Chapter 26: Setting Forth
Chapter 26: Setting Forth
The sea breeze blew gently. In the distance, through a thin veil of mist, a coastal port city, dense with buildings, could be vaguely discerned. A merchant ship with a rounded hull and square sails unfurled was sailing on the Adriatic Sea.
This was a cog. A type of ship brought from Northern Europe by the Normans of Sicily, it quickly adapted to the Mediterranean climate and was widely used for commerce.
A poor friar, dressed in a simple white linen habit and holding a wooden cross, was preaching to the crew and passengers gathered around him.
"Jerusalem, a treasure existing between Heaven and Earth! As an earthly city, it is magnificent beyond compare; as a heavenly city, its glory is peerless."
"Jerusalem, a holy land, is now surrounded by ambitious infidels. The Ayyubids and the Sasanians, these two behemoths, are abominable and despicable demons."
"They destroy God’s churches, ignite their so-called ’holy fire’ in the center of His temples, blaspheme the sacred Heavenly Father, and kill, plunder, and sell our Christian brethren everywhere."
"Pilgrims on the road to Asia Minor are attacked by the Turkic cavalry they keep, subjected to inhuman abuse, either imprisoned or killed."
"They want to burn the Savior’s Holy Sepulchre with fire and seize our earthly paradise, Jerusalem. This is an act that neither Catholics nor Orthodox Christians can tolerate."