Chronicles of the crusades : being contemporary narratives of the crusade of Richard Coeur de Lion (1884).

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Chronicles of the crusades : being contemporary narratives of the crusade of Richard Coeur de Lion (1884).

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CHKONICLES OP

THE CEUSADES, BEING

CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVES op THK

RUSADE OF RICHARD CCEUR DE LION RICHARD OF DEVIZES AND GEOFFREY DE VINSAUF; AND OF THE

CRUSADE OF SAINT

fl^Y G.

LOUIS,

LORD JOHN DE JOINVILLE.

WITH ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES AND AN INDEX.

LONDON: BOIIN,

YORK

STREET, CO VENT GARDEN. 1848.

JUN

8

1

8^s

I

Printed by J. 74

.

Vi

8i 75,

&

1938

H.

COX

(Brotuers),

Fields. Great Queen Street, Lincola's-Inn

A,A^"

FEBl

9

PREFACE. The present volume comprises the three most interesting contemporary Chronicles of the Crusades which have been handed down to us; two of them recording very fully the romantic deeds of our lion-hearted Plantagenet; the third the chivalric career of the pious ranee.

and exemplary Saint Louis of

Jb

Of

the author of the

i>evi2es, nothing is

us in his preface,

first

of these Chronicles, Richard of

known beyond what he

by which

himself informs

appears, that he was in early of St. Swithin's Priory at Winchester, and subsequently a Carthusian of Witham. Other works hare been ascribed to the same writer, but there is great uncertainty as to their authorship. His Chronicle is valuable, because it connects affairs which were parsing in England with the events which took place simultaneously in the Holy Land, llie original Latin was first published by the English Historical Society, under the editorial care of the Rev. Joseph Stevenson^ From that edition, a translation was made by the Kev. Dr Giles, in 1841, which is here reprinted, with occasional life

a

it

monk

"siouai

emendations by himself. The second work in this series is the History of the Ex podihon of Richard Co^ur de Lion to the Holy Land, by" Geoffrey de Tinsauf (or Vinosalvo).

Little is known of thfs but the peculiarity of his name has given rise to several ingenious conjectures as to its etymology. Some derive it from Vin and sau.er, and suppose he

author,

may have

PREFACE.

iv

bad the custody of wine in liis monastery ; others from the German words Wein and sauffen, which would imply tipOthers, again, suppose that he may have been supling. perintendent of the vineyard, the wine-pressing, preserving, notion, Pits, somewhat in confirmation of this latter &c. cites

MS. which he saw in Cains College, Cambridge, by one Geoffrey, on preserving wines and fruits,

a

written

and on

grafting.

Whatever may be the

true derivation of his name, Geoffrey

birth, generally believed to have l)een an Englishman by His writings are numerous, and but of a Norman family. is

several of

On

them

poetical.

The following

preserving Wines, Fruits, &c.

(De

are the principal

:—

Vinis, fructibus, &c., conser-

vandis). in Terram HieroItinerarium Regis Anglorum Ricliardi, et aliorum

solymorum.

To

the

Emperor Henry, about Uberating King Richard (Ad Caesarem,

&c.).

Monody on the Death of King Richard (Monodia, &c.). (Ad WilTo William Longchamps, Bishop of Ely, and Chancellor helmum, &c.).

Of

the State of the

Manual

or

Roman Court (De

Handbook

Statu Curiae Romanse).

(Enchiridion).

On New Poetry (De Poetria Nova). On Rhetoric (De Arte dicendi). On Ethics (De Rebus Ethicis). But

of all

cally valuable

his works, the is

most important and

his History of

the Third

intrinsi-

Crusade, under

France. Richard the First of England and Philip Augustus of those of eye-witness, It is the only Chronicle written by an upon the assaults which the army of Saladin made furious

and of the firmness with which the lion-hearted reader takes the Richard withstood and repulsed them. If the interesting account trouble of comparing Geoffrey's full and

Christians,

of Devizes, he will perof the Crusade with that of Richard

PREFACE. ceive

how much

superior

it is

in

every respect.

Geoffrey lived

King Richard, and the accession of his jjrother John, and it is much to be lamented that he breaks pff his history, somewhat abruptly, just at the moment when he Crusaders embark on board ship to leave the Holy Land, to

see the death of

it

the end of the year 1192.

?sting record

lecond

The

original of this inter-

for the first time complete in the

was printed

volume of Gale and

Fell's Collection

1687, but

in

ragments had previously been given by Bongars in '

The present

Gesta Dei per Francos."

onjoint labour of a

classical scholar

ead in Mediaeval history

some experiment,

it

;

his

translation is the

and a gentleman well

a mode of proceeding which, after

was found advisable

to adopt,

our author's

corrupt Latin being frequently so vague and uncertain as to

defy the best scholar

who has

made

not

the lore of the middle

iges his particular study.

The third and last, and by no means the least interesting work in this volume, is Joinville's Memoirs of Saint Louis, The translation is by Colonel the crusading king of France. Johnes, of Hafod, and

is

given entire, with

which are really illustrative of the author.

and an index have been added

;

all

the notes

Head-lines, dates,

which have,

at

least, this

merit, that no previous edition, either English or French, has

any

of these useful accompaniments.

of Joinville

is

The Biographical Sketch

compiled from Colonel Johnes's materials, the

Biographie Universelle, and other sources.

U. G. B. Aiiyustf 1848.

\6\

.C55

CONTENTS. 1.

Chronicle of Eichard of Devizes, concerning THE Deeds of King Richard THE First, King ot England

2.

Geoffrey de Yinsauf's Chronicle of Richard the First's Crusade ... Lord de Joinville's Memoirs of Louis IX., King of France, commonly called

3.

I

65-

Saint Louis 4.

Appendix to Joinville List of the Knights who accompanied

St.

Louis to Palestine

532, 533

Knights of the household who accompanied him to Tunis ... ... ... Extracts from an Arabian MS., by Al Makrisi, containing the Saracenic account of the Crusade under St. Louis

Index

534

535

— 556

557—562 DESCRIPTION OF THE FRONTISPIECE.

This illumination, which

is copied from a fine manuscript, of the fourteenth century, of the Chroniques de St. Denis^ preserved in the British Museum, represents an event which took place in the year 1 270, when Alfonso de Brienne, count of Eu, and great chamberlain of France, and his brother Jean de Brienne, surnamed of Acre, and grand butler of France, the sons of Jean de Brienne, king of Jerusalem, who were on guard near Tunis, were accosted by three Saracen kniirJits requesting baptism. Whilst occupied by them, the couni; of

Eu and his brother were attacked by the Saracens in force, and sixty Christians were slain before the infidels were put to ^ flight.

-

RICHARD OF DEVIZES. PROLOGUE. To

the Venerable Father Robert, his very good Lord formerly Prxor of the Church Winehefter, of health topersevere the good ,c^rk he has begun, his

m

faithful servant,

Richard, surnamed of Devizes, sends greeting

:—

After you had happily proceeded to the Charter from our church of Winchester, much aud often dTd I desire to follow you who had thus departed, peradventure to remam wUh you, but certainly to behold whjyou were about how you l,ved, and whether the Carthusian cell is more exalted and nearer heaven than the cloister of Winchester It Sect.

I.

House

that I had come alone! I went thither making the third and those who went with me were the cause of my return 3Iy desire displeased them, and they caused my fervour I will not say error, to grow cold. I saw with you^hat wh di eTs ewhere I had not seen, which I could not have believed, and which I could not sufficiently

admire. In each of youi^ cells one door according to custom, which you are permitted to open at pleasure, but to go out by it is not III m. ted, except so much as that one foot should always remaTu in the cell within the threshold. The brethren here

IS

m^y

""^

a 111 n the cell. 't'" nainin'thrSf A great

hat the door by which

it is

'^"'

*-

andF'^^"' solemn oath

step oit

otheJnmft

r

be taken not permitted to enter or depart

* At Witham.

is

to

PROLOGUE. I am astonished also at another thing should be kept open. abounding in all the good things of this world, as having nothing, yet possessing all things, more compassionate and humane than all men, having the most perfect love one to ;

another,

you divide the

affection of charity to strangers,

you

Nor do I less bless without giving supplies to your guests. apart out yourselves living to admire, in the third place, that things great all the of society, and singly, you understand achieved in the world as they happen, and even sometimes you know them prior to their being accomplished. Do not, however, consider it want of respect in me to your more than Pythagorean taciturnity, if I shall dare presume to address men of so great gravity, and so arduous profession, rather with of the world than mere idle gossip. Sect. 2. Nevertheless, although, as it is thought, the

the

trifles

Om-

niscient God is with you and in you, and through Him you know all things, and not from man, nor yet by man, you were pleased, as you said, that my essay would be a solace to you, inasmuch as in the first place I should write to you a history of the fresh changes, which the world has produced, turning

squares into circles (more especially since your transmigration to the celled heaven, by means of which the world may appear more worthless to you, having its fickleness before your eyes), and, secondly, that a well-known hand might recal to you the memory of one beloved. Oh what delight if that holy spirit, if the angel of the Lord, if the deified man who is become already of the number of the gods, should deign to remember me before the great !

!

God, me, who am scarcely worthy to be accounted a man. I have done that which you desired, do that which you have And that the little book may have a commencepromised. importance, I have begun a little higher than some of ment was stipulated, making our Royal house troubled like that of GEdipus, the bounds of my work, commencing at the latter Why, and part, not daring to hope to unravel the whole. son how his crowned have how, and when, the father may who and ensued thence great things and of what importance sucwhat with how often and what regions they embroiled ; greater produce cess they all ended I have left to those who works my narrative serves only for the Hving. ^

;

;

:

RICHARD OF DEVIZES. IN

THE YEAR OF THE LORD MCLXXXIX.

Sect. 3. Now in tlie year of our Lord's incarnation 1189 Kichard the son of king Henry II. by Eleanor, brother of Henry III./^ was consecrated king of the English by Baldwin archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster, on the third ot the nones of September (3 Sept.). On the very day of the coronation, about that solemn hour, in which the Sou was immolated to the Father, a sacrifice of the Jews to their father the devil

was commenced in the city of London, and so lonowas the duration of this famous mystery, that the holocaust could scarcely be accomplished the ensuing day. The other cities and towns of the kingdom emulated the faith of the l^ondoners, and with a like devotion despatched their

bloodsuckersf with blood to hell. In this commotion there was prepared, although unequally, some evil against the wicked, everywhere throughout the realm, only Winchester alone, the people being prudent and circumspect, and the city always acting mildly spared its vermin. It never did any thin- overspeed ily; fearing nothing more than to repent, it considers the result of every thing before the commencement. It was anwiUing, unprepared, to cast up violently through the parts liie indigestion by which it was oppressed to its bodily peril niditwas careful for its bowels, in the mean time tempe-

riXcu:^::;;,^^:;^^:'^^^

"•'

^^

^^^^-^^^

^^y^^^

t Jews, so called probably from their usurious practices.

B 2

H-y

the

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

4

^SECT. 4-9.

should be possible for it, at a convenient time for cure, to cast out tbe wliole cause of the disease at once and once for all. Sect. 4. Not without the anxious solicitude and amazement of many, a bat was seen, in the middle and bright part

lately concealing

its

uneasiness, until

it

of the day, to flutter through the monastery, inconveniently recircling in the same tracks, and especially around the king's

throne. Sect. 5.

William de Longchamp, who had been the chan-

cellor of the earl of Poitiers before his accession,

when

the

earl was crowned king, considered his office to have profited as much for the better, as a kingdom is superior to an earldom. Sect. 6. A circumstance happened on the selfsame day of the coronation in Westminster Abbey, a presage of such portentous omen, as then was hardly allowable to be related even in a whisper. At Complin, the last hour of the day, the first peal that day happened to be rung, neither by any agreement, nor even the ministers of the church themselves being aware for Prime, Tierce, Sext, Nones, of it, till after it was done and the solemn service of vespers and two masses were cele;

brated without any ringing of peals. Sect. 7. Stephen de Marzia,* seneschal of Anjou, under the king lately deceased, he great and mighty, singularly fierce, and the master of his lord, being taken and cast into chains, was dragged to Winchester, where being made a gazing-stock to angels and to men, emaciated with woeful hunger, and broken with the weight of his irons, he was constrained to the payment of thirty thousand pounds of money of Anjou, and the

Kalph de thousand pounds, for his ransom. king's the and England of Glanville, justiciary of the realm and manners in eye, a man not inferior to Stephen, except custody, riches, being deprived of authority and given into redeemed merely his liberty to go and come for fifteen thouAnd whereas this name, Glanville, sand pounds of silver. had been so great the day before, a name as it were above every name, so that whosoever, to whom it should be given by the Lord, would converse among princes, and would be adored by the people, yet the next morning there remained That not one in the land who could be called by this name.

promise of

fifteen

* Stephen de Marzia, otherwise called Stephen de Turonis.

1189.] RICHARD RAISES FUNDS FOR THE CRUSADES.

5

was tlie ruin of those two, to wit, of Stei)lieii and Ralph, which also it is certain has been the ruin of thousands before thcni, and which hereafter may ruin others, namely, a suspicion arising from the confidence of their former lord. ^

Sect. 8. John, the king's brother,

who

alone of the sons of

queen Eleanor, survived his brother, besides the earldom of Mortain, which, by his father's gift, he had long his mother,

enjoyed,

was

so greatly enriched

his brother, that both privately

and increased in England by and publicly it was affirmed ^

by many that tiie king had no thoughts of returning to the kingdom, and that his brother, already no less powerful than himself, if he should not restrain his innate temper, would, impelled by the desire of sovereignty, endeavour to drive him vanquished from the realm. Sect^ 9. The time of commencing his journey pressed hard upon King Richard, as he, who had been first of all the princes on this side the Alps in the taking up of the cross, was unwilling to be last in setting out. king worthy of the name of king, who, in the first year of his reign, left the kingdom of England for Christ, scarcely otherwise than if he had departed never to return. So great was the devotion of the man, so hastily, so quickly and so speedily did he run, yea fly, to avenge the wrongs of Christ. However, whilst he kept the greater matter in his mind, giving himself iu some little measure to deliberation for the kingdom, having received

A

power

from the pope that he might withdraw the cross from such of his own subjects, as he should desire, for the government of his kingdom, he first appointed Hugh Pudsey, bishop of Durham, to be chief justice of the whole realm, and with design, as is thought by many, further creating him a younoearl of Northumberland out of an old bishop, the custody o^f as

many castles

cleared

as he liked being yielded to him, he diligently

from his

coffers ten thousand pounds of Silver. Geoffrey Fitz Peter, William Briwere, and Hugh Bardulf being permitted to remain at home, the cross being withdrawn from them, the king's treasurer transferred the whole

collections of the three as three nuts into the Exchequer. All thei sherifls of the kingdom, on any trivial accusation falling under the king's displeasure, were deprived of their unlucky power,

and scarcely permitted of mestimable treasure.

to see his face,

even by the inediation Ralph de Glanville, than whom none

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

6 of his time

was more

subtle whilst he

was

[[sECT.

in

10-

power,

"1

now

being reduced to a private person by his prince, was so stupified through grief, that his son-in-law, Ralph de Ardenne, utterly lost, by reason of his careless talk, whatever he had previously acquired by the judgment of his mouth. He too, himself, because he was an old man, and not able to bear fatigue, if he had been willing to give the king that little which remained after the payment of the fine, as a gratuity, would easily have obtained a remission of the peril of the journey. The king received security from the tributary kings of the Welsh and of the Scots, that they would not pass their borders for the annoyance of England during his absence. Sect. 10. Godfrey, son of that renowned Richard de Luci, Richard (Fitz Neale) the treasurer, Hubert Walter, and William de Longchamp, four men of no small virtue, and of no mean praise, were elected at Pippewelle to the four vacant sees, viz. Winchester, London, Salisbury, and Ely. They all obtained sufficient canonical nomination, and especially the elect of Winchester, who obtained his nomination to the dignity on the seventeenth of the kalends of October (Sept. 15), while the election of the other three was delayed till the morrow, the king consenting and the archbishop confirming what was done, although at the first he would rather have had it somewhat otherwise concerning which it wonderfully happened that he, who had been nominated to one of the sees by the archbishop's means, died that very day. AVilliam, bishop elect of Ely, retained the king's seal on the payment of three thousand pounds of silver, although Reginald the The bishops elect of Italian had bid one thousand more. Winchester and Salisbury were consecrated at AVestminster, by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, on the eleventh of :

On that day, Hugh de the kalends of November (Oct. 22). Nonante, bishop of Coventry, laid his complaint before the archbishop and bishops assembled at the consecration of the bishops elect, against his monks of Coventry, for having laid violent hands on him and drawn his blood before the altar. He had also expelled the greater part of the congregation before his complaint, nor did he cease from his importunity until he had obtained the sanction of all the bishops in attestation to the

pope against the monks.

RICHARD RAISES MONEY.

1190.]

7

Sect. 11. Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, mindful of his profession, suing for the restoration of the possessions of his

church, which had been taken away, as no one had any right of replevin against the church of Winchester with respect to

two manors, namely Meones and Weregrave, recovered them by judicial decree, three thousand pounds of silver being its

privately given to the king. Nor did the considerate man omit at the same time to pay a fine to the king for the indemnity of the church's treasure, for his patrimony, for the

county of Hampshire and for the custody of the castles of Winchester and Porchester. And because the tnne for the payment of so much money was nigh at hand, as he could not pass over the day fixed for the payment without detriment to the whole business, and he could find no nearer resource under heaven, although against his will, he laid his hand on the treasure of his church, to restore which, however, he obliged himself and his successors, providing security to the convent by the testimony of a sealed bond. man of such courtesy and moderation, who not even when angry ever did any thing to those who were under him, but what savoured of mildness truly of his family, and one of his familiars, of whom it is said, under whom to live is to reign. Sect. 12. The king readily disburthened all, whose money was a burthen to them, such powers and possessions as they chose being given to anybody at pleasure ; wherewith also on a time an old acquaintance in the company joking him, he broke ofi" with this evasion, " I would sell London if I could find a chapman." Many a one might have been forewarned by that expression, had it been uttered sooner, not to learn to be a wise merchant, after the English proverb, *' by buying for a dozen, and selling for one and a half."

A

:

IN

THE YEAR OF THE LORD MCXC.

Sect. 13. In the year from the incarnation of the Lord 1190,* the king crossed the Channel to Neustria (Normandy), the care of the whole kingdom being committed to the

chancellor.

Kichard, bishop elect of London, and William of Ely, were * December 12, 1189.

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

8

[[sECT.

14-15.

consecrated by Arclibishop Baldwin at Westminster, the second of the kalends of January (Dec. 31, 1189). William de Mandeville, earl of Albemarle, being seized with delirium in an acute semitertian fever, died at Gisorz

woman

almost a man,

who was

:

whose

relict,

a

deficient in nothing masculine

but manhood, William de Fortibus, a knight a thousand times approved in arms, received to wife by King Richard's gift, together with all the honours of her former husband. Sect. 14. William, bishop of Ely, and the king's chancellor, by nature a second Jacob, although he did not wrestle with the angel, a goodly person, making up in mind for his shortness in stature, secure for his master's love, and presuming on his favour, because all power was, is, and will be imjjatient of a partner, expelled Hugh de Pusac from the Exchequer, and barely leaving him even his sword with which he had been invested as an earl of the king's hand, after a short time, deprived him of the honour of his earldom also. And lest the

Durham alone should bewail his who was now more cruel than a

bishop of villain,

misfortunes, the wild beast, and

spared nobody, fell upon the bishop of Winchester also. The custody of the castles and county is taken away from him, nor is he even permitted to enjoy his own patrimony. The kingdom is disturbed, and the discontented are charged with disaffection to the king. Everybody crosses the sea to importune the king against the tyrant, but he having crossed first of all, briefly related before the king a partial account of Lis entire proceeding

and expulsion

;

by

whom

also

he was

fully instructed in all things to be done; he thus foiled the rivals, and was on his return before him could obtain admission to the king's

adverse wishes of his those

who

assailed

So he returns to the English not less powerful and prosperous, than one who has accomplished all things whatThe king having returned from Gascony, soever he desired. where he had forcibly put down the thieves, and captured the holds they had occupied, all those whom the chancellor had

presence.

injured assembled before him, who satisfying every one as then to each seemed good, sent them all back to the chancellor with such letters as they then desired. John, bishop of Norwich, being also one of those who threatened Saladin, amply furnished for his journey and the cause, whilst proceeding on his way in the borders of Burgundy, fell among

1190.]]

THE CHANCELLOR SEIZES THE

robbers,

who

took from him

BP. OF

DURHAM.

9

all liis substance and, as he had wherewith he might proceed, he turned Iiis course towards the pope, and when with liis insinuation he had bemoaned his mischance and poverty to him, the clemency of the Holy See dismissed him home, absolved from his vow. Sect. 15. The bisliop of Winchester, being affected with a serious disease, remained some time beyond the sea. The bishop of Durham in haste proceeded direct to London, but not being received by the barons of the Exchequer, he hastily, as if sure to triumph, pursues his way after

no means

;

left

who at that time had gone on an expedition towards Lincoln; whom having overtaken, he saluted in the king's name, not freely nor without a frown, and then questioned him seriously concerning the affairs of state, the chancellor,

and, indeed, as

if he would not suffer any thing to be done without his consent. He neglected fine language and lonowords, and while he boasted too much of power not yet received, not considering with whom he was speaking, he loosely uttered whatever he ought to have kept secret. At

the conclusion of his address, the staff is put forth to silence solemn act much to be reverenced is exhibited

talk, the king's

for recital.

duced.

The mountains

The observance

travail, the silly mouse is proof strict silence is enjoined durino-

the king's mandate ; all were hushed, and attentive held their tongues. The epistle is read in public, which would have

been much more to be feared if it had not been so soon read ; he (Longchamp), well able to conceal his device, shrewdly deferred to answer what he had heard till the seventh day, appointing their place of conference at Tickhill. On the day appointed the bishop of Durham comes to the castle, and his attendants being commanded to wait for him before the gates, he goes into the chancellor quite alone ; he who before had held his peace, speaks first, and compels the deceived to

with his own mouth letters he had obtained after the former against whatever he had hoped. As he was preparinoto answer, he added, " The other day while you were speaking it was time for me to be silent ; now that you may discern why I have taken a time for speaking, you being silent; as my lord the king lives, you shall not depart hence until you have given me hostages for all the castles which you hold being delivered up to me, for I do not take you as a bisliop recite

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

10

[[sECT.

16-19.

a bishop, but as a chancellor a chancellor !" The ensnared had neither the firmness nor the opportunity to resist ; the hostages are given, and at the term assigned the castles are given up for the restoring of the hostages. William, bishop of Worcester, who succeeded next to Baldwin, went the way of all flesh. Sect. 16. The lord bishop of Winchester, at length recovering in Neustria, and also desiring to receive back the things taken from him, recrossed with all the speed he could, and found the chancellor besieging the castle of Gloucester. Whose arrival being known, the chancellor goes forth to meet him as he comes, and having heartily embraced and kissed him, says, " You have come at a most desirable time, dear friend are we to prosecute the siege or desist ?" To whom the bishop replies, "If you desire peace, lay down arms." He, quick of apprehension, perceived the force of the words, and commanded the heralds to sound the retreat he also restored to the bishop his patrimony without dispute, but that only. All the others, who had crossed the sea against the chancellor, profited less than nothing. William, legate of the Apostolic See, held a council at Westminster, in which, lest there should be nothing done to be reported of him hereafter, he sentenced all religion to be expelled from Coventry cathedral, and prebendary clerks to be substituted in place of the monks. Sect. 1 7. William, the wonderful bishop of Ely, chancellor of the king, justiciary of the kingdom, of threefold charge and threefold title, that he might use both hands as the right, and that the sword of Peter might succour the sword of the ruler, took upon himself the office of legate of all England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, which he obtained from the pope at the instance of the king, who would not otherwise set out, by Reginald, bishop of Bath. Therefore successful in every office which he craved, he passed to and fro through the kingdom with the rapidity of a flash of lightning. The King of Darkness, that old incendiary, having added fresh fuel, fanned the ancient spark between the church of Salisbury and the monastery of Malmesbury into renewed flames. The abbot is roused not now to make the profession of pontiff, but to disavow the very title of the bishop as well as his crosier. Royal letters to the chancellor were obtained, !

?

I

1190.] RICHARD EXACTS AN OATH FROM HIS BROTHER.

11

by which

the abbot should be compelled to respond at law to the motions of the bishop. Nor did the man whose affairs were at stake forget himself; no peril could ever overtake him unprovided, who never knew the loss of any thing throucjli

He repelled one nail by another, being presented by the king with letters invalidating the former letters. The chancellor having perceived the shameful contrariety of the sloth.

mandates of

by

his prince, lest the king's fame should be injured the fact, if he proceeded in the cause, deferred all process

of both the one party

and the other

till

the king's return.

King Richard exacted an oath from his two John, his own brother, and Geoffrey, a bastard, that -^

Sect. 18.

brothers,

they would not enter England within three years from his departure, the three years to be reckoned from the day of his starting from Tours ; through the entreaties of his mother, however, dispensing so far concerning John, that passing into England with the chancellor's approbation, he should "abide his judgment, and at his pleasure he should either remain in [the kingdom, or live in exile.

Queen Eleanor's dowry was recognized throughout the by a solemn act, and delivered up to her, so that she who had before lived on the Exchequer might thence-

king's territories

forward live on her own. The king's fleet, having left its own shores, sailed round Spain, and from the ocean having entered the Mediterranean, which further on is called the Grecian Sea, by the Straits of Africa, steered on to Marseilles, there to await

^

the king.

The king of France and the king of England, having held a council at Tours and again at Vezelay, and confirmed the treaty between themselves and their kingdoms, and having and disposed of all things on both sides according to their pleasure, depart from each other with their respective settled

The Frenchman, being subject to sickness at sea, by land to Sicily ; the Englishman, on the contrary, labout to proceed by sea, comes to Marseilles to his ships. Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, and Hubert ^"alter, bishop of Salisbury, being the only bishops of all England who accomplished their vows, follow the king to Sicily, and ^rmies. Imarches

arrive first in the land of Juda. Sect. 19. The monks of the order of Cluni

were not wont

.-

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

12

[^SECT.

19-20.

supplant one another in their priories and government by entreaty or bribes, and although some of them have sometimes attempted something of that sort, that however we have seen visited with condign punishment. There was a

to

either

man elected prior of Montacute solely on account of his worth, Josceline by name, in whom you could To supplant discern nothing but what was praiseworthy. name it is one, whose certain good man there came a this so a with brethren, false his not necessary to mention, one of Cluni, by of letters, obtained by great cunning from the abbot which it was commanded that the prior should resign to the bearer of the present letters, and the congregation receive

certain venerable

him for their prelate. The prior by some means foreknew what commodity the dealer had come to seek, wherefore, without awaiting the mandate, he vacated his seat in the chapter, and the congregation being present, addressed him, " Friend, for He, having tarried long that he might art thou come?" that, which he had come to unwillingly receive to appear take by violence, at length betook himself to his seat, and anon imprecated himself, saying, " O thou, who with unalterable purpose governest the world, whose power takes its

what

pastime in

human

affairs,

who

puttest

down

the mighty and

O

thou just judge Jesu Christ, if wrongfully I here preside, without delay and manifestly do On that thou vouchsafe to shew " Behold the miracle same day he lost his speech ; on the next, his life ; on the third, being consigned to the earth, he learnt by experience, and taught by example, that sordid plunder is never followed by prosperous results. certain monk of Glastonbury, in hopes of promotion, courted Earl John with many presents ; but just as he should have come to receive it, a certain beam having suddenly given

exaltest the

humble

!

!

!

A

way, lie

fell

lost

in his face, so that, bruised

both his eggs

(^y.

and wholly disfigured, and his money

expectations)

together. '''

Sect. 20. The ships which the king found already prepared on the shore were one hundred in number, and fourteen busses, vessels of great magnitude and admirable swiftness, strong vessels and very sound, whereof this was the equipage The first of the ships had three spare and appointment.

rudders, thirteen anchors, thirty oars,

two

sails,

three sets of

1190.]

DESCRIPTION OF RICHARD's FLEET.

13

ropes of all kinds, and besides these double whatever a ship can want, except the mast and the ship's boat. There is appointed to the ship's command a most experienced steersman, and fourteen subordinate attendants picked for the service are assigned him. The ship is freighted with forty horses of value, trained to arms, and with arms of all kinds for as many horsemen, and forty foot, and fifteen sailors, and with an entire year's provisions for as

was one appointment

many men and

for all the ships, but

horses.

There

each of the busses

received a double appointment and freight. The king's treasure, which was very great and inestimable, was divided amongst the ships and busses, that if one part should experience danger, the rest might be saved. All things being thus arranged, the king himself, with a small household, and the chief men of his army, with his attendants, having quitted the shore, advanced before the fleet in galleys, and being daily entertained by the maritime towns, taking along with them the larger ships and busses of that sea, arrived prosperously at Messina.*

So great was the splendour of the approaching armament, such the clashing and brilliancy of their arms, so noble the sound of the trumpets and clarions, that the city quaked and was greatly astounded, and there came to meet the king a multitude of all ages, people without number, wondering and proclaiming with what exceeding glory and mao-nificence that king had arrived, surpassing the king of Frauc\ who with his forces had arrived seven days before. And forasmuch as the king of France had been already received into the palace of Tancred, king of Sicily, within the walls, the king of England pitched his camp without the city. The same day the king of France, knowing of the arrival of his comrade and brother, flies to his reception, nor could their gestures sufficiently express in embraces and kisses how much each of them rejoiced in the other. The armies cheered one

another with mutual applause and intercourse, as if so many thousand men had been all of one hx^urt and one mind. In such pastimes is the holiday speiity(iiUirthe eveniuir, and the weary kings departing, althouglTiJot satiated, return every one to his own quarters. On the next day the king of England presently caused gibbets to be erected withour the *

He

arrives at Messina, Sept. 23.

14

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

[[sECT.

21-23.

camp to liang tliereon thieves and robbers. The judges delegated spared neither sex nor age ; the cause of the stranger and the native found the like law and the like punishment. The king of France, whatever transgression his people committed, or whatever offence was committed against them, took no notice and held his peace; the king of England esteemingthe country of those implicated in guilt as a matter of no consequence, considered every man his own, and left no transgression unpunished, wherefore the one was called a Lamb by the Griffones, the other obtained the name of a Lion. Sect. 21. The king of England sent his messengers to the king of Sicily, demanding Johanna his sister, formerly queen of Sicily, and her dowry, with a golden seat and the whole legacy which King William had bequeathed to his father, King Henry, namely, a golden table of twelve feet in length, a silk tent, a hundred of the best galleys with all their necessaries for t^vo years, sixty thousand silinas of wheat, sixty thousand of barley, sixty thousand of wine, four and twenty golden cups, and four and twenty golden dishes. The king of Sicily, setting little by the demands of the king of the English, and still less considering his own exigencies, sent him back his sister with the ordinary furniture of her bed, having given her, however, with royal consideration, a thousand thousand terrini for her expenses. On the third day follow^ing, the king of England, having passed over the great river Del Far, which separates Calabria from Sicily, entered Calabria in arms, and took therein the well-fortified town which fl is called La Banniere, and having expelled the Griffones, established his sister there, and secured the place with an armed garrison. Again the king took a very strong castle, l| which is called the Griffones' JMonastery, on the same river Del Far, situated between La Banniere and Messina, and fortified it when taken ; and having without mercy despatched by various tortures the Griffones who had resisted, caused them to be exhibited as a gazing-stock to their friends. Wido, king of Jerusalem, sent word to Philip, king of the French, and Richard, king of the English, whilst wintering in Sicily, that the residue of the Christians who lay before Acre would, on account of their weakness and the violence of the pagans, either be obliged to depart or perish, unless very shortly susTo aid whom, the kings sent forward Henry, count tained.

