Raoul of Caen: GESTA TANCREDI IN EXPEDITIONE HIEROSOLYMITANA

Tancredus clarae stirpis germen clarissimum, parentes eximios Marchisum habuit et Emmam: a patre quidem haud ignobilis filius, a maternis autem fratribus nepos longe sublimior: nam caetera familiae illius praedecessio, a contermina satis esse duxit laudari vicinia; matris vero fratres militiae suae gloriam extra supraque patriam, id est Normanniam, extulerunt. Quis enim Wiscardi probitatem non probet, cujus signa sub uno, ut aiunt, die Graecus Alemannusque imperator tremuerunt victricia? Romam namque praesens, ab Alemanno liberavit.

Tancred, the most illustrious sprout of a famous stock, had as parents the exceptional Marchisus and Emma: on his father’s side a by-no-means ignoble son, but by his mother’s brothers a nephew far more exalted; for the other pre-eminence of that family judged it enough to be lauded by the bordering neighborhood, whereas his mother’s brothers lifted the glory of their soldiery beyond and above their fatherland, that is, Normandy. For who would not approve the probity of Guiscard, whose victorious standards, as they say, in a single day made the Greek and the German emperor tremble? For he, being present, freed Rome from the German.

Graecorum autem, in B. prole bellica vincendo regem, subjugavit regionem: reliqui vero fratres numero 11. Campaniam, Calabriam, Apuliam [0493D] contenti debellare. Excipiendus est Rogerius, cui subacta gentilitas Sicula, gloriam peperit inter fratres a Wiscardo secundam: sed in his non diutius me sinit immorari eadem quae in has me immisit moras narratio.

Moreover, of the Greeks, by conquering the king in B. with his warlike progeny, he subjugated the region: but the remaining brothers, in number 11, were content to finish the war in Campania, Calabria, and Apulia [0493D]. An exception must be made for Roger, for whom the subdued Sicilian nation bore glory second among the brothers after Wiscard; but the same narrative that sent me into these delays does not allow me to linger longer on these things.

Regia Tancredi indoles; ad bellum sacrum se disponit.

Tancred’s royal nature; he prepares himself for the holy war.

Nunc redeo ad Tancredum: ipsum nec paternae opes ad lasciviam, nec ad superbiam traxit potentia cognatorum. Adhuc adolescens juvenes agilitate armorum, morum gravitate senes transcendebat: nunc his, nunc illis novum virtutis spectaculum. Extunc praeceptorum Dei sedulus auditor, summopere studebat et audita recolligere, et quantum permittebat coaevorum conversatio, recollecta implere, nemini detrahere, etiam cum sibi detrahebatur, dignabatur imo hosticae strenuitatis praeco, aiebat, [0494C] hostem feriendum esse, non rodendum.

Now I return to Tancred: neither did paternal wealth draw him to wantonness, nor the power of his kinsmen to pride. Still an adolescent, he surpassed young men in agility of arms, and old men in the gravity of manners: now to these, now to those a new spectacle of virtue. From that time he was a sedulous auditor of the precepts of God; he strove exceedingly both to recollect what he had heard and, so far as the converse of his coevals permitted, to fulfill what he had recollected, to detract from no one, even when detraction was practiced against himself; indeed, a herald of hostile strenuousness, he used to say, [0494C] that the enemy is to be struck, not gnawed.

De se ipse nihil dicere, at dici insatiabiliter sitiebat: proinde somnos vigiliis, quietem labori, satietatem fami, otium studio, postremo superflua omnia necessariis postponebat. Sola erat laudis gloria, quae juvenis mentem agitaret, cujus quotidianos mercando titulos, facilem crebri vulneris ducebat jacturam: eoque nec suo parcebat sanguini, nec hostili: disputabat secum in dies animus prudens, eaque frequentior eum coquebat anxietas, quod militiae suae certamina praecepto videbat obviare dominico: Dominus quippe maxillam percussum jubet, et aliam percussori praebere; militia vero saecularis, nec cognato sanguini parcere: Dominus tunicam auferenti dandam esse, et penulam admonet; militiae necessitas [0494D] ambabus spoliato reliqua quae supersunt esse auferenda. Haec itaque repugnantia, si quando indultum est indulgere quieti, sapientis viri audaciam sopiebat.

He himself would say nothing about himself, but thirsted insatiably to be spoken of: accordingly he postponed sleeps to vigils, repose to labor, satiety to hunger, leisure to study, and at last he postponed all superfluities to necessities. The glory of praise alone was what agitated the young man’s mind; and in bartering for its daily titles, he accounted the easy loss of frequent wounds: and thus he spared neither his own blood nor the enemy’s. Day by day his prudent spirit debated with itself, and a more frequent anxiety tormented him, because he saw the contests of his soldiery to be contrary to the Lord’s precept: for the Lord orders the one struck on the cheek to offer the other to the striker; but secular soldiery bids not to spare even kindred blood: the Lord admonishes that to the one taking away the tunic the cloak be given; the necessity of soldiery [0494D] is that, after a man has been despoiled of both, the remaining things which are left be taken away. These contrarieties, therefore, whenever it was granted to indulge repose, lulled the audacity of the wise man.

At postquam Urbani papae sententia universis Christianorum gentilia expugnaturis peccatorum omnium remissionem ascripsit: tunc demum quasi sopiti prius experrecta est viri strenuitas, vires assumptae, oculi aperti, audacia geminata: prius namque, ut praescriptum est, animus ejus in bivium secabatur ambiguus utrius sequeretur vestigia; evangelii, an mundi: experientia vero armorum ad Christi obsequium revocata, supra credibile virum accendit militandi duplicata occasio. Igitur data commeatui opera, brevi quae necessaria sunt parata sunt: nec magnas quidem expensas coegit homo qui in morem a puero duxerat res antequam venirent in suum, in jus traducere alienum: arma [0495A] tamen militaria, caballos, mulos, et alia hujusmodi pro commilitonum suorum numero, sufficienter aptavit.

But after the sentence of Pope Urban ascribed remission of all sins to all the Christians who were about to storm the Gentiles: then at last the man’s strenuousness, as if previously lulled asleep, was awakened; strength was assumed, eyes were opened, boldness was doubled: for previously, as has been written above, his mind was cut at a crossroads, unsure whose footsteps he should follow; the Gospel’s, or the world’s: but his experience in arms, recalled into the obedience of Christ, the doubled occasion of soldiering inflamed the man beyond belief. Therefore, care having been given to the supply-train, shortly the things that were necessary were prepared: nor did he indeed levy great expenses, a man who had taken it as a custom from boyhood to translate things, before they came into his own, into another’s right: the military arms [0495A] nevertheless, horses, mules, and other things of this kind, he fitted out sufficiently according to the number of his fellow-soldiers.

II.- Boamundi elogium.

2.- Eulogy of Bohemond.

Erat iisdem temporibus magni nominis heros, cujus adolescentiae supra mentio facta est, Boamundus Roberti illius egregii bellatoris agnomine Wiscardi filius, paternae audaciae strenuissimus aemulator: hujus quoque animos eadem quae caeteros per orbem principes apostolica praedicatio ad liberandum ab infidelium jugo Jerusalem excitaverat. Ejus imperio quidquid est oppidorum et urbium a Siponto ad Oriolium in maritima, omnes prorsus in montanis et campestribus locis, omnes fere serviebant: ad haec sua tam urbes quam oppida [0495B] Apuli montes, Calabrique plurima sustinebant. Is Graecorum imperatorem Alexium bis sub patre in fugam converterat: primo quidem in oculis patris sub Dyrachii moenibus; secundo autem patre Romam reverso, ipse paterno exercitui apud Larissam vicarius relictus: quae victoria sicut prius gloriam geminaverat, ita modo, victorem licet, sub pacis nomine transfretaturum acrius pungebat: metuebantur enim Graecorum insidiae, qui familiare habent quos etiam bene meritos invitaverunt ad munera, retrudere ad flagra.

In those same times there was a hero of great name, whose adolescence mention has been made of above, Boamund, son of that Robert, the distinguished warrior by the agnomen Wiscard, a most vigorous emulator of his father’s daring: his spirits too the same apostolic preaching which had aroused the other princes throughout the world to liberate Jerusalem from the yoke of the infidels had stirred. Under his authority whatever there is of towns and cities from Siponto to Oriolium on the seacoast, absolutely all in mountainous and level places, almost all were in service; moreover, both his cities and his towns the Apulian mountains, and very many in Calabria, sustained [0495B]. He had twice put Alexius, emperor of the Greeks, to flight under his father: first indeed before his father’s eyes beneath the walls of Dyrrhachium; and second, when his father had returned to Rome, he himself being left as vicar to his father’s army at Larissa: which victory, just as it had previously doubled his glory, so now, though victor, under the name of peace as he was about to cross the straits, was pricking him more sharply; for the ambushes of the Greeks were feared, who have as something habitual to them to thrust back to the lash those whom they have even invited to rewards, though well-deserving.

Quid ergo exasperati? quid victi saepius molituri erant, quidve suis de se dabant sperare victoribus? miseris aut inferendam esse perniciem, aut terrentium in potentia cessaturam.

What then, when exasperated? what, beaten more often, were they going to contrive, or what did they give their victors to hope concerning themselves? that for the wretched either destruction was to be inflicted, or that the power of those who were terrifying would cease.

Haec igitur sollicitudo Boamundi navigio [0495C] moras innectebat; quapropter strenui cujusque viribus proprias vallare sapienter sibi consuluit, portibus interim exitu negato. Auditus vero eodem incaluisse desiderio Tancredus, cognati sollicitudinem et minuit, et auxit: minuit, robur robori creditus addere; auxit, viam foederis improvidum cogens providere.

Therefore this solicitude of Bohemond was weaving delays for the voyage [0495C]; wherefore he prudently took counsel for himself to fortify his own positions with the forces of every valiant man, with exit meanwhile denied to the harbors. But Tancred, heard to have grown hot with the same desire, both diminished and increased his kinsman’s solicitude: he diminished it, believed to add strength to strength; he increased it, by compelling the improvident to provide for the way of a treaty.

III.- Cum eo foedus iniit Tancredus.

3.- Tancred entered into a pact with him.

Multis itaque opibus blanditiisque praemissis, apud Tancredum obtentum est ut sub Boamundo ipse quasi dux sub rege secundus ab eo militaret: nam praeter blanditias, oblatasque opes, urgebant eum alia duo: propinquitas generis, et difficultas transfretationis; quarum quidem haec amoris, illa timoris [0495D] poculum vicissim ei propinabant: nisi enim Boamundo in his quae rogabatur morem gereret, facile et de invidia argui et a littore dignus videretur qui deberet repelli: proinde facilem viam ad impetrandum meruit precibus donisque cumulata petitio. Confoederati igitur ambo Wiscardidae, totius generis sui praecellens strenuitas, laxis navigio habenis, Epyrum delabuntur. Tancredus itaque nactus exercendae virtutis locum, modo praeviis insidiis occursabat, interdum post exercitus vestigia arcebat latrunculos.

Therefore, many resources and blandishments having been sent ahead, it was secured with Tancred that under Bohemond he himself should serve, as if a duke under a king, second after him: for besides the blandishments and the proffered resources, two other things were pressing him: the proximity of lineage, and the difficulty of the crossing; of which indeed the former proffered to him in turn the cup of love, the latter of fear [0495D]: for unless he were to comply with Bohemond in the things requested, he might easily be both accused of envy and seem worthy to be repelled from the shore; accordingly, the petition heaped up with prayers and gifts earned an easy way to obtaining. The two Guiscardids therefore, confederated, the surpassing strenuousness of their whole stock, with the ship’s reins loosened, glide down to Epirus. Tancred, then, having found a place for exercising virtue, now with ambushes laid in advance he would encounter, at times behind the army’s tracks he kept off brigands.

Sive praevius, sive sequens, semper utilis, semper armatus, periculis gaudebat exponi. Caeteris vino sepultis et sopore, ipse pervigil excubare in triviis, nivesque clypeo temperare et grandinos. Felix anicula illa quae aut ex inedia Tancredo [0496A] inveniebatur defecta, aut cis ripam fluvii rapacis pedes vadatura: nam famelicae continuo cibus; vadaturae equus pro navi, pro remige eques, eques, inquam, ipse Tancredus libens supplebatur.

Whether going ahead or following, always useful, always armed, he rejoiced to be exposed to dangers. While the rest were buried in wine and slumber, he himself, ever-vigilant, would keep watch at the crossroads, and would temper with his shield the snows and the hailstones. Happy the little old woman who either, exhausted from lack of food, was found by Tancred [0496A], or, on the near bank of a rapacious river, was about to wade across on foot: for to the starving one there was straightway food; for the one about to ford, a horse in place of a ship, in place of a rower a horseman— a horseman, I say, Tancred himself— was willingly furnished.

IV.- Fluvium Bardal cum suis trajicit. Graecos superat.

4.- He crosses the river Bardal with his men. He overcomes the Greeks.

Tali populus ille beatus praesidio, feliciter ad flumen quod Bardal dicitur, perducitur: ibi castrametati dies aliquot in mora consumpserunt. Obsistebat eorum transitui fluvius rapax, et utraque ripa minis plena hostilibus, plurimos terrebat: nam qui transeundo procederent his Turcopolos a fronte; qui tardarent illis a tergo timendum esse videbatur. At Tancredus ubi exercitum mussare videt, periculo vitam objicit; gurgitem transit, paucis sequentibus: [0496B] his, inquam, coactis, ille ultroneus.

With such a protection that blessed people is happily led to the river which is called Bardal: there, having encamped, they spent several days in delay. A ravening river opposed their passage, and each bank, full of hostile menaces, was terrifying very many: for those who would advance by crossing, the Turcopoles were in front; for those who delayed, from the rear there seemed something to be feared. But Tancred, when he sees the army muttering, casts his life into peril; he crosses the torrent, a few following: [0496B] they, I say, under compulsion; he, of his own accord.

Metuebant coacti ne turmae tam exili hostilis incurreret multitudo. Tancredus contra, ne dum transiret ad pugnam, terreret in fugam: sicque audacia victoriam quidem pareret; verum altero victoriae pretio spoliis careret. In qua sollicitudine flumine superato, in alterius votum utriusque timoris praesagia cesserunt: nam insidiatoriae pluralitati paucitate oblata, visum est gentis praedam venisse in pugnam, latebrarum ignaros, non praescios: prosilientes igitur e latibulis sagittae, terribiliter figurant dum volant, nubem; dum cadunt, grandinem; dum astant, segetem.

Compelled and gathered, they feared lest the hostile multitude should charge a troop so meager. Tancred, contrariwise, lest while he crossed to the combat he should scare them into flight: and thus audacity would indeed procure victory; but, at the other price of victory, he would be deprived of spoils. In this anxiety, the river having been overcome, the forebodings of both fears yielded to the other’s wish: for to the ambuscading plurality, a paucity being presented, it seemed that the prey of the nation had come into the fight—ignorant of hiding-places, not prescient. Therefore the arrows, leaping forth from their lairs, terribly shape, while they fly, a cloud; while they fall, hail; while they stand, a crop.

Nondum ad Francos ventum erat, cum jam nullum dimicandi latebat genus: non cursim, non rapide, non saltim; sed pedetentim [0496C] obviabat, missa eminus tolerans spicula, dum eo usque processum esset, ut caderent post terga. Quippe gentis illius pugnam congressu plurimo expertus, quo facilius more vincendi erant cognoverat: ideoque animos per se effrenes, per prudentiam refrenabat. Ut ergo cominus res geri potuit, patientiae moras redimit copia subsecuta.

Not yet had they come to the Franks, when already no genus of fighting lay hidden: not at a run, not swiftly, not by leaping; but step by step [0496C] he went to meet them, enduring the javelins sent from afar, until he had advanced so far that they were falling behind his back. Indeed, having tested the combat of that race by very many encounters, he had learned by what method they were more easily to be conquered; and so spirits unbridled in themselves he was restraining by prudence. Therefore, as soon as the matter could be managed at close quarters, he redeemed the delays of patience by the success that followed.

Habenas laxant, calcaribus utuntur, lanceas vibrant, incumbitur vibratis, peltae Graecorum fiducia incumbentibus non resistunt. Porro sagittae hastis urgentibus, quorum prius tutela fuerant, in sarcinam convertuntur: nam postquam ad enses ventum est, usus praeteriit sagittarum. Sic Graeci tegmine destituti et jaculo, vulnera tantum excipiunt, nec reddunt.

They loosen the reins, use their spurs, brandish their lances, they press upon with the brandished; the peltae of the Greeks, their reliance, do not withstand those bearing down. Moreover, the arrows, as the spears press in—arrows which previously had been their protection—are turned into baggage; for after it came to swords, the use of arrows has passed. Thus the Greeks, deprived of cover and of the javelin, receive only wounds and do not return them.

[0496D] Miseri! quibus sine dubio et sine medio mortem aut fugam praesentem omnia intentant! Miseri!

[0496D] Wretches! for whom, without doubt and without a middle course, all things menace immediate death or flight! Wretches!

sed sicut nullius misericordes, ita nulli miserabiles. Sternitur plebs invalida, et docetur non ultra de Francorum raritate praesumere: sed in uno centum formidare. Tancredus viam gladio aperit; et quot aggreditur caedendos, tot praeterit caesos.

but as merciful to none, so pitiable to none. The feeble plebs is laid low, and is taught no longer to presume upon the rarity of the Franks: but to dread a hundred in one. Tancred opens a way with the sword; and as many as he attacks to be hewn down, just so many he passes by hewn down.

Illum sequentibus facile qua se vertisset, vestigia declarabant. Trunci semineces a dextra et laeva medio cruoris alveo supplebant ripas. Nec passim vagandi licentia: sed per effusoris semitam currere dabatur.

For those following him, his tracks easily declared where he had turned. Half-dead trunks on the right and on the left made up the banks, with a channel of gore in the middle. Nor was there license to wander everywhere, but it was granted to run along the blood-shedder’s path.

Hinc effusor ipse, non qui effuderit; sed qui ediderit sanguinem, apparebat: adeo suffectus, adeo cruentatus Tancredum diffitebatur in colore, sed non diffitebatur in opere. Simili modo pubes socia fugando, [0497A] caedendo, prosternendo, singuli pro suis viribus arva cruentabant.

From here the shedder himself appeared—not as one who had shed, but as one who had given forth blood: so suffused, so blood-besmeared, he disowned Tancred in color, yet did not disown him in deed. In like manner the allied youth, by putting to flight, [0497A] cutting down, laying low, each according to his strength, were staining the fields with blood.

V.- Partem exercitus Boamundi quae nondum flumen transmiserat, aggrediuntur Graeci.

5.- The Greeks attack the part of Bohemond’s army which had not yet crossed the river.

Igitur Boamundi exercitus, qui adhuc citra fluminis ripam alteram pigritans, Tancredum praemiserat, Graecos in fugam versos prospiciens, moras solvit, fluvium alii tranant, pars remigare docta cymbas traducunt, alii utriusque ignari, equorum caudis pro remigio utuntur: sicque brevi spatio tota illa multitudine transvecta, quasi 600 restabant transvehendi; non milites, non armati, non qui vel in hostem ruere, vel ruentem repellere potuissent; vulgus inerme, nisi si quos armatos aut senectus debilitasset, aut morbus. Tunc Graeci qui [0497B] missi fuerant Latinorum insidiari vestigiis, locum nacti ut sanguine ferrum imbuerent, irruunt in relictos, seu lupi pastore orba et canibus ovilia trucidantes. Fit clamor, moeret ripa utraque, hinc et inde nec querelae desunt nec gemitus.

Therefore Bohemond’s army, which, still lingering on this side of the river’s other bank, had sent Tancred ahead, seeing the Greeks turned to flight, loosed delays; some swim across the river, a part trained in rowing ferry skiffs over, others ignorant of both use the tails of their horses as oars: and so, in a brief span, with that whole multitude conveyed across, about 600 remained to be transported; not soldiers, not armed men, not such as could either rush upon the enemy or repel one rushing; an unarmed crowd, except such armed men as either old age or sickness had debilitated. Then the Greeks who [0497B] had been sent to lie in wait upon the footsteps of the Latins, having found a place to steep iron in blood, rush upon the ones left behind, as wolves slaughtering sheepfolds bereft of shepherd and dogs. A clamor arises, each bank laments; on this side and that neither complaints nor groans are lacking.

Hi dolent de mora, illi de festinantia: hos pudet, quia non datur invadere; illos magis, quia evadere non licet, piget. Tancredus interea adhuc fugientibus Graecis instans, sequentium instantiam celeri cursu accipit nuntiatam: neminem resistere, succurrere neminem, armatos ultro fluvium remigasse, inermes citra, ipsos jam fere quasi mordicus dissipatos. Haec ut piissimo et ad omnem promptissimo strenuitatem duci comperta sunt, haud secus ab aliis ad alios se convertit intrepidus: quasi nacta praedam [0497C] lea, si quas ex adverso paratas, relictis catulis, insidias respicit, e vestigio ad praedonem versa, praedam siccis faucibus relinquit.

These grieve over delay, those over festination: these are ashamed, because it is not granted to invade; those, more, because it is not permitted to evade, are vexed. Meanwhile Tancred, still pressing upon the fleeing Greeks, receives at a swift run news announced of the urgency of those following: that no one was resisting, no one was succoring, that the armed had of their own accord rowed the river across, the unarmed on this side, that they themselves were now almost, as it were, torn to bits by the teeth and scattered. When these things were discovered by a leader most pious and most prompt to every strenuity, he no otherwise, intrepid, turned himself from some to others: as a lioness [0497C] having gotten prey, if she catches sight of ambushes prepared opposite, her cubs left behind, turned on the instant toward the robber, she leaves the prey with dry jaws.

VI.- Quos, in flumen insiliens Tancredus fugat.

6.- Whom, leaping into the river, Tancred puts to flight.

Reversus igitur ad flumen Tancredus, remige spreto, gurgitem insilit, equo navis, equo remigis obsequium supplente: segnis quippe mora visa est viro, et cognata timori, si dum navigium pararet, parantes sequi milites exspectaret. Quapropter sicut praescriptum est, praeceps fluvium quasi campum ingreditur: aquae vero cursu rapido exceptum submergunt; at mox ripae alteri redditur illaesus. Simili quoque remigio commilitonum acies, quae domini praeeuntis vestigia sequuntur, utuntur.

Therefore, returning to the river Tancredus, spurning the oarsman, leaps into the torrent, his horse supplying the service of the ship, his horse the service of the rower: for a sluggish delay seemed to the man, and akin to fear, if, while a boat was being prepared, he should wait for the soldiers preparing to follow. Wherefore, as has been prescribed, headlong he enters the river as if it were a plain: but the waters, with their rapid course, take him up and submerge him; yet soon he is rendered back to the other bank unharmed. By a similar rowing the battle line of his fellow soldiers, who follow the footsteps of their lord going before, make use.

[0497D] Graeca phalanx perterrita Tancredi simul adventu et nomine; id enim unum utraque personabat ripa, caedi metuens, caedere desistit, ad consuetum fugae praesidium studio redacto. Fugitur per abrupta, per avia, per omne quod victis promittere latebras, victoribus accessum negare videbatur. At victor nihilominus fugientibus instabat, illius magis sanguinem sitiens, quem per inaccessibilia pes raptabat fugacior: nam vertere faciem nemo victus meminerat, nisi si quem genibus victoris supplicare fuga coegerit deprehensa: adeo intepuerat calor, resederat rabies, spes tota ab armis in pedum velocitatem transierat.

[0497D] The Greek phalanx, terrified at Tancred’s arrival and even at his name—for this alone was echoing from either bank—fearing slaughter, ceases from slaughter, with zeal brought back to the accustomed praesidium of flight. Flight is taken through precipices, through pathless places, through everything that seemed to promise hiding-places to the vanquished and to deny access to the victors. But the victor nonetheless pressed upon the fugitives, thirsting more for the blood of him whom a fleeter foot was snatching away through inaccessibles: for none of the conquered remembered to turn his face, unless it was one whom, once caught, flight compelled to supplicate at the victor’s knees; so much had the heat cooled, the rabies had subsided, and all hope had passed from arms into the speed of their feet.

Itaque arcus projicere, pharetras [0498A] solvere, peltas demittere, thoraces exuere, summum ad vitam supererat solamen. Quocirca multus et multa politus arte, grandi redemptus aere, diutino tractus molimine, labor vias, labor invia pariter ditabat. Victrices opperiens manus sine pretio, sine certamine omnia rapturas: nec defuit tamen qui ea tolleret, quive sequeretur audito Tancredi nomine turbam fugientem.

Therefore to cast away bows, to unfasten quivers [0498A], to let fall peltae, to strip off cuirasses, was the utmost solace left for life. Wherefore the workmanship—abundant and polished with much art, bought at great cost, drawn out by prolonged endeavor—enriched alike the roads and the trackless places. Awaiting the victorious hands, about to snatch everything without price, without contest: nor was there lacking, however, one to take these things up, or one who, on Tancred’s name being heard, would pursue the fleeing crowd.

Quoniam quidem caedi praedictae superstites relicti, hi, inquam, quos praesidium superveniens liberaverat, sine ordine fugientes, sine ordine sequebantur; oneratos vacui, armatos nudi, lassos expediti: plurimi etiam in servitutem ducendi, ruptis nexibus absoluti, suos versa vice nexores nexuerunt. Alii dum erepta sibi requirunt spolia, et raptoris projecta inveniunt et sua: fuerunt etiam qui [0498B] dum praedicta quaererent, quaesita invenirent, inventa sustulissent: abjiciebant sublata, ut tollerent potiora. Sive autem alieno onere, sive suo, nullus castra non suffarcinatus revisebat.

Since indeed survivors were left from the aforesaid slaughter—these, I say, whom the arriving reinforcement had freed—fleeing without order, they followed without order; the unladen after the laden, the naked after the armed, the unencumbered after the weary: very many too, who were to be led into servitude, with their bonds broken and set free, in a reversed turn bound their own binders. Others, while they seek back the spoils snatched from them, find both the despoiler’s cast-away things and their own: there were even those who [0498B] while seeking the aforesaid things, would find the things sought, would pick up what was found; they would throw down what they had lifted, in order to take up better. And whether with another’s load or with their own, no one revisited the camp not overladen.

VII.- Tancredi victoria praedicatur.

7.- Tancred's victory is proclaimed.

Igitur Tancredus sociorum ultus vulnera, nactus spolia, beatus gratia, omnes trans fluvium praemittit, ipse omnium subsequitur postremus. O quantis excipitur laudibus! quantus ipse, quam major sese cordibus omnium futurus apparet, quanta simul nobilitatis et plebis veneratione donatur!

Thus Tancred, having avenged the wounds of his comrades, having gotten the spoils, blessed with grace, sends all across the river ahead; he himself follows last of all. O with how great praises he is greeted! How great he himself, how much greater he appears about to be in the hearts of all, with what great veneration of the nobility and of the plebs he is at once endowed!

Una quippe omnium et mens erat et fabula. O ubi, et quando, et quis in filiis hominum par tibi, Tancrede! a quo tam remota segnities?

For indeed the mind and the talk of all were one. O where, and when, and who among the sons of men is equal to you, Tancred! from whom sluggishness is so far removed?

tam disjuncta quies? tam aliena formido? tam elimata superbia?

so disjunct a repose? so alien a fear? so polished a pride?

tam eliminata [0498C] luxuria? Quis vocatus velocior, quis rogatus facilior, quis offensus placabilior? felices tanto pignore atavi, tanto atavo posteri, tanto alumno Calabri, tanta sobole Normanni!

so eliminated [0498C] luxury? Who, when called, is swifter, who, when entreated, more facile, who, when offended, more placable? happy the forefathers with so great a pledge, posterity with so great a forefather, the Calabrians with so great an alumnus, the Normans with so great a progeny!

felices illi quibus tu contigisti gloria sua: ac nos longe feliciores, quibus est pro muro audacia tua. Tua audacia adversus impugnatores nobis est clypeus, adversus pugnandos arcus et gladius. Si periculum antecedit, illuc praemitteris; item si sequitur pone, caedis.

happy those to whom you have fallen as their glory: and we far happier, for whom your audacity is in place of a wall. Your audacity against assailants is for us a shield, against those to be fought a bow and a sword. If danger goes before, you are sent ahead there; likewise if it follows behind, you cut them down.

Benedictus Deus qui te reservavit praesidium plebi suae, et tu benedictus qui eam protegis in brachio virtutis tuae. Talibus omnes at plerique majoribus victoris reditum gratati praeconiis haec saepius ingeminantes, per vias et tentoria usque ad Tancredi ipsum prosequuntur. [0498D] Extunc Tancredum sociare, securum fieri, sine eo in exercitu esse, quasi in exercitu non esse prae solitudine videbatur.

Blessed be God who has reserved you as a presidium for his people, and blessed be you who protect them with the arm of your virtue. With such, and most with greater, panegyrics, having congratulated the victor’s return, ingeminating these words again and again, they escort him along the roads and through the tents all the way to Tancred himself. [0498D] Thenceforth, to be joined to Tancred was to become secure; to be in the army without him seemed, for very solitude, as though not to be in the army.

Unde plurimi de magnis quae viderant majora conjectantes, ejus dominio tam se quam sua mancipabant. Ipse vero audaciam viresqne juvenum captabat pretio, alliciebat merito, merebatur exemplo. Eo abundante, nemo qui ei militaret egebat: eo egente, a ditioribus sociis mutuabatur, pecunia quae pauperiorum indigentiam ditaret erogata.

Whence very many, conjecturing greater things from the great things they had seen, made over both themselves and their goods to his dominion. He, for his part, captured the daring and the strength of the youths by pay, enticed by reward, and earned by example. With him abounding, no one who soldiered for him was in want; with him in want, he borrowed from richer comrades, the money being disbursed which enriched the indigence of the poorer.

Rursus si repeteretur quod mutuaverat, alios item quaerebat creditores. sicque ad alios propter alios quasi mendicabat, dum eum seu praeda opulentasset, seu bellum. Adeo vir prudens [0499A] his largum, illis se veridicum, imo et omnibus veridicum exhibebat.

Again, if what he had borrowed was demanded back, he likewise sought out other creditors; and thus to others on account of others he, as it were, begged, until either booty or war had made him opulent. To such a degree the prudent man [0499A] exhibited himself liberal to these, veracious to those—indeed veracious to all.

VIII.- Alexio imperatori Boamundi et Tancredi adventus et victoria nuntiantur.

8.- To Emperor Alexius the arrival and the victory of Bohemond and Tancred are announced.

Interea imperatorem Alexium aut hac aut simili narratione nuntius exploratum missus, perturbat reversus: «Boamundus Wiscardigena Adriaticum transivit, etiam Macedonia potitur. Illius vires saepius jam expertus es magnas, at praeteritas hodiernae non minus superant: quasi passer aquilae collatus superatur. Olim quippe ei milites Normannia, Longobardia pedites suggerebat: Normanni, qui vincerent; Longobardi, qui numerum augerent, in bella trahebantur: horum populus, alter belliger, alter venerat ministrator.

Meanwhile Emperor Alexius is disturbed by a messenger sent to reconnoiter, returning with this or a similar report: «Bohemond, Guiscard-born, has crossed the Adriatic; he even holds Macedonia. You have already often experienced his forces to be great; but today’s surpass the former no less: like a sparrow, when compared with an eagle, he is overmastered. Formerly, indeed, Normandy used to supply him soldiers, Lombardy foot-soldiers: the Normans, to conquer; the Lombards, to augment the number, were drawn into wars: of these peoples, the one came warlike, the other as an attendant.»

