped out this July 4,

1187, at Hattin. A few garrisons were still present in the

fortresses and the main cities, not enough to stop Saladin

and his armies though. During the following weeks, he

took over these Latin squares one by one. Soon, only Tyre

and Jerusalem remained untouched.

However, on October 2, 1187, Jerusalem fell with no real

resistance, only defended by a handful of Templar knights,

including Balian d’Ibelin.

This battle ended the Second Crusade, but not an end

to wars between Muslims and Crusaders knights. Wars

would continue for nearly a century and a half. This battle

significantly changed the balance of power at the expense

of Christians. However, once known in the West, it pro-

voked a vigorous burst of the main feudal kings and mon-

archs. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the German

Empire, the King of France, Philippe Auguste, King of

England, Richard the Lionheart implemented huge rein-

forcements thus streaming the Third Crusade that would

begin shortly after.

Birds of Aveyron | Chapter 2

Great White Egret, photo by Marc Vie Ý

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Ý

Bannac Pond birds

Bannac Pond, located west of

Villefranche de Rouergue, is somehow a

self-designated nature reserve where

different birds can be watched according to

the varying seasons or all year-long.

All year: Grey Heron,

Middle Spotted Woodpecker;

Spring: Purple Heron, Osprey,

Spotted Crake, Black-winged Stilt,

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper,

Wood Sandpiper, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern;

Winter: Great White Egret,

dabbling ducks, Snipe. Osprey Ü

Osprey Ü

Grey Heron Ý

Purple Heron Ü

Spotted Crake Ý

Spotted Crake Ý

Wood Sandpiper Ý

Black-winged Stilt ÝGreen Sandpiper Ý

Black-winged Stilt Ý

Common Sandpiper Ý

Black Tern Ý

Black Tern Ý

Great White Egret Ý

Whiskered Tern Ý

dabbling duck Ý

Snipe Ý

Ü Ü The story of the birds of Aveyron will be continued in next AVEYRONMAGAZINE

Issue 4AVEYRONMAGAZINE

ART, HISTORY, HERITAGE, FOOD, WINE, ETC.published by Experience (my) France

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