Identifier: greatestnations05elli (find matches)
Title: The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century : a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and a pronouncing vocabulary of each nation
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1870-1942
Subjects: World history
Publisher: New York : F.R. Niglutsch
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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s people, butto their own evil pleasure and selfish purposes. There is little in this period over which we need care tolinger. Philip HL (1270-1285), the son of Louis IX., was agood man, but more monk than king, unlearned and narrow-minded. By a single, sudden, ill-advised expedition into Spainhe gained for himself the surname of the Bold or rash, a titleotherwise little in harmony with his quiet and undemonstrative life. He wasnot even the chief man of his kingdom, being quite overshadowed by his vehe-ment and masterful uncle, Charles of Anjou. You have already heard of this Charles in both German and Italian history.It was he who wrenched from the last Hohenstaufens their kingdom of Sic-ily and murdered poor Conradin at Naples. He was a dark man, who sleptlittle, says his biographer; he was like an evil genius, sucking the life-bloodout of France. It was on his advice that Louis had directed his last crusadeagainst Tunis, by which Charles neighboring kingdom of Sicily reaped all the
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THE MAHOMETANS OF JERUSALEM URGE SAINT LOUIS TO BECOME THEIR KING France—The Disaster at Courtrai 827 profit. He had other high-sounding schemes, for the controlling of the papacy,the capture of Constantinople, and so on, which allured to his Sicilian courtmany of the best knights of France. These shared in the ruin which he broughtupon himself, the sudden and awful Sicilian Vespers. Charles had treated his Sicilian subjects with contemptuous cruelty. Thethousands of Frenchmen whom he had established as officials all through theisland of Sicily, draining its wealth like so many leeches, imitated their chiefin the haughty scorn with which they insulted their victims. They were play-ing with volcanic fire. A word, a trifle, an insult of a French soldier to a Sicilian girl, brought onthe explosion. Her lover stabbed the insulter. Plans had been already laid,and the Sicilians rushed to the church towers and rang the vesper bells. Atthe sign, the French were slain all over the island—m

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