Baldwin III of Jerusalem

While Fulk and Melisánde are on holiday in Acre, the king’s horse stumbles and falls, and the saddle crushes Fulk's skull.

He is carried back to Acre where he dies on November 13, 1143, and is buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Though her marriage had begun in conflict, Melisánde mourns for Fulk privately as well as publicly.

He is survived by Geoffrey of Anjou, the issue of his first wife Matilda of England, and by Baldwin and Amalric, his sons by Melisánde.

Baldwin III was born in 1130, during the reign of his maternal grandfather Baldwin II, one of the original crusaders.

This makes him the third generation to rule Jerusalem.

Baldwin's mother Princess Melisende is heiress to her father, Baldwin II King of Jerusalem.

Baldwin III's father is Fulk of Anjou, the former Count of Anjou.

The death of King Baldwin II at the age of sixty when his grandson was a year old had led to a power struggle between Melisende and Fulk.

Melisende had asserted her right to rule as successor to her father, and Melisende and Fulk had reconciled and conceived a second child, Baldwin III's brother Amalric.

Baldwin III is thirteen years old when his father Fulk dies in a hunting accident in 1143, and Baldwin III is crowned as co-ruler alongside his mother, echoing Melisende's own crowning alongside her father as his heir, yet Baldwin shows little interest in in the intricacies of governance.

Altuntash, the emir of Bosra and Salkhad, squabbles in 1147 with his nominal superior, Mu'in ad-Din Unur, ruler of Damascus.

Offended, Altuntash allies himself to the Crusaders and agrees to hand over his two cities.

King Baldwin III concentrates his army, crosses the Jordan River and moves toward Bosra, about sixty-five miles south-southeast of Damascus and fifty miles east of the Jordan.

Soon after the Crusader march begins, the Damascene army shows up in great strength to contest their advance.

Many Latin soldiers are eager for battle, but more cautious heads prevail.

Posting extra guards to watch for a surprise attack, the Frankish army makes camp and spends the night.

After a council of war the next day, Baldwin and his officers determine to continue the expedition to Bosra in a fighting march.

The Latin army moves in the usual formation when opposed by an army of Turkish horse archers.

Provision is made to oppose attacks on the van, the flanks and the rear.

The Frankish foot soldiers march in close formation with foot archers ready to fire back at the Turkish horse archers and spearmen ready to repel a direct attack.

For four days, the Crusaders advance toward their intended goal, under constant archery and probing attacks.

Further, the soldiers are plagued by thirst in the hot summer weather.

When they arrive at Bosra, the Franks manage to obtain water and other supplies.

The Crusaders' high hopes are dashed when they discover that Altuntash's wife has introduced a Damascene garrison into Bosra's citadel.

Unwilling to chance a siege close to an enemy host, Baldwin elects to withdraw.

The Franks suffer even more on their return march from the heat, dust and constant harassment by the Turks.

At one point, the Damascenes set fire to the dry brush upwind of the Franks, adding to their misery.

The Crusaders carry their dead and wounded with them so that their enemies will not be encouraged by their losses.

Leaving the ranks without permission is forbidden, one exception being that a knight is allowed to rescue a Christian if he is about to be killed by a Muslim.

As the Franks near their own territories, the Saracens redouble their attacks on the Latin rearguard, trying to separate it from the rest of the formation.

Near the moment of crisis, a Turk fighting with the Crusaders rides out without leave and kills an opponent in personal combat, dismaying the Damascenes and encouraging the Franks; his breach will be later excused.

Ultimately, the Damascenes are unable to stop the Crusader army from recrossing the Jordan and safely returning to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The running battle has lasted twelve days.

Mu'in ad-Din Unur will shortly seize control of both Bosra and Salkhad.

Conrad, having taken ship from Constantinople, had eventually reached Acre in April 1148.

After Conrad’s arrival, a brilliant muster of French and German notables assembles with Queen Melisende, her nineteen-year-old son and co-ruler Baldwin III, and the barons of Jerusalem to discuss how best to proceed.

Despite the absence of the northern princes and the losses already suffered by the crusaders, it is possible to field an army of nearly fifty thousand men, the largest Crusade army so far assembled.