1190.]

RICHARD INSULTED BY THE GRIFFONES.

15

Champagne, and Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, and Hubert, bishop of Salisbury, and Ralph de Glanville, with a strong army; of whom Archbishop Baldwin and Kalph de of

^

Glanville died at the siege of the city, which the Latins call Acre and the Jews Accaron, while the kings still remained in Sicily.

Sect. 22.

The

Griffones, before

King

Richard's arrival in

were more powerful than all the mighty of that region, and having moreover always hated the people beyond^ the Alps, and now irritated by recent occurrences more inveterate than ever, kept the peace with all who claimed the king of France for their master, but sought to wreak the entire venIgeance of their wrongs on the king of the English and his tailed* followers, for the Greeks and Sicilians followed that king about and called them tailed English. Thereupon all intercourse with the country is denied the English by proclaination ; they are murdered both day and night by forties and fifties, wherever they are found unarmed. The slaughter was daily multiplied, and it was madly purposed to go on until they should either destroy or put them all to flight. The king of England, excited by these disorders, raged like the fiercest lion, and vented his anger in a manner worthy that noble beast. His fury astounded his nearest friends, and his whole court, the famous princes of his army sat around his throne, each according to his rank, and if any one might dare to raise his eyes to look him in the face, it would be very easy to read in the rulers countenance what he silently considered in his mind. After a long and deep silence, the king disburSicily,

I

lened his indignant lips as follows. Sect. 23. " O, my soldiers my kingdom's strength and n-own who have endured with me a thousand perils, you, vho by might have subdued before me so many tyrants and nties, do you now see how a cowardly rabble insults us ? Shall we vanquish Turks and Arabs ? shall we be a terror to lations the most invincible ? shall our right hand make us a vay even to the ends of the world for the cross of Christ ? ihall we restore the kingdom to Israel, when we have turned ur backs before vile and effeminate Griffones ? Shall we, !

!

ubdued here

in

the confines of our

* The origin of

this

joke

is

own

country, proceed

unkno^Yn.

'^

QsECT. 23-25.

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

16

further, that tlie sloth of the English may become a I not right, then, to the ends of the earth ?

by-word

my friends,

Am

Truly, methinks cause of sorrow ? perchance you that pains, your spare I see you deliberately I, your lord hereafter. Saladin with may the better contend

in regarding this as a

new

and king, love you ; I am solicitous for your honour ; I tell you, I warn you again and again, if now you depart thus both precede be raised and accompany you. Old women and up against you, and assurance will yield a double energy to every enemy against the runaways. I know that he who flight will

unrevenged, the mention of this base

children will

saves

any one by

constraint, does the

same as

kill

him

;

the

king will retain no man against his will. I am unwilling to compel any one of you to stay with me, lest the fear of one Let every should shake another's confidence in the battle. die here either will I but one follow what he may have chosen, If you. and me to or will revenge these wrongs common conqueror only a hence I depart alive, Saladin will see me the will you depart, and leave me, your king, alone to meet conflict ?"

The king had scarcely well concluded all his brave and valiant men burst when harangue, Sect.

24,

his out,

troubled only that their lord appeared to mistrust his men. They promise that they will comply from their souls with whatever he shall enjoin ; they are ready to penetrate moun-

he but give a nod all Sicily, by their at his command alone, shall be subjected to him of Pillars the labour; if he should but desire it, as far as hushed As the clamour, Hercules shall be steeped in blood. tains

and walls of

brass, should

:

the ruler's gravity, subsided, "I am pleased," said he, you refresh ray spirits by your readiness ; And, as delay has always been disgrace. to cast off" your we must make haste, so prepared, hurtful to those who are Messina shall be sudden. that whatever we design may be shall either Grifibnes the taken by me in the first place,

by

" with what I hear

King Tancred do not more my sister's dowry and the legacy of.

ransom themselves, or be

sold.

me for King William, which falls

speedily satisfy

to

If

me

in right of

my

father, after

the depopulation of his kingdom, he shall be compelled to reWhatever belongs to the inhabitants store them fourfold. shall be

a prey for everybody to

whom

it

shall fall

;

only

1100.]

Richard's PLANS AGAINST MESSINA.

17

with my lord the king of the French, who lodges in the city, and with all his followers, shall perfect peace be preserved' J.et two thousand bold knights,* the choice of the entire army* :ind a thousand foot, archers, be made ready within two days! i.et the law be enforced without remission let the footman ;

who

flies full

speed, lose his foot, the knight be deprived of

Let every man, according to military discipline, be disposed in line in exact array, and on the third day, at the sound of the horn, let them follow me. I will head them and shew them the way to the city !" The assembly separated with the greatest applause; the king, having relaxed the sternness of his countenance, was seen returning thanks for their good-will with his wonted affability of expression. his girdle.

Sect. 25.

It wonderfully fell out that not

even the kind's

enemy could pretend that his cause was unjust. On the third een advanced to b abbot'of ^^•'^"""^t^'-' 'I'^d »" the fifth of the calends of October Sect. 29. Queen Eleanor,* a matchless woman beautiful and chaste, powerful and modest, meek and eloo ;ut

wM

7'

-^ "•"""'' «'"» -»« ^^^vln d 'r '; "'l'' ;" yeais enough to have had two husbands and two sons

mnTarr'

* Eleanor, queen of Lewis and Henry, mother of Henry and Richard.

t

-J

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

20

[^SECT.

29-33.

crowned kings, still indefatigable for every undertaking, whose power was the admiration of her age, having taken with her the daughter of the king of the Navarrese, a maid more accomplished than beautiful, followed the king her son, and having overtaken him still abiding in Sicily, she came to Pisa, a city full of every good, and convenient for her reception, there to await the king's pleasure, together with the king of Navarre's ambassadors and the damsel. Many knew,

wish that none of us had known. The same queen, Let in the time of her former husband, went to Jerusalem. silent. Be none speak more thereof ; I also know well.

what

I

IN

THE YEAR OF THE LORD MCXCI.

conference between the earl of Mortain, the king's brother, and the chancellor, respecting the custody of certain castles and the money out of the Exchequer conceded to the earl by his brother,* was held at Winchester on Sect. 30.

The

first

Laetare Hierusalem. Robert, prior of St. Swithin's, at Winchester, having left his priory and forsaken his profession, cast himself into the sect of the Carthusians, at

Witham,

for grief (or shall I say

for devotion?)

Walter, prior of Bath, with a like fervour or distraction, had before presumed the selfsame thing ; but once withdrawn, he seemed as yet to think of nothing less than a return. Sect. 31. The king, although he had long ago sworn to the king of France that he would accept his sister as a consort, whom his father King Henry had provided for him, and for a long time had taken care of, because he was suspicious of the custody had of her, contemplated marrying the princess his And that he might accomplish the mother had engaged. with which he vehemently burned, difficulty, without desire

he consulted the count of Flanders, a most eloquent man, and one who possessed an invaluable power of speech, by whose mediation the king of France released the king of England from his oath to marry his sister, and quit-claimed to him lor ever the whole territory of VjBgesin and Gisorz, having received from him ten thousand pounds of silver. Sect. 32. The king of France, with his army, departing for * March

4.

I

PHILIP AND RICHARD LEAVE SICILY.

1101.]

21

Jerusalem before the king of England, put to sea the third of the calends of April. The king of England, about to leave Sicily, caused the fort which he had built to be taken down, and stowed the whole of the materials in his ships to take along with him. Every sort of engine for the attack of fortifications, and every kind of arms which the heart of man could invent, he had all ready in his ships. Robert, son of William Fitz Ralph, was consecrated for the bishopric of Worcester by William de Longchamp, as yet legate, at Canterbury, on the third of the nones of May. The convent of Canterbury deposed their prior, whom Archbishop Baldwin

had

over them, and substituted another in the place of the

set

deposed. Sect. 33. Walter, archbishop of Rouen, because, as is usual with the clergy, he was pusillanimous and timorous, having bidden adieu to Jerusalem from afar, resigned, unasked, all

indignation against Saladin, and gave to the king all the provision he had brought for attacking him, and the cross; whilst, forgetting shame, he pretended, with that devotion

which

the most wretched of mothers, brought pastors of the church should rather preach than'' fight, and that it is not meet for a bishop to wield other arms diffidence,

forth, that

than those of virtue.

But

the king,

to

whom

his

money

more necessary than his personal presence, as if convinced by the overpowering argument, approved the allegations, and having arranged concerning the three years' aj^peared

contribution that he should furnish of a certain number of horses, sent him back again into England with his

men and letters

to

end of the

William the chancellor ; this being added at the letters for honour and for all, that the chancellor

sliould

use his counsel in affairs of state. The king, having gained experience from the proceedings of this archbishop, purified his army, not permitting any one to come with him but such as could bear arms, and with a ready mind would use them ; nor did he sutler those who returned to take back with them their money, which they had brought thus far, or

their arms.

The queen,

mother, who had been received with all honour, as it was meet, and after aflectionate embraces had been led forth with great splendour, he caused to return with the archbishop having retained for himself ; the princess whom he had sought, and intrusted her to the also,

his

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

22 safe custody of to

lils sister,

wlio had

now

J^SECT. 34-38.

returned to the

camp

M

meet her mother. Sect. 34. John, bishop of Exeter, closed his last day.

of Northampton, being also one of followed the king of England out of England to Sicily, was supplied by the king with letters patent, in the presence of the king's mother, to the justiciaries of England, containing the king's assent, and something more than an assent, that he should be promoted to whatever vacant diocese he could be elected to. These honourable acquisitions Savaricus sent to his kinsman, the bishop of Bath, into England, but he himself retired to Rome as one

Savaricus, archdeacon

the

many who had

who had

been best known among the Romans. Richard, king of England, in letters destined for England, taking leave of his whole kingdom, and giving strict injunction for the chancellor to be honoured by all, his fleet, more to be prized for its quality than its numbers, being in readiness, with a chosen and brave army, with his sister Johanna and the princess he was to marry, with all things which could be necessary for those going to war, or going to ^ set out on a long journey, set sail on the fourth of the ides of April. In the fleet, moreover, there were one hundred and ^ fifty-six ships, four-and-twenty busses, and thirty and nine Sect. 35.

galleys

;

sum of the vessels two hundred and nineteen. The archbishop of Rouen came to England to the by whom he was received and treated honourably,

the

Sect. 36.

chancellor,

and much better than the king had commanded. Others also followed with many mandates, in all of which the conclusion

To his was, that the chancellor should be obeyed by all. brother John especially, he sent word by every messenger, that he should adhere to the chancellor, that he should be a support to him against all men, and that he should not The king of Engviolate the oath he had given him. land sent orders to the chancellor, and to the convent of Canterbury, and to the bishops of the province, that they ( should canonically and jointly provide for the metropolitan J see, because, Baldwin being dead, it had been bereft of its prelate ; for the abbacy, however, of Westminster, now vacant, it is permitted to the chancellor alone to ordain as he pleases. There happened an eclipse of the sun about the third hour of the day ; those who were ignorant of the causes of ^

I

.1191.]

THE CHANCELLOR BESIEGES LINCOLN CASTLE.

23

things were astonished, that in the middle of the day, no clouds obstructing the sun, the sun's rays should give a much feebler light than usual ; but those whom the motion of the

universe occupies, say that the

making

deficiencies of the sun

and moon does not signify any thing. Sect. 37. John, the king's brother,

ears open for

it,

when he knew

who had

long kept his

for certain that his brother

had turned his back on England, presently perambulated the kingdom in a more popular manner, nor did he forbid his followers calling him the king's heir. And as the earth is dreary in the sun's absence, so was the face of the kingdom altered at i/ the king's departure. The nobles are all stirred up in arms, the castles are closed, the cities are fortified, intrenchments are thrown up. The archbishop of Rouen, not foreseeing more of the future than the fuel of error which was praised, knew well how so to give contentment to the chancellor, that at the same time he might not displease his rivals. Writs are

privately despatched to the heads of the clergy and of the people, and the minds of everybody are excited against the chancellor. The knights of parliament willingly, though secretly, consented ; but the clergy, more fearful by nature, dared not swear obedience to either master. The chancellor, perceiving these things, dissembled, disdaining to know that

any one would presume any how

to

attempt any thing against

him.

At length the pot is uncovered ; it is announced Gerard de Camville, a factious man and reckless of allegiance, had done homage to Earl John, the king's brother, for the castle of Lincoln, the custody whereof is known to belong to the inheritance of Nicholaa, the wife of the same Gerard, but under the king. The deed is considered to infringe upon the crown, and he resolves to go and revenge its commission. So having quickly collected a numerous army, he came into those parts, and having first made an attack against Wigmore, he compelled Roger de Mortimer, impeached for a conspiracy inade against the king, with the Welsh, to surrender the castles, and abjure England for three years. As he departed, he was blamed by his associates for want of courage, because, while supported by the numerous soldiery of the castles, and abounding in advantages, he had given way, without a blow, at the bare threats of the priest. Sect. 38.

to him, that

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

24

[]SECT.

38-41.

Reproof was too late after the error ; Roger leaves the kingdom, and the chancellor gives orders to besiege Lincoln. Gerard was with the earl and his wife Nicholaa, proposing to herself nothing effeminate, defended the castle like a man. The chancellor was wholly busied about Lincoln, whilst Earl John occupied the castle of Nottingham and that of Tickhill, both very strong, the warden being compelled to the sur;

render by fear alone.

He

proceeded, moreover, to send word raise the siege, or otherwise he would avenge the cause of his vassal ; that it was not proper to take from the loyal men of the kingdom, well known and free, their charges, and commit them to strangers and men to the chancellor that he

must

unknown

that it was a mark of his folly that he had in; trusted the king's castles to such, because they would expose

them

to adventurers ; that if it should go with every barbarian with that facility, that even the castles should be ready at all times for their reception, that he would no longer bear

kingdom and affairs. The chancellor, incredibly troubled at these threats, having summoned before him the peers and chiefs of the army, begins " Never trust me if this man seeks not to subjugate the kingdom to himself; what he presumes is exorbitant, even if he had a right to wear the crown by annual turns with his brother, for Eteocles has not yet comin silence the destruction of his brother's Sect.

39.

:

pleted a full year in his government."

words of anguish

after this

He

uttered

many

manner ; and then again having

taken heart, as he was greater in moral courage than in physical, conceiving great things in his mind, he sent the archbishop of Rouen to the earl, demanding in an imperative manner that he should deliver up the castles, and that he should answer before the court of King's Bench for the breach of his oath to his brother. The archbishop, skilful in working with either hand, praised the constancy of the chancellor; and having proceeded to the earl, after the delivery of the mandates, he whispered in his ear, that whatever others might say, he should dare something great, worthy of Gyara and the dungeon, if he desired to be any thing. In public, however, he advised that the earl and the chancellor should agree to an interview, and that a reference to arbitration should end their disagreement. Sect. 40.

The

earl,

greatly exasperated at the impropriety

1191.]

AN INTERVIEW AGREED UPON.

25

of the mandates, was so altered in his whole body that a man would hardly have known him. Rancour made deep furrows in his forehead, his flaming eyes glistened, paleness discoloured

and I know what would have become of the chancellor, if in that hour of fury he had fallen as an apple into his hands while frantically raging. His the rosy complexion of his face,

much in his stifled breast, that it " This could not be kept from bursting out at least in part. son," said he, " of perdition, the worst of the evil ones, who first borrowed from the pleasantry of the French, and introduced among the English, the preposterous practice of kneeling, would not harass me, as you perceive, if I had not refused to learn the new craft offered to me " He would faia indignation increased so

!

have said more, whether true or false, but recalling his presence of mind, and repressing his rage, " If I have spoken amiss," said he, " archbishop, I ask pardon." After these frivolous expressions, they applied themselves to the weighty matters. They consulted about the demands of the chancellor ; and the counsel of the archbishop, that there should be a meeting of them both, was agreed to, about the middle of the day. The day was fixed for the fifth of the calends of

August ; the place without Winchester. The chancellor allowed what they had settled to stand, and, having broken up the siege, returned to London. Sect. 41. The earl, however, fearing his craftiness, brought thither four thousand Welsh, that, if the chancellor should endeavour to take him during the truce, they, being placed in ambush close beside the conference, might thwart his endeavours by a sally. Moreover, he commanded that it should be summoned, and required that every one of his men, and others, his adherents, should be prepared to go to battle, should attend him at the place and on the day of the engagement, so that as the interview between himself and the lord of the whole land had been undertaken, at least he might escape alive, if he, who was more than a king, though less in his eyes, should transgress against the law, or should not consent to an arrangement. The chancellor, however, on the other hand, commanded that one-third of the soldiery, with all the arms of all England, should proceed to Winchester by the day appointed ; moreover, at the expense of the king's revenue he also hired some Welsh, that if it should come to a contest

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

26

with tbe

earl,

lie

[sECT. 42-46.

might have an equal array, and javelins

threatening javelins.

They came to the interview as was before agreed happened to terminate better than was feared. The agreement, moreover, made between the earl and the chancellor was thus, and in this way provided. First of all were named the three bishops of Winchester, London, and Bath, in whose fidelity each party considered himself secure. The Sect. 42.

on,

and

it

bishops chose for the chancellor's part the three earls of Warren, of Arundel, of Clare, and certain other eight by name. For the earl's part, Stephen Ridel, the earl's chancellor, William de Venneval, Reginald de Wasseville, and certain other eight by name. These all, some beholding some touching the holy gospels, swore that they would provide satisfaction between the earl and the chancellor concerning their quarrels and questions to the honour of both parties and the peace of the kingdom. And if hereafter any disagreement should happen between them, they would faithfully end it. The earl also, and the chancellor, swore that they would consent to whatever the aforesaid jury should settle; and this was the provision. Gerard de Caniville, being received into the chancellor's favour, the custody of the castle of Lincoln was reserved to him in peace and safety ; the earl gave up the castles which he had taken, and the chancellor having received them, gave them over to the king's faithful and liege men, namely, to William de Wenn the castle of Nottingham, and to Reginald de Wasseville the castle of Tickhill ; and each of them gave an hostage to the chancellor, that they would keep those castles in the safe peace and fidelity of their lord the king, if he should return alive. If, however, the king should die before his return, the aforesaid castles should be delivered up to the earl, and the chancellor should restore the hostages. The constables of the castles of the earl's honours should be changed by the chancellor, if the earl should shew reason for their beino: chano-ed. The chancellor, if the king should die, should not seek the disherison of the earl ; but should promote him to the kingdom with all his power. Concluded solemnly at Winchester, on the seventh of the calends of May. Sect. 43. The chancellor, by wonderful importunity and earnestness, persuaded first a part of the monks,

and

after-

1191.]

DEATH OP THE ABBOT OF MUCIIELNEY.

27

wards the whole congregation of Westminster, to permit his brother, a monk of Cadomo, to profess a cohabitation in Westminster, and to be elected by all for their abbot for his profession and cohabitation on a day appointed ; and that this election should not be broken, security was taken by a bond, with the church's seal affixed as a testimony. Sect. 44. Geoffrey, a brother of King Richard and Earl John, but not by their mother, who had been consecrated archbishop of York at Tours, by the archbishop of Tours, by the pope's command, continually solicited by message John the king's brother and his own, that at the least it might be permitted him to return to England ; and having obtained his consent, he prepared to return. The intercourse of the brothers did not escape the chancellor's knowledge, who providing, lest their natural genuine perverseness should increase, commanded the keepers of the coasts, that wherever that archbishop, who had abjured England for the three years of the king's travels, should disembark within the bounds of the kingdom, he should not be permitted to proceed, but by the will of the jury, to

had taken oath

whose award the

to stand concerning

earl

and the chancellor

every thing that should

happen. Sect. 45.

A

certain Robert, prior of Hereford, a monk did not think very meanly of himself, and gladly forced himself into other people's business that he might intermix

who

his own, had gone into Sicily to the king on the chancellor's messages, where after the rest he did not forget his own interests ; and having by some means or other worried everybody, succeeded in obtaining the abbacy of Muchelney to be granted to him and confirmed by the king. Into possession of which, by the chancellor's means, he entered, against the will of the convent, neither canonically, nor with a benediction ; and presently on the first day, at the first dinner, by greedily partaking of fresh eels without wine, and more than

was proper, he

fell into a languor, which the food, undigested and lying heavily on an inflamed stomach, brought on. And lest the languor should be ascribed to his gluttony, he caused the monks of that place to be slandered of having given him

poison. Sect. 46. Geoffrey, archbishop of York, presuming upon the consent of his brother Earl John, his shipping bein^^

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

28

|[SECT.

46-49.

came to Dover, and presently having landed, first sought a church for prayer. There is there a priory of monks of the profession of Canterbury, whose oratory he entered with his clerks to hear mass, and his household was intent about unlading the ships. No sooner had the whole of his goods been landed, than suddenly the constable of the castle caused whatever he thought was the archbishop's to be brought into the town, understanding more in the command of his lord the chancellor than he had commanded. Certain also of the soldiers, armed under their tunics, and girt with swords, came into the monastery, that they might apprehend the pontiff whom when he saw, their intention being foreknown, he took a cross in his hands, and first addressing them and extending his hands towards his followers, he says, " I am the archbishop ; if ye seek me, let these go their way." And the soldiers reply, " Whether you be an archbishop or not, it is nothing to us ; one thing we know, that you are Geoffrey, the son of King Henry, whom he begot on some strange bed, who before the king, whose brother you make yourself, have forsworn England for three years ; if you are not come into the kingdom as a traitor to the kingdom ; if you have brought letters of absolution, either say, or take the reproach." Then said the archbishop, " I am not a traitor, neither will I shew you any letters." They then laid their hands on him there before the very altar, and violently dragged him out of the church against his will, and resisting, but not with force who immediately being set without the threshold, excommunicated by name those who had laid hands on him, both present and whilst they were still holding him ; nor did he receive the horse that they offered him that he might ride with them to the castle, because it was the property of the excommunicated. And so, outraging humanity, they dragged him on foot by the hands, and carrying the cross, all through the mud of the streets to the castle. After this they desired of their own good will to deal humanely with their captive, bringing him some of the best provisions which they had prepared for themselves ; but he, being firmly resolved, by what he had now ready,

;

if it were an offering to on any thing but his own. The report spread over the kingdom more rapidly than the wind, those who had followed their lord at a distance came after,

suffered, idols,

rejected their victuals as

and refused

to live

EARL JOUN SUMMONS A MEETING.

111,9.]

relating

29

and complaining to all that the archbishop, the kind's had been so treated and detained in

brother, thus landed, prison. ^ect. 47.

The archbishop was already

three days in custody,

and the

chancellor, as soon as the case was made known to restored to him all his goods, and set him at liberty to

him, depart whithersoever he should desire. He wrote, moreover, to Earl John, and to all the bishops, asserting, with an oath,

that the aforesaid man had suffered the above-written injuries without his knowledge. The excuse profited little, because the occasion, which had been long sought and which spontaneously offered itself against him, was most eagerly and tenaciously laid hold of. The authors of this daring act, who laid hands on the archbishop, as well as those who consented thereto, were

excommunicated in every church of the whole kingdom, that at least the chancellor, who was hateful to everybody, might be involved in the general malediction. Sect. 48. Earl John, gnashing his teeth with anger against the chancellor, whom he hated, brought a weighty complaint before all the bishops and lords of the kingdom, of the inall

specially

fringement of the convention by the adverse party, by the own dishonour. Tiie jurors are summoned and are sworn to stand by their plighted promise, and to bring it to pass as quickly as possible, that the perjurer and breaker of his faith should repair what he had done amiss by giving ample satisfaction. The affair, hitherto conarrest of his brother, to his

fined to trifles,

summoned by

now bears a serious aspect ; the chancellor is the powerful authority of all his and the earl's

mediators, to meet him and answer to the earl's accusations, to submit to the law, the place at Lodbridge, the day the third of the nones of October.

and

The earl, with the greatest part of the nobility kingdom all favouring him, had awaited the chancellor two days at the place of meeting, and on the third, in the Sect. 49.

of the

morning, he sent on certain of his followers to London, still waiting at the place of meeting in case he who was expected should either dare or deign to come. The chancellor, dreading in himself the

earl, and being suspicious of the judges, delayed to come to the place for two days; on the third (because as every one feels conscious in his mind, so does he conceive in his breast both hope and fear for his deeds),

half-

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

30

[^SECT.

49-52.

way between hope and fear, he attempted to go to the meetAnd behold Henry Biset, a faithful man of his, who

ing.

!

had seen the above-mentioned party

of the earl's friends passing on, putting frequently the spur to his horse, comes to meet the chancellor, and tells him that the earl, before daylight, had gone in arms to take London ; and who was there, on that day, that did not take every thing as gospel, which that honourable man told them ? but yet he was not guilty of falsehood, because he thought that what he had said was true. The chancellor, deceived, as all men are liable to be, immediately caused all the force that was with him to arm ; and thinking that he was following close upon the earl, came The citizens being asked by him, for before him to the city. the earl was not yet come, that they would close the gates against him when he should come, refused, calling him a disFor the archbishop of turber of the land, and a traitor. York, conscious of what would happen, whilst he was tarrying there some days, that he might see the end of the matter, by continual complaints and entreaties had excited them all against him ; and then, for the first time, perceiving himself betrayed, he betook himself to the Tower, and the Londoners set a watch, both by land and water, that he might not escape. The earl, having knowledge of his flight, following him up with his forces, was received by the joyful citizens with lanterns and torches, for he came to town by night ; and

there

was nothing wanting

in the salutations of the flattering

people, save that barbarous Chaire Basileus

dear lord

!

which

is,

" Hail,

!

Sect. 50. On the next day, the earl and all the nobles of the land assembled in St. Paul's church, and first of all was

heard the archbishop of York's complaint ; after that, whosoThe accusers of ever had aught against him was admitted. the absent had an attentive and diligent hearing, and especially Hugh, bishop of Coventry, so prolix in words, who the day before had been his most familiar friend, who, as the worst pest, is a familiar enemy, having harangued more bitterly and perversely than all the rest, against his friend, did not desist until it was said by all, " We will not have this man to reign over us." So the whole assembly, without any J delay, elected Earl John, the king's brother, chief justiciary of the whole kingdom, and ordaining that all the castles

THE CHANCELLOR RESOLVES TO SURRENDER.

1191.]

31

should be delivered to the custody of such as he should choose, tliey left only three of the weakest, and lying at a great distance from each other, to the now merely nominal chancellor.

The chief justice after the earl, the justices itinerant, the barons of the Exchequer, the constables of castles, all new, are appointed afresh. Amongst others then gainers, both the bishop of Winchester received the custodies which the chancellor had taken from him, without diminution, and the lord bishop of Durham received the county of Northumberland. Sect. 51.

when

That unlucky day was declining towards evening, and as many earls, sent on the part of the

four bishops,

assembly to the chancellor, explained to him, to the letter, the acts of the whole day. He was horror-struck at such unexpected presumption and arrogance, and, his vigour of mind faihng, he fell to the earth so exhausted, that he foamed at the mouth. Cold water being sprinkled on his face, he revived, and having risen on his feet, he addressed the messengers with a stern countenance, saying, " There is one help for the vanquished, to hope for no help.^" You have conquered and you have bound incautiously. If the Lord God shall

me to see my lord the king with my two eyes, be sure day has shone inauspiciously for you. As much as in you ay, you have now delivered to the earl, whatever was the king's in the kingdom. Say to him, Priam still lives. You, who forgetful of your still surviving king, have elected to

grant this

yourselves another to be lord, tell to that your lord, that all vyill turn out otherwise than he supposes. I will not give up the castles, I v(m not resign the. seal." The messengers, having returned from him, related to the earl what they had received, who ordered the Tower to be more closely besieged. Sect. 52. The chancellor was sleepless the greater pa?t of the night (because he who does not set his mind on

honest

studies

ove)

;

and pursuits will toss about wakeful throui,di hate or and at the same time his people disturbed'him more

:han his conscience, falling prostrate at his feet, and entreatDg with tears that he would yield to necessity,

and not arms against the torrent. He, though harder :iian iron, is softened by the piteous counsel of those who vere weeping round him ; again and again having fainted with stretch forth his

*

Una

salus victis uullam sperare

salutem.— Virgil.

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

32

[^SECT.

52-54.

with mucli ado assented that that should he entirely destitute of aid, he was compelled being done, which, and three, not ignoble, of his adbrothers, his One of to do. commissioned, announced to the not herents, being permitted, the chancellor, with what that earl at that time of night, readiness it does not matter, was prepared to do and suffer whatever had been determined. He should avoid delay, because it has always been injurious for those who are prepared to defer. It should be done the next day, lest the wind should

grief, at last, lie

These return to it might be deferred for a year. to his adknown made earl the day, before and Tower, the passed. had things these that herents Sect. 53. Meanwhile, the rising dawn left the ocean, and the sun having now appeared, the earl, with his whole troop, withdrew to the open held, which is without London towards the east ; the chancellor went thither also, but less early than The nobles took the centre, around whom his adversaries. was next a circle of citizens, and beyond an attentive populace, The bishop of Coventry first estimated at ten thousand men. so veer, that

attacked the chancellor, rehearsing the several accusations of the preceding day, and ever adding something of his own. gross '' It is not," said he, " either fit or bearable that such and noble many so cause often should so one of incapacity for assemble to parts, remote such from and honourable men, all, for once troubled be to better is it And since nothing. It does not than always, I will conclude all in few words. any should you that convenient, please, because it is not with content be will You lono-er bear rule in the kingdom.

your bishopric, and the three castles with which we have indulged you, and the shelter of a great name. You will in the next place give hostages for giving up all the other castles, and for not seeking increased power or making tumults, and atterwards you will be able to depart freely whithersoever you may desire." Many spoke much in favour of this, none against; the lord of Winchester, although he was more eloquent than most of them, alone observed continued silence. At length the chancellor, scarcely permitted to speak, exclaimed, "Am I always to be a hearer only? and shall I never

answer

?*

Before

all

things,

* Semper ego auditor tantum

?

know ye each and every

one, that

Nunquamne reponam ?— Juvenal.

THE chancellor's PROCEEDINGS.

1191.]

33

I feel myself guilty of nothing that I should fear the mouth of of you. I solemnly declare that the archbishop of York

any was

my

taken, without either will prove in the civil courts if

knowledge or my will ; that I you wish, or in the ecclesiasti-

Respecting the deficiencies of the king, if I have done in that matter, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, 'William Bri were, and Hugh Bardolf, whom I received from the king as councillors, would, if it were permitted them to speak, give satisfaction for me. Why and in what I have spent the king's treasure, I am ready to give account to the utmost farthing.°I do not refuse to give hostages for delivering up the casUes, though in this I ought rather to fear the king yet as I must, ; cal.

any thing amiss

I must.

