Godfrey was now chosen King of Jerusalem, and the rest of his
army--save three hundred knights and two hundred soldiers, who agreed to
remain with him--returned to their home. The news of the victory led
other armies of Crusaders to follow the example of that of Godfrey; but
as these were almost as completely without organization or leadership as
those of Peter the Hermit, they suffered miserably on their way, and few
indeed ever reached the Holy Land. Godfrey died in 1100, and his brother
Baldwin succeeded him.
"The history of the last hundred years has been full of fresh efforts to
crush the Moslem power, but hitherto it cannot be said that fortune has
attended the efforts of the Christians. Had it not been indeed for the
devotion of the Knights of St. John and of the Templars, two great
companies formed of men who devoted their lives to the holding of the
sepulcher against the infidel, our hold of the Holy Land would have been
lost.
"Gradually the Saracens have wrested post after post from our hands.
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