Ut autem ambo belligeri; [0499B] tamen duo tantum, et de duobus pauci. Ad haec conducti pretio, coacti edicto, non ultronei, non gloriae avidi militabant: nunc contra gens totius Galliae excita, totam quoque Italiam veniens sociavit. Ultra cisque Alpes ab Illyrico usque Oceanum nulla est regio quae Boamundo arma negaverit.

Granted, however, that both were warlike; [0499B] still, they were only two, and, of the two, few. Besides, they served as soldiers hired for pay, compelled by edict, not unprompted, not avid for glory: now by contrast the people of all Gaul has been aroused, and, coming, has also allied all Italy. Beyond and on this side of the Alps, from Illyricum to the Ocean, there is no region that has denied arms to Bohemond.

Milites sagittarii, funditores prae multitudine sua nullum turbae imbelli locum in exercitu reliquerunt. Cismarinus panis armatis non sufficit: ab ipsis terrae cavernis erutus, nedum plebs inermis ab otio se et copia ad laborem et inediam transferret. Omnes armati, omnes bellici, omnes laboriferi, quicunque Wiscardigenae castris famulantur.

Archer-soldiers and slingers, by reason of their multitude, left no place in the army for an unwarlike crowd. Cis-marine bread does not suffice for the armed, even when dug out from the very caverns of the earth; much less would the unarmed plebs shift themselves from leisure and abundance to toil and fasting. All are armed, all martial, all bearers of toil, whoever serve the camp of the Wiscard-born.

Adde Wiscardidas Tancredum et fratres Willelmum Robertumque [0499C] Poenis leonibus audaciam similem tam cognatione generis, quam belli studio Boamundi germanam. Quorum neminem, ut quondam ipse, cogit: sed transfretavit omnium supplicatione coactus. Unde raro abrumpi poterunt, quos voluntas una, par intentio, studium idem in concordiam foederavit.»

Add the Wiscardids—Tancred and the brothers William and Robert—[0499C] with an audacity like Punic lions, akin to Bohemond as much by the cognation of stock as by the zeal of war. Of whom he compels none, as once he himself did; rather, he crossed the strait constrained by the supplication of all. Whence those whom one will, an equal intention, the same zeal has federated into concord, will rarely be broken asunder.»

IX.- Alexius ad Boamundum epistolam mittit.

9.- Alexius sends an epistle to Bohemond.

His versutus imperator percussus rumoribus, novos corde dolos, nova pectore versat consilia. Retibus studet leones implicare, quos venabulo lacessere non audet. Igitur nuntios laqueis onerat, qui Boamundo venienti cum hujusmodi blanditiis occurrant:

At these things the crafty emperor, struck by rumors, turns over in his heart new stratagems, in his breast new counsels. He strives to entangle lions with nets, whom he does not dare to provoke with a hunting-spear. Therefore he loads his envoys with snares, that they may meet Bohemond as he is coming with blandishments of this sort:

«Rex Alexius Boamundo salutem.

«King Alexius to Bohemond, greeting.

[0499D] «Nuntiatum est mihi de tuo adventu, quem paternis visceribus suscepi auditum. Quia nunc quidem moribus tuis dignum opus exerces, cum belli studium ad barbaros convertis. Aspiravit, ut video, Deus coeptis Francorum, quos tanto comite muniendos praevidit.

[0499D] «It has been announced to me concerning your advent, which I received at the hearing with paternal affection. For now indeed you are exercising a work worthy of your character, when you turn the zeal of war against the barbarians. God, as I see, has breathed favor upon the undertakings of the Franks, whom He has foreseen to be fortified by so great a companion.

Meis quoque desideriis efficaciam tuus singulariter promittit accessus: nam, ut caetera taceam, ipsi etiam vates Turci de gente sua tibi destinant triumphos. Euge igitur, accelera, fili, et te praestolantium apud me moras ducum veniens absolve. Ad te duces, ad te proceres, ad te populus omnis suspirat.

Your approach uniquely promises efficacy also to my desires: for, to say nothing of the rest, even the very seers of the Turks from their own nation destine triumphs for you. Bravo, then; hasten, son, and by your coming absolve the delays of the leaders who are awaiting you with me. To you the leaders, to you the nobles, to you all the people sighs.

Sunt apud me Latini heroes, et ipsi magnis muneribus donati: sed quanto tu mihi caeteris notior, tanto majora restas accepturus. Hic pallia, hic aurum, hic caballi, hic te omnium manet [0500A] affluentia thesaurorum. Quidquid uspiam vidisti, nihil est ad id collatum quod apud me est.

There are with me Latin heroes, and they too have been endowed with great gifts: but the more you are known to me beyond the others, the greater you remain about to receive. Here are mantles, here gold, here horses, here the [0500A] affluence of all treasures awaits you. Whatever you have seen anywhere is nothing compared with that which is with me.

Quae omnia parata tibi noveris, tanquam filio si benignum te, si fidum mihi paraveris tanquam filius. Invenies ergo fontem auri, ut quoties quaesita consumpseris, toties consumenda repetas, repetita sine difficultate sumpturus. Ut autem expeditiori viam pede arripias, paucis contentus, adventum liberius maturabis.

Know that all these things are prepared for you—as for a son—if you make yourself benignant, if to me faithful as a son. You will therefore find a fountain of gold, so that as often as you have consumed what has been sought, so often you may seek again what is to be consumed, taking what is sought again without difficulty. And that you may seize the way with a more expeditious foot, being content with few things, you will the more freely hasten your coming.

Caeterae vero multitudini, ducibus relictis, via eo commodior, quo segnior carpenda est.»

But for the rest of the multitude, with the leaders left behind, the way is the more commodious, the more slowly it is to be taken.»

X.- Promissis Alexii seductus, ei praestat hominium coactus.

10.- Seduced by Alexius’s promises, compelled, he renders him homage.

Legati his praeter suas instructi fallaciis, exeunt, adeunt, obviant, eloquuntur. Boamundus itaque [0500B] mellita verborum superficie debriatus, venenum latens inferius non sentit; fallunt eum oblatae ultro Constantinopolitanae divitiae, propter quas terram ac pelagus sanguine multo diu asperserat. Ad haec tam facile indultum esse gaudet, quod in Graecos diutina expugnatione deliquerat.

The envoys, equipped with these deceits in addition to their own, go out, draw near, meet, speak. Bohemond, therefore, [0500B] inebriated by the honeyed surface of words, does not sense the poison lying beneath; he is deceived by the Constantinopolitan riches, proffered unasked, for the sake of which he had long bespattered land and sea with much blood. Moreover, he rejoices that so easy an indulgence has been granted for what, in a protracted assault, he had delinquently done against the Greeks.

Unde placuit, ut ipse cum paucis quo vocabatur praecederet; Tancredus vero cum reliqua multitudine tardior sequeretur. Quod Marchisidae auribus non displicuit illapsum: nam qua sedulitate accipiter laqueos, aut hamum piscis; ea is fraudulentam Graecorum familiaritatem horrebat. Ideo regis munera aspernatus, jam tum praesentiam ejus subterfugere proposuerat.

Whence it pleased them that he himself with a few should precede to where he was being called; but Tancred, more tardy, should follow with the remaining multitude. This, having glided into the Marquess’s ears, did not displease: for with the same sedulity with which a hawk avoids snares, or a fish the hook, with that he shuddered at the fraudulent familiarity of the Greeks. Therefore, having spurned the king’s gifts, he had already then proposed to evade his presence.

Igitur Boamundus, ubi quos ductu, quos dimissu dignaretur, deliberatum est; ab eo quod [0500C] Chympsala oppidum dicitur, digreditur. Dumque fatigant promissa animum; animus equitem, eques caballum, infra dies paucos Constantinopolim venitur. Illic Boamundus oblatus Alexio, ei jugo, quod hommagium vulgo dicitur, subditur.

Therefore Bohemond, when it had been deliberated whom he should deem worthy of command and whom of dismissal, departs from that place which [0500C] is called the town of Chympsala. And while the promises wear out the mind; the mind the rider, the rider the horse, within a few days Constantinople is reached. There Bohemond, presented to Alexius, submits to the yoke which is commonly called homage.

Coactus quidem, sed tamen tanta Romaniae dimensione donatus, in qua equus dies quindecim per longum, octo autem expenderet per transversum. Nec mora fama volans, novum Tancredo patefacit eventum et addit. Similis quoque deditio ipsum te qui sequeris, manet eo vilior, quo merces minor.

Compelled indeed, yet nevertheless endowed with so great a dimension of Romania, in which a horse would expend fifteen days along the length, and eight across the breadth. Nor was there delay: flying rumor lays open to Tancred the new event and adds: A similar submission awaits you too, you who follow, all the viler, the smaller the wage.

XI.- Boamundi casum occulte gemit Tancredus.

11.- Tancred secretly laments Bohemond's misfortune.

Tancredus, his auditis, Boamundo condolet, sibi fimet, quippe proximum videns parietem accensum, [0500D] suo non dubitat imminere incendium. Itaque animo volvit, studet, recogitat qua via praeterire, quibus artibus fallere, quibus viribus dolos perfidi regis valeat punire. Confert autem hinc vires, inde dolos, hinc audaciam, inde potentiam: hinc milites, inde divitias: hinc paucitatem, inde multitudinem.

Tancred, when he had heard these things, condoles with Bohemond, and fears for himself, since, seeing the neighboring wall kindled, [0500D] he does not doubt that a conflagration threatens his own. Therefore he revolves it in mind, is intent, and reconsiders by what way to evade, by what arts to deceive, by what forces he may be able to punish the wiles of the perfidious king. But he compares: here strength, there stratagems; here audacity, there power: here soldiers, there riches: here paucity, there multitude.

Quid struat? dimicet? at potentior hostis: supplicet?

What should he contrive? fight? but the enemy is more powerful: supplicate?

at inexorabilis idem: transeat? at pelagus intersaevit. Videns ergo Francos duces implicitos donis, Boamundum dolis, se angustiis, sic adeo insistit, secumque ita corde volutat: «Proh scelus!

but equally inexorable: should he cross? but the sea rages fiercely between. Therefore, seeing the Frankish leaders entangled by gifts, Bohemond by wiles, himself in straits, thus he takes his stand, and thus he turns it over in his heart with himself: «Ah, wickedness!

ubi fides? ubi prudentia? O hominum corda!

where is fidelity? where prudence? O hearts of men!

hujus perfidum, illius improvidum: hujus ad nocendum impudens, illius ad cognoscendum imprudens. Exiit homo ad divitias nomine filii elicitus, patris visceribus amplectendus. [0501A] Venit ad regnum, invenit jugum.

this one perfidious, that one improvident: this one impudent for harming, that one imprudent for recognizing. The man went out toward riches, enticed by the name of “son,” to be embraced in a father’s inmost affections. [0501A] He came to a kingdom, he found a yoke.

Venit ut sublimior fieret: alium vero coactus est sublimare, factus ipse humilior. Nimirum fraudis ignarus, blanditiis credidit fraudulentis. At jussus est, exercitu relicto, cum paucis praecedere quasi turbae sarcina absolvendus.

He came to become more exalted: but he was compelled to exalt another, himself made more humble. Clearly, ignorant of the fraud, he trusted fraudulent blandishments. But he was ordered, the army left behind, to go on ahead with a few, as if, the crowd’s baggage, he were to be unloaded.

Nonne hoc vel solum suffecerat, ut inique spingos ambages solveremus? illa una determinatio, si mens non laeva fuisset, et excluserat insidias, et clauserat vias. Itum est tamen comitantibus paucis, quasi praesidio fuerint manus inermes non armatae.

Would not this alone have sufficed, that we might unravel those iniquitous, spiny evasions? That single determination, if the mind had not been perverse, would have both shut out the ambushes and closed the ways. Yet we went, with few accompanying, as though unarmed hands, not armed ones, were a guard.

Nam quid de ducibus Galliae dixerim, quibus ipsa sua multitudo non modo jugum hommagii subtrahere, verum etiam rebelles quosque debuerat subjugare? Miseret me hominum, pudetque quos tamen ipsos sui nec puditum est, nec [0501B] misertum. Videre jam videor rei exitum, cum absumptos sumptus poena, penuria, poenitentia sequentur.

For what should I say about the leaders of Gaul, for whom their very multitude ought not only to withdraw the yoke of homage, but even to subjugate every rebel? I pity the men, and I am ashamed of them, who yet themselves felt neither shame for themselves nor [0501B] pity. I already seem to see the outcome of the affair, when, the outlays consumed, punishment, penury, and penitence will follow.

Poenitebit utique cum se viderint ad injusta cogi, et gravari coactos, et non posse erui gravatos. Tunc, inquam, poenitebit: sed quis poenitentiae locus, ubi correctioni nullus? nam quae jam ultra restat correctio?

They will surely repent when they see themselves compelled to unjust things, and constrained to be burdened, and, once burdened, unable to be extricated. Then, I say, they will repent: but what place is there for penitence, where there is none for correction? for what correction now remains further?

Nunquid abjurari poterit quod semel juratum est? nunquid sui juris esse poterunt, qui se alieno sponte subdiderunt? nunquid liberi, qui venditi?

Can that which has once been sworn be abjured? can they be sui juris, who have of their own accord subjected themselves to another’s authority? can they be free, who have been sold?

nam uter justius servit, qui ipso se venditore emitur; an qui praedonis violentia vaenum producitur? Merito igitur poenas dabunt futurorum securi, praesentibus contenti.»

for which of the two serves more justly: he who, being his own seller, is bought; or he who by a robber’s violence is brought forth for sale? Deservedly, therefore, they will pay the penalties, secure of the future, content with present things.»

XII.- Ad Alexium fugit accedere.

12.- He avoids approaching Alexius.

[0501C] Tancredus his Boamundi conquestus casum, Alexii tegnas, Galliae jugum; hoc effugere, illum solari, illas punire sapienter decernit. Constantinopolim igitur veniens, non sicut caeteri declinat ad regem, non classica praemittit, non tuba intonat, clam transit. Nam exuto milite peditem induit; quatenus vestis rustica dum Tancredum tegeret, Alexium falleret.

[0501C] Tancred, having lamented to these men Bohemond’s misfortune, the technai of Alexius, the yoke of Gaul; wisely resolves to flee this, to console him, to punish those. Therefore, coming to Constantinople, not as the rest does he turn aside to the king, he does not send forward the war-trumpets, he does not intone with the trumpet; he passes through secretly. For, with the soldier’s gear doffed, he puts on that of a foot-soldier; in order that, while a rustic garment covered Tancred, it might deceive Alexius.

Itaque naulo, remige, borea velum urgentibus, refugit a tergo Europa, Asia festinantibus occurrit. Wiscardides interim nautas ad remos invitat, et ipse remo Hellesponti versat cerula. Nec mora puppis optato infigitur littori festinantium votis brevitate itineris suffragante.

Thus, with the passage-money paid, the oarsman set, and Boreas urging the sail, Europe flees behind their back, and Asia meets the hasteners. Meanwhile the Guiscardid invites the sailors to the oars, and he himself with an oar churns the cerulean waters of the Hellespont. No delay: the ship is fastened to the desired shore, the shortness of the journey supporting the vows of the hasteners.

Asiana igitur potitus arena, Marchisi filius habitum nomenque resumpsit jam tutior: sicque ducibus caeteris Nicaeam [0501D] proficiscentibus, comes additur. Boamundus vero Thracium littus nondum reliquerat, rogante Raimundo Sancti Aegidii comite moratus: quem morari quidem et intercedere ea compellebat necessitas, quod rex praescriptus comiti legem qua caeteros praecedentes obligaverat, subsequenti imponere volebat. Comes autem longe jucundius sibi esse respondebat mortis compendio hanc conditionem praecidere: atque definienda valde ei necessarius erat Boamundi accessus.

Therefore, having gained possession of the Asian sand, the Marquess’s son, now safer, resumed his habit and name; and thus, as the other leaders were setting out for Nicaea [0501D] he is added as a companion. Bohemond, however, had not yet left the Thracian shore, having lingered at the request of Raymond, Count of Saint-Gilles: whom a necessity compelled both to delay and to intercede, because the aforesaid king wished to impose upon the following count the law by which he had bound the others who had gone before. But the count replied that it would be far more pleasant for him to cut off this condition by the short-cut of death; and Bohemond’s arrival was very necessary to him for bringing the matter to a decision.

Igitur ubi Alexius ab exploratoribus suis Wiscardidam clam transfretasse cognovit, elusum se dolens, a praesentibus exigit absentem; eorumque dolo imputat, quod suum Tancredus sapienter evaserit. Praecipue in Boamundum oculi retorquentur, quos faciebat ira novercales. [0502A] Illis itaque fulminantibus, simul intonante minas gutture, velit nolit, Boamundus jurat se Tancredi manus regis hommagio redditurum: alioquin nec manere tutum fuerat, nec exire

Therefore, when Alexius learned from his scouts that the Guiscardian had secretly crossed over, grieving at being outplayed, he demands from those present the one absent; and he imputes it to their deceit that his Tancred has wisely slipped away. Especially upon Bohemond eyes are turned back, which his anger made stepmotherly. [0502A] With them thus fulminating, and his throat at once thundering threats, willy-nilly, Bohemond swears that he will render Tancred’s hands to the king’s homage: otherwise it had been safe neither to remain nor to go out

XIII.- Boamundo legatos mittit.

13.- He sends legates to Bohemond.

Dum haec agerentur, Tancredus milites duos Atropium et Garinum Constantinopolim remittit, qui Boamundi moras increpent, quique Turcorum bella nuntient adventare: nisi maturaverit, ejus spes cassandas fore, quippe sine eo hostibus superatis: quod nec ignorante Alexio potuit nuntiari. Quapropter ad se nuntios vocat, cum eis de domino suo acturus, et quasi novum aliquid suae metu praesentiae extorturus. Legati vero cujates et cujus, et ad quid missi essent rogati: Normannos se a Tancredo [0502B] ad Boamundum eliciendum missos esse securi respondent.

While these things were being transacted, Tancred sends back to Constantinople two soldiers, Atropius and Garinus, to reproach Bohemond for his delays and to announce that the wars of the Turks are drawing near: unless he hastens, his hopes are to be quashed, indeed with the enemies overcome without him—which could not be reported without Alexius being aware. Wherefore he summons the messengers to himself, intending to deal with them concerning their lord, and as if to extort something new by fear of his presence. Then, when asked of what country they were and whose men, and for what purpose they had been sent, the legates confidently reply that they are Normans, sent by Tancred [0502B] to draw Bohemond forth.

Videns autem rex nihil mussare intrepidos, dimittit impunitos, quorum poenam videbat sibi inutilem futuram. Cum ergo haec tum a legatis, qui redeundo praecesserunt, cum a Boamundo qui secutus fuerat, Tancredus accepisset: neque dictu facile est, neque creditu quam aegre tulerit, quantumque vigilantiam suam aliena somnolentia indoluerit deceptam: nec cohibere flammas potuit fornax accensa, rumoris rapidi turbine ventilante, undantes. Quapropter fertur intrinsecos gemitus praesenti effudisse querela.

Seeing, however, that the king observed the intrepid to be murmuring nothing, he dismisses them unpunished, whose punishment he saw would be useless to himself. When therefore Tancred had received these things both from the legates, who by returning had gone before, and from Bohemond, who had followed after: neither is it easy to say, nor to believe, how painfully he took it, and how much he lamented that his vigilance had been deceived by another’s somnolence: nor could the kindled furnace restrain the billowing flames, the whirlwind of rapid rumor fanning them. Wherefore he is reported to have poured forth inmost groans in a present complaint.

«Heu! caecas futuri mentes mortalium! quas, cum visae sibi fuerint consummasse, tum de integro incipere oportet.

«Alas! the minds of mortals blind to the future! which, when they have seemed to themselves to have consummated, then must begin afresh from the start.

Frustra [0502C] prudentia, ubi invida adversatur fortuna: sicut contra; cui numina favent, frustra adversari. Provisum satis mihi esse putaveram, nihilque loci segnitie neque socordiae relictum. Munera spreveram, solus aufugeram, fefelleram excubias, evaseram insidias, quod vix affectare, mihi fuerat efficere concessum.

In vain [0502C] prudence, when envious Fortune opposes: just so, conversely; to him whom the numina favor, it is in vain to oppose. I had thought that I had provided sufficiently, and that nothing had been left to the place’s sluggishness nor to sloth. I had spurned gifts, I had fled alone, I had deceived the watches, I had escaped the ambushes—what it had scarcely been permitted me to attempt, it was granted me to effect.

Proh! quantum erat hostem per laqueos illaesum transisse, quos etiam insontibus evadere non licet illaesis? Videram viros nobiles, alios ducum, alios regum progeniem ultroneo regna exsilio mutasse, venisse pacificos, loca immania, regna barbara venientibus inclinasse; non terram obstitisse, non pelagus.

Ah! how great a thing it was for an enemy to have passed through snares unscathed—snares which it is not permitted even for the innocent to escape unscathed! I had seen noble men, some the progeny of leaders, others of kings, of their own accord exchange kingdoms for exile; to have come peaceably; that immense places, barbarian realms, inclined to those who came; that neither the land stood in the way, nor the sea.

At simul ad id, quo triformis chymera monstrum crudelius non fuit, ventum est, nullus fuit pegasus qui expediret implicitos, nullus [0502D] qui asportaret attonitos. Omnes quasi sub domina hasta transire, omnes omnia quae jurare jussi sunt, coacti sunt. Ut ad me redeam, exactorem districtum meritus, districtissimum verebar ultorem; unde tanto vigilantiorem me qui eruerer esse oportuit, quanto ultionis zelus in me major exarserat, inde erat quod castrorum regimen adhuc, et meipsum abjeceram, dum ne inclinarem, ut alii, et liberius iras ulciscerer aliorum.

But as soon as it came to that point, than which the three-formed Chimera was not a crueller monster, there was no Pegasus to disentangle the entangled, none [0502D] to carry off the thunderstruck. All, as if to pass under the auction-spear, all were compelled to swear everything they were ordered to swear. To return to myself, having deserved a strict exactor, I feared a most strict avenger; whence it behooved me to be so much the more vigilant, that I might be extricated, in proportion as the zeal of vengeance against me had blazed up greater; from that came the fact that I had by now cast away the regimen of the camp, and myself, lest I should incline, as others, and that I might more freely avenge the wraths of others.

Nam quid de homine queri attinet, qui in eam quam abruperam compedem me redegit? cui nexuisse suum, nisi etiam meum necteret colum, non sufficit: quem invidisse felicitati meae forsitan os negat; verum illud jusjurandum de fonte invidiae manasse, et lippis patet, et exitus probat. Ipsius quidem in dubium venit, majorne pigritia, [0503A] an imperitia in hunc me conjecerit dolorem.

For what is the point of complaining about the man who drove me back into the shackle which I had broken off? for whom to have knotted his own distaff did not suffice, unless he also knotted mine: whom his mouth perhaps denies to have envied my felicity; but that oath flowed from the fountain of envy is evident even to the bleary-eyed, and the outcome proves it. In his case indeed it comes into doubt whether greater sloth, [0503A] or inexperience has cast me into this pain.

Quippe magna utraque, et utraque prosperitatis meae noverca. At coactus in perniciem meam juravit, quasi his verbis invidiam dissimulet, indignationem mitiget, excuset factum, absolvat actorem: hac vero, ut innocentiam praedicent; moras tamen innocentes non faciunt, nec morantis somnos a crimine defendunt. Verum esto; salvabo votum, redimam perjurium, mei, inquam, mei periculo redimam alienum.

Indeed both are great, and each a stepmother to my prosperity. But, compelled, he swore to my ruin, as though by these words he might dissimulate envy, mitigate indignation, excuse the deed, absolve the actor: namely, by proclaiming innocence; yet delays do not make one innocent, nor do the slumbers of the one delaying defend from crime. But let it be; I will save the vow, I will redeem the perjury—by my peril, I say, by my peril I will redeem what is another’s.

Elusus sum, sed non mea incuria, superatus; sed alterius debilitate: captus, sed cognati liberatione. Profecto hujus victor certaminis, odium, si vixero, efferasse dolebit, nec meruisse concordiam. Nam pro levi duco irritum facere, quod non ultro jurare appetiverim: sed dictante tyranni violentia subjecerim [0503B] invitus: praesertim cum promissi illius observantia damnum sit publicum; contemptio autem commodum generale.»

I have been deceived, but not by my own negligence; overcome, but by another’s debility: captured, yet by a kinsman’s liberation. Surely the victor of this contest will, if I live, grieve to have made his odium savage, and not to have merited concord. For I count it a slight thing to nullify what I did not of my own accord desire to swear: but, with a tyrant’s violence dictating, I submitted to it [0503B] unwilling; especially since the observance of that promise is a public damage; whereas its contempt is a general advantage.»

XIV.- De obsidione Nicaeae, et primo de ducibus obsidentibus. Godefridus Bullio.

14.- On the siege of Nicaea, and first on the besieging leaders. Godfrey of Bouillon.

Sed jam his quae aut quaestus est, aut quaeri potuit Marchisides evolutis, respiret paululum ipse; dum obsidione Nicaeam cingere, dum castra metari, dum nomina, genus, moresque principum, quibus urbs ea oppugnata cessit, recolere libet. Haec enim hujusmodi sunt, ut et laudibus non obvient praescriptis, et ministrent scribendis. Igitur clariores famae duces, a quibus alii, non qui ab aliquibus Martiatica receperunt, hi fuerunt: Dux Godefridus, senis Eustachii Boloniae comitis filius, cui dignitatem ducis [0503C] nomenque Bullio idem qui eum miserat, dederat.

But now, with those matters which either have been sought out, or could be sought out, by Marchisides having been unrolled, let he himself breathe a little; while it pleases to gird Nicaea with a siege, while to lay out the camp, while to recollect the names, race, and customs of the princes by whom that city, being assaulted, yielded. For these are of such a sort as both not to run counter to the prescribed praises, and to minister to things to be written. Therefore the leaders of more illustrious fame—whom others followed, not those who received martial stipends from some—were these: Duke Godfrey, son of the elder Eustace, count of Boulogne, to whom the same man who had sent him had given the dignity of duke [0503C] and the name of Bouillon.

Est autem Bullio in Lotharii regno oppidum, adjacentis caput ducatus, a duce avunculo Godefrido sene juniori relictum. Junioris hujus nobilitas multis polluit virtutibus cumulata cum saecularibus, cum divinis. Divinis, largitate in pauperes, erga delinquentes misericordia.

Now, Bullio is a town in the kingdom of Lothar, the head of the adjacent duchy, bequeathed to the younger by his uncle, Duke Godfrey the elder. The nobility of this younger man abounds in many virtues, heaped up with both secular and divine. In the divine: largess toward the poor, mercy toward delinquents.

Porro humilitate, mansuetudine, sobrietate, justitia, castitate insignis; potius monachorum lux, quam militum dux emicabat. Nec minus tamen ea quae saeculi sunt, noverat tractare, praeliari, ordinare acies, armis ecclesiam propagare. Primus aut in primis ferire hostem, adolescens didicit, juvenis assuevit, senex non destitit.

Moreover, distinguished for humility, mansuetude, sobriety, justice, chastity; he shone forth rather as the light of monks than as a leader of soldiers. Yet no less did he know how to handle the things of the secular world, to do battle, to order the battle-lines, to propagate the church by arms. First, or among the first, to strike the enemy, as an adolescent he learned, as a young man he grew accustomed, as an old man he did not desist.

Adeo belligeri comitis et comitissae religiosissimae [0503D] filius, ut etiam ab aemulo conspectus, audire mereretur: ad belli studium, ecce pater; circa Dei cultum, ecce mater. His ducem praeditum moribus innumeri bellatores ad praedictae urbis moenia primum prosecuti sunt obsessorem.

So much the son of a belligerent count and a most religious countess [0503D] that, even when seen by a rival, he deserved to hear: for zeal of war, behold the father; concerning the worship of God, behold the mother. Endowed with these mores as a leader, innumerable warriors first escorted the besieger to the walls of the aforesaid city.

XV.- Robertus Normanniae comes, Boamundus, Hugo Magnus, Stephanus comes Blesensis, Robertus Flandriae comes, Raimundus comes Sancti Aegidii.

15.- Robert, count of Normandy, Bohemond, Hugh the Great, Stephen, count of Blois, Robert, count of Flanders, Raymond, count of Saint Giles.

Subsecutus est autem Robertus Normanniae comes, Willelmi regis et expugnatoris Angliae filius; genere, divitiis, facundia quoque non secundus duci, sed superior; par in his quae Caesaris sunt; quae Dei, minor: cujus pietas largitasque valde fuissent mirabiles: sed quia in neutra modum tenuit, in utraque erravit. Siquidem misericordiam ejus immisericordem [0504A] sensit Normannia, dum eo consule per impunitatem rapinarum nec homini parceret, nec Deo licentia raptorum. Nam sicariis manibus latronum gutturi, moechorum caudae salaci, eamdem quam suis se reverentiam debere consul arbitrabatur.

There followed, moreover, Robert, Count of Normandy, son of William, king and conqueror of England; in birth, in riches, and even in eloquence not second to the duke, but superior; equal in the things which are Caesar’s; in the things which are God’s, lesser: whose piety and largess would have been very admirable; but because in neither did he keep measure, in both he erred. Indeed Normandy felt his mercy merciless [0504A], while, with him as “consul,” through the impunity of robberies the license of plunderers spared neither man nor God. For he, the count, judged that assassins’ hands, the robber’s throat, the adulterers’ salacious tail, owed to themselves the same reverence as his own.

Quapropter nullus ad eum vinctus in lacrymis trahebatur, quin solutus mutuas ab eo lacrymas continuo impetraret. Ideo, ut dixi, nullis sceleribus frenum, imo omnibus additum calcar ea tempestate Normannia querebatur. Hujus autem pietatis sororculam eam fuisse patet largitatem, quae accipitrem sive canem argenti summa quantalibet comparabat.

Wherefore no one bound was dragged to him in tears without, once loosed, immediately obtaining from him mutual tears. Therefore, as I said, Normandy at that time complained that there was a bridle on no crimes; nay rather, that a spur had been added to all. Moreover, it is evident that the little sister of this piety was largess, which would purchase a hawk or a dog for any sum of silver whatsoever.

Cum interim mensa consularis unicum haberet refugium rapinam civium, atque haec tamen intra patriam; verum fines patrios egressus, magna ex parte [0504B] luxum domuit, cui ante per magnarum opum affluentiam succubuerat. Tertius in hoc ordine Boamundus fulget, cujus repetere hic genealogiam superfluum, mores et animos adnotare praematurum videtur: praesertim cum de ejus genere superior pagina egerit. Inferior vero circa fortunas ejusdem et infortunia quasi quemdam cardinem fere tota versetur.

Meanwhile the consular table had as its sole refuge the rapine of citizens, and this, however, within the fatherland; but once he had gone beyond his ancestral borders, he in great part [0504B] subdued the luxury to which previously he had succumbed through the affluence of great wealth. Third in this order Boamund shines, whose genealogy to rehearse here seems superfluous, and to note his manners and spirit premature: especially since the page above has treated of his stock. The one below, however, will be almost wholly turned, as upon a certain hinge, around his fortunes and misfortunes.