The name which you

are not able to take away, and do not set light by. In short, I give you all to know, that I depose myself from no administration given me by the king. You, being many, have besieged me alone ; you are stronger than I, and I, the king's chancellor and justiciary of the kingdom, am condemned against all form of law ; it is through necessity I yield to the stronger." The sun declining to the west, put an end to the allegations

I

am

still

to bear, I

of the the two brothers of the chancellor that was, and a certain third person, his chamberlain, who had also been his

parties

;

were received in hostage. The assembly is disthe keys of the Tower of London being given up on the sixth of the ides of October. The chancellor started secretary, solved,

for

Dover, one, to wit, of the three castles of which mention was made ; and the earl delivered, to those he chose and whom he trusted most, all the fortresses of the land which had been given up to him. Sect. 54. Messengers are immediately despatched to the Land of Tromise, to the king himself, both by the condemned and the condemnors, each by his own party, sufficiently in.

structed to accuse or excuse. fortable here

The

chancellor, being

uncomand whilst he endeavoured by

under the appellation of his

lost authority,

the recollection of his present state, ill means to elude the prohibition of his

going abroad, got not uniformly, nor once only. I will not recount !iow ho was taken and detained, both in the habit of a monk md that of a woman, because it is enough, and more than enough, to recollect what inestimable property and inmiense :reasures the Flemish stripped him of, when at length he scoffed,

m

D

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

34

[sECT. 54-57.

His passage over being known whatwas confiscated. ever revenue he had possessed in England the mighty. between A most dreadful contention is carried on been taken The chancellor suspends his diocese which had all those who from him, and he denounces his anathema upon Nor was the archbishop of Rouen trespassed against him. for his premore remiss in the same way, for in revenge he comsumptuous excommunication of the Exchequer barons AVilthat Normandy throughout manded it to be announced

arrived in Flanders.

excommunicated. He ^liam de Longchamp should be held as fear the malediction to was, however, unwilling to seem bishopric, nor aforesaid invaders of the

uttered against the fugitive prelate could did he believe that the sentence of a So the face of the find its way before his majesty's throne. throughout the church of Ely was disfigured, they ceased the bodies of the dead •diocese from every work of the Lord, In Normandy, the like being lay unburied by all the ways. authority commumcated returned, none under the archbishop's church was susevery entry his with the chancellor; on rung, and the were bells the pended, and on his departure all altars

where he

officiated cast

1

down.

pope, legates despatched into France by the of king the of reported is at the instigation, though secret, as Sect. 55.

Two

came to Gisorz to visit Normandy, which they of the French understood was a chief part of the kingdom and the seneschal ot but both the constable of the castle

the French,

with not admit them, excusing themselves visitation of any prothis shadow of a reason, that the the approbation or in with unless vince should not be made all the kings of the land; the presence of the lord of the especially indulged being Encdish, and particularly Richard,

Normandy would

with

this privilege

by

the

Holy

See.

No

allegation,

whether

legates; their almost divine real or probable, availed with the against those who power rose and swelled with rage, though Roman majesty not : the contemned authority of

heeded them

sentences and long exercised; they lay aside high-flown bitterThey threaten their adversaries with much words. to plead with boys ness; but, however, as they had not they stood without the castle gates being shut against them, though tliey wanting, not was But their solace the doors. is

were repulsed.

They reached with

|

their power,

where they

^^^*^^0

MONASTIC AFFAIRS.

S5

not approach in person. They excommunicated bv the constable of Gisorz and the seneschal of Normandy there present, and suspended the whole of Normandy from every administration of the rites of the church. It was necessary to yield to their power; the church was silent immediately, and so remained the space of three weeks until the pope being supplicated, both the sentence against those named was remitted, and the suspension given out ao-ainst Normandy. The book of liberty was restored to Normfndy and the voice of gladness, and the legates were prohibited to ^

e esteemed the greater, whose the election ouc^ht to be

fei^rff Lnt

'

T^

[sECT. 57-60.

RICHARD OF DEVIZES.

36

prior two aforesaid of clnef dignity were absent, tlie equal all made of Canterbury solving the point of difficulty, forth in public with in choosing a pontiff, and proceeding church, elected, as his monks, in the face of the whole

as tlie

midst of the archbishop, Reginald, bishop of Bath, from the clerffV.

Sect. 58. Reginald, elect of Canterbury, proceeded to Rome for his pall, had the

i

who would have fates permitted,

which are usually celehaving completed the came to set things in Canterbury, brated for the elect at greatly loved, and order in the diocese of Bath, which he reported also, that is by which he was more beloved. It the prior and he had obtained, as he desired, the assent of Savaricus, place, convent for electing and substituting in his security. the archdeacon of Northampton, and had received was laid and Returning from thence, he fell sick by the way, seeing and up very ill at his manor of Dokemeresfeld ; took more likely to happen to him than death, he solemnities

nothino-

his prior Walter, then tKe habit of a monk at the hands of these words, tarrying with him, and receiving it, spoke " God willed not that I should be archbishop, and I will not 1" Moreover, God willed that I should be a monk, and I will to the letters king's the beino- in the last extremities, he took ho diocese whatever iustices, for conceding to Savaricus Bath, ol prior should be elected to, and gave them to the he might the sooner that by the authority of this instrument all things which be promoted. Then having accomplished and with a sane relate to faith and penitence devoutly calends asleep in the Lord on the seventh of the

mind, he fell of January.*

His

EPITAPH. Dura Reginaldus

Nemo

bene seque suosque regebat quicquid docuit faciebat.

erat

plus quserat

;

Sancti Switbuni nisi pratum prseripuisset

Hunc •

de

communi mors

tarn cito

non

rapuisset.

Sed, qui poenituit, minuit mors passa reatum ; Fecit quod potuit, se dedidit ad monachatum.

himself and his men. Whilst Reginald lived, he well governed both It he hao practis ed. he taught, he whatsoever more Let no one ask ;

* Dec. 26.

m

1191.]

DISPOSITION OF RICnARDS FLEET.

57

not grasped at Saint Swithin's pasture, death would not have snatched h,m so soon from the pubhc. But, because he was penitent, a premature ^^^'^ ^^ ^^^ ^-^^ ^' could,'herdedicI^d

^^Z;^^:::^^^^'

^

Walter, prior of Bath, and his convent, without the cJergj, elected to themselves for their future bishop Savaricus, archdeacon of Northampton, who was absent, and as yet Ignorant of the decease of his fellow-pontiff; and althouc^h the clergy resisted, they carried it out. Sect. 59. The fleet of Eichard, king of the English, put out to sea, and proceeded in this order. In the forefront went three ships only, in one of which was the queen of feicily and the young damsel of Navarre, probably still a virgin the other two, a certain part ; of the king's treasure and arms; each of the three, marines and provisions. In ^le second line there were, what with ships and busses and

m

m

twenty; in the seventh, sixty ,

fifth,

thirty; in

the sixth, forty; in the the king himself, followed with Ills galleys. There was between the ships, and between their lines, a certain space left by the sailors at such interval, that trom one line to another the sound of the trumpet, from one ship to another, the human voice, could be heard. This also was admirable, that the king was no less cheerful and healthy, strong and mighty, light and gay, at sea, than he was wont to be by land. I conclude, therefore, that there was not one man more powerful than he in the world,' either by land or sen..

m

the

last,

•'

Sect. GO. Isow, as the ships said manner and or.ler, some threj3 first

driven

by the

were proceeding in the aforebeing before others, two of the

violence of the winds, were broken

l^nghsh, more speedy than they, having turned back into the deep, escaped the peril. Almost all the men of both ships got away alive to land, many of whom the hostile Cypriotes slew, some they took captive, some, t.aking refuge in a certain church, were besieged. Whatever also in the ships was ''•> ''" " ^""^ '» *''^ Cyi*"""^^The^prince also ot .T that,"•". island coming up, received for his share the gold "«"«'> ^•>'' --« 'be" tt heaJoUer owfr" j^"""'';""/' '" P^cess of time she became T" a part of of the tp kingdom of Jerusalem.

foe

now assaded by

irom without

This city

land and sea; and,

whilst

its

Mwr

^itsuS

On

the mornmg after Innocent's day, namely on the feast of the blessed martyr Thomas,* the citizens gained an important victory for at A„, I sailed out with a few sma ^ '^'^ 1 Is and „ ment obliged the enemy to

dS

;,

4s

f

tnT

rais:te''4r trslTthe"

^^;ting?7nd:nt .n

their flight ran

arst:

^.^.^X'T

se^n

aground and there perished

i-^i victory,

they attacked the town wthiniDetuosifv

having broken

his

former ao-rppm^nf already mentioned, a

The

ai..„j

^

"^^^ captivity, and, '^^ '^'^

rwLTSt^diZ:."'' "

Ch.

XL— 0/ Me mee^m^ qf th

n^ tears of joy, stTL^'^^-f

=

aid f'Y

king and queen,

.^i-nremb.:rrto\"h:: rejoice at

having escaped the

Q

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

g2

I.

[b.

»"*

CC.

12-13.

grief.

The

I.

whicli had caused item so partly year, partly at Antioch, king remained the following were Christians who a Tripoli, waiting for the Holy to the succour of the sea the to come bom beyond calamities

FeP"'2

Land.

Ch XII.-O/

the

deposited with money which king Henry formerly

the

Templars.

not to be passed other things we think it ought of England, had formerly overTn silence, that Henry, king with the Tempers and dl .osited a large sum of money and provide for other matters con nitallers to defend Tyre, that magnificent king by the kingdom.^ This money had transmitted to Jerusalem a provision as pfous as necessary, years, to be used >« l^e du^ring a period of many amounted to 30,000 maiks. Holy Land : its total, as is said,

Among

H

Sg

^^^^^ ^f

Ch Xin.-How

Now

iooi Bevoral towns, Saladin, retreating from 7V«, Antioch. near and Palestine, in Uth

Saladin

leaving Tyre,

occupied

castles

several

rapidity into the

and thence marched with by assau t rather than by connky round Antioch; and took, fortresses of that r"e Gebeli, Laodicea, and several other into no small alarm city itself was thrown

in Palestine,

The province of lud prince, with the common consent patriarch but he should tyrant to surrender, if they the citi Jns, promised the which period receive the assistance not wHhin a given ^ Inconsolable would have been he grief expected.

tW

honoured a city so renowned and become again had name, by the first origin of the Christian dreadful an() long a heathen, whom, after s Jbiert to the impure troops had formerly expelkd victorious "bailee of war, Lr reinforcements to «ome J and But whence are the expected There is no road open foi when or how shall they come ? blockaded by their enemies. Uiem by land, and the^ea is from approaching fo. The ships of the Christians abstain he) of the unbelievers which fenr of faling among the galleys resolv^ has But what the Lord see ly ng n iait for them. Beho d, he hoped-fe perish. to rsr,^will not be allowed Lo VV illiam the expected ones are coming troops arrive th the first auxiliaries to the illustrious king of Sicily, sends

o

all Christ's followers, if

!

!

!

y

— A.D. 1187.]

THE ASSISTANCE TO THE HOLY LAND.

83

To whom else, then, can we give the elory of harinr? saved Ant.och, Tripoli, and Tyre, but to Him who from famine and the sword the

preS

secure in his strength

t^nX

At

?

inhabitants of these cities the head of the royal fleet

wl

"' ^ '"'^ brave man, who, proceeding in advance with

tained that the coast

was

clear,

encouraged the others to folrPj"^ '" "'"."'' ""'' '^''^"''^ '^'''"ds, and happily IrJ-""" all 1. escaping the dangers of the sea, he had gained such credU by his numerous victories, that he was called the king of the eea, and by some a second Neptune. Already TriDoli hand, beheld in the distance his spreading sails. Though they come the heralds of safety, yet fear, thft worst prognos. ticator at

critical moments, raises apprehensions. Wifhout delay they man their walls and mount^he bulwarks, uncertain, however, whether to offer a surrender or to try the

ensigns of the Cross and other emblems of the Christian '*'" ,*'"'' '"''y «'--' - iond shou i^ '"'"' "'? """"^ "^ "^^'^ "•"""> congratulation, 'tl tions, » shore r^""-is covered the with the crowds who flock to

^^TZ

r

meet

*rr's"He!7/"fT'^f' ^

Z

?"''"'/

celebritv !f d !deftnce^of aetence o that tl -^ land

Ch.

XV.

'"'^ "•^

•^-''* of

all.

AmoTg

distinguished

-t'^^fy ^^t^^n

by thf wisdom to the

tf' and 'T'^!"''' so m a short time, many a valiant "?'«

;

Saladin takes the town Erathrum nnil

TiTn^,^*

t>

?

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

84

[B-

I.

!•

C.

16.

admirals of the sultan.

kingdom, was long held in siege by tlie conquers all places however If it were not for famine, which There is also a impregnable. secure, this fortress would be about twenty leagues from castle called Mount Royal, distant Agamst this Egypt. aforesaid city, lying further towards the

^

admirals at the beginning of the also the sultan had sent his though he could not by war : trusting to reduce it by famine, machines or try to assault arms. They did not, therefore, erect scale heaven and to if for it would be ridiculous to try to

ihe could not be approached, carry by storm a place which when our people began to feel siege was protracted two years, horrors which the Spaniards want, and they endured all the suffered at Saguntum or the Tre s^id in ancient times to have kept up their courage still Romans at Perusium ; but they mans usual habits which at nor did they decline to eat food jts rjhts renounces Fatherly affection and nature revolt. what it had love, too, heeds no longer ''''\^'^f''^ parents, and son his decrepit the son, his the father rejects driven out i are They bride. the husband his newly-married to the 1 protection without weeping from the walls and exposed mam- I onger may the rnemy,%hat the remaining stock of food with dead half At last, worn out and tain the fighting men. as such yet but enir into terms of capitulation, for passage for they obtained a free

^^

"thfy

honour would sanction lord Remind of Tours who themselves and liberty for their similar ortune ^jard de had been taken prisoner. By a was also Riddeford, master of the Temple -«f^^^^^ father of thejnaiquis the and surrender of certain fortresses for some of the Mahomedan obtained his liberty in exchange ;

^f

;

captives.

Ch.

XVl.-How

Saladin,

eMling

the law of Mahomet,

is

reproved by

a jester.

possession of nearly Saladin by these means had got Elesucceeded to his wishes. tl,» tin^lom and every tbincr term, -gnificent in triumphs, lie cted enterand pointed to he result of hi Mahomet, of the law of '-b"stof law superior to the prise as a proof that it was

wirhCud

M

all

threw out in the presence of These insolent vaunts he often well known to him ^^l"'' "^"^ the Christians, one of whom, tamed inspired by the Almighty, city, on a certain occasion,

'^

A.D. 1187.]

RICHARD, HENRV, AND PHILIP.

85

him into ridicule by the following reply : "God, who is thp fether of the faithful judging the Christians worthy of reproof and correction for their crimes, has chosen thee, prince as bis agent in this matter thus sometimes a worldly father in anger seizes a dirty stick out of the mire, where wilh when

O

:

fiul^w\e;rhet„nd

T'

""^' '^ ''''-'

''

'-^'^

--= '^^

Whilst these things were done in Palestine, the archbishop of Tyre had embarked on ship-board, and already reported to Chnstendom the news of this great calamity, and the affl ction of so small a kingdom was felt as a calamity oyer many co n! '^"'^'^ t""^ «^^« of all the kings,^and of 7!l aU t he faithful, that the inheritance of Christ was ocfupiej by the heathen : some were affected to tears by the news and some were stimu ated to yengeance. First of all, Richard the brave earl of Poitou, assumed the cross to reyenge its wrongs and took the lead of all, inyiting others by his elample 3 father Henry, king of England, was now declining in years yet the young man was not deterred by either his father's

f*r >?

^

H

culties of so long a voyage: no arguments could deter him fn>m his purpose The Almighty, to reward the yalour Tf this brave man, whom he had chosen to be the first indter of ''™' ^"^^ '''' ^*^' P"-"-d or

--

returned eturn'edl'tr"' to their own country, to achieve his great work Some time a ter, Philip, king of France, and Henry kiZ of England, take the cross at Gisors, followed by the noble! of bo h kingdoms with numbers of the clergy and laity -all iwith equal aspirations, bent upon the samfdesign. So great :^a. the ardour of this new pilgrimage, that it was no ''^^ *'" "0^^' ^"' ^^o had not ye aken T"'*^ Pe''«»»^/ent a present of a distaff and wool 'o one tnntt .0 another, as a significant hint that whosoever declined -he campaign would degrade himself a^ much as if he dW the ' "«'='^ '^'^' ''-•'-•l^. mothers the " ? on t„1 T''' '

itV

Wer

?T

''' "^ ^'''-'"''^ thenfsehi rom going low also. i!'' Tr r^"" The renown'^r of this expedition spread so

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migrated from the cloister to the camp, and exchanging the cowl for the cuirass, shewed them-

extraordinarily, that

many

libraries for selves truly Christ's soldiers, and quitting their publicly churches The prelates of the the study of arms. admonishing preached to one another the virtue of abstinence, in eating and all men that, laying aside all extravagance

they should refrain from their accustomed luxuries. by common It was agreed also both among nobles and bishops, poor, those consent, that to maintain the pilgrims who were w ho remained at home should pay tithes of their property this to but the flagitious cupidity of many took advantage of those In subjects. their upon exactions undue lay heavy and

dress,

mortality days William, king of Sicily, yielded to the lot of sorrow to greater the much so of cause and his death was the ready and prompt been always had he all the faithful, because Land. Holy to lend assistance to the

Ch. XVIII

The emperor of

the Romans {Frederic Barbarossa) takes the cross.

emperor, assumed both outthe insignia of the holy pilgrimage, and displayed, form of a the wardly in his dress, and inwardly in his heart,

In process of time, Frederic, the

Roman

So great a king, whose empire was bounded on true pilgrim. north by the the south by the Mediterranean Sea, on the Northern Ocean, whose glory was augmented by continual viccheck, resigns every tories, whose fortune had experienced no girds on pleasure and blandishment of the world, and humbly his His bravery, especially his sword to fight for Christ. praised ; for declining years, is no less to be wondered at than

m

and though he was an old man and had sons, whose age esteeming yet service, military to valour seemed better adapted them insufficient, he took upon himself the charge of defendlet^ them ing Christianity ; but when his sons urged him to in his either undertaken, discharge the task which he had his govern to son eldest his stead or in his company, he left of duke created had empire, and the younger, whom he the because and expedition ; Suabia, he took with him on the a deimperial majesty never assails any one without sending herald a enemies, his fiance, but always gives notice of war to Saladin, calling upon him to is dispatched from the emperor to injured, or, give full satisfaction to Christendom, which he has falling to

do

so, to

prepare himself for war.

A.D. 1187.]

baebarossa's epistle to saladin.

87

THE EPISTLE OF FREDERIC TO SALADIN. Frederic, by the grace of God emperor of the Romans, ever august, the magnificent triumpher over the enemies of the empire, and the fortunate governor of the whole monarchy, to the jlustrious Saladin, formerfy governor of

LfZ'ZjlZl^

'''''

-.«%/«». pLaoh,

a/d

The letters which your devotion sent to us a Ions time ago, on weighty and important matters, and which

would have benefited you if reliance could have been placed on your words, we received, as became the magnificence of our majesty, and deemed it meet to communicate by letter with your greatness. But now that you have profaned the Ho y Land, over which we, by the authority of the Eternal King bear rule as guardian of Judea, Samaria, and Palestine, sol hcitude for our imperial office admonishes us to proceed ^ith d^e rigour against such presumptuous and criminal audacity. Wherefore, unless, before all things, you restore the land whch you have seized and give due satisfaction, to be adjudged according to the holy constitutions, for such nefa nous excesses, that we may not appear to wage unlawful war against you, we give you, from the first of November, a perLd of twelve inonths, after which you shall experience the fortune of war, in the field of Zoan,* by the virtue of the vivifying cross, and in the name of the true Joseph. For we can scarcely believe that you are ignorant of that which aU antiquity and the writings of the ancients testify. Do you



l-ersia,

'p":;;."'^\''«"' *•> ^thiopias,Vurita^C sTvthfa Parthia, where our bcythia, general Marcus

Crassus '""'^^ Samaria, Marina ArLra and Chaldaja, also Arabia, I'^t'' Egypt, where, shame to say a Eoman citizen, Antony, a man endowed ^ith signal vinues pas ing the bounds of temperance, and acting otherwise than as became a soldier sent from so great a "state, subm tted to the unchaste love of Cleopati-a-ldo you pretend Tot to know that Armenia, and other innumerable ^un^rls 1 nve been subject to our sway? This is well

S'*""

'

known

to

ttle

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kings in whose blood the Roman sword has been so often steeped; and you, God willing, shall learn by experience the might of our victorious eagles, and be made acquainted with our troops of many nations the anger of Germany the youth from the banks the untamed head of the Rhine the towering of the Danube, who know not how to flee Bavarian the cunning Suabian the cautious Franconian Saxony, that sports with the sword Thuringia Westphalia the Lorrainer unused to peace— the active Brabantine the nimble mountaineer of the Alps the fiery Burgundian the Bohemian ever the Frison with his javelin and thong ready to brave death Bolonia fiercer than her own fierce Rocumphia-— Ruwennia Istria Austria ^Byria beasts

— — — —





— — — — — — — —Lombardy—Tuscany— Illyria

— —



the

— — Ancona—the march you —and of

lastly, also, resolute Venetian and the Pisan sailor which you hand, rig] it own how our shall assuredly be taught wield the sword still suppose to be enfeebled by old age, can upon that day of reverence and gladness which has been appointed for the triumph of Christ's cause.

We

think it right to insert in our history the letter which The proud boasting Saladin sent in reply to the foregoing. of the tyrant, which he had conceived in his opposition, is sufiiciently manifest in it. However, we give it in the simple form of words in which it was written, without changing a syllable of

it.

To

the great king^ his sincere friend, the illustrious Frederic, king of German?/ In the name of God the merciful : hy the grace of the one God, the poicerful, the surpassing, the victorious, the everlasting, of whose kingdom, there is no end.



We give continual thanks

to

Him, whose grace

is

over

all

: we pray that he may pour over all his prophets, and especially on our teacher, his messenger the prophet, Mahomet, whom he sent to teach the true But we law, which he will make to appear above all laws. make it known to the sincere and powerful king, our great, amicable friend, the king of Germany, that a certain man, named Henry, came to us, professing to be your envoy, and he gave us a letter, which he said was from your hand.

the world

out his inspiration

We

AD.

11 87. J saladin's

reply to the emperor.

89

caused the letter to be read, and we heard him speak by word mouth, and to the words which he spake

ot

by word

mouth we answered also in words. But this is the answer to your letter:— You enumerate those who are leagued with

come agamst this

of

and you name them and say— the land and the king of that land-this count and us,

and such archbishops, marquises, and knights. wished

you

to

kinrr of

that count

But

if

we

enumerate those who are in our service, and who listen to our commands, and obey our words, and would fi^rfat lor us, this IS a hst which could not be reduced to writiniIf you reckon up the names of the Christians, the Saracens are more numerous and many times more numerous than the Christians. II the sea lies between us and those whom you name Christians, there is no sea to separate the Saracens, who cannot be numbered ; between us and those who will come to aid us, there is no impediment. With us are the Bedouins, who would be quite sufficient singly to oppose our enemies; and the Turkomans, who, unaided, could destroy tliem even our peasants, if we were to bid them, would %ht bravely against the nations which should come to invade our to

:

^''P'^^ *^'°^ "^*^^^^ "^^^« ^^^ flZ them '^'w. WhatT^'i^ have we not on our

by

exterminate

side the warlike Soldarii gained the land, and driven out

!

whom we

have opened and These, and all the kings of Paganism will no we shall summon them, nor delay when we shall call them. And whenever your armies shall be assem! b led^ according to the import of your letter, and you shall lead hem, as your messenger tells us, we will then meet you in ^e power of God. Nor will we be satisfied with thrLd which IS on the sea-coast, but we will cross over with God's our enemies ? be sow when

rength of the Lord. For in your forces, and will be

if

you come, you

will come with yonr people Tnd ^e know that there will remain none at hom Jto defend them, elves or fight for their country. And when the Lord by bis power, shall have given us victory over you, nothing ^ill remain for us to do but freely to take your and ^" ^''^ P^'^«"-- F- ^»- -ion o^f -he e'

E- "f Christian

.oast of the

-Ti ' faith

present with

all

W

I has twice come against us in Babylon

land of Jerusalem while in the hand of the Chris-

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land of Damascus, and in the land of the Saracens ; in each fortress there was a lord who studied his own and interests. You know how the Christians each time returned, assemare But these our people to what an issue they came. bled together with their countries, and the Lord has associated

I

tians, in the

with us countries in abundance, and united them far and wide under our power Babylon, with its dependencies, and the land of Damascus, and Jerusalem on the sea-coast, and the land of Gesireh with its castles, and the land of Roasia with dependencies its dependencies, and the land of India with its and the resihands, our in is all this God, of grace by the if we were For empire. our in is kings Saracenic due of the they Saracens, the of kings illustrious to command the :

would not withdraw themselves from us. And if we were to admonish the caliph of Bagdad (whom God preserve) to come empire, to our aid, he would rise from the throne of his great obtained, have We excellence. and would come to help our and its also, by the virtue and power of God, Jerusalem in the remain still which territory ; and of the three cities nothing Antioch, and hands of the Christians, Tyre, Tripoli, But, if you remains but that we should occupy them also. that we pleasure wish for war, and if God so will of his good you in meet occupy the whole land of the Christians, we will But, letter. the power of the Lord, as is written in this our the command if you ask us for the boon of peace, you will them warders of the three places above mentioned to deliver up to us without resistance ; and we will restore to you the

will liberate all the Christian captives who you, are in all our territories ; and we will be at peace with and will allow you to have one priest at the sepulchre, and we

holy

cross,

and

of will restore the abbeys which used to be in the time the permit will and them, to good will do Paganism,* and peace pilgrims to come during all our life, and we will be at

the letter which came to us by the hand this letter of Henry be the letter of the king, we have written his will. to according counsel for answer, and may God give us proour of coming the This letter is written in the year of

with you.

phet

But

Mahomet

if

584, by the grace of the only God.

And

* This letter has evidently been translated out of the original Saracenic described with reference to Christian notions a Saracen would hardly have " paganism." word by the faith own his :

I

A

THE emperor's ARMY.

1187.]

D.

91

may God lie

save our prophet Mahomet and his race, and save the salvation of our Saviour, illustrious Lord,

may

and King; the giver of unity; the true word; theadorner of the standard of truth ; the corrector of the world and of the law ; sultan of the Saracens and Pagans ; the servitor of the two holy houses, and of the holy house of Jerusalem ; the father of victors ; Joseph the son of Job ; the reviver of the progeny of Murmursenus * victorious

!

Ch. XIX.—^om;

the emperor Frederic Barbarossa assembled his

army

throughout Hungary.

This

proud and faithless tyrant, with its ab emperor treated with contempt; and, with indignation worthy of a prince, prepared all his letter of the

-

surdities, the magnificent filled

forces for the war.

The princes of all the empire followed him, and when they were met at Mayence, according to the imperial edict, all of them joined with one acclaim in taking the vow of so noble a pilgrimage. This was the

Lords

doing,

listeth,

who

Him

of whose inspiration bloweth inclines the hearts of men at his will.

where it For these

great princes were neither allured by a desire of vain glory nor induced by bribes or entreaties, but solely by desire of the heavenly reward by the Lord, and the Lord alone, were : they led to buckle on their armour for this warfare. For the loftiness of the heavenly wisdom had provided that, as tliey were enlisted of their own free will, they rendered a service agreeable to God, and the imperial magnificence

accompanied by a

was

train of

worthy

followers.

Thus, then, led by the Holy Spirit, they flocked together on every side ; and whoever could have seen so many nations and princes under one commander, must have believed that the ancient glory of Rome was not yet departed. In this army of Christ were pontitts,

number

dukes, earls, marquises, and other nobles, without

for if we were to recapitulate their names and territhe writer would become tedious, his reader be disgusted, and his plan of brevity be overthrown. It was determined by a prudent counsel that no one should go on this expedition whose means could not provide him with supplies for one :

tories,

^' ^' translator has given these titles as litfrally as uoSbe nnf^ po^Mble, and does not venture on a word of comment.

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number

of carriages were constructed for the use should be sick, that they might neither It give trouble to the sound, nor be left behind and perish. had long been a question whether the mass of the army should But it seemed that any number of proceed by sea or land. ships, however large, would be insufficient to transport so great a multitude. The emperor, therefore, urging on the task which year.

large

of the pilgrims

who

he had undertaken, determined to march through Hungary, and so, though he was the last sovereign who took the vow of pilgrimage, he was the jSrst to carry it into effect.

Ch. XX.

Bela,

hng

of the Hungarians, receives the king hospitably.

Bela byname, came out with joy nature with in stature, of a noble countenance,

The king of the Hungarians,

He was a man endowed by

to meet the emperor.

many good

qualities

;

tall

possessing a combination of virtues, and worthy of the highest panegyric who, if he had no other merit, would be thought He worthy of sovereignty by his dignified appearance. triin them a met received Christ's army with hospitality, umphant procession, and followed them with good will, testi;

fying

by

his deeds the fervour of his friendship.

The people

in

burning with their sovereign's example, contemplate the sacred army and are eager to enlist ; they look forwards to the prizes of the combat, and fear no dangers at once they form the wish, they take the vow, and follow with the army, so that it is evident the workings of Holy InspiraCrossing the Danube tion knew no impediment or delay.

large numbers,

:

they reached the furthest passes of Bulgaria, where Huns, Alans, Bulgarians, and Pincenates rushed suddenly from their ambush upon the Lord's host, encouraged to the attack by the rugged and inaccessible nature of the ground.

Ch.

XXI.— J^ow

Frederic, having crossed the Danube, found the and Alans hostile to him.

Huns

The outlet from Bulgaria into Macedonia is fortified on both sides by high rocks, covered with thorns and To bushes, through which wind narrow and rugged paths. these the inhabitants have added lofty artificial defences. These passes were seized by the nations before mentioned,

I

A.D. 1187.]

BARBAROSSA CROSSING THE DANUBE.

93

who had been

sent for this purpose by the wicked emperor Conrad, that they might destroy the army, or at least stop its further approach. Our soldiers, however, courageously overcame both the enemy and the road, and passing through Macedonia, arrived at Philippopolis, a city which had before been called Pulpudeba, but took the name of Philippopolis in honour of the Roman emperor Philip, who first of all the emperors became a Christian, and by the profession of the Christian faith conferred additional lustre upon the imperial dignity. The Greeks, hearing of the approach of the Latm army, deserted the city, fearing where there was no need of fear ; for which their only reason was that they feared all whom they did not love for the pilgrims had not come to plunder others, as they had sufficient of their own nor had they ; taken arms against the faithful, but only to crush the errors of an infidel race. But the ancient and inexorable hatred which the Greeks entertained of old against the Latins, had been handed down by the tenacity of ages to their :

posterity.

If

a motive or reason of this enmity be sought "

It

were no wrong,

if it

a plea had found."

