The Origin Of The Idea Of Crusade Foreword And

Additional Notes By Marshall W Baldwin Carl

Erdmann Walter Goffart Marshall Whithed Baldwin
download
https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origin-of-the-idea-of-crusade-
foreword-and-additional-notes-by-marshall-w-baldwin-carl-erdmann-
walter-goffart-marshall-whithed-baldwin-51945734

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

The Origin Of The Idea Of Crusade Carl Erdmann

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origin-of-the-idea-of-crusade-carl-
erdmann-7041388

The Origins Of The Idea Of Scientific Progress Bernard De Fontenelle

And His Contemporaries Daniel Pelda

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origins-of-the-idea-of-scientific-
progress-bernard-de-fontenelle-and-his-contemporaries-daniel-
pelda-57951484

The Idea Of Europe And The Origins Of The American Revolution D H

Robinson

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-idea-of-europe-and-the-origins-of-
the-american-revolution-d-h-robinson-22541076

The Idea Of Britain And The Origins Of Scottish Independence From The
Picts To Alexander Iii Dauvit Broun

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-idea-of-britain-and-the-origins-of-
scottish-independence-from-the-picts-to-alexander-iii-dauvit-
broun-1616042
A Philosophical Enquiry Into The Origin Of Our Ideas Of The Sublime
And Beautiful Edmund Burke J T Boulton

https://ebookbell.com/product/a-philosophical-enquiry-into-the-origin-
of-our-ideas-of-the-sublime-and-beautiful-edmund-burke-j-t-
boulton-51911518

The Origins Of The Lebanese National Idea 18401920 Carol Hakim

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origins-of-the-lebanese-national-
idea-18401920-carol-hakim-51823048

The Origins Of The Lebanese National Idea 18401920 Carol Hakim

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origins-of-the-lebanese-national-
idea-18401920-carol-hakim-4384094

The Origin Of Ideas Blending Creativity And The Human Spark Turner

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origin-of-ideas-blending-creativity-
and-the-human-spark-turner-5285324

The Origin Of Ideas Turner Mark

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-origin-of-ideas-turner-
mark-168665916
THE ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF CRUSADE
CARL ERDMANN

THE ORIGIN OF THE

IDEJI OF CRUSJI DE
Translated from the German by
Marshall W. Baldwin and Waiter Goffart

Foreword and additional notes by

Marshall W. Baldwin

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Princeton Legacy Library edition 2019
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-691-61563-9
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-691-65633-5
 TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER

WHO LOST A PROFESSORSHIP AT DORPAT [TARTU] IN 1893

FOR REMAINING TRUE TO HIS MOTHER-TONGUE

AND OF MY TWO BROTHERS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN 1914 AND 1916

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH UNSHAKEN FAITH IN THE

FUTURE OF THE GERMAN SPIRIT

CONTENTS

Translators' Note 1X

Abbreviations X1

Foreword to the English Translation XV

Author's Preface XXX111

Introduction 3
I. Holy Banners 35
II. Peace of God, Church Reform, and the
Military Profession 57
III. vVars against Heathens and First Plans for
a Crusade 95
IV. The Early Days of the Reform Papacy 118

V. Hildebrand 148
VI. Vexillum sancti Petri 182

VII. Militia sancti Petri 201

VIII. For and Against Ecclesiastical War 229
IX. The Further Development of the Popular
Idea of Crusade 269
X. Urban II and the Crusade
Appendix. Byzantium and Jerusalem: The Motive
and the Objective of the First Crusade 355
Bibliography: Section A 373
Section B 410
Index 429

Vll
TRANSLATORS' NOTE

When Die Entstehung des Kreuzzugsgedankens appeared

in 1935, its author, Carl Erdmann (1898-1945), was already
a recognized scholar. He had published several articles and
two significant books, Papsturkunden in Portugal-under-
taken at the direction of Paul Kehr, who had brought him
some years before to the staff of the Preussisches Institut in
Rome-and Das Papsttum und Portugal im ersten ]ahrhun-
dert der portuguesischen Geschichte. 1 In 1934 he joined the
faculty of the University of Berlin and became associated
with the editorial staff of the celebrated collection of Ger-
man medieval sources, the Monumenta Germaniae histo-
rica. Erdmann was then still young and would normally
have been in line for further scholarly distinctions and aca-
demic promotions, but since he had made no secret of his
distaste for the new National Socialist regime in Germany,
his academic appointments were withdrawn and additional
distinctions denied him. When finally the professorial title
was conceded him, he remained true to his principles and
declined to accept. He did, however, retain his position on
the staff of the Monumenta, and consequently was able to
devote his entire energies to the research for which he was
so eminently suited. Being of delicate health, he had done
only a brief term of civilian service in the first World War.
In World War Il, however, he was conscripted and served
as an interpreter with the German troops in the Balkans,
where, after an illness, he died in 1945.
The present English edition 2 has been prepared by

1 The following details are taken from a biographical sketch bY' Fried-
rich Baethgen prefacing a posthumous collection of Erdmann's studies
(see Bibliography, section B). The book also includes a complete list of
Erdmann's publications.
2 Translated from the original edition of Kohlhammer Verlag. Stutt-
gart, 1935 (Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Geistesgeschichte, vol. 6),

ix
TRANSLATORS' NOTE

Marshall W. Baldwin, Professor Emeritus of New York Uni-

versity, and Professor Waiter Goffart, of the University of
Toronto. Professor Baldwin is responsible for the Foreword,
the translation or adaptation of the original notes and
bibliography, and the provision of the supplementary notes
which appear in brackets following the appropriate orig-
inals, and a supplementary bibliography of pertinent works
published since 1935· Each translator has made suggestions
and corrections in the work of the other, but each, of
course, remains responsible for any errors which may ap-
pear in his own part.
Professor Goffart acknowledges with thanks that an Eng-
lish version by Ellen Goffart made a notable contribution
to this volume. He is also indebted to Judith Finlayson and
William Churchill for assistance. The translators express
their gratitude to William McGuire of Princeton University
Press, who has overseen the entire work from its beginnings.
It is the hope of all three that this English edition will make
available to a larger circle of readers a seminal work which,
since its publication, has been constantly cited and dis-
cussed by historians.
M.W.B.
W.G.

reissued in an unrevised photographic reprint, 1965; reprinted by the

\\Tissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1974. The work is corn·
plete except for the omission of four appendixes, of interest only to
specialists. These are entitled (I) Benedictions for Times of War, for
Weapons, and for Knights; (n) On the Textual Transmission of the
Peace of God Councils; (m) The Satire of Adalbero of Laon; and (rv)
Gregory VII as Feudal Lord of Aragon. A fifth appendix has been
retained.

X
ABBREVIATIONS

AA. SS. Acta Sanctorum quotquot orbe coluntur, 67 vols.

(Antwerp, Tongerloo, Paris, Brussels, 1643-
1940)
Abh. Abhandlungen of the Akademie der Wissen-
schaften of Berlin, Munich, etc., as indicated
AHR American Historical Review (New York, 1895-)
Aka d. Akademie, see Abh.
AS! Archivio storico italiano (Florence, 1842-)
ASL Archivio storico lombardo (Milan, 1874-)
BLE Bulletin de litterature ecclesiastique (Toulouse,
1899-)
BZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift (Leipzig, 1892-)
CHR Catholic Historical Review (Washington, 1915-)
CMH Cambridge Medieval History, 8 vols. (Cam-
bridge, 1911-36)
Coli. de Collection de textes pour servir a !'etude et a
Textes l'enseignement de l'histoire, 51 vols. (Paris,
1886-1929)
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
(Vienna, 1866-)
CSHB Corpus scriptorum historiae Byzantinae, 50 vols.
(Bonn, 1828-97)
DA Deutsches Archiv fur Geschichte des Mittelalter
(Weimar, 1937-43); ibid. fur Erforschung des
Mittelalters (Cologne-Graz, 1950-)
EHR English Historical Review (London, 1886-)
FDG Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, 26 vols.
(Gottingen, 1826-86)
FSI Istituto Storico Italiano per il medio evo, Fonti
per la storia d'Italia (Rome, 1887-)
GR Gregory VII, Register. See Bibliography, section
A, for full entry.

XI
ABBREVIATIONS

H]b Historisches ]ahrbuch der Gorres-Gesellschaft

(Cologne, 188o-)
HZ Historische Zeitschrift (Munich, 1859-)
]EH journal of Ecclesiastical History (London, 195o-)
]L., ]K., P. Jaffe, Regesta pontificum Romanorum ad a.
]E. I rg8. Second ed. S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrun-

ner, and P. Ewald (Berlin, 1885-88)

MGR Monumenta Germaniae historica (1826-)
AA. Auctores antiquissimi
Const. Constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et
regum (Legum sectio IV)
Ep. Epistolae
Langob. Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum
saec. VI-IX
Libelli Libelli de lite imperatorum et pontificum saec.
XI et XII conscripti
Schrif- Schriften der MGR (monograph series)
ten
ss. Scriptores (in folio)
ss. Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum
Merov.
SSns Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, nova series
MioG Mitteilungen des Instituts fur osterreichische Ge-
schichtsforschung (Graz-Cologne, 188o-)
MPG J. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus. Series
graeca (Paris, 1867-76)
MPL Ibid. Series latina (Paris, 1841-64)
NA Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft fur altere deutsche
Geschichtskunde (Hanover, 1876-). Continued
byDA
QF Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Ar-
chiven und Bibliotheken (Rome 18g8-)
RH Revue historique (Paris, 1876-)
RHC Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris.
Recueil des historiens des croisades, 16 vols.
(Paris, 1841-1906)
Arm. Documents armeniens

xii
 ABBREVIATIONS

Occ. Historiens occidentaux

RHE Revue d'histoire ecctesiastique (Louvain, 19oo-)
RHEF Revue d' histoire de l' eglise de France (Paris,
1910-)
RHF M. Bouquet, Recueil des historiens des Gaules et
de la France, 24 vols. (Paris, 1738-1904). New
ed., I-XIX (Paris, 1868-So)
RIS L. A. Muratori, Rerum Italicarum scriptores, 25
vols. (Milan, 1723-51)
R!Sns Istituto Storico Italiano. Rerum Italicarum scrip-
tares, new series (Citta di Castello, Bologna,
1900-)
SHF Societe de l'histoire de France, Paris ( 1835-)
Sitz. Sitzungsberichte of the Akademie der Wissen-
schaften o£ Berlin, Munich, etc., as indicated
SS. Germ. Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scho-
larum ex Monumentis Germaniae historicis
recusi (Hanover, 1839-)
ZKG Zeitschrift filr Kirchengeschichte (Stuttgart,
1876-)
ZSSRG Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsge-
schichte
Germ. Germanistische Abteilung (Weimar, 1863-)
Kanon. Kanonistische Abteilung (Weimar, 1gu-)

xiii
FOREWORD TO THE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

In tracing the origins of the "idea of crusade" Carl Erdmann

investigated a subject that had not been particularly em-
phasized by earlier historians. He was concerned less with
the political, religious, and economic developments which
produced the First Crusade than with the growth of a
concept. What was in the minds of the men who planned
and carried out that famous expedition? How had their
ideas developed out of the policies and thinking of previous
generations? The answers to such questions involve not only
what was envisaged by Urban 11 when he preached his ser-
mon at Clermont in 1095, but the attitudes of those who
responded. Moreover, if, as many historians believe, the
response was far greater than had been anticipated, it is at
least possible that the pope's original plans were adjusted
to meet this response. Thus, there developed a popular
crusade idea, related to, but in many ways distinct from,
the official papal concept.
As Erdmann and many others have noted, defining the
"idea of crusade" is further complicated by the fact that
the term "crusade" was unknown at the time of the First
Crusade. Contemporaries used such words as iter) expeditio,
or peregrinatio. In fact, there was no clearly formulated
definition of crusade even during the twelfth century, not
until European conditions had changed and with them
many characteristics of later expeditions. Therefore, as the
term "crusade" came into use, its meaning inevitably re-
flected the attitudes of the decades and centuries follow-
ing the initial venture. Finally, the relatively modern pre-
occupation with the history of ideas added a new dimension
to historical research, a dimension especially relevant in the
present context. It is not surprising, therefore, that scholars
XV
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

now tend to be cautious in their use of the terms "crusade"

and "idea of crusade."
Interpretations of the facts of crusade origins as well as
of the later impact of the crusades on the medieval world
also reflect changing modern attitudes. Some historians, for
example, have stressed the religious motivation, although
they have not always agreed on a definition of specific
religious goals. Was the principal objective the recovery of
Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulcher, or was it aid to Eastern
Christians and empire? Other historians have viewed the
crusades as primarily political and diplomatic, reflecting in
some measure the controversies between the church and
the European monarchies, in particular the empire during
the Investiture Controversy-the much debated question
of the influence of Cluny enters into this discussion. In fact,
the crusades have sometimes been styled "the foreign policy
of the papacy." The states founded in the Levant by the
crusaders were sometimes called "colonies"; and if this in-
terpretation did not seem to fit precisely into a modern con-
ception of imperialism, it was, nevertheless, an example of
the increasing emphasis on such economic factors as Medi-
terranean commerce and the need for land experienced by
an expanding population. 1
Note: Works cited briefly in the footnotes are given in full in the
Bibliography.
1 John La Monte, "Papaute," pp. 157-67, summarizing the views then
current on crusade origins, found the following four themes to be pre-
dominant: (1) the desire to liberate the Holy Land and return the
Holy Sepulcher to the hands of the faithful; (2) the use of the crusade
against the Saracens in order to support the Byzantine Empire and pro-
mote ecclesiastical unity; (3) the establishment of an ecclesiastical state
in Palestine, or a feudal state dependent on the papacy; (4) the papal
urge to demonstrate power and to influence the course of events in the
Investiture Controversy by a large-scale utilization of military and moral
forces. La Monte himself tended to emphasize the last two of these
points, and tbe burden of his article was a substantiation of the politico-
diplomatic interpretation of papal policy which later was to be directed
against the enemies of the papacy in Europe. See also La Monte's review
of Erdmann in Speculum, pp. ug-22. P. Rousset, Origines, pp. 13-21,
also briefly summarized the "Etat actuel de la question."
The "colonial" theme originated in R. Grousset, Histoire, which ap-

