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Itinerary
216
after spending whole nights in drinking and carousing, they went, heated
with wine, to the houses of prostitutes, and if by chance they were
preoccupied, and the door closed against them, they pulled it down, giving
utterance to language and oaths which horrified those who heard them, as
is well known from the habits of the French. In a word, their external
condition proved their inward levity. Shame on the French for indulging in
such excesses! We do not assert that all were guilty of this folly, for there
were some who were much concerned at their dissolute habits, and sorry
for their discord with King Richard.
Chapter XXI. Ñ How the discord which arose between the Christians, who were
now come to the Holy Land, never occurred amongst the ancients.
The great King Charlemagne, famous for his deeds and the
subjugation of so many kingdoms to his authority, when he set out for the
conquest of Spain is said never to have suffered a quarrel to occur in his
army. Such was the case also when he made his expedition against Saxony,
where he performed so many exploits and utterly subdued the famous
Wercelin.
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 Likewise, when he went from Rome to give battle to that
powerful warrior, Aguland, who had landed at Pisa, a city of Calabria,
with a large body of Saracens, which would have been invincible but for
the divine aid, no discord ever took place in his army. So also, in the land
of Jerusalem, shattered by so many wars, during which so much slaughter
of the enemy was made, and so many battles were successfully fought,
wherever of yore we read of famous deeds of arms being carried on, there
was no quarrel to divide the army who served under one general, no
factious ill-will to disunite the people of different nations who formed it,
nor did jealousy distract those who were under the guidance of one prince,
nor was reviling or insulting language heard of amongst them, Ñ nay, they
shewed each other every honour and kindness, and they were called one
people on account of their unity, amongst whom no contention could last
20This appears to be an error for Witekind.

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Itinerary
217
long. This was the reason why the French prevailed in those days over all
foreigners, and so likewise should we moderns imitate with advantage the
example of the ancients.
Chapter XXII. Ñ How the prior of Hereford was sent to the Holy Land.
When Easter was over, and the season for crossing the sea came on,
the prior of Hereford, an English priory, came with a message for King
Richard which put the whole army in commotion. The prior brought letters
from William, bishop of Ely, the kingÕs chancellor, informing him that he
and the others whom King Richard had deputed to govern the country in
his absence, had been insolently expelled from the fortresses of the
kingdom, and some of their party killed in the riots; also, that by the
agency of the kingÕs brother, Earl John, the chancellor, had been driven
from England; that there was no more money in the kingÕs treasury or any
where else, except what was with difficulty kept concealed in the churches.
In addition to this, the prior said that the same chancellor, priest, and
bishop, had been forced to fly to Normandy, after much annoyance and ill-
treatment; and that the said earl rigorously exacted from the earls and
nobles of the land the oath of allegiance, with homage, and the custody of
the castles. He had also arbitrarily laid hands on the kingÕs yearly revenues,
namely, those of the exchequer. ÒAnd,Ó said the prior, Òif your majesty
does not take speedy counsel on these matters, and return home with all
haste and avenge our wrongs on the insurgents, it will fare worse, and you
will not be able to recover your kingdom without the hazard of a war.Ó The
king was exceedingly astonished at what he heard, and turning it over in
his mind for a long time, said but little, for he thought it incredible and a
piece of wickedness exceeding belief. Where is the man who, when his
wealth is plundered, bears it patiently? Who endures wrongs without a
murmur? Fear, in its anxiety, gives all things, however uncertain, an
appearance of probability; and when a confused state of affairs comes to
the knowledge of others, they are themselves disturbed, and their minds
are apt to be alarmed lest every thing should turn out disordered. The
discord of princes is seldom to be allayed; but if King Richard should be

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