Yet this may, perhaps, be urged as an excuse, that whereas Latms were flourishing in arts and arms, they themselves

the

were altogether ignorant and unwarlike

:

this gives

a motive

to their enmity, and they pine with jealousy at the prosperity of others. They are a perfidious race,

a wicked generation, and utterly degenerate the more illustrious they once were the more signal is their degradation ; their gold is converted into dross, their wheat into chaff, their purity to filth, their glory to corruption. The old Greeks attempted and achieved much both in arts and arms ; but all their zeal for virtue has chilled in their posterity and has passed over to the Latins, so that where once were fountains there now are rivulets or rather, dry and exhausted channels. Their virtues have found no heirs but their crimes many ; they still retain :

'

the deceit of biuon, the falseness of Ulysses, and the atrocity of Atreus If I be asked concerning their military science, this turns on stratagems rather than on battles ; if concerning their good faith the man should beware who has them for his friends, though their hostihty can do him no harm. That nation, unable to impede the march of our army at the aforesaid passes, did what lay

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do it all the natives fled to the mountainwhich we could tops and carried with them every comfort houses have bought of them for money, leaving their empty wa^ that without an article of furniture in them to our army had | peace, The emperor indeed, on the plea of approaching. some with sent forwards the bishop of Miinster, in their

power

to

:

already wicked and cruel other princes, to Constantinople; but the the sanctity of tyrant cast them into prison, daring to violate has been rebarbarians, among even an ambassador, which, and the usage of sanction the by antiquity spected from all by more influenced however, Afterwards, laws of honour. from ambassadors the released he fear than a regard for right, his capital if he for he feared the destruction of prison would have been It wrath. should not speedily pacify our even to the razed, been have right, indeed, that the city should by new polluted was it ground ; for, if we believe report, •

which its perfidious emperor allowed to be which he had that he might strengthen the league year was now into with the Turks. The season of the

mosques, built,

entered Libra was ripening towards autumn, and the constellation The lengths. balancing the day and night in nearly equal bis up take magnificent emperor of the Romans marched to and empty winter-quarters at Adrianople, which he found his position, up took he Here inhabitants. deserted by its his army waited for the season when he should lead

and

forwards.

Of the emperor

Ch XXII

Frederic's wintering in Greece, and of the

the deceitful embassy peace between him and the emperor Isaac : of and of his passage through i>t. sent to him by the sultan of Iconium,

George's

Arm.

fearing lest ease| of Suabia, son of the emperor, deterindolence, generate luxury should produce luxury, and inactivity the during army for the

The duke

employment storm a and for this purpose, he formed a plan to the from distance great fortress which was situated at no it, in together assembled The Greeks had aforesaid city. thence from might trusting in its fortifications, that they

mined

to find

of winter

;

but in this expectadirect their schemes against the Latins ; were speedily aeleated tion they were confounded, for they into chains and kept prisoners.

and vanquished,

thrown

I

i

I

!

A.D. 1187.]

FREDERIC IN GREECE.

95

When

the Byzantine emperor heard of these things, he feared still worse would happen; and, apprehending the destruction of all his empire, he hastily sent ambassadors to our emperor, promising hostages for peace, a market for the sale of provisions, and ships to transport all who wished to cross. that something

The

emperor, although many of them thought it dangerous to make peace at all with a tyrant, yet preferred to accept the offered treaty rather than longer delay his expedition. And now that Easter was approaching, he crossed over the narrow sea generally called by the name of "St. George's Arm." Althouo-h but a narrow strait, this sea enjoys no little reputation b°ecause It washes so great a city, and flows between the two divisions of the world, Asia and Europe. The sultan of Iconium a deceitful man, and thirsting after Christian blood, under a fraudulent pretext professed friendship towards us, and concealing the malignant venom of his heart, sought thereby to destroy us when off our guard. He had sent frequent messengers to the emperor, whilst still in Greece, entreating him to cross overand whilst he accused the Greeks and their prince of treachery, he promised that he would be

a devout and faithful

servant to the Christians, and that he would place himself and all that he had at their disposal, and furnish to all

of

them

a market to buy provisions, and a safe passage through his dominions. The emperor, too credulous,

and estimating others by his own knowledge of himself, made a proclamation, in which he threatened all with punishment

who, when they entered the territories of the Turks, should commit depredations, or tail to observe the peace which had been concluded.

then

Thus

happened, that our men passed on without touching the great booty which the sultan had, intentionally, left at the very entrance of his dominions. Alas, how blind are men and Ignorant of the future If they could have foreseen the tamine which they were about to suffer, the difficulties of the road and the deceitfulness of the tyrant! it

!

m

their

Chance had thrown

way

the means of providing for themselves against these great and imminent dangers. However, our people did QOt so far listen to the words of tkat faithless prince, as, neijecting their own security, to march in disorder, or without heir

tiiia

Jt

arms

all ot

the rest

When,

therefore, they

were about to enter Parnumber 3,000 knights there were about 80,000. There were sevea

them

seized their arms, in



ITINERARY OF RICHARD

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bishops, one archbishop,

marquises

;

and

I.

[^B. I. C.

23.

two dukes, nineteen counts, and three army seemed neither to have

this splendid

But to prevent disaffection or conarmy was divided into three whole the mass, fusion in so large a of Suabia, the last by duke the by bodies: the first was led charged with the care was centre the emperor, that in the The army advanced baggage. of the sumpter-horses and b^iolder, neither the of delight judiciously arranged, to the in bodies; and but dispersedly, crowded together, nor yet yet there was body, each though there were many officers over for a camp, au best but one commander-in-chief. This is the withperishes army important circumstance in war: for as an so it rest, the out a leader, where no one is pre-eminent above conwho are many leaders is generally inefficient, where there had

its

like before or after.

happy Germany Happy empire tend for pre-eminence. warriors of Christ, the parent of so many nations, so many brave enemies source of pride to herself, and destruction to her !

!

a

through the discomforts which the Christians endured Iconium. reached they how and the sultan,

Ch. XXIII.— Q/'

army, having entered the territories of the Turks, exsultan wished perienced no hostility during several days the dominions, his of heart the into them by his forbearance to aUure give should road the of asperities until want of food and the nefarious That them. annoying him more ready means of the thickets of traitor had seized the rugged mountain-tops, he professed whilst and the woods, and the impassable rivers ; arrows opposed he made, to observe the treaty which he had the and market the This was and stones to our passage. faith the is such safe-conduct which he had promised us ; they always esteem that must be placed in the unbelievers ; towards an valour and treachery as equaUy praiseworthy coming to enemy. Moreover, they avoid, above all things, hand but they shower close quarters and fighting hand to with them it is no less their arrows from a distance; and

Our

:

;

Ihey

glory to flee, than to put their enemy to time the rear, at attack both extremities of the army, at one they can sepaanother time the van ; that, if by any chance or tno other by rate them, they may attack either the one nor rest ; for a sleep neither it with Ni(?ht brought itself. flight.

terrific

clamour disturbed the army on every

side.

A

shower

D.

1188.]

DISCOMFORTS OP THE CHRISTIANS.

87

of javelins pierced through their tents, numbers of them were slam asleep, and the enemy hung on them so incessantly, that for SIX weeks, they ate their meals under arms, and slept under arms, without taking off their coats of mail. At the same time they were assailed by such violent hunger and thirst that when they lost their horses by the chances of war it was to them a consolation and source of delight, to feed' on horse-flesh and drink the blood in this manner, by the ingenuity which necessity teaches, they found out an additional use tor the animals on which they rode. :

There was a place between high rocks which was rendered

so difficult to pass by reason of the steep ascent and the narrowness of the paths, that when the first division of the army led by the emperor's son, had

passed through, the Turks suddenly rushed from their ambush on the last division, and in their cwfidence of victory, attacked them with lance and 5word 1 he alarming news was carried to the duke, who re^^t^beadlong haste upon his march, eagerly retracing 'Hn^ il the difficulties which he had a little before rejoiced It having surmounted. His rage heeded not dan^rer his javalry were made to gallop where they could not 'even yalk In this manner, whilst he was anxiously and incau.lously seeking for his father on every side, and incessantly houtmg his Withers name, his helmet was struck off by a stone, nd his teeth knocked out, yet he still remained immoveable and nshaken Happy the son, who, to save his father, was so proigai of his own life, and exposed himself to so many dangers is a consolation for the wound which he then received he atains a lasting mark of it; for whenever he opens his mouth •

»

gum testifies the glory of his victory. At last, after .any severe attacks, the army arrives at Iconium, where that 'icked traitor had shut himself within the walls of the cit^''"'' "' "^ ^^^^* ^'"'^^^'^ ""certain "h.rir^-^'^?1/^^'^' hat new disaster the morrow might bring with it. It was now out the end of Whitsuntide, and that same night so violent and idden a storm burst upon them, that its fury was felt even .thin the camp In the morning, when the clouds were dis^rsed, tlie sky became clear, and behold the Turkish armv )pear around on every side with trumpets, drums le bare

!

>rrid

clang,

3en seen in

and

ready to attack. They had neve^ before such multitudes, nor could they have been con!

ITINERARY OP RICHARD

98

I.

L"-

^-

'•

^S-

sW^

read numerous. If any one ceived to have been so »f «/ ^"/^ Sat there were three hundred thousand it was impossible to for amount, the of was onlv an estimate to arms by roused been Imber thl All this multitude had

*X'

wished to antic.pate

b. a*

The suit-" -n Melkin, who ana trusting in the number in-law Saladin's victory, and, Ae Meanwlnle ^confident of success alouT of his men, wa« expecta in tower, where he sat sultan had ascended a lofty him and the armies that were beneath country "on

eyeu/the

^me

to

see

aeco-

fngage, and^ioping in a mind had promised, lie emperoi, r>li=lied what his sangu ne ude alarmed at the unusua niu t, fee'inJ^ some of his men ta^n of a nobk^due :r tife en::; displayed the confidencethanks to God in the gave raising his hands to heaven, short

rriy^o

and "gtt

was at le^g* arr^d the inevitable necessity U e flight had so long been deferred by iov that combat which fresh with inspired were At these words, all of the enemy. countenance placid emperors ardour as"hev looked on the he was, supplied an .nce^tjve though weak Tnt one old mYn, What

oH^Uhat

strong. many who were young and who were multitude greS aJ our God ? AH that

of valour to

God

is so them luthe they brought chains with ?o sure' of v'ictory that at once the and moment: swords, were overthrown in a

than

and the enemy without vanand death, andheaps of slam: nuTsh'd everywhere were blood they faU ^jj^ose^^ number fmpedes their flight and Ihe battle is for triumph. means on which they had counted -apped asunder ;Uie nowforgM hand to^and; the bows are r have scarcely room to wield the arrows no longer fly, and they mulby the InrT, Thus everything is thrown into confusion

dtv was taken and

occupied,

Tr

to intended for our ruin, turns out t'ude and what our^enelies among war, which had been waged our^r'eater Jlory ; the flying fa„ on -carried of rocks, is

br

SfanK

ma

gorgel

the Christians ^''^'^''''Jl^^l^^,^^, The Turks experience in vain. so often been put forth enemies can fight hand to againrtheir wi^, how well their provoked at a distance htnd whom they had so often granted unworthily by the Thi^ =iT,lendid victory was not servants : for the^. observed

and open

Di^

field

;

t: fifs faithful discipline when ^' chastity in the camp, and ""f aU with Lord the ; of and abive all, was the fear

eteUence

/ims

m a^

was the

lo>e

A.D.

1188.]

SUCCESSES OP THE CHRISTIANS.

99

of their neighbour ; all were united in brotherly affection as thej were also companions in danger. The sultan, when the city was taken, seeing that there remained to him 'jnly the tower in which he was, sent hastily to the emperor, throwing all the

blame upon his son, and professing his own innocence promismoreover as much gold as he should demand, and whatso:

ing,

ever persons he should name as hostages for his observance of the treaty The emperor, alas! too easy, accepted what was

offered

and gave what was asked

:

in this less

worthy of praise'

because he let go that man of blood and treachery whom he had almostin his possession, when it would have been more honourable to slay him than to keep alive so great an enemy to the Christian name. The hostages were given and the treaty confirmed; but the wickedness of that malignant traitor did not rest there for, whilst the Christians ; were continuing their march far beyond Iconium, he attacked them,

ambuscade sometimes openly in the field. asked what this meant, and they told a

sometimes bv

The hostages were

falsehood which suited Turks were a wild race whom no one could govern ; that they wandered about with no fixed habitation having no property of their own, and always trying to obtain that of others either by robbery or thet. Ihey attacked us however less boldly, knowinothat many of their men had fallen; for, by a moderate their

own purpose they :

said that the

^^7; ^^^7'":?°'^. ^^'^^^^'P^^or Frederic, arriving in Armenia

The !

I

victorious

all rejoice at

army now

enters the

Armenian

i.

territories



haying quitted a hostile kingdom, and at thei^ arrival in the country of tiie faithful. But, alas a more lZ\ Und awaits them which is to extinguish the light and by rf aU. Let man take thought and investigate, ff he ma,y the ^-''' ,-''-« j'-dg-euts' ar'c unfathon^;! "" Thint'ln rhings will occur sometimes to cause him astonishment, sometimes confusion, yet so that in every circumstance ^gnize the author of all things. On the borders man may of there was a place, surrounded on one side by steep moun ains on the other side by the river Selesius. Whilst t'^.e sumpter:

I"!

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victorious empassing this river, the horses and baggage were of stature man He was indeed an illustrious peror halted. part^y was head b>s Srately tall, with red hair and beard ; and his eyes sparkwere prominent turning grey, his eyelids wide; his breast and shoulder and ing hi! cheeks short form was manly. There was in all other respects his mgnislied and Socrates, something d.s in him as is read of being the firmness of his mind, awful for his look denoted connor clouded by grief, 7ways immoveably the same, neither reverenced He so much joy. tacted by anger, nor relaxed by although he was not that thfuatiTe language of Germany, always --ersed with amhe S^orant of oth'er llnguages, yet interpreter. countries by means of an bassadors from foreign of the consequence in time, man, having halted some of impatient last at became crossing the river, prepares he march, the to accelerate the dllay-and wishing to get of the stream, so as part to cross the nearest proceed. to liberty and be at front' of the sumpter-horses ruler of the Roman empire, the heaven earth ! sea agam the glory of ancient Rome ever august, in whom

S



Sreat

lmpte"es

,

!

m O

O

!

|

power wa. aughonour again lived, and its perished! and in the waters and mented, was overwhelmed assistance ye near him hastened to his ttiou^h those who were extinguished by a sudden though not lis afed spark of life was swimming, as several have asserted J temiture^death. If love of the gravity rf the man llZl to have caused his death, ityetmerit beliet tuat, a oaa ^c +1.0 pon+rarv nor does the XmerieTouldLve committed to the deceitful waters flourished,

its

18 The conscience is witness that death rflTv of o many. consolaour is this but cause of death, ess paiuful than the he shall be the just, by whatever death written U is ion of Gilboa' mountains If the surprised will be refreshed.

L

wle™

:

were he brave ones of Israel

slain,

deserved to be

de-

may we

no pr ved of the dew and rain, _a mai. overthrew winch fatal river, deservedly utter upon this who said thaj

what imprecations

Christendom ? There were some by a fatality from ancient times, [he Place had been marked borne upon it these word« ltd ttrthe nearest rock had long pillar of 111

antiquity, the i7rtfdtn;^?S@»S^a,s r*a«tnce,concerni«g the of

la^^r^^^ ^

f J; „» o traditions

^.

fictions



8T.

MICHAEL'S

OOLL.EQE

AD. 1188.3

FREDERIC

IS

DROWNED.

IQx

sorrovrs of mothers, the sighs of brides, or the distresses of in general, the present grief will be found to be without "'?> »"=*^»'-«, known in any age, and surpassing

men

ITZ^r: te.irs and all

lamentations. There were many of the emdomestics present, with some of his kinsmen and his son; but It was impossible to distinguish them amid the general lamentation with which all and each lamented the loss

peror

s

™'' ''''^^™'-' «-^ ^ consolation thanks for it to Divine Providence, 1L7 that 1he I, had not died within the territories of the infidels. vviien his funeral-rites were performed, they left the fatal spot as soon as possible, bearing with them the body of the emperor adorned with royal magnificence, that it nlL^ht be carried to Antioch. There the flesh, being boiled from the bones, reposes in the church of the Apostolic see, and the bones were conveyed by sea to Tyre thence to be transported to Jerusalem It was fit indeed and wonderfully contrived by Gods providence, that one who had contended gloriously for Christ should repose the two principal churches of the Christian reli^ gion for both of which he had been a champio„,_part of him in the one, and par the otlier,_the one that ;hich our Lord's burial rendered the most distinguished, the other that which was honoured by being the see of the chief of the to

"''"'

fr wf

"'

n

''";''•

''>«y ='''.''«'»™ed

m

m

Christians arriving at Antioch, after

ZIZ7. *r/'™"l""^'»

'Y''

apostles.

many and

''PP««'-fand died'of

swords of their enemies, repose was fatal then

*° ''"''^

Tr""^ to return,

whom

them, and a per-

army perished, and mos """ " ^--« th^ee fti ''''''''''

*"

iooZnC' r^-f-l vour for

thTJ

T

't'' "T""'^^'

IZitrJ}wbdf

^'''•>'

^'T

wetl as ^ and so Ih: teJclf:!

''"'^

^^''«d

^"^ ""^'^'1

q ^"^ devout ferf™'" their country

™'°'l^'

*''^"'

»

"'«

-avetas -'«-'

S'b'' "t T-^"f /'""S'"' ''" "^""^^o"^ safe and ''^"^"''^^"' "'« inhabitants of u\T°y ^"''^'i' *'"1 '''''^''' '»

uninjured throrj^, the "ds bv »f

^«^« e^^iteJ when her saw the fl . ^'T'^ ^''\ ^'"p-board, both Englishmen tdFi*' r^">'"« """^"^ "'"" ''^^'«'" Nor must I pass x in silence a gallant V^BinsuInl action which was performed bv '""'^'^ '""'y coumgeonsly attackeda citrealled ^r..Z^7

"

T

=

fcCs'ma^rritlndT'- ^f

%

then

""'' P™"'"'^."'*

f?'

"l^'"-" 'i"-'oint of

being slain by the

"s ass stance

who

t

forgot the

ha^d'

n^t^th^':::^urcor:

wrongs he had received fromTim

and rescued him from destruction. Geoff-rev the kin^'t --J ="' bast^'ni g't'^o ffy ?"^"^'™' t last abandoned ttsT'abr"J»^ ''Wr^'" the care of the camp which he had uudef ken to defend and, anxious J It

;

for his brother's safety

rXd'

Hans! the Christiana had gone forth with confidence-they

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they return return in confusion ; they had marched in order they run yet foe— the routed had in disorder; victorious, they acknowledged length at presumption back vanquished. Man s not what man and what man s strength can effect, if it rely victory works powerfully on the Lord's right hand ; for he warrior, amongst his own people, who gives confidence to the on their presumed and a crown to the victor. Our men had who found be could own strength, they believed no enemy enemy that could put them in fear, and yet they found

hundred men. left beThere was a knight named Ferrand, who having been amongst the hind naked and nearly lifeless, after lying hid but was so disfigured by slain, returned by night to the camp,

five too near them, for they lost one thousand

by his friends, his wounds, that he could not be recognized of the poet license The admission. and with difficulty gained of incidents various the depict might or a lengthy dissertation obligexi are we but death of ; modes the battle and the divers and must say, not how, but what occurred. to

be

brief,

be collected Saladin ordered the bodies of the Christians to carried being that, near; and cast into the river which flowed terror, occasion might down by the current, the sight of them water. or becoming decomposed they might infect the

How our men, increasing in number daily, suffer severely while occupied in carrying a trench round the city. Turks from the our chiefs, thinking it best to abstain for the

Ch. XXXI.

After

this,

strengthening present from open war, occupy themselves in with deep turf, of embankment an round their camp, and carry while tents of the protection ; the for ditches from sea to sea, space the upon seized boldly the marquis and the Hospitallers and sea by blockaded was free from siege, and thus the city in employed sedulously thus While our men were land.

by making

incessantly, the trenches, the Turks harassed them them from annoy to and one party relieving another continued of our part one morn till night. It was necessary, thus, that attacks. should defend the other Mobile at work from their did, we Such as we thought worth while to bear with, darkened without returning them, although the air was

men

computawith their missiles and darts, which exceeded all Our men, however, worked away with their utmost' tion. You endeavour and the Turks lamented their progress.

A.D. 1189.]]

DESCRIPTION OP ACRE.

HI

might see iii their frequent encounters, now these now those (according to the chances of war) overthrown and borne down. While our men were thus for a considerable time strugglmg, the Lord above grieved over them, and by strengthening and increasing our numbers from day to day, deserted not altogether those who trusted in him. There came together, therefore, from different parts of the world, princes, dukes, counts, besides many of inferior degree; whose

names

were the Count of Ferrara, Nargenot du Bourg, Anselm do Montreal, Geoffrey de Grenville, Otho de la Fosse, William '

Goez, the Viscount de Chatellerauld, the Viscount de Turome, the Chastellan of Bruges, the Archbishop of Pisa, also the Count Bertulf, the Count Nicholas of Hungary, the Count Bernard, the Count Jocelyn, the Count Richard of Apulia, the Count Alebrand, Engelran de Vienne,

Hervey de

Gien,'

Theobald de Bar, the Count John of Loegria, another Count John of Seis, with a nephew of the king of Denmark. There came also some chiefs of the Danes, with 400 of their countrymen. At the same time came Guy de Dampierre, the bishop of Verona, and a few Roman citizens. All these, and a great many future martyrs and confessors, were added to the number of the faithful. Martyrs truly they were, a great part of whom died in a short time by the stench of the dead bodies which corrupted the air, and by the fatigue of constant watchings ; while others were overcome by the injuries they received, as neither rest nor breathing time was allowed them, for the Turks harassed without intermission those who were working at the ditch, and reduced their spirits by unexpected attacks, until

made an attempt

it

to

was

at length completed.

relieve

the city

They then from the threatened

blockade. Ch.

XXXU.—The

description of the city

about

of Acre and the places round

it.

We

do not think it foreign to our purpose to give at times the order of our matter requires, the description of places' n order that a city, so fiimous for its magnificence, as well as :he various incidents of war, may gain additional celebrity )y our labours. For if a ten years' war IS

made Troy

cele-

the triumph of the Christians made Antiocii more iustnous. Acre will certainly obtain eternal fame, as a city for which the whole world contended. In the form of a brated

;

if

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narrow on the western side, while it extends in a part of it is wider range towards the east, and full a third The port, west. and south the washed by the ocean on and deceives often be, should it which is not so convenient as rock the for there winter which proves fatal to the vessels runs parallel, is which lies over against the shore, to which it And storm. the of fury too short to protect them from the away washing for place because this rock appeared a suitable a place for offering up the entrails, the ancients used it as the flies which followed the sacrifices, and on account of stands above it was called sacrificial flesh, the tower which There is also a tower called the Cursed, the Tower of Flies. if we are on the wall which surrounds the city and triangle, it is

:

;

situated

to credit

common

report,

it

received

its

name because

it

is

for which Judas betrayed his said that the pieces of silver then named Ptolemais, was city, The there. Lord were made which is close to the Turon, Mount upon

formerly situate

Ptolewhence, by an error of antiquity, some call Acre Turon, Mount near Mosque, the There is a hill called mais Memnon but by where the ancients say is the sepulchre of we have learnt thither, brought whose kind offices he was which flows river The neither by writing nor by hearsay. is narrow, bed its although is named Belus, and city

;

by

the city celebrated by and not deep, Solinus has rendered it of the world, as being ino- it amongst the wonders For there was a certain sandy with glassy sand. making glass ; sand of which supplied materials for

numberenriched the

foss,

these, if

from the

but, if let in, taken out, were altogether useless; Not tar nature. glassy a assumed place the secret virtue of rock near the city, at from the river is pointed out a low

the world, Asia,

which it is said that the three divisions of contains separately Europe and Africa meet; and though it dependent on itself, place the world, of the the other parts

from and independent of all three. Mount side of the city, where Carrael rises aloft on the southern had an habitation of have to Eliiah the Tishbite is known

none

is

distinct

but although we are modest cost, as his cave still testifies to the pleasant away often wont in a description to wander the attracoverlook present parts of the circuit, we must at ;

while tions of the surrounding places, war. the of course to the

we

turn our attention

I

A.D. 1189.]

SIEGE OF ACRE.

113

*}'P'^P^' ""fj^^ ^*y ^^r^ reduced to such starvato surrender; the Sultan comes to 'their assist mice with fifty galleys ; they capture and put to flight our 'galleys

t'inff^}}!:^^ hon that they offered

'

When therefore our men had encompassed Acre on all sides with a blockade, the townspeople, having consumed their prov^ions, began to be severely pressed by famine, so that thev offered to surrender the city on condition that they should be allowed to depart, with their property, unmolested. These conditions did not satisfy the chiefs, who had determined either to compel them by extreme necessity to submit to their will or to gam, by every means in their power, the dory of stormmg the city. But whilst they were slowly ne-otiatmg for the surrender of the city, the sultan had fully equipped at Alexandria fifty galleys, with men, provisions and arms, which he sent to succour Acre. These arrived on All feaints Eve, and when they were seen at a distance vague rumours distracted the people with various forebod-

ings. Some report that the enemy are at hand ; others that subsidies are come for the Christians. While they were still doubting, the enemy threw themselves into the city and even earned with them, by force, one of our ships laden with provisions, which they found in the port ; and beinc lon^ sustained with those provisions, pressed upon us with the greater courage. Not content with plundering our ship of Durden, they put to death without mercy the crew \nl

every one else they had found therein, and hung them round the walls on the day of All Saints. Moreover, the galleys of the enemy kept watch over both the exit and entrfnce of the port of the city, that no one

dared to come to our assistance for fear of falling into their hands. And on the morrow of the Nativity of our Lord, one of our galleys deeming the fleet an arrival of Christians, went for the purpose of making inquiries after our succours, incautiously to Ionian fleet as

meet

this

Babv

approached, and with it a smaller vessd called a galeon this taking the lead, owing ; to its lightness fel suddenly into the midst of the enemy, iifstead of meet n^ with friends as was supposed. The voice of some who answered" md the suspicious silence of others, undeceived them- upon which the terrified sailors cast themselves into theTe; and it

I

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of swimming, according as each was able. our galleys then occupying that part of the sea, and gone away havmg numerous, were by far the least

escaped,

Thus

I.

by means

communiTyre, the enemy had free and open Germans, tne time that At cation with the city by sea. horses, by turned corn, of makino- a large miU for the grinding the round, drawn were while "the millstones grated as they work, at mill the at Turks, gazing with great earnestness their destruction, or thouo-ht that it was some instrument for mill of that storming their city; for never before had a secretly to

for

description been seen in that land.

marquis and our the sea-fight between the fleet of the the victory. gained we how and enemy, the that of

—Of Ch XXXIV ' '

men and

at hand, the a season of calm, when Easter was close large equipmarouis at our request returned from Tyre with a For by the ment and supplies of men, arms, and provisions. were pacimarquis and king the chiefs, provident care of the possession have should marquis the that fied on the pretext he should that condition on and Sidon, of Tyre, Berytus, and and his king the of interests the for be faithful and strenuous avaricious the evil to turns always kingdom. But rash ambition desire of obtaining and iniquitous heart for inflamed with the and while pledged had he ; the kingdom, he broke the faith breast he his within friend, to the outward eye he appeared a not liked townspeople At length the concealed the foe. issue the try to their privation of liberty, and determined

At

;

therefore led forth their galleys b;y rowed into the ofiing tc twos, and keeping good order, they preparer meet and attack those that were coming ; our men mean^ no since there was to meet them as they came on, and resolution, with greater of getting away, prepared to face them our war ships, anc board on got men our rOn the other hand retreated to a disstraining to the left by an oblique course, And noM egress.] of means free enemy tance, and gave the it right t( judge we sea-fight, a of that mention is made there is betweei describe briefly the fleet, and what diff'erence the ancients, With ancients. those of the moderns and j of this kind ships in required larger number of oars was oar which were arranged in stories, so that some plied the

of a sea-fight.

They

^

j

A NAVAL VICTORY.

A.D. 1190.]

115

a longer, others at a shorter distance from the sea. These vessels had frequently three or four banks of oars each, some even five; and a few of the ships used at the battle of Actium between Antony and Augustus, are said to have had six. Furthermore, ships of war were called at

lihurTKB ; for the ships used in the battle of

Actium were whence it became usual among the ancients to call them liburnce. But all that ancient magnificence has passed away ; for ships of war, which once had six banks of oars, have now seldom more than two. But what the ancients used to call a liburna, we call a ^alea, chiefly built at

Liburnia in Dalmatia;

with the middle syllable lengthened ; it is long and graceful, not high out of water, and has a piece of wood at the prow, which is commonly called the spur ; with which the enemy's ships are struck and pierced. Galleons are vessels with one

bank

of oars, manageable from their shortness, easily turned, and running to and fro; they are better suited for throwing fire. When, therefore, they went forth on both sides to light for

fight,

our

men drew

not up their ships in a straight line, but ; that if the enemy should charge the inner ships, he might be shut in and crushed. They placed their most powerful ships at the points of the crescent, as against them would be directed the enemy's most vigorous attack ; on the upper row of benches were arranged shields close together; and in one the rowers sat, in order that those who were on in the form of a crescent

deck might have free space for fighting. The sea was percalm and tranquil, as if it favoured the battle, and the npplmg wave impeded neither the shock of the attacking ship, nor the stroke of the oars. As they closed, the trumpets sounded on both sides. A terrific clang is roused, and the battle fectly

is

commenced by

the throwing of missiles.

Our men

implore the Divine assistance, and ply their oars strenuously, and dash at the enemy's ships with their beaks. Soon the battle began ; the oars become entangled and they fight hand to hand, having grappled each other's ships together ; and they fire the decks with burning oil, which is vulgarly called Greek fire. That kind of fire with a detestable stench and livid flames consumes both flint and steel ; it cannot be extinguished by water, but is subdued by the sprinkling of sand, and put out by pouring vinegar on it. But what can be more dreadful than a fight at sea? what more savage, where such I 2

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tortured by the ? Some are varions fates await the combatants swallowed falling overboard are burnTng of the flames; some wounded perish by the enemy « in the waves; others our ™«°' One galley, unskilfully managed by ^^P^^^Vi the Turts a they received fire, on to thf foe ; and being set rowers in their fright fall mto boarded her on all sides. The

-fX"/

their heavy armour^ but a few soldiers, impeded by I'd resuained by ignorance of trusting in an'rt^'stigt ht" ; and unequal fight desperation, and commenced an overcame numbers; and fhe Lord's valour, a few of them back the half-burnt vessel laving stn the foe, they brought enemy, who Another ship was boarded by the in t^umph. ;wU^^ deck upper the combatants^rom the the help oi their oars. who were below strove to escape by

the sea

----S

L:Su

bemg was the conflict for the oars then way one first was drawn puUed difi'erent ways, the galley P-^'l'^'i;;"^ our Mother, as the Turks drove it ; yet deck, being over upper the on rowed the enemy, who In this Christians, yielded. come an7 thrust down by the the =-U«y -\^^^ ^^^ Z^l contest, the enemy lost both our men, uuh»i-t ^°-es ; 3very one, and they, who were eager after the spoil, exploded 30t the ambuscades that lay around. Many glutted their ippetite with the abundance of food they met with, and having

mted above

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relinquished their arms, lay down in over security, as if they had been invited to a feast. The Turks, having learnt what was going on, soon poured in on all sides, and shouting with a terrible noise, as is their wont, gained an easy victory over a

No one dreamt of fighting, every one thought of flight ; but being on foot, laden with arms, and exhausted with thirst and heat, they could not escape when In all directions pursued by an active and mounted enemy. they were routed, and thrown into confusion ; no quarter was given, nor a captive taken ; fury could not satisfy its appetite, and anger recals the sword, which the weariness of the striker had for a moment laid aside. Wherever fear urged any one, he was sure to meet with death ; an inevitable fate threatened The foe and slaughter presented themselves on one and all. all sides; numbers were wounded, and four thousand are reckoned to have been slain. Though they heard the tumult, and saw the slaughter, the chiefs pretend to be ignorant of it hard-hearted, inhuman, and impious, certainly they were, who saw their brethren butchered before them, and offered no assistance to them when perishing, whose only crime was the leaving scattered and stupified foe.

the

camp

against

orders.