xvi
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Recent scholarship has sought means of judging the rela-

tive importance of these various and sometimes conflicting
viewpoints. Much has been learned of such particular eco-
nomic factors as agricultural, property, and population
problems in specific areas of the West, problems of cur-
rency and credit, the needs of different Mediterranean
ports. The meaning of the term "feudalism" has provoked
a discussion among historians comparable to the arguments
regarding "crusade"; and such a discussion is bound to af-
fect any appraisal of Erdmann's emphasis on the role of the
church in enlisting the support of the nobility. In addition,
recent analyses have suggested that crusade "colonialism"
might be viewed as a cultural as well as an economic
phenomenon; and that "colonies" need not necessarily be
linked with a "mother country" politically. 2
In considering the policies of the church there is a
tendency now to stress more the growth of its inner struc-
ture and the development of canon law, and to emphasize
less its struggles with empire and kingdoms. As a conse-
quence, the First Crusade is less likely to be regarded
simply as a politico-diplomatic maneuver on the part of the
papacy. Considerable progress has also been made in ana-
lyzing an aspect of medieval life which may be called "pop-
ular religion," the religious attitudes of the layman. Ad-
mittedly, this is an elusive subject; yet it is crucial to any
understanding of the crusade. It is also an area of investiga-
tion to which Erdmann's book made a valuable contribu-
tion. Underlying all interpretations of the "idea of crusade"

peared too late for inclusion in Erdmann's bibliography. Grousset also

classifies the Byzantine recovery in the tenth century by the Macedonian
dynasty as a "crusade," an interpretation shared by H. Gn!goire, in
CMH, IV (2d ed.), 149--50, and with some reservations by S. Runciman,
History, I, 32-33. Both views have been questioned by later historians.
J. A. Brundage has collected brief selections from a number of mod-
ern writers on crusade motivation in Crusades.
2 For a summary of recent discussion of feudalism, E.A.R. Brown,
"Tyranny of a Construct," pp. 1063-88. A recent interpretation of the
crusader states as colonies is J. Prawer, Crusaders' Kingdom.

XVll
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

there remains the fundamental question: to what extent was

the First Crusade an official papal project; to what extent
was it popularly conceived and directed by laymen?
Finally, the uniqueness of the era of the First Crusade in
the history of ·western Europe is more clearly understood.
The final decades of the eleventh century gave increasing
evidence of ebullient energy in all fields of human en-
deavor. Population growth necessitated economic expansion
in both commerce and land exploitation. If secular govern-
ment lagged somewhat behind the more sophisticated ad-
vances in ecclesiastical administration and canon law, as the
difficulties in maintaining law and order reveal-the Peace
of God movement which Erdmann discusses is but one in-
dication-there was progress on local as well as central
levels. The Investiture Controversy, it is true, was to prove
a setback for central Europe. Nevertheless, all this move-
ment produced an aura of confidence. For this was the era
that witnessed the beginnings of the reconquista in Spain,
a successful amphibian expedition against England, the
capture and occupation-at least temporarily-of North
African ports, the taking over of former Byzantine terri-
tories in southern Italy and the conquest of Sicily from
the Moslems, even a brash attack on the heart of the
"Roman" empire across the Adriatic. In the south, the key
elements in these undertakings were the papacy, the west-
ern Italian ports, and the Normans, while in Spain the
French presence was increasingly evident.
When finally renewed Moslem challenges appeared in
Spain and in the East, the peoples of ·western Europe were
capable of meeting them. Moreover, since the challenges
coincided with, especially in France, a genuine, if somewhat
naive, religious revival, the answer took the form of a
religious war instituted by a rejuvenated papacy.
It was never to be quite the same again. The First Cru-
sade, it is true, was the first of a series of major undertak-
ings which occupied the attention of Europeans for two
centuries and more. Certain features of the original expedi-
XV Ill
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

tion kept reappearing. Although fervor seemed in general

to diminish, the maintenance or, after its capture by Saladin
in 1187, the recovery of Jerusalem continued to engender
in the minds of Western Europeans a sense of religious
obligation. There were never wanting individuals ready to
dedicate their lives to the cause. Papal concern remained
and papal efforts to retain direction, formalized by crusade
bulls beginning with that of Pope Eugenius Ill in 1145, con-
tinued, albeit with varying and generally diminishing suc-
cess. Nevertheless, the contrasts with the First Crusade be-
came more evident as the years passed. Not only did no
subsequent venture achieve comparable success, but each
mirrored the changed conditions of a rapidly developing
\Vestern Europe.
A notable feature, for example, of the First Crusade had
been the predominance of the feudal nobility. No doubt
this predominance resulted in part from the fact that the
kings of Europe in 1095 were otherwise occupied and three
were under excommunication. But it was also the conse-
quence, as Erdmann and others have emphasized, of the
status and the socio-religious attitudes of eleventh-century
feudal lords, especially in France. Even before the First
Crusade the church had begun to channel the warlike pro-
pensities of the nobility into holy causes, and this was cer-
tainly a major factor in the First Crusade. But the pre-
dominance of the nobility was later to pass. Not all the later
crusades were directed by kings, but their participation
increased steadily, as did the importance of intra-European
diplomatic maneuverings.
Finally, as the classic crusade era drew to a close in the
late thirteenth century, Western Europe was entering the
early stages of a prolonged economic arid demographic
decline. Far from being caught up in confidence and enthu-
siasm it was affiicted with a kind of malaise. Since all these
changes affected current concepts of what constituted a
crusade, it seems clear that the First Crusade must be ex-
amined apart from all the rest. To explore its origins is to
XIX
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

analyze that unique coincidence of religious, political,

social, and economic movements which culminated in the
later decades of the eleventh century. It is in this context
that the "idea of crusade" as Erdmann defined it must be
viewed.
Erdmann's principal theme is the concept of holy war,
war sanctioned by ecclesiastical authority for a sacred cause,
and the development of this concept from the early Mid-
dle Ages. The church, originally hostile to war in general,
gradually moved to St. Augustine's idea of "just war" where
armed conflict was regarded as morally justifiable under
certain circumstances, then to acceptance of "mission war,"
if not to force individual conversions, at least to create con-
ditions where conversion was possible, and ultimately to
promotion of war in its own defense or in defense of Chris-
tian society. As the nobility became increasingly prominent
in Western society during the eleventh century, the
church's promotion of holy war was facilitated by the mili-
tary potential of the knighthood. This was especially true
in France, the region destined to provide the great major-
ity of crusaders.
A notable feature of Erdmann's analysis of the holy war
concept is his emphasis on symbols. In earlier studies he
had indicated his interest in religious symbols such as ban-
ners and the like, and it is, therefore, not surprising that
two chapters in Die Entstehung pursue this subject further
in the context of holy war and crusade. The emphasis recurs
frequently throughout the book.
The high point in the development of the concept of war
for religious ends came with the popes of the reform era,
especially Leo IX, Alexander 11, and Gregory VII. The
advances of Islam in the late eleventh century in both Spain
and the East provided an objective which concerned the en-
tire church, East and West, not just local areas such as the
papal lands or the east German frontier. Thus, aid to be-
leaguered Eastern Christianity, especially Byzantium, was
in Erdmann's view the primary goal of the First Crusade.
XX
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

The conquest of Jerusalem, long hallowed as a place of

pilgrimage and acquiring new significance during the
eleventh century as a focus of popular religious venera-
tion, he saw as a subsidiary aim, added by Urban Il be-
cause he recognized its universal appeal. It was destined to
become the center of attention after the expedition had
been launched. As a consequence, pilgrimage, which seemed
to many historians to lie at the root of the entire under-
taking, was not given special emphasis by Erdmann. To
paraphrase his own often-quoted words: Jerusalem was the
immediate goal of the campaign (Marschziel), but libera-
tion of Eastern Christianity from the infidel remained the
fundamental aim of the war (Kampf- or Kriegsziel). The
First Crusade, therefore, remained within the tradition of
holy war. The limited aid to Byzantium which had been
considered tentatively at the Council of Piacenza (March
1095) matured in the succeeding months and was fully elab-
orated at the Council of Clermont (November 1095) into a
major enterprise.
Regardless of divergent views on specific matters, nota-
bly Erdmann's contention that the roots of the crusade lay
virtually exclusively in the development over the preceding
centuries of the concept and practice of holy war, and his
relegation of Jerusalem to a secondary role as a war aim,
reviewers were unanimous in recognizing his book as a
significant contribution to the understanding of the First
Crusade and its relation to contemporary society. 3 Its im-
portance was further accentuated through frequent citation
in subsequent works, not only those dealing with the
crusade, but in studies devoted to the church and war,
papal history, and popular religion. For, among other
things, it provided a veritable mine of documentation on a

a For the more important reviews see section B o£ the Bibliography,

under the following names: Beaudouin de Gaiflier; F. Bock; L. Brehier;
Z. N. Brooke; A. Fliche; L. Halphen; K. Hampe; W. Holtzmann; H.
Kampf; J. L. La Monte. See also review by J. R., in DA 1 (1937), 62-63.
M. W. Baldwin, "Some Recent Interpretations," is a review article.

xxi
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

number of related subjects. In the continuing series of

studies on the idea of crusade Erdmann's conclusions
figure prominently, often providing the starting point for
further discussion. A brief resume may not only help in
understanding Erdmann's contribution, but will also in-
dicate the directions in which later scholarship has moved.
In 1941 Etienne Delaruelle published the first installment
of his "Essai sur la formation de l'idee de croisade," a study
which, perhaps because it appeared in sections several
years apart, has not always received the attention it
deserves. 4 The treatise had originated as a these for the
doctorat at the Institut Catholique de Paris in 1935, and the
appearance of Erdmann's book first raised some doubts in
the author's mind about publishing his own findings. He
had been careful not to repeat what Erdmann had already
taken up in detail. More important, Delaruelle's approach
was different. He is primarily a historian of religious life,
in fact, one who has made many significant contributions to
the understanding of the quality of medieval French
religion.
In his analysis of the holy war concept, Delaruelle at-
taches great importance to its association with the liturgy
and with art. For the participants it was to be a means of
attaining eternal salvation. While, as with Erdmann, the
Carolingian period figures prominently in his thinking, he
stresses more the decades following Charlemagne, espe-
cially the pontificate of John VIII. The eleventh century is
critical; and with Gregory VII as well as in the preceding
years, there was developing a deeper understanding of the
societas christiana. Far more than in earlier periods, the
official church was reaching out to embrace the lay ele-
ment in society. Holy war, whether on the Eastern fron-
tiers or-at least as viewed by the reformed papacy-in
Sicily and Spain against the Moslems, was becoming the
function of the nobility, not, as in earlier times, of royalty.
4 BLE 42 (1941), 24-45, 86-103; 45 (1944), 13-46, 73-90; 54 (1953),
226-39; 55 (1954). 5o-63.
xxii
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

This was, of course, in large measure owing to the decline

of royal authority. But Delaruelle places great emphasis on
the ardent desire of Gregory VII and even more of Urban
II to absorb laymen into the life of the church. Defense of
the church indeed remained an objective, but participation
in a holy war was also envisaged as a means of attaining
eternal salvation.
For the hierarchy, this was an aspect of its change from
an inward and negative view toward the world into an out-
ward and positive one. The church was to become less
exclusively spiritual, more conscious of its place in and its
obligations to the external world. Finally, in proclaiming
the First Crusade, it was Urban II's genius to have con-
ceived a "myth" that would appeal to those who took the
cross and in a state of grace marched as a new people of
Israel to deliver Jerusalem, perhaps even to suffer martyr-
dom.
Two works on subjects closely related to Erdmann's
theme also made their appearance during these years. M.
Villey, La croisade: Essai sur la formation d'une theorie
juridique, treats the development of the crusade ideology
and its ultimate juridical definition in the period after the
First Crusade. Villey does, however, analyze the precru-
sade holy war tradition and stresses the new aspects which,
he feels, distinguished the First Crusade from previous holy
wars. It was a distant campaign, not a frontier problem.
Equally novel were the connection with Jerusalem and the
indulgence. While Villey agrees that aid to the Eastern
churches, not Jerusalem, was the principal objective, he
does maintain that Erdmann underrated these new ele-
ments.
In his Les origines et les caracteres de la premiere crois-
ade, P. Rousset addressed himself to a problem somewhat
different from that of Erdmann. For he is mainly concerned
with the idea of crusade that was to come down through
history, more especially as it appeared to men of the early
twelfth century. As a consequence, he concentrates on the
XXlll
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

sources from 1095 to about 1145• the period of the launch-

ing of the Second Crusade, sources which included not only
the narrative chronicles, but also charters, letters, and the
excitatoria or treatises composed to stimulate crusade
enlistment. Rousset does, however, consider the question
of origins in sections devoted to what he calls the "precru-
sades." His term "caracteres" includes a number of related
ideas: cause, goal, holy war, Jerusalem and the Holy Sepul-
cher, crusaders as members of an elect, a new children of
Israel, in short, the entire complex of religious attitudes
which appeared in the vocabulary of the day. Thus, he at-
tempts to explore. not only the ideology of the crusade but
also the psychology of the participants.
Rousset's views, manifestly religious in emphasis, give
rise to a number of questions. For example, do the sources
he uses mirror the attitudes of the period before the cru-
sade, or do they reflect the views of educated clerics who
wrote later and who were influenced by the events of the
crusade itself? Further, to what extent are these sources,
especially the excitatoria, rhetorical or exaggerated?
Erdmann certainly had doubts about the validity even of
early twelfth-century sources, in the context of the original
crusade idea, and used them sparingly only in the final
sections of his book. The question needs further analysis.
For although popes and magnates may have laid specific
plans which can to some extent be dated, popular feelings
transcend chronological limits. Twelfth-century statements
conceivably reflect attitudes which existed earlier, but
which had yet to be formally expressed. 5

5 La Monte, in his review of Origines, questioned Rousset's psycho-

logical interpretation and contended that the older religious view of the
crusade was out of date. La Monte's comments illustrate the controversy
then current regarding the political versus the religious emphasis. For a
favorable estimate of Rousset, see the review by L. Brehier in REH.
Rousset pursued further his analysis of the development of the crusade
idea into the twelfth century in "Idee de croisade." See also his "Laics
dans la croisade," in I laici nella 'societas christiana.'