Hugo magnus, Franciae regum Philippi frater, Henrici filius, quartum obtinet locum; magnus genere, magnus cognomine, magnus probitate, magnus etiam et potens tum sua, tum fraterni regni militia: venerabilior tamen regii gloria sanguinis, quam aut opum ubertate, aut praecellenti multitudine, aut triumphalibus meritis. Quintus Blesensis comes Stephanus, et ipse regum proximus, quippe Gallorum [0504C] pronepos, et gener Anglicorum: cujus si largitatem hilaritas, si audaciam fervor, quanti debuerant, illustrassent; nihil ei deerat ad ducem, nihil ad strenuissimum militem. Sequitur hunc comes Flandriae Robertus, Flandriae nutricis equitum, Flandriae feracis equorum, Flandriae Cereris, Flandriae periculorum, quae puellari quoque pulchritudine praecellens, reges Gallicum, Anglicum et Dacum meruit generos: quibus comes praesens sublimis affinis, populare fastidit regimen, dum ipse super omnes exercituum rectores in ense et lancea laudaretur: unde postea contigit, ut ipse quidem multo plus caeteris ducibus celebraretur habere de milite; at neglecta regiminis cura, multo minus de duce.

Hugh the Great, brother of the kings of France Philip, son of Henry, holds the fourth place; great in lineage, great in cognomen, great in probity, great also and powerful both by his own soldiery and by that of his brother’s kingdom: yet more venerable by the glory of royal blood than either by abundance of wealth, or by preeminent multitude, or by triumphal merits. The fifth is Stephen, Count of Blois, himself also near to kings, indeed a great-grandson of the French and a son-in-law of the English: if cheerfulness had illustrated his largess, if fervor his audacity, as much as they ought, nothing would have been lacking to him for a leader, nothing for a most strenuous soldier. Following him is Robert, Count of Flanders—of Flanders the nurse of horsemen, of Flanders fertile in horses, of Flanders of Ceres, of Flanders of dangers—which, excelling also in maidenly beauty, deserved as sons-in-law kings the French, the English, and the Dane: to whom the present exalted count, being a kinsman by marriage, disdained popular regimen, while he himself above all commanders of armies was praised in sword and lance: whence it afterwards befell that he indeed was celebrated much more than the other leaders for soldiery; but, with the care of governance neglected, much less for leadership. [0504C]

Novissimus [0504D] omnium Raimundus comes Sancti Aegidii emicat obsessor. Novissimus, inquam, tempore, non divitiis, non potentia, non consilio, non militari multitudine: nam in his omnibus a primordio claruit inter primos, et mox aliorum cum effluxisset pecunia, hujus affluxerunt et praecelluerunt divitiae. Illa nimirum gens frugi non prodiga, parcitati potius quam famae serviebat; exemploque territa alieno, non, ut Franci, in detrahendo, sed semper in augendo substantiam desudabat.

Last of all [0504D] there flashes forth the besieger Raymond, Count of Saint-Gilles. Last, I say, in time, not in riches, not in potency, not in counsel, not in military multitude: for in all these from the outset he was illustrious among the first; and soon, when the money of others had flowed out, his riches flowed in and excelled. That house indeed was frugal, not prodigal; it served parsimony rather than fame; and, made fearful by another’s example, it sweated not, like the Franks, in diminishing, but always in augmenting its substance.

Ergo suum comitem egere rerum sagax utilium, divinusque futuri populus non permisit: virum aequitatis cultorem, iniquitatis ultorem; virum ad timidos agnum, ad tumidos leonem

Therefore the people, shrewd in useful things and divine regarding the future, did not permit the lack of their own count: a man a cultivator of equity, an avenger of iniquity; a man a lamb toward the timid, a lion toward the proud.

XVI.- Urbs circumdatur. Tancredus primus omnium Turcam occidit, alios fugat. [0505A]

16.- The City is surrounded. Tancred, first of all, kills a Turk, routs the others. [0505A]

His igitur expugnatoribus Nicaeam circumdari, debellari, postremo ad deditionem cogi, Gallia certavit, Graecia adjuvit, Deus perpetravit. Sed dum novissimus, ut dixi, Raimundus comes ante portam orientalem tentoria figeret, illa enim area caeteris jam occupatis, unica vacabat: ecce per compendia montis proximi Turcus descendens exercitus, quasi urbem ab eadem porta ingressurus apparuit, festino impetu cupiens subvenire obsessis. Exoritur clamor.

Therefore, with these assailants, Nicaea was encircled, brought to an end by war, and at last compelled to surrender: Gaul strove, Greece aided, God brought it to completion. But while the last, as I said, Count Raymond was pitching his tents before the eastern gate—for that area, the others being already occupied, alone remained vacant—behold, descending by the short-cuts of the nearby mountain, the Turkish army appeared as if about to enter the city by that same gate, eager with a hasty onset to succor the besieged. A clamor arises.

Comes proximus loco, primus obviat; mox caeteri duces. Pars armati, alii semiermes, ut ardor belli quemque exciverat, occurrere festinant. Tancredus spatio remotus, in equo advolat ardens quod ei vulneris [0505B] primi gloriam locus inviderit.

The count nearest the spot is the first to meet them; soon the other leaders. Some armed, others half-armed, as the ardor of war had roused each, hasten to run to meet them. Tancred, distant in space, on horseback flies up, burning because the place had begrudged him the glory of the first wound [0505B].

Itaque quod abstulerat locus, reddit animus: nam absente eo, fuga et impetus nunc his, nunc illis varias spei ac metus distribuerant vices: at postquam is qui unus pro multitudine, miles pro agmine et habebatur et erat, superveniens irruit; caesa illico cervix Turca, Christi efferavit milites, effeminavit hostes. Exanimati igitur ad montes ora, ad Francos terga, ad fugam studia convertunt; animatos vero audacia comes, fuga hostium, morarum pudor, fugientibus immittit. Quod nisi montis proximi asylum refugos subito recepisset, paulo tardius sanguis barbarus Latinae cuspidis sitim imbuisset ad satietatem.

Therefore what the position had taken away, courage gives back: for with him absent, flight and assault had allotted by turns, now to these, now to those, varying fortunes of hope and fear; but after he who alone stood for a multitude, a soldier for a whole column—both was reputed and in truth was so—coming up, charged in; the Turk’s neck, cut down forthwith, made the soldiers of Christ fierce, unmanned the enemies. Dismayed, therefore, they turn their faces to the mountains, their backs to the Franks, their zeal to flight; but the Count, their spirits emboldened by audacity, by the enemy’s flight, by shame of delay, lets them loose upon the fugitives. And if the asylum of the neighboring mountain had not suddenly received the runaways, a little later barbarian blood would have slaked to satiety the thirst of the Latin spear.

Quia vero montis viciniae timor, cujus est pedibus alas addere, [0505C] subitus accessit, facile qua descendendo invasum fuerat, ascendendo evasum est, illa tantum absente anima quam Tancredus suae praeconem audaciae sub tartara miserat. Multi tamen inhonesta tergo vulnera domum reportarunt. Christicolae hilares in castra revertuntur, hi cruenta, illi recurva cuspide, alii fraxino trunca, pars hebete gladio insignes.

Because indeed the fear of the mountain’s vicinity—which is to add wings to the feet—[0505C] suddenly came on, easily by the same way by which it had been invaded by descending, it was escaped by ascending, only that soul being absent which Tancred had sent down beneath Tartarus as the herald of his audacity. Many, however, carried home dishonorable wounds on the back. The Christ-worshipers return cheerful to camp, these distinguished by blood, those by a recurved spearhead, others with ash-wood shafts truncated, a part marked by a blunt sword.

Turci capitis spectaculum vulgo praesentatur. Tancredus per universi exercitus populos, linguas, aetates, sexus, professiones primus Turci verticis celebratur unius abscisor, et innumerabilium fugator. Quod non sine quodam futuri Tancredi praemonitorio quisquis rem diligenter attenderit, actum esse comperiet.

The spectacle of the Turk’s head is presented to the common crowd. Tancred, throughout the peoples, tongues, ages, sexes, and professions of the whole army, is celebrated as the foremost beheader of the Turk’s single crown and the putter-to-flight of innumerable foes. Which, not without a certain premonitory token of the Tancred that was to come, whoever has attended to the matter diligently will discover to have been done.

Sane tales coelitus oblatae decuerunt virum primitiae, qui jam extunc, imo a saeculo praelectus [0505D] erat, ut omnium invictissimus bellica subire deberet, et in nullo superari discrimine

Truly such heaven-sent first-fruits befitted the man, who already from then—nay, from eternity—had been prechosen [0505D], that, most invincible of all, he should enter upon warlike undertakings and be surpassed in no crisis

XVII.- Urbs redditur. Alexio sistitur Tancredus. Verba Tancredi ad imperatorem.

17.- The city is returned. Tancred is presented to Alexius. The words of Tancred to the emperor.

Postquam obsessi obsidentium vires auctas, suas exspectatis diu subsidiis destitutas viderunt, simul territi quod Raimundus comes, quia ultimus moenia foderat, acrius suffossa funditus quatiebat, urbem eo tenore reddunt, ut quam rem emere sibi non licet, liceat saltem perdere illaesis. Placet utrobique conditio, sicque ad imperatorem mittitur. Imperator autem felici illo rumore impertitus, et munimen mittit, et ipse missos usque sinum, qui vulgo Sancti Georgii brachium dicitur, sequitur.

After the besieged saw that the forces of the besiegers were increased, and that their own, after long expecting reinforcements, were left destitute, at the same time terrified because Count Raymond, as the last to have mined the walls, was more sharply battering the thoroughly undermined walls to their very foundations, they surrender the city on this tenor: that what it is not permitted them to buy for themselves, it may at least be permitted to forfeit, with the inhabitants unharmed. The condition pleases on both sides, and so it is sent to the emperor. The emperor, informed by that happy rumor, both sends a muniment and himself follows the envoys as far as the gulf which is commonly called the Arm of Saint George.

Inde munita [0506A] urbe, Boamundus per pacta foedera, per junctas dexteras, per hommagii fidem adjuratus, ad eum navigat, secum, sicut promiserat, Marchisidem reducens. Ubi ejus hommagio Alexius magis terrefactus quam tutus, multo dejectior quam erectus, exaggeravit iram, non impetravit reverentiam. Nam velut divino oraculo instructus, metiebatur vir prudens illos qui deinceps secuti sunt rerum exitus.

Thence, the city being fortified [0506A], Bohemond, adjured by pacted compacts, by joined right hands, by the faith of homage, sails to him, bringing back with him, as he had promised, the Marchioness. Where, by his homage, Alexius was more terrified than secure, much more cast down than uplifted, he heightened his wrath, he did not obtain reverence. For, as if instructed by a divine oracle, the prudent man was taking the measure of those outcomes of affairs which thereafter followed.

Regni Graecorum non longitudinem immensitate sua Hierosolymitanum attingere. Tanti spatii urbes a Turcis captas, Christiano cultui fore mancipandas. Porro Graecis ereptas talibus non oportere reddi tutoribus.

The Jerusalemite realm does not, by its own immensity, reach the length of the Kingdom of the Greeks. The cities of so great a span, captured by the Turks, are to be consigned to Christian worship. Moreover, those snatched from the Greeks ought not to be returned to such guardians.

Francos esse qui hujusmodi tutelae soli sufficerent; alioquin urbes et oppida restitui Graecis, id esse restitui Turcis: se simul duobus dominis, [0506B] scilicet reipublicae et regi Graeciae famulari non posse. Haec animo volvens vir providus, fertur regias aures simillima huic implesse querela: «Cognatus sanguis Boamundus tua impulsus potentia, huc me, o imperator, impulit retransire. Si promissa tua, si munera, si familiaritas me cepissent, non deerant aditus per quos irrumpere licebat.

that the Franks were those who alone sufficed for such a tutelage; otherwise, to restore the cities and towns to the Greeks was to restore them to the Turks: that he could not at the same time serve two masters, [0506B] namely the republic and the king of Greece. Turning these things over in his mind, the provident man is said to have filled the royal ears with a complaint very similar to this: «My kinsman by blood, Boamundus, driven by your power, has driven me, O emperor, to return hither. If your promises, if your gifts, if your familiarity had taken me, there were not lacking approaches by which it was permitted to break in.

Caeterum ubi ea displicuerant, frustra mihi tuus placuisset accessus. Haec attendens operam dedi, qua te praeterirem liberior, vigili cura liberatum tua me huc violentia retrusit invitum; quominus tibi confidendum noveris, si quid hodie pepigero coactus. His te praemonitum, sequentia quoque attendere oportet.

However, when those things had displeased, your approach would have pleased me in vain. Attending to these, I gave effort whereby I might pass you by more free; yet, though freed by vigilant care, your violence has thrust me back here unwilling, so that you may know that one is not to put trust in you, if I shall have covenanted anything today under compulsion. With these things forewarned to you, it is fitting that you attend also to what follows.

Ecce ad id ventum est, ut cognati foederis sacramentum absolvam. Verum ea lex aderit media, [0506C] ut te Hierosolymi petas adjuvante, stet foedus mox casurum, cum eorum aut successibus invideris, aut infortunia non levabis. Absit vero ut aliquando fidum me habeat, quisquis ab eorum fidelitate discesserit.

Behold, it has come to this, that I fulfill the sacrament—the oath—of the kindred covenant. But this middle condition shall attend, [0506C] that you make for Jerusalem as a helper; let the covenant stand—soon to fall—if you either envy their successes or will not lighten their misfortunes. Far be it that he should ever have me as faithful, whoever has departed from their fidelity.

Si ergo dominari desideras, famulari stude, de Tancredi certus obsequio, ubi Christi exercitium certificaveris de tuo. Omnium minister, tibi quoque pro omnibus non abnuo ministrare. Summam autem horum compendiosus sermo diffiniat.

If therefore you desire to dominate, strive to be a servant; be certain of Tancred’s obedience, once you shall have certified, on your part, the service of Christ. A minister of all, I do not refuse to minister to you also on behalf of all. But let a compendious speech define the sum of these things.

Qualis antecedet tua erga Francos devotio, talem meam Graeci erga se exspectent secuturam.» His de arcano pectoris prudentiae tabernaculi, sapientiae domicilii fonte derivatis, laudatur animus qui et tam fideliter pro republica intercedit, et tam constanter nec pro [0506D] domestica timet, nec a justitia recedit. Tollitur clamor Gallicus, Graeca quoque murmura meritum non abnuunt favorem

“Of whatever kind your devotion toward the Franks goes before, such let the Greeks expect will follow on my part toward themselves.» Drawn from the secret of the breast, from the tabernacle of prudence, from the fountain of the domicile of wisdom, praise is given to the spirit which both so faithfully intercedes for the republic, and so steadfastly neither fears for [0506D] domestic matters nor withdraws from justice. The Gallic clamor is lifted; the Greek murmurs likewise do not deny favor to merit.

XVIII.- Ipsius petit tentorium. Indignatur imperator.

18.- He asks for his tent. The emperor is indignant.

Postquam Alexius viri mentem videt pecuniae contemptricem, neque aureo sicut caeterorum posse vinculo irretiri, quia eum post se nequit trahere; trahentem sequitur, et sermonibus consonat dictitatis. Jungunt dextras, stomachante tamen intus Marchisida, extra vero torvis luminibus crudescente. Celebrato ritu quem, ad haec foedera principes observant, invitatur Tancredus, ut quidlibet a rege petat, nullam passurus de petito repulsam: aestimabatur enim aurum, argentum, gemmas, pallia et his similia petiturus, necessarium viae subsidium, [0507A] et avari animi blandimentum.

After Alexius sees the man’s mind a contemner of money, and that he cannot be ensnared with a golden bond like the others, since he cannot drag him after himself, he follows the one who drags, and makes his words accord with his oft-repeated professions. They join right hands, the Marchioness, however, chafing within, but without growing cruel with grim eyes. The rite having been celebrated which princes observe for such covenants, Tancred is invited to ask whatever he will from the king, to suffer no refusal of what he asked: for it was estimated he would ask gold, silver, gems, mantles, and the like, a necessary subsidy for the journey, [0507A] and a blandishment of an avaricious mind.

Spretor pecuniae, sublimitatisque regiae animus aemulator, vulgaria temnit, quem duces alii oblatum prae onere honorem recusarent, illum affectat, et solum de regalibus ait praeplacere. Erat namque regi tentorium, quod arte simu, et natura mirabile duplicem spectatori jactabat stuporem: ad haec urbis instar turrita atria, camelos viginti gravi sarcina non fraudabant, capacitas conveniendae multitudini opportuna; apex tantum caeteris praeeminens.

Despiser of money, and with a spirit emulous of royal sublimity, he scorns the vulgar things; the honor which other leaders, when offered, would refuse because of the burden, that he aspires to, and he says that that alone, of the royal appurtenances, is especially pleasing. For the king had a tent which, marvelous by art and by nature alike, cast upon the spectator a double stupor: moreover, its turreted atria, after the fashion of a city, would not fail to lay a heavy load upon twenty camels, its capaciousness opportune for convening a multitude; the apex alone preeminent over the rest.

Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi.(VIRG., I Bucol.) Hoc ergo magnanimi Wiscardidae mentem munus unicum capit, hanc sibi destinat aulam idoneam; onus quidem inutile praesenti, sed signum haud ignobile [0507B] futuri. Quo comperto, Alexius sic fertur aestuasse ad petentem sicut olim Delius ad Phaetontem; nisi quia illic paterna pietas trepidabat, hic saeviebat indignatio hostilis. Phoebus ingemiscebat de periculo filii, Alexius super animo sublimi.

As much as cypresses are wont among the pliant viburnums. (VIRG., 1 Bucol.) This, then, the one gift captures the magnanimous Wiscardid’s mind; he designates this hall as suitable for himself—indeed a burden useless for the present, but by no means an ignoble sign [0507B] of the future. When this was learned, Alexius is reported to have seethed toward the petitioner just as once the Delian toward Phaethon; except that there fatherly piety trembled, here hostile indignation raged. Phoebus groaned over the peril of his son, Alexius at the sublime spirit.

Phoebus filium ad salubriora optandum hortatur: «Alexius sic optatum negat, ut post negatum his increpet: Ergone, Marchisides, confert se mihi, regalia petendo insignia? sordent vero ei communia, nisi singulare meum in toto orbe affectet palatium? quo impetrato, quid restat ultra, quin capiti diadema meo detrahat, suo imprimat?

Phoebus urges his son to opt for healthier things: «Alexius thus refuses the thing desired, so that, after refusing, he rebukes him with these words: So then, Marchisides, does he set himself on a level with me by seeking the regal insignia? Do common things truly disgust him, unless he aims at my singular palace in the whole world? That obtained, what remains further, but that he strip the diadem from my head and imprint it on his own?»

at puto desunt ei atria congestos satis explicitura clientes, neque tantae militum copiae intra septa valent concludi domestica. Itaque regia petitur, quae suis dimensionibus immensa, [0507C] domino sufficiat magnifico. Ut autem cedat ei petita, ubi muli, ubi muliones, aptum tantae moli vehiculum?

but I suppose he lacks atria that would sufficiently let out the heaped-up clients, nor can such great troops of soldiers be confined within domestic enclosures. And so the palace is sought, which, immense in its own dimensions, [0507C] would suffice for a magnificent lord. But even if what is sought should yield to him, where are the mules, where the muleteers, a vehicle apt for so great a mass?

nimirum hanc adepto relinquitur, ut ipse pedes impositam quasi numina sequatur. Recolat vero asino se dissimulanti, fuisse damno leonis exuvias: quibus indutus ut terreret, meruit rusticum sentire terribilem. Quo admonitus exemplo ne affectet mei umbra nominis terrere ignaros, ne demum cognitus pateat Tancredus.

Surely, with this obtained, it remains that he himself on foot should follow the thing set upon it, as if following numina. Let him recall, moreover, that for the ass disguising himself the lion’s spoils (hide) were to his damage: having donned them to terrify, he earned to find the rustic terrifying. Warned by which example, let him not affect to frighten the ignorant by the shadow of my name, lest at length, once recognized, Tancred lie exposed.

Metiatur se autem modulo suo ac pede, sarciat sibi pro se tentorium; hujus vero spem omnino deponat. Quod si irasci pergit de repulsa, floccipendo iras, et quantum iras, minas. Jam enim magis magisque mentem hominis stolida mihi ambitio reseravit.

Let him measure himself by his own module and foot, let him patch a tent for himself on his own account; but let him altogether put away hope of this one. And if he goes on being angry at the repulse, I value his angers at a floccus, and his threats as much as his angers. For already, more and more, a stolid ambition has unbarred to me the man’s mind.

Donec [0507D] tacuit, philosophus credi: insanus autem, os ut aperuit, meruit. Eia igitur quidquid fraudis, astutiae, irarum ac furiarum habes Marchisida, in meum ventila caput: excipio ardentem: Ego nec hostem mihi te dignor nec amicum.» Haec Alexius ira simul et astutia dictante profatus; partim dissimulabat timorem, partim tumorem atrocissimae bilis leniebat. At Tancredus quasi jacosae illius imaginis imitator ultima de multis verba arripit nullique libentius unquam responsurus, ait: «Hostem mihi te dignor, nec amicum.

While [0507D] he kept silent, he was believed a philosopher; but, the moment he opened his mouth, he deserved to be called insane. So then, whatever of fraud, astuteness, wraths and furies you have, Marchisida, hurl upon my head: I meet it blazing: I do not deem you worthy to be either my enemy or my friend.» Alexius, with anger and cunning alike dictating, uttered these things; he partly dissembled his fear, partly soothed the swelling of his most savage gall. But Tancred, as though an imitator of that jocose image, snatches from among many the last words, and, about to answer none ever more willingly, says: «I do deem you an enemy to me, and not a friend.

Ab his digressum est, neque ultra congressum.»

From them they departed, and there was no further meeting.»

XIX.- Ex ipsius manibus se eripiunt Tancredus et Boamundus.

19.- Tancred and Bohemond tear themselves from his very hands.

Tancredus ad littus redit, ubi parato remige, [0508A] fortuna simul et vocatur et adest. Transfretat nihil morans, is cui adeo ingratum nihil quam mora. Boamundus autem paulo tardior egressus, regias fere exspectavit et incurrit insidias: sed latenter edoctus, vertit se ad fugam, alioquin ad catenam.

Tancred returns to the shore, where, with the oarsmen made ready, [0508A] Fortune at once is both summoned and present. He crosses the strait delaying nothing—he to whom nothing is so ungrateful as delay. Bohemond, however, having set out a little more slowly, almost waited for the royal forces and ran into ambushes; but, secretly informed, he turned to flight—otherwise, to the chain.

Deinde regis nuntius reclamans, revocans secutus est egressos: verum donati rude, extricati nodis, procellis emersi; rursus iisdem nolunt exponi turbinibus. Sordet revocatio absentis, cujus praesens contempta est persona, neque adituri summi regis cunabula, Herodis audiunt perfidiam revocantis. Immissave aratro manu, lumina non reflectunt, semel quam sit illa reflexio damnosa experti.

Then the king’s messenger, protesting and calling them back, followed those who had gone out: but, granted the rudis, extricated from the knots, emerged from the tempests, they are unwilling to be exposed again to the same whirlwinds. The revocation of one absent is sordid, whose person, when present, was contemned; nor, being about to approach the cradle of the supreme King, do they heed Herod’s perfidy in recalling. And with the hand sent to the plow, they do not turn their eyes back, having once learned how ruinous that reflexion is.

Sed et illae quarum altera cahos Sodomae respexit; altera Treïcio conjugi est respecta, emersos ad lucem rursus prohibent tenebris immergi. [0508B] Tot admoniti exemplis, omnia haec visi sunt sibi evadere tormenta; dum hunc unum praetercunt tortorem. Igitur longo morarum tractu afflicti Latini duces, taedia vincunt, necessariisque justa sibi ac vectoribus jumenta onerant alimentis: nam media quae fertilitatem submovebat sterilitas, per dies plurimos transeuntibus occurrebat; nullo frugis solatio inopiam levatura.

But also those women, of whom the one looked back at the chaos of Sodom; the other was looked back at by her Thracian spouse, forbid those who have emerged to the light from being plunged again into the darkness. [0508B] Admonished by so many examples, they seemed to themselves to escape all these torments, while they pass by this one torturer. Therefore the Latin leaders, afflicted by a long tract of delays, overcome weariness, and load the beasts of burden with supplies necessary and sufficient for themselves and for the carriers; for the midland sterility which put fertility to flight kept confronting the wayfarers for very many days, with no solace of grain to lighten their want.

In cujus confinio Solymannus rex Turcus opperiebatur venturos, quatenus ignaris incurrerent providi, famelicis opulenti, fessis alacres, languidis robusti. Consultum est vero quasi divinitus fideli populo, ut victualium copiam per incultam solitudinem traduceret, quae vecta, suos quodammodo veheret vectores

In whose confines Solyman, the Turkish king, was awaiting those about to come, to the end that the provident might rush upon the unknowing, the opulent upon the famished, the brisk upon the weary, the robust upon the languid. Provision, indeed, was made as if divinely for the faithful people, that it might conduct a supply of victuals through the uncultivated wilderness, which, being borne, would in a certain manner bear its bearers.

XX.- Exercitus Christianorum in bivio dividitur. [0508C]

20.- The army of the Christians is divided at a fork in the road. [0508C]

Sed cum penultima circa exitum illius ariditatis transiisset dies, pene fortunae ludus suum illum favorem a Christicolis ad Mahumicolas convertit, et in partes Tancredi ausa est nimium. Nam redintegrato sicut soliti erant quotidiano, vel, ut ita dicam, quotinocturno calle, secta est in bivium via, et exercitus Christi factus est biviator. Plurimorum opinio errorem illum industriae deputavit; quo terra genti opulentius serviret diffuse spatiosa, quam stipate contracta.

But when the next-to-last day, near the end of that aridity, had passed, almost the sport of Fortune turned her favor from the Christ-worshipers to the Mahomet-worshipers, and she dared too much against the party of Tancred. For, the daily—or, so to speak, by-nightly—track being resumed as they were accustomed, the road was cut into a fork, and the army of Christ became a wayfarer of a bivium. The opinion of the majority reckoned that “error” to be a matter of craft, so that the land might serve the people more opulently when spread out and spacious, than when compressed in close-packed order.

Huc accedebat quod casus idem Normanniae comitem, Boamundumque Tancredumque seorsum a turba diverterat, quasi ut unigenae uno consilio unam patriae suae gloriam praerogarent. [0508D] Alii vero non ultroneum sed casuale, nec tam praelusum quam invisum fuisse, ipsis qui diverterant, divortium asserebant, sane miserantes fortunam, et lenientes invidiam: quae quidem sententia his suffulta firmior stabat praesidiis, quod praememorati duces domitis plebeculae non amoverant sarcinam, quod alienigenae militiae comitatu gaudebant, quod suam denique, quae maxima aberat, non praemunierant

To this there was added that the same chance had turned aside the Count of Normandy, and Bohemond and Tancred, apart from the crowd, as if, being of one birth, by one counsel they might prerogate one single glory for their fatherland. [0508D] Others, however, asserted that the separation was not voluntary but casual, and not so much pre-luded as odious to those who had turned aside—indeed pitying Fortune and softening envy: which opinion, supported by these buttresses, stood the firmer, namely, that the aforesaid leaders had not removed the pack from the plebeian rabble’s domesticated beasts, that they rejoiced in the escort of alien-born soldiery, and, finally, that they had not secured in advance their own force, which was very far absent.

XXI.- In mutuo occursu acies Latinae et barbarae concurrunt ad arma.

21.- In their mutual encounter the Latin and barbarian battle-lines rush together to arms.

Igitur ubi Normannorum vexilla minas belli Turcis denuntiant (nam Tancredus impiger morem suum praecurrendi obtinens, primus et conspicere et conspici maturaverat). Dispositum est [0509A] utrobique, ut a fluvio, qui medius discurrebat, velociores tardos arcere debuissent. Coeperat autem crepusculo vesper cedere, cum Latinae barbaraeque acies mutuum compererunt occursum. Expensa itaque nocte instanti ad mediam in quietem, a media in laborem: pars fidelis promptior, mane circa horam primam ad ripas praescripti fluminis praevenit infidelem, ubi vix metator sedulus prima infixerat castra, cum: Ecce hostis!

Therefore, when the standards of the Normans proclaim threats of war to the Turks (for Tancred, energetic, maintaining his custom of running ahead, had hastened to be first both to catch sight and to be seen). It was arranged [0509A] on both sides that, from the river which ran between, the quicker should have to bar the slower. And evening had begun to give way to twilight, when the Latin and barbarian battle-lines learned of a meeting with one another. So, with the approaching night apportioned—up to midnight for rest, from midnight for toil—the faithful side, being readier, in the morning about the first hour forestalled the faithless at the banks of the aforesaid river, where the diligent quartermaster had scarcely fixed the first camp, when: Behold, the enemy!

ecce hostis! et ingeminatur acriter, et occurrit audacter. Armantur qui armandi venerant; at qui armati, in bella feruntur: retunditur sagittipotens manus, nunc perfossa lanceis, nunc ensibus decisa.

Behold the enemy! and the shout is redoubled fiercely, and they run to meet him boldly. Those who had come to be armed are armed; but those already armed are borne into battle: the archer‑strong band is blunted, now pierced by lances, now cut down by swords.

Retunditur, inquam, ut quae prima fuerat, in mediam referri; quae vero media, prae tutela fieri cogeretur. Cum igitur eo [0509B] usque Normanni fugientibus institissent; densati cunei vires resumunt, et qui modo fugaverant, ipsi in fugam sunt conversi. Interea Normanniae comes et Boamundus duas tantum, singuli suam, instruxerant acies: jamque gradatim alacres praelium inibant.

It is beaten back, I say, so that what had been the foremost was borne into the middle; but what had been the middle was compelled to be made the front for protection. Since therefore the Normans had pressed upon the fleeing to that point [0509B]; the compacted wedges resume their strength, and they who just now had put them to flight were themselves turned to flight. Meanwhile the Count of Normandy and Bohemond had arrayed only two battle-lines, each his own; and now, by degrees, eager, they were entering the battle.

Instantibus itaque Turcis, contraque Christianis subvenientibus, magna vi hinc et inde certatur: nihil arcus, parum lancea, ensis plurimum agit. Turcos sua numero carens numerositas defendit; nostros autem loricae, scuta et galeae. Multum cruoris utrinque funditur, plus barbari: illius quidem non cessat strages; at tanquam recidiva hydrae capita, ubi pauci occidunt, innumeri succedunt

Therefore, with the Turks pressing on, and, contrariwise, the Christians coming to the rescue, the contest is waged with great force on this side and that: the bow avails nothing, the lance little, the sword the most. The Turks are defended by their numerosity lacking order; our men, however, by breastplates, shields, and helmets. Much blood is poured out on both sides, more of the barbarian: indeed, the slaughter of that side does not cease; but, as the Hydra’s heads grown back again, where a few fall, innumerable succeed.

XXII.- Christiani in fugam vertuntur. Robertus comes Normanniae animos colligit.

22.- The Christians are turned to flight. Robert, Count of Normandy, rallies their spirits.

[0509C] At vero fidelis legio communem cum his quidem habet occasum; sed non commune supplementum. Igitur lassata dum percutit, quassata dum resistit, inaminata dum rarescit, dat terga: quodque nunquam usquam ante didiscerat, in momento docta est fugere. O bellum miserabile!

[0509C] But indeed the faithful legion has a common downfall with these, but not a common reinforcement. Therefore, wearied while it strikes, shaken while it resists, disheartened as it thins out, it turns its back; and what it had never anywhere before unlearned, in a moment it was taught—to flee. O miserable war!

O fuga lugubris! O damnum in damno! O in vulnere vulnus!