There are a number of choices for the target of the crusade.

In northern Syria, Edessa is firmly in the control of Nur ad-Din; its count, Joscelin II, is in captivity and there is no hope of retrieving him or the city, so the matter, so important to the original call for the crusade, is apparently not even discussed.

In Antioch, Raymond of Poitiers had tried to convince Louis to attack Aleppo, Nur ad-Din's capital and the greatest threat to that city, but Raymond and Louis have quarreled (partly over rumors of an incestual relationship between Eleanor and the prince) and Raymond is not present at the Council.

The County of Tripoli is also unrepresented, although an attack on Aleppo would benefit Tripoli as well; however, the rule of Raymond II of Tripoli is challenged by Alfonso Jordan, Count of Toulouse, his cousin, and when Alfonso is poisoned on the way to the Council, Raymond is implicated in his murder.

Conrad and Louis are, in any case, unconcerned with matters in northern Syria; for them, pilgrimage to Jerusalem is an inherent part of the crusading vow, and defense of Jerusalem is of utmost importance.

In the south, the most immediate threats to Jerusalem come from Fatimid-held Ascalon and the Burid Emirate of Damascus.

The crusade has coincidentally arrived during a political crisis in Jerusalem: King Baldwin III has ruled jointly with his mother Melisende since the death of King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1143, when Baldwin was only thirteen years old; but Baldwin is now eighteen and wishes to assert his authority.

The option of Ascalon does not suit Baldwin, since his brother Amalric, who supports their mother, is already Count of Jaffa and Ascalon would have been added to his territory.

Ascalon has also been contained by a number of castles built during the reign of Fulk and is not an immediate threat.

The capture of Damascus, on the other hand, would benefit Baldwin; despite being a sometime-ally of Jerusalem, Nur ad-Din also desires it, and capturing it would help limit the emir's power.

It would please Conrad and Louis, who are interested in capturing a city that, unlike Ascalon, is important to the history of Christianity.

After considerable debate reflecting the conflicting purposes of crusaders and Jerusalem barons, it is decided to attack Damascus.

A new plan is made to attack Ascalon following the crusaders’ failure at Damascus.

Conrad brings his troops here, but no further help arrives, due to the lack of trust that had resulted from the failed siege.

This mutual distrust will linger for a generation due to the defeat, to the ruin of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land.

After quitting Ascalon, a dismayed Conrad decamps immediately, returning to Constantinople to further his alliance with Manuel.

The Second Crusade, riven by internal conflicts and repulsed by the Muslims with relative ease, is abandoned.

An unqualified military disaster, it has nevertheless enhanced the visibility, and hence the prestige, of the French crown.

Louis remains behind in Jerusalem until 1149.

The discord also extends to the marriage of Louis and Eleanor, which has been falling apart during the course of the Crusade.

Louis and Eleanor, who are barely on speaking terms by April, pointedly board separate ships to take them back to France.

The crusaders in Jerusalem meanwhile have begun to refurnish the rebuilt Church of the Holy Sepulchre in a Romanesque style and added a bell tower.

These renovations, which unify the small chapels on the site, are completed during the reign of Queen Melisende in 1149, placing all the Holy places under one roof for the first time.

The church, an important pilgrimage destination since at least the fourth century, as the purported site of the death and resurrection of Jesus, becomes the seat of the first Latin Patriarch, and is also the site of the kingdom's scriptorium. (Much of this structure exists today.)

Nur ad-Din becomes a hero throughout the Islamic world after the victory at Inab.

His goal becomes the destruction of the Crusader states, and the strengthening of Islam through jihad; he has already set up religious schools and new mosques in Aleppo, and expelled those he considers heretics from his territory, especially Shiites.

Jihad is influenced by the presence of the Christian Crusader states as it can be used as an excuse for maintenance of a permanent state of war.

Nur ad-Din goes on to besiege Antioch itself, but is unable to take it.

Although devastated by the loss of its prince, the city is vigorously defended by Raymond's widow Constance and the Patriarch Aimery of Limoges.