XXIV
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

The emphasis on popular psychology was pursued fur-

ther by P. Alphandery in what might be termed a socio-
logical analysis of the idea of crusade: La chretiente et
l'idee de croisade; the first volume was edited and a second
volume completed by A. Dupront after Alphandery's death.
Alphandery's conclusions have provoked considerable dis-
cussion. Unlike Erdmann and those historians who directed
their attention mainly toward papal policy, holy war, and
the like, Alphandery deals with the concept of crusade pri-
marily as it entered into the consciousness of the masses.
Far more than any other modern author he sees the crusade
as essentially a collective movement. Thus, in treating the
eleventh-century origins of the crusade (see especially eh.
1, and eh. n to p. 135, and Dupront's summary, vol. II,
273ff), he emphasizes not only the remarkable growth in the
veneration for Jerusalem evidenced in pilgrimage, but also
in the development of an eschatological attitude toward the
holy city. This was at first associated mainly with memories
of the Old Testament. But even after the image of the Holy
Sepulcher gradually came into greater prominence, the Old
Testament tradition endured. The earthly Jerusalem came
to be a figure of the new "heavenly Jerusalem." The popular
urge to prepare for the end of all things by an act of peni-
tence, predominantly individual at first, but increasingly
viewed as a collective rite, Alphandery finds reaching a
climax toward the end of the eleventh century. In fact, so
strong and widespread was this popular feeling for Jeru-
salem that whatever plans Pope Urban may have had, and
Alphandery agrees that they cannot be reproduced defini-
tively, were overshadowed as all these sentiments coalesced
during the First Crusade. The First Crusade, therefore, was
more a spontaneous popular movement concentrated on
Jerusalem than an official ecclesiastical project. This "reli-
gion of the crusade," dramatized by occurrences during the
expedition such as the Holy Lance episode and the action
of the pauperes at Marra in forcing the march toward Jeru-
XXV
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

salem, came to be reflected in the writings of the chroniclers

who emphasized the importance of poverty, suffering, and
privation. 6
Taken together, the works of Rousset and Alphandery
constitute additional evidence of the shift away from the
political or diplomatic interpretation of the First Crusade
to one giving prominence to the religious mentality of the
individual crusader. As was remarked above, this change
in emphasis was accompanied, indeed made possible, by a
deeper understanding of the religious attitudes which ap-
peared in eleventh-century lay society. As these viewpoints
appeared, so also did criticism. Nevertheless, although ques-
tions have been raised on a number of specific matters,
recent scholarship seems generally to have accepted the
emphasis on the religious feelings of the masses.
Meanwhile, the conflicting interpretations of crusade
origins that continued to appear were often echoed in gen-
eral works on the history of the crusades. 7 The Introduction

6 One reviewer (A. des M.) characterized the sociopsychological gen·

eralizations of Alphandery as "a bit vague," mingling entirely justifiable
suggestions with unscientific allusions to comparative religion. In an
article discussed below, Blake pointed out that Alphandery relied over-
much on the account of Raymond of Aguilers, which did not necessarily
reflect a universally accepted view. Moreover, the coalescing of various
attitudes and impressions formed in the course of events was often later
expressed by historians and chroniclers who were for the most part
clerical. For a favorable view of Alphandery's work, see the review by
E. Delaruelle in RHEF.
Norman Cohn, in Pursuit of the Millennium, also emphasizes the role
of Jerusalem and its appeal to the poor. See, e.g., the selection cited by
Brundage, Crusades.
7 Runciman has an extended section ·on the background of the First
Crusade in the first volume of his History. Though mainly concerned
with events, he does discuss briefly the development of the idea of holy
war in the West, and in considerable detail the growth of pilgrimage
(see also his section in History of the Crusades, ed. Setton, I, 68-78).
Runciman, a Byzantinist, also gives prominence to the relations between
the Eastern church and empire and the eleventh-century papacy. Never-
theless, he feels that when Urban II set out for France after Piacenza,
he began to consider a much larger project.
In a lengthy introduction (eh. I) to his Kreuzziige, A. Waas analyzes
the character of the crusade and the formation of the crusade idea. He

XXVI
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

to Jean Richard, L'esprit de la croisade, a selection of

sources intended for the student and general reader, is a
perceptive and critical analysis of his own ideas and those
of others, especially Delaruelle, Rousset, Alphandery, and
Erdmann. Richard deals with the crusade idea as it devel-
oped from 1095 through the thirteenth century, but he does
consider in some detail the origins of this crusade esprit.
In the appeals of Gregory VII and Urban II, Richard finds
an essential theme to have been fraternal charity, the call
to Western Christians to aid their Eastern brethren. More-
over, this paralleled the emergence of the concept of West-
ern Christianity as a fatherland, a response in large meas-
ure to the new external pressures of Islam.
A second theme, even more profoundly rooted in the
attitudes of Western crusaders and antedating the crusade,
was veneration for the holy places and especially Jerusalem.
Finally, the indulgence evoked what Richard calls the
"strongest feeling" in the formation of the idea of crusade,
the consciousness of sin. The pilgrim, and now the armed
pilgrim, was not to undertake his journey as any ordinary
traveler; and Richard has noted that more than one papal
legate was named by the pope to take charge of the spirit-
ual welfare of the crusaders as well of the unarmed pil-
grims who went along. Moreover, while each "pilgrim"
traveled to expiate his own sins, the journey was also looked
upon as an act of collective penitence.
A recent general work on the crusades which discusses
extensively the entire problem of crusade origins is H. E.

stresses the religious quality of the movement. He critizes the "colonial"

interpretation of Grousset and what he considers the overly secular slant
of History of the Crusades, ed. Setton. For Waas, the essential feature
was the religious attitude of the feudal knight [Ritterfrommigkeit] with
its idea of the knight as God's vassal, an emphasis which, however, some
felt to be too narrow. See the reviews by A. C. Krey, T.S.R. Boase, W.
von Steinen. See also \Vaas, "Heilige Krieg."
There are also brief treatments in J. J. Saunders, Aspects of the Cru-
sade, and F. Cognasso, Storie. I have not seen F. Cardini, Crociate; see
review by A. S. Atiya.

XXVll
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Mayer's Geschichte der Kreuzziige. An English translation

by J. Gillingham appeared in 1972 with a number of refer-
ences by the author to subsequent publications. Chapter 2,
"The Origins of the Crusades," is a summary with addi·
tional comments on the various views presented to date, in-
cluding several references to Erdmann's conclusions.
Erdmann's well-known distinction between Jerusalem as
MaTSchziel and aid to the Eastern empire and church as
Kriegziel Mayer finds to be "perhaps an oversubtle inter-
pretation." He attributes considerable importance to the
growth of veneration for Jerusalem and, contrary to Erd-
mann, to the pilgrimage movement that burgeoned in the
eleventh century. In referring to Erdmann's treatment of
the church's appeal to the knightly class in the development
of holy war, he adds that armed pilgrimage became an
especially strong element in the knight's religious attitude.
Wars against the Saracens in Spain were undoubtedly
significant, but the idea of a military expedition to the East
was an essentially critical innovation. Mayer notes that
Erdmann was the first to call attention to the significance
of Urban's Tarragona appeal, where he offered the same
spiritual rewards, the indulgence, as could be obtained for
the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But, unlike Erdmann, he also
finds the Tarragona appeal to be evidence that the pope's
crusade idea was based on pilgrimage.
Finally, Mayer places an especially strong emphasis on
the indulgence, rather more, in fact, than do most scholars.
In text and notes he discusses at considerable length recent
viewpoints, particularly those of Poschmann and Brundage.
And while he agrees with many modern writers that among
the crusaders there were skeptics and those whose motives
were obviously material, he does regard the popular faith
of the day as a major factor in the thinking of the average
crusader.
In the English edition of his book, Mayer discusses a 1970
article by H.E.J. Cowdrey, "Pope Urban II's Preaching of
the First Crusade." In considering the hypothesis that the
XXVlll
 FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

pope was not primarily concerned with Jerusalem, but

rather with the Eastern empire and church, Cowdrey
makes the unusual suggestion that Erdmann's views so
strongly influenced subsequent historians-Mayer is men-
tioned prominently-that they were unable to throw them
off entirely. Cowdrey then develops further an idea men-
tioned briefly by Rousset that when all available material,
not simply the chronicles, is considered it points ines-
capably to the conclusion that Jerusalem was from the be-
ginning at the heart of Urban's thinking. Mayer remains
unconvinced by the evidence Cowdrey adduces. He does
admit, however, that "things might have gone the way he
suggests"; and if so, papal oriental policy would need to be
restudied. 8
Additional observations on the way the "crusade idea"
has been treated by scholars during the years since Erd-
mann who "first set up the subject as capable of disciplined
study" have been made by E. 0. Blake, in "The Formation
of the 'Crusade Idea.' " Blake is of the opinion that insuf-
ficient attention has been paid to the "actual process of
growth by which the complex of ideas which makes the
'crusade' capable of definition, recognition and continuous
life by the end of the twelfth century has developed from
initial tentative formulations." In other words, scholars in
seeking for origins in the decades or centuries anterior to
the First Crusade, and of course Erdmann is the prime
example, have often, and perhaps inevitably, tended to
stress preliminary events and ideological developments
which only assumed the characteristic shape of "crusade"
after 1095.
Blake suggests further that the two chief elements which
eventually made up the accepted definition in the twelfth
century, the popular and the official, pilgrimage and meri-
torious war on the one hand, and papal policy on the other,
were gradually linked together. Since scholars have
stressed one element or the other, the dichotomy between
8 Crusades, p. 291 n. 26.

XXIX
FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

the two has occasionally been overemphasized. The merg-

ing of the two elements first took place most strikingly in
Urban's granting of the pilgrimage indulgence to a papally
directed war, thus uniting a popular movement with an of-
ficial policy.
The process of merging was enormously strengthened by
the close association of warrior and cleric during the
dramatic events of the First Crusade. As a consequence, in
the literature of the First Crusade there began to develop
a concept of what "crusade" signified. The biblical refer-
ences and implications and comparisons may well have
resulted from clerical interpretation and preaching rather
than from something inherent in the popular consciousness,
as Alphandery tends to emphasize.
From these examples of research on crusade origins since
the publication of Erdmann's book, it is evident that he
defined a historical problem which has continued to elicit
the attention of scholars. Moreover, to the long-standing
questions regarding motives and direction, politico-eco-
nomic vs. religious, papal-official vs. popular, there have
been added new areas of investigation, notably the attempt
to analyze more deeply the concept of holy war and the ef-
fort to understand the character of popular religion.
Certainly, the entire problem of the "idea of crusade," its
development ideologically and within the framework of
events leading up to the First Crusade, its more precise
enunciation thereafter, and finally its survival into modern
times retains an absorbing interest for all students of his-
tory. Moreover, it is evident that controversies over the
concept "crusade" remain. In their efforts to resolve these
controversies, historians continue to regard Carl Erdmann's
researches as essential to any analysis. ·
M.W.B.

