HAVE yu ever played the game called "Ging t Jerusalem" in which everyne scrambles t get a seat when the music stps playing？
Well， all during the Middle Ages， that is， the perid between ancient times and mdern times， "Ging t Jerusalem" was nt a game but a real jurney which Christians everywhere in Eurpe wanted t take and did take if they culd. They wanted t see the actual spt where Christ had been crucified， t pray at the Hly Sepulcher， and t bring back a palm leaf as a suvenir， which they culd shw their friends， hangn the wall， and talk abut all the restf their lives.
There were always sme gd Christians-and als sme badnes-ging t Jerusalem. Smetimes they went all by themselves， but mreften they went withthers. Asf curse there were n such things as trains in thse days， pr peple had t walk nearly the whle way frm France and frm England， frm Spain and frm Germany， and s it tk them many mnths and smetimes years t reach Jerusalem. These travelers were called pilgrims， and their trip was called a pilgrimage.
Jerusalem at that time had been cnquered by the Turks， wh were Muslims. The Turks did nt like these Christian pilgrims wh came t see Christ"s tmb， and they didn"t treat them very well. Indeed， smef the pilgrimsn their return tld frightful striesf the way they had been treated by the Turks and the way the hly places in Jerusalem were als treated.
Just befre the Year 1100， there was a ppe at Rme named Urban. Urban heard these tales that the pilgrims tld， and he was shcked. He thught it was a terrible thing， anyway， fr the Hly City， as Jerusalem was called， and the Hly Land， where Jerusalem was lcated， t be ruledver by Muslims insteadf by Christians. S Urban made a speech and urged all gd Christians everywhere t get tgether and gn a pilgrimage t the Hly Land， with the ideaf fighting the Turks and taking the cityf Jerusalem away frm them. Jerusalem was a hly city fr the Muslims， t， as it was fr the Jews. N wnder there have been s many wars t cntrl that city.
Nw， there lived at that same time a mnk whm peple called Peter the Hermit. A hermit is a man wh gesff and lives entirely by himself， usually ina caver hut where nne can find himr g t see him， where he can spend all day in prayer. Peter the Hermit thught such a life was gd fr his sul， that it made him a better man t be hungry and cld and uncmfrtable.
Peter the Hermit had made a pilgrimage t Jerusalem and was very angry at what he saw there. He， t， began t tell peple everywhere he went hw disgraceful it was fr them t allw Christ"s tmb t belng t Muslim rulers and calledn everyne t startn a pilgrimage with him t save Jerusalem. He talked t peple in the churches，n the street crners， in the market-places，n the radside. He was such a wnderfulratr that thse wh heard him wept at his deins and begged t g with him.
Befre lng， thusands upn thusandsf peple，ld and yung， men and wmen， and even sme children had pledged themselves t jin a band t g t Jerusalem and take it away frm the Muslims. As Christ had diedn the crss， they cut piecesf red clth in the frmf a crss and sewed themn the frntsf their cats as a sign that they were sldiersf the crss. These pilgrims were called Crusaders， which is the Latin wrd fr a crssbearer. As they knew they wuld be gne a lng time and perhaps never return， sme sld all they had and left their hmes. Sme men left their wives in charge. Ntnly pr peple， but lrds and nbles and even princes， jined the armyf the Crusaders， and there were， besides the crwdsn ft， large cmpaniesf thse wh rden hrseback.
The plan was t start in the summerf 1096， fur years befre 1100， but a great many were s anxius t get started that they didn"t wait fr the time that had been set. With Peter the Hermit and anther pius man named Walter the Penniless as their leaders， they startedff befre things were really ready.
They had n idea hw very farff Jerusalem was. They hadn"t studied gegraphy nr maps. They had n idea hw lng it wuld take， n idea hw they wuld get fd t eatn their jurney， n idea where they wuld sleep. They simply trusted in Peter the Hermit and believed that the Lrd wuld prvide everything and shw them the way.
nward they marched， "nward， Christian Sldiers，" thusands upn thusands， tward the east and far-ff Jerusalem. Thusands upn thusandsf them died frm disease and frm hungern the way. Every time they came within sightf anther city， they wuld ask， "Is this Jerusalem？" s little did they knwf the lng distance that still lay between them and that city.
When the Muslim army in Jerusalem heard that the Crusaders were cming， they went frth t meet the Christians inrder t defend their city against the Eurpean invaders. The Muslims killed almst allf the Crusaders wh had startedut with Peter aheadf the rest. Thse Crusaders， wh had startedut53 A Great Adventure 263later， marchedn， as had been planned at the beginning.
Finally， after nearly fur years，nly a small bandf that vast thrng that had setut s lng befre reached the wallsf the Hly City. When at last they saw Jerusalem befre them， they were wild with jy. They felln their knees and wept and prayed and sang hymns and thanked Gd that He had brught them t the endf their jurney. Then they furiusly attacked the city. The Christians fught s hard that at last they captured Jerusalem. Then they entered the gates and killed thusands， s that it is said the streetsf the Hly City ran with bld. This seems strange behavir fr the fllwersf Christ， wh preached against fighting and cmmanded， "Put up thy swrd， fr he that taketh the swrd shall perish by the swrd."The Crusaders then madenef their leaders named Gdfrey rulerf the city. Mstf thether Crusaders wh were left then went back hme. Sme stayed， thugh， because they saw that they culd have mre land and greater riches than they had at hme in Eurpe.