King Baldwin III of Jerusalem marches north to relieve the siege.

The Cultural and Political Impact of the Second Crusade on France and Byzantium

The Second Crusade (1147–1149) left a profound cultural and political impact, particularly in France and the Byzantine Empire. While the military campaign ended in failure, its consequences shaped French literature, royal reputation, and Franco-Byzantine relations for the remainder of the 12th and 13th centuries.

The Cultural Impact in France: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Courtly Love

• The alleged affair between Eleanor of Aquitaine and her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, fascinated the troubadours of southern France.
• While historical evidence for the affair is uncertain, the rumors fueled the theme of courtly love, which would flourish in 12th-century chivalric literature.
• Eleanor’s independence, charisma, and role in the Crusade contributed to her later legend, influencing literary works such as Chrétien de Troyes’ Arthurian romances.
• The Crusade’s themes of suffering, devotion, and unfulfilled love became central to the courtly love tradition, immortalizing the chivalric ideals of loyalty, romance, and noble suffering.

The Reputation of Louis VII: The Suffering Pilgrim-King

• Unlike Conrad III of Germany, whose reputation suffered from the failed Crusade, Louis VII’s image improved.
• The French regarded him not as a failed warrior, but as a pious and humble pilgrim, enduring God’s trials with patience.
• This perception enhanced his spiritual prestige, though it did not erase his political weaknesses, particularly in his failing marriage to Eleanor.

Fractured Relations Between France and Byzantium

• The French and the Byzantine Empire developed deep mistrust and resentment during the Crusade.
• Louis and other French leaders openly accused Emperor Manuel I Komnenos of colluding with the Turks, believing that Byzantine forces had failed to support them during their march across Asia Minor.
• While Conrad III of Germany maintained better relations with Byzantium, the French saw Manuel as treacherous, worsening Franco-Byzantine relations.
• This resentment shaped French views of Constantinople for generations, reinforcing hostility that would culminate in the Fourth Crusade (1204), when Latin Crusaders sacked the city.

The Byzantine Perspective: A Diplomatic Triumph

• Within the Byzantine Empire, the Second Crusade was not seen as a disaster, but rather as a diplomatic success.

• Manuel I Komnenos skillfully navigated the Crusade, ensuring that:

  • The Crusaders passed through Byzantine lands without seizing territory.
  • Byzantium avoided military entanglement in the doomed campaign against Damascus.
  • The Empire retained its strength, unlike in the First Crusade, when Western forces established independent Crusader states.

• Byzantines saw the Crusade as evidence of Western disunity and incompetence, furthering their belief in Greek cultural and political superiority over the Latin West.

Long-Term Consequences

• The French and Byzantines became permanently distrustful of each other, a sentiment that would deepen during later Crusades.
• The courtly love tradition in France flourished, influenced by Eleanor of Aquitaine’s legacy and the tales of Crusader chivalry.
• The Second Crusade left lasting scars in Western perceptions of Byzantium, feeding into Latin hostility that contributed to the Sack of Constantinople in 1204.
• Louis VII’s spiritual reputation endured, though his political failures weakened the Capetian monarchy, paving the way for his divorce from Eleanor and the rise of the Angevin Empire under Henry II.

Thus, while a military failure, the Second Crusade profoundly shaped medieval cultural, political, and diplomatic history, setting the stage for future conflicts between France, Byzantium, and the Crusader States.

The Second Crusade is seen in Germany as a huge debacle, with many monks writing that it could only have been the work of the Devil.

The anonymous monk who writes the Annales Herbipolenses chronicle in Würzburg will mention that for decades afterwards noble families in Germany were ransoming back knights who had been taken prisoner in Anatolia using Armenian middlemen.

The camp followers who had been taken prisoner and sold into slavery by the Turks were not so lucky.

Of the one hundred and thirteen individuals known by name to been involved in the Crusade, twenty-two died and forty-two returned home while the fate of the last forty-nine is a mystery.

Despite the distaste for the memory of the Second Crusade, the experience of the crusade will have notable impact on German literature with many epic poems of the late twelfth century featuring battle scenes clearly inspired by the fighting in the crusade.