XXX
 Publisher's Note

Marshall W. Baldwin died suddenly on July 4, I975, in New

Y ark, after he had completed his share of the work on this
book in all important respects, but before the publisher's
editorial phase had begun. Professor Baldwin had expected
to participate in that process and to subject the notes and
bibliography to such further checking and correction as
might prove necessary. Consequently, his colleague, Waiter
Gof!art, assumed much of the burden of those procedures,
in close cooperation with the staff editor for Princeton Uni-
versity Press.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Two forces affecting the human spirit came into play in the
crusading movement: the idea of pilgrimage to the sites of
primitive Christianity and the idea of holy war-knightly
combat in the service of the church. Each has a distinct
history, and whoever inquires into the origins of the idea
of crusade may consequently follow two different routes.
The view that has prevailed up to now has concentrated
on the pilgrimage aspect. Scholars have indeed referred, for
the sake of completeness, to the hierarchical tendencies of
the papacy and to the wars against the heathens in southern
Europe, but their main argument is that the peaceful pil-
grimages to the Holy Sepulcher that had long been taking
place eventually turned into expeditions of armed conquest.
As a result, pilgrimages have been closely researched, and
special efforts have been made to discover the events in the
East that would have caused the objective to change from
pilgrimage to conquest. The prehistory of the crusading
idea has acquired, therefore, either an Eastern cast or one
determined by East-West relations, whereas the many cru-
sades undertaken in other theaters-against heretics and
opponents of the papacy, as well as against heathens-have
been regarded as "aberrations" or degenerations of a
"genuine" idea of crusade.
This view is erroneous. The "aberrations" had long been
there, and the "genuine" crusade proceeded from them far
more than from a supposed change in the condition of
pilgrims and of the city of Jerusalem. The central, his-
torically essential process was the evolution of the "general"
idea of crudade, which was oriented to ecclesiastical objec-
tives as such and not tied to a specific locality, such as Jeru-
salem. Unlike earlier investigations, this book pursues the
second component of crusading-the idea of Christian
xxxiii
AUTHOR'S PREFACE

knighthood and of holy war. It is obvious that the roots of

this idea should not be sought in Palestine; its emergence
coincides with the total development of the Christian peo-
ples. We are concerned with the problem of "the church and
war" and, by the same token, with the historical foundations
of the Western ethic of war and soldiering.
The present work, therefore, is not meant to illuminate
the origins of the crusading movement from every direc-
tion. Rather, it is confined to the idea of crusade and its
development up to the First Crusade. Otherwise, attention
would also have to be paid to the social, political, and
economic conditions that obviously formed the external
presuppositions for crusading; a characteristic illustration
is that mercenary troops began to appear in the West simul-
taneously with military and colonizing expansion. But what
set in motion the soldiers of the High Middle Ages was
not only the prospect of payment, booty, and new land, but
also that of heavenly reward and the forgiveness of sins. In
attempting to grasp the latter fact in isolation, we do not
mean to close our eyes to all conditions other than those
purely affecting the human spirit. Since the idea of crusade
was given form by the church, account has to be taken of
those social, constitutional, and political circumstances that
conditioned the attitude of the church and the papacy
toward the issue. But it would be vain to attempt to ascer-
tain in precisely what proportion ideological and material
motives were combined in the crusaders. While the thesis
that the church's call was their only motive is self-evidently
false, the opposite view that its call was ineffectual and
a mere fat;:ade is equally untrue. The ecclesiastical idea of
crusade was a historical force: that much is clear. Our
object here is not to determine how psychologically effec-
tive it was by comparison with other, competing influences,
but to investigate how the idea took shape and what trans-
formations it underwent.
The problem has been posed before. It has always been
XXXIV
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE

accepted that the crusades cannot be explained apart from

the "religious exuberance" of the age. There have also been
frequent suggestions that the crusades must be related in
some way to the church reform of the eleventh century and
to the Investiture Contest. Yet, as far as I can see, no one
has pursued the matter. We are presented either with gen-
eralities or, when precision is attempted, with distorted
images. In my view, the best words on the prehistory of the
crusading idea are in the second chapter of volume eight
of Ranke's Universal History, where he makes a fundamen-
tal distinction between the hierarchical and the popular
ideas of crusade: they paralleled one another for some time
and only merged under Urban II. Though Ranke too
closely identified the popular idea of crusade with the idea
of pilgrimage, he nevertheless pointed out the route along
which the essentials of the story may be discovered.
The Introduction to the present work was written in 1930.
Its first half originated in Rome, where I was able to work
at it concurrently with my activities at the Prussian His-
torical Institute. For permission to do so, as well as for other
encouragement, I am grateful to Geheimrat Paul Kehr.
Chapters I-III and Appendices I-III were presented as my
Habilitationsschrift to the Philosophical Faculty of the
University of Berlin in the summer of 1932. On this occa-
sion, the two referees, Professor Erich Caspar and Profes-
sor Robert Holtzmann, supplied me with a number of sug-
gestions that I have gratefully used. The preparation of the
later chapters, and the publication of the entire work, were
made possible by a research grant and a publication sub-
sidy for which I owe thanks to the Notgemeinschaft der
Deutschen Wissenschaft. Until his death, Erich Caspar lent
his friendly assistance to my work; I am indebted to him for
its acceptance in the series of Forschungen zur Kirchen-
und Geistesgeschichte. The manuscript divisions of the
Bibliotheca Vaticana, the Staatsbibliotheken of Berlin and
Munich, and the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris assisted me
XXXV
AUTHOR'S PREFACE

by sending photographs and helpfully answering many

questions. Finally, I thank my colleagues in Berlin, Drs. D.
von Gladiss, K. Jordan, T. E. Mommsen, and H. Schlechte,
who most kindly shared with me the pains of correcting
proof.
Berlin, July I935 CARL ERDMANN

xxxvi,
THE ORIGIN OF THE IDEA OF CRUSADE
INTRODUC TION

"71 holy war, in the broadest sense of the term, is any war
fi that is regarded as a religious act or is in some way
set in a direct relation to religion. Holy wars were fought
under the aegis of the ancient cults, especially in the Near
East. The national god personally led his people to victory
over the god of other peoples; his shrine was carried into
battle, and the spoils were all his. Holy war of this kind is
no different from profane war, for when the protagonists
themselves bear a sacred stamp, all wars become holy by vir-
tue of being the communal action of a sacred people. Similar
conceptions were shared even by the European peoples in
pagan times. The crusades, however, were holy wars in a
quite different sense. The general idea of crusade, far from
being confined to wars actually directed toward the Holy
Land, could be found in the most varied theaters of combat,
and acquired its clearest expression in the knightly orders.
Here, religion itself provided the specific cause of war, un-
encumbered by considerations of public welfare, territorial
defense, national honor, or interests of state. This is why the
call to arms did not go to a specific people or even, at first,
to heads of state. It was addressed to Christian knighthood
as a body. The present study will look at religious war in
this specific form.
The Christian religion was unfavorable at first to holy
war. The special character of Christian ethics was not the
principal obstacle. To be sure, the love of neighbor
preached by Jesus is very different from the spirit of war;
but since the Gospels contain no specific condemnation of
war, theology was gradually able to reconcile the contra-
diction, as part of the progressive transformation of Chris-
tian ethics. A much stronger deterrent to holy war was that
Christianity, from its very beginnings, was a universal and

3
INTRODUCTION

missionary religion. If all peoples were equally called to

honor the only true God, then the cause of a single warring
people might no longer be unequivocally equated with
God's cause. Moreover, the idea of a religious war against
the unbelievers conflicted with missionary duty. All sophis-
ticated religions demand that conversion be a spiritual
process freely undertaken. On this point the Islamic doc-
trine of holy war is characteristic. The Jihad, as Mohammed
declared it, had as its aim the enlargement of the temporal
sway of the Moslem community. The holy war was not to
convert unbelievers but to turn them into tributaries, that
is, political subjects. This also served to give glory to Allah
and was consequently a holy deed. Although conquest might
result in the acceptance of Islam by the conquered, conver-
sion was not the immediate purpose of the Moslem holy
war. For Christianity, however, a religious war of this sort
was of doubtful value. The mere subjugation of heathens
occasionally passed as a holy deed even in Christian lands,
but this was by no means the rule. To regard the belief that
Christianity was destined to world domination as the root
of the crusading idea is an exaggeration; 1 nor is it true that
the crusading idea had a comparatively direct and uncom-
plicated development. 2
1H. Prutz, Kulturgeschichte der Kreuzzilge, p. 13.
2On the attitude of the church toward war there are detailed works
only for the first three centuries, above all, the classic study of Harnack
on the Militia Christi. For the following period until about the year
1000, there exist, to my knowledge, only short surveys; though differing
from them in many details, I have consulted them with profit: L.
Gautier, Chevalerie, pp. 2-14; A. Gottlob, Kreuzablass, pp. 13-36;
G.C.W. Gorris, Denkbeelden, pp. g-11; H. Pissard, Guerre sainte, pp.
1-3; W. Kohler, "Amnestie," pp. 138-43; H. Finke, Gedanke, pp. 15ff;
E. Maschke, Deutsche Orden, pp. 3-8; W. Erben, Kriegsgeschichte, pp.
53-57. I have also gathered some references from the Dissertatio de
antiqua disciplina christiana militiae of C. Lupus, Opusc. post., pp.
94ff. The discussion to follow attempts to attain a deeper understanding
of these difficult developments, but it too has the character of an intro-
ductory survey, with no claim to finality.
[See now ]. Dauvi!lier, Temps apostoliques, pp. 685-88, and ].
Gaudemet, Eglise dans /'empire romain, pp. 706-g, both with bibli-
ographies. The review article by ] . Fontaine, "Christians and Military
Service," pp. 58---{)4, mentions among the earlier works: R. H. Bainton,

4
 INTRODUCTION

To early Christians the idea of a holy war encouraged by

their religion would have seemed absurd. They knew only
profane wars, conducted for the good of the state, and
doubted the propriety of participating in them. 3 The ques-
tion early Christianity posed was not whether religion was
a valid basis for war, but whether it was possible for a
Christian to fight at all. Ecclesiastical teachers of the first
centuries, such as Tertullian and Origen, answered even
this question in the negative. In their view the barrier be-
tween Christianity and the military profession arose not
only from the fact of bloodshed, but also from the associa-
tion of the army with pagan cults and from the generally
un-Christian life of the soldier. General practice, however,
was based on the apostolic principle that everyone should
remain in the state of life in which he was when called to
Christianity. Even before Constantine, the army contained
many Christians. But there could be no question of the
church's having a warlike role in an age when the state was
still pagan and Christianity was at best tolerated.
The situation changed with Constantine. The new state
church declared military service to be unobjectionable 4 and

"The Early Church and War," pp. 189-212, also in R. M. jones, Church,
Gospel and War, pp. 75-92 (see now the same author's Christian Atti·
tudes, chs. I-vn); E. A. Ryan, "Rejection of Military Service," pp. 1-32;
H. von Campenhausen, "Kriegsdienst," pp. 255-64; H. Karpp, "Stellung
der alten Kirche," pp. 496--515; B. Schopf, Totungsrecht bei den frilh-
christlichen Schriftstellern. See also G. S. Windass, "The Early Church's
Attitude to War," who comments on remarks, especially concerning
Tertullian and Origen, in a previous article by j. Newman, with New·
man's replies; S. Gero, "Miles gloriosus," pp. 285-98; John Helegeland,
"Christians in the Roman Army," pp. 14g-64. There is also a brief
summary in R. M. Grant, Augustus to Constantine, pp. 273-74.)
3 The following is according to Harnack, Militia Christi.
4 There are always exceptions; e.g., Paulinus Nolanus, Ep. 25, ed.
Hartel, pp. 223ff. Canon 3 of the Council of Aries, which appears to
threaten desertion with excommunication, is often cited, but must be
used with caution because the existing text is by no means clear; cf.
Harnack, p. 88. As long as no real parallel to this regulation is shown
to exist, I cannot regard it as credible. In any case, Canon 11 of the
Council of Nicaea and a letter of Leo I (JK. 544, para. 10) have an al-
together different sound! Later ecclesiastical penalties against deserters
may have originated from the fact that the infamia incurred by deser-

5
 INTRODUCTION

quickly grew accustomed to invoking the state's means of

enforcement. Legislation was set in motion against the
pagans, and some Christians, like Firmicus Maternus, even
demanded that paganism be rooted out by fire and sword.
The closer the alliance between state and church became,
I the more the church aligned its ethical demands and
liturgical prayers with the military functions of the state.
In the Eastern Roman Empire, where state control of the
church prevailed, the church did not long delay in lending
moral support to the conduct of war. In fact, religion and
nation in Eastern Christendom drew so closely together
again, in the manneF of pre-Christian religions, that to this
day a special declaration of "holy war" is not required in
emergencies. 5 Characteristically, the cult of military saints
developed comparatively early in the Greek church. Such
saints as Demetrius, Theodore, Sergius, and George were
commonly believed to take a personal part in battles and to
change the course of a conflict by miracles for the benefit
of their proteges. 6 The contradiction between war and
Christianity was no longer felt in the East.
The Western development took a different course. To
be sure, the Latin church also entered into an alliance with
the state and countenanced its military activities, on the un-
derstanding that the territory of the state was co-terminous
with that of Christianity. But because the Roman church
never became quite so dependent as the Greek upon the
emperor, it was able to retain a measure of aloofness
toward the state and war. 7 For many centuries, military

tion in civil law entered into the Pseudo-Isidorian collection; see the
Preface to Canon 12 of the Council of Toledo (681) and Benedictus
Levita, n, 326; Decretales Pseudo-lsidorianae, ed. Hinschius, pp. 182, 231.
s Harnack, p. 5· [On the Greek warrior saints, below, eh. rx.]
6 E. Lucius, Anfiinge, pp. 205ff. For a different view, H. Delehaye,
Legendes grecques, pp. 1 ff.
7 The position of the Visigothic national church in Spain is atypical.
See below, eh. I, p. 39; also the Mozarabic hymn, In profectione exercitus
(ed. Blume, Analecta hymnica, xxvn, 26g). A. L. Mayer's view of these
matters ("Altchristliche Liturgie," pp. golf), is, in my opinion, some-
what oversimplified.

