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proceed and go round Spain by the Straits, and wait for him at Messina.
King Richard was at Tours with a chosen body of soldiers. Both the
city and suburbs were so crowded with the multitude of men that they
inconvenienced each other from the crowd and the narrowness of the
streets and roads. Therefore, by the command of the king, the royal fleet,
being collected together, was ordered to proceed in order, being in number
a hundred and eight, not including the ships that followed afterwards.
Thus the royal fleet, having been set forward on its voyage by the
command of the king, with a fair wind and in close company, reached the
destined port of Messina, after having safely escaped the dangerous
sandbanks, and the perils of the terrible rocks, the stormy straits of Africa,
and all the dangers of the ocean. Here they awaited the arrival of the king,
according to his command, who was marching with his army by land.
When the king departed from Tours with his forces, the inhabitants of the
land were terrified by the appearance of so great a multitude. Who could
relate the numbers of those who accompanied him, the variety of their
arms, the trains of nobles and chosen hands of combatants? Or who could
describe the troops of infantry and their bodies of slingers, which those
who saw as they advanced in order, from their inmost hearts, and with
pious zeal forcing out the tears, equally mourned and congratulated their
lord the new king, who thus, at the commencement of his reign, without

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having tasted the sweets of rest, so devotedly and so speedily left all
pleasures, and, as if chosen by the Lord, he undertook a work of so great
goodness, so arduous and so necessary, and a journey so commendable. O
the miserable sighs for those that left them! O the groans of those who
embraced at parting! and the good wishes for those who were going away!
O the eyes heavy with tears, and the mutual sobs interrupting the words of
the speakers amidst the kisses of those who were dear to them, not yet
satisfied with the conversation of those who were leaving them; and
although they grieved, those who were setting out feigned equanimity by
the gravity of their countenances, and separated from each other, after long
conversations, as if choking for utterance, and often interchanging a
farewell, staid a little longer, and repeated it to gain delay and to appear
about to say something more; and at last, tearing themselves from the
voices of those that cheered them, they bounded forward and extricated
themselves from the hands of those who would detain them.
Chapter VIII. Ñ How the two kings, according to agreement, met at Vezelai.
Thus, in the first year of his coronation, Richard, king of England, set
out from Tours on his journey. From Tours he marched to Luti, then to
Mount Richard; after that to Celles, thence to Chapelles, thence to Dama,
thence to Vitiliacum, that is, Vezelai, where the two kings and their forces
were to meet. And because the people of both nations were reckoned to be
incalculably numerous, the mountains, far and wide, were spread with
pavilions and tents, and the surface of the earth around was covered, so
that the level of the sowed fields which were occupied, presented to the
beholder the appearance of a city, with its effect heightened by a most
imposing variety of pavilions, and by the different colours that
distinguished them. There you might see the martial youth of different
nations equipped for war, which appeared able to subdue the whole length
of the earth, and to overcome the countries of all the world, and to
penetrate the retreat of different tribes, and judge no place too hard or no
enemy too fierce to conquer; and that they would never yield to wrong
while they could aid and assist each other by the help of their valour. That

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army, boasting in its immense numbers, well protected by the defence of
their arms, and glowing with ardour, was scattered by the intervention of
disputes, and overthrown by internal discord, which, if combined with
military discipline and good-will, would have remained invincible to all
without; and thus, by the violation of the ties of fellowship, it met with a
heavier downfall, whilst it was distracted by its own friends; for a house
divided against itself is made desolate.
Chapter IX. Ñ How the two kings entered into a treaty at Vezelai, and agreed to
wait for each other at Messina, and how they arrived together at Lyons on the
Rhone.
There the two kings made a treaty for their mutual security, and for
preserving good faith with each other in every respect, and for inquiring
into all things according to the rights of war, with a view to their equal
division. Besides that, it was agreed that he who should arrive first at
Messina was to wait for the other to follow; after which, each of their
friends who had followed them so far on their pilgrimage should return
home. The two kings set forward with their men, and arranged the manner
of their march, holding frequent intercourse with great magnificence, and
paying each other mutual honour; and being also of one accord, the mighty
army, during the progress of their march, performed their duties without
complaint or dissension, Ñ nay, with joy and alacrity. And as they thus
passed along cities and villages with a mighty equipment and clash of
arms, the inhabitants, observing the multitude, and marking the
distinctions of the men by the place of each nation in the march, and
noticing their discipline, exclaimed, ÒO heaven! what meaneth so great a
multitude of men, and so mighty an army? Who can resist their valour? O
noble soldiery in the flower of their youth! O young men, happy in so
much beauty! Were your parents affected with sorrow at your departure?
What land gave birth to youths of so distinguished a mien, or produced
such fine young soldiers? And who are the rulers of so mighty a multitude
that govern with their word such brave legions?Ó Uttering these words,
and such like, and following with good wishes those that passed, they paid

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the most marked attention to the people of different nations and those who
were fatigued by the march, by testifying all the devotion in their power.
Thus the army proceeding in order by separate divisions, went joyfully
from Vezelai to St. Leonard of Curbeny, thence to Mulins, afterwards to
Mount Escot, then to Tulnis, near St. Mary de Bois, thence to Belivi,
afterwards to the village of Furaca, and thence to Lyons on the Rhone;
there they stopped some days, owing to the difficulty of crossing the river
from its rapidity and unknown depth; so that the army which had come in
the interim might cross over, and wait the arrival of those who were to
follow. Having at length crossed the river, the two kings pitched their
pavilions on the other side in the meadows: as many of the army as it could
contain lodged in the town; the others in the fields in the suburbs. There
you might see people of different nations, distinguished by their proper
places and by the forms of their arms, in countless numbers; for they were
reckoned to exceed a hundred thousand, and recruits had not yet ceased to
flock in. Afterwards, the king of England followed up his show of
friendship and honour to the king of France, on his departure with all his
troops for Genoa. For the king of France had engaged the Genoese, who
were good seamen, to carry him over the gulf. For they had agreed, as has
been afore said, that whichever first put in at Messina in Sicily, should
await the arrival of the other.
Chapter X. Ñ How, after the departure of the king of France to Genoa, the bridge
over the Rhone gave way from the pressure of the crowd, and how King Richard
embarked at Marseilles and crossed over to Messina.
While the crowd of pilgrims, who came in constantly from all
quarters, was incautiously hastening to cross the bridge over the Rhone, a