1083-1089
End of the Crusade
1083: Tuesday after Third Sunday of Lent (14th of March) Roman bishop declared that Holy Land was free and that the crusade against infidels had been succesful. After word of this declaration reached the Holy Land many Pilgrims thought that they had fulfilled their oath to God and only the most faithful remained. De Bouloigne brothers decided to continue crusade against the barbarians, because parts of the Holy Land and many holy places were still in the hands of the enemies of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers ended feast in Jerusalem quickly, gathered their armies and marched to Acre. Our Lord himself gave us this great victory. Acre fell to Christian hands at Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ (21st May).
Caliph Mesud
Godefroy, Protector of the Holy Sepulchre and Lord of Mount Sinai
Tiburge, Godefroy's 2nd wife
Tadeu d'Alcácer do Sal, Grandmaster of Hospitaliers
1084: Day before feast of Saint Remigius (12th of Janurary) we made truce with caliph Mesud who was a great warrior and like fierce young lion. Godefroy opposed this truce with the heathens, but Eustache persuaded him to accept it, because we were short of men after many had returned and needed more crusaders from Europe to help defending the Holy Land. Eustache made Baoduin count of Boulogne and sent him back to Lorraine to gather more troops to defend the holy places. In a glorious feast Godefroy was appointed to Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Protector of the Holy Sepulchre) and Lord of Mount Sinai. Tadeu d'Alcácer do Sal grandmaster of the newly found Order of Saint John of Jerusalem offered his services to the crusaders in the battle against the infidels. His order took it for their responsibility to defend the coast of Phoenicia and guarantee that pilgrimages from Europe have save passage to the Holy Land. At May we got the word that Yazid Emir of Cyrenaica approached Sinai and that he planned to recapture the Holy Land. We mustered our armies and prepared for battle, but Yazid that cowardly dog decided to surrender and turn back home even before his armies had crossed the Libyan desert. Late that same summer heat of the Palestine was too much for Sancha, who had arrived only few weeks earlier to the Holy Land to live with her husband in their new fiefdom and she passed away. Godefroy grieved her death greatly and refused to eat or sleep for a long time. We were worried about his condition and constant fastening, but God didn't allow him to pass away. During his grief one lady took care of him and showed great mercy to him. She persuaded him to eat and sleep and kept him alive. Her name was Tiburge de Prunelé and she was a daughter of a Frankish knight, who had died during the siege of Jerusalem. As soon as he recovered Godefroy rewarded the woman who saved his life and took her his wife.
End of the Truce
1085: At the feast of Saint Julius, bishop of Rome, (27th of January) our truce with Mesud ended. Baoduin was still on his way back to the Holy Land, so at first everything debended on Eustache and Godefroy who marched to south from Jerusalem to defeat the southern armies of the barbarians, before facing mighty armies of Syria. Meanwhile barbarian army from the Damascus arrived to besiege Jerusalem. Baoduin reached a word about siege when he landed to Jaffa and his army marched day and night till they arrived to Jerusalem. In a fierce battle heathen army was crushed between our lines and the walls of Jerusalem. Another crusader army landed to Sinai, where they fought against Egyptians. Baoduin took small force and joined to the army of his brothers and left defending Jerusalem to the hands of Egbert de Brunswick margrave of Meissen. At Monday after Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (7th of July) Egbert's army suffered heroic defeat near Jerusalem. Large heathen army of 300 000 men arrived to besiege Jerusalem, but Egbert and his small army of 1300 men defended heroically pass near the city, which armies approaching from the north had to use. There Egbert took his stand against the heathens. Without rest, food or water they fought for days, so that they could buy time for Jerusalem and word could reach de Boulognes that their armies are needed in the north. Only few tired and wounded men survived the battle and they retreated only after they knew that city would be safe. Godefroy's army defeated the heathens who were besieging Jerusalem and at November he liberated Tiberias which barbarian army had conquered on their way to Jerusalem.
1086: At the end of the summer Godefroy's army arrived to Tyre and defeated great army of the barbarians defending the city. Soon afterwards also Eustache arrived to besiege the city. City fell at the autumn after two months siege and our army spend winter there.
Siege of Beirut, last battle of the first crusade
1087: At First Sunday of Lent (14th of February) our scouts, lead by count Thierry V de Hollande, encaged with the heathens near Beirut. They fought heroically till our main force arrived week later and crushed the barbarian army. We besieged city and despite constant attacks of the heathen armies it fell day before Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ (5th of May). It was last major battle of the crusade and month later Caliph surrendered and recognised that Holy Land belongs to Christians eternally.
Henry IV King of the Germans
1088: Henry IV king of the Germans had arrived to the Holy Land soon after Christmas (of 1087) and demanded that the crusader should recognise him as their liege and emperor. He took city of Beersheba from duke of Steiermark and started to organise his tyrannical rule from there. Eustache, Godefroy and Baoduin refused to make homage to him and claimed that Holy Land wasn't part of the German kingdom. They also pointed out that Holy Father hadn't coronated Henry to emperor, which would give him power over other Christian lords, but instead Holy Father had excommunicated him because of his wicked sins. And it would be the duty of every Christian to oppose despotic tyrant. When Henry heard this he threatened to impale their heads over the gates of Jerusalem. This threat made de Boulognes lead their armies against the walls of Beersheba. At the end of the February Henry surrendered and recognised that Holy Land, Lorraine and Brabant belonged to de Boulognes and king of Germans didn't have power over these lands. At May Eustache III duke of Lower Lorraine recognised Philippe king of the Franks as his liege and made an oath that Lorraine would be part of the Kingdom of France in the future.
Gregorius VII
1089: At Novemeber Alexander II, bishop of the Romans, died. Rodolfo of Siena was elected to a new pope and he took name Gregorius VII.
Holy Land after the first crusade