6
 INTRODUCTION

saints were unknown to the West; 8 only very rarely do we

hear of a saint appearing in battle to protect his church or
the faithful,9 The experiences of everyday life militated
against a belief in the active help of saints in war. The
Western Empire became less and less able to defend itself
against the onslaught of barbarians. Far from evoking
thanks for heavenly assistance in war, such events as the
sack of Rome by the Goths occasioned reproaches against
Christianity of the kind that urged Augustine to reply in
The City of God. Augustine himself charted the course of
the Western ethic of war, and exercised the most lasting in-
fluence in shaping its complexities. 10
Writers of the first centuries had taken into account only
the military service of individual Christian soldiers; their
perspective did not yet extend to the ethics of a state mak-
ing war or to the ethics of the ruler of that state. Augustine,
however, grappled with the socio-ethical problem of war
on a much more basic level. Above all, he asked whether
and when a war was permissible or sinful. He did not admit
that there was an autonomous justification for war as a

s Lucius, pp. 246ff.

9 I know of only one example from the period of the early church-
the report in Augustine De cura pro mortuis gerenda, c. 16 (19) (OPera
5·3.652), that St. Felix appeared when Nola was being defended against
the barbarians. Some examples from later times are provided in H.
Giinter, Legendenstudien, pp. 110f. Personal participation of this kind
should not be confused with the general belief that God and the
saints determine the outcome of battles.
1o The Augustinian passages on war that would be standard in the
later period are best compiled in Gratian's Decretum, Pars n, C. 23, ed.
Friedberg, I, 88g-g65. Also on this ]. Mausbach, Ethik des hi. Au-
gustinus, 1, 313, 337, 345, 426f; 0. Schilling, Staats- und Soziallehre des
hi. Augustinus, pp. 86ff. Attention should also be given E. Bernheim,
Mittelalterliche Zeitanschauungen, and P. Monceaux, "St. Augustin
et la guerre"; yet their accounts differ sharply from one another, and
I do not agree with them on every point.
[For a full discussion of Augustine's views on war, H. E. Deane, Po-
litical and Social Ideas of St. Augustine, eh. v; P. Brown, "Religious
Coercion," pp. i83-305, and "St. Augustine's Attitude to Religious
Coercion," pp. 107-16; Bainton, Christian Attitudes, eh. VI; F. van der
Meer, Augustine the Bishop, eh. VI, esp. pp. 93ff.]

7
INTRODUCTION

means of settling disputes between states. War, for him,

arose only from wickedness and was always an evil. There
is such a thing as "just war [bellum justum]," but the crucial
point is that it can be "just" only on one side: at least one
of the contenders must have brought about the conflict by
injustice, for only self-defense and the recovery of stolen
property constitute just causes for war. In this way Augus-
tine introduced the idea of war-guilt into Christian history
and made it a cornerstone of the European theory of war.
For a millennium its validity was unquestioned, and it re-
mains very weighty even today. The righteous may fight
only from necessity, and their objective in doing so should
always be peace and ultimately even the well-being of the
opponent. Aggressive attitudes were thus condemned, and
the Christian ethic of peace, which Augustine was thor-
oughly conscious of, was brought into harmony with the
existence of war. On a practical level, Augustine stipulated
that the individual soldier did not sin by participating in
an unjust war if he did not have a clear awareness of the in-
justice of his cause. By implication, basic responsibility for
war fell on the head of state and not on the army. The
ethics of war, now almost wholly divorced from the soldier,
were a matter for the prince, who had to show whether his
cause was just or unjust and, accordingly, whether the war
was licit or unjustified. Moreover, Augustine's teachings
specifically distinguished between aggressive and defensive
wars. This distinction, though very difficult to make and
often based on fiction, remained decisive for Christian doc-
trine.
Bellum justum was not at first a war of religion, but a
moral war. The further elaboration that Augustine's doc-
trine on the subject acquired resulted from the special cir-
cumstances of his life. The Donatist schism had long been
bringing grave troubles to the North African church. In the
face of this situation, Augustine, like many churchmen after
him, found himself in a dilemma: while Catholic ec-
8
 INTRODUCTION

clesiology demanded that church unity be maintained, the

doctrine that faith was voluntary forbade the use of force.
At first, Augustine sought to eliminate the schism by a
purely intellectual combat waged with literary weapons.
Experience soon proved the limited effectiveness of this ap-
proach. As a result, he was led to invoke the aid of the state
against the Donatists. Well aware that this was a departure
from early Christian precepts, he drew comfort from his
reflections on history: the position of the church had
changed, its potestas had increased, once the head of state
had accepted Christianity. What was now taking place was
just an exercise of internal discipline within the church and
within the state. The dictum "compel them to come in [cage
intrare]," which Augustine then applied to the Donatists'
entrance into the church, might in itself have been used to
justify even the forcible incorporation of pagans. Augustine
avoided this course by limiting its application to heretics
and schismatics, who were regarded as merely fallen away
and, therefore, still theoretically subject to the discipline
of the church.
All this seems to have little to do with the ethics of war.
But it should be noted that neither Augustine's theory nor
medieval teachers distinguished internal discipline from
foreign relations, or criminal law from the law of nations.
No essential difference was yet seen in whether the state
exercised the "right of the sword [ius gladii]" over its own
citizens or over other peoples. Moreover, the suppression
of Donatism called for military measures, the more so since
the Donatists and their close allies, the so-called Circumcel·
liones, themselves assumed a warlike posture and devas-
tated the land as alleged soldiers of Christ. Augustine came
to regard the state's persecution of the Donatists as a war,
and he expanded his theory of war in order to take into
account the present conflict with the heretics. Over and
above the "just war," he now spoke of holy war, "war sanc-
tioned by God [bellum Deo auctore]," in which the general

9
INTRODUCTION

and the soldiers rank in a special way as servants of God. 11

The two parties to such a war cannot be judged according
to the same yardstick: one side fights for light, the other for
darkness; one for Christ, the other for the devil. Augustine's
teaching about the city of God was all that was further
needed to give this holy war its specific stamp.
What made a war of this kind holy was that the church
of a Christian state was using force to maintain its unity.
An aggressive war of religion for the expansion of Christen-
dom was still out of the question. It was Gregory I who
moved Christian doctrine in this dubious direction. As an
advocate of the principle that high taxes might be used
to force stubborn non-Christians into conversion, he did not
shrink from placing weapons in the service of missionary
activity. 12 He praised Gennadius, the exarch of Africa, for
seeking out battle in order that Christianity might be
preached to the conquered. In this way the principle of an
indirect missionary war was first enunciated. The im-
mediate aim of the war was only the subjugation of the
pagans, but this was regarded as the basis for subsequent
11 The two principal passages on this point are in Quaest. in Hept.

vr, 10 (Opera 3·3·428£) and De civitate Dei r, 21 (Opera 5·1.39f). The

concept of the bellum Deo auctore appeared in Augustine's earlier writ-
ings, but acquired full significance only in his stand regarding heretics.
[On Augustine's change from the idea of persuasion and argument
only, through a transitional view of admitting state protection against
Donatists, to the full acceptance of state power against schismatics and
heretics, see Deane, pp. 185-220.
With regard to the period immediately following Augustine, Pro·
fessor Waiter Goffart has called my attention to the fact that Erdmann
overlooked Fl. Vegetius Renatus Epitoma rei militaris, written ea. 440,
which he regards as an important document in the Christian attitude
toward war; it is the first military treatise to be explicitly Christian and
was used throughout the Middle Ages as the standard authority on
warfare.]
12 Gregory I, Registrum, I, 73 (MGR Ep. 1.93): "you are often eager
for wars ... for the sake of expanding the Empire, where we see that
God is reverenced . . . , so that, by preaching of the faith, Christ's
name may be heard everywhere among the subjected peoples [bella vos
frequenter appetere ... dilatandae causa rei Publicae, in qua Deum
coli conspicimus ... , quatenus Christi nomen per subditas gentes fidei
praedicatione circumquaque discurrat]." Cf. Reg. IV, 26 (ibid. 1.261).

10
 INTRODUCTION

missionary activity that would be protected and promoted

by state authority. Augustine and Gregory thus gave holy
war a dual intellectual basis: war against heretics within,
to preserve the purity of the church; missionary wars with-
out, to extend the faith.
To suppose, however, that these principles were the most
essential components of the later idea of crusade would be
a mistake. The line of development was anything but
straight.
Augustine's teachings on war against heretics could not
acquire major importance in the early Middle Ages, since
there were few occasions to put them into practice. The
Arianism of the East Germanic peoples in the fifth and
sixth centuries might appear to have offered a great op-
portunity for developing the notion of a holy war against
heretics. In fact, the account Gregory of Tours gives of
Clovis's Visigothic war points in this direction. The motive
he attributes to the Frankish king, a convert to Catholic
Christianity, is that he would no longer endure the rule of
Arian heretics in Gaul. Gregory gives the war a semireli-
gious character, by mentioning miracles and the special
devotion exhibited by Clovis's side to St. Martin. 13 But the
Catholic Church managed to absorb Arianism in the course
of the sixth and seventh centuries; the ecclesiastical unity
of the West was restored and stood unshaken until a new
sort of sectarianism made its appearance in the second mil-
lennium. In the interval the idea of war against heretics was
irrelevant.
Conditions were more favorable for the Gregorian idea
of missionary war. At first glance this appears to be a
Christian counterpart of the Islamic Jihad, for while
preserving a purely religious objective, it serves missionary
aims not by the direct imposition of the faith but by the
detour of political subjugation. The external conditions for
such a missionary war were, of course, present at all times.
But the concept suffered from an internal contradiction: the
13 Gregory of Tours, II, 37 (MGH SS. Merov. 1.gg; 2d ed., 1.85).
11
INTRODUCTION

attitude needed in war toward an opponent is so basically

different from missionary preaching that no army can ever
be inspired by a vision of evangelical service. As a rule,
missionary war is essentially a profane war of conquest.
Religious considerations may well serve to supply it with
a theoretical justification, but they can never become a
driving force for the warriors. To be otherwise, the war
must be transformed into a stark issue of belief, in which
the opponent is peremptorily iaced with the alternative of
death or baptism, and in which the killing of a heathen is
held to be a deed pleasing to God. This view was only
rarely tolerated in the church and never became accepted
doctrine. It is little wonder, then, that even the idea of a
missionary war failed to acquire a general following. Many
ecclesiastical teachers, perhaps even the majority, took the
view that the moral command to maintain peace should be
kept toward Christians and pagans alike. Religion had
nothing to do with it: war against pagans was regarded as
justified only if they were the aggressors and fell upon the
Christians with pitiless hostility. 14
For a long time, therefore, the two forms of holy war
envisioned by the Western fathers failed to have any prac-
tical purpose. Moreover, the forces of restraint were con-
siderably strengthened by the disapproving attitude that
the church assumed toward warfare itself. The concept of
"the armed service of Christ [militia Christi]" illuminates
this relationship more clearly than anything else.
The earliest Christians were familiar with the idea that
Christian life is a war. 15 Many metaphors and images in the
Pauline letters are derived from warfare. The apostle was

14 See for example, Oliva of Wich, MPL 142.603; Alexander Il, ]L.
4528, 4533· Of course, there are other kinds of pronouncements, but in
my opinion, no decisive importance should be attributed to them.
15 The following is according to Harnack, pp. 12-44. The (originally
Augustinian) concept of ecclesia militans can be entirely disregarded; it
has nothing to do with war-making, but only signifies the living church
(on earth) as distinct from the church triumphant (in heaven). On the
concept of the miles, see also H. Fitting, Peculium, pp. 437ff, 507ff.

12
 INTRODUCTION

convinced he was writing about a real battle: the opponents

are the demons or the sins within men. Practical conse-
quences were very soon drawn from the idea of spiritual
combat. A soldier of Christ should not let himself be pre-
occupied with wordly affairs 16-a principle that has been
cited time and time again and has acquired universal
significance. It contributed to the development of a distinct
clerical class and of monasticism, and it repeatedly con-
trasted secular life with the life of true militia ChristiY
Meanwhile, very different answers were given to the ques-
tion of who composed the ranks of those who truly fought
for Christ. Since Paul applied the title primarily to the
apostles and missionaries, the logical extension was that
it should later devolve upon clerics. Other authors believed
that the martyrs were the true "soldiers of Christ [milites
Christi]"; and throughout the Middle Ages the word was
most often applied to monks. Finally, all centuries since
Antiquity shared the conception that every Christian should
be a warrior of God, a notion that is still found in the
Roman Catechism.
The Catholic Church was initially adamant on the point
that heavenly warfare was purely spiritual and that military
service in the world stood at the opposite pole from the
Christian ideal. Militia spiritualis was synonymous with the
expressions militia Christi, militia Dei, militia coelestis,
militia christiana, etc.l 8 An interesting example is the appeal
addressed by the young William of Dijon (before ggo) to
his father, an old veteran, to enlist in the spiritual war
of monastic life: 19 even the cloister had no dearth of bat-
tles, namely those against Satan and his minions, and there
16 2 Tim. 2:3-4: "Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Let no one,
soldiering for God, entangle himself in temporal affairs [Labora sicut
bonus miles Christi ]esu. Nemo militans Deo implicat se negotiis saecu-
laribus]."
17 Especially detailed in the pastoral letter of Fulgentius Ferrandus.
MPL 67.928. See also Fitting. pp. 439£ n. 10.
18 Typical examples are the two homilies, De militia sPiritali and
De militia christiana, of Chrysostom (in Latin only) Opera 5.98b.
19 E. De Levis, Willelmi Divionensis opera, p. 72.
INTRODUCTION

too, as in the army, the rule of obedience reigns supreme.