At

length,

when

others hesitated

from sloth, rather than from anger, Ralph de Hauterive, archdeacon of Colchester, came to the assistance of those who were suffering and succoured them when on the point of falling. He was a man of handsome form and figure, and merited a twofold laurel for his excellence in both kinds of warfare He being illustrious for his knowledge, and famous in arms. many after performing happy end, and glorious with a met remarkable actions in the siege in which he was then engaged. The townsmen on seeing the success of their friends, issued out boldly, and went so far as to attack and overthrow some of the nearest tents.

Ch. XLI.

— Of the skips and succours which came

to

our men.

sad slaughter had been brought about, by which our strength was considerably diminished, fortune smiled more favourably ; and the west wind setting in brought some vessels laden with soldiers. Meanwhile the barbarian fleet, mixing itself secretly with ours, got forward, and imitating the language and ensigns of the Christians, made a sudden

After

this

and unexpected approach

to the city.

LD. 1190.]

/H.

NEW ARRIVALS

OP LAITY AND CLERGY.

J

23

XlAl.— lVhat men and warriors the laity

When, onstant

therefore,

fire

of the higher and lower grades of and clergy came to our succour

our

men were

by the

utterly purified

and the heavy trials which peuethe very soul, the Lord regarded them, and

of tribulation,

them to athdrew them from the scourge, for He deserteth not those dio hope in Him, and He grieved over them, and brought !iem powerful allies from the uttermost parts of the earth, lustrious men, mighty in battle, who not only made up for le past valour of the lost army, but also augmented it by umerous additions. Amongst the first that landed was Count rated

[enry of Troyes, count of Champange, with a powerful body f soldiers. There came, also, many others in succession, 'hose names are given as they arrived. They were : Theoald, Count of Blois, who died within three months after

came Count Stephen, the Count of Clairmont, Manserius de Garland, Bernard de St. ^aleri, John Count of Pontiny, Erard de Castiny, Robert de 'uon, Adaunius de Fontaines, Louis de Ascla^ Walter d' is

arrival; next

iount of

rzillieres,

Scalons,

Guy de

Castellan, with his brother Level,

Guy

de

John de Montmirail, John d' Arcy ; also the Lord Camte in Burgundy, Gaubert d'Aspremont, Clarembald

[eisieres, '

Noyers, the Bishop of Blois, the Bishop of Toulon, the ishop of Ostia, the Bishop of Mordre (Mordrensis), the ishop of Brescia, the Bishop of Aste ; also the Patriarch

3

of

3rusalem, the Archbishop of Caesarea, the Bishop of sth; there were also the bishop elect of Acre, and the

NazaArchshop of Besan9on, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, and [ubert Bishop of Salisbury as well as the Archdeacon of olchester, Rodolph de Hauterive, of whom we have spoken ?fore, and the Abbot of Scalons, the Abbot of Esterp. here came, also, a priest, who was incessantly active against le

;

enemy, hurling darts from

a sling with indefatigable

til.

There came, also, many from Normandy, such as Walkelin Ferrars, Robert Trussebot, Richard de Vernon with his son, ruilbert de Tillieres with a strong band of warriors, and vo de Vipont, Ranulph de Glanville, formerly justiciary of England, Gilbert de Malines, and Hugh de Gorney. Besides ^ese came many from different parts of the earth, whose D

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

124

names have not been enumerated ; we would not mention them, for

CC.

43-45.

I.

|^B. I.

if

we knew

and

of

fear

tliem

wearying our

hearers.

Ch. XLIII.

—How Henry of Champagne was

set over the

army.

Henry

count of Troyes at that time landed with a strong whose hands was committed the command of the army, which James d'Avennes and the Landgrave had held hitherto conjointly or by turn ; for the Landgrave being in ill-health left the camp on the pretext a man who, after performing many of returning home ; noble actions, to the admiration of all, tarnished the bright glory of his deeds by his pusillanimous return.

body

of soldiers, into



Ch. XLIV.

—How the duke of Suabia came

to

Acre by the persuasion

of the marquis.

At death,

this time, the

was staying

duke of Suabia, shortly

after his father's

at Antioch with the sons of the emperor,

and the chiefs send to him to remain in that quarter, to make war upon the neighbouring territory of the barbarians. This was sound and wholesome policy for if he had occupied the enemy by urging the war in many places at or:ce, theii endeavours would have become distracted, and conseqaentl3? weaker for individual operations. The marquis, who was ;

charged with this message, failed to execute his instructions faithfully, and by an invidious interpretation of them influenced the duke's mind, for he represented that the chiefs wanted to procure his absence through jealousy, that the}; Some might have the glory of taking the city without him. asserted that the marquis had received from the sultan sixty thousand by zan tines to persuade the duke to depart from The duke, therefore, on arriving the confines of Antioch. at Acre, proved a cause of disagreement, for the French had an old and long-standing quarrel with the Germans, since the kingdom and empire contended for the supremacy. Ch. XLV.

—How the marquis, by the advice of the

duJce, aspired to

th

kingdom.

Moreover, duke, to

whom

the marquis, secretly assisting the cause of th(

he was related by blood, studiously sought

\i\i

'.D.

125

GENEALOGY OF THE KINGS.

1190.]

)resence, that

by

his means, if he

couW, he might obtain the

accident also favourable to his wishes made him ndulge more confidently in his hopes, for premature death from arried ofi' the queen and the offspring she had conceived more clearly to the "f he shewed that he was guilty of another man's death, who refused to assist him when he could for we are " coinmanded to g ve drink to our enemy when thil-s lud o

" hn™i, laiguishing

:

;

i-aonza

m Italy, earnestly assisted

in his exhortation.

In con «f "'e^e "SJ 1?« march, by testifying all the separate divisions, by order n Thus the army proceeding Leonard of t^urbeny, went iovfuUy from Vezelai to St. Escot then to Tulms, dins, afterwards to Mount Teuce^to

bytL

J;

M

Itr St Mary

d'e

Bois, thence to Belivi,

f™^^^^t« *^

there to Lyons on the Rhone , villaee of Furaca, and thence owing to ^^'^'^ ft ^'stopped som'e days, unknown depth ; so that the army river from its rapidity and might cross over, and wait the which had come in the interim Having at length to follow. Trr val of those who were pitched ::"ssed the river, the two kings as it as many of the army other side in the meadows: town; the others inth^ fie d tld contain lodged in the There you might see people in the suburbs. f^'^"''^ their proper PlandredJ.

also allured

by

his

examp

A. D.

bestowed rery reigned

175

many

gifts on his own men. Hence fresh joy the people, and those who had been broken sorrow were raised up by such generous magnificence.

among

down by Ch.

KING RICHARDS FEAST.

1190.]

XXIV.— 0/ Me great feast

on Christmas Day, people,

to

given hy King Richard at MategriMn. which he invited the king of France and all his

and of his splendid gifts.

The

great festival of Christmas was at hand, kept with greater solemnity as it was the more needful for the redemption of the human race. In honour of this festival, the

King Richard

invited, with all respect, the king of France and by the public crier called upon every soul to pass that day with him in joy and gladness. At his courteous -equest, the king of France came with an innumerable band )f nobles, and a crowd of others. He labours not much vho compels a willing person ; and we cannot suppose many vere absent from King Richard's feast. They were, thereore, received with honour into the castle of Mategriffin rhich he had built against the will of the natives, and to

dinner,

diere every one sat down according to his rank. ount the variety of dishes which were brought

AVho could in,

or the

kinds of cups, or the crowds of servants in splendid ttire ? which, if any one wishes to do, let him measure in IS mmd the magnanimity of King Richard, and then he can nderstand the kind of feast which would be prepared. You light have seen there nothing unbecoming or inapposite othmg which was not of value and commendable ; for the ishes and platters on which they were served were of no other latenal or substance than gold or silver, and all the vessels ere of wrought gold or silver, with images of men and beasts orked thereon with the chisel or the file, and adorned with ifferent

:ecious

Moreover, their joyous countenances were all, and gave grace to the festival ; and the lests were entertained with the cheerfulness of the enteriners over and above the variety and abundance of meat and ink. After the feast was at an end. King Richard set before eking of France the most beautiful cups, and gave him his oicc in honour of the occasion, and gave to each of the bles presents according to his rank; for like Titus, with lose hand ho lavished his wealth, he thought that the day ts lost on which he happened to have given nothino-. stones.

•nspicuous above

I 176

Ch XXV.—H-ow

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

the Pisans

and the Genoese

I.

1^6.11.00.25-26.

attache the

guards of King

Richard's fleet.

some Pisans and Genoese, It happened at tliat time that some cause or other, atheated with wine, and disturbed by fleet in a hostile manner, tacked the guards of King Richard's their assault a great number and from the vehement nature of morrow, as if grieving that were killed on both sides. On the malice the day before, they they had not wrought their full were fiercely engaged returned to the attack, and while they

King Richard came upon them restraining the combatants, forced

hastily,

them

and with

difficulty

to separate. .^

and Berengaria, the the arrival of Queen Eleanor the departure, first, oj the kmg of and of Richard, King fut^eu^fe of England Jor the Holy Land. France, Ldthen If the king of with the domiTherefore, in the year of our Lord 1191, idle season more the of months nical letter E, after the stormy who people, the on, coming were of winter, when brighter days arrival of the joy with hailed slothful delay,

Ch XXVI.-O/

were wearied with

the kings had the season for navigation ; for ^^^^^'^^fy^J Lent of St. Michael until after of Messina from the feast ot transportation the They therefore held a conference about both delay, further inconvenience of their men, alleging the their of fine weather, and because presence on account of the because and idleness, means would fail if spent in useless

from want of them| given them such tardy help| and they were grieved at having to proceed on his jour-l While, therefore, each was preparing informed Richard that his mothei ney, couriers arrived who and having completed he Eleanor was hastening after him, and that she was bringing witl iourney, was close at hand; the king of Navarre, namec ier the noble damsel, daughter of

their friends at

Acre were

suff'ering

A

lone King Richard. Beren-aria, the intended wife of he had bee itou ^me "previous, while yet count of Po birth, an high her and charmed by the graces of the damsel the kin father, her which account felt a passion for her ; on Richard King of her to the care of Navarre, had committed "mr^3 in order that ^^^ ^^^g^jt him, to carried mother to be a rejoiced 1 intended. her before crossing the sea as he madt having Meanwhile the king of France, their coming.

A

|

A. D. 1191.]

ARRIVAL OF QUEEN ELEANOR.

I77

ready

with all his equipment, taking advantage of a favourable wind, set out with all his fleet, on the Saturday after the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and King

Richanl accompanied him some way in his galleys, with his noblest peers. But he himself was not ready to cross the sea, for he had not yet collected all his transport-ships; and he thought that they were not sufiiciently provisioned moreover he had heard that his mother was coming with the illustrious Berengaria. When, therefore, he had let the king of France go on his voyage in peace, crossing past the Faro he came to Kisa, where he heard that the queen his mother and Beren garia were, and having taken them on board with ^reat iov he returned to Messina; where having stayed a short time he let his mother depart, and committed to her the care of his kingdom together with Walter, archbishop of Kouen, as we have said before, a man of great virtue. And with :

them

returned Guilbert de Gascuil, by whose treachery the kiuir ol prance afterwards gained possession of the celebrated castle 01 Cxisors, situated in a very strong position on the confines of

France and Normandy, which had been committed to his safeBut King Richard retained with him the aforesaid damsel whom he was about to marry. Queen Eleanor returned by Bourges, and thence to Salerna, and thus to Normandy. But King Kichard, having furnished himself with every thing necessary for the voyage, prepared, according to agreement to foUow after the king of France as quickly as he could; and appointed Robert de Torneham to conduct and take care of the fleet. He sent forward his betrothed, with his sister the dowager queen of Sicily, in advance, in one of the «hips which are commonly called dromons, keeping a course direct to the east; he had also placed some knights on board and a numerous retinue of servants, for keeping.

^

their comfort and safeThese kind of vessels are slower than others on Mcount of their burthen, but of stronger make. The multitude of the galleys remained immoveable, until the kin^ paving dined, on account of the annoyances which had happened, bade farewell, with all his army, to the natives, and h^ason the point of setting out and committing himself to favourable winds and the waves of the sea. Then the whole

keeping.

jnultitude of

ships

lumerous oarsmen.

was launched into the sea, impelled bv The city of Messina might justly boast

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

178

[b.

I.

II. C.

27.

that so great a fleet had never in past ages quitted those shores ; and that they never will see there such a one again. Therefore, on the seventeenth day after the departure of the

king of France, i. e. on the Wednesday after Palm Sunday, King Richard followed with a numerous fleet of ships, and passing amid the Faro with a fair breeze, some by sailing, some by rowing, they came out into the deep, the dromons, however, keeping them in the rear as Richard had planned, should in order that, as far as it was possible to avoid it, they



not part company, unless they were accidentally separated by and the tides ; while the galleys purposely relaxed tlieir speed multitude kept pace with the ships of burthen, to guard their and protect the weaker.

Ch.

winds that were at one time calm, at another agiand the dangers vMch King Richard sustained as far as

XXVII.— 0/^^e

tating the sea, Crete,

and from Crete

to

Rhodes.

once began to fall gradually, so that the between fleet was compelled to remain motionless at anchor Calabria and Mount Gibello ; but on the morrow, i. e. the day the of the Lord's Supper, He who withdraws and sends forth the continued which wind a us sent treasuries, his from winds at a fleet the impelling but strong, too whole day, not the on altogether abated it that after but ; moderate speed But on Holy Friday, a contrary wind following night. much, arising, drove it back to the left, and the sea being very while depths, very the from up agitated thereby, boiled

The wind

all at

the waves beat together, and the storm increased ; the roar, vio-, of the dashing waves, and the ships creaking with the from, and terror, small no lence of the wind, struck all with ships, the excessive fury of the latter, all management of the to tossing while them was at an end ; for no pilot could steer and|, hither borne and fro in such a manner. They were ways. thither; their line was broken, and they went difi'erent Lord, the of crews committed themselves to the guidance

The

but as far as human weakness perundei mitted, we determined to bear all things with patience, undethe eye of our Saviour, who on that day had suffered so And as the ships were tossed served a death for our sakes. to to and fro, and dispersed divers ways, men's stomachs began

despairing of earthly aid

feel

a qualm, and were

;

afi'ected

by a

violent nausea

;

and

this

4. D.

1191.]

ACCOUNT OF RHODES.

179

made them almost insensible to tlie dangers it grew by degrees calm, and the winds and waves abated. A favourable wind now

feeling of sickness

around

;

but towards evening,

fury of the springing up, according to our wishes, and the sailors having recovered their strength and confidence, we strove to keep a

King Richard, unmoved amid never ceased to animate those who were dispirited, and bid them take courage, and hope for better fortune ; moreover he had as usual a very large wax-light in a lantern, hoisted aloft in his ship to give light to the rest of the fleet and direct them in their way. He had on board most experienced sailors, who did every thing which human art oould do to oppose the fury of the winds. All, therefore, as far as they could, followed the light burning in the king's ship, rhe king remained stationary some time to collect his fleet, which congregated together by seeing the light, so that the king resembled a hen gathering together her chickens. After that, we started with a favourable wind, and sailed along, ivithout obstacle or injury, on the Saturday of the Passover, IS well as on the day of the festival, and until the followdirect course for our voyage.

this

ing

state of confusion,

Wednesday.

That day we came

in

sight

of Crete,

king put in to repose and collect his fleet. When he ships had come together, twenty-five were found missing, it which the king was much grieved. Among the steep nountains of this island of Crete, is one raised above the )thers, like a lofty summit, which is called the Camel, which iailors acquainted with those seas say is exactly midway )etween Messina in Sicily, and Acre in Palestine. On the iiorrow, being Thursday, the king and all his army entered heir ships when the wind began to rise stronger, and though avourable, was very vehement in impelling us forw^ard, for we iioved rapidly along, with sails swelled out and mast slightly •ent, not unlike the flight of birds. The wind, which slackncd not all night, at dawn of day drove our fleet violently pon the island of Rhodes there was no port, and the surf tretched along the shore ; how^ever, we enjoyed there our rest lie better for having wished for it so earnestly, from that day ntil the following Monday, when we put in at Rhodes, thodes was anciently a very large city, not unlike Rome; liough its extent can scarcely be estimated, there are so many uins of houses and portions of fallen towers still standing, w^here the

;

:

N 2

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

180

I.

[b.

II. C.

28.

of adand such wonderful remains of walls and buildings monasteries few a also are There mirable workmanship. ancient edifices, for the most still remaining out of so many by such numerous inhabited part deserted, though formerly though by time city, a great so The site of societies of monks.

former existence of a large population ; now who could sell but very few inhabitants were found there But as the king was indisposed, we tarried there a us food. the ships that few days, during which he waited the arrival of

laid waste, proves the

the galleys had wandered out of their course and lost us, and that about also He made inquiries which followed him. the detain wont to cruel tyrant, emperor of Cyprus, who was

pilgrims

who put

in at his port.

Rhodes, Ch XXVIII.— 0/ the departure of King Richard fromCyprus, the gulf,

through

and of the arrival of the queen at

fertile spent ten days at Rhodes, which is a very on out set ana productive island, they went on board, and their They were borne on their voyage on the 1st of May. called the (:rult o place, dangerous most course into that There is a mighty strife of currents formed by th( Satalia. together, each dash junction of four seas, struggled violently were on the point o other. the resisting

Having

'in^ ao-ainst

We

and

apprehensive of our safety, a con-

as it, when lo place from whence we ha( trary current carried us back to the which in those part wind, the time, But in a short started. back again mt( behind from us drove is constantly shifting, violence increased its from the gulf with the more danger to guar< could we all did we Feanncr the effects of its fury, wave the over pass and a^^ainst^the dangers of the place, alwayH was ship royal The that boiled and foamed around. lifted his eyes, Ije saw beking the when and advance, in ship of the sort called a busa iieath a calm sky, a very large from Jerusalem. bearing down, which was returning

enlerincr

!

if

ihuza)

speedily sent men to inqmre for inAcre, from those who were telligence concerning the siege of the king of France had already in the ship ; who replied that

The

king, therefore,

diligently employed in arrived at Acre in safety, and was king of England. making machines, until the arrival of the port of Acre on the king of France had put into the

The

applying all his energies Saturday of Easter week, and was He had therefore caused petrariac to tlio taking of the citv.

» A.D.I 191.]

MI-'KORTUNES OP THE HOLY LAND.

181

(0 be erected,

and placed near the tower Maledictum, a.« well other mach.ncs for throwing down the walls, for the king of France lay on the s,de near to that tower. By means of ftlling up and treading the trenches, and bringing machmes and petraria, for casting stones, the wall waS

M

m

1;^

"'" '""« afterwards, the machines w/.t attacked ^H were and burnt to ashes by the exertions of the Turks.

t"/ZV

sailors,

"'"'

the buss passed on

way, and he made all his -•! the wind was Dot fX,

its

^P'",'^ ZTrT'7!"f\ and toiled much to master '

beat about,

t

uncertainty; but the fleet, from the adverse gales, and the rising and famn« -land f C ius though they did not ycome to the land, but "roppeu dropped tiieii their anchors at some distance out at sea. its

T^

tillT' If" f Ch.

XXlX.~Ofae many rnhfortunen which especially through the

With what

expiation do

tefel the Holt/

Land

emperor of Cyprus.

we deem

the

Holy Land

to

have

guilty, that so many adversaries should cour, whereby ass stance

have resisted its sue should have been so long deferred ? ^;''^^ ^'^'^^ ^'' ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^d threw down tneZ k towers "^T one of the by means of his miners and petrarice. '''^

L^iirf

r

i2/c/^flr^,

^^

""

jKiNG RiciiAKD was not yet

fully recovered from his sickanxious for action, and strenuously intent taking the city, he made arrangements that his

88; nevertheless, j'on

men

|Ould assault {nce

the city, in the hope that under Divine Proviho should succeed. For this purpose,

he caused to be put together firmly |ti a complication of interweaving, and made with the most |3tle workmanship. This the king intended to be used crossing over the trench outside the city. Under it he Aced his most experienced arbalesters, and he caused himself |iaea hurdle,

commonly called a

circleia,

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

210

[b.

I.

III. C. 13..

honour the Saracens be carried thither on a silken bed, to and from it, by fight to with his presence, and animate his men many with slew he was skilled, usinff his arbalest, in which he under the mine His sappers also carried a darts and arrows. made a having and directed tower, at which a petraria was tire; on them wood, and set breach they filled it with logs of petraria, blows from the when, by the addition of frequent with a crash. ground the to tower fell suddenly

to

;

;

the

mm

Richard's the Turks vigorously repelled King Richard slew with King how and city, the assaulting who were Alb eric Clements. arbalest one who had on the armour of

Ph XIII

—How

Aw

success was, that Perceiving, therefore, how difficult with, and that contend to he had a most warlike enemy the king attack, the for strength there was need of all his soldiers younger his of thou-ht it best to incite the minds ior orders severe by them by rewards, rather than to urge therefore He on ? whom will not the love of gain draw of two aiirei, reward a proclaim to herald ordered the overthrow should whoever afterwards three, and then four, to frorr displaced for each stone a petraria from the walls and yoi hen I reward of four aurei. the wall, he promised a o soldiers forward, and mi ^'P-'^'0° hearing these """'l ambassadors returned to the city, and, repeatino^promises of Sahadiu, persuaded the to«^'smen to^re "r ^"'^'"'^ "'"^ ''"^'^*y ^"' ""^ P---««J

tTZ": hmgs, the

ssiitanc!^^

"

^^^'~^'""'

''"'"'"' «'^" couragmmly mmuUinn the city, * in despair escaped out of it

Z''!t some of the Turks

Meanwhile,

the

petraria. of the Christians never ceased ay and night, to shake the walls and when the Turks saw ; lis, tliey were smitten with wonder, astonishment, terror nd confusion and many, yielding to

;

lemsolves

down from

the walls

by

night,

their fears, threw and without waitin.i

ascertaining the obstinate determination of the marquis

.messengers tried to prevail

Ihe

upon him with soft speedS" offer! »g to leave one of themselves as an hostage to secure is safe "uriiey to and from King Richard; but Soy did not "cceed persu.a,l,„g lii,„,_„„,y, he i.rf„,ed with an oath to come '":7f«7.^ repulsed the Turks, who attacked them in force: the described.

X

bein* the morrow, therefore, of St. Bartholomew, morning the in early up, drawn was Sunday, the army name of the Lord to advance along the sea-coast, in the might there see You were Oh what fine soldiers they whose equals youth, brave of virtuous and

On

:

!

!

chosen company an> would have been difficult to meet with, bright armour variou of banners pennons, with their glittering emblazonry ; helmets, an forms ; lances, with gleaming points ; shining and tern the camp, an army well regulated in coats of mail and kej van, the King Richard commanded ble to the foe whic standard, the the foremost guard. The Normans defended we It we do not consider it irrelevant here to describe. moi of made formed of a long beam, like the mast of a ship ; with joint together put wheels four on work, ; solid ceiled coul with iron, and to all appearance no sword or axe

i

:

!

bound

A

chosen body of soldiers were gen( cut, or fire injure it. it, especially in a combat on tl guard to rally appointed

should be broken the army wou accident, any by fell it thrown down ; for if are dismays they For confusion. into be dispersed and put must general their that think and when it does not appear, see t not do they when overcome by faint-heartedness tl resist to strength have standard flying ; for no people stai his of fall the from enemy if their chief is in alarm refug but whilst it remains erect they have a certain dard soldiei wounded the Near' it the weak are strengthened ; in the battle, a even those of rank and celebrity, who fall " its standing from Standard," and it is called

plains,

lest,

by any

hostile attack,

it

(

1

;

carried to

it,

It is very properly draT most compact signal to the army. enemy yields, ai on wheels, for it is advanced when the state of t drawn back if they press on, according to the English. and It was surrounded by the Normans battle. brought up tl French the and Burgundy of The duke and long delay incurn rear, and by their tardy movements '

A.D. 1191.]

severe

loss.

THE ARMY MARCHES FROM THE

CITi^.

227

The army marched along the

sea-shore, which and the Turks watched its movements from the heights on the left. On a sudden the clouds grew dark, and the sky was troubled, when the army arrived at some narrow roads impassable for the provision-waggons; here, owing to the narrowness of the way, the order of march was thrown into confusion, and they advanced in extended line, and without discipline. The Saracens, observing this, poured down suddenly on the pack-horses and loaded waggons, slew both horses and men in a moment, and plundered a great deal of the baggage, boldly charging and dispersing those who opposed them as far as the sea-shore. Then there took place a fierce and obstinate conflict each fought for his life. Here a Turk cut ofl* the right hand of Everard, one of the bishop of Salisbury's men, as he held his sword the man, without changing countenance in the least, with his left hand boldly took the sword, and closing with the Turks, who were pressing on him, defended himself courageously from them all. By this time the rear was put into great confusion, and John Fitz-Luke, alarmed at this mishap, put spurs to his horse, and went to tell King Richard, who was ignorant of what had taken place. On

was on

its

right,

:

;

bearing

it,

he rode at

full

gallop to their assistance, cutting

the Turks, right

down

and left, like lightning, with his sword. And juickly, as of yore the Philistines fled from Maccabeus, so were ihe Turks now routed, and so did they fly from the face of FCing Richard, and make for the mountains ; but some of them •emained amongst us, having lost their heads. In that coniict one of the French, William de Bartis, who had been at variance with King Richard from some old grudge, by his JXtraordinary good conduct was reconciled and restored to he king s former favour. The sultan was not far off with he whole strength of his army, but owing to the aforesaid [epulse, the Turks, desi)airing of success, refrained from attackng our men any more, but watched them from the heights. )ur troops, being restored to order, proceeded on their march a far as a river which they by chance met with, and cisterns, he excellence of which being ascertained, they pitched their ants, and rested there on a spacious plain, wIkm-o thov had seen bat Saladin had fixed his camp before, and they jud"-ed that e had a very large army by the extent of the trodden Tound. On the first day there our army hred thus, and by o

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

228

I.

[b. IV. CC. 11-12.

God's providence tliey were warned to be more cautious, after having experienced how much loss they might escape if properly on their guard another time. Ch.

XI.—How

our army arrived at Cayphasfrom the river of Acre.

Saladin and the Turks, always on the watch to do us rugged mounharm, had seized upon some passes between the tbey mtended and proceed to was army our tains, by which ;

we issued forth in an exto kill, had advanced cautiously army our tended line but when march, as far as Cayphas, slow by and from the aforesaid river, seize, or disperse us as ;

the mass of the they pitched their tents there, and waited for between the themselves posted army who were following. They two days, there remained and town of Cayphas and the sea, away threw they and baggage, looking into and arranging their what retammg with,only what they thought theycould dispense

was absolutely necessary,

for the

common

soldiers

marched on

weight of their bagfoot, and were much distressed by the battle they gage and provisions ; so that in the aforesaid suffered much from fatigue and thirst.

they our army kept along the maritime parts, where wild beasts; and how were wounded by the underwood, and met with and reached the passes. they left Cayphas by way of Capernaum,

Ch XII —How

stopping at a Wednesday, which was the third day after leadTemplars the order, Cayphas, the army moved forward in whom of both rear, ing the van, and the Hospitallers closing the That day by their high bearing gave evidence of great valour. and caution, wonted the army moved forward with more than the and stopped after a long march, impeded by the thickets

On

tall

and luxuriant herbage, which struck them

in the

face,

parts there

In these maritime especially the foot-soldiers. of the forest, who leapt up beasts of numbers were also copses, between their feet from the long grass and thick

not by design, but commg m When the king had proceeded as far their way by chance. Saracens had razed to the ground, the as Capernaum, which meanwhile, he dismounted, and took some food, the army,

and many

waiting

;

were

those

caught,

who

chose took food, and immediately after

A.D. 3191.]

OUR PEOPLE STUNG BY THE TARRENTES.

229

proceeded on their march to the house called " of the narrow ways because the road there becomes narrow ; there thev halted arid pitched their tents. It was the custom of the army each night before lying down to rest, to depute some one to stand in the middle of the camp, and cry out with a loud voice. Help help for the holy sepulchre \" The rest of the army took it up, and repeated the words; and stretching their hands to heaven, amid a profusion of tears, prayed fo? !

!

the mercy and assistance of God in the cause. Then the herald himself repeated the words in a loud voice, " Help help for the holy sepulchre !" and every one repeated it after him a second time, and so likewise a third time, with contrition of heart and abundant weeping. For who would not weep at such a moment, when the very mention of its havinobeen done would extract tears from the auditors ? The arm? appeared to be much refreshed by crying out in '

!

this fashion.

Ch.

mil.— How

the tarrentes afflicted our people with their

venomous stings. each night came round, a sort of reptile attacked us, commonly called tarrentes, which creep on the ground, and have most venomous stings. As the day comes on, they are harmless; but on the approach of night, they used their Jtings most pertinaciously, and those they stung were instantly welled with the venom, and tortured with pain. The more loble and wealthy of those who were attacked applied therii«al ointment on the stings, and the antidote proved efficacious ;o remove the pain. At last, the more

As

observant, perceivthat the reptiles were frightened away by loud sounds, •aised a great noise at their approach by beating and clashin^r teir helmets and shields together ; also by beating againsl .heir seats, po es, casks, flagons, basins, platters, caldrons, tnd whatever household ware they could lay hands on to nake a sufficient sound ; and by these sounds they drove away

^g

'he reptiles.

The army remained two days

at the abovemenwhere there was plenty of room for their camp, -nd waited there until the ships arrived which they were xpecting; namely, barges and galleys, laden with provisions, 'f which they were in need; for these vessels were

ioned station

a connection with the )rovisions

on board.

sailinc'

army along

the shore, and carried thei?

230

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

I.

[n. IT.

C.

14.

How our men marched from the house oj the narrow ways Merla, and thence to Ccesarea and the Dead River. The Turks, attacking them, were defeated.