O lugubrious flight! O loss upon loss! O wound upon wound!

militaris fugae impetus pedestrem conculcat tarditatem, inque vicem densissima pedestrium hastarum silva nunc fugam impedit, nunc exstinguit: fitque vel hosti miseranda clades, cum terga sagittis horrent, illa lanceis velut torrendorum verubus affinguntur. Dum itaque non parcunt, aut qui fugant arcubus, aut qui fugantur calcaribus, refugitur in castra, minimum [0509D] tamen solatium, sed unum. Ibi denique regius sanguis Willelmides, quis, cujus stirpis, cui militet memor, verticem nudat, Normanniam exclamat, Boamundum collegam, imo confugam suum his increpat: «Eho!

the impetus of military flight tramples the foot-soldier’s slowness, and in turn the very dense forest of the foot-soldiers’ spears now hinders the flight, now extinguishes it: and a disaster pitiable even for the enemy is made, when backs bristle with arrows, and those are affixed with lances as though with spits for roasting. While therefore they spare not, either those who rout with bows or those who are routed with spurs, there is a retreat into the camp, a very small [0509D] solace, yet one. There at last the royal blood, the Williamide, mindful who he is, of what stock, and whom he soldiers for, bares his head, cries “Normandy,” rebukes Bohemond his colleague—nay, his fellow‑fugitive—with these words: «Hey!

Boamunde, quorsum fuga? Longe Apulia, longe Hydruntum, longe spes omnis finium Latinorum: hic standum, hic nos gloriosa manet aut poena victos, aut corona victores; gloriosa, inquam, sors utraque, sed etiam eo beatior altera, quo celerius efficit beatos. Ergo agite, o juvenes, moriamur, et in media arma ruamus.» His admoniti agglomerant sese ducibus caetera juventus, morti deinceps quam fugae paratior: astant intrepidi, ceu quondam [ f., quaedam] venabula in furore operiens leo, qui modo longa quiete piger a latibulis excitus, [0510A] paulatim lucratur iras latratu, lituo, clamore, jaculis lascessitus, et tanquam non sua cujusque, sed una utriusque ab altero discurrat ad alterum quanto acrior ira accenditur leonis, tanto tepescit segnior venatoris.

Bohemond, whither flight? Far off is Apulia, far off Hydruntum, far off all hope of the Latin frontiers: here we must stand, here a glorious lot awaits us—either penalty for the vanquished, or a crown for the victors; glorious, I say, is either fate, but the other is even the more blessed, in that it more swiftly makes men blessed. Therefore come, O youths, let us die, and let us rush into the midst of the arms.» Thus admonished, the rest of the youth mass themselves to the leaders, thereafter readier for death than for flight: they stand unshaken, like a lion once [ f., quaedam] covering against the hunting-spears in his fury, who, just now sluggish from long repose, roused from his lairs, [0510A] little by little wins to himself wrath, provoked by barking, by the clarion, by shouting, by javelins; and as though not each had his own, but one and the same (wrath) of both ran from the one to the other, the keener the lion’s ire is kindled, the more the hunter’s slackness grows tepid.

Pari forma dum fidelis populus crudescit, infidelis remittitur, neque ultra audet invadere, quem coeperit nil timere. Respirant igitur ambae partes, alios, ut dictum est, remorante audacia, et alios metu

In like fashion, while the faithful people grows fierce, the faithless is relaxed, nor does it any longer dare to invade him who has begun to fear nothing. Both sides therefore draw breath, some, as has been said, with audacity holding them back, and others by fear

XXIII.- Magna fidelium strages.

23.- Great slaughter of the faithful.

Interea nuntius mittitur, qui eventum rei exercitui declaret ignaro, festinetque abesse, ut adesse ab illis festinetur. Ast adversarii alios et ad aliud emittunt, spiculatores scilicet ad cladem, non opis imploratores ad salutem. Turba itaque illa equites nostros [0510B] praetervolans, ad plebeculam transilit, numero tamen maximam, sed viribus imbecillam.

Meanwhile a messenger is sent, to declare the outcome of the matter to the army, unaware, and to hasten to be away, that they may hasten to be present. But the adversaries send others and to another end—scouts, namely, for slaughter, not implorers of aid for safety. That crowd, therefore, flying past our horsemen [0510B], leaps upon the common rabble, greatest indeed in number, but feeble in strength.

Hi palantes praefestinantis militiae vestigia legebant, muros periculis opposuisse putantes, cum subito irruunt primo sagittis, mox ensibus saevientes Turci, adepti ultra spem praedam, citraque bellum victoriam. Trucidantur itaque senes, pueri abstrahuntur, aetas media utrius partis expressius figurat faciem, ejus patitur sortem: saepissime tamen ac saevissime mucro et de impubibus praesumit, praedae copia saeviorem de saevissimo faciente praedonem: cui cum Briarei manus non sufficerent ad rapinam, caedibus insistit, quatenus vel sic animum expleat voracem. Unde factum est, ut de tanto numero perquam rarissimos praeteriret aut vulnus aut vinculum.

These, straggling, were picking up the tracks of the hastening soldiery, thinking they had set walls against dangers, when suddenly the Turks rush in, raging first with arrows, soon with swords, having obtained booty beyond hope, and victory short of battle. Accordingly the old men are butchered, boys are dragged off, the middle age of either party more expressively fashions the face, it suffers its lot: yet very often and most savagely the blade even makes bold against the prepubescent, the abundance of booty making the robber more savage than the most savage; and since for him even the hands of Briareus would not suffice for rapine, he persists in slaughters, so that at least thus he may fill his voracious spirit. Whence it came about that, out of so great a number, exceedingly few were passed over by either wound or bondage.

Neque [0510C] in tot usquam seu qui praecesserunt, seu qui venturi erant, bellorum casibus tantum de Latino sanguine gladio licuit gentili. Quid plura? Caedentium lassata, nec dum satiata rabie, victi virtores in castra sequuntur suapte sarcina seu socia onerati: militiae nostrae spectaculum satis miserabile; nulli vero audaciae satis miseratum: quippe quorum vota his contenta finibus, haerebant, ut oppugnatoribus suis resisterent; non ut cessantes interim aliquatenus oppugnarent.

Nor [0510C] anywhere, in so many cases of wars, whether those that had preceded or those that were to come, was the Gentile blade permitted to draw so much from Latin blood. What more? The fury of the slaughterers, wearied yet not sated, the defeated follow their victors into the camp, laden with their own pack or that of a companion: a spectacle quite pitiable for our soldiery; yet by the boldness of none was it sufficiently pitied: for their wishes, content with these limits, stuck fast—to resist their assailants, not, meanwhile standing idle, to assail them in any degree.

XXIV.- Acriter resistit Tancredus.

24.- Tancred resists fiercely.

Porro Tancredus ex adverso castrorum latere hostes debellabat, qui tentoria dirimentem conscenderant tumulum; unde facilius laedere, difficiliusque [0510D] laedi potuissent. His, inquam, uno et rapido incursu dejectis, vir fortis occupaverat ascensum, multos adorsus, paucis adjutus. Boamundo enim invito quin prohibente, res coepta vix comites aliquot elicere impetravit; ideo autem prohibente, quod exercitus hostilis diffusus nostrum quadam theatrali specie circumsepserat, ex omni parte necem significans inclusit.

Moreover Tancred on the opposite side of the camp was fighting the enemy to conclusion, those who had climbed the mound that divided the tents; whence they could more easily wound, and more difficultly [0510D] be wounded. These, I say, having been cast down by one swift charge, the brave man had seized the ascent, having attacked many, aided by few. For Bohemond was unwilling, nay, indeed forbidding, and the enterprise scarcely prevailed to draw forth a few companions; and he forbade for this reason, that the hostile army, spread out, had in a certain theatrical show encompassed our force, enclosing it and from every side signifying death.

Quamobrem Christianorum providentia, aestuantibus juvenum animis ad congressum egressum negabat, ne forte paucorum temeritas rei ordinem turbaret universum.

Wherefore, by the providence of the Christians, with the minds of the youths seething, egress to an engagement was denied, lest perchance the temerity of a few should disturb the whole order of the affair.

XXV. Et ipsius frater Willelmus, hostes caedunt.

25. And William, his brother, cuts down the enemies.

Willelmus tamen Marchisides, dum fratri metuit, sui non meminit, qui nec revocantem Boamundum, nec hostilis vires multitudinis veritus, fraternae fieri [0511A] comes ardet audaciae. Oh! facto miser atque beatus eodem, qui in mortem ruit, ad vitam transiturus! nam repulsa, ut praescriptum est, a tumulo turba, non tam cesserat, his quorum praesenserat gladios, quam quos frustra timuerat secuturos.

William, however, the Marchiside, while he fears for his brother, does not remember himself; he, fearing neither Bohemond calling him back nor the forces of the hostile multitude, burns to become [0511A] a companion of his brother’s audacity. Oh! wretched and blessed by the same deed, he who rushes into death, about to pass over to life! for the crowd, repulsed from the tomb, as has been set forth, had yielded not so much to those whose swords he had forefelt, as to those whom he had feared in vain would follow.

Igitur ubi quot, non quos fugerit respicit, numerum librans, nec animus redit: acrior quippe cujus laborem dolor, dolorem pudor cumulabat. Irruunt itaque primi arcubus projectis, audacius strictis mucronibus saevituri. Quibus quidem jam non putabatur haec pugna, sed poena: nec adversus hostes confligendum, sed tanquam de capitalium rerum condemnatis, ultio secunda.

Therefore, when he looks back at how many, not which men, he has fled from, weighing the number, his courage does not return; for indeed his spirit was the keener, whose toil pain goaded, and shame was piling pain upon pain. Accordingly the foremost rush in, their bows cast aside, about to rage more boldly with blades drawn. To these, indeed, this was now thought not a battle but a penalty; and it was not a matter of clashing against enemies, but, as against men condemned in capital causes, a fitting vengeance.

At vero numeri parvissimi robur maximum, muralem contra objectat audaciam, non si vel rex ipse Solimannus cum omnibus suis copiis [0511B] in eos saeviat cessuram. Fit fragor; hi lanceas vibrant, illi gladios, ut dictum est, stringunt. hi pectoribus loricas, loricis scuta, munimen adhibent; illi peltas.

But indeed, though their numbers are very few, they oppose with the greatest strength, presenting mural audacity, not about to yield even if King Soliman himself with all his forces [0511B] should rage against them. A crash arises; these brandish lances, those, as has been said, draw swords. These apply cuirasses to their breasts, shields to the cuirasses, as a bulwark; those, bucklers.

Horum pugna a summo descendit; illorum ab imo nititur. Illos pudori mistus dolor stimulat; hos ceu in specula stantes, tot urgent stimuli, quot spectant oculi. Aliis ergo loci situs, armorum commoditas, quin ipsa sua paucitas praesidio erant: aliis ad incommodum cuncta, etiam in qua confitebatur, pluralitas.

The battle of these descends from the summit; that of those strives up from the depth. Pain mixed with shame goads those; these, as if standing on a watchtower, are pressed by as many stimuli as eyes look on. For some, therefore, the site of the place, the commodiousness of arms, indeed their very paucity, were a safeguard; for others, everything tended to incommodity, even their plurality, which was the acknowledged advantage.

Enimvero ascendenti Turco fraxinus objecta eminus obviat, casuroque similem vi tactum, impactum facile aut conficit aut dejicit. Confectus autem dejectusve unus, plures dum rotatur, parili impetit ruina. Uno tamen cadente, ut fit in numero ingenti, mox plurimi subeunt, rursusque his plurimis [0511C] alii item plures; sicque factum est, ut qui in furore, in indignatione, in contemptu bellatum venerant; prius ipsa sui ruina aggerem aequarent quam calcarent: contraque numerus Christi nec minutus est nec laesus.

Indeed, to the Turk as he ascends, the ash-spear, set against, meets him from afar, and, having touched him with force and struck him, making him like one about to fall, it easily either makes an end of him or casts him down. But when one is finished off or thrown down, as he is rolled, he assails several more with equal ruin. Yet upon one falling, as happens in an immense number, soon very many come up, and then to these very many [0511C] still others likewise more; and thus it came to pass that those who had come to wage war in fury, in indignation, in contempt, leveled the rampart by their very own ruin before they could tread upon it; and contrariwise the number of Christ was neither diminished nor harmed.

Adeo cuspis fraxinea largae prodiga opis, usum simul utrumque et scuti supplet et gladii. Quid contra haec mucro? Mucro, inquam, cujus est proximum caedere, remotis parcere; immergi cominus, minari eminus; utque paucis ejus facultatem includam, cujus licentiae pares habet terminos longitudo, evaginatus minari poterat, laedere non poterat vel emissus.

Ash-wood spear-point so far proves a lavish spendthrift of abundant aid, that it at once supplies both uses, and takes the place both of shield and of sword. What, against these, is the blade’s point? The point, I say, whose office is to hew those nearest and spare the remote; to be plunged at close quarters, to menace at a distance; and, to include in few words its faculty—whose license has bounds equal to its length—drawn it could menace, but it could not wound, not even when sent forth.

Unde comperiens utpote experta acies fracta in audaces, tutam non esse audaciam: jam non ultra viribus contra vires decernere satagit, [0511D] artes arcusque quos abjecerat resumens. Quod si ut primo coeperat, pedem pedi, manum manui, umbonem umboni conserere aliquandiu inarsisset, profecto magnanimi saevae strages huic collata succumberet; id tantum solatii objectura, quod ipsa unum, haec saevas omnes suos habuerit bellatores.

Whence, learning—as, having experienced, the battle-line, broken upon the audacious, that audacity is not safe—now no longer does it strive to decide forces against forces, [0511D] resuming the arts and the bows which it had cast away. But if, as it had begun at the first, it had for a while burned to join foot to foot, hand to hand, boss to boss, assuredly the savage havoc of the magnanimous one, when compared with this, would have succumbed; proffering only this solace: that it had had one, whereas this side had had all its warriors fierce.

XXVI.- Cadit Willelmus.

26.- William falls.

Sed resumptis arcubus, grando volans quibus enses pepercerant, non parcit; quos non attigerant, perfodit; ubi nec ascenderant, descendit. Hactenus ergo sarcina tantum gravis, loricae, scuta et galeae: nunc gratissimus obex, vitae mortisque fines disterminat. Eatenus tamen, si quatenus molesta, quod levitas captata ad limen saepius artifices manus retorserit.

But with the bows resumed, the flying hail spares not those whom swords had spared; it perforates those whom they had not touched; where they had not ascended, it descends. Hitherto, therefore, merely a heavy burden—breastplates, shields, and helmets: now a most welcome obstacle determines the bounds of life and death. Yet only to that extent, inasmuch as it is vexatious, because lightness, when caught at the threshold, has more often twisted back the artificers’ hands.

Pluentibus itaque vulnera Turcorum nervis, [0512A] nostri, dum degrandinet, sustinent; siquis alicunde turbo perflans tantam telorum nubem discutiat. Cognatae acies juxta, hostis undique, adjutor nusquam, interea gemunt saucii. Hic manum perfossus, ille oculum effossus; alii suffossi pedem, pars verticem superfossi.

Therefore, with the Turks’ nerves (bowstrings) raining wounds, [0512A] our men, while it hails down, hold out; hoping that some whirlwind blowing from somewhere might scatter so great a cloud of missiles. The cognate battle-lines are nearby, the enemy on every side, a helper nowhere; meanwhile the wounded groan. Here one with his hand perforated, there another with his eye gouged out; others with a foot stabbed through, a portion with the crown of the head pierced from above.

O pietas! o dolor! o luctus!

O pity! o pain! o mourning!

Clypeus aliorum Marchisides et ipse cum aliis affigitur Willelmus. Aliorum dolor haerebat in vulnere, hujus vulnera usque sub mortem doluerunt. Labitur corpus nobile, socii exceptum in castra referunt, pauper, belli causa, agger relinquitur.

Marchisides, the shield of others, is pinned, and William himself is pinned along with the others. The pain of others adhered in the wound; this man’s wounds pained him right up to death. The noble body slips down; caught by his comrades, they carry him back into the camp; the poor man, for the sake of war, is left on the rampart.

Quis tibi, Tancrede, spectanti talia sensus? quosve dabas gemitus? viri corda, cui modo robur et aes triplex circa pectus erat; jam muliebres mollescunt ad lacrymas, ora femineum ululant ejulatum; digiti mentum, [0512B] genas, caput decalvant: postremo quaecunque hominem armant particulae, reliquas inermes crudeli seditione dilaniant.

What feeling had you, Tancred, as you beheld such things? and what groans did you give? the man’s heart—he to whose breast but now there was strength and triple bronze around it—now softens womanishly to tears; mouths ululate a feminine lament; fingers strip the chin, [0512B] the cheeks, the head bare: at last, whatever little parts arm the man rend, in cruel sedition, the remaining parts unarmed.

Multi quoque heroum fidelium in eadem lamenta resoluti, super Marchisidas lugent: neque minus hujus lacrymas quam illius necem miserantur. Dum haec agerentur, vix debellatus Turcos receperat tumulus, et ecce Christicolas pulvis testatur adesse cohortes, submissi tolluntur animi, contra elati submittuntur. Exclamatur, Deus vult, hoc enim nostri interjiciebant laetantes.

Many also of the faithful heroes, dissolved into the same laments, mourn over the Marchisides; nor do they commiserate this man’s tears less than that one’s killing. While these things were being done, the tumulus, the battle scarcely finished, had hardly received the Turks; and lo, the dust attests that the cohorts of the Christ-worshipers are at hand. Downcast spirits are lifted up; contrariwise, the elated are brought low. A cry goes up, “God wills it,” for this our men, rejoicing, kept throwing in.

Adversarii, Heu, et, At, at, murmurantes, ingeminant: quippe non tam spes ablatas, quam oblatos metus trepidantes.

The adversaries, 'Alas,' and, 'But, but,' murmuring, redouble: indeed, trembling not so much at hopes taken away as at fears set before them.

XXVII.- Hugo Magnus instat.

27.- Hugh the Great presses on.

[0512C] Advolat ante alios regum clarissima prolesMagnus Hugo, galeis contentus ferme trecentis.Irruit in medios non ut qui pugnet in hostes,Sed qui post pugnam fugientia terga sequatur.Sic rapidus, sic intrepidus, sic undique tutusAggreditur, lacerat, fugat, insequitur, premit, arctat,Fulminat, exsultat, fremit, exclamat, furit, ardet.Mittit in hunc aciem ferratam rex Solymannus;Ingentem numero, virtute, minis, feritate,Quae numero superet segetes, o Gargara, vestras:Quae virtute suis aequet convallibus Ethnam,Quae feritate minis totum sibi vindicet orbem,Quae perferre graves, et reddere gaudeat ictus.Ergo alacres hinc tanta cohors, tot tela, tot arcus: [0512D] Inde comes magnus quam nomine tam probitateOccursu parili, numero sed dispare freti,Bellum ineunt, stant oppositi pars obvia Gallis:Conserti clypeos clypeis, atque ensibus enses:Pars lateris dextri gyrum, pars altera laeviOccupat, et volucres mittunt utrobique sagittas.Undique septa armis audacia Gallica et hoste,Ad quos se vertat, nisi se convertat ad omnes,Ignorans: modo ad hos, mode se convertit ad illos,Qualis apri, quem turba canum circumvenit ingens,Fulmineus nunc hos dens, nunc eviscerat illos;Nunc retro mordaces, et nunc a fronte minaces.Sic vir magnanimus, et eo duce freta juventusInnumeros ardens se circumflectit in orbes,Et quaecunque ruit caedens, caesus ruit hostis.

[0512C] Before the others the most illustrious offspring of kings, Hugh the Great, flies up, content with nearly three hundred helms. He rushes into the midst not as one who fights the foe, but as one who, after the battle, pursues fleeing backs. Thus swift, thus intrepid, thus on every side secure, he attacks, he rends, he routs, he pursues, he presses, he hems in; he lightnings, he exults, he roars, he cries out, he rages, he burns. King Solyman sends against him an iron-clad battle-line, huge in number, in valor, in threats, in ferocity—one that in number would surpass your harvests, O Gargara; that in valor would match Etna with its own glens; that by ferocity and menaces would claim the whole orb for itself; that rejoices to endure heavy blows and to repay them. Therefore here so eager a cohort, so many missiles, so many bows: [0512D] there the great count, as much in probity as in name, with an equal encounter, but relying though unequal in number. They enter war; they stand opposed, a part meeting the Gauls; shields are linked with shields, and swords with swords. One part occupies a circuit on the right flank, the other on the left, and from both sides they send winged arrows. The Gallic audacity, shut in on every side with arms and with the foe, not knowing to whom it should turn itself unless it turn itself to all, now to these, now to those it turns—like a boar whom a vast pack of hounds surrounds, with lightning-swift tusk now mangles these, now eviscerates those; now those that bite from behind, and now those that menace from the front. Thus the magnanimous man, and the youth relying on that leader, burning, wheels himself into innumerable orbits; and wherever he charges, cutting down, the smitten enemy falls.

XXVIII. Turcos fugat. [0513A]

28. He routs the Turks. [0513A]

Ergo recens acies jam multa caede cruento,Jamque fatigato comiti congressa, laboremSudoremque viri crudeli exaggerat ira.Sauciat ante, retro, dextra laevaque, nec ullamDat requiem gravibus, nullo sudore gravata.Postquam nulla valet vis innumeros revocare.Ad numerum, majorque redit quam corruit hostis.Magna comes parvae miseratus funera turbaeOra in terga refert, haec sola timentis imago:Caetera victoris lacerantis, dejicientis,Atque fugantis erant: in terga fugacia cuspisEnsis dimidians, equus ardens, dextera flagrans,Quippe retrocessit, qui retro occiderat hostis:Ut versam faciem videt, aspectumque minacem, [0513B] Expers qui mortem fugiens incurrit eidem,Tutius ignotis sperans occurrere multis,Quam semel expertae restare ad verbera dextrae.Consul agit trepidos, graviterque instatur agenti,Et fugit et sequitur, pariter fugat atque fugatur.

Therefore the fresh battle-line, now bloodied with much slaughter, and now engaged with the wearied Count, cruel wrath augments the man’s labor and sweat. It wounds in front, behind, on the right and on the left, and gives no respite from heavy blows, weighed down by no sweat. When no force can recall the numberless, the enemy returns to full number, and comes back greater than the host that had fallen. The great Count, pitying the funerals of the small band, turns his face to their backs—this the only image of fear; the rest were of a victor tearing, casting down, and routing: a spear-point in fleeing backs, a sword cleaving in halves, a blazing horse, a flaming right hand. For he drew back, who had been killing the enemy from behind: when he sees the face turned and the menacing aspect, [0513B] the man devoid of sense, fleeing death, runs into the same, hoping it is safer to meet many unknown foes than to remain for the blows of a right hand once experienced. The Consul drives the alarmed, and heavy pressure is put on the one driving; and he flees and pursues, alike he puts to flight and is put to flight.

XXIX.- Et cum eo Robertus comes Flandriae.

29.- And with him Robert, Count of Flanders.

Obviat his hasta metuendus, et ense RobertusFlandrigena, effrenique volans ad praelia cursu,Damna morasque levat, dum quam ultimus hauserat aure?Primus inardescit pugnam impinguare cruore.Obvius ergo fugae, pertransit in usque fugantes,Quaque videt densas acies fervere sagittis,Et stridere minis; ibi fervere stridere tendit.Incurrunt Turci in comitem, comes acer in illos: [0513C] Flandrensesque fere numero, et virtute phalangesIgne pari accensae; pede, strage, fragore sequuntur.Sternitur arcitenens acies, sparguntur et arcus.Rumpuntur pharetrae, calcantur ut alga sagittae,Peltae, thoraces quasi stamina linea ad enses,Sarcina sunt tectis, et non tutamina Turcis.Sic comes armipotens Gallorum terga sequentes,Rursus terga dare: et versa vice pectora GallosVertere compellit; numeroque carentia primumAgmina sub numerum sternendo necando reducit.At Turci nec ulla quidem, nec multa rependunt.Vulnera, spes quorum ferratae nescia calcis,Tota retrosuadae de verbere pendet habenae;More tamen patrio fugiens quo vulnerat arcus; [0513D] Sed tremebunda metu ferit, et non laedit arundo,Tantus ad internas pertransiit usque medullas.Papae! quem genuit Flandrensis flamma tremorem!Dum comes indomitus domat hostes, densaque spargitAgmina; sparsa secat, secta obruit, obruta calcatMagno magnanimo comite stipatus Hugone.Nec cessat strages, donec socia arma fugatosExcipiunt; nectuntque moras, arcentque fugantes.En iterum viresque novas animosque recentesCongressusque manus avidas, et caetera ad usumCongrua bellorum, nova cuncta recentia nostriInveniunt, multaque licet jam caede gravati,Accipiunt acres, et reddunt acriter ictus, [0514A] Rollandum dicas Oliveriumque renatos,Si comitum spectes hunc hasta hunc ense furentes.

He meets them, to be feared with spear and with sword, Robert the man of Flanders, flying to the battles at an unbridled course; he lightens losses and delays, and, as soon as he had caught the report with his ear, he is the first to blaze to fatten the fight with gore. Therefore, confronting the rout, he passes straight through into the fugitives; and wherever he sees dense battle-lines seething with arrows and hissing with threats, there he aims to seethe and to hiss. The Turks run upon the count, and the keen count upon them: [0513C] and the Flemish phalanxes, almost equal in number and in virtue, kindled with an equal fire; they follow with foot, with slaughter, with crash. The bow-bearing line is laid low, and the bows are scattered. Quivers are burst; arrows are trampled like seaweed; peltae and thoraces, as if linen threads before swords, are burdens to their wearers and not safeguards to the Turks. Thus the war-mighty count compels those who were following the backs of the Gauls to give backs in turn; and with the turn reversed he compels them to turn their breasts toward the Gauls; and the ranks that at first lacked number he brings back under number by laying low and killing. But the Turks repay neither any nor many wounds; their hope, unacquainted with the iron-shod heel (the spur), hangs wholly on the lash of the backward-urging rein; yet, in their ancestral manner, while fleeing, the bow with which they wound— [0513D] but the reed, trembling with fear, strikes and does not wound, so great a dread has passed through to the inmost marrows. Ha! what a tremor the Flemish flame has engendered! While the indomitable count subdues the foes and scatters the dense ranks, the scattered he cuts, the cut down he overwhelms, the overwhelmed he tramples, hemmed in by the great and magnanimous Count Hugh. Nor does the carnage cease until allied arms receive the routed, and they weave delays and keep off the pursuers. Lo again our men find new forces and fresh spirits and assembled eager bands, and the rest congruent to the use of wars, all things new, all fresh; though weighed down by much slaughter, they receive keen blows and give them back keenly, [0514A] you would say Roland and Oliver reborn, if you regard the counts—this one raging with spear, that one with sword.

XXX.- Godefridus in hostes ruit.

30.- Godfrey rushes upon the enemies.

Dux Godefridus homo totus bellique DeiqueCujus non fervor, non vires, non animosusSpiritus Hectoreis cessit; sed praefuit armis,Laetus adest. O quas acies, quae pectora ferriQuam longum calybem lateris munimina laeviCernere erat comitata ducem! quis flatus equorum,Quis fremitus hominum, quae gloria Lotharidarum?Dux ergo Turcas acies premit, insequiturqueNon astu vigili, non commoditate locali,Non quae vel timidos in fortes excitat, arteAdjutus: verum turbans his omnibus hostes [0514B] Scilicet adjutos astuque, locoque, doloque.

Duke Godfrey, a man wholly of war and of God, whose fervor, not his strength, not his high‑spirited spirit, yielded to Hectorean prowess; but he was foremost in arms, he is gladly present. O what battle‑lines, what iron‑chested breasts, what long steel, the defenses of the sleek flank, there were to behold accompanying the leader! what the snorting of horses, what the roaring of men, what the glory of the Lotharingians! The Duke therefore presses the Turkish ranks and pursues them, not aided by vigilant astuteness, not by local convenience, not by the art which even rouses the timid into brave men; rather, throwing into confusion with all these the enemy [0514B]—namely, those aided by craft, by position, and by deceit.

XXXI.- Aggere potitur; fugientes insequitur, mons vicinus hosti favet.

31.- He gains the rampart; he pursues the fleeing, the neighboring mountain favors the enemy.

Stabat in occursu ducis agger, agerque sub ipsoRetrocedentem dirimebat ab aggere montem.Huc ubi fisa dolis gens plus quam fisa sagittisDiffugium fecit: ratus aggere velle potiri,Ad pugnam refugos, dux fraudis et artis iniquaeIgnarus, belli faciem convertit in illos,Et celeri incursu tumulum prius hoste gravatumLiberat, inde fugam ad montem per plana coactamStrage premit multa, hostis scilicet atque suorum.Nimirum gens illa dolis armata sequentemAeque transfigit loricam, quam fugientem:Et nisi equus velox fugientibus iggerat hastas, [0514C] Quo magis effugiunt magis horrida vulnera spargunt,Ut faciat Turci fuga, quod victoria Franci.Monte recepta cohors, non aere gravata nec armis,Aere graves, armisque viros post terga ruentesEvadit facile, et facili pronaque sagittaSauciati, intortae comtemptrix eminus hastae.Anxius objecti dux frendens in pede montisRursum in plana redit: si quos mons invidet hostesEliciant, vacua arva duci repetitus et agger.Hostis ad haec gaudet, descendit, et ultro lacessit,Semper discurrens, et semper vulnera spargens.Fretus equo celeri, montisque favore propinqui,Dux iterumque iterumque sequens in pectora multos [0514D] Excipit, et plures in terga remunerat ictus.Monte tamen meritos semper curtante triumphos,Quippe sinu victis, victricibus obice signis,Ceu quondam accipitrem qui circinat aera gyro,Ceu qui in fronte sedet querularum turba volucrumCircumagit, varioque replet virgulta latratu:Tum si forte procax cornix propiore volatuJam tumidum ostendit, ille indignatus et ardensFertur in aeriam toto conamine turbam:Illa fugit trepidis repetens cunabula pennis,Cum similem hesuro porrectis unguibus arctaeSaxi seu terris cohibent te praedo latebrae:Ungue tamen plumas referens insignia palmae,Nacta sede doles, alasque expansus hiantiRostro, luminibus flammatis, pectore anbelo [0515A] Suspicis elapsae plumosa repagula praedae.Haud secus ira ducem turbat, dum pulsus ab arvisTurcus habet tutas latebras confinia montis.

A rampart stood in the leader’s path, and the field beneath it separated the mountain, drawing back, from the rampart. Thither, when the nation, trusting in wiles more than trusting in arrows, made a break for it: supposing they wished to seize the rampart, the leader—ignorant of fraud and inequitable craft—turns the face of war against the runaways to the fight, and with a swift charge frees the mound, previously burdened by the enemy, then presses with great slaughter the flight to the mountain forced across the level ground—of the enemy, to be sure, and of his own men. Clearly that nation, armed with tricks, pierces the cuirass of one pursuing just as much as of one fleeing: and unless the swift horse had thrust spears among the fugitives, [0514C] the more they get away, the more horrid wounds they scatter, so that the Turk’s flight accomplishes what the Frank’s victory would. Once the cohort has been received by the mountain, not weighed down by bronze nor by arms, it easily escapes the men heavy with bronze and arms rushing behind their backs, and, wounding with an easy and downhill-inclined arrow, a contemner at range of the hurled, twisted spear. The anxious leader, gnashing his teeth at the foot of the mountain, returns again to the level ground: that they might draw out whatever enemies the mountain begrudges, the empty fields and the rampart are sought again by the leader. At this the enemy rejoices, descends, and provokes unbidden, always running about, and always scattering wounds. Relying on his swift horse and on the favor of the nearby mountain, the leader, following again and again, catches many in the breast [0514D] and repays more blows upon their backs. Yet the mountain always shortens the triumphs deserved, since to the conquered it is a bosom, to the victors a barrier to their standards; as once one who wheels a hawk through the air in a circle, as one who, set in front, wheels it about before a querulous crowd of birds, and fills the thickets with varied yapping: then, if by chance a saucy crow by a nearer flight displays the already-swollen one, he, indignant and ardent, is borne with all effort upon the aery crowd: she flees, with trembling wings seeking again her cradles, when, with claws outstretched to seize the like, rocky lairs or earthly hiding places confine you, robber; yet bearing back on your talon feathers, the insignia of a palm, having found a perch you grieve, and with wings spread you look up, with gaping beak, eyes aflame, panting breast, [0515A] at the feathery barrier of the prey that has slipped away. Not otherwise does anger trouble the leader, while, driven from the fields, the Turk holds the safe hiding places of the mountain’s borders.