An obvious corollary to such thinking was that the real
military life, the militia saecularis, epitomized a life distant
from God, dangerous to the welfare of the soul. "If I were
not afraid to bore by repeating what is well known, I might
adduce many ringing testimonies distinguishing the militia
Dei from the militia saeculi": this statement by Gerhoh of
Reichesberg may serve as our own. 20
A glance at the early medieval cult of saints in the \Vest
offers the same picture. To be sure, some saints like Sebas-
tian, Maurice, George, and l\hrtin had been soldiers. But
far from having distinguished themselves by pious feats of
arms, they invariably achieved holiness in opposition to
their military profession. 21 The Acts of Sebastian relate that
the saint hid his Christianity under a soldier's cloak in order
that he might, in this way, secretly aid and strengthen his
fellow Christians during the persecutions. 22 The legend
praises St. Maurice and his Theban legion because, al-
though they were soldiers, they refused to carry out the im-
perial order to persecute Christians. 23 The extremely pop-
ular biography of St. Martin by Sulpicius Severus attributes
to him the unambiguous words: "I am a soldier of Christ,
I must not fight," and has him leave the army on account
of his Christianity. 24 The oldest life of Boniface points in
the same direction when it relates that the saint forbade

20 MGH Libelli 3.278.

21 On St. .George, below, eh. IX.
22 Acta s. Sebastiani, c. 1 (AA. SS., Jan., n, 62g).
23 Passio Acaunensium mart>•rum, c. 4ff (MGH SS. Merov. 3·34ff).
24 Sulpicius Severus, V ita s. Martini, c. 4: Christi ego miles sum, pug-
nare mihi non licet. Since the passage can be neither modified nor
explained away, it has occasioned vehement debates even in recent
times. See also ibid., c. 3·
[E. Griffe, "En relisant la 'Vita Martini' de Sulpice severe," pp. I84-g8,
notes that Sulpicius Severus spent over twenty years in military service.
A.}. Visser, "Christianus sum," pp. 5-1g. The new edition of Sulpicius
Severus, Vita s. Martini, by J. Fontaine, Sources chretiennes, fasc. 133-
35 (Paris, 1967-196g), includes a commentary on the militia Martini
(134· pp. 428--538).]

14
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
 Abner was in the workshop, and Zeb was out on the road as
director of ceremonies, or "office-boy" as Abner termed him, when
the vanguard arrived. There were waggons and autos which went
slowly by and then returned later. The occupants craned their necks
in their efforts to see something out of the ordinary. Several made
enquiries of Zeb, and when the latter pointed to the workshop, they
laughed and went on their way.
This looked at first as if all intended to do the same, and Zeb
chuckled as he thought of Abner's disappointment, and the fig of
tobacco he would have to hand over.
At length, however, an auto, containing four young men and
women, sped up the road and stopped near Zeb.
"Where is the specialist?" the driver laughingly enquired.
"Eight over there," and Zeb pointed to the workshop. "Go in that
door."
"Queer office, that," was the reply. "A new stunt, eh?"
There was much laughing and joking as they moved away, and
Zeb watched them with keen interest.
Abner was waiting to receive his patients, and had with much
difficulty twisted his long legs into the tub by the time the visitors
were at the door. By his side on the work-bench he had a number of
ginger-beer bottles, all tightly corked. His face was wreathed with his
most engaging smile as he motioned the young people to sit down.
"Glad to see yez," he told them, when they were at length
seated upon the chairs Zeb had brought from his house. "Now what
kin I do fer yez?"
"We're very sick," the driver explained, "and seeing your ad. in
the paper, we've come to you for help."
 With considerable difficulty his companions kept from laughing
outright, and this Abner noted. But he pretended to be deeply
concerned, and studied the four most critically.
"Yez sartinly do look sick," he agreed, "an' it's lucky that yez
have come this evenin'. Now, what seems to be the matter, an'
where is the trouble?"
"Eight here," and the spokesman placed his hand upon his heart
in a most solemn manner.
"H'm, heart trouble, eh? Well, that's serious. Are yez all affected
the same way?"
"Yes, all of us. We can't work or do anything, the attacks are so
bad."
The young women were forced to turn away their heads at
these words, while one stuffed her handkerchief into her mouth to
keep from laughing outright.
"My, my!" and Abner thoughtfully stroked his chin. "But look
here, young gal, it'll be ye'r stummick that'll be troublin' ye instid of
ye'r heart if ye swaller that handkerchief. I can't do nuthin' with that
kind of trouble."
The girl's face grew scarlet as she hurriedly withdrew her
handkerchief, while her companions laughed heartily.
"Laff all yez like," Abner encouraged. "That's part of me cure.
It's jist what yez need."
"But is that all you have to say about our real trouble?" the
spokesman demanded.
"Well, now, first of all I want the fees. Twenty-five cents fer
each; that'll make a dollar. Thank yez. That's better," he continued,
as he slipped the hill into his pocket, "I kin now prescribe fer yez.
But, remember, yez must follow the directions I give yez, or else
yez'll git a dang sight worse than yez are at present."
"Fire ahead," was the reply. "We're all willing to do as you say."
"That's good. I allus like obedient patients. Now, the first thing I
want yez to do is to go an' git two licences. Ye'll have to pay five
dollars apiece fer 'em. The Government's more expensive than I
am."
The young women now became visibly embarrassed, and
wished that they had not come.
"The next thing yez must do," Abner went on, "is to go an' see
some parson. Ye'll have to pay him, too, remember. But as fer curin'
heart trouble any parson kin do it quicker'n anything yez ever saw. I
had it afore I married Tildy, an' a bad attack it was. But after old
Parson Shaw had hitched us together with that double an' twisted
knot of his, I've never had a touch of heart trouble since. It sartinly
did work wonders with me."
The consternation upon the faces of the patients was most
amusing to Abner. He liked the way the girls blushed, and the young
men turned red to the roots of their hair. He knew that they were
merely out for fun and were getting more than they had expected.
"Don't go yit," he ordered, as he saw the young women move
toward the door. "I haven't given yez the full prescription."
"But suppose the parson doesn't cure our heart trouble, what
then?" the second young man at length found courage to ask. "It
might not work on everyone as it did on you."
"Don't ye worry about that, young man," Abner replied. "The
symptoms may hang on fer a while, but as soon as ye git several
extra mouths to feed, ye'll find that all trouble will pass away. It did
in my case, I know, an' I guess it'll be so with you."
By this time the girls were at the door, blushing more furiously
than ever. They were far from enjoying the interview, and longed to
be outside. The young men were about to follow, when Abner hailed
them.
"Say, ye've fergot somethin'. I've given yez the prescriptions,
but I'd like fer yez to take somethin' with yez to use when yez set up
house-keepin'." Here he reached up and lifted a bottle from off the
work-bench. "Now this is the greatest stuff out," he explained. "Jist
keep it handy in the pantry or on the kitchen shelf where ye'll know
where to find it in a jiffy. On wash days or when things go crooked
jist open this an' take a little whiff, an' it'll make yez all good natured
in no time. If the baby gits cranky or gits wind on its little stummick,
all yez need do is to give it a smell of that bottle, an' ye'll be
surprised to see how soon it'll begin to—— But, good gracious!
What's wrong with them gals? They've gone, blamed if they ain't!"
They had all gone except the young man who had last spoken.
He was angry, and expressed his opinion in no mild language. The
young women had been insulted, so he said, and he called upon
Abner to apologize.
"Apologize, eh?" was the reply. "What is there to apologize
about? Yez came here in order to make fun of me, an' because I
handed out wot was coinin' to yez I'm expected to apologize! Not on
ye'r life, young man, an' ye kin jist tell them things to the one who
sent yez."
"How do you know that anyone sent us?" the young man
evasively queried.
 "H'm, I'm not altogether a fool. I've a little brains left yit. Come
now, on y'er word of honor, didn't Lawyer Rackshaw put yez up to
this job?"
Abner smiled as the young man made no reply. He was certain
now that his surmise had been correct, and he was satisfied.
"That'll do. Ye may go. Ye needn't answer if ye don't want to.
But remember the prescriptions, an' also yours truly, Abner Andrews,
of Ash Pint."
The young man looked as if he would like to do more than
express his feelings in words. But Abner seemed exceptionally big
just then, as he lifted himself out of the tub and stood before him.
He decided that retreat was the better part of valor, so in no
enviable frame of mind he joined his companions who were waiting
for him in the car. In a few seconds they were hurrying down the
road, a defeated and angry quartet.
They had not gone far, however, when they met a truck filled
with a number of reckless young men. They stopped, and in a few
words aired their grievances. Shouts of laughter and cheers came
from the new-comers.
"Well fix the old fellow," they shouted, as they hurried on.
"Leave him to us."
Abner saw them coming, and hearing the noise they were
making, knew what to expect. Peering through the little window
facing the road, he watched them as they approached. Then in an
instant a regular bombardment of balls of mud, rotten eggs, and
stones were hurled at the building. One stone crashed through the
window and struck Abner a glancing blow above the eye. With yells
of delight the crowd passed and then all was still.
 Abner's blood was now up. Seizing his shot-gun, he stood just
within the door and waited. He saw Zeb coming toward him, and
called to him to keep back.
"Let me handle the bunch," he shouted. "I'll fix 'em."
"Be careful," was the reply. "Don't shoot. Here they come agin."
As the car was almost opposite the workshop, and the youths
were about to make another bombardment, Abner stepped quickly
out of the building and ordered them to stop. As the driver hesitated
for an instant, Abner threw his gun into position and threatened to
shoot if he did not obey. This had the desired effect, and soon the
car was motionless.
The occupants were speechless, and their faces betrayed their
complete consternation at this sudden turn of affairs. They dropped
the eggs, mud, and stones they had ready to hurl, and stared at the
man with the gun.
"Why don't yez go ahead?" Abner asked. "Now's ye'r chance.
Tired of ye'r fun, eh? Well, then, jist hop out an' run that Tin-Lizzie
into the yard here. Git a hustle on," he ordered, as the youths
hesitated.
Seeing that Abner meant business, the joy-riders scrambled out
and stood in the road while the car was run into the yard.
"There, that's better," was Abner's comment, when this had
been accomplished. "Now, yez kin hustle."
"But what about the car?" the driver asked, as he alighted. "It
doesn't belong to us. We hired it."
"Yez did, eh? Well, then, it's safer here than with sich reckless
kids. Scoot along now. I'll keep the car fer damages rendered to that
buildin' an' to my dignity."
 "Damages!" the driver exclaimed. "Why, we were only having a
little fun."
"Is that so? Fun, was it? Well, ye'r fun'll cost ye jist five dollars
apiece, an' not a cent less. I'm a specialist, ye see, on all kinds of
diseases. You fellers are troubled with swelled heads an' want of
brains, so five dollars out of y'er inside pockets will be the best cure
that I kin recommend."
By this time the joy-riders were very angry, and their language
was far from Scriptural. They vowed that they wouldn't pay a cent,
and that they would have Abner arrested for threatening to shoot
them.
"Go ahead," Abner announced. "But before yez git ye'r Tin-Lizzie
ye'll fork out that money. I'll give yez jist five minutes to make up
ye'r minds. Come here, Zeb," he called. "I might want ye."
The young men were now in a fix, and they discussed the
matter in an excited manner.
"We haven't the money," they at length announced.
"All right, then, me hearties, I'll keep the car."
"Will you take two dollars apiece?" Abner was asked.
"It's five or nuthin'," was the reply. "Hustle up there, fer time's
most up."
Finding that their captor was relentless, with many protests and
threatening words the needed forty dollars were at length produced
and handed forth.
"There, that's better," Abner chuckled, as he pocketed the
money. "There's ye'r car, so take it an' git."
Abner and Zeb stood and watched the crestfallen joyriders as
they scrambled on board.
 "Don't fer git to send in ye'r bill to ye'r lawyer," Abner called out,
as the visitors sped away. He then turned to his companion.
"Where's that plug of T. & B, Zeb?" he asked. "I'm dyin' fer a
smoke. Me nerves are pretty shaky.
"I don't believe ye have sich things as nerves," Zeb replied, as
he pulled a fig of tobacco from his pocket. "How in the name of all
creation kin ye do sich things??
"Brains, gall, an' luck, that's how, with a little laffin'-gas thrown
in. Ho, ho! But, say, there's Tildy an the gals!"

