Microsoft Word richard of holy trinity inp

and that of the enemy, and how we gained the victory.
At a season of calm, when Easter was close at hand, the marquis at
our request returned from Tyre with a large equipment and supplies of
men, arms, and provisions. For by the provident care of the chiefs, the king

---

Itinerary
52
and marquis were pacified on the pretext that the marquis should have
possession of Tyre, Berytus, and Sidon, and on condition that he should be
faithful and strenuous for the interests of the king and his kingdom. But
rash ambition always turns to evil the avaricious and iniquitous heart; for
inflamed with the desire of obtaining the kingdom, he broke the faith he
had pledged; and while to the outward eye he appeared a friend, within
his breast he concealed the foe. At length the townspeople liked not their
privation of liberty, and determined to try the issue of a sea-fight. They
therefore led forth their galleys by twos, and keeping good order, they
rowed into the offing to meet and attack those that were coming; our men
prepared to meet them as they came on, and since there was no means of
getting away, prepared to face them with greater resolution. [On the other
hand our men got on board our war ships, and straining to the left by an
oblique course, retreated to a distance, and gave the enemy free means of
egress.] And now that mention is made of a sea-fight, we judge it right to
describe briefly the fleet, and what difference there is between those of the
moderns and ancients. With the ancients, a larger number of oars was
required in ships of this kind, which were arranged in stories, so that some
plied the oars at a longer, others at a shorter distance from the sea. These
vessels had frequently three or four banks of oars each, some even five; and
a few of the ships used at the battle of Actium between Antony and
Augustus, are said to have had six. Furthermore, ships of war were called
liburn¾; for the ships used in the battle of Actium were chiefly built at
Liburnia in Dalmatia; whence it became usual among the ancients to call
them liburn¾. But all that ancient magnificence has passed away; for ships
of war, which once had six banks of oars, have now seldom more than two.
But what the ancients used to call a liburna, we call a galia, with the middle
syllable lengthened; it is long and graceful, not high out of water, and has a
piece of wood at the prow, which is commonly called the spur; with which
the enemyÕs ships are struck and pierced. Galleons are vessels with one
bank of oars, manageable from their shortness, easily turned, and light for
running to and fro; they are better suited for throwing fire. When,
therefore, they went forth on both sides to fight, our men drew not up their
ships in a straight line, but in the form of a crescent; that if the enemy

---

Itinerary
53
should charge the inner ships, he might be shut in and crushed. They
placed their most powerful ships at the points of the crescent, as against
them would be directed the enemyÕs most vigorous attack; on the upper
row of benches were arranged shields close together; and in one the rowers
sat, in order that those who were on deck might have free space for
fighting. The sea was perfectly calm and tranquil, as if it favoured the
battle, and the rippling wave impeded neither the shock of the attacking
ship, nor the stroke of the oars. As they closed, the trumpets sounded on
both sides. A terrific clang is roused, and the battle is commenced by the
throwing of missiles. Our men implore the Divine assistance, and ply their
oars strenuously, and dash at the enemyÕs ships with their beaks. Soon the
battle began; the oars become entangled and they fight hand to hand,
having grappled each otherÕs ships together; and they fire the decks with
burning oil, which is vulgarly called Greek fire. That kind of fire with a
detestable stench and livid flames consumes both flint and steel; it cannot
be extinguished by water, but is subdued by the sprinkling of sand, and
put out by pouring vinegar on it. But what can be more dreadful than a
fight at sea? what more savage, where such various fates await the
combatants? Some are tortured by the burning of the flames; some falling
overboard are swallowed in the waves; others wounded perish by the
enemyÕs weapons. One galley, unskilfully managed by our men, exposed
its flank to the foe; and being set on fire, received the Turks as they
boarded her on all sides. The rowers in their fright fall into the sea; but a
few soldiers, impeded by their heavy armour, and restrained by ignorance
of swimming, took courage from desperation, and commenced an unequal
fight; and trusting in the LordÕs valour, a few of them overcame numbers;
and having slain the foe, they brought back the half-burnt vessel in
triumph. Another ship was boarded by the enemy, who had driven the
combatants from the upper deck; while those who were below strove to
escape by the help of their oars. Wondrous and terrible was the conflict; for
the oars being pulled different ways, the galley was drawn first one way,
then the other, as the Turks drove it; yet our men prevailed, and the enemy,
who rowed on the upper deck, being overcome and thrust down by the
Christians, yielded. In this naval contest, the enemy lost both the galley and

---