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Itinerary
235
Chapter XLIII. Ñ How the whole army unanimously agreed that Jerusalem
should be besieged, whether King Richard should return home directly or not.
While people differed in opinion as to the departure of King Richard,
all the leaders and officers of the army, English, French, Normans, men of
Poictou, Maine, and Anjou, met together, and agreed with each other, that
whether King Richard returned or not, they would proceed to the siege of
Jerusalem, and that nothing should prevent them. When this was known in
the army, the people were filled with exceeding joy, and all, rich and poor,
high and low, rejoiced in common; and there was not a man in the army
but evinced by outward signs the most immoderate joy each in his own
peculiar manner; wherefore they made a brilliant illumination, and danced
and sang nearly all the night; and thus
They passed the livelong night in wakeful glee.
The king was the only one troubled with care from what he had heard, and
he fell into a long train of thought, until, overcome with the weight of it, he
threw himself, in an angry mood, upon his bed. It was now the beginning
of June, and the whole army was animated with the desire of setting out for
Jerusalem.
Chapter XLIV. Ñ How the flies called cincenelles stung the soldiers in the face, at
Ybelin, so that they looked like lepers.
The king and the army started from the Brake of Starlings, and
proceeded through the plains to Ybelin, of the Hospitallers, by Hebron,
near the valley, where Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, is said to have
been born. Here, the army made a halt, exceedingly rejoiced at the prospect
of proceeding towards Jerusalem. And here the men were beset with
swarms of small insects, which flew about like sparks of fire, and were
called cincenelles. The whole region round swarmed with them, and they
annoyed the pilgrims horribly, with their sharp stings in the hands, neck,
throat, forehead, and face, and in whatever part of the person happened to

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Itinerary
236
be exposed; their stings were immediately followed by burning and
swelling, and those who were stung looked like lepers. They could scarcely
keep off their troublesome attacks with veils thrown over the face and
neck. But they were in high spirits, and thought they should bear these
annoyances with patience; for they were all pledged to advance to the siege
of Jerusalem, and the king was the only one troubled at the news which he
had received from England.
Chapter XLV. Ñ How one of King RichardÕs chaplains addressed him, and
dissuaded him, by every argument in his power, from returning home.
One day a chaplain from Poictou, named William, saw the king
sitting alone in his tent, with his eyes fixed on the ground, in meditation,
and he felt grieved for him, for he knew that he was exasperated at the
news brought from England; but he did not venture to come up to him, to
lighten his mind of the cares which oppressed him; so he regarded him
with a respectful look, and shed tears, but without uttering a word. When
the king saw by his manner that the man was desirous of addressing him,
he called him, and thus spoke to him: ÒSir Chaplain, I pray you, by your
allegiance to me, tell me, without delay or dissimulation, what is the cause
of your weeping, and if occasion of your distress has any reference to me.Ó
The chaplain, with eyes swollen with tears and humble voice, replied, ÒI
will not speak before I know that your highness will not be angered with
me for what I say.Ó The king, with an oath, gave him free leave to speak.
Upon which, the chaplain, taking confidence, thus began: ÒMy lord the
king, I weep on account of the ill repute in which you stand with the army,
because you intend to return home, and especially amongst those who are
the most solicitous for your honour; but may God forbid that you be turned
from the recovery of this desolated land, by doubtful or uncertain reports,
for we believe it would tend to your eternal disgrace; let not then the glory
of a most splendid enterprise be overcast by a hasty retreat; nor let it be
charged against you hereafter, that you returned home in idleness, while
your enterprise was still unfinished. How unlike will the end be to the
beginning, if you thus derogate from your former glory! I pray you to take

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