44 THE KNIGHTS TBMPLAHS. E TIMBS B ARRES, ι. D. tiJ9. « B BINASD »« TIT EM SLAV. Α. Β. 1151 greater part of those whom we led to the succour of Autioch are dead. . . . „ -yyj y 0 t0 bring with you from beyond sea all our e con ureU knights and serving brothers capable of bearing arms. Perchance, alas ! with all your diligence, yon may not find one of ne alive. Use, therefore, all imaginable celerity ; pray forget not the necessities of our house : they are such that no tongue can express them. It is also of the last importance to announce to the Pope, to the King of Prance, and to all the princes and prelates of Europe, the approaching desolation of the Holy Land, to the intent that they succour us in person, or send us subsidies. Whatever obstacles may be opposed to your departure, we trust to your zeal to surmount them, for now hath arrived the time for perfectly accomplishing our vows in sacrificing ourselves for our brethren, for the defence of the eastern church, and the holy sepulchre " For you, our dear brothers in Europe, whom the same engagements and the same vows ought to make keenly alive to our misfortunes, join yourselves to our chief, enter into his views, second his designs, fail not to sell everything; come to the rescue ; it is from you we await liberty and life !" * On the receipt of this letter, the Master of the Temple, instead of proceeding to Palestine, abdicated his authority, and entered into the monastery of Clairvaux, where he devoted the remainder of bis days to tbe most rigorous penance and mortification. He was succeeded (A. D . 1161) by Bernard de Tremelay, a nobleman of an illustrious family in Burgundy, in France, and a valiant and experienced soldier.f The infidels made continual incursions into the christian terri * Spicilegii Daeheriani, torn. ii. p. 511 ; see alao Will. Tyr. lib. xrii. cap. D. t Wiìì. 7r. lib. xvii. cap. 21. L'art de verifier les dates, p. 340. Nobiliaire tie Franche-Compié, por Uunod, p. 140.