CHAPTER XXVII
A SERMON WITH A PUNCH

"We are going to church in town to-night," Mrs. Andrews announced

the next day when dinner was over. She and Abner were alone, for
Jess and Belle were out for a ramble with the boys.
"That's good," Abner replied, as he filled his pipe. "I'll look after
the kids."
"But you're goin', too, Abner."
"Me!"
"Yes, you. If anyone needs to go to church it is you after what
you did yesterday. The burden of your many sins must be pretty
heavy by this time. I am thoroughly ashamed of you. What in the
world possessed you to do such a thing?"
"Brains, gall, an' luck, as I've informed ye before."
 "I don't see what they had to do with it. You have the gall all
right, and luck helped you out. But you might have used your brains
to a far better advantage. You were never like any man I ever knew,
and you're getting worse all the time."
"Tildy, I'm not like other men." Abner blew out a match and
looked thoughtfully at his wife. "I couldn't be like other men if I
tried. The Lord didn't build me that way. I guess He got so tired
making so many men alike, who all do an' say the right things, that
when He came to me He gave a different twist to my make-up. He
was experimentin' on Abner Andrews, of Ash Pint."
"H'm, if He did, then I don't believe He's ever tried it again."
"Mebbe not, Tildy. But He might do worse. Now look here, I'm
different from most men, I acknowledge. But in what way? I'll tell
ye, if ye don't know. I'm not afraid to speak me mind when
necessary, an' fight like the divil aginst a bunch of grafters, an' git
more'n even with 'em if I kin. I enjoy a bit of fun now an' then."
"Queer fun you like, it seems to me," his wife retorted.
"Mebbe so. But fun with no punch in it is no fun at all to my way
of thinkin'."
"To hurt the feelings of others; that's the kind of fun you like."
"Don't be so sure of that. I have never hurt a fly in fun,
remember, an' hope I never shall. But when it comes to Rackshaw,
Ikey Dimock, an' a bunch sich as came from Glucom yesterday, then
I'm willin' to see 'em squirm under me fun. Them's my religious
convictions, though mebbe they don't altogether jibe with wot ye
hear at church."
"Indeed they don't," was the emphatic reply. "And that's the
reason why you must go to church to-night. There's a new man at
St. Felix, and I understand he is a wonder. He is not afraid to speak
his mind, and he always talks about present-day affairs. The church
is crowded to the doors every Sunday night, so I have heard."
"Say, Tildy, I wonder if they have made up their minds in that
church yit who is to say the 'Amen'? They were in a great way about
it the last time I was there, nigh three years ago."
"What do you mean, Abner?"
"Oh, don't ye remember? When the parson got through with his
prayin' the choir kicked up a terrible fuss as to who was to say
'Amen.' One young woman, with a big feather in her hat, lifted up
her voice an' said it all right to my way of thinkin'. But no sir-ree,
that didn't suit a feller behind her, so he growled out another 'Amen.'
An' jimmy-crickets! no sooner was he done than two more said it,
each in a different way. Then they started it all together, an' sich a
time as they had over it! It was 'Amen! A-men! A-A-men!!! A-A-A-
Amen!!!, an' last of all a big 'Amen' that nearly took the roof off the
buildin'. I don't know to this day who won out, but I imagine there
was some high talkin' an' hair-pullin' when church was over."
"Why, don't you know that they were singing?" Mrs. Andrews
asked. "They were not fighting over it. I thought it was most
beautiful, and so did others."
"So I've heard ye say, Tildy. But, my, it sounded funny to me,
an' it didn't seem altogether becomin' to scramble sich as they did
fer that word in a sacred buildin'. I ain't been back there since."
"And nowhere else," was the retort. "You're worse than a
heathen, Abner Andrews, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
You must go to-night, though, and then perhaps you'll get the
habit."
 Abner sighed and blew forth several great clouds of smoke.
"My, that's great terbaccer I got from Zeb yesterday," he
remarked. "Don't know what I'd a done if I hadn't won that bet."
"I wish you'd stop betting, Abner. Mr. Parker, that new minister
at St. Felix, preached a great sermon on the subject recently, so
Julia Tomkins told me."
"He did, eh? What did he say?"
"I don't know all, but he laid it down pretty plain that it was a
fearful sin, and that money raised that way was dishonest. It was
'tainted,' so he said, and he would have nothing to do with it."
"Is that what he said? Well, that's interestin'. I wonder if he
knows that quite a bunch of his flock, Ikey Dimock, Hen Whittles, an'
sich like, put tainted money into the plate every Sunday? I bet ye'r
life he doesn't turn a cent down. I'd like to see that new parson.
Guess I'll go to church. He might hand out something spicy to-night,
an' I'd like to see how the 'holy ones' of his flock take it. But who'll
look after the kids, Tildy, if I go?"
"I've arranged with Mrs. Zeb to look after them," was the reply,
"She and Zeb like the boys, and it will be a change for them to have
children around the house for an afternoon."
"We'll have to start early, Tildy. Jerry ain't as spry as he used to
be. He's not been to town fer a day or two, an' he's pinin' fer the yell
of an en-gine."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Abner, that Mr. Royden is to take us in
his car. We are to go to the hotel for supper. Belle has invited us,
and she is determined that we shall all go."
"She has, eh? Well, that's nice of her. I was afraid when ye
mentioned supper at the hotel that I'd have to foot the bill. Belle's
some gal, she sure is. Yes, I guess I'll go. But, my, I do hate to dress
up in all me finery. This style bizness gits on me nerves."
Abner enjoyed himself that evening at the hotel, and when
dinner was over he and Royden went into the smoking-room.
"This is sartinly comfort," he remarked as he settled himself
back in one of the big chairs. "There's some class to us, eh? Might
think we had some soft government job, or were politicians, fer that
matter."
"You are happier as you are, Mr. Andrews," Royden replied, as
he touched a match to his cigar. "Politicians seem to me to be the
men we should least envy."
"Ye don't tell! Why, I thought they had a cinch."
"You're mistaken, then, so far as I have seen. A politician is very
uncertain of his position; he has all sorts and conditions of people to
meet and keep in good humor, and has to make promises which he
knows he can never fulfil. He is subjected to all kinds of criticisms,
no matter what he does, for his opponents are watching him with
jealous and envious eyes. Politics is a great game when rightly
played, but sad to say it has degenerated into mud-throwing and a
wild scramble for money and position."
"That's what it is to-day, young man," Abner replied. "There's
nuthin' noble about it in this province, let me tell ye that. The
politicians I know are like so many hawks flyin' here an' there,
seekin' to grab all they kin find. Look at them heelers who are tryin'
to git my gravel hill. But I gave 'em somethin' they won't fergit in a
hurry."
"You must be always on your guard, Mr. Andrews," Royden
warned. "If they can't get you one way they will try other means.
They have the pull, you see. Election day is near, and they can't
afford to lose much time."
"Let 'em pull all they want to. I guess I kin pull, too, when it
comes to that. Say, that's a fine smoke," and Abner looked at the
cigar he had just taken from between his teeth. "It's as good as
Rackshaw's. De ye smoke this kind often?"
"Very rarely. These are special ones for to-night. We must
celebrate a little on an event like this."
The men thus talked and smoked until it was time to go to
church. Abner was inclined to remain where he was, but Mrs.
Andrews would not listen to him.
"You've come to town to go to church, and going you are," she
declared. "I've got you this far, and you shall not go back now."
"But I feel sleepy, Tildy, an' would like to have a nap," Abner
pleaded.
"Well, sleep in church, then, providing you don't snore."
"Jist the thing," and Abner rose with alacrity. "I've often said the
best part of goin' to church is the fine sleep one kin git durin' the
sermon."
When they reached the church they were surprised to find the
building almost full, and only with difficulty were they able to obtain
a place where they all could sit together. Before the service began
every seat was taken, and people were standing in the aisles.
"Guess there must be somethin' hot on to-night, Tildy," Abner
whispered. "I never saw sich a crowd at church before. Ye'd think
this was a movin'-picture house."
Abner paid little attention to the first part of the service. It was
all somewhat unintelligible to him, and he found the prayers and
hymns very long. He was interested, however, in observing the
people in the church, especially the familiar forms of Isaac Dimock
and Henry Whittles, who were sitting well up in front. But this
diversion soon lost its charm, and he longed to be back at Ash Point
talking with Zeb Burns. He wondered how long it would be before
the sermon, and if that did not interest him he could go to sleep.
Tildy would keep him from snoring, he had no doubt about that.
Abner watched the clergyman as he went into the pulpit, and he
wondered what there was about him which attracted such large
congregations. He was somewhat enlightened when the text, "I have
played the fool," was announced. He was wide awake now and did
not feel one bit sleepy. He wanted to know what the speaker would
make out of those words. He had not long to wait, for soon the
minister was telling about King Saul, destined for such noble things
and yet acting in such a selfish and ridiculous way that he was
forced to utter the words, "I have played the fool."
The speaker applied the lesson to present-day affairs, and asked
if there were not many people who were playing the fool like that
king of old. They were endowed with various talents, and yet they
were either making wrong use of them, or wasting them in senseless
ways.
"I come now," he at length said, "to the main question up to
which my words have been leading. We call ourselves Christian men
and women, and we are so self-satisfied that we cannot see how
little we are really doing, nor how far we are from Him whom we call
Master. There are things in our very community which should make
us blush for shame. One of these is the criminal neglect of the
destitute children. What has been done for them? An effort was
made a short time ago to erect a Home for needy orphans. But what
has become of the plans? Nothing. We have played the fool, and in
the meantime the destitute ones have been suffering."
The speaker paused for a few seconds, and looked around.
Everyone was almost breathless, waiting to hear his next word,
Abner, too, was keenly alert. He was glad that he had come, for he
was greatly interested. Here was a man, so he thought, who knew
what he was talking about, and was not afraid to express his views.
"During the last few days," the speaker continued, "this town
has been much stirred over the peculiar antics of a man living about
five miles from here. He has been doing peculiar things of late, and
it is the general opinion that the man is a fool or crazy. I have heard
people laughing and talking about him, and wondering what idiotic
thing he would do next."
Abner's eyes now were fairly starting out of his head, and he
leaned forward so as not to miss the slightest word. "What in the
world is the man drivin' at?" he asked himself.
"But while most of you have been joking about that farmer at
Ash Point, and considering him a fool," the speaker went on, "I have
been studying the other side of the question. I have learned that he
bears a good name along the river, and although he is impetuous at
times, and is not afraid to speak his mind like a man should, yet he
is highly respected and minds his own business when he is let alone.
He was arrested a short time ago, and placed in jail. And why? For
thrashing a man who wrote a libellous article in The Live Wire about
his wife. I would have done the same myself, as would any man,
unless he were an arrant coward. You have been calling that man a
miscreant and a fool, but let me tell you what he has done. He
offered a thousand dollars toward the building of a Home for orphan
children. But he has not paid it, some might say. No, certainly not,
and for a very good reason. He had sense enough not to put that
money into a dump-heap, where it was proposed to build the Home,
when there are excellent sites right in this town. His one idea was to
do something for helpless children, and not to help a man sell a
piece of ground which was absolutely useless for anything else
except a dump."
Abner almost emitted a chuckle, as he turned and looked at
Henry Whittles, whose face was very red, and who was writhing
under the minister's scathing words. Others were looking at him,
too, for all knew that he was the man referred to by the clergyman.
"But what has that man you call a fool done?" the speaker
asked. "If you do not know, let me tell you. When he found that the
people of this town were playing the fool, and doing nothing toward
the erection of an Orphan Home, he took into his own house five
destitute children, all boys. He and his family are caring for them,
and are doing all in their power for those little ones. The children are
decently clothed, well fed and happy. And all that from people who
have very little of this world's goods, depending entirely upon a poor
gravel farm for their living. Let me now ask who have played the
fool: that farmer and his family, or the people of this town?"
It was quite evident that his message was stirring the entire
congregation, and there was considerable whispering here and
there. This was noted by the minister, and he knew that his words
were having their desired effect. But he had more to say, and
continued:
 "You were all much interested this last week in that farmer's
peculiar advertisement in the paper, which brought forth such a
scathing editorial. A number of people, I believe, went to Ash Point
yesterday to have fun at Mr. Andrews' expense. But they came back
wiser than they went, having learned a very useful and salutary
lesson, which, I trust, they will not soon forget. Now, was that
advertisement the work of a fool or of a madman? I believe not. If I
understand rightly, Mr. Andrews took that method of testing the
people of this town. They would take but little interest in the welfare
of helpless children, and would not even go to see how they were
getting along. But they would travel miles to see a man perform in a
wash-tub and say funny things. That is my conclusion, and I feel
that I am right. Mr. Andrews is far from being a fool, even though he
follows the method of Diogenes, that famous actor and wit of olden
days."
Again he paused and looked quizzically around.
"I see you are getting restless," he resumed, "and I know that
some of you have made up your minds never to come to this church
again, and if possible to starve me out. You may go ahead and say
and do what you like. Starve me if you wish, but I appeal to you in
my Master's name not to let His little ones starve or go homeless.
Take the burden off the shoulders of that worthy farmer at Ash
Point. Provide a place for those children and others like them in this
very town. A big building is not necessary just now. A house large
enough can surely be secured for them at a reasonable expense,
and I have every reason to believe that the Government will give
some assistance, and if so the matter should be easily arranged. But
there should be no delay. I hope the people of this town will get
together at once. We have been playing the fool in the past; let us
now see that we do it no longer."
When the sermon was ended, Abner slipped quietly out of the
church. He did not wish to meet the people when the service was
over. He wanted to be alone that he might think about all that he
had heard. He made his way back to the hotel, and sat down in the
smoking-room. It was there that Jess found him some time later,
smoking and gazing thoughtfully out of the window. There was no
one else in the room.
"You didn't go to sleep after all, did you, daddy?" she accosted,
while her face beamed with joy.
Abner slowly took the pipe from his mouth, and looked at his
daughter. There was a peculiar expression upon his face and a
mistiness in his eyes.
"No, Jess, I didn't go to sleep," he drawled. "But I guess them
kids at home'll be sleepy if we don't hustle back. An' say, I fergot to
tell Zeb to feed Jerry, blamed if I didn't."