XXXII.- Hugo Magnus subvenit duci et cum Raimundo comite montem superat; Terror invadit Turcos.

32.- Hugh the Great comes to the aid of the duke and, with Count Raymond, surmounts the mountain; Terror invades the Turks.

Sed cum Magnus Hugo diverso praelia tractuAggressus, montis latus ex facili superassetPervium, et hoste vacans: mox nec juga, nec via praecepsDeprensos inhibent, quin laxis cursor habenisRaptet equus, refugos per plana, per ardua Turcos.Hinc igitur comitem, inde ducem fugiente catervaHostili, comes accelerat metuens RaimundusNe sibi neve suis desit qui dimicet hostis:Hunc suus, hunc alii pedites, equites comitati [0515B] Belli ductorem, legionum dispositoremTanto ditabant numero, munimine, signis:Ut credi posset absentum nullus abesse,Qui meriti fuerant credi, nullum superesse.Ergo formidans ne formidabilis essetPraecidendo metum, rupto petit ordine bellum.Si furor Ideas quercus ad littoris imaSigaei rapiat, tremat omnis proximus IdaeEt mons et vallis, lateat sub pulvere Phoebus:Si lucem demas galeis aut frondibus addas:Hic status, haec species, similis fremitus, tremor idem.Turba sodalis erant comitis, turbaeque sodalisQui fragor attonitas Turcorum ut perculit aures,Atque oculos fulgor: totam occursare paventes [0515C] Europam, nullo duce, consule, rege relicto.Primo stant dubii mox ut Raimundica cuspisObvia quaeque rotat, colliditur, et subit ensis:Tunc nec Arabs jaculo, nec fidit Turcus in arcu,Sed nec equus frenum, nec equum via, nec fuga gyrumSenserunt, adeo fugere est sperare salutem.Ergo Cylix Tharsum, nemora Aetheritanga Coatrae,Antiochena Syrus, Sidonia moenia Phoenix,Artasium Jacobi, turres Elamita Calepti.Praeterea innumerae notas sibi quisque latebrasDiffugiendo petunt, sine more, sine ordine gressus.

But when Hugh the Great, having undertaken the battles by a different tract, had quite easily surmounted the passable side of the mountain, empty of the foe, soon neither the ridges nor the precipitous path restrain the trapped, but with loosened reins the racing horse snatches at the fleeing Turks over the flats and over the steeps. Hence therefore toward the Count on this side, toward the Duke on that, with the hostile cohort fleeing, Count Raymond hastens, fearing lest there be lacking for himself or his men an enemy to fight with. Him his own, him others, foot and horse, accompanying—the leader of war, the disposer of legions—[0515B] were supplying with so great a number, with strength, with standards, that it could be believed that none of the absentees was absent who had deserved to be believed present, that no one was left over. Therefore, fearing lest fear become formidable, by cutting fear short, with the order broken he seeks battle. If fury should sweep the Idaean oaks down to the lowest shores of Sigeum, let every neighboring part of Ida tremble, both mountain and valley, let Phoebus lie hidden beneath the dust; if you take away the light from helmets or add it to the foliage: such the stance, such the aspect, a like roar, the same tremor. The band were comrades of the Count, and he a comrade of the band, whose crash, when it smote the astonished ears of the Turks, and the gleam their eyes, they imagined the whole of Europe was running to meet them, with no duke, consul, or king left behind. At first they stand doubtful; soon, as the Raymondine spear wheels whatever stands in the way, it clashes, and the sword goes in. Then neither does the Arab trust in the javelin, nor the Turk in the bow, nor did the horse feel the bit, nor the road the horse, nor flight a turning-circle—so wholly was fleeing the hope of salvation. Therefore the Cilician for Tarsus, the groves of Aetheritangus for Coatrae, the Syrian for Antioch, the Phoenician for the Sidonian walls, the Jacobite for Artasium, the Elamite for the towers of Calepta. Moreover, numberless men seek by scattering their hiding-places known to themselves, their steps without custom, without order. [0515C]

XXXIII.- Duces, hoste disperso, versus Antiochiam metantur; Tancredi audacia.

33.- The leaders, with the enemy dispersed, set their course toward Antioch; the audacity of Tancred.

Triumphato, caeso, disperso hoste; victore reverso, [0515D] ditato, jucundato; via solitum revocat viatorem, quo jam tutior, eo diffusiorem. Duces turmis pedestribus Antiochiam versus gyro prolixiori, sed facili cultam planitiem metandam provident, provisamque metantur. At Tancredus nemorum devia, montium ardua, Cylicum flumina praetervolanda eligit, qua ad praedictam urbem semita accelerabat directior.

With the enemy triumphed over, cut down, and dispersed; with the victor returned, [0515D] enriched and gladdened; the road calls the wayfarer back to its accustomed route, the safer it now was, the more outspread. The leaders provide for the foot-soldier troops, toward Antioch, that the cultivated plain be taken in a longer but easy circuit, and, as foreseen, they measure it out. But Tancred chooses the byways of the groves, the steep places of the mountains, the rivers of Cilicia to be skimmed past, where a path, more direct, was hastening to the aforesaid city.

O bellatorem stupendum, cui voluptati labor, cui securitati bellum, cui otium difficile, cui facilis quaevis difficultas, cui postremo nihil dulce nisi fuerit sudore conditum! Stupeamus interim hominem qui nunquam stupuit, eique metuamus, quia nil metuit. Papae!

O stupendous warrior, for whom labor is pleasure, for whom war is security, for whom leisure is difficult, for whom any difficulty is easy, for whom, finally, nothing is sweet unless it has been seasoned with sweat! Let us meanwhile be astonished at the man who never was astonished, and let us fear him, since he fears nothing. Good heavens!

quaenam haec est audacia, imo amentia, Tancrede? Antiochiam praedaturus centum [0516A] sociare loricas contentus es: arcuum tuorum numerus vix ducenti; in his millibus Syriam oppugnas? Paucos adhibes: supple numerum, multus est hostis tuus, multi adversum te gladii, hostis tuus plures armat populos quam tu viros.

what is this audacity, nay madness, Tancred? About to prey upon Antioch you are content to muster a hundred [0516A] cuirasses: the number of your bows is scarcely two hundred; with these “thousands” do you assault Syria? You bring few: fill up the number, your enemy is numerous, many are the swords against you, your enemy arms more peoples than you men.

Ut te patrocinandum vocent quae adversarium exspectant oppida et urbes paucos ducis custodes. Surgat, quaeso, surgat in quintuplum summa municipum; ne saltem custode vacet numerositas municipiorum, alioquin vocatus tutor non sufficis tutelae; ut singulis plebibus singulos distribuas assertores. Praesertim urbs Antiochia munita armis, stipata armatis, assueta bellis, superba triumphis: dominando insenuit, dominari non novit.

Let the towns and cities that await an adversary call you to act as patron; you lead few guards. Let, I pray, let the sum of the townsmen rise fivefold; lest at least the numerosity of the municipalities be vacant of a custodian; otherwise, called as a tutor you do not suffice for tutelage; so that you may distribute single asserters to single peoples. Especially the city Antioch, fortified by arms, thronged with armed men, accustomed to wars, proud in triumphs: by dominating it has grown old; it does not know how to be dominated.

Moderare praecipitis cursum animi, et sapientis cujusdam viri sententia pro freno [0516B] utere. Dux ille et miles, quid ducis, quid militis refert expertus. Sic ait, et priusquam incipias, consulto, et ubi consulueris, mature opus est facto: Quod consulere, ad ducem; quod ad militem, agonizare referendum est, etiam simplicibus quibusque palam est: verumtamen, vel alter utri utrumque vel utrique alterum: imo utrique et hoc et illud saepius incumbit: et te quidem utriusque nominis accendit gloria, sed ab humiliori superbiam tanto petis incautius, quanto a sublimiori efficacius impetrasses.

Moderate the precipitate course of your mind, and use the sentence of a certain wise man as a bridle [0516B] for yourself. That leader and soldier, experienced in what pertains to a leader and what to a soldier, speaks thus: before you begin, take counsel; and when you have taken counsel, promptly there is need of the deed. What belongs to taking counsel is to be referred to the leader; what to agonize (to contend) is to be referred to the soldier—this is plain even to quite simple folk; nevertheless, either the one supplies to the other both, or to both the one; nay rather, upon both, both this and that, it more often falls. And indeed the glory of both titles inflames you; but from the more lowly you seek pride so much the more incautiously, as from the more exalted you would have obtained it more effectually.

Miles flagras intrepidus appellari: eoque prudens fueris, ut imprudens furere dicaris; dumque levem hanc emis auram; projicis vitam, perdis operam, lucraris invidiam, incurris infamiam. Redi ergo ad te, reduc te in ducem, prius consule, et ubi consulueris, [0516C] explica cohortem; alioquin namque, cum ventum in pericula fuerit, sero consules, cito fatisces; voles consultus venisse in praelium, non in consilium praeliatus.

You blaze to be called an intrepid soldier; and therein you would be so prudent as to be said to rage imprudently; and while you are purchasing this light breeze, you cast away life, you lose your labor, you gain envy, you incur infamy. Return, therefore, to yourself; bring yourself back into a leader: first take counsel, and when you have taken counsel, [0516C] deploy your cohort; otherwise indeed, when it has come to perils, you will take counsel too late, you will soon give way; you will wish to have come advised into the battle, not to have fought it in a council.

XXXIV.- Tharsum obsidet; insidias parat.

34.- He besieges Tarsus; he prepares ambushes.

Hac simili et forsitan dicatiori revocatione Tancredi aures obtundente, ipse in aspidem surdam obduratus, vel ut incantatores excludit quos habet monitores: quin et coeli flammis, tigride feta ocior Bythiniam transvolat, Tauros montes, Buteoti valles; has Baritis, illos polo contiguos, percurrit. Cilicia potitus, Tharsum obsidet. Indignatio Turcis, exsultatio Graecis, exhortatio Armenis, stupor universis.

With such a similar, and perhaps more oratorical, recall battering Tancred’s ears, he himself, hardened into a deaf asp, excludes, as charmers, the monitors he has: nay even, swifter than the fires of heaven, swifter than a tigress heavy with young, he flies across Bithynia, the Taurus mountains, the Buteoti valleys; these, the Baritis, those contiguous with the pole, he courses through. Having gained Cilicia, he besieges Tarsus. Indignation to the Turks, exultation to the Greeks, exhortation to the Armenians, stupefaction to all.

Ea namque tempestate Turcis dominari contigerat, Graecis famulari, Armenis montium arduitate tueri [0516D] libertatem. Sed eminus tamen conspecta urbe, admiratus fastigia turrium, spatia montium, superbiam domorum, tentare vires properat incolarum. Igitur dispositis insidiis ubi . . . . . S . . . . . tis quae providenda erant provisa sunt: praemittuntur arcitenentes Marnys Turcopoli, aliquot tamen loricatis suffulti nostratibus, hi praestruuntur, abstractis per pascua armentis, quo ordine, quo diffusio diverterat, ne ruituri per praedam hostes, et ante deprehendant insidias, quam deprehensi ipsi dent poenas.

For at that time it had befallen the Turks to dominate, the Greeks to be in servitude, the Armenians, by the steepness of the mountains, to guard [0516D] their liberty. But, the city having been sighted from afar, admiring the heights of its towers, the expanses of the mountains, the pride of the houses, he hastens to test the strength of the inhabitants. Therefore, the ambushes having been arranged, when . . . . . S . . . . . tis the things that had to be provided were provided: the bow-bearers are sent ahead, the Marnys Turcopoles, yet supported by some of our mail-clad men; these are set in front, the herds having been drawn off through the pastures, in the same order in which the dispersal had turned aside, lest the enemies, rushing for the plunder, detect the ambush beforehand, and, before being caught themselves, pay the penalty.

Dictum et factum: praedones emissi, volant, suburbium populantur, cooperto simulato metu, qua jussi fuerunt recursant. Urbs excitat quidquid armorum, quidquid virium habet, post vestigia immittit; interim vix [0517A] numero portarum custodiae paucos relinquente. Igitur accelerant hi, accelerant illi capti ab. . . . Mox igitur qui fugiunt, ad salutem: qui fugant, ad necem; qui fugiunt ita vincunt, qui fugant ut vincantur.

Said and done: the brigands, sent out, fly; they plunder the suburb, under cover of simulated fear, and they run back by the route they had been ordered. The city rouses whatever of arms, whatever of forces it has, and lets them loose in pursuit; meanwhile the guard of the gates, in number, [0517A] scarcely leaves a few behind. Therefore these hasten, those hasten, caught by . . . . Mox therefore those who flee, to safety; those who pursue, to slaughter; those who flee thus conquer, those who pursue so that they may be conquered.

Interea fieri dum. . . . . . . instatur. Fugientem instans crebro perfodit, succurrens velocior, contraque lancea fugiens dum se. . . . . instantiam ferre nequit, convertitur; et subvertit, has ludente fortuna vices aliis evasum est, aliis supervasum.

Meanwhile, while ... . . . . . . pressure is applied. Pressing upon the fugitive, he pierces repeatedly, running up the swifter; and, on the contrary, fleeing the spear, while he himself . . . . cannot bear the pressure, he turns about; and he overturns him—Fortune playing with these vicissitudes— for some there was an escape, for others an overrunning.

Dato igitur a speculo signo, vallis gravida armis palam fundit quos conceperat armatos, ac primo quidem fremere incipiunt hastilia praeferrata, moxque in silvam surgunt quercus et fraxinus, pari modo irruentibus galeis, clypei succrescunt, post loricae, postremo et equites et equi Cadmeo semini ortus simillimus, [0517B] quos ubi audax comperit Turcorum rabies, ultro conversa torridam more suo emittit urbem ferratam ante, post alatam.

Therefore, the signal having been given from the watchtower, the valley, gravid with arms, openly pours forth the armed men whom it had conceived, and at first indeed the iron‑tipped spear‑shafts begin to roar, and soon oak and ash rise into a forest; with helmets rushing in in like manner, shields grow up, then corslets, and finally both horsemen and horses—a birth most similar to the Cadmean seed—[0517B] which, when the audacious frenzy of the Turks discovers, turning unbidden, in its own fashion it sends forth a torrid city, iron‑clad in front, winged behind.

XXXV.- Hostes caedit et fugat.

35.- He slays and routs the enemies.

Tancredus elicitos ad pugnam videns, utpote numero fretos suorum maximo nostratum minimo ipse primus mediis praelium infert, obvium quemque aut ense dividens, aut cuspide configens, juventus fida Turcorum caedunt primo pectora, mox terga: nudi quippe laevam aliqui, pectus nonnulli. . . pus universi; galeas scuta loricas non sustinent, et vestes amplectitur. Ergo porta reduces modo quidem angusta quos paulo ante eduxerat spatiosa, adeo confusi territi amentes congloberati limina subeunt.

Tancred, seeing them drawn forth to battle—inasmuch as they were relying on number, theirs very great, ours very small—he himself first carries battle into their midst, either cleaving with the sword or piercing with the spear-point whoever met him; the faithful youth cut down the Turks, first their breasts, then their backs: for indeed some are naked on the left side, some at the chest . . . the whole body; helmets, shields, cuirasses do not withstand, and it even embraces the garments. Therefore the gate—now narrow to those returning, which a little before had led them out spacious—so confounded, terrified, out of their wits, massed together, they approach the thresholds.

. . . gladio urgente victoris. Quod nisi muralis [0517C] custodia grandinem saxeam pluens consertam umbonum cratem diremisset, uno impetu moenia et cives subiissent et hostes: aliis itaque admissis alii repulsi per trunca redeunt cadavera, Christo gratantes. Intra moenia dolor, extra gaudium: intra spes in timorem vertitur, extra converti nescit, sed augeri.

. . . with the victor’s sword pressing. And if the wall-guard [0517C], raining a stony hail, had not sundered the concerted lattice of umbos, then in a single onset the walls and the citizens would have succumbed to the enemies: some therefore admitted, others repulsed, they return over hewn-down corpses, giving thanks to Christ. Inside the walls, grief; outside, joy: inside, hope is turned into fear, outside, it knows not to be turned, but to be increased.

Inter haec dies clauditur, et deliberandi opportuna consiliis nox ruit.

Amid these things the day is closed, and the night, opportune for counsels of deliberation, falls.

XXXVI.- Urbem aggreditur.

36.- He assaults the city.

Tancredus sub exorto jubare portas frangere, fossa implere, scalas applicare, turres conscendere festinat, et jam moras noctis annum vocat. Somnus illi nullus, aut si quis, brevissimus; ab oculo tamen clauso ad actum crastini praesagiis [0517D] Turcos sollicitat suos. . . . . . . . quippe quo hostibus tam suis civibus diffidentes territat, noctem diutinae imago pugnae, neque a quoquam fulminans rejicit Tancredus.

Tancred, with the dawn’s radiance just risen, hastens to break the gates, to fill the fosse, to apply the ladders, to climb the towers, and now he calls the delays of the night a year. Sleep for him is none, or if any, most brief; even with his eye closed, by presages [0517D] he stirs up his own Turks to the action of the morrow. . . . . . . . indeed by this he overawes the enemies, so distrustful of their own fellow-citizens; the night is the image of a long-continued battle, nor does Tancred, fulminating, give way before anyone.

. . . . . . ac mentibus singulorum. Itaque solem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fugam committitur.

. . . . . . and the minds of each. Therefore the sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . flight is undertaken.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( Lineae hic desiderantur duodecim, quae legi nequeunt.) et quos debelles habeas et quibus parcas pac. . . . . . libertate concessis Tharsensium hic adhuc tantos muros. . . . . . . . ad propria signum victoriae.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( Twelve lines are missing here, which cannot be read.) and whom you might have as the vanquished, and whom you might spare in peac. . . . . . with liberty granted to the Tarsians, here still such great walls. . . . . . . . to their own places at the sign of victory.

. . .

XXXVII.- Inopinato adventu Balduini terretur. Balduini elogium.

37.- He is frightened by the unexpected advent of Baldwin. An encomium of Baldwin.

Vexillum turris sublimior ventilabat, cum subito, stupendum visu audituque horrificum, specula [0518A] clamat de partu montium nasci arma, jamque arva discurrentibus scaturire armatis. Quo Marchisides fremitu excitus sociam. . . . . . . . excit militiam, moxque ipse accito equo, primus evolat, socii pone subeunt.

The banner of the loftier tower was fluttering, when suddenly—astounding to see and horrific to hear—the lookout [0518A] cries out that from the mountains’ birth a bearing-forth of arms is being born, and that already the fields are bubbling with armed men running to and fro. At which rumbling Marchisides, roused, stirs the allied . . . . . . . soldiery; and soon he himself, his horse summoned, is the first to fly out, the comrades come up from behind.

Se moverat autem a frequentia periculosae multitudinis idem propagandi nominis ardor qui et Marchisidem, et fortuito eadem contigerant egresso vestigia, is a Godefrido duce comiteque Eustachio proles Eustachides de. . . . . millibus complures sibi defloraverat comites, in quibus Cono comes plurimum sonabat suas etiam vires Normanica augente militia, cujus ipse sub comite Roberto gerebat principatum. Praeterea sua sibi juventus non deerat. . . . . . . . . . . . armorum avidi, avidissimum hunc praeelegerant ducem.

But he had moved himself away from the crowd of a perilous multitude by the same ardor of propagating his name which also moved the Margrave; and, by fortune, the same tracks had fallen to the one who had gone out: he, the Eustachid offspring—brother of Duke Godfrey and son of Count Eustace—of . . . . , had plucked from the thousands several companions for himself, among whom Count Cono sounded most, his forces also being augmented by Norman militia, of which he himself under Count Robert bore the principate. Moreover, his own youth-band was not lacking to him. . . . . . . . . . . . eager for arms, they had preferred this man as a most avid leader.

Virum [0518B] liberalem pecuniae, studiosum militiae, affatu humilem, magna vi, pietate sublimem, cujus proceri formam corporis a planta ad verticem contemplatus: ecce dixeris quem natura in militem manu propria exsculpsit. . . . . . . . . . tot vitae intervallis ornari, quae a Francorum sceptro lucem ingressa, ab Hierosolymitanorum erat egressura; utque liquidius claret, a magno illo rege Carolo genus trahens, super solium David sessurus divinitus trahebatur. Jure ergo ac merito Alexandrum vivebat, cujus illustrabant Carolus ortum, David occasum; nec degenerare debebat gladius hebes, cujus sic fulgerent cunae et tumulus.

A man [0518B] liberal with money, studious of soldiery, humble in address, sublime in great force and in piety, whose tall bodily form, having contemplated from the sole to the crown: behold, you would say that nature with her own hand sculpted him into a soldier. . . . . . . . . . to be adorned with so many intervals of life, which, having entered the light from the sceptre of the Franks, was about to go forth from that of the Jerusalemites; and, that it may be more clearly evident, drawing lineage from that great king Charles, he was being drawn divinely to sit upon the throne of David. Therefore by right and by merit he lived as an Alexander, whose rising Charles, whose setting David, made illustrious; nor ought the sword to be dull and degenerate, whose cradle and tomb thus shone.

His accensa super nobilitas facibus, de magno exercitu segregaverat quos fervidiores agnoverat socios, eratque numerus ejus quasi [0518C] milites quingenti ac peditum duo millia, quibus a monte in platea jam progressis, Marchisides arma nostratia cernens, auxiliaria credens, nostrates nesciens, nesciens insidias, pugnam, victoriam hesternas ostendit, spolia refert, relata profert, prolata offerri dimidiat, illaesis sequentibus quod integrum. . . . . . . remitto repugnaverat praevius.

Moreover, the nobility, inflamed by these torches, had separated from the great army those comrades whom it had recognized as more fervent, and its number was about [0518C] five hundred knights and two thousand foot-soldiers; and when these had now advanced from the hill into the broad way, the Marchiside, seeing our-country arms, supposing them to be auxiliaries, not knowing they were our men, not knowing the ambush, displays yesterday’s battle and victory, brings back the spoils, brings forward what has been brought back, and halves what has been produced to be offered, leaving what was intact for the followers unharmed. . . . . . . I send back; the forerunner had resisted in advance.

XXXVIII. Balduini injustitia erga Tancredum.

38. Baldwin’s injustice toward Tancred.

At tuti agminis dux longe tutior aut viritim scuta, tumque distribuendum fore objicit, aut omnia inarmatis manus fortioris cessura; fugam hostium non praecursoribus gladiis, sed subsequentium horrori deputandam. Tancredum quidem dimicasse, sed contigisse palmam Balduino: quod non [0518D] fere secius Marchisides oblatum, atque Telamonius Pelidae arma sibi accipit negata; aestuat, furit, dolet, se non sibi tulisse vellera dolet, mellae, auri venam ab infimis terrae eruisse cavernis; ut praedo in fiscum traduceret ingratus: nam de ea quae objecta est miseranda divisione quid attinet? Ipsa illa quae modo placuerat ultronea, jam displiceret, seu coacta.

But the leader of the secure column, far more secure, objects that either shields must then be distributed man by man, or else everything will yield to the stronger hand from the unarmed; that the flight of the enemy is to be assigned not to the swords of the forerunners, but to the horror of those following. Tancred indeed fought, but the palm fell to Baldwin: which the Marchisides offered not [0518D] much otherwise; and, like the Telamonian, he takes to himself the arms of the Pelides, though denied. He seethes, rages, grieves—he grieves that he did not bear off the fleeces for himself, that he dug out from the lowest caverns of the earth the vein of honey, of gold, only that, like a brigand, he should transfer it into the fisc ungratefully. For what is the point about that pitiable division which has been thrown out? The very thing which just now had pleased, if unsolicited, now displeases, if coerced.

Translato enim victoriae suae titulo, non tam ultra impertitor spontaneus, quam redditor videretur obnoxius. Quid ergo? pugnet?

For, the title of his victory being translated, he would seem not so much any longer a spontaneous imparter, as an obliged restorer. What then? Should he fight?

concivis est hostis; laceret? Christianus est sanguis; Tharsum subeat? vile est includi Tharsenses; excitet cum barbaris in fratrem pugnare?

a fellow-citizen is the enemy; should he lacerate? it is Christian blood; should he submit to Tarsus? it is vile to pen in the Tarsians; shall he rouse the barbarians to fight against a brother?

id est apostatare. Ergo malum vinci, sed multo vincere pejus. Mille semitis viam investiganti, sedet denique floccipendere debellata, [0519A] festinare ad debellanda, sic aquilae accipiter, sic cedis, parde, leoni, sic licet urgentes majori quique minores.

that is, to apostatize. Therefore it is evil to be conquered, but much worse to conquer. For the one investigating the way by a thousand by-paths, it at last befits to floccipend what has been debellated, [0519A] to hasten toward things to be debellated; so the hawk yields to the eagle, so you yield, pard, to the lion, so, albeit pressing, the lesser, whoever they are, yield to the greater.

Abit Marchisides unum gemens, Tharsensium servitutem de Latinorum adventu liberatam non esse, sed gravatam: abit, inquam, quo majores vocant, ne qua ad auditum nomen ejus diffugia terram pauperent opulentam.

Marchisides goes away, groaning once: that the servitude of the Tharsenses was not freed by the advent of the Latins, but made heavier: he goes away, I say, whither the elders call, lest at the hearing of his name any flights should impoverish an opulent land.

XXXIX.- Tancredo nihilominus feciales mittuntur de Urbis reductione.

39.- Nevertheless, fetials are sent to Tancred concerning the reduction of the City.

Sed jam praecurrerat fama velocior, quae de tanti viri indole nihil reticuerat Addianis, quantus foret christiani nominis defensor, quantus gregis incredulae expugnator, quantae mansuetudinis erga subditos, quantae in rebelles duritiae: his civitas gratiis laeta ultro feciales suos mittit, virum [0519B] cum hymnis et tympanis manibus inducturos. Misertus namque plebi suae Christus nuper ab eorum cervice jugum excusserat, dominatoribus expulsis, ipsorumque retento in compedibus Turco principe homine, imo cane, cujus nec sedari irae, nec ebrietates jucundari, nisi in oculis ejus sagittato ad palum Christicola, consueverant. Quapropter is qui humilia respicit et alta a longe cognoscit, eamdem ei qua mensus fuerat, Tancredo dispensatore, mensuram reservavit.

But already a swifter report had run ahead, which had kept back nothing from the Adanians about the nature of so great a man—how great a defender he would be of the Christian name, how great a stormer of the unbelieving herd, of how great gentleness toward subjects, of how great hardness toward rebels: at this, the city, glad at these favors, of its own accord sends its heralds to lead the man [0519B] in with hymns and timbrels by the hand. For Christ, having pitied His people, had lately shaken the yoke from their neck, their lords having been driven out, and their own Turkish prince kept in fetters—a man, nay, a dog—whose angers could not be assuaged, nor his drunken bouts be made pleasant, unless a worshipper of Christ, shot with arrows at a stake before his eyes, had been provided. Wherefore He who regards the lowly and knows the lofty from afar reserved for him the same measure with which he had measured, with Tancred as the dispenser.

Divinum id quidem, nec enim lex aequior ulla est, quam necis artifices arte perire sua.

That indeed is divine; for no law is more equitable than that the artificers of slaughter perish by their own art.

XL. Idque Ursini industria, cujus hic narratur historia.

40. And this by the industry of Ursinus, whose history is narrated here.

Ursinus eo tempore urbi praeerat, homo Christicola, Armenus: isque, ut praescriptum est, legatos [0519C] miserat Marchisidam advocatum, qui et ipse in adventum tanti hospitis egressuri dextra et fide obvium mulcet, vires socias vel magis famulas spondet, ad Mamystanae civitatis spolia invitat, quam loco proxima, tam captu facillima: nec minus et ipse contra digna se accipit, quin de sparso semine messis resurgit in centuplum: in his moenia subeunt non sine totius plebis plausu et cantico. Ubi ergo tapetis equus, epulis fames, Baccho curae cesserunt: Ursinus super urbis praesentis statu praeterito quomodo durare potuerit, qua vi cives protegere tot circumventus hostium millibus potuerit rogatus, incipit. «Novum, ait, incolam ad veterem restituendam libertatem missum me vides: cum enim campi et valles Turco subjecti dominio, diu miserabiliter [0519D] servirent: ego montes colebam, liber quidem: sed Christianae plebis servitutem non minus quam qui paterentur, ingemiscens; quodque multi jam annorum curriculi etiam illatum viderent et perpessum; cum multa sinistra aggressis, una tandem certa patuit via libertatis.

Ursinus at that time presided over the city, a Christ-worshipper, an Armenian: and he, as has been prescribed, had sent envoys [0519C] to summon the Marquess, who also himself, at the advent of so great a guest, going out to meet him with right hand and pledge, soothes, promises allied—nay rather even serviceable—forces, invites to the spoils of the city of Mamystana, as nearest in place, so most easy to capture: nor does he himself in return receive things less than worthy, indeed from the scattered seed the harvest rises again a hundredfold: amid these they enter the walls, not without the applause and song of the whole plebs. When therefore the horse yielded to carpets, hunger to banquets, cares to Bacchus: Ursinus, asked about the state of the present city—how in the past it could have endured, by what force, surrounded by so many thousands of enemies, he could protect the citizens—begins. «You see me, he says, a new inhabitant sent to restore ancient liberty: for when the fields and valleys, subjected to the dominion of the Turk, long and miserably [0519D] were serving: I was cultivating the mountains, free indeed: but groaning over the servitude of the Christian plebs no less than those who were suffering it; and whereas for many circuits of years many now saw both what had been inflicted and what had been endured; with many sinister attempts undertaken, at length one sure way of liberty lay open.»

Prata suam reddiderant messem, passae falcem telluris in fenum aruerant comae, quod curriculis huc advehere quotidianus instabat labor: rura autem eo tempore incolebant, quos modo nobiles vidisti in equo fremere et fulgere in purpura:» (viderat enim paulo ante plurimos e Turcis discurrere purpuratis, qui cum saepius, saepiusque recurrendo solivagi plaustra ducerent, eo uno bobus conservis praecellebant; quod sua boves premebantur custodia; ipsi nulla). «Orta est igitur ex opportunitate [0520A] suspicio, ex suspicione consilium, ex consilio audacia, ex audacia libertas: nam cum fenum plaustris illocarent, custode liberi, arbitrati sunt eadem pariter armis virisque posse onerari, occultarique intus bellum: circum circa pacem dependere, allatis intra municipium armatis, facile Turcos aut perimi aut repelli. Haec illis volventibus, ad me ventum est; ubi in montibus, ut praedixi, manebam, cognitaque adventus causa; gaudeo, moneo, urgeo, ne morentur, neve impellenti coelitus se subtrahant gratiae. Vos, inquam, reditum maturate, curate plaustra, ego vobis quos invehatis parabo bellatores.