Ch. XIV. to

The

array

advanced,

who kept on

using

all

precaution

against

tlie

a town called Merla, where the king had spent one of the previous nights there he had determined that he would lead the van himself the next day, on account of the obstacles in the way, and because the Templars kept guard in the rear ; for the Turks continually threatened them in a body on the flank. On that day the king, putting spurs to his horse, charged them furiously, and would have reaped great glory, had it not been for the backwardness of some, which retarded his success ; for, when King E-ichard pursued the Turks to a distance, some of his meu suddenly halted, for which they were rebuked in the evening. If the king's companions had followed up their pursuit of the Turks, they would have gained a splendid victory; for the kino The army had a very difficult marcli drove all before him. along the sea-shore on account of the great heat ; for it wa$ summer time, and they marched a long day's journey. Man) of them, overcome by the fatigue of the march, dropped dowr dead, and were buried where they died ; but the king, fron compassion, caused many to be transported in galleys anc ships, when they were overcome by the fatigue of the marcl Turks,

their flank,

to

:

or sickness, or

any other

cause,

to

their destination.

Th(

army, after accomplishing its march with much difficulty arrived that day at Caisarea. The Turks had been then before them, and broken down part of the towers and walls and destroyed the city as much as possible ; but on th approach of our army they fled. There the army pitche( their tents, and passed the night by the side of a river clos

to the city, called the river of Crocodiles, because the crocodile

once devoured two soldiers while bathin« Christians 'werli; '"\°rrK"'Tooooo/' 00 000 strong. The Christian army arrived at the river 1 oche adie on the Thursday before"^ the Nativity of the

Virgm Mary, and

blessed

vo.e,

,0 attach

tarried there until the

L [.IttiZSl iC ^m""'''

n

'^

viryn Mary, at earliest yZn%^Ttl'Jy"

*'

mo^ow! """"

*^ "''

Nativity of the blessed

dawn, our men armed themselves w,th great care to receive the Turks, who were known to have preceded the.r march, and whose insolence noth.rbul a battle could check. The enemy had ranged themselves ,"n «'"''"""y °r^ a^BO took the utmost care to place themselves in as good order as possible. King Richard, who was most experienced

Zt\

military

,n

affairs,

arranged the army

and directed who should march

in squadro.'s

iX

and ^ho rear' He divided he army into twelve comp;nies, and hese a4in into five divisions, marshalled according as the men ranked n m.htary discipine; and none could be found m re warlike ^ they had only had confidence in God, who is the siver of all

»nt

,L ad

"'^' ''^'

'.''^

and":fter''t? •'

*!.'

the?

I

^"'

r

"'^ed ''"'

i

"apple

'^^™P'-^ formef trfiil'

Kmg Guy,

T*' I'ne

vidlrl

in front,

!f

"'mained immovable, compelled to repel force by force and the >nflict grew thicker, the blows were redoubled, and the battle ged fiercer than before: the one side labour;d to crush, tie 7-^-1 .^1-- strength, and although ou. en n were by far the fewest m numbers, they made havoc o^' eat multitudes of the enemy; and that* portion of (ho

woVT; ^t

R

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

242

I.

19.

[^B. IT. C.

return to the wliich thus toiled in the battle could not mass which immense the of account standard with ease, on

army

m

they began hemmed pressed upon them so severely for thus attack ot the renew to dared few to flag in courage, and but assault, the in furious were In truth, the Turks the enemy. in forth poured blood whose and greatly distressed our men, and reel them perceiving On a stream beneath their blows. renowned knight, breaking a Barris, de William way, ffive his men ; and such through the ranks, charged the Turks with the edge of his by fell was the vio-our of the onset that some by rapid flight. sword, wlnle others only saved themselves Cyprian steed,f For all that, the king, mounted on a bay direction of the not its match, bounded forward in ;

|

which had

|

met on all sides; for thel the mountains, and scattered those he while helmets enemy fled from his sword and gave way, forth from its strokes, bo tottered beneath it, and sparks flew many and deadly his great was the fury of his onset, and so Turks, that in a short blows, that day, in his conflict with the scattered, and allowed our space of time the enemy were all somearmy to proceed; and thus our men, having sufl'ered in proceeded and standard, the to what, at last returned tents their pitched they there and Arsur, their march as far as engaged, a large body outside its walls. While they were thus extreme rear of our the on of the Turks made an attack King Richard, assailants, the of army. On hearing the noise with only speed, full at rushed encouraging his men to battle, a loud with out, crying against the Turks, fifteen

companions,

voice, "

Aid

us,

God and !

the

Holy Sepulchre

!

and

this

time; and when our he exclaimed a second and a third attacked,i men heard it, they made haste to follow him, and as far as them pursuing routed, and put them to flight ;

4rsur

whence they had

first

come out, cutting them down the Turks fell there also. The

and subduing them. Many of the fugitives, to king returned thence, from the slaughter of the fatigues and exerhis camp; and the men, overcome with W^hoever wa.' night. 'the day, rested quietly that tions of

returned tc greedy of gain, and wished to plunder the booty, his heart's desire and the place of battle, and loaded himself to that they had counter those who returned from thence reported slain on that day thirty-two Turkish chiefs who were found and power, influence great of men be to and whom they supposed ;

A.D.

1191.]

JAMES d'aVENNES

from the splendour of

IS

SLAIN.

243

armour and the costliness of their searcli for them to carry them iway, as beinse your person and all .hristondom to certain danger, whilst we have the power i escaping." The king changed colour with indignation at hese words. "AVhat !" said he, -if I neglect to aid my men ''Horn 1 sent forward with a promise to follow them, I shall it

ever again deserve to be called a kinir." "t spurring his horse, dashed into the

He said no more middle of the Turks'

verthrowing them on both sides of him, and brandishincr his

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

252

I.

|^B. lY. C.

31.

sword, carved Lis way to and fro among the thickest ranks, Amongst slaying and maiming every one he came near. whom Aralchais, named others, he slew a Turkish admiral, put to were enemy tlie In short, chance threw in his way. several with the sword or took to flight, and our men returned This success was gained without any prisoners to the camp. The same day three Turks, from fear help from the French. of death perhaps, renounced their superstitions,

Christianity, submitted to

Ch.

and embracing

King Richard.

Saladin amused King Richard by false promises, and thereby gained time to destroy certain fortresses.

XXXI.— J^ow

The two

castles before

mentioned were now partly

re-

stored, and King Richard, perceiving that his troops not only hated the Turks, but had less fear of them than before, because they had always, with God's help, defeated them, even when superior in numbers, now sent a distinguished embassy to Saladin and Saphadin his brother, to demand the surrender of the kingdom of Syria, with all that belonged to it, such as

He demanded also the leprous king had last possessed it. tribute from Babylon, as the kings, his predecessors, had the privileges and dues which had at any time before belonged to the kingdom of Jerusalem. The ambassadors unfolded their message before Saladin, who would not, however, acquiesce in the demand. " Your king,"|

received

it,

together with

all

"makes an unreasonable claim, and we cannot, with regard to the honour of Paganism, consent to it but I will offer to your king, through my brother Saphadin, to give up to' him the whole land of Jerusalem, from Jordan to the ?ea, without tribute or hiuderance, on condition that the city of Ascalon shall never be rebuilt, either by the Christians or the Saracens. When Saphadin came with this message to the king, Richard, who had just been bled, would not converse with him on that

said he,

;

day ; but Stephen de Torneham, by the king's order, supplied him with every kind of delicacy for his table, and entertainec him in the valley between the castles of the Temple and o the next day Saphadin sent a present of sevei Jehoshaphat. camels and a rich tent, and coming into the king's presence delivered Saladin s message upon which Richard, considerinthe disturbances and uncertainties of war, determined to hav< patience for a time, that he might the better make provi ;

A.D. 11,91.]

SALADIN DESTROYS CERTAIN FORTRESSES.

sion for the future

:

but, alas

!

he shewed too

253

prudence

little

not foreseeing the deceit with which they sought to protract the time until the cities, castles, and fortresses of that country were destroyed. In short, Saphadin so cunningly beguiled tlie too credulous king, that one in

they

would have thought

had

contracted a mutual familiarity; for the king received Saphadin's gifts, and messengers were daily passing With presents to the king, much to the friends,

who blamed him

annoyance of his for contracting friendship with the

Gentiles. But Saphadin pleaded that he wished to make peace between them, and the king thought he was adopting a wise policy, by which the bounds of Christianity would be enlarged, and a creditable peace concluded, particularly since the departure of the French king, from whom he feared treachery, for he had always found his friendship hollow and deceitful. When, however, the king discovered that the promises ot baphadin were mere words, and likely to produce no result particularly in the matter of Fort Erach of Mount Koyal of which, according to the understood conditions, the king demanded the demolition, but the Turks would not consent to it, he at once broke off the negotiations. This failure of the treaty becoming known, the enemy were soon again to be seen on our flanks, and King Richard was a-ain in the field to meet them; and by way of wiping out the former charges which had been made against him, he brou-ht every day numbers of Turkish heads, to prove that his z'eal had not slackened in the cause of Christianity. The difficulties

thrown arisen

in his way, and accusations made against him, had from those who sought to obtain his money;

rare to find persons not actuated

it

is

'

the desire of gain.

mm

^^^ «»moyanee w/iich our experienced from the whilst they encamped between St. GeorZ in the town of Ramula itself.

^^^^^'^V'.T^'^ rains and the enemy, Ramula, and

for

by

^ md

When

the two forts were repaired and garrisoned, Richard army towards Ramula; which caused Saladin to order Ramula to be dismantled, because he did not dare meet the king in the field. He then withdrew with his troops towards Daruni, because he had most confidence in the moun^inous distri^cts. Our troops then encamped between St

moved

his

George and Ramula, where they remained twenty-two days

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

254

I.

\ji.

IV. C. 33.

There also we enwaiting for reinforcements and provisions. heavy rains drove the and enemy, the from dured severe attacks into St. George remove to people our and the king of Jerusalem the Castle of to went Paul St. of and Ramula the count however in not weeks, seven Ramula in stopped the Baths. afterwards was it though beginning, ease, for we had a rough iurks The termination. pleasant made amends for by a more attacked continually but repose, would not allow us the least On the eve of St. Thomas the Apostle, us with their javelins. towards a King Richard had sallied forth with a small retinue Turks, the against enterprise fort called Whitecastle, on some thought is as inspiration but foreboding something wrong, by same hour he was from heaven, he returned to the camp. The of three hunbody a told that Saladin had a little before sent Richard was where dred of his choicest troops to Whitecastle, whither Acre, to day also King Guy went :

We

The same

ffoing.

Stephen de Torneham. he was followed the next day by Innocents, the HosIn the middle of the night of the Holy and returned in the pitallers and Templars left the camp, had driven oil morning with two hundred oxen, which they from the mountains near Jerusalem.

Leicester glorious victory gained by the earl of assistance. his to came last at men our against the Turks, when

Ch XXXIII —Of the '

followed by a few noble earl of Leicester, one day, body of Turks large off a drive only, endeavoured to

The

men who were

boasting, passing by with much arrogance and by three followed were and The enemy fled with precipitation, act oj this by train: earl's of the swiftest knights in the lurks, the of power imprudence they placed themselves in the

who turned back and made them

prisoners.

The

earl, seeing

rode into the midst of more than i this, spurred his horse and His men following hundred Turks, to rescue the knights. when a fresh lorn him, pursued the enemy over a river, cavalry charged them witl of about five hundred Turkish

retreat of the ear bows and lances of reed, and cutting off the Already prisoner. and his small party, essayed to make him severely beaten wit was Garin Fitz-Gerald dismounted and place. Drogo de FonteJ the iron maces. A fierce struggle took the lurk and Robert Nigel were unhorsed, and

niUe Putrell that at last they strucl niade such exertions to seize the earl

|a.D.

11910

VICTORY OP THE EAKL OP LEICESTER.

255

him also from his liorsc, and almost drowned Iiim in the But the earl defended himself bravely, and dealt his

river

blows

Z

\y ^'"'y Fitz-Nicholas and the \ de >fewbury, "T"'^'^whose brave Robert generosity has gained for h.m .mmorta renown ; for, seeing the earl hard pressed, in the midst of h,s enemies, and engaged in a doubtful contert he gave his own horse to the earl, whose safety he deemed more important than his own. Few I fear lill be ™ed ,by his example to do the like, though evil deeds have nn labundanee o imitators. In this mann« Robert by his noble deed s.aved the earl s life and did not lose his own^^ Be.id 3 7'^ "Vr"" "'" ^^^' *^™°' Kalph of St. Mary-s aTi Arnald dii Bois Henry de Mailoe, Willi'am and Sau/de Bruil bu what were they among so many? However ""^-^f^^ bravely; but the vaTour of sTfew it •ouhl hi do d little rm against sueli numbers, and as fresh Turks con Imually eame up, they were unable to light any more but .olding by the neeks of their horses, bore tnmovfd Tlie blows hieh fell upon them. Thus, as if lost to feeling, they were d off prisoners towards Damn.. But how good^^ it to tru't ,. the Lord, who does not suffer any one to be tempted 'hat lie ean bear! Our army bad heard of the skirmish ' nd, seizing their arms, were already on the spot tl, y a nquish, and rout the Turks. Andrew de ChamgufHen^ Gray, Peter de Pratelles, and other 1^ brave men kill eLY 13 man, the first that came in their way The Tnl ? ieterde Pratelles and his eompLioT'eneou el w^ "^ Kwerful hat they could not take

TrZ'Tl

^

r

I

beZd



him prisoner and had uch trouble to vanquish and slay him Andrew r[e ran an admiral through tlieL,Iy witt hltuee ^0 tdTe' i, never to lead his men to battle more ; but, ere he'fell had i=rced Andrew's arm with his lance of cane The

ru

TmlT

T

'» '''•" •''"'' "^"t ^"«', T^""^ n,andf'r the infidels turned their rage

;ies



.against the Christians.

'?

%X^

So/by .^ iacked the

Thev

-- afl

over wUh and their stee Tinn. would even nni it

"" -v-inot^er'iJjinfo^UTon

F

?;::

'"^"^ ""'"'y ""^ «"'•' "-"IS at one time enemy, at another assailing them in '

••

turn

8

7

unnecessary

Two horses were slain under he truly said of him, that so small a man

bim and

i*

never pe;.

ITINEJIAIIY OF

256

RICHARD

[b. IV.

I.

C.

o4.

of the best soldiers formed such brave deeds. So many him, that not one of them wasi sallied from tlie camp to assist Turks and pursued them, until, slain but they repulsed the returned quietly to the fati-ued with their exertions, they camp. •

which our soldiers experimcedfrom the enemy as they marched by BetenoUe towards

Ch XXXIV.- Of the annoyances ratnand

the attacks of the

Jerusalem.

known to Saladin that oui In the mean time it became Jerusalem, .fxl.'^f^^'y men were preparing to attack '^^l safe to figh witl it thmkmg not miles distant from him but, ;

am

to destroy Darum its the Christians, he gave orders The Turks, also Jerusalem towers, and retreated himself to li mountains, the to and withdrew in o-eneral left the plains o voice by commanded consequence of this, our men were

walls

foot of the mountains, and, whe herald to move towards the were completed, they marched towards all the arrangements Then the luin and hail began to bea castle called Betenoble. their beasts of burthen t upon onr men, and killed many of pegs of the tent violent that it tore up the

storm was so

their biscuit and baco, drowned the horses, and spoiled all were so rusted, that tl The armour and coats of mail, also, to restore them to their form, greatest labour was necessary dissolved by the wet, and t brightness: their clothes were unwonted seventy of t themselves suffered from the

met

consdatK these sufferings, their only service of God, and a desire arose from their zeal in the To this end each contributed 1 finish their pilgrimage. and they came together wi share of provisions for the siege, Even those who were s pilgrimage.

climate.

Under

„y prepared

for

all

any

- S-^' ^^^^ tl'e™> of number A large f' »:/* wish to see Jernsalem. and this w *«>">>, Lords our see to desire a by influenced nVed

at Joppa,

were carried

their only

hope under

LJm

killed both

in litters,

their great

sufferings.

EnUhe

Turl

m

wait^ of the sick lay paving no regard to these convoys h on looking ''^arers them and their

and

as enemies alike. martyrs, and there

all

But. surely these arc

all to "^^

"'-

for them, that thou is this consolation I intentions, yet they suffeied the Turks slew them with evil service. long reward of a A moment, and gained the

U

J

A.D. 11

THE MARCH TO JERUSALEM.

92.

257

XXXY.—How

Ch.

the army prepare with joy to march on Jerusalem, neglecting the advice of the Templars and other wise men who dissuaded

them.

The army now

rejoiced that they should soon set eyes our Lord's sepulchre ; and all began to brighten up their irmour, their helmets and their swords, that there might not be I single spot to spoil their brightness. In short, all were most jager for the enterprise, and boasted that not all the power or issaults of the hostile Saracens should prevent them from Lccomplishing their plighted vow. But the wiser ones did lot acquiesce in these views ; for the Templars, Hospitallers, md Pisans, who had sharper eyes on the future condition of hat land, dissuaded King Richard from marching at present Jerusalem, lest, whilst they were besieging Saladin and the rarrison of that city, the Turkish army, which was without :mong the mountains, might attack our men by surprise, and

m

place them between the attacks of the garrison from within,

Turkish army from without and even if they should city, it would be necessary to garrison it with some of bravest troops, which could hardly be done, in conse-

,nd the

:

ake the heir

uence of the people's eagerness to complete their pilgrimage nd return each to his own home, for they were now all tired ut with the privations and disturbances which they had iiffered. For these reasons, they advised that the siei^e hould be delayed, and the army be kept together, because leir vow would not have been accomplished; for if they could nee fut

fulfil their pledge, the army would at once be dissolved, the advice of the Templars was not listened to.

^C^U^Dr^^'f^ ^'"^ "^'^""' IZaldfjZaZ':'

^^c/^artZ,

It was 1

iap-year, iird

eir

now

the beginning of a

and having

D

concealing his troops near the ''' ^^^'^ ^^ '^' --^^

'"^ ''^

for its

new year, a. d. 1192, beinI Ld

111

I

..lil^e

7i™ pm^

hares before the h:u:ds, all'^erl^: 1 "on, while the caravan stood at the mercy of the

ITINERARY OP RICHARD

gOg ,„ers

who

slew

tliey

all

met

witli;

]ji- ^I- C- 4.

I.

so that the

enemy lay

I

Those who were thrown rom sand. dead in heaps upon the by their knights, were put to death their horses by our with their saddle. Theie might be seen horses soXes miserably destroyed and ^round the conquered were

"d r ting s men

the utmost

fought

nV-

spirit, like

The

^^f

men accustomed

^

'

iiie hin. ^'""l';^ to battle,

roya bearing siirwas"cu'o„s Ibove all the rest by anc was mounted on a tall charger, rjassin- all of them: he fron way gave lance ashen the enemy sin-ly ; his in pieces ; but drawing shivered w^as his?epea ed bTow^aud t^h. brandishing it, he P-'^^^^'i "Pon h s sword instantl}, and ind the away 1 down, sweeping fulitTves and mowed them thus 1^ thundered ; foremost subduing the up with ; no kind ot armou and hewing every one he came cut open the edge of his sword ^ould rl is? his blows, for thus teeth heads from the top to the pur.ut as a wolt, when lie Turks, he scared away the routed scattering t While the king was thus the flyfng sh^eep. mou. with all their speed over the fugitives who were flying persevei^ of escape from his sou e tains, aS somlofthemdespLing asu ' , > with the foremost, turned his

IZrh

Sa^

:

-^^"^^^XZt^,

up

deserted

cam

anlTetu'rned to our nearly !;:::f till the kin, against the guards hopinV to effect something in sigl was he when failed them absenfe for their courage w -einy of «death the life or :'d not without reo,sou,^^for tug

ta'

ahvavs

in his

m

hands.

thirty, therefore, of the route, a our men by a circuitous

About

tw^s^came round upon

Roger de Toony who- h^.e were near captmuig himseii, VnipJ under him and tliey hands by one of -00.;-^^^^^^^^^^^ te was rtcued fr'om their horse was also thrown from his of Miine who however r.scui foot, and succeeded ,„ EoJeT'outly defended him on came UP> »^

and

^^ "4

t^.e

and

that whoever wished to serVe ; in py, should come forthwith to Jerusalem. So lar^e a auniber flocked thither in consequence, that the cava Irv^wn's 1.3

;^ir]-;r"The^,r;:t^!^,,S.^Str:ls ought

he best line of policy was to send to Sa .hadin a juncture, .and agree to the truce, which had been befo e of ored between him an,l .Sal.adin, in the plains of lianiuKLi «tam period, in or.ler that he might -^ hive time h

to

'Z^,

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

812 his

own

country.

But

Saladin, wlio

I.

knew

[[b. VI. CC.

well

tlie

12, 13.

condition

of our army, and that it was daily growing weaker and weaker, absolutely refused, unless Ascalon was razed to the ground.

answer, was not at all discomposed; nay, he gave immediate orders to the Templars, Hospitallers, and others, to the number of three hundred, to mount their horses and proceed to the destruction of Fort Darum ;

The

king, learning Saladin

s

guards to watch over and fortify Ascalon as They hastened to obey the king's orstrongly as possible. The army then ders, and levelled Darum with the ground. returned in dejected mood as far as Joppa, and thence the king and the rest proceeded in all haste to Acre, but many remained from ill health and weakness at Joppa. Thus the army returned to Acre, broken up, with a heavy heart, for God did not as yet judge them worthy of the higher bounties

and he

set

of his grace.

Ch. XII.

— Of the great army with which Saladin came

to

Joppa.

When Saladin heard that the men of Joppa were withoul the presence of King Richard to protect them, he ordered hij army should proceed thither, in the hope that he would easily He therefore led ai take the city during the king's absence. immense army having 20,000 horse in that direction ; and h< had with him the powerful admiral of Bala, and the son o Arcisus, together with about one hundred and six admirals and an immense multitude of infantry from the mountains The armj covered the face of the earth like locusts. Ramule of plains the into descended Jerusalem, leaving by th impelled if as squadrons and troops in rushing on Christians. the of furies to the utter destruction

who

assaulted Joppa so vigorously, that he woui have taken it, if the townsmen had not asked for a cessation of am until the next day.

Ch. XIII.— fl"0M; Saladin

the same Sunday, next preceding the feast of St. Pew I'incula, being the same day on which King Richai

On

ad came with

his

army

to Acre,

On

troops to assault Joppa.

Saladin the

advanced with h

Monday

following the

but the citizens issuing forth in the suburbs, resisted them the whole day, and prevented the from approaching the town. Tuesday and Wednesday al

began

to attack the castle

;

A.D. 1192.]

SALADIN ASSAULTS JOPPA.

"'"•"'^•' *' *'" Thursday baffled by so few n.ado a

rrirT^^"'V''"'Vr''^'' tl,e lurks, ashamed of being tliat

grea

exert.on

ncitca

any one

3I3

and formed the

siege at once. By the eom mand of Saladm four powerful petraria, were eri ed and" wo mangonels of great efficiency for casting missiles The

townspeople,

'he

to tears to

have seen the distracted stite of offered the bravest resistance thbul

who

i2ncTor;h:"''ct^'' tI'' ^'ithoMt ithout

.e

L

nterm,ss,on

?"

;

'^

"'""^^'^

P""'''"*'

though the

""""^

latter

Frd l^f,' 'f'^'"S *'"; /-'l--t.^«t™kes w.lf o^^l^y

e

mangonels played instruments were

'^^*' ^y *« exertLIof Turk^tr TT't"^-to ^* ' Jerusalem

the e

-- "-- '« "le

'TV"^' V'

T^

bwidtl

was broken open petrari.-e, fnd '^'''''''^^ ^bout'two

of their

T

"' 7',*''^" ^'""'' ^^'"'•'*' ''"^ b^" 'ed re! e„ea res ited sted the e entrance of the Turks, who at length wever, became so reinforced by numbers that tie Chris' ns

were dnven back, and followed even as fa

ade of

tl«, fortress.

as

What

the"

a terrific slaught:r tLn took ace. The Turks put to death without mercy all those n. they found the houses sick and lying inVet beds me our people tied down to the seashore and escaped

m

hoals'.rf"trP'r'^'^?^^^"y ''""S' -e oravi provoke certain death. to attempt up y sharpen case hereforTand let the urgency of the gloriou or nob conquer y, brave men should either valour should receive wi we which boon is a Martyrdom to

:

dL

flee is

to

-

A.D. 1192.]

Willing

mind: but before we

our

|be_en

MARVELLOrs BRAVKRY OP THE KING.

ot to die

die,

martyrs.

let

323

u., wl,il..t still

alivclo

This will be the end of onr

iKs^i^,r.^.;^-th:~ :.nd

re,nained

-plied

i^-^^^IIr'^Thar f

them 'with alhole

in'r :;-,!

riv^n baei.

mtiL "1X^1?"

'

T:^rmerii;:iTthi:i''

ere elose up, they turned their hofses

.^;ivn';th;:%rt' t';"'^^^ ..,i.Mfe f the^el^^u :el7

'e

ng now looking about lu^m en from n's horse, and

s^^

f

7

offl' antrer d on .;:;etct

»

^-

fci^hf

aW

'

oWetrf

,

figh'ting

''^

tt:

hldrof'T,"

'hat

a te' ibie

:rks

advanced

0-1

armv

I

"

r ^ll^

r™

"P'^^^'' ''™ ""it

aZted^^.

melee the kimi- saw

TVilnl, ,)„ »i

i~

'^ ''-" "^^^

exertion ;"eSn

fo to

"^

of



T'f destroy

"'Kkt i

?^

^1^"

bmvelyon foot ™^'^'* * "'- --e,"snathe.t

'ombT^'

vpvpri

^"f;,-

'"'

"^

our

of

,

nent'^releLedtimtlTir"! 1 '"T '" ^'P^^'^' '" ''""i«-?>'d restored him anny; for the kinr» to was'^;ve;;w ;« '" "'« '-«'e, °thTVi;"-L^-^"'

-er

,

the ^attacks of tL^

xt^^r^^d '1^ hZ-'^T^

ITINERARY OP RICHARD

324

[8. VI.

I.

22.

C.

gallant, there was no one however bravely did he fight, that ,,rethe h,m and deservedly yield to tha worid not readily deeds gallant On that day he performed the mostnumbers with emtence Turks, and slew n he furious army of the were lightning; some of like S^ word which shone others whilst to their teeth, clovirintwo from their helmet whieh were lopped members, other tet thrir heads, arms, and with While the king was thus labourmg nff »t a 'inde b ow. towards a Turk advaneed

tW

iifcredtb

txertions in the fight,

tr mounted on a foaming

had been sent by Saladin, a libera and muni-

He

steed.

to of Archadia, brother Thi. rejected the Christian faith. not had f he ficert man well-known h.s ot token king as a mail now snt to the horses, reqnesuig him a character, two

sLnharn

-^e

Courlble

mi and make nse of them, and nestlv to accept them, remenUie to battle, out of that returLd Bafe and sound he pleased. T it in any manner recompense the sift and nobl; afterwards received the present, and i

kinir

readily

Such

recompensed^ the giver. since a Turk enemy; in n an enen y ,

is

who

bravery, cognisable eve, was our bitter foe, thu

The km" distinguished valour. he woul of need, protested that

ly a such ! nlient good from any cm any number of horses equally taken live Saphadin, so '^^ even more a ^foe than "^^^ff^y /f wbe Fierce now raged the fight, 1 •™ „t Hwt moment. whole earth was covei. "ucCumb* attXl so few: the unbelievers they thre ; arrows of the wit the iavelins and many we> whom of men, our ai a time against evfrllat o them several

rci

f

r

2m withdrew befol anftH: gllley-men r:^hrought anxiety them, and

^^^^^^ ^^,j ,^^^^^^_.

so

which

in

their

for Thefsacrififed their cha™..r

trocrprst^tM^oii::?^

^ilh^TnZ ^'^j

^im^

'

«:?

noWy

Ltt'RS rout

in

spite

to

be

^

Jeanwhde^

f/^, p asked if he might have until the next day to con what he should ask. Which being granted,^ he then

ITINERARY OF RICHARD

336

I.

[b. VI.

C.

35J

requested, that, whereas divine service was but half performed before at our Lord's tomb, which he had just visited, might be allowec in the barbarous way of the Syrians, it two deacous for the future, that two Latin priests with the faithful, shoulc to be maintained by the offerings of divine service in conjunction with the Syrians

perform and an equal number at Bethlehem, and also at Nazare1i||j believed This petition was one of great importance, and as we

The sultan assented to the request ; an. agreeable to God. places, to the bishop instituted two priests in the aforesaid wheii service a God to rendering getber with two deacons, obtained pilgrims the this, After there had been none before. to Acre. the sultan's license, and returned from Jerusalem Ch XXXY.—How sail/or their on the way.

The

own

the pilgrims, having fulfilled their pilgrimage,^ country, but suffered many shipwrecks and hardsh

people had

they had devoted return home, they mitted themselves and the ships were

the pilgrimage to whk themselves, and preparing their fleetj spread their sails to the winds, and coil The fleet speedily set sa, to their ships. wafted in different directions, according

now completed

For a long time they were toss, the variety of the winds. of them reached different po^ some and about on the waves, about, and in danger of bd^ driven others were in safety on their voyage, and foui died shipwrecked ; others, again, ocean ; others also W€ the of their grave in the depths recovered or retura never and incurable diseases, ;

seized with to

their

own

country.

Others, moreover,

who endured

their fathers, brotbe safety to the end, through the loss of of disease or by t relations, and friends, who had perished species of sword, are believed to have endured a severe as witt breasts and diverse passions pierced their

m

tyrdom, endured Each, in his own way, we must admit it, sword. those, who w^ kind of martyrdom every one, in short, of themselves tor simple and devout hearts had exposed J Some, howeV love of God to this distant pilgrimage. afterwards with loquacious garrulity, were accustomed in the Jand good little done had pil"P and confldence

the great saint and thfgreat rtich St. Louis honoured th. , if I may be allowed th.

r

I "'^ J T '°"'""'=

""« '"'^ate fami" "hich he had admitted him, curious "f.';'^"'"' 1 history, TrcLrtheTsf'Kr^"''; '"'""'sh improper for a .'"^'"""i'"'. ^ta

"i" -ot

sZia^f h"'endeavourmg "T '^

s fo

a ;„

rr~FiF~^^^^^ »t of h

suffer

"""".^ "• '^"^

e udti'on

^.ttrihutedt'The

He""'!"- '?'

lord'

dT J

to

""^V'"">'

Sle't

«h^posterior to him, who has forged'

make

"' "''

S:

them to

f™" ««'

the history of

'''^'"

""^

'''

f»r

^^f' .fsVpte"

w^'^^rjf

VtZT^,

see

hands

JOINVILLE'S HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS. DEDICATION. most potent prince, Louis son the most noble, most excellent, and and holy memory, hy thegr, renowned most the King St. Louis, of

To

and Count Palatine of Cha of God King of France and Navarre, Seneschal of Champag Joinville, Lord of paane and Brie, John him u that, at his prayer, Jesus may anoint sends health, wishing holy love.

know, most noble and potent lord, that m may God pardon, froi most excellent lady, your mother, whose soul oyi with how much lo knowing her from and me, bore she great affection Louis, St. kmg, deceased the and love I had served and attended earnestly entreated me, thai spouse, in several countries, had most write a small book or treatise of honour to God, I would collect and King bt. Louis. It above-mentioned the of sayings holy actions and my power and beci of best the to very humbly promised her to execute his eldest son and heir, are lord, potent and excellent YOU, my most of our late lord and king, have succeeded to the crown and kingdom any one living to who knowing not you, to book Louis, I send this all others who may and you that can more properly belong, in order and deeds w examples the imitating profit by may it, or hear it read, worshipped be Creator and our Father it contains, and may God

May

it

please

you

to

J

;

honoured by

it.

