Microsoft Word richard of holy trinity inp

Itinerary
262
march under his command; and in this they were not disappointed, for
they never again marched under anybodyÕs command, for in a short time
they all miserably perished. Meanwhile, however, the soldiers of all
nations, whose hearts God had touched, and the sufferings of their fellow-
creatures excited to compassion, hastened to set out with the king; namely,
the Templars, the Hospitallers., and several other valiant knights, all of
whom marched by land to C¾sarea; but the noble king trusting for his
safety to his own valour, embarked on board his fleet of galleys, which
were equipped with every thing that could be necessary. With him were
the earl of Leicester, Andrew de Chaveguy, Roger de Satheya, Jordan de
Humez, Ralph de Mauleon, Achus de Fay, and the knights of Pratelles,
companions of the king together with many others of illustrious names,
besides Genoese and Pisans. Those who went by land to C¾sarea, halted
there some time for fear of an ambuscade, which they heard had been laid
by Saladin for all such as should pass that, way; and there was no better
way for them to go by, on account of the son of Arcisus, who guarded the
maritime district between C¾sarea and Arsur: and besides this, a contrary
wind arose, which detained the kings ships three days at Cayphas, where
they had put in. The king, vexed at this delay, exclaimed aloud, ÒO Lord
God, why dost thou detain us here? consider, I pray thee, the urgency of
the case, and the devoutness of our wishes.Ó No sooner had he prayed
thus, than God caused a favourable wind to spring up, which wafted his
fleet before it into the harbour of Joppa, in the midst of the night of Friday
immediately preceding the Saturday on which they had agreed to
surrender, and all of them would have been given over to destruction.
Alas, for the perfidy of that wicked race! Early on the morning of that day,
which was the day of St. Peter ad vincula, the besieged were importuned by
the Turks to fulfil the conditions of the truce. They accordingly began at the
ninth hour to pay in part the bezants which they had promised; when the
wicked Turks, behaving worse than brute beasts, and with no feeling of
humanity about them, cut off the heads of those who paid them the money;
and thus seven of them had already perished, and their heads were thrown
into a ditch. But those in the town who were still alive, discovering the
treachery, were struck with terror, and began to send forth cries of

---

Itinerary
263
lamentation and distress. Seeing certain death before them, they bent their
knees, and confessed their sins to one another, thinking no longer of their
lives which were doomed, but of their souls; whilst to delay their fate for
some few moments longer, Ñ for who is there that does not fear death? Ñ
they fled up the fortress as far they were able, and there awaited the stroke
of martyrdom, shedding tears, and supplicating the mercy of the Almighty,
who at length was appeased, and deigned to listen to their petition: their
deliverer was already come, his fleet was riding in the harbour, and his
soldiers were eager to land for their rescue!
Chapter XV. Ñ Of the fierce conflict by which the king recovered the castle of
Joppa, and liberated the besieged.
The Turks, discovering the arrival of the kingÕs fleet, sallied down to
the seaside with sword and shield, and sent forth showers of arrows: the
shore was so thronged with their multitude that there was hardly a foot of
ground to spare. Neither did they confine themselves to acting on the
defensive, for they shot their arrows at the crews of the ships, and the
cavalry spurred their horses into the sea to prevent the kingÕs men from
landing. The king, gathering his ships together, consulted with his officers
what was the best step to take. ÒShall we,Ó said he, Òpush on against this
rabble multitude who occupy the shore, or shall we value our lives more
than the lives of those poor fellows who are exposed to destruction for
want of our assistance?Ó Some of them replied that further attempts were
useless, for it was by no means certain that any one remained alive to be
saved, and how could they land in the face of so large a multitude? The
king looked around thoughtfully, and at that moment saw a priest plunge
into the water and swim towards the royal galley. When he was received
on board, he addressed the king with palpitating heart and spirits almost
failing him. ÒMost noble king, the remnant of our people, waiting for your
arrival, are exposed like sheep to be slain, unless the divine grace shall
bring you to their rescue.Ó ÒAre any of them still alive, then?Ó asked the
king, Òand if so, where are they?Ó ÒThere are still some of them alive,Ó said
the priest,Ó and hemmed in and at the last extremity in front of yonder

---