The meadows had rendered their own harvest, the tresses of the earth, having suffered the sickle, had dried into hay, which the daily toil was pressing to carry hither by wagons: but the fields at that time were being inhabited/tilled by those whom just now you saw, nobles, to snort on horseback and to gleam in purple:» (for he had a little before seen very many of the Turks, purple-clad, running about, who, by running back and forth more and more often, being solitary wanderers, led the wagons, and in this one respect surpassed the oxen their fellow-slaves: that their oxen were constrained by guard; they themselves by none). «Therefore from opportunity there arose [0520A] suspicion, from suspicion counsel, from counsel audacity, from audacity liberty: for when they were loading the hay on the wagons, free of a guard, they thought that the same could equally be burdened with arms and men, and that war could be hidden within: to have peace hanging round about, and, armed men having been brought within the municipality, that the Turks could easily either be slain or driven back. While they were turning these things over, they came to me; where in the mountains, as I have said before, I was staying, and the cause of the coming having been learned; I rejoice, I admonish, I urge that they not delay, nor withdraw themselves from the grace from heaven impelling them. You, I say, hasten your return, take care of the wagons; I will prepare for you warriors to bring in.

Illi accelerant jussa, ego promissa impleo: nec mora infodiuntur feno satellites, ego ex adverso praedas simulo, quatenus eliciti ad pugnam exteriorem, [0520B] oppidani, facilem reliquissent ingressuris victoriam. Sicut praevisum est, sic secutum: nam cum urbem exuissent qui post me irruebant, plaustra bellum important moenibus; pace et feno prudenter tunicatum: inducti ergo intra muros armati pacem exuunt, portis obdunt repagula, ipsarum caedunt custodes, ipsi custodiae succedunt; atque haec quidem secreto omnia, ut porticus praesens occultae caedi arcus praestruxerat latebrosos, inde passim per vias, per palatia, per turres discurrunt: vae illi qui seu cum arcu, seu absque, eques aut pedes, puer aut senex inventus est Turcus: nec aetati, nec formae, nec sexui parsum est: omnes in gladio corruunt, humiles et magni, semel omnia victor punit vulnera quae a diebus antiquis pertulerat, in multimoda nece [0520C] cognatae servitutis. Reservatur tamen superstes unus Turcorum, non minus scelerum quam sceleratorum princeps: is columbari gravissimo vinctus compede in tormentis tormenta, in temporalibus praestolatur aeterna: sed cum caeterae infidelis turbae intemeratum nihil gladius reliquisset, tympana scandunt mures, totamque usquequaque viciniam laetabundo replent tonitru.

They hasten to execute the orders, I fulfill the promises: without delay the soldiers are buried in hay, while I on the opposite side simulate forays, in order that, lured to a fight outside, [0520B] the townsmen would have left an easy victory to those about to enter. As it was foreseen, so it followed: for when those who were rushing after me had sallied out from the city, the wagons import war within the walls, prudently tunicked in peace and hay; brought within the walls, the men-at-arms doff peace, they fasten bars upon the gates, they cut down the guards of those very gates, they themselves succeed to the guard; and all these things indeed in secret, as the present portico had pre-furnished hiding-places—arcades—for the concealed slaughter; thence they run everywhere through the streets, through the palaces, through the towers: woe to that Turk who was found, whether with bow or without, horseman or footman, boy or old man: neither age, nor comeliness, nor sex was spared: all fall by the sword, lowly and great, at once the victor punishes all the wounds which he had borne from ancient days, in a manifold slaughter for the kindred servitude. Yet one of the Turks is reserved alive, a prince no less of crimes than of criminals: he, bound to the dovecote with a very heavy shackle, in torments awaits torments, in temporal things awaits eternal ones: but when the sword had left nothing inviolate of the rest of the infidel rabble, the mice climb upon the drums, and with gladsome thunder they fill the whole neighborhood everywhere. [0520C]

Id enim praecepti dederam, ut peractam caedem plaudentes nobis concinere debuissent. Cum ergo arrectis auribus turres laetisonas hausissem: Io, comites, exclamo, convertamus faciem in terga; buccinas accipio gaudii nuntias, urbs nos revocat in cives, captam namque fingentes praedam, simulato reditu instantiae hostium, terga dederamus: sed ad lituos tubasque conversi revocantes audacter aggredimur, [0520D] quibus modo prudenter cedebamus. Illi ad insolitam stupefacti audaciam, cunctantur: paululum deinde nobis vices fugae mutuas rependunt, nos eo securius instare quo magis magisque civitas propiabat.

For I had given this instruction, that, the slaughter completed, they ought, applauding, to sing in concert for us. When therefore, with ears pricked, I had drunk in the joy-sounding towers: “Io, comrades,” I exclaim, “let us turn our face to our backs; I receive the bugles as messengers of joy, the city calls us back among the citizens,” for feigning captured booty, with a simulated return under the pressure of the enemy, we had given our backs: but, turned toward the clarions and tubas that recalled, we boldly attack those to whom a moment ago we were prudently yielding. [0520D] They, astonished at the unwonted audacity, hesitate; then for a little they repay to us reciprocal turns of flight; we press on all the more securely the more and more the city drew near.

Hostes rerum ignari, aes tinniens, tympanum tonans, oppidum reboans, properae opis suae instrumenta putabant: sicque contigit ut et nobis praeter spem gratia, et hostibus praeter timorem geminaretur poena. Vox eadem, dictu mirabile! nobis verax, illis mendax; verosque reducit; nos inducit, illos seducit quorum recursus jam suburbii vicinitate gaudebat, cum fallacia sonitus se comperiunt illusos, prospectis per moenia discurrere Armenis.

The enemies, ignorant of the situation, took the ringing bronze, the thundering drum, the town re‑echoing, to be the instruments of their swift aid: and thus it befell that for us, beyond hope, favor was doubled, and for the foes, beyond their fear, the penalty was doubled. The same voice—marvelous to say!—was veracious for us, mendacious for them; it reduces the true, it induces us, it seduces them, who were already rejoicing, with their return now in the suburb’s vicinity, until, on perceiving Armenians running along the walls, they discover themselves deluded by the deceit of the sound.

Quid faciant? a moenibus spes elapsa est, a [0521A] tergo gladii urgent, extra nec stari potest, nec intra claustra recipi. Porro nec locus fugae, nec locus pugnae: tentata est tamen fuga omnibus, sed nec uni omnium benigna: nam mente improvida, casuque inopinato confusi, quibus modo evasuri fugerant ut viverent: iisdem mox vestigiis redibant ut perirent.

What are they to do? from the walls hope has slipped away, from [0521A] the rear swords press, outside one can neither stand, nor be received within the barriers. Moreover, there is neither a place for flight nor a place for combat: yet flight was attempted by all, but was kind to not a single one of them: for, with an improvident mind and confounded by unexpected chance, by the very tracks along which just now they had fled, meaning to escape so as to live, by those same footprints soon they were returning in order to perish.

Dei siquidem ecclesiae profanatores oculos habebant, nec videbant: sic et manus, et arcus, et gladii in propriis usibus elanguerant, omnia nobis contra vires tam sua tristis quam nostra hilaris fortuna geminabat. Sed ne mea te offendat prolixitas, aggredimur confusam, amentemque turbam, nec unum gladius superstitem relinquit: surdus quippe inter caedentem, non audit pecuniam, quae se crebro pro miseris obsidem spondet, ex illo Allachibar, quod [0521B] infidelitas orando exclamat, hac in urbe obmutuit, ac pro eo Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat; tanquam rediens postliminio, reboavit.» Haec Ursinus: cum loquentis verbo ultimo, Deo gratias Tancredus occinuit.

For the profanators of the Church of God had eyes, and did not see: thus also hands, and bows, and swords had languished in their proper uses; fortune was doubling for us all forces against them, as much their sad as our cheerful lot. But lest my prolixity offend you, we assail the confused and crazed crowd, and the sword leaves not one survivor: indeed, a man, deaf in the midst of slaughtering, does not hear money, which repeatedly pledges itself as a hostage for the wretched; from that “Allachibar,” which [0521B] infidelity cries out in praying, in this city was struck dumb, and in its place “Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands,” as if returning by postliminy, re-echoed.» So much Ursinus: at the last word of the speaker, Tancred struck up, “Thanks be to God.”

XLI.- Cives Tancredum conveniunt.

41.- The citizens meet with Tancred.

In his noctem diei continuant donec sopor intus diurno labore gravatos levat, levatosque ad crastinum remittit: nondum enim luciferi bigas Phoebus attriverat, cum accelerantis includere Mamystanos Tancredi Mamysta galeas comperit sublustres. At Turci quibus urbem diu indulserat mora tam justo longior, quam longa: tam rapacior quam delicata: tam delicatior quam secura: ab ipso permuniti conticinio cesserant pugnae Tharsensis vice formidata: [0521C] quod ut sole orto cives comperiunt, egrediuntur ad foedus, ut Tancredi vestigiis, et vix conquiniscens suave jugum onusque leve subire mereretur: impiissimo quippe famulitio erepti, regnare autumant servire ereptori. Facile igitur apud eum bene merentes impetrant, a quo nec immeritus vacuus rediisset.

In this they continue the night with the day until sleep within lifts those weighed down by diurnal labor, and, lifted, sends them back to the morrow: for not yet had Phoebus worn down Lucifer’s two-horse chariot, when, at Mamysta, one perceived the dimly gleaming helmets of Tancred enclosing the Mamystans as they hastened. But the Turks, for whom delay had long indulged the city—so much longer than just as long; so much more rapacious than delicate; so much more delicate than secure—having armed themselves at the very hush of night, had withdrawn, a Tarsian battle in its turn being dreaded: [0521C] which, when the sun had risen, the citizens learn; they go out for a covenant, so that, under Tancred’s footsteps, and scarcely acquiescing, it might deserve to undergo the sweet yoke and the light burden: for, rescued from most impious servitude, they think it to be to reign, to serve the rescuer. Therefore they easily obtain from him, as well-deserving, from whom not even the undeserving would have returned empty.

Potiuntur itaque sese vice mutua Tancredus urbis filiali obsequio; urbs Tancredi regimine paterno.

Thus they obtain one another by mutual exchange: Tancred the city’s filial obedience; the city Tancred’s paternal regimen.

XLII.- Recedit Balduinus; qui suburbana metaus castra pacem petit; a Tancredo pacem obtinet et commercium.

42.- Baldwin withdraws; having pitched a suburban camp, he seeks peace; from Tancred he obtains peace and commerce.

Interea spoliis onustus, misericordia vacuus, licentia abusus, illicita . . . . . gatus Balduini comitis exercitus, Tharsum liquerat, Tharsum damno suo [0521D] Francorum millenaria centenariis commutans . . . . . comitis injurias abominans ad maj . . . . . quos levibus quibusdam viderat occupatos . . . . . sollicite invitator suus Euphrates cujus adhuc praesens legatio a dextra alvei turbasse illum, a laeva Edessam indesinenter promittebat, quorum neuter locus parem dignabatur, aut hoc in cunctis Syriae citerioris oppidum, aut illa trans Euphrateae quae Mesopotamia dicitur civitatem, utrumque divitis uber agri, multorum famulitio et oppidorum et urbium imperare gaudebat: haec nuntii praelato, haec praelatus subditae genti frequenter commemorans, Tharsum exierat; jamque singularum singula Addanae, Mamystaeque vix flumina transvadatus vicino tentoria affixerat Tancredo. Indignati namque supprimi a rustica planta [0522A] alvei, solis urbibus pontes concesserant; per quos tamen non patuerat aditus, quoniam eis Tancredus sequentes arcere praeceperat; nolebat enim sicut fratrem jam appellare, qui eum expelleret sicut hostem. Igitur Balduinus comes suburbana metatus castra, pacem ab urbe petit, victualia non jam gratis, neque raptim, sed ratione et pretio erat impetrari.

Meanwhile, laden with spoils, void of mercy, abusing license, illicit . . . . . gated, the army of Count Baldwin had left Tarsus, Tarsus to his own harm [0521D] exchanging the thousands of the Franks for hundreds . . . . . abhorring the count’s injuries, to greater . . . . . whom he had seen occupied with certain slight matters . . . . . anxiously invited by his “Euphrates,” whose envoy still present promised that on the right of the channel it had disturbed him, and on the left Edessa unceasingly, of which neither place deigned an equal—this as a town among all of Hither Syria, that as a city across the Euphrates, which is called Mesopotamia—both rejoiced to rule a rich, teeming soil, with the service of many, and to command both towns and cities: with these things set forth by the messenger, and he, the prelate, frequently reminding the subject people of these things, he had gone out from Tarsus; and now, having scarcely forded the several rivers of each, Adana and Mamistra, he had pitched his tents near to Tancred. For, indignant at being overborne by a rustic foot within the riverbed [0522A], they had granted bridges to cities alone; through which, however, access had not lain open, since Tancred had ordered that those following be kept away from them; for he was unwilling now to call as brother one who would drive him out as an enemy. Therefore Count Baldwin, having marked out a suburban camp, seeks peace from the city; provisions were now to be obtained not gratis, nor by rapine, but by reckoning and by price.

Noverat enim viri mentem recenti adhuc injuria turbidam, seque qui eam intulerat odiosum. Porro urbs munita turribus, populi capax, armis referta, nulla sui infirmitate spem raptoris firmabat: praeterea comitem illum Cononem, quem superior pagina celebravit; valetudo gravis lecto affixerat: quare nec relicto eo procedere volebat, nec eum abducere, nec ibi manere Balduinus commercio poterat [0522B] negato, tot curae anxium de postulanda pace eum incusabant. Res mira!

For he knew the man’s mind to be still disturbed by a recent injury, and that he himself, as the one who had inflicted it, was hateful. Furthermore, the city, fortified with towers, capacious for a populace, replete with arms, by no weakness of its own was bolstering a raider’s hope: moreover, a grave ill‑health had fastened to his bed that Count Conon, whom the preceding page celebrated; wherefore he neither wished to advance with him left behind, nor to lead him away, nor could Baldwin remain there, commerce having been denied [0522B], so many cares, anxious about petitioning for peace, were reproaching him. A strange thing!

sed quantum aliis ignota principibus, tantum Marchisidae quadam singulari familiaritate conjurata, qui nudiustertianis damno, injuria, convicio efferatus, petitam ab eo pacem, mox ei donat et praedicat. Qui laetus, offensusve nunquam claudicat, ad rectum invitatus: quem inclinare ad veniam, hoc erat interpellare de venia. Rogatus ergo, ut dictum est, pacem alterutro polliceri; respondet utroque, nec commercia renuit: dummodo vim non sentiant merces.

but as much as he was unknown to other princes, so much was he, by a certain singular familiarity, conjoined with Marchisida; and, rendered savage by the loss, injury, and contumely of the day before yesterday, he grants and proclaims the peace asked of him. He, whether glad or offended, never limps when invited to the right: to incline him to pardon was the same as to interpellate him about pardon. Asked, therefore, as has been said, to promise peace to either party, he responds to both, nor does he refuse commerce: provided only that the wares do not feel force.

Eunt, redeunt, vendunt, redimunt ab urbe in castra, isti a castris in urbem, illi errant permisti armati inermibus et contra quos forensecus affligebat languor, torrebat Phoebus, velociores spe remedii inter umbram et [0522C] moenia servantur: quae dilatatio paucos habuit dies: nam sicut heri et nudiustertius redintegratis commerciis ortae sunt lites, ut fit, cum emptoris venditorisve aestimatio de pretii venaliumve quantitate dissentit.

They go, they return, they sell, they buy from the city into the camp; these from the camp into the city; those wander, armed mingled with unarmed; and while a marketplace languor was afflicting them, Phoebus was scorching them; the quicker, in hope of remedy, keep to the shade and [0522C] the walls: this postponement lasted a few days; for, as yesterday and the day before yesterday, with commerce redintegrated, disputes arose, as happens when the appraisal of buyer or seller dissents concerning the price or the quantity of the wares.

XLIII.- Frangitur; singularia certamina.

43.- It is broken; single combats.

A pergula cauponae lixa, hoc genere incoeptum ad ipsos principes exundat bellum: injuriam alter qui pertulerat putat praesentem praeteritae ex usu succrevisse: at qui obtulerat talionem sibi reservatum veretur: sic varia ambos deludit opinio, dum uterque id adversario imputat, in quo quater peccarat. Surgitur hinc inde ad gladios, furor arma invasit, castrenses in moenibus reperti, qui languet custodiae [0522D] mancipatur, qui valet pugnis et fustibus pulsatur, pulsatorum vulgus expellitur, nobilitas servatur vinculata, similiter extra agitur de similibus oppidanis in suburbio deprehensis. Parum id militiae visum est, nisi pars extera portas urbis assultu quateret: interna quassas ad bellum egrediens, aperiret.

From the pergola of a tavern a camp-sutler, begun in this fashion, the war floods up to the very princes: the one who had borne the injury thinks the present has sprouted from the past according to custom; but he who had offered it fears talion reserved for himself: thus a shifting opinion deludes both, while each imputes to the adversary that in which he had erred four times. They rise here and there to swords, fury invaded arms, camp-folk found on the walls: he who is weak is delivered over to custody [0522D], he who is strong is beaten with fists and clubs, the rabble of the beaten is driven out, the nobility is kept bound in chains; likewise outside it is done concerning similar townsmen apprehended in the suburb. That seemed too little to the soldiery, unless the outer wing should batter the gates of the city by assault; the inner, going out to war, would open the battered ones.

Ubi ergo nulla obstant aut his aut illis repagula: campus tantum in medio, vexilla hinc inde disposita, tum demum duces suis adversarii viribus collibratis tanto se discrimini invicem committere verentur. Balduini numerus, ut praememoratum est, multus erat, viresque praevalidae: ideoque longiuscule secesserat, ut a murali subsidio hostem eliceret pauciorem. Tancredi valde minor, quae causa turres missilibus armarat; quatenus bello prima occurrerent, [0523A] sicque pugnae inferioris paucitatem, superior fulciret jaculorum descensus.

Where therefore no barriers stood in the way either for these or for those: only a field in the middle, the standards disposed on this side and that, then at last the leaders, with the adversary’s forces balanced against their own, were afraid to commit themselves mutually to so great a crisis. Baldwin’s numbers, as was aforesaid, were many, and his strength prepotent; and so he had withdrawn a little farther, that he might lure the enemy, fewer in number, away from the mural support. Tancred’s was much smaller, for which cause he had armed the towers with missiles; so that they might be the first to meet the war, [0523A] and thus the smallness of the fight below might be buttressed by the upper descent of javelins.

Talibus confisi diffisique solatiis et desolatiis duces alter alterius praestolabatur incursum: neuter enim prior impetere, quam impeti malebat sed e converso uterque. Plures suberant causae: haec autem maxima, quod qui prior ad murum nefas irrueret, ipse nocentior sonaret; in qua tamen mora, ut fert militaris consuetudo, aliquot ex utrisque partibus adolescentes singularem ineunt congressum, utra pars ergo justioris causae tutelam susceperit, ex his declarari posset, si alterius tantum incursores succumberent, et alterius praevalerent. Quia vero ab utraque lucra, ab utraque damna, ab utraque corruunt, ab utraque obruunt: quis justius induit arma, scire nefas.

Relying on and mistrusting such solaces and desolations, the leaders each awaited the other’s incursion: for neither preferred to attack first rather than to be attacked, but conversely each preferred the opposite. Several causes underlay; this, however, was the greatest: that he who should first rush unlawfully against the wall would be proclaimed the more guilty; yet in this delay, as military custom bears, several young men from both sides enter single combat, so that from these it might be declared which side therefore has undertaken the tutelage of the more just cause, if only the raiders of the one should succumb and those of the other prevail. But since in fact from both there are gains, from both losses; from both they fall, from both they overwhelm: who has more justly donned arms, to know is not permitted.

Sed eorum [0523B] qui medii ludum martium interludebant, Ricardus de principatu nec genere minor nec animis, cognatas partes et lingua simul animabat, et lancea. Is comitis Vilhelmi filius, Wiscardi nepos, relicta fratri Tancredo Syracusa, Boamundum secutus amitalem suum, sociaverat Tancredum. Dumque intervolans hunc praeterit, illum proterit; insidiatrix ex transverso lancea latus fodit improvidum, peditemque de equite mox substituit.

But of those [0523B] who in the middle were interluding the martial play, Richard of the Principate, in neither lineage nor spirit the lesser, was animating the cognate party both with tongue and with lance. He, the son of Count William, the nephew of Guiscard, Syracuse having been left to his brother Tancred, having followed Bohemond, his paternal aunt’s son, had allied with Tancred. And while, flying between, he passes by this man, he overthrows that one; when, from across, an insidious lance pierces his unwary flank, and forthwith it substitutes a foot-soldier for a horseman.

Cui autem lapso ensis strictus quid confert rotatus? Hostilis in eum turba ruit, ut ipse paulo inconsultius sodalium exierat subsidia, adversariis propior. Solus itaque tot circumvallatoribus oppressus, capitur, trahitur, exarmatur, servatur.

But for one who has fallen, what does a drawn sword, whirled about, avail? A hostile crowd rushes upon him, since he himself had somewhat too incautiously gone out from the supports of his comrades, nearer to the adversaries. Alone therefore, overwhelmed by so many who encircled him, he is captured, dragged, disarmed, spared.

Sors eadem plurimos utrinqne ab equo et sella in pedes degradaverat; cum visum est majorum [0523C] prudentiae, insaniae ascribendum egressos in arma hostilia unanimes in se sua vertisse discordes: ditiori turba adversus barbaros necesse est nedum exiguam pauperare.

SAME FORTUNE had degraded very many on both sides from horse and saddle down onto their feet; when it seemed to the prudence of the elders [0523C] that it must be ascribed to insanity that those who had gone out unanimous against hostile arms turned, discordant, their own things upon themselves: against the barbarians one needs a richer throng, let alone to impoverish a scant one.

XLIV.- Pax renovatur.

44.- Peace is renewed.

Multa ergo in hunc modum sollicite pensantes, pacem bello commutant viri sapientes quod tamen suasu difficillimum aure surda avertisset, injuriis lacessitus Marchisides, nisi quia avuncularis proles Ricardus lenit animos rediturus, quos exacerbaverat abstractus, idemque et unus modo fit causa odii, modo pacis. Similiter Cono ille praescriptus comes in urbe languens sociis mentem reddit, pacis commercio reddendus. Redeunt itaque alternatim ad [0523D] propria; heros pro heroe, eques pro equite, pedes pro pedite, damna et lucra quo ordine coeperunt, in eo penitus inconcussa consistunt; ut ad haec merito vulgaris naenia reduci possit: qui habet, habet; qui perdidit, perdidit.

Therefore, weighing many things anxiously in this manner, the wise men exchange war for peace—yet a thing which the Marchisides, provoked by injuries, would have turned aside with a deaf ear as most difficult to persuade, unless because the avuncular offspring, Richard, about to return, softens the minds which, when withdrawn, he had exacerbated; and the same one alone becomes now the cause of hatred, now of peace. Similarly, Cono, that aforesaid count, languishing in the city, restores his mind to his allies, to be given back by the commerce of peace. They return, then, by turns to [0523D] their own; hero for hero, knight for knight, foot-soldier for foot-soldier; losses and gains, in the order in which they began, in that remain wholly unshaken; so that to these, deservedly, the common dirge can be applied: who has, has; who has lost, has lost.

Nec cohabitant diutius, abit alter ut acquirat; alter manet et fruitur. Verum mansio illa non segnis, neque longa moratur virum: cujus arbitrio vel brevis quies, longa erat segnities. Igitur paulo moratus ad Syros exit: feliciter Cilicia potitus; at felicius multo Syria potiturus.

Nor do they cohabit longer; one departs to acquire; the other remains and enjoys. Yet that sojourn was not slothful, nor does it long delay the man: in whose judgment even brief repose was long sluggishness. Therefore, having tarried a little, he goes out to the Syrians: having happily obtained Cilicia; but destined to obtain Syria much more happily.

Ante tamen et de illo nequam Turco, quem Adana incarceraverat, poenas sumit; et plus paternas, quam principis leges Mamystanis imponit. Quibus expletis, montes qui medii Alexandriolam Guastonemque oppidulum dirimunt, [0524A] conscendit; viam difficilem, sed cunctarum ad Syros directissimam. Illic superno omnium colle superato, fertur Antiochiae rupes, et plana, vias, et devia, paludes et sicca oculo simul metiri et animo.

Yet before this he also exacts penalties regarding that wicked Turk whom Adana had imprisoned; and he imposes on the Mamystans laws more paternal than princely. These things completed, he climbs the mountains which, lying between, separate Little Alexandria and the little town of Gaston, [0524A] a difficult road, but of all routes the straightest to the Syrians. There, when the uppermost hill of all has been surmounted, he is said to measure with eye and mind at once the crags of Antioch and the plains, the roads and the byways, the marshes and the dry.

Inde totam percurrit planitiem, quia medii Sepchet, Spitachchet, Domith, Commith, fluvii, oppida, urbes interveniunt.

Thence he traverses the whole plain, since in between there intervene Sepchet, Spitachchet, Domith, Commith—rivers, towns, cities.

XLV.- Artasium venit Tancredus, Balduinum ab Antiochenis circumventum liberat. Artasium ab hoste impugnatus.

45.- Tancred comes to Artasium, frees Baldwin, surrounded by the Antiochenes. Artasium attacked by the enemy.

Artasium vero ubi venitur; invenitur comes Balduinus felix Artasiensium Turcorum exclusor: sed ab Antiochenis miserabiliter inclusus. Quibus superveniens visus Marchisides, collectis partim sarcinulis, partim missis, abscessum indixit. Putabatur in [0524B] adventu unius, omnes occursare magni exercitus duces, tanti sequebantur virum terror et fremitus: cujus tamen militiae altera apud Cylicas pars relicta, de centurione quinquagerium reddiderat.

But when one comes to Artasium, there is found Count Baldwin, the fortunate expeller of the Artasian Turks; but miserably shut in by the Antiochenes. To them, Marchisides, appearing as he came upon them, having gathered in part the little packs, in part having sent them ahead, proclaimed a withdrawal. It was supposed that at the arrival of one man, all the leaders of a great army were running to meet him, so great were the terror and the roar that followed the man: of whose soldiery, however, another part left among the Cilicians had made, out of a centurion, a “fifty-man.” [0524B]

Sed praenuntia veri fama, multi instar militis unum Marchisidam praecinuerat. Subit Artasium hospes novus, at hospitii recompensatio valde est minor a magnitudine meritorum: ab interioribus arcetur, conceditur vero habitandus murus exterior, seu ut opposita urbem muniret custodia, seu ne intrinsecae rixas renovarent angustiae, vel certe nuper abscisae contemptionis nondum penitus radix aruerat; quaecunque vero sufficit causa, muro adamantino se inclusit, quisquis periculo Tancredum objecit. Antiochia Latinorum vires auctas intelligens, quas expertae [0524C] senserant; fugerant, nuntiaverant manus, plurimo supplet infirmos robore, et numero paucitatem; remittitque secundo, septies, si septies remiserit, superandos.

But rumor, the forerunner of truth, had pre-intoned that the one Marchiside was the equivalent of many soldiers. He enters Artasium a new guest, yet the recompense of hospitality is far less than the magnitude of his merits: he is warded off from the inner parts; it is granted, rather, that the outer wall be inhabited—either so that, with a guard set opposite, he might fortify the city, or lest the intrinsic narrowness renew quarrels, or surely the root of contempt, lately cut off, had not yet altogether withered; whatever cause suffices, whoever had exposed Tancred to peril shut himself in with an adamantine wall. Antioch, understanding the forces of the Latins increased—as those who had experienced them had felt—expertae [0524C] senserant; they had fled, the bands had announced it; it supplies the weak with very great strength, and paucity with number; and it sends back again—seven times, if it should send back seven times—men to be overcome.

Illi, ne quis relictus tentandi modus desit praesidiis, etiam dolos struunt, parum armis sibive confisi. Nocturni subeunt umbras quae S. Palladii virgultum vulgo appellantur. Inde orta luce quinque praemittuntur, qui Artasium lacessant equites: at bellum in ramis latet et frondibus.

They, lest any mode of attempting be lacking to their defenses, even contrive stratagems, trusting little in arms or in themselves. By night they enter the shadows which are commonly called the thicket of St. Palladius. Thence, at daybreak, five are sent forward to provoke the Artasian horsemen; but war lies hidden in the branches and the foliage.

Qui missi sunt nil morati, subitas Artasio ostentant minas, qualis interim pastoribus pecora; talis fiunt pecoribus tutela pastores. Trahuntur simul hi et illa: nihil evadit a facie raptorum. Clamatur a specula, ululant pro foribus opiliones et subulci.

Those who were sent, delaying not at all, display sudden menaces to Artasium; such as meanwhile the flocks are to the shepherds, such do the shepherds become a tutelage to the flocks. Both these and those are dragged off together: nothing escapes from the face of the ravagers. A shout is raised from the watchtower, and the shepherds and swineherds ululate before the doors.

Una haec erat [0524D] omnium querela, malo suo sibi adversus Turcos, Francos advenisse tutores. Inde se gravius cruciari quod de advenarum patrocinio libertatem speraverint: quod Tancredus audiens, festinus exiit, bello suspicans urbem circumdatam, sed viso exteriori rerum statu; illico comperit patentes animos de latentibus pendere, audaciamque horum alienam, plus esse quam suam: ad cujus tamen rei evidentiam Turcopolos tres obviam mittit, ut si his cederetur, timida solitudo; si obstaretur, deprehenderetur spes subsidiorum. At quinque non modo non cedunt impetentibus, verum etiam versos caedunt impetes Tunc manifestius eo quod latuerat comperto, paratur bellum, acies disponuntur, itur obviam.

There was this one complaint of all [0524D]: that, to their own harm, guardians against the Turks had come to them—the Franks. Thence they were more grievously tormented because from the patronage of the newcomers they had hoped for liberty. Which when Tancred heard, he went out in haste, suspecting the city to be surrounded by war; but when he saw the exterior state of affairs, he immediately perceived that open dispositions hung upon what was lying hidden, and that the audacity of those others, not his own, was greater than his. Yet for the evidencing of this matter he sends three Turcopoles to meet them, so that, if they yielded to these, there would be timid solitude; if they were withstood, the hope of succors would be detected. But the five not only do not yield to the assailants, but even, having turned them back, cut down the charges. Then, with what had lain hidden now more plainly discovered, battle is prepared, the battle-lines are arrayed, they go to meet them.

XLVI.- Mars favet Turco. [0525A]

46.- Mars favors the Turk. [0525A]

Caeterum hostis sagittifer plurimo sui numero plurimum immanis, nostro viso latebras spernit, occurrit palam, pudet latuisse, qui hastas singulas denis et supra arcubus oppugnabat. Congrediuntur itaque Turci Latinis, incolae peregrinis, gnari locorum, hominumque locorumque ignaris. Primo in congressu lancea viget, lancea perfodit, lancea dejicit: quae mox tanto sub onere fatiscens, ut penetrare peltas, pectora, clavengos nequit integra: quoniam hanc clitellae dissilientes extenuant; illam cuspis truncata decurtat, aliam Turcus ensis dimidiat, ut hastitenens putetur potius venisse armatus sude pedes, quam lancea miles: at frugalior longe arcus vulnerumque ditior, semper mittit, crebro laedit, [0525B] nunquam mittitur, sero laeditur: cominus, eminus, ante, retro fervidus; etiam cum ab intentione propria fallitur, casu saepe ministro, non permittitur falli.

Moreover the arrow-bearing enemy, most monstrous by the very multitude of their number, on seeing us scorns hiding, comes out openly, is ashamed to have lain concealed—those who were attacking single lances with ten and more bows apiece. Thus the Turks meet the Latins, natives the foreigners—those familiar with the places, men ignorant of both men and places. In the first encounter the lance flourishes, the lance pierces through, the lance casts down; which soon, giving way under so great a load, can no longer penetrate peltas (light shields), breasts, and hauberks intact: for pack-saddles springing apart weaken this one; a blunted point shortens that one; another the Turk’s sword halves—so that the spear-holder is thought to have come armed rather with a stake as a footman than, as a knight, with a lance. But the bow, far more frugal and richer in wounds, always sends, strikes repeatedly, [0525B] is never itself sent, is struck late: at close quarters, from afar, in front, behind, it is hot; even when it is led astray from its own aim, chance, often as a helper, does not allow it to fail.

