University of Virginia Library

III.4. CHAPTER IV

HOW THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN SENT AN INSOLENT MESSAGE TO THE KING — OF THE VISIT THAT BROTHER IVES PAID HIM — THE KING NEGOTIATES WITH THE SULTAN OF DAMASCUS AND THE EMIRS OF EGYPT — HOW THE LADY OF SAJETTA BURIED THE BONES OF COUNT WALTER OF BRIENNE — THE KING FORTIFIES CESAREA.

WHILST the King was dwelling in Acre, there came to him messengers from the Old Man of the Mountain. When the King returned from mass, he made them come before him. The King made them be seated in the following order. In front was an Emir, well dressed and well equipped; and behind his Emir was a youth well equipped, grasping three knives in his hand; so that if the Emir had been rejected, he might have offered these three knives to the King, in token of defiance. Behind him who held the three knives, there was another that carried a sheet wound around his arm, which he too would have presented to the King for a

shroud to wrap him in, had he refused the request of the Old Man of the Mountain.

The King bade the Emir say his pleasure; and the Emir delivered to him letters of credentials, and spoke as follows: " My lord sends to ask you, whether you know him? " The King replied: that he did not know him, for he had never seen him; although he had heard talk of him. " Then since you have heard of my lord, I marvel greatly, that out of your possessions you have not sent him such gifts as would have secured him for your friend; even as the Emperor of Germany, the King of Hungary, the Sultan of Egypt, and the rest do every year; because they know for certain, that they can only live as long as it shall please my lord. And if you do not choose to do this, then let him receive quittance of the tribute that he owes to the Hospital and the Temple, and he will consider your score cancelled."

At that time he used to pay tribute to the Temple and the Hospital; for they feared the Assassins not at all, seeing that the Old Man of the Mountain had nothing to gain by having the Master of the Temple or Hospital put to death; for he

knew very well, that if he had one of them killed, he was immediately replaced by another just as good; and for that reason he did not want to waste his Assassins in a quarter where he had nothing to gain by it.

The King in reply told the Emir to come to the afternoon levee.

When the Emir came again, he found the King seated thus: the Master of the Hospital on one side, and the Master of the Temple on the other. Then the King bade him repeat what he had said to him in the morning; and he replied that he had no mind to repeat it, save before those who had been with the King in the morning.

Then the two Masters said to him: " We command you to speak it." And he said, that, since they commanded him, he would repeat it to them.

Then the two Masters caused him to be told in Arabic, that he was to come and speak with them the next day at the Hospital; which he did.

Then the two Masters said to him (through the interpreters) that his lord was a very bold man, to dare to send such harsh language to the King; and they told him that were it not for love of the

unbelievers; and similarly all Mahomet's disciples call all the disciples of Ali unbelievers.

One of the points of the law of Ali, is that when a man dies in executing his lord's commands, his soul passes into a happier body than she was in before; and for this reason the Assassins make no difficulty about losing their lives when their lord commands them, because they believe that they will be happier by far after death, than they were before.

The other point is this; that they think that no man can die, save on the appointed day; which is a thing no one ought to believe, for God has power to prolong our lives and to shorten them. And this the Bedouins believe, and this is why they will not wear armour when they go into battle.

Brother Ives found a book at the head of the Old Man's bed, in which were written several sayings of Our Lord to St. Peter, when he walked on earth. And Brother Ives said to him, "Ha! for God's sake, Sir, read this book often; for these are passing good sayings." The Old Man told him that he often did so: " For I hold my lord St. Peter very dear; for in the beginning of the world, the soul of Abel, when he was

slain, passed, into the body of Noah; and when Noah died, it returned in the body of Abraham; and from the body of Abraham when he died, it passed into the body of Saint Peter, when God came upon earth."

When Brother Ives heard this, he showed him that his belief was not a right one, and taught him many good sayings; but the Old Man would not heed him. All these things Brother Ives told to the King, after he returned to us.

When the Old Man went riding, a crier went before him, carrying a Danish axe with a long handle all covered with silver, and stuck full of knives, who kept crying out: " Make way before him who bears the death of kings in his hands! "

I had forgotten to tell you the answer that the King made to the Sultan of Damascus; which was: that he was not minded to join him, until he should know whether the Emirs of Egypt would carry out the truce they had broken; that he would send to them; and that, if they would not make good the broken truce, he would willingly help him to avenge his cousin, the Sultan of Egypt, whom they had slain.

Whilst the King was at Acre, he sent my lord John of Valenciennes into Egypt, who demanded of the Emirs that they should make amends for the wrongs and injuries that they had done the King. They told him, that they would readily do so, provided the King would ally himself with them against the Sultan of Damascus. My lord John of Valenciennes blamed them much for the great wrongs they had done the King, which have been already mentioned; and advised them to soften the King's heart towards them, by sending him all the knights whom they were keeping in prison. They did so; and sent him into the bargain all the bones of Count Walter of Brienne, to lay in consecrated ground.

When Lord John of Valenciennes returned to Acre, with two hundred knights whom he brought back out of prison, (not counting other folk), my Lady of Sajetta, who was cousin to Count Walter of Brienne and sister to Lord Walter the Lord of Rinel, whose daughter John lord of Joinville took to wife later on, after he returned from over-seas, this same Lady of Sajetta took the bones of Count Walter and had them buried in the Hospital at

Acre. And she arranged the service thus: every knight offered a candle and a silver penny, and the King offered a candle and a besant; all at the expense of my Lady of Sajetta. People were much surprised at the King's doing this, for he had never been known to offer anything save at his own expense, but he did it out of politeness.

Amongst the knights whom Lord John of Valenciennes brought back, I found full forty of the Court of Champagne.

I had coats and surcoats of miniver made for them, and led them before the King, and begged him to enable them to remain with him. The King heard what they were asking, and was silent; and a knight of his council, said that I did not do well to bring such additions to the King, when he had already seven thousand liveries too many. And I said to him: that, more was the pity he could say so, and that, for our part, we of Champagne had lost no less than thirty-five knights, all bannerets, of the Court of Champagne; and, said I, "The King will not do well, if he listens to you, when he is in such need of knights." After this speech I fell to weeping violently; and the King told me.

to be silent and he would give them all that I had asked. The King received them just as I wished, and placed them in my battalion.

The King replied to the messengers from Egypt, that he would make no truce with them, unless they sent him all the heads of Christians that hung round the walls of Cairo, since the time when the Count of Bar and the Count of Montfort were taken; and unless they sent him all the children who had been taken young and become renegades; and unless they quitted him of the two hundred thousand pounds that he still owed them.

With the messengers of the Egyptian Emirs, the King sent my Lord John of Valenciennes, a valiant man and wise.

At the beginning of Lent, the King made ready, with all the followers he had, to go and fortify Cesarea, which the Saracens had rased and which was ten leagues distant on the road to Jerusalem.

Lord Ralph of Soissons, who had remained at Acre sick, went with the King to fortify Cesarea. I know not how it was, save by the will of God that they did us no mischief all that year.