University of Virginia Library

III.9. CHAPTER IX

THE TURKS OF DAMASCUS THREATEN JAFFA AND ACRE, AND SLAUGHTER TWO OR THREE THOUSAND CHRISTIANS AT SIDON AND DESTROY THE TOWN — ANECDOTE OF RICHARD COEUR DE LION — ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY — THE EXPENSE OF FORTIFYING JAFFA.

As soon as the Sultan of Damascus had made peace with the people of Egypt, he sent word to his followers in Gaza to return and join him. In doing so, they passed in front of our camp, within less than two leagues' distance; but they never dared attack us, though they were at least twenty thousand Saracens and ten thousand Bedouins. Before they drew near our camp, the Master of the King's cross-bowmen and his troop kept watch on them for three days and three nights, lest they should fall upon our camp unawares.

On St. John's day, after Easter, the King heard his sermon. Whilst the sermon was going on, a serjeant belonging to the Master of the Crossbow

men came all armed into the King's chapel, and told him that the Saracens had surrounded the Master of the Cross-bowmen. I requested the King to let me go thither, and he consented, and told me to take with me four hundred or five hundred men-at-arms, and named those that he wished me to take. We had no sooner left the camp than the Saracens, who had got between the Master of the Cross-bowmen and the camp, joined an Emir who was stationed on a little hill facing the Master of the Cross-bowmen, with about a thousand men-at-arms. Then the struggle began between the Saracens and the Master of the Cross-bowmen's serjeants, of whom there were about fourteen score; for, each time that the Emir saw his followers worsted, he sent them help and enough men to drive our serjeants back among the Master's troops, and when the Master saw his people worsted, he would send them a hundred or six score men-at-arms, who would drive them back up to the Emir's ranks.

Whilst we were there, the Legate and barons of the country, who had remained with the King, said to the King that it was great folly to put me in jeopardy, and by their advice the King sent to

fetch me back, and the Master of the Cross-bowmen as well. The Turks departed, and we returned to the camp.

Many people were astonished that they did not come and fight us; and some said, that they only desisted, because they and their horses had all been starved at Gaza, where they had been staying for nearly a year.

When the Saracens had departed from before Jaffa, they came before Acre, and sent word to the Lord of Ashur, who was Constable of the kingdom of Jerusalem, that they would destroy the gardens of the town, unless he sent them fifty besants. He returned answer, that he would not send them a penny. Then they marshalled their troops, and came all along the sands of Acre, so close to the town, that they could easily have shot right into it from a cross-bow tourniquet. The Lord of Ashur sallied from the town and posted himself on the Holy Mount, there where St Nicholas' cemetery is, to defend the gardens. Our foot-serjeants sallied out from Acre and began to harass them with bows and cross-bows. The Lord of Ashur called a knight, named Lord

John the Tall, and bade him go and fetch in the common people who had gone outside the town, lest they should run into danger. Whilst he was bringing them back, a Saracen began to shout to him in Arabic, that he would tilt with him if he liked; and he answered that he would do so willingly. Now, whilst Lord John was on his way to the Saracen to tilt with him, he cast his eyes to the left, and saw a group of Turks, about eight of them together, who had stood still to watch the tilting match. He abandoned his match with the Saracen, and rode up to the group of Turks who were standing quite quietly watching, ran one of them through the body with his lance, and flung him dead. When the others saw this, they set upon him, as he was retreating towards our men, and one struck him a great blow on his iron cap with a club and, as he passed on, Lord John gave him a sword-cut across the turban in which his head was wrapped, and sent the turban flying. (At that time they used to wear their turbans when they went to fight, because they will stop a heavy sword-cut.) One of the other Turks spurred up to him, and tried to catch him with his spear between the shoulders; but my Lord John saw it coming and swerved aside; and as the Saracen passed on, my Lord John gave him a back-handed cut with his sword across the arm, and sent his spear flying. And so he came back, and brought back the people on foot; and these three fine strokes he made in the sight of the Lord of Ashur and the rich men in Acre, and in the sight of all the women who had come on to the walls to see the Saracens.