Hac solante alios, alios desolante fortuna simul Balduini Tancredique ducum altero alteri parum auscultante; in seipsos divisi, desolati sunt, et usque sub moenia repulsi. At Turci ante urbem castra metantur, noctem diei continuantes pervigilem.

While this fortune was consoling some and desolating others, at the same time Baldwin and Tancred, the commanders, each listening too little to the other; divided against themselves, they were left desolate and driven back even to the very walls. But the Turks pitch their camp before the city, continuing a sleepless night into the day.

XLVII.- Balduino Artasium committitur.

47.- Artasium is entrusted to Baldwin.

Dies crastinus fulgebat, cum, reverso Antiochiam hoste, amotus est metus. Tunc Marchisides exire jussus, ut semper nulla fides regni sociis, ab ipso exteriori muro quae Barbicana appellatur, expellitur. Eustachides, Balduino, cujus consulatu longo [0525C] post tempore floruit Edessa, Artasii regimen tradit: ipse cum reliquis consulibus Airardo et Conone proficiscitur Edessam.

The next day shone forth, and when the enemy had returned to Antioch, fear was removed. Then Marchisides, ordered to go out—as ever, no faith toward the kingdom’s allies—is expelled from the very outer wall which is called the Barbican. Eustachides hands over the governance of Artasius to Baldwin, under whose consulship long after [0525C] Edessa flourished; he himself sets out to Edessa with the remaining consuls, Airard and Conon.

Tancredus sciens quia militia vita est hominis, simul bello nihil tutius habens; montes proximos occupat, manu parva magnas aggrediens cohortes, tanto nomine exciti colles barbari; pars diffugium maturant, alii occursum, nonnulli intrepidi manent: ut quosdam fides eadem Francis consecrabat; reliquos abjungebat error fanaticus. Igitur qui Christum norunt. Christicolas excipiunt venientes: quibus vero hoc nomen aut nescitur tacitum, aut spernitur auditum; Barisan et Hersen oppida relinquere timor suadet, fuga complet.

Tancred, knowing that military service is the life of man, and at the same time in war holding nothing safer; seizes the nearest mountains, with a small band attacking great cohorts, the barbarians, roused by so great a name, take to the hills; a part hasten to scatter, others to meet him, some remain undaunted: as the same faith consecrated certain ones to the Franks; a fanatical error disjoined the rest. Therefore those who know Christ. receive the Christ-worshipers as they come: but for those to whom this name is either unknown when unspoken, or despised when heard; fear counsels them to leave the towns Barisan and Hersen, flight completes it.

Quae relicta, vocant Marchisidem, ingressumque multa victualium copia opulentant. Jam [0525D] ergo mutata sede, exsul felicior urbis hospite, damna, caedem, vincula non sentit: nam solitos reditum et insidias hostis exercens, sepelit in frondibus bellum; praedam autem mulos, muliones, rhedas, rhedarios urbano spectaculo exponit: jumenta sub paleis quasi palliis onerata gemunt, eunt gnara periculi quasi periculi ignara. Jam proxima fluvio, qui Balenae oppidi jugera irrigat, pene simul urbi visa, captata, captaque sunt adeo praedae socii alii alios praevenire satagebant.

These things left behind, they call the Marquess, and, once he has entered, they enrich him with a great abundance of victuals. Now [0525D] therefore, his seat being changed, an exile happier than the city’s guest, he does not feel losses, slaughter, or chains: for, practicing the enemy’s customary returns and ambushes, he buries war in the foliage; but he sets out as an urban spectacle the booty—mules, muleteers, wagons, waggoners: the beasts of burden, laden under straw as if under cloaks, groan; they go knowing the danger as if ignorant of the danger. Now, near the river which irrigates the acres of the town of Balena, scarcely had they been seen by the city than they were hunted and taken, so eager were the comrades in booty to forestall one another.

Heu miseri! quid praedam distrahitis mox distrahendi praeda? quid caeditis, nectitis, angitis: mox angendi, mox nectendi, [0526A] mox caedendi.

Alas, wretches! why do you tear the prey asunder—prey soon to be torn asunder? why do you cut down, bind, and torment: soon to be tormented, soon to be bound, [0526A] soon to be cut down.

Vix enim portae hos effuderant, cum repente insidiatricem turbam irrumpere properantem pene sero repellunt.

Hardly had the gates poured these men out, when suddenly they repel, almost too late, an ambushing crowd hastening to break in.

XLVIII.- Obsidetur Antiochia, cujus situs describitur.

48.- Antioch is besieged, whose situation is described.

Itaque, obsessa urbe, obstruso reditu; quidquid Latini sanguinis egressum fuerat subsecuti aut nexu aut gladio conficiunt Turci. Misertum est tamen coelitus afflictionis obsessae, ut festinantibus ad obsidendam Antiochiam Francis, Antiocheni cederent obsessores. Pertransiens igitur urbes, vicinaque oppida, flumen quoque Farfar interfluens venerabilis ille regum exercitus: anhelatae tandem Antiochiae suburbium metantur.

And so, the city besieged, the return shut off; whatever of Latin blood had gone forth the Turks, following up, dispatch either by fetter or by the sword. Yet from heaven there was pity for the affliction of the besieged, so that, with the Franks hastening to besiege Antioch, the besiegers of Antioch yielded. Therefore, passing through cities and neighboring towns, and with the river Farfar flowing between, that venerable army of kings: at last they lay out the suburb of longed‑for Antioch.

Planitiei mediae latera, gemini alter ab Austro, alter a Borea, angustant montes: [0526B] frontem ab occasu pontus verberat: sed haec quo magis orientem versum a littore submovetur, tanto jam latior, latiorque rupes submovet. Hanc a meridie descendens Damascenus Farfar interluit, sinuoso tractu ad mare per plana illabens: montium medius sub Australi vicinior: adeo autem in ejus umbram interdum vergens; ut nil nisi semita intersit medium: sed qua jam in angustias illas descendere clivus incipit, sita est civitas, hinc flumini, inde monti in longum collaterans. Quin etiam montis latus licet in hospitale sibi continuat, moenibus in summum eductis, ibidemque municipio constructo: at eadem sic item in fluvium descendit, ut a sui medio cum flumine in occasum tendens, mox ab eo in cornu occiduo paululum recedat, in ortu usque [0526C] ad medium longe seposita: in qua tamen parte muros duplices certius munit palus reflua ipsa sui tremoris mollitie, super omnem saxi duritiam munimen firmius.

The flanks of the central plain are narrowed by twin mountains, the one from the South, the other from the North: [0526B] its front from the west the sea lashes; but this, the more it is withdrawn toward the east from the shore, so much the broader, and broader yet, does the cliff set it back. This the Damascene Farfar, descending from the south, flows between, gliding to the sea across the level in a sinuous course: midway among the mountains, nearer to the southern one; and at times so leaning into its shadow that nothing but a footpath lies between. But where the slope now begins to go down into those narrows, the city is set, running lengthwise alongside—the river on one side, the mountain on the other. Indeed it even annexes to itself the mountain’s side as a hospitable tract, with the walls raised to the summit and there a municipium constructed; yet this same city likewise slopes down toward the river, so that from its own middle, tending with the river toward the west, it soon withdraws from it a little at the western corner, while on the east it is set far apart up to the middle [0526C]; in which quarter, however, it more surely fortifies double walls, the reflowing marsh itself, by the softness of its own quiver, being a bulwark firmer than any hardness of rock.

Sola itaque frons urbis Phoebo nascenti obnoxia; ad medium sui, id est a porta Jusum accessum patitur: nam a porta Susum rupis abruptae praecipitium humanis tantum patet suspiciendum oculis, non gressibus adeundum.

Only, therefore, the face of the city is exposed to newborn Phoebus; up to its middle—that is, from the gate downward—it permits access: for from the gate upward the precipice of an abrupt cliff lies open only to be looked upon by human eyes, not to be approached by footsteps.

XLIX.- Ordo obsidentium.

49.- Order of the besiegers.

At vicina huic ex adverso rupes signa Boamundi tenet in eam usque quae a porta exit descendentia viam: haec proximum portae cumulum erigit; in quo Tancredus castra locat, caeteris quantum funda jacit, urbi propior. Post eum comites Northmannus et qui ei adhaerebant, ipsius Tancredique Flandrensis [0526D] medius. Ab altero autem latere Blesensis, Boloniensis, Albamarensis, Montensis, Sanctipaulensis, et Hugo magnus: nam omnes hi comitis Northmanni muneribus, aliqui etiam hommagio obligabantur.

But an opposite cliff adjacent to this holds Bohemond’s standards, as far as the road which, descending, goes out from the gate: this raises the mound nearest to the gate; on which Tancred pitches camp, nearer to the city than the rest by as much as a sling casts. After him the Norman count and those who adhered to him, with the Fleming [0526D] between him and Tancred. On the other flank, the man of Blois, of Boulogne, of Aumale, of Mont, of Saint-Pol, and Hugh the Great: for all these were bound by the gifts of the Norman count, some even by homage.

Ab his usque flumen eo tenent ordine planitiem heroum castra, quo paginam nomina. Dux Godefridus, Podiensis episcopus, comes Raimundus. Haec igitur prima castrorum positio quartum urbis cornu, caeteris vacantibus, obsidet: quippe hoc planitie vicina accommodum, reliquis aut fluminis, aut fossae, aut montis obice inaccessis.

From these as far as the river the heroes’ camps hold the plain in the same order in which the names are on the page: Duke Godfrey, the Bishop of Le Puy, Count Raymond. This, therefore, the first placement of the camps, besieges the fourth corner of the city, the others being vacant; for this one, near to the plain, is suitable, while the rest are inaccessible by the barrier of either the river, or the ditch, or the mountain.

Postea vero succedenti dici die: hunc immutare ordinem aliquando invadentis [0527A] hostis necessitas, interdum invadendi hostem voluntas compulerunt. Enimvero rupes quae Boamundi imminebat castris, licet aditu difficillima visa, tamen est Turcis, in quam a monte ad sagittandum descenderent, opportuna; sicque peracta caede, levibus armis ad muros patere refugium, ubi sequentium gravia nullum invenirent ascensum. Ad his ergo resistendum incursibus, tumulus supra Boamundi rupem muro cingitur, Hugonis magni viribus tuendo.

Afterwards indeed on the succeeding day: the necessity of an attacking [0527A] enemy sometimes, and at other times the will of attacking the enemy, compelled this order to be altered. Truly, the crag which overhung Boamundus’s camp, although it seemed most difficult of access, nevertheless was opportune for the Turks, onto which they would descend from the mountain to shoot with arrows; and thus, the slaughter accomplished, with light arms they had an open refuge to the walls, where the heavy gear of those pursuing would find no ascent at all. Therefore, for resisting these incursions, a mound above Boamundus’s crag is girded with a wall, to be defended by the forces of Hugh the Great.

Porro Boreales duae effundere Turcos consueverant portae, cistransque fluvium exercitus nostri damno patulae: quarum citeriorem dux Godefridus aggrediens, egressum tandem cohibuit: primo tamen congressu Guarnerii marchionis nece desolatus. At remotior per pontem contiguum transfundere [0527B] hostes solita, Raimundo comiti placet obstruenda: nam castris vacua spatiosior trans flumen planities, laxiores vaganti Turco indulserat habenas. Ideo supernatantis fabricae pons trajectus est, cujus intextas trabes subjectarum navium onus superjectae crates onerarent.

Moreover, two Northern gates had been accustomed to pour out the Turks, and on this side and across the river they were gaping wide to the detriment of our army: of which the nearer, Duke Godfrey, attacking, at length restrained the egress—though in the first encounter he was desolated by the killing of Marquis Guarnerius. But the more remote, accustomed to transfer the enemies across by the contiguous bridge, Count Raymond judged should be blocked: for the more spacious plain across the river, empty of camps, had indulged looser reins to the wandering Turk. Therefore a bridge of floating construction was thrown across, whose interlaced beams the burden-bearing boats placed beneath would support, while latticed hurdles laid above formed the decking. [0527B]

Haec itaque riparum continuatio transmeando alveo serviens, ad inhibendum supradictae portae egressum comitem traduxit. Adjuvit autem ipse loci situs obsessorem, obsidionis firmandae utilis cooperator. Excreverat enim in collem modicum tellus, cujus vertici fanum quod vulgo Mahummariam vocant, saxeum supersedebat: hoc fluviali portae et oppositum et vicinum opportunitate sua comitem invitavit.

Thus this continuation of the riverbanks, serving for crossing the channel, brought the count across to inhibit the egress of the aforesaid gate. Moreover, the very site of the place aided the besieger, a useful co-operator for strengthening the siege. For the ground had risen into a modest hill, on whose summit a fane, which in the vulgar they call the Mahummaria, of stone, stood above; this, both opposite to and near the river gate, by its advantageous opportunity invited the count.

Comes vero quae restabant munimini castrorum supplevit caetera: fossam [0527C] videlicet per circuitum ductam tum suae concavitatis depressione, tum ejectati aggeris arduitate robur duplex: super hunc quoque fundatus est murus in se humilis: sed tutoris sui audacia superbus. His jam magis magisque Turci coarctati angustiis, minus et minus laedere poterant: quippe solita vagandi licentia sublata. Restabat tamen in occasu porta ad nocendum efficax, ad obsidendum difficilis.

The count, indeed, supplied the remaining things for the muniment of the camp: namely a ditch [0527C] drawn around the circuit, giving a double strength both by the depression of its own concavity and by the steepness of the thrown-up rampart: upon this too a wall was founded, low in itself, but proud by the audacity of its guardian. By these measures the Turks, more and more constrained in straits, were less and less able to wound; since the accustomed license of roaming was removed. There still remained, however, on the west a gate effective for harming, difficult to besiege.

L.- Difficultas obsidionis.

50.- The difficulty of the siege.

Obsidionem mediae montis et fluminis angustiae prohibebant: eisdem claustris, altero vadum, altero descensum negantibus, ignari advenae excludebantur, gnari indigenae transvadabantur: viam quae ad portum descendit observantes, Christiano sanguine [0527D] frequenter aspergebant. Itaque non nisi in acie, ea tamen interdum parum tuta, aut a portu ad exercitum, aut ab exercitu ad portum transmeare licebat, tantopere obseratos egressus portae unius redimebat licentia. Huic malo Tancredus remedium invenisset, sicut posterior eventus indicavit: sed moenibus propior, primus Turcis obviabat furentibus.

The straits of the intervening mountain and river were prohibiting the siege: with these same barriers, the one denying a ford, the other a descent, ignorant newcomers were excluded, knowing natives were fording across: watching the road which descends to the port, they frequently sprinkled it with Christian blood [0527D]. And so only in battle-line—yet that sometimes scarcely safe—was it permitted to cross either from the port to the army, or from the army to the port; the license of a single gate ransomed the egresses so obstructed. To this evil Tancred would have found a remedy, as the later event indicated; but, being nearer to the walls, he first met the raging Turks.

Quapropter jejunus sub sole diem, noctem sub rore pervigil transigebat: unus ipse et adhuc modicus totius belli sustinebat occursum. Tanto denique viri sudore repulsi hostes, jam lacessere desistunt, turribus et latibulis contenti. At, inquies, Tancredi audacia ab domito ortu illico ad indomitum se convertit occasum, illic in occursu hostium inventam [0528A] maceriam paratum sibi oppidum adesse dicit, vix initium parandi.

Wherefore, fasting, he spent the day under the sun, the night under the dew, all-wakeful: he alone, and as yet with but a small force, was sustaining the encounter of the whole war. At last the enemies, repelled by so great a sweat of the man, now cease to provoke, content with towers and hiding-places. But, you will say, Tancred’s audacity straightway turns from a tamed East to an untamed West; there, in the encounter with the enemies, he declares that the discovered [0528A] maceria is at hand as a town prepared for him—scarcely the beginning of preparing.

O laudis amor! o audacia! o temeritas!

O love of praise! o audacity! o temerity!

ad caetera enim te, Tancrede, strenuum dixirim, hic temerarium: ad caetera constantem, hic pertinacem. Casus caeteros aut loci commoditas, aut spes subsidii, aut necessitas irruens, aut si qua alia prudenti semita patet, habuit excusare: hunc autem temeritatis omnia arguunt; parietina vetus, grassator robustus, propinquitas hostium, remotio sociorum: caetera ut aspirent, Farfar transvadatus, subsidia disjungit, enimvero si quod absit Turcorum armis traditus succumberes, velocius in ventres hostium transisses coctus, quam ad socias aures captus. Manes tamen; manes, pugnas, obsides, portam munis, portam quatis, nunc tu hosticam, [0528B] nunc hostis tuam.

for as to the rest, Tancred, I would call you strenuous, here rash: as to the rest steadfast, here pertinacious. The other cases had something to excuse them—either the convenience of the place, or hope of subsidy, or rushing necessity, or, if any other prudent path lies open; but this one everything convicts of temerity: an old ruin-wall, a robust marauder, the nearness of the enemies, the remoteness of associates: grant that the rest breathe favorably, the Farfar, once forded, disjoins the supports; indeed, if—far be it—you, delivered to the arms of the Turks, were to succumb, you would have passed more swiftly, cooked, into the bellies of the enemies than, captured, to allied ears. Yet you remain; you remain, you fight, you besiege, you fortify a gate, you batter a gate, now you the enemy’s, [0528B] now the enemy yours.

Totus occidens quantus quantus est, in ortu pugnat; tu solus ad occasum, paucis commilitonibus gaudes, sed fortibus: praescriptum enim illud munimen satis arctum multitudinem non admittebat, paucos vix capiens.

The whole Occident, however great it is, fights in the Orient; you alone toward the Occident, you rejoice in a few fellow-soldiers, but strong ones: for that prescribed fortification, quite strait, did not admit a multitude, scarcely containing a few.

LI.- Tancredus 700 Turcos ad praedandum egressos delet.

51.- Tancred destroys 700 Turks who had gone out to plunder.

Studuit namque primo ut ad initium redeam, rem clam gerere Tancredus, quatenus lateret cives qui nullo sole intermisso, in partem illam egredi herbas messuri consueverant: inde fuit quod claustrum illud subiit nocturnus: illi vero nescio quo auspicio in hanc ipsam suspicionem ducti, primo die paucos ipsos a longe emittunt messores, quatenus hoc pateret examine, si novas formidare insidias [0528C] debuissent: quo viso, nostri mox se abscondunt, nec exit quispiam. Redeunt itaque Turci qui exierant intra moenia, nullo turbati armorum incursu: similiter die postera exeunt, sed et plures, et castro propius; fecerat eos jam tutiores dies hesterna, quae transierat tuta herbilegos incolumes ducens ac reducens. Tunc vix Tancredus leones cohibet, visis prope ovibus astare.

For at first—so to return to the beginning—Tancred strove to conduct the affair clandestinely, so that he might lie hidden from the citizens who, with no day intermitted, were accustomed to go out into that quarter to reap grasses; hence it was that he, nocturnal, entered that enclosure. But they, led by I know not what auspice into this very suspicion, on the first day send out a few reapers themselves at a distance, in order that by this examination it might be evident whether they ought to fear new ambushes [0528C]; seeing which, our men at once hide themselves, nor does anyone go out. Therefore the Turks who had gone out return within the walls, disturbed by no incursion of arms; likewise on the next day they go out, but more numerous and nearer to the camp; the day before had already made them more confident, which had passed safely, leading out and bringing back the herb-gatherers unharmed. Then Tancred scarcely restrains the lions, seeing the sheep standing near.

«Sustinete, inquit, adhuc modicam hanc dieculam, viri fortes: cras, ni fallor, incidet in retia nostra praeda uberior.» Sicut praevidit, sic accidit: nam bis jam praetentato aditu, et biduana herbae sustentata penuria, die tertia hinc tuti egrediuntur, hinc coacti; et quia propiora urbi prata messuerant: quia de Francorum praesentia adhuc haesitabant, et multi exeunt, [0528D] et Francos transeunt. Tunc ruptis claustris Tancredus irruens, quid prudentia audaciaque junctae possent, subito ostendit: qui in medios irrumpens, tanto avidius in ore gladii omnes absorbet, quo acrius eorum viscera torrentur, quibus sustenta est inter pocula sitis triduana. Ne longum faciam: caesis circiter septingentis, caesorum capita Tancredus 70 Appodiensi transmittit episcopo, decimam de triumpho: quibus oblatis, episcopus gemino percellitur gaudio.

«Hold out, said he, yet this little daylet more, valiant men: tomorrow, unless I err, a richer prey will fall into our nets.» As he foresaw, so it befell: for the approach having now twice been tested, and a two-days’ want of fodder having been borne, on the third day they go out hence safely, and hence under constraint; and because they had mown the meadows nearer the city; because they were still hesitating about the presence of the Franks, many go out, [0528D] and pass beyond the Franks. Then Tancred, bursting the barriers and rushing in, suddenly showed what prudence and audacity joined could accomplish: breaking into their midst, he the more greedily swallows all upon the edge of the sword, the more keenly the vitals are parched in those by whom a three-days’ thirst, sustained even among the cups, is inflamed. Not to make a long story: with about 700 slain, Tancred sends 70 of the heads of the slain to the Bishop of Appodia, a tithe from the triumph: these being offered, the bishop is smitten with twin joy.

Tum de amici victoria, tum de sibi impensis in allegatione muneris honore et gloria. Eodem itaque remunerat victorem numero marcharum, quot et ipso donatus fuerat cervicibus peremptorum. Tancredus eo multum aeris tempore [0529A] commilitonibus suis debebat, in loculis nihil habens.

Then both for his friend’s victory, and for the honor and glory bestowed upon him in the presentation of the offering. He therefore recompenses the victor with the same number of marks as the number of the necks of the slain with which he himself had been presented. Tancred at that time [0529A] owed much money to his comrades-in-arms, having nothing in his coffers.

Gaudium igitur et exsultatio comitata sunt pecuniam, quae mox ducem absolvit a debito, militumque inopiam distributo relevavit argento. Forte etiam contigit ut missum a praesule nuntium alius praeierit non missus; quo audito, statim dispergitur, quod nondum habebatur: mox alios ditat, qui adhuc egebat, ita enim dicebat in corde suo: «Thesaurus meus sint milites mei; egeam ego dum ipsi abundent, non sollicitor habere; sed habentibus imperare. Onerent hi argento marsupia; ego eos curis, armis, sudore, tremore, grandine, pluvia.» Quos tamen die bellis, nocte vigiliis fatigatos ipse leniter supportabat vici debitae subeundo, qua vulnus excusaret, seu morbus: suam vero nunquam [0529B] dominii reverentia desidem fecit; quin ipse et semper explebat suam, et non solum, ut praescriptum est, supplebat, sed et praeripiebat alienam.

Joy therefore and exultation accompanied the money, which soon absolved the duke from debt, and by the silver distributed relieved the soldiers’ indigence. By chance it also befell that another, not sent, outpaced the messenger sent by the prelate; on hearing which, straightway there is dispersed what was not yet possessed: soon he who was still in need enriches others, for thus he said in his heart: «Let my treasure be my soldiers; let me be in want so long as they abound, I am not solicitous to have, but to command those who have. Let these load their purses with silver; I will load them with cares, arms, sweat, trembling, hail, rain.» Yet those whom, by day with wars, by night with vigils, fatigue had worn down, he himself gently supported by taking upon himself the due turn, where a wound or sickness might excuse; his own, however, dominion’s reverence never made idle; nay, he both always fulfilled his own, and not only, as prescribed, supplied another’s, but even anticipated another’s. [0529B]

LII.- Singulari certamine Tancredus tres Turcos confodit.

52.- In single combat Tancred ran through three Turks.

Quod dum saepius ageret, contigit ut uno comitatus Achate ad excubandum egrederetur, lorica galeaque cessantibus, accinctus gladio equitabat, puer hastam gerebat et clypeum: item armati tres excubabant Turci, quos Antiochiae porta emiserat: errabant autem alii aliorum ignari: nam longiusculum castra ab urbe spatium dirimebat; frutices, monticulos, convalles interjiciens, aptas insidiis latebras. At duobus tres compertis, irruunt in quem alterutrum irruant ignari. Quinimo miseri, fugite: [0529C] fugite, inquam, Castoris, Cyllarum, Achyllis fraxinum; dextram Meleagri, animos Tydei, Herculis trinodem, Ajacis septemplicem: haec enim omnia unum hunc bellatorem armant: frustra lacessitur; ultro ipse occurrit omnibus his armatus, quem fugere cautum est, exspectare stultum, impetere furiosum: verumtamen quoniam invitum qui servat, idem facit occidenti.

While he was doing this rather often, it befell that, accompanied by one Achates, he went out to keep watch; with breastplate and helmet standing idle, girded with a sword he rode on horseback; a boy bore the spear and the shield. Likewise, three Turks, armed, were keeping watch, whom the gate of Antioch had sent out: they were wandering, however, each unaware of the others, for a somewhat long space separated the camp from the city, throwing in shrubs, little hills, valleys—hiding-places apt for ambush. But when the three discovered the two, they charge in, not knowing upon which of the two they should rush. Nay rather, wretches, flee: [0529C] flee, I say, Castor’s, Cyllarus’s, Achilles’ ash-spear; Meleager’s right hand, the spirits of Tydeus, the triple-knotted club of Hercules, the sevenfold shield of Ajax: for all these arm this one warrior. He is challenged in vain; he himself, armed with all these, runs up to meet them—whom to flee is prudent, to wait for is foolish, to attack is madness. Nevertheless, since he who saves a man unwilling is doing the same as one who kills.

irruite ocius, ut quantocius corruatis: corruite subito, ut supersit Marchisides in aeterno. Qui occursum aspiciens dementem, velociorem, ut fit, arrepta fraxino occursorem transfigit. Pelta et thorax alios tueri solent, sed alii objectae perfossori: hic perfossor nullam sinit esse loricam fidelem, nullam non fallacem: hic percussor [0529D] de galea facit mitram, de clypeo pallam, de thorace subuculam; perforat denique ut linum lignum, ut cannabem calybem, ut lanam, lammam: sed primi medius, nece conspecta, fit tardior: ut tardioris, ultimi subsidio fulciretur.

rush in more swiftly, that you may crash down as quickly as possible; crash down suddenly, that the Marquess’s son may survive forever. He, seeing the mad onrush, the swifter—as happens—having seized his ash-spear, transfixes the oncomer. The pelta and the cuirass are wont to protect others, but, when set before a piercer, they serve otherwise: this piercer allows no corselet to be trusty, none not treacherous; this striker [0529D] makes of a helmet a mitre, of a shield a pall, of a cuirass an undershirt; he perforates, finally, wood as if it were flax, steel as if hemp, plate as if wool. But the man in the middle of the first three, at the sight of the killing, becomes slower, so that the slower might be propped up by the help of the last.

Infelix qui modo velociori praecursum invidebas: nunc segnioris beatam praefers tarditatem; et id tamen frustra: uni siquidem debentur dextrae velox et tardus, unus quippe ambos aggrediens, hujus adhuc obviantis frontem dissecat, illius fugam tergo sistit trajecto. Sed est quod stupeam, nec satis valeam stupere: cum homo tam pretiosus laudis emptor, mox praesentis osa armigeri silentio concluserit adjurato: pudorne, an religio, an adhibendi fidei diffidentia causae fuerint, prorsus ignoro: nam si pudor; quid [0530A] aliquando quis ducet honori, qui armatos tres uno perimere impetu ducit pudori? quod si religio; monstri simile aiunt pisces sub aratro scatere: ast ego longe monstruosius tam cupidum laudis laudem fugere.

Unhappy you who a moment ago were envying the pre-run of the swifter: now you prefer the blessed slowness of the more sluggish; and yet that is in vain: for both the swift and the slow are owed to one right hand, since one man, assailing both, splits the brow of this one still meeting him, and checks that one’s flight by a back transfixed. But there is something at which I marvel, nor can I marvel enough: that a man so costly a purchaser of praise straightway shut the mouth of his present armor-bearer with adjured silence: whether shame, or religion, or a diffidence about employing good faith was the cause, I utterly do not know: for if it be shame; what will anyone ever count to honor, who counts it to shame to slay three armed men in a single onset? but if it be religion; they say it is like a portent for fishes to swarm beneath the plow: yet I deem it far more monstrous that one so eager for praise should flee praise.

Denique tam clarissimus bellator tot difficilia aggressus, tot aspera perpessus, tot certamina supergressus, facile fidem impetret, praesertim strage armis vicinia testibus, ante omnia lingua ipsius, cui ut nulli certius credebatur: verumtamen latente causa effectus patuit, causa, inquam, silentii effectus caedis patuit etiam longo tempore post rei series, ut adjuratus armiger diem silentii complevit praefixum.

Finally, so most illustrious a warrior, having undertaken so many difficult things, having endured so many harsh things, having overcome so many combats, may easily obtain credence, especially with the slaughter by arms, the vicinity as witnesses, before all the tongue of the man himself, to which, as to no other, credence was more surely given: nevertheless, the cause lying hidden, the effect was evident; the cause, I say, of the silence—the effect of the slaughter—became clear also after a long time from the series of the affair, namely that the adjured armiger fulfilled the pre‑fixed day of silence.

LIII.- Christianorum patientia in dura hac et longa obsidione.

53.- The patience of the Christians in this hard and long siege.

[0530B] Monet me tempus ad intermissam redire obsidionem, ut vel quantulam de sudore tanto qui sudavere accipiant mercedem: nam in ejus exercitu jam fere octimensis mora multi strenue multa; maxime majores viri majora fecerunt: socialiter autem summi, mediocres, et imi gravia pertulerunt, famem, terraemotum, aquarum inundationem, aeris terrores varios, impetus quoque nunc coeli ruentis, nunc belli ingruentis: prodigia quoque et visiones: hae multis clam, illa cunctis palam coelitus effulserunt: quorum singula si suis ordine, modo, dignitate explicem: nimis interim sileat Tancredus sicut quietis scriptor, ita silentio indignus. Porro cymba nostra sero veniat in portum, si tanti procellas pelagi sulcare aggrediar: quis enim de Godefridi viribus [0530C] stupendis praesumat, cujus ense trajectus Turcus duo factus est Turci: ut inferior alter in urbem equitaret, alter arcitenens in flumine nataret. Aut quis illud Raimundi digne admiretur, quod saepius occurrenti Antiochiae solus restitit, quod interdum fossas, interdum muros supergressam viriliter repulit: imo quod nullo exercitus remoti fretus auxilio, pontem obsedit.

[0530B] Time warns me to return to the interrupted siege, so that those who have sweated may receive even some small wage from so great a sweat: for in his army, now for almost an eight-month delay, many have strenuously done many things; most of all the greater men did greater things: yet in common the highest, the middling, and the lowest endured grave things—hunger, earthquake, inundation of waters, various terrors of the air, assaults too now of a sky collapsing, now of a war rushing on: prodigies also and visions: these to many shone from heaven in secret, those to all openly: if I should unfold each of these in its order, manner, and dignity, Tancred would meanwhile be far too silent—he who, like a writer of quiet, is yet so unworthy of silence. Moreover, our skiff would come late into port if I should attempt to furrow the tempests of so great a sea: for who would presume upon the astounding strengths of Godfrey [0530C], by whose sword a Turk, run through, was made two Turks: so that the lower one rode into the city, the other, the bow-bearer, swam in the river. Or who could worthily admire that deed of Raymond, that he often alone stood fast against Antioch coming out to engage, that he manfully drove back what had sometimes overpassed the ditches, sometimes the walls: nay rather, that, relying on no aid from a distant army, he blockaded the bridge.

