152

THE DECLINE AND FALL

CHAP.LX VII.

the common foe those swords that were so wan-, tonly drawn in bloody and domestic quarrels.But the same spirit was adverse to concord andobedience: a poor country and a limited mo-narch are incapable of maintaining a standingforce; and the loose bodies of Polish and Hun-garian horse were not armed with the sentimentsand weapons which, on some occasions, havegiven irresistible weight to the French chivalry.Yet, on this side, the designs of the Roman pon-tiff, and the eloquence of cardinal Julian, his le-gate, were promoted by the circumstances ofthe times ; 5 by the union of the two crowns onthe head of Ladislaus, ' a young and ambitioussoldier; by the valour of an hero, whose name,the name of John Huniades, was already popu-lar among the Christians, and formidable to theTurks. An endless treasure of pardons and in-dulgences was scattered by the legate; manyprivate warriors of France and Germany enlist-ed under the holy banner; and the crusade de-rived some strength, or at least some reputation,from the new allies both of Europe and Asia.A fugitive despot of Servia exaggerated the dis-

* In the Hungarian crusade, Spondanus (Annal. Eccles. A. n. 1443,1444) has been ray leading guide. He has diligently read, and criti-cally compared, the Greek and Turkish materials, the historians ofHungary, Poland , and the West. His narrative is perspicuous ; andwhere he can be free from a religious bias, the judgmrnt of Spondanus is not contemptible.

' I have curtailed the harsh letter (Wladislaus) which most writersaffix to his name, either in compliance with the Polish pronunciation,or to distinguish him from his rival, the infant Ladislaus of Austria .Their competition for the crown of Hungary is described by Callima-chus (1. iii, p. 447-486), Eonlinius (Decad. iii, 1. iv), Spondanus , andLenfant.