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Itinerary
253
the enemy was always in his hands. About thirty, therefore, of the fugitives
came round upon our men by a circuitous route, and made a violent charge
on Roger de Toony, whose horse they killed under him; and they were near
capturing himself, but he was rescued from their hands by one of his
comrades, Jakel of Maine, who however was also thrown front his horse;
but Roger stoutly defended him on foot, and succeeded in rescuing him.
Meanwhile, our men-at-arms came up, and the earl of Leicester, who
attacked them to the right and left, also Gilbert Malemain, with four
companions, Alexander Arsi, and others, to the number of about twenty;
Stephen de Longchamp also generously offered his services to Roger do
Toony, in the midst of the hostile Turks, and supplied him with a horse to
mount. Then the slaughter was renewed; swords flashed in the air; and the
ground was covered with blood; arms rung and clashed together; bodies
were torn limb from limb; heads, arms, feet, and hands, and other limbs,
lay scattered about; and our men were interrupted as they walked along by
the bodies of the enemy, which lay along the fields in great numbers, and
caused them to stumble at every step. The men of Poictou and Anjou,
together with the French and Normans, distinguished themselves in the
battle; but King Richard, the flower of valour, and the crown of chivalry,
bore away the prize from all; and any praise that I could give him would
fall far short of his merits. The slaughter of the Turks was greater than our
ancestors had ever seen; and such was their confusion and dismay in the
encounter, that a boy might have killed ten of them, or, in fact, as many of
them as came in his way. By this defeat the pride of the Turks was entirely
cast down, and their boldness effectually repressed; whilst the caravan,
with all its riches, became the spoil of the victors. Its guards surrendered to
our soldiers themselves, their beasts of burden, and sumpter horses; and
stretching forth their hands in supplication, they implored for mercy, on
condition only that their lives should be spared. They led the yoked horses
and camels by the halter, and offered them to our men, and they brought
mules loaded with spices of different kinds, and of great value; gold and
silver; cloaks of silk; purple and scarlet robes, and variously-ornamented
apparel, besides arms and weapons of divers forms, coats of mail,
commonly called gasiganz; costly cushions, pavilions, tents, biscuit, bread,

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Itinerary
254
barley, grain, meal, and a large quantity of conserves and medicines;
basins, bladders, chess-boards; silver dishes and candlesticks; pepper,
cinnamon, sugar, and wax; and other valuables of choice and various
kinds; an immense sum of money, and an incalculable quantity of goods,
such as had never before (as we have said) been taken at one and the same
time, in any former battle.
Chapter V. Ñ How many camels and dromedaries were taken, and how many
Turks were slain.
The slaughter of the infidels being finished, and the caravan
captured, our army was harassed with new toils in gathering together the
runaway camels and dromedaries, by which the whole army was thrown
into confusion, for they avoided the pursuit of our horses with such great
fleetness, that no other kind of animal appeared to be of so active and swift
a nature. These animals appeared slothful and tardy until the pursuers
were within a short distance, and then they moved at full speed. At last, by
one means or another, 4,700 camels and dromedaries were collected
together, though the number is not quite certain. They took so many mules
of both sexes, and laden asses, that they could not reckon the number, for
they appeared more abundant than the number of men could possibly
require. Moreover, the number of Turkish horsemen who were that day
slain, exceeded 1,700, besides very many foot soldiers, who were trodden
to death in the m•lŽe.
Chapter VI. Ñ How while King Richard was returning with his spoil to