Did Mark Twain kill a Muslim in Jerusalem?

[Argent_Towers]

Maybe Samclem can answer this one for me.

I’m reading Mark Twain’s account of his travels in Jerusalem, and he describes the sword of Godfrey:

This very sword has cloven hundreds of Saracen Knights from crown to chin in those old times when Godfrey wielded it. It was enchanted, then, by a genius that was under the command of King Solomon. When danger approached its master’s tent it always struck the shield and clanged out a fierce alarm upon the startled ear of night. In times of doubt, or in fog or darkness, if it were drawn from its sheath it would point instantly toward the foe, and thus reveal the way—and it would also attempt to start after them of its own accord. A Christian could not be so disguised that it would not know him and refuse to hurt him—nor a Moslem so disguised that it would not leap from its scabbard and take his life. These statements are all well authenticated in many legends that are among the most trustworthy legends the good old Catholic monks preserve. I can never forget old Godfrey’s sword, now. I tried it on a Moslem, and clove him in twain like a doughnut. The spirit of Grimes was upon me, and if I had had a graveyard I would have destroyed all the infidels in Jerusalem. I wiped the blood off the old sword and handed it back to the priest—I did not want the fresh gore to obliterate those sacred spots that crimsoned its brightness one day six hundred years ago and thus gave Godfrey warning that before the sun went down his journey of life would end.

Is Clemens serious here? Did he actually kill a man just to try out the sword?

[Marley23]

No way was that remark genuine. Twain was a humorist, you know. I haven’t read any biographies of the man, but I also can’t find any ‘real’ references to the incident online.

[Doctor_Who]

Well, I was going to come back with a snarky answer, but then I realized this question is in GQ! Mark Twain would be so proud that you want a serious answer to this.

The following is from an 1872 review of the Innocents Abroad (written by Mark Twain himself in a parody of other reviews of his book):

He mentions, as if it were the most commonplace of matters, that he cut a Moslem in two in broad daylight in Jerusalem, with Godfrey de Bouillon’s sword, and would have shed more blood if he had had a graveyard of his own.

These statements are unworthy a moment’s attention. Mr. Twain or any other foreigner who did such a thing in Jerusalem would be mobbed, and would infallibly lose his life.

You can find it here or even better here. You can also check out that whole site in the second link for some interesting contemporary reviews.

The Doctor

[Argent_Towers]

Given what you’ve told me, it seems like Gonzo Journalism was not invented by Hunter S. Thompson but by Mark Twain.

[Billdo]

Did Mark Twain kill a Muslim in Jerusalem?

Just to watch him die?

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@Argent Towers

Given what you’ve told me, it seems like Gonzo Journalism was not invented by Hunter S. Thompson but by Mark Twain.

Read Thompson carefully, & Twains voice echoes in every page.

Twain was a big influence on Thompson.

[Squink]

@Marley23

No way was that remark genuine. Twain was a humorist, you know. I haven’t read any biographies of the man, but I also can’t find any ‘real’ references to the incident online.

However, there was a precedent for the puissance of Godfrey de Bouillon’s sword:

By William of Tyre’s time later in the twelfth century, Godfrey was already a legend among the descendents of the original crusaders. Godfrey was believed to have possessed immense physical strength; it was said that in Cilicia he wrestled a bear and won, and that he once beheaded a camel with one blow of his sword.

Perhaps Twain the journalist was trying to affirm or debunk a longstanding legend.