— JOINVILLE'S PREFACE.

sovereign Trinity, the Fa In the name of the most holy and most high steward of C, Joinville of lord Son, and Holy Ghost, I, John into a book, the life and formed be to cause and indite pand 2.3; Synodo Meld. ca,,. 14, and in the charter of the tion ot the abbey of ^Valcourt, in the diocese of Nnraur, Kit

ot

m

.. ^tJ

'^y^; ..;.rV" cnt. Ciron. lib. 1 (

published ^^--• ^'^ ^^^^«' ^^ this^ubject, ^'X^u ^'T^^Observat. ; Jur. Canon, cap. 13.

joinville's memoirs of saint louis ix.

352

loyally, tlian

that thou shouldst rule

[pt

them wickedly and

re

proachfuUy." The holy king loved truth so much, that even to th Saracens and infidels, although they were his enemies, h would never lie, nor break his word in any thing he ha promised them, as shall be noticed hereafter. With regar for I never in m to his food, he was extremely temperate ; any delicacies i for wish a express whole life heard him but he sat an men; rich eating or drinking, like too many him. before || took patiently whatever was set

In his conversation he was remarkably chaste ; for I nevf heard him, at any time, utter an indecent word, nor mat very coir use of the devil's name, which, however, is now is believe monly uttered by every one, by which I firmly displeasin highly far from being agreeable to God, that it is t

to him.

his wine with water by measure, according He once askt it, and what it would bear. of the strength with m water mix not did I why Cyprus, nie, when at

He mixed

1

what the physicians and surgeons k cold stomach, whid told me, that I had a large head and a that they k replied, king good the would not bear it. But that if I d for water; add to deceived me, and advised me it in t! attempt to was and not learn to do so when young, which I mig^ disorders, other decline of life, the gout and perhaps, or, increase have in ray stomach, would greatly I answered

wine.

1

;

frequently i, drinking pure wine in my old age, I should thing for beastly toxicate myself; and that it was a honourable man to make himself drunk. -p if good lord the king asked me at another time, afterward should wish to be honoured in this world, and should wish gain paradise to which I answered, that I knowing " were so. " Then," replied he, be careful never it becoi should that disgraceful, thing do or say any s

.

My

;

to

you may not have to blush, and be ashamed to sa} manner have done this, or I have said that." In like

public,

whate^ never to give the lie, or contradict rudely sinful be should it unless might be said in my presence,

told

me

disgraceful to suffer

coarse

replies

it,

for oftentimes

and harsh words,

that

contradiction cau,

bring

on

quarn

KEI.IM.J

ON POMP ^'"°'''''®'^'

ll'duiiX'''

I.\

BRKS.

353

*""' "'' ""« ""sane of the deaths of

lie also aid, that every one should dress

and equip himaccordrng to h,s rank in life, and his fortune, ii order lat the prudent and elders of this world may not reproach n., by saymg such a one has done too much, and that the outh may not remark, that such a one has done too little Hi dishonours h,s station in society. On this subject I .Member once the good lord king, father to the king now on ic throne, speabng of the pomp of dress, and the emo.dered coats of arms that are now daily common in the m.es I sa.d to the present king, that when I was in he oly |Jf

Land wth

.:;le

'""

l„s father,

enibroidercd

'^*''"'''

f that!

...vered

and

"' °^

he "u^!"^ had done wrong ,

.

army, I never saw one

in his

coat or ornamented in

saddle

the pos-

in

^°y «'ter

lord.

He

embroidering his arms

; he had some coats that had cost him eight hundred H s,an hvres I rephed, that he would have acted better if lad given hem charity, and

th.it

.1

m

had his dress made of /"^"«"'^"«n It

30

succour "^you in vour -^

The learned man, on hearing these words, threw himself his knees before the bishop, and felt his mind much ease,

and was well contented with the bishop

s

comfortable

idvice.

The holy king

related to me* that the Albigeois once came the count de Montfort, who was guarding that country for he king, and desired he would come and see the body of our

.0

which had become flesh and blood in the hands of he officiating priest, to their very great astonishment. But he count replied, "Ye who have doubts respecting the iith may go thither but, with regard to me, I implicitly ; eheve every thing respecting the holy sacrament, according the^ doctrines of our holy mother )_ church. In return fo? lis faith, I hope to receive a crown greater than the angels ho see the Divinity face to face, which must javiour,

rm

make them

in their belief."

At another

time, the holy king told me, that during a great monastery of Clugny, between the monks

;sputation at the

Jews, an ancient knight happened to be present, who quested the abbot of the monastery to allow him to say a w words, which with difficulty was granted him. The d knight, raising himself on his crutches, desired the most irned clerk and the first rabbi of the Jews to come near m, which being done, the knight put the following question the rabbi " Do you believe in the Virgin JMary, who re our Saviour Jesus Christ in her womb, and then in r arms, and that she was a virgin when id

:

w

delivered,

the

mother of God

?

"

The Jew this. The

and

is

replied, that

he did not heve one word of all knight said, " Very ipidly hast thou answered, and foolhardy art thou, when believing all I have asked, thou hast entered the monasy and house of God, for which truly thou shalt now pay ;" 1 lifting up his crutch, he smote tiie Jew such a blow on ear as felled him to the ground. The other Jews, seeing ir rabbi wounded, fled away, and thus ended the disputa1 between the monks and the Jews. The abbot advanced to the knight, and said, "Sir knight, Giovanni Villani, 1. 6, ch. 7, attributes this history to and not to the count de Montfort.

St.

Louis him.

Z^T-

IX. JOINVILLES, MEMOIRS OF SAINT LOUIS

362

Jew ;" committed a much knight answered, "You have

you have done a but the

I-

foolisli

in tlius striking

tiling,

tlie

an assembly, and suffering greater folly in permitting such numbers of ve y Lcb a disputation of errors; for here are away unbelievers in good Christians, who might have gone consequence of the arguments of the Jews. , ^^ ^, ^ ^^^ kmg, "that no one. therefore tell you," continued the _

"I

ought tc layman whenever he hear dispute with the Jews; but the should defend it, not on y b the Christian faith contemned, with which he shoul words, but with a sharp-edged sword,*

however learned

or perfect a theologian he

may

be,

until it enter thei the scandalizers and disbelievers, , , bodies as far as the hilt." that every day h. The king's mode of living was such,

strike

of requiem, and then heard prayers chanted, and a mass

w-

dedicate it day, according to what saint daily o: himself ^^Pose was sung. It was his custom to on with privately, after dinner, when he repeated

service'of to,

L

th.

his bed dead, of his chaplains, prayers for the

heard complines. One day a good Cordelier

friar

and every evening

came

h

-i i •„„ of tW to the ki»g^ ^t tt

^

add where we had disembarked, and go rr^^^^^^ oth and the Bible him, saying, that he had read in nev he that but princes books ihich spoke of unbelieving was ruined b. unbelievers or believers of casVle of -Hieris

;

found a kingdom administered. from want of justice being duly

JNow

should be exterminat * It was the maxim of those days that heretics

We

frequently read of l^^'^f ^^^^^^^"S^^^Ta^t «n an nce«s-nt w St. Loms, who earned of especially in the reign learned See what two J^p^^^^'^;^ Hi. against the Albigeais. mann.s ^^^f « on the su^ect :-Ni^ola^^^^

by

fire

and sword.

J

f-

^J^^ ^^^

A

,^,

o^^^-^^^i,

irr3:n.^2\^'ktA'rthfanriib. i :-" Forasmuch, religious matters pardonable

of^

says he

J^«J^^^^^,

embrace these erroneous and heretical Bafsamon o" .Theodore^Bakamo^^ thexr truth." ^^rdor'e firm belief which they have of

can^^^^^^once^ve says, that ^e of Photius. tit. 9, ch. 25, ^^e P^tnarchate oi under Constantmople, the council held at BogomUes who to the flames tbe Oxistus, could have condemned ^h^]^: ^'^ penod that at since heretics of those times, ^^rhere^^ ,"i^" punishment o^ j^^^h '^S^^^.f l' ,ol of the church which decreed the Several learned persons have therefore .^"^f y^^^^^.^^^e^ls by gentle means \n7tead reclaimed reasoning, that heretics ought to be

Nomocanon

rigorous ones.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

'1?ELIM.]

3G3

Cordelier, "let the king, who I perceive is France, take care that he administer strict and iral justice to his people, in order that our Lord may suffer kino^dom, and that it may remain in peace iiii to enjoy his till tranquillity all the days of his life." It is said that this discreet Cordelier, who thus lessoned the ing, is buried at Marseilles, where our Lord, through him, Miitinued the (iiiir

to

many

oes

fair miracles.

This Cordelier would not remain longer with the king than lie day, in spite of all the entreaties that were made him. forgetful of what the friar had told lie good king was not im, to govern his realm loyally according to the laws of God, lit was anxious that justice should be done to all, according

manner you shall hear. was customary after the lord de Neeles,* the good lord Soissons,t myself, and others that were about the king's I'son, had heard mass, for us to go and hear the pleadings the gateway, which is now called the Court of Requests, in When the good king was in the morning palace at Paris. (urned from the church, he sent for us, and inquired how ings had passed, and if there were any matters that required - decision. And when we told him that there were some, sent for the parties, and asked them why they would not contented with the sentence of his officers, and then instantly tie their differences up to their satisfaction, according to the

»

It

'

'

I

custom of this godly king. have I seen this holy saint, after having heard iss in the summer, go and amuse himself in the wood of ncennes when, seating himself at the foot of an oak, he »iild make us seat ourselves round about him, and every one H) wished to speak with him came thither without ceremony, without hindrance from any usher or others. He then ii.iuded aloud if there were any who had complaints to Ivo and when there were some, he said, " ]\Iy friends, be '

iAIany times

;

1

;

I



Simon, son of Raoul de Clermont, lord of Ailly, and of Gertrude, and heiress of Neelle. He was regent of the kingdom of France iiig the second ex])edition of Saint Louis to the Holy Land. John, the second of the name, surnamed le Begue, son to Raoul de count of Soissons, by Jolande de Joinville, his second wife, and vi|uently cousin-german to our lord de Joinville, as he thus styles some pages hence.

t'

i("

1

[pt.

ix. joinville's memoirs of saint louis

364 silent,

Then,

i.

another." shall be despatched one after de Fon-^ Peter lord the him oftentimes, he called to them, to said and ViUette,* de

and your causes

and the lord Geoffroy " Despatch these causes ;" and whenever he heard any thing

taines,

that could be for others,

who pleaded in the speeches of those himself. 1 have them graciously corrected

amended

he most

come to the garden ol likewise seen this good king ofttimes a surcoat of tyretaine,t Paris, dressed in a coat of camlet, sendal, and have carwithout sleeves, and a mantle of black and hear and discuss the pets spread for us to sit round him, th( diligence as complaints of his people with the same

m

wood

of Vincennes. all the prelates of

,

,

,

Francei once assemb ed a Louis, and to make him i Paris, to speak with the good St. went to the palace to hea: request which, when he was told, he full, i was th what thev had to say. The meeting bemg lord William de Melot bishop Guy d'Auseure, son to the assent of the othe who addressed the king, by the unanimous I

remember ;

prelates, as follows

:--Sire, know that

all these prelates,

^

wh.

year 1261, as ^^^"^ bailiff of Tours in the °^j^ in thatjear and which Candlemas at France of list of the bailiffs men is of the year 1268 he Chambre des Comptes at Paris. In another of republic to the ^«""^^;^ tioned as having been sent ambassador ^^ present times, tha woollen stuff used in the tireteine,-a Tyretaine, t , took its name from the town of Tyre. -,^pnri1mi

lay,

they constrain him to be absolved by the seizure of his

oods."

The holy man

replied, that he would most cheerfully order be done to every one who should be found unjust .'\yards the church, or towards his parents. The bishop said, only belonged to them to be acquainted with their own iuse of complaint. To this, the good king said, he would Ins

to

act otherwise,

and that it would be blameable before God agamst reason, to force those who had been injured by

;iii)ietta, believing their sultan was dead.f When the king ;u-d this news, he sent one of his knights to Damietta to [he Saracens, to inform

f

1

;

!.

nou' the

truth of

who, on his return, related that the and that the Saracens had fled from iinictta, for he had entered their houses that were empty. r])on this, the king had the legate called, with alfthe '•!ates of the army, and ordered the " Te Deum laudamus " l)c sung throughout. The king and his army, shortly r, mounted their horses, and went to take up their quarin Damietta. The Turks were ill advised to retreat so lenly without destroying the bridges which they had lue of boats, which would have distressed us much. But another way they did us great mischief, by setting fire to [•arts of the Soulde,+ where their merchandise and plunI

tun

was

it,

really dead,

•^

1

'

'

'

Froissart, vol.

i. ch. 12, and the Chronicle of Flanders, pp. 55 ^9 mention this usage. Tlie Oriental Chronicle says, that the sultan of Babylon Mas not ;tsed when St. Louis took Damietta, but that he died the day the kins :t to encamp before Massoura, which was the 25th of November \ (cording to the lord de Joinville, the Soulde was a row of tradesshops but it is an error, and la Soulde must be chano-ed

.

I

1

;



as

to

printed in the edition of Bordeaux. In the "treaty u'd by the patriarch Guermond, and the barons of Jerusaleni Domnuco Michiel, doge of Venice, relative to the undertaking ^i

were no void spaces. remained a long time in and before Damietta ; for the ig had none m his council who advised him to march ither, untd his brother, the count de Poitiers, whom the rms had driven, as before mentioned, to Acre, was rencd for he had with him the arriere ban of France. From r that the Turks might force the camp with their cavalry king ordered it to be surrounded with deep ditches; and their banks there were numerous parties of cross-bows .^others, who watched during the nights. :he feast of St. Remy had passcd%vithout the army re'ing any news from the count de Poitiers or his men s alarmed the king greatly, and the army were in much ress for they began to fear, from his not coining, that he either dead, or in very great danger. I then recollected worthy dean of Mauru, and told the legate how, by means ;he three processions which he made us perform when at we were delivered from the great peril we were in, as (re

We

:

;

I

already related. The legate believed what I said ordered three processions to be proclaimed throughout the y, to be put into practice the three following

e

Saturdays

he hrst procession began at the house of the legate, and •-eeded to the church of our Lady in the town of DamiI his church had been a mosque of the Turks and teens but the legate had consecrated it to ; the honour he Mother of God, the glorious Virgin I\Iary. .

Thus

I

continued for two Saturdavs and each time the te preached a sermon. The king and the great lor.ls ided, to whom, after they had heard the sermon, the je gave absolution. Before the third Saturday, the count oitiers arrived with his men, and fortunately It

:

^

for

him

not come earlier; for during the space of the two ^(hng Saturdays there were such continued storms at sea iid

JOINVILLE's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

400

before Damietta, that twelve score vessels, great

were wrecked and sunk, and

[]PT

and

1

small,

crews drowned. Ha< the count de Poitiers arrived at that time, he would have rui great risk of suffering a similar fate; and I believe it woulc have been so, if God had not assisted him. There was much joy in the whole army on the arrival o the count de Poitiers, the king's brother ; and shortly afte the king assembled his barons and council, and asked then what route he should pursue, whether to Alexandria or ti Babylon? The count Peter of Brittany, with several othe barons, were of opinion that the king should march to Alex andria, because there was a good harbour for boats and vessels But this plan was no to bring provision to the army. approved of by the count d'Artois, who said he would neve march to Alexandria until her should have been at Babylor which was the seat of empire in Egypt. He added, anion other reasons, that whoever wished to kill a snake, shoul To this opinion the king assented, an begin with the head. gave up the former plan. At the beginning of Advent, the king and his whole arm began their march toward Babylon, according to the advic On the road near to Damiett: given by the count d'Artois. we met a branch of the great river ; and the king was ac vised to halt a day, until a dam should be thrown acres This was easily done ; and tl that the army might pass. river was stopped so level that it did not overflow, and migl be crossed with facility. What did the sultan do ? He sent craftily to the kir five hundred of his best-mounted troops, saying they wc come to assist him, but in reality to delay him as much On St. Nicholas's day, the king commanded L possible. tlieir

:

and forbade any of his peo|| to dare to hurt, in any way, one of the Turks or Sarace whom the sultan had sent to him. Now it happened, thl when the Saracens perceived the king's army was in motioj and heard that the king had forbidden any one to tou( them, they advanced with great courage in a body toward t! One of these Turj Templars, who had the van of the army. gave a knight in the first rank so heavy a blow with battle-axe as felled him under the feet of Sir Reginald Bicher's horse, who was marshal of the Templars.

army

to

mount

their horses,

I).

SLAUGHTER OP THE SARACENS.

1249.]

401

The marshal, seeing

this, cried out to his men-at-arms-companions, attack them, in the name of God' for I nnot longer suffer thus." He instantly stuck spurs into his rse, and charged the Saracens, followed by the whole

Now

ny. iile

The horses of the Turks were worn down and tired ours were fresh and hearty, which caused their misfor''^'' ^'^^ "^^ ^^^ ''''''' '^'^^ «^--

dV^w/e]

itXra"

proper that I say something here of the river which through Egypt, and which comes

It is IS

from the

adise; lor

terrestrial

such things should be known to those who ^desirous of understanding the subject I am writing on. IS river differs from all others, for the more brook? fall a large river, the more it is divided into small streamand spread over a country ; but this river has not such 8, and seems always the same. When arrived in Efrvpt it eads Its waters over the country. About Remys day, it expands itself into seven the period' of branches, and nee flows over the plains. When the waters are retired labourers appear, and till the ground with ploughs without els and then sow wheat, barley, rice, and cummin, which 3eed so well that it is not possible to have finer crops one can say whence this annual Jo increase of water comes, ept from God s mercy. Were it not to happen, E^yp dd produce nothing, from the very great heat if th^t cSunlor It is near to the rising sun, and it scarcely ever rains "^ at very long intervals. |,

,

river is quite muddy, from the crowds of people of that other countries who, towards evening, come thither to .water to drink They put into their vessels which hold »ur almonds or four beans, which they shake well, ^his

morrow

it is

r enters

husiness

wondrous

and on

clear

and

fit

to drink.

When

this

Egypt, there are expert persons, accustomed to

who may

be called the fishermen of this stream evenings cast their nets into the water, and in n.ornings Irequently find many spices in them, which they into these countries dearly, and by weight; such as cinna. ginger, rhubarb, cloves, ligni.m-aloes, and other good

who

in the

uestnal 1

these

paradise,

and that the wind blows them down it does in our forests the old dry

fine trees, as

JOINVILLE

402

What falls

wood.

S

MEMOIRS OF SAINT LOUIS

into the river

by merchants, who

is

[PT.

IX.

brought down with

it, ai

us by weight. that the sultan h Babylon, of country the in I beard river came, this whence learn to attempted frequently Th of it. course the follow to persons experienced sending

collected

sell it to

them a bread called biscuit, for they would i have found any on their route, and on their return reportc that they had followed the course of the river until they cai to a large mountain of perpendicular rocks, which it was possible to climb, and over these rocks fell the river, seemed to them, that on the top of this mountain were ma and they said they had seen there many strange w trees beasts, such as lions, serpents, elephants, and other soi which came to gaze at them as they ascended the river. Th travellers, not daring to advance further, returned to

carried with

i

;

sultan.

pursue ray subject, this river, on entering Egy one of them flows branches' over the plain Damietta, another to Alexandria, another to Tunis, To this branch which runs by Rexi, another to Rexi. with his whole army, and encara] marched France king of foi and that of Rexi.* branch Damietta between the oppo the on force entire his with the sultan encamped bank of the Rexi branch, to prevent and oppose our passa h It was easy for him to do this, for none of us could v\ there as naked, ourselves crossed unless we had stripped

Now,

spreads

to

its

:

i

We

no other means to pass. The king determined

have a causeway made, to em him to pass over to the Saracens and to guard those ployed on it, he had built two befFrois,t called chas-c * All the historians who relate this passage call the river Th; flows by a which is the name of one of the branches of the Nile that to

(

;

\

Tanes or Tenez. It of the same name, and is called at this day make it Tanis mste; therefore be necessary to correct our author, and Tunis.

n

e

f

^\ a wariike machine in the form of a tower, made ot to the walls of a town, near drawn was which stories, different having who shot from their the stories filled with a proper number of soldiers, of the place. V. defenders the against walls, the over cross-bows and prevent the P' to and wheels, four machines were usually moved on they were covered with boiled horse or bu ji

t The beffroy was

1

fire

from hurting them,

skins.

describes the Froissart, in his first volume, chap. 108, thus

D.

124.0.]

MILITAkY MACHINIiS.

h.* There were two towers

403

in front of tliese beffrois,

and two

uses in their rear, to receive the things the Saracens threw on their machines, of which they had sixteen that did

The king ordered eighteen machines to be conunder the direction of a man named Jousselin de •iirvant, who was the inventor and undertaker ; and with 3se engines did each army pLn^y on the other. The kino-'s jther was on guard over the cats in the daytime, and we ler knights guarded them at night. These chas-chateils were finished the week before Christis, and then the causeway was set about in earnest ; but as t as we advanced, the Saracens destroyed it. They duo-, on }ir side of the river, wide and deep holes in the earth, and the water recoiled from our causeway it filled these holes th water, and tore away the banks; so that what w^e had m employed on for three weeks or a month, they ruined in or two days ; they also very much annoyed, by their 3 ows, our people who were carrying materials for the dam. The Turks, after the death of their sultan, who died of the order he was seized with when before Hamault, chose for iir chief a Saracen named Sacedun, son of the sheik, om the emperor Ferrait had made a knight. Shortly after this, Sacedun sent part of his army to cross ir Damietta, and to a small tow^n called Sourmesac, which mders. ucted,

" The English had constructed two large towers, of great beams of three stories high ; each tower was placed on wheels, and covered r with prepared leather, to shelter those within from fire, and from arrows in each story were 100 archers." William of Malmesbury, he fourth book of his History of England, calls this machine herfroii. )d,

:

s word beffroy (belfry) has since been applied to the higtiest towers rentier towns, wherein a sentinel is pi-iced to watch for their security,

with a bell for gates.

him to strike on to alarm the inhabitants and guards at This bell has afterwards been employed to mark the hour for

retreat of the inhabitants to their houses,

and the garrisons to their and other public uses. The cat was properly a machine made in the form of a covered cry (whence Anna Comnena, in her Alexiade, paf,re 383, gives it the le of oToa), which was fastened to the walls to afford shelter to the pers. Ravedicus, in the second book of the History of Frederic I. c. describing the siege of Crema, says that the inhabitants, to defend tliem'es against those who scaled the walls, or who descended on their walls T» betlVois and towers of wood, made use of cats to enable them to

.rters,

ick the

enemy within

their machines.

2 D 2

JOINVILLE's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

404

[^PT. ill

on the Rexi branch, that from that quarter they might fal on us. On Christmas day, whilst I and all my people were dinner with my companion Pierre d'Avalon, the Sarace entered our camp, and slew many of our poor soldiers who hi

is

strayed into the

We

fields.

instantly

timed was

it

for

mounted our horses

my

to attack them ; and w( our host, who had quitt for before we could overtal

lord Perron,

the camp on the first alarm ; him, the Saracens had made him prisoner, and were cairyir him off with his brother, the lord Du Val. pushed o horses forward, attacked the Saracens, and rescued these t^ good knights, whom they had already, by their blows, strut

We

to the ground, and brought them back to the camp. T Templars, who were within hearing, formed a bold ai determined renr-guard. The Tnrks continaed to make repeated attacks on us that quarter with much courage, until our army had clos( up the canal toward Damietta, from that branch to the one Rexi. This Sacedun, chief of the Turks, was held to be the md able and courageous of all the infidels. He bore on his bai ners the arms of the emperor who had made him a knight ; fa banner had several bends,* on one of w^hich he bore the san arms with the sultan of Aleppo, and on another bend on t side were the arms of the sultan of Babylon. His name wa as I said before, Sacedun, son of the sheik, which signifies t same in their language as to say the son of the old man. I name had great weight with them ; for they are a people, is said, who pay much honour to such old men as have their youth been especially careful to preserve their charactei from reproach. This chief, as it was told the king by h spies, boasted, that on St. Sebastian's day next coming, ]

would dine

When

in the king's tent.

the king heard this, he replied, that

lie

would

tal

He

then drew his army in cloS; array, orders for which were given to the men-at-arms ; ai to the count d'Artois, brother to the king, was given the coi

good care

to prevent

* It results from

among

the

this

it.

passage that armorial bearings were in v their sultans or princes had tht

Mahometans, and that

painted on their beuiners.

.1).

124.0.^

INTREPIDITY OF THE COUNT d'aNJOU.

40.5

land of the befTiois and machines. The king, and the count 'Anjou, who was afterwards king of Sicily, took on them le giiard of the army, on the side of Babylon ; and tlie count Poitiers, with me, seneschal of Chami^agne, had the guard the side towards Damietta.

ti

Not long

after this, the chief of the Turks, before named, with his army into the island that lies between the ;exi and Damietta branches, where our army was encamped, id formed a line of battle, extending from one bank of the ver to the other. The count d'Anjou, who was on the spot, ;tacked the Turks, and defeated them so completely that ley took to tiight, and numbers were drowned in each of le branches of tiie Nile. A large body, however, kept their ground, whom we daied )t attack, on account of their numerous machines, by which ey did us great injury with the divers things cast from em. During the attack on the Turks by the count d' Anjou, e count Guy de Ferrois, who was in his company, galloped rough the Turkish force, attended by his knights,' until they me to another battalion of Saracens, where they performed X)ssed

jnders.

oken g

leg,

But

at last he was thrown to the ground with a and was led back by two of his knights, support-

him by the arms.

You must know

there was difficulty in withdrawino- the unt d'Anjou from this attack, wherein he was frequently the utmost danger, and was ever after greatly honoured [•it.

Another large body of Turks made an attack on the count Poitiers and me but be assured they were very well Jeived, and served in like manner. It was well for them it they found their way back by which they had come ; t they left behind great numbers of slain. We returned e\y to our camp without having scarcely lost any of our ;

m.

One night the Turks brought forward an engine, called bv )m la perriere, a terrible engine to do mischief, and placed opposite to the chas-chateils, which Sir Walter de Curel and verc guarding by night. From this engine' they flung such antities of Greek fire,'^' that it was the most horrible sight '

This

fire

was so

called,

because

it

was

first

invented

among

the

JOINVILLE's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

40f)

ever witnessed.

saw

this

[PT.

It

When my

shower of

fire,

companion, the good Sir Waltei he cried out, " Gentlemen, we ai

Greeks hy Callinicus the architect, a native. of Heliopolis, a town and likewise because the Greet Syria, under Constantinus Barbatus preserved the use of it, whic who people only the were for a long time Anna Comnem they very rarely communicated to any of their alHes. trees, mixet from gums other and pitch with made was fire says, that this Abbon, in the first bool with sulphur, and the whole ground together. ;

of the

Wars *'

of Paris, has given the composition of it in these verses eis oleum, ceramque, picemque ministrans,

11

:

Addit

Mixta simul

liquefacta foco ferventia valde,

Qu£e Danis cervice comas uruntque trahuntque."

The author of the History of Jerusalem, p. 1167, makes oil a part at least, he names it, " oleum incendarium, quod ign© the composition Grgecum vocant." It may perhaps be naphtha, which Procopius, in tl fourth book of the War of the Goths, ch. 11, says, the Greeks ca :

MrjCHaQ tXaiov, and the Medes naphtha, which Lambecius, in his obse: vations on Codinus, thinks should be corrected to MnCiag tXaiov, oil Media, and that for this reason the same Greeks have given to this art with in Cinnamu ficial fire the name of MrjdiKOv Trop, which is met There are othei edition. p. 308, and in Codinus, p. 7 of the royal fXaiov, or Troj MrjOiiaQ called was naphtha imagine however, who because Medea, according to Pliny (1. 2, ch. 105;, burnt her husbai i

Jason with

this fire.

Whatever may be thought of

this,

Procopiu

this art in the part quoted, informs us, that in the composition of bitume and sulphur with naphtha of mixture was a there fire, ficial Vanoccio Biringuccio, in the tenth book of his Pyrotechny, chap. has described all the materials that form part of the artificial fireworl which the Greeks made use of to burn the vessels of their enemies. Tl

Greeks made use of this fire when at sea, in two ways first by fire-shv with this fire, that were floa-'ed among the enemies' fleet, and thi Fire-ships were used before the time of the erapen set them on fire. Constantinus Barbatus, for Theophanes informs us, p. 100, that und wii the empire of Leon le Grand, Genseric, king of Africa, burnt whi< and combustibles, other and dry wood with vessels that were filled he floated down the stream, the whole of the Grecian fleet. Secondly, \ large tubes artificial fires on the prows of these vessels, placed in Wil copper, through which they blew them into the enemy's ships. it was differen land, on battles in Greek fire the of use the regard to throuj for soldiers were then supphed with copper tubes, and blew it on their enemies. See Anna Coranena, in the 13th book of h ;

filled

(

them



Sometimes they threw sharp bolts of iron, covered wil Alexiade. engine tow, well oiled and pitched, with which they set fire to the fire up( Joinville speaks of this fire, "and they opened a very quick Sometimes this fire was put in us with balls made of the Greek fire." from perrieres and cros discharged was also phials and pots, and it geni Albert d'Aix, 1. 7, ch. 5, remarks, that " hujus ignis bows. which by ;" materials other were there but aqua erat inextinguibile

;

.1)

1249.]

GREEK FIRE AND

ITS

TERRORS.

407

without remedy ; for should they set fire to our chaswe must be burnt and if we quit our post we are from which I conclude, that no one )r ever dishonoured in possibly save us from this peril but God, our benignant 'reator ; I therefore advise all of you, whenever they throw ly of this Greek fire, to cast yourselves on your hands and nees, and cry for mercy to our Lord, in whom alone resides 1 power." As soon, therefore, as the Turks threw their fires, we flung irselves on our hands and knees, as the wise man had adised and this time they fell between our two cats into a )le in front, which our people had made to extinguish them id they were instantly put out by a man appointed for that irpose. This Greek fire, in appearance, was like a large in, and its tail was of the length of a long spear ; the noise hicli it made was like to thunder; and it seemed a great •agon of fire flying through the air, giving so great a light ith its flame, that we saw in our camp as clearly as in broad Ly. Thrice this night did they throw the fire from la persre, and four times from cross-bows. Each time that our good king St. Louis heard them make ese discharges of fire, he cast himself on the ground, and ith extended arms and eyes turned to the heavens, cried ith a loud voice to our Lord, and shedding heavy tears, said. Good Lord God Jesus Christ, preserve thou me, and all my opie ;" and believe me, his sincere prayers were of great rvice to us. At every time the fire fell near us, he sent e of his knights to know how we were, and if the fire had irt us. One of the discharges from the Turks fell beside a !is-chateil, guarded by the men of the Lord Courtenay, •uck the bank of the river in front, and ran on the ground svard them burning with flame. One of the knights of is guard instantly came to me, crying out, " Help us, my •d, or we are burnt for there is a long train of Greek fire, lich the Saracens have discharged, that is running straight lost

II

bateils

'

;

;

;



;

our castle."

be extinguished, namely, vinegar and sand. Jacques de Vitry, adds urine as an extinguisher; and Cinnamus, in the place ore quoted, says that ships were frequently covered with cloths dipped ninegar, to prevent the bad effects of this fire. lid ',

ch. 84,

JOINVILLe's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

408

We

[PT.

