“Shall we relate what took place [at the Temple of Solomon]? If we told you, you would not believe us. It is sufficient to relate that in the Temple of Solomon… crusaders rode in blood to the knees and bridles of their horses.”
With these astonishing words, a contemporary chronicler recounted the culminating moments of the First Crusade in Jerusalem on 15 July 1099. The chronicler, a member of the southern French contingent on the expedition, was present in the Holy City. Though the passage above was likely inspired by apocalyptic imagery drawn from the Bible, it nevertheless leaves no doubt about the dreadful fate of Jerusalem’s inhabitants at the hands of the crusaders as they stormed the city on that day.