All this vast horde, who came right up to Acre without daring to attack either us or the men of Acre, when they heard a rumour and a true one that the King was having the city of Sajetta fortified, and with but few good men, they drew off into those parts. When Lord Simon of Montceliart (who was Master of the King's cross-bowmen and Captain of the King's men at Sajetta) heard that these people were approaching, he retired into the castle of Sajetta, which is very strong and surrounded by the sea in all directions. And this he did, because he plainly saw that he was powerless against them. He received into the castle with him as many people as he could, and that was but few, for the castle was too small. The Saracens broke

into the town at a point where they met with no obstacle, for it was not completely walled in. More than two thousand of our people did they slay, and with the whole of the booty that they got there they moved on to Damascus.

When the King heard these tidings, he was all on fire to redress the disaster; and it just suited the barons of the country; for the King had been wishing to go and fortify a hill where there had been formerly an old castle in the time of the Maccabees. This castle lies on the way from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The Oversea Barons disapproved of fortifying this castle, because it was five leagues from the sea, so that no meat could come to us by sea without being waylaid by the Saracens, who were in greater force than we. When, therefore, the tidings reached the camp, that the town was destroyed, the barons of the country came to the King, and said to him, that it would be far more to his honour to fortify the town of Sajetta, which the Saracens had rased, than to build a new fortress; and the King agreed with them.

Whilst the King was at Jaffa, he was told that the Sultan of Damascus would be quite willing to allow

him a safe-conduct to go to Jerusalem. The King held a general council about it, and the upshot of the council was, that no one approved of the King's going, since he must allow the city to remain in the hands of the Saracens.

The following precedent was quoted to him. When the great King Philip left the camp before Acre to go to France, he left all his people behind with Duke Hugh of Burgundy (the grandfather of the Duke who died lately). Whilst the Duke was sojourning at Acre, with King Richard of England, news came to them, that they might take Jerusalem the very next day, if they chose, because all the chivalry of the Sultan of Damascus had left the city and gone in full force to assist him in a war that he was waging against another Sultan.

They made ready their men, and the King of England formed the first division, and the Duke of Burgundy the one next to it, with all the followers of the King of France. Whilst they were all counting the town as good as taken, a message came from the Duke's army not to proceed, for the Duke of Burgundy was going back; and for this reason neither more nor less, that it might not

be said that the English had taken Jerusalem. Whilst they were thus parleying, one of King Richard's knights cried to him: " Sir, Sir, only come here, and I will show you Jerusalem! " And when he heard this, he drew his coat of mail over his eyes, weeping, and said to Our Lord, " Fair Lord God, I beseech thee, suffer me not to behold Thy Holy City, since I may not deliver her from the hands of Thine enemies!"

This example they instanced, to show the King, that if he, who was the greatest King among Christians, were to make his pilgrimage without delivering the city from God's enemies, all the other kings and pilgrims that might come after him would be content to make their pilgrimage as the King of France had done, and would make no effort to deliver Jerusalem.

This Duke of Burgundy of whom I have spoken was a very good knight, but he was not accounted over wise whether as regards God or the world; as well appeared in the incident above related. And therefore the great King Philip said, when he was told that Count John of Châlons had a son, and that he was named Hugh after the Duke of

Burgundy: said he, " God make him as goodly a man as his namesake Duke Hugh." Someone asked him, why he had not said "as good a man." " Because" said he "there is a great difference between a good-ly man and a good man; for there is many a good-ly knight in Christian land and Saracen land, who never served God and his mother. And therefore I say to you" quoth he " that God shows special grace, to any Christian knight, to whom he gives bodily velour and keeps him withal from mortal sin; such an one may be truly called 'a good knight,' since his goodliness comes from God."

It were in vain to speak of the vast sums which the King spent on fortifying Jaffa, for they are beyond reckoning; for he fortified the town from sea to sea. There were at least four-and-twenty towers; and the fosses were puddled with clay outside and in. There were three gates, of which the Legate built one and one bay of wall; and to show you to what expense the King went, I may tell you, that I asked the Legate, how much this gateway and the bay of wall had cost him? And he asked me: How much I thought? And

I guessed the gateway to have cost him about five hundred pounds, and the bay of wall three hundred pounds. And he told me, that, so help him God, the gateway with the wall had cost him a good thirty thousand pounds.