II

immediately hastened thither, and good need wa. extiiv there; for as the knight had said, so it was. guished the fire with much labour and difficulty ; for th( Saracens, in the mean time, kept up so brisk a shooting fron the opposite bank, that we were covered with arrows ant

We

bolts.

of Anjou, brother to the king, guarded thes during the day, and annoyed the Saracen army wit]

The count castles

his cross-bows.

It

was ordered by the king, that

after th

count of Anjou should have finished his daily guard, we, an( others of my company, should continue it during the nighl suffered much pain and uneasiness ; for the Turks ha^ already broken and damaged our tandies and defences Once these Turkish traitors advanced their perriere in th daytime, when the count d' Anjou had the guard, and ha brought together all their machines, from which they thre\ Greek fires on our dams, over the river, opposite to on tandies and defences, which completely prevented any of th v/orkmen from shewing themselves ; and our two chas The cour chateils were in a moment destroyed and burnt. d' Anjou was almost mad at seeing this ; for they were unde his guard, and like one out of his senses, wanted to thro^ himself into the fire to extinguish it, whilst I and my knighl for if they had delayed this attac returned thanks to God to the night, we must have all been burnt. The king, on hearing what had happened, made a reque^ to each of his barons, that they would give him as much c the largest timbers* from their ships that were on the coai

We

;

and have them transported to where tb army lay; for there was not any timber near fit to make us of. After the king had made this request, they all aide him to the utmost ; and before the new chas-chateils wei finished, the timber employed was estimated to be wort upwards of 10,000 livres. You may guess from this ths many boats were destroyed, and that we were then in th as they could spare,

utmost

distress.

When

the chas-chateils were completed, the king woul not have them fixed, or pointed, until the count of Anjo resumed the guard he th en ordere d that they should b :

V.D.

1249.] DANGEROUS POSITION OF THE ROYAL ARMY.

409

on the exact spot where the others had been burnt, he did to recover the honour of his said brother, under ;vhose guard the two others had been destroyed. As he king had ordered, so it was done ; which the Saracens )bserying, they brought thither all their machines, and, !oupling them together, shot at our new chas-chateils vigor)usly. When they perceived that our men were afraid ot ^oing from one castle to the other, for fear of the showers of tones which they were casting, they advanced the perriero lirectly opposite to them, and again burnt them with their jreek fires. I and my knights returned thanks to God for his second escape. Had they waited until night to make lie attack, when the guard would have devolved to us, we nust all liave been burnt with them. The king, seeing this, was, as well as his army, much roubled, and he called his barons to council, to consider what hould be done ; for they now perceived themselves that it rould be impossible to throw a causeway over the river to ross to the Turks and Saracens, as our people could not lake such advance on their side, but they were more speedily uined by the Turks on the other. Sir Humbert de Beaujeu, constable of France, then adressed the king, and said, that a Bedouin had lately come him to say, that if we would give him 500 golden besants, e would shew a safe ford, which might easily be crossed on orseback. The king replied, that he most cheerfully granted liis, provided he spoke the truth but the man would on no )laced

rhis

:)

;

shew the ford before the money demanded was paid. It was determined by the king, that the duke of Burundy, and the nobles beyond sea his allies, should guard the

ceount

rniy

from the alarms of the Saracens

iiree

brothers, the counts of Poitiers, Artois,

^as

;

whilst

he,

w^ith

his

and Anjou, who

afterward king of Sicily, as I have said before, should their attendants on horseback make trial of the ford Bedouin was to shew them. The day appointed for this

ith le

urpose

was Shrove-Tuesday, which, when arrived, we all armed at all points, followed the

lounted our horses, and,

edouin to the ford. On our way thither, some advanced too near the banks of le

river,

which being

soft

and

slippery,

they and

their

LOUIS IX. JOINVILLe's memoirs of saint

410

[PT.

II

The king seeing it, pointed hor.es fell in and were drowned. avoi0.]

CRUELTY TOWARDS THE PATRIARCH.

451

for the king,

livery

and was then come to him to assist in his from them. It was the custom among the Pagans

Christians, that in case any two princes were at war with other, and one of them should die during the time amis,-iidors were sent to either, the ambassadors were, in such I'l

kI)

is(>,

to

ii'Iom;

remain prisoners, wliether in pagan land or in Chrisand because the sultan, lately murdered, had granted

s'lfc-conduct to this patriarch,

he was become a prisoner to Saracens as well as ourselves. 'i'he admirals perceiving the king was not to be frightened their menaces, one of them said to the others, that it was patriarch who had thus advised him ; and if they would l')w him to act, he would force the king to take the oath, r ]ic would cut off the head of the patriarch, and make it into the king's lap. The rest would not agree to this ; I they seized the good patriarch, and tied him to a post in i)resence of the king, and bound his hands behind his '•k so tightly, that they soon swelled as big as his head; d tlie blood spouted out from several parts of his hands! om the sufferings he endured, he cried out, " Ah sire •e, swear boldly for I take the whole sin of it on my own ; f



'

('

!

it is by this means alone you may have the power your promises." I know not whether the oath was ten at last; but however that may be, the admirals at ul,

since

fulfil

igth held

themselves satisfied with the oaths of the king

d his lords then present.

When

the knights of the Hauleca had slain the sultan, admirals ordered their trumpets and nacaires to sound irrily before the king's tent ; and it was told the king, that admirals had liolden a council and were very desirous )

)

ct

to

him sultan of Babylon.

The king one day asked me. if the kingdom of Babylon had been

vere of opinion, that if ared him, he ought to have taken it ? I answered, that i*f had, he would have done a foolish thing, seeing they had rdered their lord. Notwithstanding this, the king told

me

should have scarcely refused it. This project only failed from the admirals saying amonomselves, that the king was the proudest Christian they r knew and that, if they elected him sultan, he would ; :e them to turn Christians, or have them put to death. 5 they said from observing, that whenever he quitted his

2 G 2

joinville's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

452

^VT.

II.

the sign of the cross on the ground, and The Saracens added, that if their crossed his body all over. Mahomet had allowed them to suffer the manifold evils that

lodgings, he

made

caused the king to undergo, they would never have had any confidence in him, nor paid him their adorations. Not long after the conventions had been completed between on the the king and the admirals, it was determined that Damietta Lord, morrow of the feast of the Ascension of our

God had

should be surrendered to the Turks, and the king and all the anchored other prisoners set at liberty. Our four galleys were beei had before the bridge of Damietta, where a pavilion pitched for the king's landing. About sunrise of the appointed day, Sir Geoffry de Sergmes went to the town of Damietta* to deliver it to the admirals flags of the sultan were displayed from the knights entered the town, and drank o Saracen The walls. there, insomuch that the greater par found the wines they them came on board our galley witl of were drunk. One that he ha( his naked sword reeking with blood, telling us thing fo brutal a was which killed six of our countrymen,

and instantly the

or other to boast of. Before the surrender of Damietta, the queen had embarkec with all our people on board the ships, except the poor sick the Saracens were bound by their oath to take care oi

any knight

whom

and give up on the payment of 200,000 livres, as has bee: They were also to restore the war machine.' mentioned. but thes salted meats, which they never eat, and our armour ; cut t and infidel dogs, on the contrary, killed all the sick, pro had pieces the machines and other things which they mised to take care of and restore at the proper time an They made a great heap of the whole, and set it o place. and it was so immense, the fire blazed from the Frida fire ;

to the

Sunday

following.

After they had thus killed, destroyed, and set fire to a ov they could lay hands on, we that ought to have had Olivia * It was then under the guard of the duke of Burgundy and saved then de Termes, in which the legate and a number of prelates had

to Matt. I'an as did likewise the queen of France, according the Saracen to surrendered been Aython, ch. 24, says, that when it had another to\\ they completely destroyed it, and made it a desert, building the name gave they which to sea, and farther distant from the river selves

;

.

New

Damietta.

-

,\.\>.

1250.] PROPOSALS TO PUT THE KING TO DEATH.

453

il.frties at sunrise remained until sunset without eating or limking, and the king suffered equally with us. The ad iiiials were disputing together, and seemed inclined to put One of them, addressing the 10 death. "

others, said,

1

My

you will believe me and these beside me, we will kill kmg and all the great persons with him, and then for years to come we need not fear them for their children young, and we have possession of Damietta, which

n ids, if

'/

;

will

i.'

and

'^^^-It

into the scales for this purpose, the

mistake.

tliat

he put

word desan^ having ° caused

456

JOINVILLE'S memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

[PT.

I

would go and seek the sum, which he commanded me

1

do.

I instantly went on board one of the galleys of th Templars, and, seeing a coffer, of which they refused give me the keys, I was about to break it open with a wedg in the king's name ; but the marshal, observing I was i earnest, ordered the keys to be given me. I opened tbi coffer, took out the sum wanting, and carried it to the kin^

t^

who was much

rejoiced at

my

return.

payment of the two hundred thousand

Thus was the livres

who)^

completed

fci

the ransom of the count de Poitiers. Before it was all paici there were some who advised the king to withhold it until th' Saracens had delivered up his brother ; but he replied, tha since he had promised

it,

he would pay the whole before

hi

quitted the river.

I

As he

said this, Sir Philip de Montfort told the king, thr the Saracens had miscounted one scale weight, which wi worth ten thousand livres. The king was greatly enrage

and commanded Sir Philip, on the faith he owed hii to pay the Saracens these ten thousan livres, should they in fact not have been paid. He adde( that he would never depart until the uttermost penny of tb two hundred thousand livres were paid. Several persons, perceiving the king was not as yet out danger from the Saracens, often entreated him to retire to galley that was waiting for him at sea, to be out of ihei hands, and at length prevailed on him so to do, for he sail that he believed he had now fulfilled his oath. We now began to make some way at sea, and had ad vanced a full league without saying a word to each other o at this,

as his liege man,

(

\

we felt to have left the count de Poitiers in prisor In a very short time. Sir Philip de Montfort, who had re the concern

mained to make good the payment of the ten thousand livre; approached us, calling out to the king, " Sire, sire, wait fc your brother the count de Poitiers, who is following you i this other galley." The king then said to those near h'n " Light up, light up !" and there was great joy among us a

A

on the arrival of the king's brother. poor fisherma having hastened to the countess of Poitiers, and told her h had seen the count at liberty from the Saracens, she orderei

,* i^

D.

1250.] VALOUR OF SIR GAULTIER DE CHASTILLON.

'enty

livrres parisis

to be given him,

457

and each then went

Before I quit the subject of E^ypt, I wish not to

to

foro-et

y occurrences that happened while we were there. I shall St speak of Sir Gaultier de Chastillon, and say, that I heard m a knight, that he had seen him post himself with his iwn sword in a street at Casel, where the king was made soner and, whenever any Turks passed that street, he acked and drove them before him with hard blows; as y tied, they discharged arrows at him, with which be s covered and, when Sir Walter had put ; them to flicrht picked the arrows out of his body, and re-armed himself was a long time thus engaged and the knight saw him in his stirrups, and call out, " Ha! Chastillon, chevalier ere are my good companions?" but not one was with him. Jne day afterward, as I was conversing with the admiral of gcalleys, I inquired of all his men-at-arms if there were one who could give me an account of what was become of but I could hear nothing. At length, I met with a ght called Sir John Frumons, who told me, that as they •e carrying him prisoner, he saw a Turk on the horse of Cxaultier de Chastillon, whose tail and rump were 3red with blood; and when he asked him what was become ;

,

he knight to

whom

that horse belonged,

lad cut his throat while i

he replied, that on horseback, and that he was

covered with his blood. was a most valiant man

'here

James du Chastel, bishop of

in

our

army whose name was who when he saw

Soissons,

were going towards Damietta, and that every one was

atient to return to France, preferred living with rning to where he was born. In 'ge

God

to

consequence, he made a

on the Turks, as if he alone meant to combat their but they soon sent him to God, and placed him

y; pany of martyrs,

in the

for they killed

him

in a

very short

^nother thing I witnessed. river the completion of the her,

icen

As the king was waitino- on payment of the ransom fox his the count de Poitiers, a handsome and well-dres'^ed came up, and presented him with some lard in pots

ta variety of sweet-smelling flowers, telling the kino-

ii

joinville's memoirs of saint louis ix.

458

was

the

children

of

the nazac

who had been murdered,

that sent

of the sultan

him

[]py.

of

i

Egyp

this gift.

hearing the Saracen address him in Frencl He replied, that he was asked him where he had learnt it. on which the king bade him withdraA Christian renegade I took him asid for he would not say any more to him. and inquired who he was, and why he had become a reni The Saracen told me, " that he was born in Provenc gado. and had followed King John to Egypt, where he w: I said married, and "had a very considerable property." him, " And do you not know, that if you were to die in sut^ a state, you would descend straight to hell, and be damned f ever?" He replied, "that he knew it well, and that the was not a better religion than that of the Christians; but fear, were I to return with you, I should suflfer great povert and be continually reproached all my days by being calli

The

king,

:

Renegade, renegade !' I had rather, therefore, live at u ease, like a rich man, than become such an object *

contempt." I remonstmted with him, that it was much better to suS the scorn of the world, since at the day of judgment every e^ deed would be made manifest to all, and then damnation won But all this was to no purpose, and when he quitt follow. me I never saw him more. You have had related the great persecutions and miseri

Y

the good king St. Louis and we all suflfered in Egypt. must know also, that the good queen was not without 1 share, and very bitter to her heart, as you shall soon he: Three days before she was brought to bed, she was inform that the good king, her husband, had been made prison which so troubled her mind, that she seemed continually see her chamber filled with Saracens ready to slay her ; a

she incessantly kept crying out, "Help, help;" when th( was not a soul near her. For fear the fruit of her woi should perish, she made a knight watch at the foot of her I This knight was very old, all night without sleeping. more ; and every time perhaps or eighty years, than less " Madam, do not and said, hands, held her screamed he i

quit these fears." thus alarmed ; I am with you brought to bed, she orde Before the good lady was every person to leave her chamber except this ancient knig, :

i

D.

THE QUEEN DELIVERED OP A

1250.]

SON.

45.9

len she ca^t herself out of bed on her knees before hira and guested that he would grant her a boon. The kni^^ht 'with oath promised compliance. The

queen then said,' "Sir on the oath you have sworn, that should fearacens storm this town and take it, you will cut off my id before they seize my person." The knight replied, that would cheerfully so do, and that he had before thought of mease such an event should happen. The queen was, shortly after, delivered of a son in the «* A^a^nietta whose name was John, and his surname Z Stan, because he had been born in misery and poverty 3 day she was brought to bed it was told her, that the ans, the Genoese, and all the poorer commonalty that •em the town, were about to fly and leave the kinobe queen sent for them, and addressed them,—"Gentle,1 beg of you, for the love of God, that you will not Ik of quittmg this town for you well know if ; my lord the king, and his whole army, will you do be ruined! east it such be your fixed determination, have pity on this tched person who now lies in pain, and wait until she be vered, before you put it into execution, hey answered, they could not remain longer in a town re they were dying of hunger. She said, they should 5r die of hunger; for that she would buy ght,

I request,

^

j

up

Jision

that

was

in the place,

and retain

all

the

henceforward he name of the king. This she was obliged to do and :he provision that could be found was bought up, which ler recovery a little time after, cost her upwards of .hundred and sixty thousand livres to feed these people. Withstanding this, the good lady was forced to rise before vvas perfectly recovered, and set out for the city of Acre Damietta was to be surrendered to the Turks and it

:

•cens. .

should be known, that although the king had suffered a variety of woes, his attendants, when he embarked not made any preparations for him on board, such as bed bedding, and other ?, necessary

He was

things.

forced

for six

days, to sleep on mattresses, until we ed at Acre. The king had not any other habiliments two robes wind, the sultan had caused to be

made

* Tristan died in 1270, at Tunis, aged twenty years.

for

460

him

JOINVILLE's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

[PT.

1

they were of a black silken stuff, lined with squirr with a number of golden buttons. While we were on our voyage to Acre, on account of il ness, I was always seated near the king and it was then related to me hovy he had been taken, and how, through the a of God, he had accomplished his own ransom and ours, was likewise obliged to tell him how I had been captured The kii the riyer, and how a Saracen had saved my life. said, I ought to feel myself under the greatest obligations our Lord, who had delivered me from such imminent dange At times, the good and holy king bewailed bitterly the dea of his brother the count d'Artois. He one day inquired what his brother the count d'Anji was doing, and complained, that notwithstanding they we in the same galley, he never once thought of being in 1 company a single day. When the king was told that he w playing at tables* with Sir Walter de Nemours, he arc hastily, though from his severe illness he could scarcely star and went staggering to where they were at play, when, seizi the dice and tables, he flung them into the sea, and was violent passion with his brother for so soon thinking of tlii amusing himself by gaming, forgetful of the death of brother the count d'Artois, and of the great perils from whi But Sir Walter de Nemoi the Lord had delivered them. suffered most, for the king flung all the money that lay on ;

skins,

1

;

(

m 1

t

tables after

them

into the sea.

QAfter these words, the Poitiers edition contains a wh is wanting in the edition of Menard, in followinof terms " When we arrived before Acre, the citizens came out chapter, which

1

:

meet the king as far as the shore with grand processions, 8 received him joyfully. " I attempted to mount the palfrey that had been brou for me from the town ; but 1 was no sooner mounted thai fainted, and should have fallen to the ground had it not hi for him who brought the horse, who held me tight, and w»

* Among the orders laid down for the more regular discipline that i to be observed in these expeditions to the Holy Land, all playing \J " Statutum est etiam, ut nuUus enorm^ dice was strictly forbidden :

quod nullus ad Neubourg, 1. 3, ch. 23.

juret,

et

aleas,

vel

ad decios ludat."

In WilliancS

il

ARRIVAL AT ACRE.

1250.]

4G1

was led to the king's house. I remained window without any one taking the least me, and of all those whom I had brought to Egypt

difficulty I

time l('(

I

of

at a

only with ^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ 1^^^^ ^^U^^ Bartholomew, 'the of the lord A me de Montbelliar, lord of Montcim, of whom I have before spoken. ' As I was there M^iiting, a youth came to me dressed in ilct striped with yellow, and, having saluted me, asked if i.l not know him. On my saying I did not, he told me he a, native of Chasteau-Descler, that belonged to my uncle. asked if I would take him into my service, for he was witha master. This I readily agreed to, and retained him as my let. He soon after brought me clean coifes, and combed my r exceedingly well. At this time, the king sent for me to 'e to dinner; I went, attended by my new varlet, iaYien agreed in it. advice was very good, and that he confoun. much was king the had delivered their opinions, wli eight days more to declare at their diversity, and took of had left the presence he should follow. When we i

, i

Sir

violent attack on me, ai the great nobles made a Ha certainly the k thiwgh jellousy and envy, said, ^' opmion, lord de Jo must be mad, if he do not follow your kino-,

!

name appears

in the cartular}

same whose I believe this to be the is mentioned as domg the bishopric of Paris, wherein he of Pierre Fitz. lordship his for see, in the year 1263, *



homage

to

t.

').

llo,

1250, &C.J JOINVILLE ADVISES in preference to that of the

tins 1

made not any

THE

KIxXG TO STAY.

465

whole French council." But

reply.

The

tables were soon after laid for dinner, and the kinohad usually made m^ sit down near him when his bro:rs were absent, and during the repasts had conversed with ''^'\^'^' ^^P'' "^" ^'^^" ^"^-^ ^^is face toward ^^*^«»g^^t l^e was displeased with me for having ^A .u ,^f d that he had not employed his own money, when he had pended such very large sums. After he had said L^race J returned thanks to God for his dinner, I retired to a adow lo

''

T

il

near the ^ad of the kings bed, and, passing hand through the grating, remained there mu^incr. I d to myself, that if the king should now return to Fmnce .ould go to the prmce of Antioch,* who was a relation of |Vhile I

ras Sir

It

was thus meditating, the king leant on

Phihp de Nemours, who had been

u V^^'t>i

fretting

me

my all

^ ^^"^ ^'''''' '^' ^^"^^^ ^"^J «aid r '';'^r^^ 'P,' ^"^ ^^^''^ '''^ ^"^^t ''' niJ misfortune."

T?' J 1 turned round, the king covered my face with his hands, 1 then knew it was the king from an emerald on his er. 1 wished to make some reparation, as one that had 1

T'V^w, ?"'i de Join IS

ned,

lord

i"\'^?'

^^"^^ "^^^^^ '"^ be silent,

and con-

me how you, who are so courage to advise me to remain

ville, tell

g a man could have the hese countries contrary to the opinion of ail greatest es? I replied, that if I had advised him well, he should folit; if the contraiy, he ought not to think mor^ on what I

mv

.aici.

es,

And

certainly,

hers expense.

you remain with me, if I should stav ?" answered I, -were it at my own or at The king said, that he was pleased with

will

had given, but ordered me to tell this to no one was so rejoiced that whole week with what he had told that Iwas insensible to my illness, and defended myself y against the other lords when thev attacked me ou must kno^v, in these countries idvice I

"the peasant

is

called

loenumd V., prince of Antioch, and count of Tnpoly, who died in

2h

[pt.

louis ix. joinville's memoirs op saint

466

PouUin,* and I wa. told by

my

cousin Sir

P*'*^'^

I

^\™"urance of it, here is his ring that he sends you, which is pure gold, and hath his name engraven on it; and with at (1

is ring our lord espouses you, and understands that hencerward you be as one of the fingers of his hand." Among other presents sent to the king were an elephant of

ystal, figures le

pieces of

low, that

of

men

of different crystals, the whole set in gold. You must

amber with borders of pure

when

the ambassadors opened the case that con-

ined all these fine things, the

whole apartment was instantly

ibalmed with the sweet odour of their perfumes. The king, desirous not to be behindhand in makin*'- a

472

JOINVTLLE S MEMOIRS OF SAINT LOUIS

IX.

return for these presents from the old prince of tain,* sent to him, by his ambassadors, and by

the

U

moun

Father Yve

Le Breton, who understood

the Saracenic, great quantities o vessels of silver. Whei' in the presence of the prince of the Be

scarlet robes, cups of gold,

Father Yves was

[pT.

and other

douins, he conversed with him on the articles of his faith but, as he afterward reported to the king, he found he did no believe in Mahomet, but followed the religion of Aly, was, he said, the uncle of Mahomet. He told him, that i"

wh

was Aly

to

whom Mahomet was

indebted for

all

the honour^

* All the writers on the holy wars agree, that the Old Man of th is called " Vetuius," or - Senex de Montanis," ruled ove the Assassins, who inhabited, as I have elsewhere remarked, the moun tarns ot Fhoenicia, whence he was called prince of the mountains. Th. lord de Joinviile confounds the Bedouins, in this place, with the Assassins Arnold de Lubeck, 1. 7, ch. 10, speaks thus of them: - In termini

Mountain, who

Damasci, Antiochiae,

tanis,

et Alapiae, est quoddam genus Saracenorum in men quod eorum lingua vulgari Heissesim vocatur." He then describe

the palace, and the behaviour of this prince, which is conformable tc what the lord de Jomville and the greater part of those who have writter on the holy wars relate. Among others, William of Tyre, 1. 14, c 19 ch. 1. 20, 21; Matthew Paris, in the year 1150; William de Neu-

^^^"^ these authors, the author o all he ha: written of the Assassins and their prince in these terms :— '' In th» lands near Damascus and Antioch, live a sort of Saracens, caUec by some ' Haussassis,' by others the people of the Old Man of th( Mountain. These people live a lawless life, and eat pork, contrary to the religion of the Saracens, and lie with every woman they meet whether mothers or sisters. They inhabit great towers, which they hav( built among the mountains. The country is full of wild beasts, on which tney live. Their prince is very cruel, and very different from othei baracens and Christians, for he is accustomed to put many to death without reason He has several fine and strong palaces, surrounded bj high walls, and he has them very well guarded, so that no one can entei them but at one gate. In these palaces he confines the children of hisubjects, and none of these youths appear before him, unless so ordered by their masters, who teach them various languages and other things they must obey the commands of their prince, believing that througl him alone they can obtain paradise, and not otherwise. When onct confined, they are never to come into his presence without his permission and when he asks them if they be willing to obey his orders in hopes o gaining paradise, they make him such answers as their masters have taught them. The prmce then gives them a large and sharp knife, and send^ them whither he lists to assassinate those he hates; and know that the^ will It possible, execute this eommission, whatever may happen to thea ^^ in hfe or death."

.r'f;c the MS.

t'rS'

^y'}'

"Traite de

?' ^^- ^^la Terre

d'Outremer " has drawn

'

"'

1250, &C.] RELIGIOUS BELIEF OP rijoyed;

(

)I

.quests

and

THE BEDOUINS.

when Mahomet had made

that,

over mankind, he

473

his i^reat

quarrelled with and sepamted perceivmg the pride of Mahomet, and that he

m Aly, who shod to trample upon him, began to draw as many as he ild to his doctrines, and retired to a part of the deserts and oil ..n ains of Egypt, where he gave them a different creed ;lll .n that of Mahomet Those who support the religion of y call those who follow Mahomet unbelievers, as the MaIIK notans in like manner style the Bedouins infidels. Each i-ty, this respect, says the truth, for in fact they are both -^ 01

m

lieiievers.

ne of the points of doctrine of ;^^hen any one is killed by

the

'

Aly consists in the belie^ command or in the service

superior the soul of the person so killed* goes into body of higher rank, and enjoys

|.s

'ti.er

more comforts than

, It contains many excellent things." I

!

i.^

riu^y

had borrowed from the Arabians the doctrine of the Metem-

I'lHsprince

V •n.

N>ho haa

had in

this respect,

followed the examole of his prede made themselves acquainted with the^nY.te es of oar

by readmg the Evangelists and Epistles of St Pail

JOINVILLE

474

The Old Man

S

MEMOIRS OF SAINT LOUIS

of the

he had great

Mountain

replied, that

IX.

[PT.

TI

he frequent!;

He

read it, as St. Peter. continued " In the beginning of the world, the soul of Abel, after hi brother Cain had murdered him, entered the body of Noah and the soul of Noah, on his decease, went into the bod of Abraham ; and after Abraham it entered the body of Si Peter, who is now under the earth." Father Yves, hearing him thus talk, argued with him o the absurdity of his belief, and shewed him many fair promise and commandments of God, but he would never have an Father Yves reported to the king, that whe faith in them. the prince of the Bedouins took the field, he was preceded h a man carrying his battle-axe, the handle of which wi covered with silver ; and this handle served as a case for number of sheep knives. The bearer cried out with a lou fly from before him wl voice in his language, " Turn back carries the deaths of kings in his hands." I have delayed informing you of the answer which the kh faith in

!

made effect

to ;

the ambassadors from Damascus.

It

was to tb Egypt

that the king would send to the admirals of

know if they were willing to re-establish the truce they hi promised, but which they had already broken, as has be( said, and, should they refuse, the king would very willing' join his forces, and assist him in revenging the murder of 1 cousin the sultan of Babylon. After this, the king, during the time he was at Acre, se' John de Vallance to the admirals in Egypt, to requi them to make such satisfaction to the king for the outras they had committed, contrary to treaty, that he should

Sir

This the admirals promised to do, b contented with them. on condition that he would unite himself with them agan the sultan of Damascus before mentioned. To gain the kin heart, after that wise man Sir John de Vallance had stront remonstrated with and severely blamed them for the wroi they had done contrary to their law, and for breaking 1

truce they had solemnly sworn to keep, they sent to the ki all the knights whom they had detained in their prise They likewise sent him the bones of the count Walter Brienne, that they might be buried in consecrated ground. Sir John de Vallance brought back with him 200 knigl

without including great numbers of

common

people who

1

12.50,

&C.] JOINVILLE EQUIPS FORTY KNIGHTS.

475

confined in the Saracen prisons.

On his arriral at Acre, cousin-german to the count de Brienne' (cived his bones, and had them interred well and honourably ho church of the Knights Hospitallers at Acre. The n< ml service was grand, and attended by every knight, who ' kIc his offering of a waxen taper and a silver penny. The offered a taper, and a golden bezant of the coinage of a French in the year 1098, Coiren Cham was lord or king of the vvn parts of Asia. After his death, a certain Nestorian priest seized kui;iks before me and some of my knights, but when we Mijinded of the commander that they should rise up, he f


uffer, and they were obliged to rise with us to eat with other brethren at table, leaving us their cloaks.

)t*'d



Another act of justice was on a king's Serjeant called niUu, who laid his hands on one of my knights, and rudely )-licd him. I went to complain of this to the king, who vords of » Lord s prayer^ " Deliver us from evil." St. Chrysostom thinks so, w l^uthymms, Theophylactes, Ori-en, and others, on this prayer. C ancient poets call hmi almost always Maufez, because he does evil i is the author of it or because he is deformed and ill made, whence nave the word mauvais at present in use.

m

'

'

;

niS BENEVOLENT CHARACTER.

\.D. 12.54.]

loes.

On

this

Holy Thursday, he washes

519

the feet of lepers,

md

then kisses them." Before this good king went to bed he was often accustomed have his children brought to him, and then related to them he brilliant actions and sayings of kings and other ancient

)rinces, telling

them

to retain

them well

in

their

memory,

to

erve as examples.

In like manner, he told them the deeds of v^icked men, who, by their luxury, rapine, avarice, and pride, lad lost their honours and kingdoms, and that their deaths " Such things," added the king, " you lad been unfortunate. rill

may not fall likewise taught them

cautiously avoid doing like them, that you

mdcr the displeasure of God."

He

heir prayers to the blessed Virgin,

and heard them daily epeat the prayers for the day, according to the seasons, in rdor to accustom them to do the same when they should be lore advanced in years, and govern their country. He was a most liberal almsgiver; for, whenever he trathrough his kingdom, he always visited the churches, infirmaries, and hospitals. He sought out distressed entlemen, poor widows, and unmarried girls without fortune ; nd every place where he found distress or want, he gave irge sums of money. To poor beggars he ordered meat and rink, and I have often seen him cut the bread and pour out ellcd

he

rink to them himself.

During

he built and endowed several churches, and abbeys such as Reaumont, the abbey of St. Uthony at Paris, the abbey Du Lis, the abbey De Malboison, and many more for the Cordeliers and Friars-preachers. le also erected the Maison Dieu at Pontoise, that of Vernon, he house of the Quinze-vingts at Paris, and the abbey of Cordeliers at St. Cloud, which the princess Isabella, his sister, ounded at^ his request. When any benefices became vacant md were in his gift, before he provided for them, he made his reign,

lonasteries,

;

inquiry of proper persons respecting the situation and who asked for them, and whether they were nen of letters and well informed. He would never allow ;hose to whom he gave benefices to hold more than was bejoming their state, and he never gave them without having itrict

jondition of those

luly consulted those well qualified to give him good advice. You will see below how he punished his bailifis, jud^^es,

ind other officers

when

in fault,

and the handsome new

esta-

520

JOINVILLe's memoirs of saint LOUIS IX.

[PT.

I

blishments he formed for the benefit of his kingdom of France ordinance runs thus

Jtlis

:

^