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Itinerary
48
Chapter XXXI. Ñ How our men, increasing in number daily, suffer severely from
the Turks while occupied in carrying a trench round the city.
After this, our chiefs, thinking it best to abstain for the present from
open war, occupy themselves in strengthening their camp, and carry round
an embankment of turf, with deep ditches from sea to sea, for the
protection of the tents; while the marquis and the Hospitallers boldly
seized upon the space free from siege, and thus the city was blockaded by
sea and by land. While our men were thus sedulously employed in making
the trenches, the Turks harassed them incessantly, and one party relieving
another continued to annoy them from morn till night. It was necessary,
thus, that one part of our men should defend the other while at work from
their attacks. Such as we thought worth while to bear with, we did, without
returning them, although the air was darkened with their missiles and
darts, which exceeded all computation. Our men, however, worked away
with their utmost endeavour and the Turks lamented their progress. You
might see in their frequent encounters, now these now those (according to
the chances of war) overthrown and borne down. While our men were thus
for a considerable time struggling, the Lord above grieved over them,and
by strengthening and increasing our numbers from day to day, deserted
not altogether those who trusted in him. There came together, therefore,
from different parts of the world, princes, dukes, counts, besides many of
inferior degree; whose names were the Count of Ferrara, Nargenot du
Bourg, Anselm de Montreal, Geoffrey de Grenville, Otho de la Fosse,
William Goez, the Viscount de Chatellerauld, the Viscount de Turome, the
Chastellan of Bruges, the Archbishop of Pisa, also the Count Bertulf, the
Count Nicholas of Hungary, the Count Bernard, the Count Jocelyn, the
Count Richard of Apulia, the Count Alebrand, Engelran de Vienne, Hervey
de Gien, Theobald de Bar, the Count John of Loegria, another Count John
of Seis, with a nephew of the king of Denmark. There came also some
chiefs of the Danes, with 400 of their countrymen. At the same time came
Guy de Dampierre, the bishop of Verona, and a few Roman citizens. All
these, and a great many future martyrs and confessors, were added to the
number of the faithful. Martyrs truly they were, a great part of whom died

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Itinerary
49
in a short time by the stench of the dead bodies which corrupted the air,
and by the fatigue of constant watchings; while others were overcome by
the injuries they received, as neither rest nor breathing time was allowed
them, for the Turks harassed without intermission those who were
working at the ditch, and reduced their spirits by unexpected attacks, until
it was at length completed. They then made an attempt to relieve the city
from the threatened blockade.
Chapter XXXII. Ñ The description of the city of Acre and the places round about
it.
We do not think it foreign to our purpose to give at times, as the
order of our matter requires, the description of places, in order that a city,
so famous for its magnificence, as well as the various incidents of war, may
gain additional celebrity by our labours. For if a ten yearsÕ war made Troy
celebrated; if the triumph of the Christians made Antioch more illustrious,
Acre will certainly obtain eternal fame, as a city for which the whole world
contended. In the form of a triangle, it is narrow on the western side, while
it extends in a wider range towards the east, and full a third part of it is
washed by the ocean on the south and west. The port, which is not so
convenient as it should be, often deceives and proves fatal to the vessels
which winter there: for the rock which lies over against the shore, to which
it runs parallel, is too short to protect them from the fury of the storm. And
because this rock appeared a suitable place for washing away the entrails,
the ancients used it as a place for offering up sacrifices, and on account of
the flies which followed the sacrificial flesh, the tower which stands above
it was called the Tower of Flies. There is also a tower called the Cursed,
situated on the wall which surrounds the city; and if we are to credit
common report, it received its name because it is said that the pieces of
silver for which Judas betrayed his Lord, were made there. The city, then
named Ptolemais, was formerly situate upon Mount Turon, which is close
to the city, whence, by an error of antiquity, some call Acre Ptolemais.
There is a hill called the Mosque, near Mount Turon, where the ancients
say is the sepulchre of Memnon; but by whose kind offices he was brought

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