CHAPTER XXVIII
THE HOLD-UP

There was great discussion over the sermon preached at St. Felix
Sunday night. Several people were very angry at the outspoken
words, among whom was Henry Whittles. He made haste to see
Lawyer Rackshaw, and poured out to him his troubles, and how he
had been grossly insulted.
 "It serves you right," was the unsympathetic reply he received.
"If you will insist upon going to church you must not complain at
what is handed out to you. I've cut loose from all such superstitious
and sentimental gush, and I advise you to do the same."
"I intend to do so while that idiot is there," Whittles declared.
"And to think that Abner Andrews was at church, too."
"He was!" and the lawyer looked his astonishment.
"Yes; and his family as well. Miss Rivers, the Attorney General's
daughter, was with them, too, so I believe. Abner will have
something to chuckle over now, all right."
"Let him chuckle, Hen. He won't do it long. Just wait till that
trial comes off."
"When is that?"
"Pretty soon now. He'll chuckle on the other side of his face."
"But Parker upheld Abner in what he did. He said that any man
who was not a coward would have done the same if Joe Preston had
written such an article about his wife. In fact, he confessed that he
would have done so himself if he had been in Abner's place."
"He said that, did he?"
"He certainly did, and if I'm not much mistaken his words will
have a strong influence. It will be necessary for you to be on your
guard."
Rackshaw made no reply, but sat and gazed thoughtfully out of
the office window. In truth he sat there for some time after Whittles
had left, and he seemed in no hurry to go on with his business.
The Live Wire made a great deal of the sermon, and scored Mr.
Parker for going beyond bounds. It was the duty of a clergyman to
preach the Gospel, so the paper piously announced, and to leave
civic matters alone. It also hinted that a clergyman was very short-
sighted who antagonized members of his flock, who were liberal
supporters of his church. Mr. Parker had done this, and accordingly
must expect to put up with the results. The real vital matter of a
suitable Home for orphans was not mentioned, and no credit was
given the Andrews for what they had done. This oversight was noted
by many readers and severely criticized. In fact, the editorial did a
great deal for Abner, far more than the writer imagined. It made
thinking people realize how partisan and narrow it really was, and
that the welfare of the community was not its main object.
This was brought out, too, in the accounts it gave of the coming
election. The men it advocated were known to be unscrupulous
grafters, who had carried on wholesale robbery for several years in
connection with various government deals. A long description was
given of a great political picnic, which was to be held that afternoon
in the Parish of Granton on the opposite side of the river from Ash
Point. The members of the county would be present, and there
would also be several noted speakers. All were urged to attend, and
to hear the "truth, and nothing but the truth."
Zeb Burns read these articles to Abner as they sat after dinner
under the shade of a big maple tree near the workshop.
"Seems to me that paper's tryin' to knife that parson as well as
me," Abner remarked, as he blew a cloud of smoke into the air.
"An' I guess it'll meet with about as much success," Zeb replied.
"I wish I'd heard that sermon last night, Abner. It must have been a
corker."
"It sure was, an' I never thought once of goin' to sleep. But ye
should have seen Hen Whittles' face an' ears. Why, they was as red
as the reddest beet I ever saw. Say, there goes the Bluebird, and he
motioned to a steamer out upon the river. Wonder why she's up so
early to-day."
"Fer the picnic, of course," Zeb explained. "She's black with
people. They've come fer the peanuts, kill-at-first-taste cigars,
lemonade, an' hot air. There's to be some great speeches over there
this afternoon. How'd ye like to run across in ye'r yacht, Abner? Ye
haven't had her out fer a long time."
"That's true. I've been too busy ashore. But I wouldn't go to
that picnic fer a good deal. I don't want me morals spiled. All the
gas-bags in the province couldn't change me, 'specially them fellers
who are to speak this afternoon."
"They'll be after ye to vote fer 'em, though."
"Not on ye'r life. They think I'm luney an' too hard to talk to.
Ho, ho, wasn't it funny the way they looked when they learned that
we wasn't deaf after all?"
"Mebbe they'll hear about that sermon, an' they might change
their minds."
"Sure, sure, ye kin never tell what people'll do. It's made a great
difference at my house, anyway."
"It has? In what way?"
"Oh, I can't jist explain. But Tildy isn't nigh so cranky, an' Jess
looks very happy. It may be that young feller who comes to see her,
though I don't believe that's the full reason. They was all mighty sot
up the way that parson stood up fer me last night."
"But how did he know so much about ye, Abner?"
"Blamed if I know. That's been puzzlin' me a great deal. Where
he got all that information, an' had my mind turned inside out is
more 'n I kin understand. Why, I never spoke to that feller in my life
an' he seems to know me like a book."
Scarcely had Abner finished speaking when an auto swung up
the road at a fast clip. It was about to pass when the chauffeur
suddenly pulled up in front of the big maple. There were three men
in the car besides the driver, and they were the very ones who had
come to buy the gravel hill. They seemed to be in a great hurry.
"Good-day, gentlemen," the spokesman, Thomas Dillman,
accosted. "Can you tell us what time the steamer from the city
arrives here?"
"She's already arrived," Abner replied.
"Arrived! But she's not due here for half an hour yet."
"Can't help that. She's arrived an' gone. That's her smoke 'way
up there," and Abner pointed up the river.
Exclamations of consternation burst from the three men at this
information, followed by strong denunciatory language.
"What in the devil is the meaning of all this? Dillman demanded,
looking fiercely at Abner, as if he were the cause of the trouble.
"Search me," was the reply. "Ye'll have to go an find out fer
ye'rselves. I'm not runnin' the steamer nor the picnic."
"But we must be at that picnic," the man insisted. "It is
absolutely necessary for us to be there. We are to speak, and the
people will be expecting us. Confound that steamer! I shall certainly
make it hot for the company. It has a government subsidy, too, and
to think that we should be treated this way!
"That ain't nuthin' new," Abner explained. "We're more'n used
to sich capers. That boat never knows her own mind. She comes an'
goes any old time, an' doesn't mind one dang bit how people are put
out. I'm mighty glad yez have got a good dose to-day."
"You are!" Dillman indignantly retorted. "You're a nice one. But
this is not getting us over the river. How in blazes are we to get
there? That's the important thing just now. Isn't there a boat we can
hire?"
"S'pose you run 'em over, Abner," Zeb suggested.
"Have you a boat?" Dillman eagerly asked.
"Sure, three of 'em. Now, there's the canoe, the flat-bottomed
boat, an'——"
"Oh, never mind telling us about them," Dillman impatiently
interrupted. "Get us there; that's all we want. We'll make it worth
your while."
Abner knocked the ashes from his pipe, and rose slowly to his
feet.
"Jist wait a minute till I git me oars," he told them. "I guess I
kin take yez."
There was a peculiar light shining in his eyes as he hurried into
the house and returned a few minutes later. No one noticed that he
had donned his coat, and that it was buttoned about him in a
strange manner. Room was made for him in the car, and, telling the
chauffeur where to go, in a few minutes they were at the shore on
the upper side of the point. A short distance away the Scud was
tugging at her anchor, for a stiff breeze was blowing in from the
west. The tender was pulled up on the shore.
"Hop in," Abner ordered, "an' set still, all of yez."
It took them but a few minutes to board the Scud and get
under way. A rude craft was this yacht which Abner had made with
his own hands. She was small and her cock-pit was barely large
enough to hold the three men. Here they crowded together and
looked ruefully around. They were not accustomed to the water, and
when the wind had filled her sail and the yacht began to careen to
one side, they almost wished that they had never come. For a while
the Scud glided steadily along, being somewhat sheltered by the
point. But when once beyond this the full force of the breeze caught
the boat, and the spray began to dash aboard. The three passengers
clutched hard at the sides of the cock-pit, and looked anxiously
around.
"Is this blooming thing safe?" one of the men gasped, when a
larger spray than usual flung itself over them.
"Sometimes she is an' sometimes she isn't," was the laconic
reply. "Kin yez swim?"
The three men shook their heads.
"That's too bad."
"Why, what do you mean?" Dillman asked. "Do you think she'll
upset?"
"Can't say," Abner drawled. "Ye never jist know what queer
kinks the Scud'll take. Only last month she played one of her funny
pranks, an' upsot right near here with a wind no harder'n this."
"She did!" and the men's faces became suddenly white. "What
did you do?" one of them anxiously enquired.
"Oh, jist climbed on her bottom until she drifted ashore. That
ain't nuthin' fer me. I'm used to the water, an' could swim all day if I
had to."
The man made no reply, but clutched the sides harder than ever
as the waves increased.
 "Yes," Abner continued, "this is a bad place when the tide's
runnin' down an' the wind's blowin' up. Two men were drowned right
out here a few years ago. They was in a bigger sailin' boat than this
when a sudden squall struck her, an' she flopped right over. They
couldn't swim, ye see. That's a bad piece of water ahead where ye
see them white-caps. I have me doubts about gittin' through."
"Don't go through," the men begged. "For God's sake go back!
We've had enough of this."
A gleam of triumph now shone in Abner's eyes. He gave the
tiller a vigorous twist and brought the Scud full head to the wind.
"So yez don't want to go through, eh?" he queried.
"No, no. Go back."
"Well, I don't have to go through them white-caps, so what's
ye'r terms if I go round 'em?"
"Terms! What do you mean?" Dillman gasped.
"Guess you fellers should know, all right. I want a settlement fer
me gravel hill. That's what I mean, an' I intend to have it now."
The men understood most clearly the purport of these words,
and their hearts became hot with anger. They realized the
helplessness of their position, and how they were at the mercy of
this man.
"You're a villain!" Dillman roared. "Do you think it's fair to get us
into a tight corner and then hold us up like this?"
"De ye like it?" Abner asked with a chuckle. "How does it feel?
Ye know now, don't ye? Ye'r tryin' to do the same with me, an' ye'r
jist waitin' the first chance to steal me place. But, by jiminy, ye'll not
do it as soon as ye think, not by a jugful, skiddy-me-shins if ye will.
I've got yez here, an' here I'll keep yez till ye come to me terms."
 "Good gracious, man!" Dillman exploded, "we can't do anything
here. Wait until we get ashore and we'll talk this matter over with
you."
"Not by a long chalk. Jist write out that ye'll give me fifteen
thousand dollars fer that place, an' I'll land yez at the picnic grounds
in no time. But yez better hurry up, fer the Scud's drifting fast
toward them white-caps. Guess, though, I kin hold her nose up
stiddy ferninst the wind a few minutes longer."
Dillman looked at the rough water, and then at the imperious
commander.
"If this boat overturns," he at length remarked, "you'll go down,
too, for you can't surely swim in a place like this."
Abner laughed, and threw open his coat.
"Look," he cried. "I've got a life-belt on. I never come here on a
windy day without it."
The three men were now completely stumped and they looked
imploringly around. But no help was in sight. A short distance away
the water was raging where the wind and the tide were contending
with each other.
"Hurry up," Abner ordered, "the Scud'll soon take them white-
caps full astern, an' then good-bye."
Dillman's hand clawed at a note-book and fountain-pen in his
vest pocket. He hesitated, however, and looked at his companions.
"Go ahead, Tom," they advised, "there's nothing else to do."
But Tom delayed, leaned over and whispered something to his
comrades in distress. Abner could not hear what was said, though
he noticed that they nodded their heads in approval.
"Say, we'll offer you five thousand," Dillman at once announced.
 "Fifteen thousand or nuthin'," was the peremptory order. "You
government fellers think nuthin' of throwin' that much around, an' a
darned sight more, when it suits yez. I might as well have what's
due me. Hurry up. Ye've got no time to waste."
With trembling hand Dillman put his pen to the paper, and
rapidly wrote.
"How will that do?" he presently asked, handing the paper to
Abner.
"Read it," was the order. "Me eyes are not good, an' it's all I kin
do to handle the boat."
"'On behalf of the local government,'" Dillman read, "'we agree
to give Abner Andrews fifteen thousand dollars for his place at Ash
Point.'"
"That's good," was Abner's comment. "Now, sign it, the three of
yez."
This was soon done, and in a few seconds the paper was placed
in Abner's hand. The three men anxiously watched to see whether
their captor would look at it, and they breathed more freely when he
thrust it at once into his pocket without even a glance in its
direction.
Abner at once threw over the tiller and the Scud swung around.
Her sail filled, and she darted forward as if glad of her release. The
wind had now increased, but the yacht, running dead before it, bore
herself bravely. On and on they sped until at length the big picnic
tent near the shore could be seen showing white amid its setting of
verdant grass and waving trees. Ere long they could discern people
moving about, and as they drew near the shore they could see that
it was lined with people who had hurried down to watch the superior
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com