Comparison Of Fulcher Of Chartres And Chronicle Of The First Crusades

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In 1099 Jerusalem was besieged by bloodthirsty Christian knights from Western Europe, fueled by their religious desire for the holy land. This siege was the commencement of twelve holy crusades led by the Christian West in hope to recover Jerusalem as a Christian city. At that time, Jerusalem was, to the Christians, inconveniently occupied by Muslims. This being the first crusade, it was documented by several sources, notably by Fulcher of Chartres in his, Chronicle of the First Crusade, as well as a Muslim point of view by Ibn al-Athir, a medieval Arab historian.

At noon on July fifteenth, 1099, it is accepted by both sides that Christian knights arrived at the walls of Jerusalem. After pushing into the city the knights proceeded to massacre …show more content…

One example of this contrast was briefly noted earlier, in the difference regarding the treatment of women and children. In Fulcher of Chartres' account, favoring the knights, he wrote, "Not one of them was allowed to live. They did not spare the women and children". According to Athir, the women and children were taken as prisoners, and a group of Muslim citizens even made it out of Jerusalem with their lives, "A band of Muslims barricaded themselves into the Oratory of David and fought on for several days. They were granted their lives for surrendering. The Franks honored their word, and the group left by night for Ascalon". Furthermore, the portrayal of both sides was different in the two accounts. Fulcher of Chartres was insensitive to the Muslim hardship and made them out to be heathens who deserved their fate, while Athir addressed the Muslims as victims of the merciless knights. Moreover, another differing aspect of the accounts was Fulcher of Chartres' exaggeration of knight brutality. While Ibn al-Athir adequately described the horrors of the siege, it appears that Fulcher of Chartres embellished the glory and ruthlessness of the knights to impress the religious officials who had instigated the

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