176 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. [period ii. 



arms. The lianlsliips of the siege of Antioch by tli<> 

 kniglits, the much more terrible suliering and famine 

 of the Christians when themselves besieged, had so 

 weakened their army, that of the 60,000 mailed horse- 

 men wiio had i)roiidly marched against Antioch, scarcely 

 200 were mounted and fit for battle. Godfrey de 

 Bouillon, their great leader, was reduced to the necessity 

 of borrowing a horse to ride into action.^ The knights 

 were therefore in this instance compelled to fight as 

 infantry soldiers, but with the arms and weapons of 

 horsemen. They marched in twelve divisions, and were 

 attacked by the Turks, who discharged clouds of arrows, 

 and rushed upon the crusaders, who met the attack with 

 firmness, repulsed them, and penetrated their ranks. 



The Saracens, who usually did not wear heavy armour, 

 had in this action a body of 3,000 horse clothed in steel 

 and armed with clubs.^ This body was very efficient, 

 and carried confusion and terror into the ranks of the 

 Christians. After a closely contested fight, in which 

 despair and a frenzied religious enthusiasm, worked up 

 with considerable skill by their leaders, caused the 

 crusaders to fight with the most extraordinary fury, 

 they were at last victorious, and routed the Turks, 

 captured their camp with its stores and supplies, and 

 put to death about 100,000 of them. 



Under Saladin the Saracen horsemen were both heavy 

 and light, and he maintained a bodyguard of one thou- 

 sand mamelukes, who were clad in armour, , d wore 

 over it saffron coloured silk tunics.^ He himself wore 

 the same dress. His cavalry were nearly all light horse- 

 men, and were utterly unable to stand the direct attack 

 of the crusaders, clad in mail, and led by tae fiery 

 Richard Cceur de Lion. In the actions between the 

 chivalrous Saladin and the lion-hearted English monarch, 

 the Saracens pursued closely the Parthian tact'cs that 

 had been so disastrous to Crassus, but the crusaders, 

 mainly cavalry, were armed with coats of mail strong 

 enough to resist the arrows. Kichard skilfully kept his 



} Michaud, i. 172. 

 ch. ii. 155, 156. 



2 Ibid. 173. 3 James's Life of Richard I., 