【中文阅读】
你玩过"去耶路撒冷"的游戏吗？游戏中，音乐一停，每个人都去争抢座位。 在整个中世纪，即在古代和现代之间的那个时期，"去耶路撒冷"可不是一场游戏，而是真正的旅程，欧洲各地的基督徒都梦想走上这个旅程，如果真能做到，他 们一定会去耶路撒冷。他们想亲眼见到基督受难的地点，在圣墓前祷告，并带回一 片棕榈叶作为此行的纪念品，回家后他们可以把它展示给朋友们，并挂在墙上，也 是今后的日子里可以经常谈起的话题。
总有虔诚的基督徒--也有虚伪的基督徒--要去耶路撒冷。有时他们独自前 往，不过更多的时候，他们结伴同行。当然喽，因为那个时代没有火车之类的交通 工具，所以无论是从法国、从英国、从西班牙，还是从德国出发，穷人们只能是步 行走完全程，所以他们要花几个月有时几年的时间才能到达耶路撒冷。这些旅行者 被称为"朝圣者"，他们的旅程被称为"朝圣之旅"。
耶路撒冷那时被土耳其人占领，他们是穆斯林。土耳其人不喜欢这些前来瞻仰 耶稣墓的朝圣者，常虐待他们。甚至，有些朝圣者一回去就告诉人们土耳其人对他 们是如何地凶残，耶路撒冷的那些圣地也被糟蹋得多么不成样子。
就在公元 1100 年之前，罗马有位叫乌尔班的教皇。乌尔班听到这些朝圣者讲述 的故事，大为震惊。他认为无论如何，圣城耶路撒冷以及它所在的圣地由穆斯林而 不是基督徒来统治都是令人无法容忍的。所以乌尔班发表了一次演说，劝说各地虔 诚的基督徒集合起来到圣地去朝圣，怀着信念去打败土耳其人，从他们手中夺回耶 路撒冷。耶路撒冷也是穆斯林和犹太教徒的圣城。这就难怪为了占有这座城，发生 了这么多战争。
就在同一时期，有个修道士人称隐士彼得。隐士是指远离人群、独自一人的人， 通常住在山洞或茅舍里，没人能够找到他或去看望他，在那里他可以终日祈祷。隐 士彼得认为这样的生活有益于他的灵魂，饥饿、寒冷和种种困苦可以让他更加完善。
隐士彼得曾到耶路撒冷参拜过圣地，他在那里所看到的让他非常气愤。无论他 走到哪里，就开始逢人便说任由耶稣墓掌握在穆斯林统治者手里是多么的耻辱，他 号召所有的人和他一起踏上朝圣之旅去解救耶路撒冷。无论在教堂、在街头、在市 场、在路边，他都要对人谈论一番。他非常善于演说，听到他叙述这种情况的人无 不伤心流泪，恳请和他一起去耶路撒冷。
不久之后，成千上万的人，无论男女老少，就连小孩子都发誓加入朝圣的队伍， 要把耶路撒冷从穆斯林手中夺回来。因为耶稣是死在十字架上的，所以他们把红布 剪成十字形，缝在外衣的前胸上作为标志，表明他们是为十字架而战。这些朝圣者 被称为"十字军战士"，这是个拉丁词语，意思是手擎十字架者。因为他们知道离去 后要过很久才能回来，也许永远也回不来了，所以有些人离家之前，卖掉了全部家 当。有些人让妻子留下来管家。不仅穷人，还有领主、贵族，甚至王子都加入了十 字军，队伍里除了徒步行军的人群，还有大批骑马的人。
他们原定在 1096 年就是 1100 年的前四年的夏天出发，但是很多人太心急了， 不等到约定的时间就要出发。还没有来得及真正做好准备，许多人就在隐士彼得和 另一个叫"穷光蛋沃尔特"的虔诚的基督徒的带领下，出发了。
这些人根本不知道耶路撒冷有多远。他们没有学过地理，也没有看过地图。他 们完全不知道要走多久才能到达，路上要怎么找吃的，晚上要睡在哪儿。他们只是 单纯地信赖隐士彼得，相信上帝会提供一切，为他们指明方向。
他们向前行进，高呼"前进，基督的精兵们"，成千上万的人就这样向着东方遥 远的耶路撒冷行进着。在路上，他们中大批大批的人死于疾病和饥饿。每当又看到 一座城市，他们就会问："这是耶路撒冷吗？"他们压根儿不知道在他们和耶路撒冷 之间还隔着很长的距离。
听说十字军正在前来，耶路撒冷的穆斯林军队动身迎击这些基督徒，决心保卫 他们的城市不让欧洲入侵者夺走。穆斯林几乎杀死了所有随隐士彼得出发的十字军 先头部队。而这时，按照原定时间出发的十字军战士，还在赶路呢。
最后，经过差不多四年的漫长时间，当初出发时声势浩大的十字军到达耶路撒 冷城外时，只剩下一小队人马。终于看到耶路撒冷就在自己的面前，他们欣喜若狂， 立刻跪倒在地，泣不成声，他们不断祷告，唱赞美诗，感谢上帝指引他们走完了这 趟征程。接着他们怒不可遏地开始攻城。这些基督徒浴血奋战，最后攻下了耶路撒 冷。他们涌进城门后，大肆屠杀，死伤无数，据说当时圣城的街上流遍了鲜血。对 于基督的追随者而言，是多么不可思议的行为，他们不是一向宣扬反对战争吗，难 道他们忘了基督曾命令说："收刀入鞘吧，凡动刀的，必死于刀下。"随后十字军战士推举一位名叫戈弗雷的首领统治耶路撒冷。剩下来的十字军战 士多数返回家乡。不过有些人留下来了，因为他们发现在这里比在欧洲的家乡能得 到更多的土地，拥有更多的财富。