Nonne sola Flandrigenae Roberti lancea singulariter suum expostulat scriptorem? quem dum quotidianis mortibus Antiochiam ditat, quotidiano comes equo pauperatur, ut scilicet fallente damnum ardore laudis, aliquando principi tanto deesset equus, nisi succurreret vicatim mendicatus. Deferebatur pelvis patula per tabernas, [0530D] quam rem miserantia supplebant comiti equum, macellum ex caupona.

Does not the spear alone of Robert the Fleming demand, uniquely, its own writer? While he enriches Antioch with daily deaths, the count is impoverished of a horse day by day, so that, the loss being beguiled by the ardor for praise, at times so great a prince would lack a horse, unless one begged street by street should come to the rescue. A broad basin was carried around through the taverns, [0530D] and those who pitied the matter would make it up—providing a horse for the count, a butcher’s-stall out of a tavern.

Porro quid simile illi saecula nostra viderunt, quod ducenti circiter semiermes XV, millia armatos pars major asinarii caballarios, languidi fugavere robustos? cujus victoriae fertur Blesensis comes dux fuisse Godefrido Boamundoque sociatus, unde septingentorum et eo amplius capitum asportatio Antiocheno spectaculo facta est ostentatio lugubris, inter quae sigillatim palis affixa, quantam putas illud Blesensi gladio gloriam contulit, cujus oculorum distantia semipes fuit? Horum ut dixi via centifida iterum me revocat, nedum singulis vagabundus insistam; a coepto tramite devius aberrem.

Moreover, what like to this have our ages seen, that about two hundred half-armed men put to flight 15 thousand armed men, the greater part ass-riding “cavalry,” the languid routing the robust? Of this victory the Count of Blois is reported to have been the leader, allied with Godfrey and Bohemond, whence the carrying off of 700 and more heads was made a lugubrious ostentation for Antiochene spectacle; among which, affixed severally upon stakes, how much, think you, did that one contribute glory to the Blois blade, whose distance between the eyes was half a foot? Of these things, as I said, their hundred-forked path calls me back again, lest, a wanderer, I press upon each singly; I should stray from the commenced track.

Celebrent suos Normannia, Flandria, Robertos, reliquos duces occidens reliquus: [0531A] mihi unus Marchisides sufficit, cui non sufficio vel totus. Ignosce Gallia scriptoribus dives, juvat me Antiocheno vacare principi, praesente me gesta liberius persolvam debitor creditori. Verumtamen ne nulla bene meritos silentium meum mercede remuneret, compendiosum quippiam conabor perstringere, quod scriptura posteritas prolixiori valeat stylo explicare.

Let Normandy and Flanders celebrate their own Roberts, and the rest of the Occident its remaining leaders: [0531A] for me one Marchisides suffices, for whom I do not suffice even entire. Forgive me, France, rich in writers; it pleases me to devote myself to the Antiochene prince; with me present I will more freely discharge the deeds—the debtor to the creditor. Nevertheless, lest my silence remunerate the well-deserving with no wage, I will strive to sketch something compendious, which posterity by writing may be able to unfold with a more prolix style.

LIV.- Graves obsidentium angustiae.

54.- Grave straits of the besiegers.

Igitur a tribus ventis urbe obsessa, Auster solis nullum perflavit obsesssorem; in latere illo nihil humidum, nihil planum, quae incommoditas commoda civibus clausores exclusit, clausos absolvit. Illinc insidiae, illinc duri viatoribus occursus; cum aut egrediens Francus victualia quaereret, aut inventa [0531B] regrediens afferret. Tantus populus, tot gentes, tot millia multo indigebant pecore, multa cerere.

Accordingly, with the city besieged from three winds, the South Wind blew upon no besieger; on that side there was nothing damp, nothing level—an inconvenience which excluded the closers-in, but released the closed-in. From there ambushes, from there hard encounters for travelers; whenever either a Frank going out sought victuals, or, having found them, returning, brought them back. So great a populace, so many nations, so many thousands were in need of much livestock, much Ceres. [0531B]

Syria, Cylicia, Rodus, Cyprus opulentissima, quaedam insulae, quaedam regna exercitum alebant, sed parce tamen: licet Chio, Samo, Creta, Mitilena, aliisque famae minoris pene innumerabilibus insulis adjutae. Aderat imperatoris Alexii praeco, qui ad comportandas segetes terra marique populos urgebat. Coeperat cum hyeme obsidio, per quam evoluta universos hiemis pertulit horrores; aquae diluvia, nunc subita, nunc continua, tantos coeli terraeque motus; ut seluto clementorum foedere, haec ad summa surgere, illud ad ima corruere videretur.

Syria, Cilicia, Rhodes, Cyprus most opulent, certain islands, certain kingdoms nourished the army, but sparingly nevertheless: though aided by Chios, Samos, Crete, Mytilene, and other islands of lesser repute almost innumerable. There was present the herald of Emperor Alexius, who was pressing the peoples by land and sea for the bringing in of the grain-crops. The siege had begun with winter, during which, as it ran its course, it endured all the horrors of winter; deluges of water, now sudden, now continuous, such great movements of sky and earth; so that, the covenant of the elements dissolved, the one seemed to rise to the heights, the other to collapse to the depths.

Nam quid de turbinibus, quid de ventorum rabie [0531C] dicam? Illis grassantibus, nec tentorium stabat, nec mappale, vix palatium seu turris. Durabat sub jove juxta cum plebe nobilitas, hiems neutri parcebat: tanto tamen nobilitati asperior, quanto est durior rusticus milite, laborifer delicato.

For what shall I say of the whirlwinds, what of the rage of the winds [0531C]? While they were raging, neither tent stood, nor hut, scarcely a palace or a tower. Under the open sky the nobility endured alongside the plebs; winter spared neither party: yet it was so much the harsher to the nobility, inasmuch as the rustic is tougher than the soldier, the toil-bearing than the delicate.

Tot procellas sociabat esuries, esuriem mors: mors passim habenis laxis et homines praecurrebat, et bellorum solatia equos, rarum erat in castris stabulum, cui fames novem sublatis, decimum reliquisset. Armorum quidquid ferri erat et calybis corripuerat rubigo, clypeos dimiserant clavi et coria; hastae, sellae materies lignea, paucorum erant integrae, multorum resartae, nullorum lucidae, nonnullorum nullae: sine nervis vacabant arcus, et sine arundinibus sagittae, undique inopia, undique calamitas, undique desolatio.

Hunger was joined to so many tempests, to hunger, death: death, everywhere with loosened reins, was outstripping both men and, the solace of wars, the horses; it was rare in the camp to find a stall where hunger, with nine removed, had left a tenth. Whatever of iron and steel there was among the arms, rust had seized; the rivets and leathers had let go the shields; the wooden substance of spears and saddles—of a few intact, of many patched, of none bright, of some none at all: bows were empty without sinews, and arrows without reeds, on every side want, on every side calamity, on every side desolation.

LV.- Mira Christianorum fiducia. [0531D]

55.- Wonderful confidence of the Christians. [0531D]

Dura haec nimis et tristia, cum subito gravia gravibus cumulantur, succedente Piscibus, Ariete, vere hiemi cujus temporis herba Medorum Persarumque equos bello redintegrat. Improvisi adsunt Turci, numerus multus, et vires ad praelia paratae. Prope jam aderant, die eadem aut subituri moenia, aut castra irrupturi, cum rumor praenuntius advolat, qui rem, ut erat, pandit Christianis.

These things are too hard and sad, when suddenly heavy things are heaped upon heavy, with Aries succeeding Pisces, with spring succeeding winter—at which season the grass redintegrates for war the horses of the Medes and Persians. The Turks are present unlooked-for, a great multitude, and forces prepared for battles. They were now near at hand, on that same day either about to enter the walls or to burst into the camp, when a fore-announcing rumor flies in, which lays open the matter, as it was, to the Christians.

Addit etiam more suo, et de magnis majora loquitur. Hinc exciti Latini proceres obviare parant, quod tamen difficillimum, imo quasi ob vitae taedia in mortem ruere potuit aestimari. Nam de tanto numero, de tantis militum qui urbem obsederant copiis, vix 200 [0532A] corrogantur, in equis obviam profecturi.

He also adds, in his own manner, and of great matters he speaks greater. Hence the Latin nobles, roused, prepare to go to meet them—which, however, was most difficult, indeed could be judged as rushing into death, as if from weariness of life. For out of so great a number, out of such forces of soldiers who had besieged the city, scarcely 200 [0532A] are mustered, about to set out on horseback to meet them.

In his tamen asini bona pars supplent vicem equorum: nam forte equos, gens nostra nil tale veriti, longe miserant frumentatum. Igitur tam exilis numerus adversum quindecim millia, sicut ab his qui adfuerunt didici, ad pugnandum egreditur: mira audacia! saeclisque omnibus praedicanda!

Yet among these, asses in good part supply the place of horses: for by chance our people, fearing nothing of the sort, had sent the horses far away to forage for grain. Therefore so meager a number, against 15,000—as I learned from those who were present—goes out to fight: wondrous audacity! to be proclaimed to all ages!

in procinctu hoc duces fuisse memorantur Godefridus, Boamundus, Blesensis Stephanus: ii cum ad eum venissent, quem corrupte vulgus pontem Ferri pro Farfar nuncupat, visis ultra procul hostibus, non restant ut timidi, transeunt ut timendi, praecedit Boamundus, subsequitur Godefridus, in subsidio est Stephanus.

In this battle-array the leaders are reported to have been Godfrey, Bohemond, Stephen of Blois: these, when they had come to that [bridge] which the common crowd corruptly names the Iron Bridge instead of Farfar, the enemies having been seen far off beyond, they do not remain as the timid, they cross as those to be feared; Bohemond goes first, Godfrey follows, Stephen is in reserve.

LVI.- Hostes aggrediuntur pauci et fugant.

56.- A few attack the enemies and put them to flight.

[0532B] Monticulus trans, et prope pontem in planitie exstat, sub ipso exspectant nostri, per ipsam quae amplissima est Turci advolitant: prospexerant enim nostros a longe, mirati qua fiducia gens tam modica pontem transmearent. Illa autem transmeatio tam prudens quam audax, magnum incussit terrorem hostibus, nostrorumque paucitatem, plurimae multitudinis opinione cumulavit. Ideo Turci cum appropiant substant, metuentes ne mons praescriptus paucos ostenderet, multos absconderet: ipsum hoc simulantes Christicolae.

[0532B] Across, a little mound stands out on the plain near the bridge; beneath it our men wait; through that very plain, which is most ample, the Turks swoop in: for they had looked out upon our men from afar, wondering with what confidence a people so small would cross the bridge. But that crossing, as prudent as it was bold, struck great terror into the enemies, and our fewness it piled up with the opinion of a very great multitude. Therefore the Turks, when they approach, stand still, fearing lest the aforesaid hill show a few and hide many: the Christ-worshipers feigning this very thing.

hastas vexillis armant, singula singulis aptantes, quasi tot abderent agmina, quod proderent vexilla: moxque nihil cunctati, erectis hastis, tali hostes perturbant impetu, ac si falconum turba fulicas impetisset. Surgit pulvis, sonant [0532C] arma, ungulae perstrepunt, clangunt buccinae, oculi caligantur, aures vacant, corda hostium stupent, ut plura timeant e latebris surgere Francorum millia, quam viderint vexilla. Dictu mirabile et tanquam a fide alienum!

they arm their spears with standards (vexilla), fitting single to single, as if they hid as many battle-lines (agmina) as the standards would betray: and soon, delaying nothing, with spears raised, they perturb the enemies with such an onset as if a flock of falcons had attacked coots. Dust rises, arms sound [0532C], hoofs make a great din, the buccinae clang, eyes are darkened, ears fall vacant, the hearts of the enemy are stupefied, so that they fear more thousands of Franks to be rising from hiding than they had seen standards. Wonderful to say, and as though alien to belief!

terga quantocius vertunt, multitudo tanta, paucis de Christi numero amissis, majore in his Gunano comite Britannico, qui animis furentibus, uno contentus socio, Persarum exercitum primus invadere praesumpsit. Illius mihi juxta pontem in via longo tempore post ostensus est tumulus, quantum licuit, ut gentis est pietas, saxo et cruce decoratus. Sed adepti victoriam Franci, fugam persequuntur, brevi tamen instantiam longam prohibentibus equitum raritate, equorum [0532D] tarditate, utrorumque inedia.

they turn their backs as quickly as possible, so great a multitude, with few from Christ’s number lost, the greater among these being Gunanus, a British Count, who, with raging spirits, content with a single companion, presumed first to attack the army of the Persians. His tumulus was shown to me near the bridge on the road a long time afterward, adorned, so far as was permitted, as is the people’s piety, with stone and cross. But the Franks, having obtained victory, pursue the flight; yet shortly their prolonged pressing-on is hindered by the scarcity of horsemen, the slowness of the horses, and the hunger of both, equorum [0532D] tarditate, utrorumque inedia.

Referunt ad castra signum victoriae 700 caedis exercitae capita: prius tamen praedicto comite, sociisque martyrii, prout res tulit, consepultis. Illa, si memini, luce haec facta sunt, qua Latinorum gens ventri et carnis edulio studiosus indulgent, cinere vertices in crastino aspersuri.

They carry back to the camp, as a sign of victory, 700 heads from the slaughter that had been carried out: first, however, after the aforesaid count and the companions in martyrdom, as the matter allowed, had been buried together. These things, if I remember, were done on that day on which the Latin nation zealously indulges the belly and the eating of flesh, being about to sprinkle their heads with ash on the morrow.

LVII.- Patria auctoris hujus historiae. Fames in urbe.

57.- The fatherland of the author of this history. Famine in the city.

Nox sequens robore horribili coelum intecit, ut qui in occidente positi cernerent; oriens pugnat illico clamarent. Vidi egomet signum illud cum adhuc in paterna domo Cadumi adolescentulus degerem, nondum mihi visa seu nota nisi nomine tenus Antiochia: sed nec Roma. Stupuerunt multi illo viso, qui omnes uno ore bellum indixerunt ac [0533A] sanguinem: sed, reversis ad socia arma victoribus, allata palis capita infiguntur, pali tellure ante muros in conspectu hostium seriatim.

The following night wove the sky with horrible might, so that those placed in the west, on seeing it, would cry out at once: “the East is fighting!” I myself saw that sign when, still a youth, I was living in my father’s house at Caen, Antioch not yet seen or known to me except by name; nor Rome either. Many were astonished at that sight, who all with one voice proclaimed war and [0533A] blood: but, when the victors had returned to friendly arms, the heads that were brought are fixed upon stakes, the stakes in the earth before the walls in the sight of the enemy, in a row.

Inventum est unum inter caetera et hoc memoriale ab oculo ad oculum semipedalem distantiam habens. Clamant qui infigunt, spectantibus de muris civibus: ecce spes vestra, ecce minae vestrae, ecce adversus Francos vires corrogatae, eadem vobis stipendia reservamus, similis exitus similes manet, inclusi estis, erepta est fuga, consumpta Ceres, fames inducta, subsidium ademptum, adversa omnia. Viso auditoque quod gesserant Franci, ac dixerant: Urbs trepitat, nec de caetero sicut prius portas aperit, tabescit in fame, luget in timore; in hac ver continuum calamitate transigunt, panis inopiam verna [0533B] copia frondibus herbisque more pecudum levantes.

One thing too among the rest was found—this memorial as well—having from eye to eye a distance of half a foot. Those who impale shout, with the citizens watching from the walls: behold your hope, behold your threats, behold the forces corralled against the Franks; we reserve the same stipends for you; a like outcome awaits the like; you are shut in; flight has been snatched away; Ceres has been consumed; famine induced; succor removed; all things adverse. When they had seen and heard what the Franks had done and said: The city quakes, nor hereafter, as before, does it open its gates; it wastes away in hunger, it laments in fear; in this, indeed, they pass their time in continuous calamity, alleviating the lack of bread by springtime [0533B] abundance of leaves and herbs, after the manner of cattle.

Tunc Cassianus, hoc erat principis inclusi nomen, dat edictum, et qui scrutentur mittit, ut apud quem civium inveniretur annona; dimidiam ipse ad curiam mitteret; de reliquo ut posset, vitam sustentaret. Civitas, hoc audito, grave ferunt, tolerant tamen: annonam dimidiant, hoc curiae illud vitae; mitigat damnum usus ipse damnorum, maxime quod bellatricem manum sumptus ille alere debebat.

Then Cassianus—this was the name of the enclosed prince—issues an edict and sends men to search, that, wherever among the citizens grain-supply should be found, the possessor himself should send half to the Curia; of the remainder, as he could, he should sustain life. The city, on hearing this, takes it hard, yet tolerates it: they halve the annona—this for the Curia, that for life; habit itself of losses mitigates the damage, especially because that expenditure had to nourish the warlike band.

LVIII.- Multi duces ab obsidione recesserunt.

58.- Many leaders withdrew from the siege.

Abscesserant interea ex castris exosi taedio comites Blesensis in Cyliciam, Laodiciam Normannus; Blesensis Tharsum ob remedium egestatis, Normannus [0533C] ad Anglos, spe dominationis. Angli ea tempestate Laodiciam tenebant, missi ab imperatore tutela; cujus fines vagus populabatur exercitus, ipsam quoque cum violentia irrumpere tentantes, in hac formidine Angli assertorem vocant praescriptum comitem, consilium fidele ac prudens. Fidei fuit fidelem domino suo virum, cui se manciparent asciscere, jugo Normannico se substraxerant, denuo subdunt, hoc prudentiae, gentis illius fidem experti et munera facile redeunt unde exierant.

Meanwhile there had withdrawn from the camp, loathing the tedium, the companions of the man of Blois into Cilicia, and the Norman to Laodicea; the man of Blois to Tarsus for a remedy of indigence, the Norman [0533C] to the English, in hope of dominion. The English at that time were holding Laodicea, sent by the emperor for tutelage; within whose borders a wandering army was ravaging, even attempting with violence to break into the city itself; in this fear the English call as defender the aforesaid count, a counsel faithful and prudent. It was of fidelity to enlist a man faithful to his own lord, to whom they might mancipate themselves and enroll; they had withdrawn themselves from the Norman yoke, they submit anew—this they ascribed to prudence—having experienced the faith of that nation and its gifts, they easily return whence they had gone out.

Igitur Normannus comes ingressus Laodiciam, somno vacabat et otio; nec inutilis tamen dum opulentiam nactus, aliis indigentibus large erogabat: quoniam conserva Cyprus Baccho, Cerere, et multo pecore abundans Laodiciam repleverat, quippe indigentem [0533D] vicinam Christicolam et quasi collacteam: ipsa namque una in littore Syro et Christum colebat, et Alexio serviebat. Sed nec sic excusato otio, praedictus comes frustra semel atque iterum ad castra revocatur. Tertio sub anathemate accitus, redit invitus: difficilem enim habebat transitum commeatio, quae comiti ministrare Laodicia veniens debebat.

Accordingly the Norman count, having entered Laodicea, was given over to sleep and leisure; yet he was not useless, for, having gotten opulence, he was lavishly disbursing to others in need: since sister Cyprus, abounding in Bacchus, in Ceres, and in much livestock, had filled Laodicea—namely its needy [0533D] Christian neighbor and, as it were, milk-sister; for she alone on the Syrian shore both worshiped Christ and served Alexius. But not even with his leisure thus excused, the aforesaid count is recalled to the camp in vain once and again. A third time, summoned under anathema, he returns unwillingly: for the convoy of supplies had a difficult transit, which, coming from Laodicea, was supposed to furnish the count.

LIX.- Obsidentium ducum stationes.

59.- Stations of the besieging commanders.

Principes alii propiora occupaverant municipia, ideoque facile alebat eos opportunitas commodior. Duci sedium contigerat copiosa, populosa civitas et vinosa. Vallem propinquam tenebat Flandriae comes, in qua Balena, Barthemolin, Corsehel, Barsoldan oppida erant, praeter haec complura: inde est quod adhuc illa dicitur Valliscomitis, sicut etiam sedium [0534A] ducis civitas: porro Emma et Harenc, Tancredo serviebant, cumque his multa et proxima castris et uberrima.

Other princes had occupied nearer municipalities, and therefore a more commodious opportunity easily sustained them. To the duke of the stations there had fallen a copious, populous, and wine-rich city. The Count of Flanders held a nearby valley, in which were the towns Balena, Barthemolin, Corsehel, Barsoldan, besides these many others: hence it is that it is still called the Count’s Valley, just as also the city of the duke of the stations [0534A]: moreover Emma and Harenc were serving Tancred, and along with these many others, both very near to the camps and very rich.

Ipse primus adventaverat omnium, sicut supra memoravi, praecursor: quae praecursio illud vulgi effectu suo corroborat, qui primus nascitur, primus pascitur; nam ubi fames increbuit, ipse opulentus neminem de domesticis suis a mensa exclusit, multos ab aliis exclusos suscepit ac fovit. Vallis Doxa Boamundum alebat, quae merito tale sortita est nomen, si quidem ipsa inter caeteras vallium gloria messibus, vineis, arboribus, rivis exuberat, ut antiquitus Dapne, quod apud Graecos amoenitas sonat dici mereretur, Antiochiae contigua ab austro magno indiguit tutore, qui esuriem civium arcere sufficeret a copia alimentorum. Habebant et alii [0534B] principes alia oppida, quorum memoriam dies longos delevit: non delevit tamen Raimundo comiti Rubeam, Rufam, Arcican, Belmesyn, municipia servisse.

He himself had arrived first of all, as I have recalled above, a precursor: and this being-ahead corroborates by its own effect that saying of the common folk, “he who is first born is first fed”; for when famine grew rife, he, being opulent, excluded none of his household from the table, and he received and cherished many who were excluded by others. The Valley Doxa nourished Bohemond, which deservedly obtained such a name, since it overabounds, beyond other valleys, in the glory of harvests, vineyards, trees, and streams, so that in antiquity it would have merited to be called Daphne—which among the Greeks sounds “amenity/pleasantness”—being contiguous to Antioch on the south, it needed a great guardian who might suffice to ward off the citizens’ hunger by an abundance of provisions. Other [0534B] princes also had other towns, whose memory long days have effaced; yet it has not effaced that Rubea, Rufa, Arcican, Belmesyn served Count Raymond as municipalities.

LX.- Gravis in exercitu fames.

60.- Severe hunger in the army.

Sic primates provinciam occupaverant. Ast alii famae minoris, licet magnae multa penuria afficiebantur: quoniam quidem nec exire mors, nec manere fames geminae quasi sine medio angustiae populum dimittebant. Induxerant enim famem mora longa, et populus infinitus; porro non erat dies qui obsidentium aures de egressorum ad victualia nece non terreret audita: principes tamen nunc hic, nunc ille vicissim praesidium viatoribus ferebant, interdum et [0534C] ipsi praesidio egentes: nam supra memorata illa australis porta semper insidiis patens, nunquam desistebat cohortes fundere, quae augusta viarum obsiderent, sicque viatoribus occurrerent ignaris.

Thus the chiefs had occupied the province. But others of lesser fame, though of great standing, were afflicted by much penury: since indeed neither to go out did death allow, nor to remain did hunger—the twin straits, as it were without a middle course—let the people go. For a long delay and a countless populace had induced hunger; moreover, there was not a day that did not terrify the ears of the besiegers with reports of the killing of those who went out for victuals: nevertheless the princes now here, now there, in turn were bringing protection to travelers, and sometimes they themselves were in need of protection; for that southern gate mentioned above, ever lying open to ambushes, never ceased to pour out cohorts, which would blockade the narrowings of the roads, and thus would meet unsuspecting travelers unawares. [0534C]

Jam vero acrior altera, id est fames praeponderavit, quae spreta nece huc illuc palantes, veluti apum examina misit exercitum. Quid fames non spernit? ad quid non impellit?

Now indeed the other, harsher—namely hunger—preponderated, which, with death despised, sent the army, wandering hither and thither like swarms of bees. What does hunger not spurn? To what does it not impel?

quem pudere sinit? Illa fuit etiam Guidoni Rubeo Wilhelmoque agnomine Carpentario abscessus causa, viris illustribus interque palatinos regis Franciae non obscuris: iis, inquam, abire parantibus, Boamundus adest. «Et quam, inquit, vobis requiem quaeritis, nihil de communi labore solliciti?

whom does it allow to feel shame? That was also the cause of withdrawal for Guy the Red and for William by agnomen “the Carpenter,” illustrious men and not obscure among the palatines of the king of France: as they, I say, were preparing to depart, Bohemond arrives. «And what rest,» he says, «are you seeking for yourselves, taking no thought for the common labor?»

nobiles estis, patet via, est hic tentoria manebunt ad aeternum nominis imo generis [0534D] vestri [ f., infamiam] publicae reservanda cloacae» Discedunt illi infamiae securi, fames stimulis contemnit infamiam: comitem sequuntur Stephanum qui in Cyliciae finibus quietem agere supra scriptus est. Unius generationis, unius moris viri, unanimiter laborem oderant, otium sectabantur, pugnaces tamen: sed inter bella deliciis assueti.

“You are nobles, the road is open; let your tents remain here, to be reserved forever for the public sewer of your name—nay, of your lineage [0534D] your [ f., infamiam]—of the public sewer.” They depart unconcerned for infamy; hunger with its goads scorns infamy: they follow Count Stephen, who, as written above, was taking his ease within the borders of Cilicia. Men of one generation, of one mores, they unanimously hated labor, pursued otium, yet were pugnacious; but in the midst of wars they were accustomed to delights.

LXI.- Provincialium mores.

61.- The customs of the provincials.

Gentis hujus sublimis est oculus, spiritus ferox, promptae ad arma dexterae, caeterum ad spargendum prodigae, ad congregandum ignavae. His quantum anati gallina, provinciales moribus, animis, cultu, victu adversabantur: pace vivendo, sollicite perscrutando, laboriferi: sed ne verum taceam minus bellicosi. Muliebre quiddam esse, aiunt, et tanquam [0535A] vile rejiciunt corporis ornatum; equorum ornatui invigilant ac mulorum.

Of this people, the eye is sublime, the spirit ferocious, the right hands prompt to arms, but prodigal for scattering, slothful for congregating. By as much as a duck differs from a hen, the provincials were opposed to them in manners, minds, dress, and diet: living in peace, carefully scrutinizing, labor-bearing; but, not to hide the truth, less bellicose. They say the ornament of the body is something womanish, and they reject it as [0535A] cheap; they keep close watch over the ornament of horses and of mules.

Sedulitas illorum tempore famis multo plus juvit quam gentes plurimae, bellare promptiores; ii ubi deerat panis, contenti radicibus durabant, siliquas non aspernantes, eorum dextrae longi gerulae ferri cum quo intra viscera terrae annonam fascinabantur: inde est quod adhuc puerorum decantat naenia: Franci ad bella, provinciales ad victualia. Unum quidem fuit quod cupide nimis committebant ac turpiter: caninam carnem pro lepore, pro capra asininam gentibus aliis venditabant, vel si remoto indice ad equum pinguem, sive mulum licebat accedere, per retroneum seu purgatorium foramen in viscera vulnera demittebant, moriebaturque jumentum. Stupor omnibus, qui ignari [0535B] fraudis illud pingue, alacre, robustum, lascivum modo viderant: nulla comparebant vestigia vulnerum, necis signum omnino latebat.

Sedulity of theirs in time of famine helped much more than very many nations, readier to wage war; they, when bread was lacking, endured content with roots, not spurning carob-pods, their right hands long the carriers of iron, with which within the bowels of the earth the food-supply was coaxed forth: hence it is that even now a children’s chant sings: The Franks for wars, the provincials for victuals. There was one thing indeed which they committed too greedily and disgracefully: they would sell canine flesh as hare, asinine as goat, to other peoples; or, if, the informer being removed, it was permitted to approach a fat horse or a mule, through the rearward, or purgative, orifice they would let wounds down into the entrails, and the beast of burden would die. Astonishment to all who, ignorant [0535B] of the fraud, had just seen it fat, lively, robust, sportive: no traces of wounds appeared, the sign of the killing lay wholly hidden.

Spectatores territi viso monstro: «Absistamus procul, aiebant, daemonis spiritus hoc jumentum afflavit: his discedentibus, necis conscii tanquam nescii accedebant, prohibitique tangere: malumus, inquiebant, in hac esca mori, quam jejuni.» Miserabatur damni patiens illatorem, illator illi risum rependebat. Tunc corvorum in morem ad cadaver gens illa advolantes, quas quisque poterant particulas divulsas aut in ventrem aut ad macellum demittebant.

Spectators, terrified at the sight of the monster: «Let us stand far off,» they kept saying, «the spirit of a demon has breathed upon this beast of burden.» As these departed, those conscious of the killing, as though unaware, approached, and when forbidden to touch it: «We would rather,» they said, «die on this food than fasting.» The sufferer of the loss pitied the inflictor; the inflictor repaid him with a laugh. Then, after the manner of ravens, that tribe flying to the cadaver, the little pieces which each could tear off they would dispatch either into the belly or to the shambles.

LXII.- Cassiani erga Armenum duritia.

62.- The harshness of Cassian toward Armenus.

Sed jam expertus miseratusque athletas suos Christus, [0535C] laetos ad exitus agonem ducit; perusto solibus populo, urbem, et umbram aperit hoc modo. Fuit inter eos, quorum Cassianus annonam dimidiaverat, vir dives Armenus, qui abrenuntiato Christi dogmate errores gentilium sequebatur: is plurimam habebat familiam, juxtaque familiae numerum annonam: quod ubi fame crebrescente Cassiano innotuit, denuo illud dimidiat quod prius vitae miserae reliquerat solamen: prior fuerat per domos et familias generalis rapina; haec singularis, eoque gravior, quasi damno adjecta injuria. Spoliatus ille vitae subsidio, lugubris et amens principis vestigia osculatur, liberis inopibus solatium repetens ademptum.

But now Christ, having tested and pitied his athletes, [0535C] leads them joyful to the outcome of the contest; for a people scorched by the suns, he opens a city and shade in this way. Among those whose ration Cassian had halved, there was a rich man, an Armenian, who, having renounced the dogma of Christ, was following the errors of the gentiles: he had a very large household, and a ration according to the number of the household; when this became known to Cassian as the famine was growing frequent, he again halves that which previously he had left as a solace of a wretched life: before there had been a general rapine through houses and families; this is a particular one, and therefore the more grievous, as though an injury added to the loss. Deprived of the support of life, that man, mournful and out of his mind, kisses the prince’s footsteps, seeking again for his destitute children the solace that had been taken away.

Quem non moveat lacrymarum fluvius, clamorque aethera feriens? «Vae vobis liberis meis non [0535D] jam dicendis, ut prius, charis pignoribus, sed diris vulneribus: vestra fames meam consumit, vestra cor meum penetrat, meam non sentio. Quid prodest cibis pavisse delicatis, quibus modo denegatur, qui servis datur inutilibus, panis?

Whom would not the river of tears move, and the clamor smiting the aether? «Woe to you, my children, no [0535D] longer to be called, as before, dear pledges, but dire wounds: your hunger consumes me, your hunger pierces my heart; I do not feel my own. What profit is it to have nourished with delicate foods those to whom now bread is denied—the bread which is given to useless slaves?»

Satius patri misero fuerat videre trucidatos, quam inedia afflictos, prius lanceae genitorem perfodiant, prius fulmina crement, prius maria submergant, quam vestrum illum quem anima mea abhorret aspiciam finem. Vae! sic erit: hoc unum jam restat mihi solatium, mors mea praeibit, liberabit me a conspectu vestrae aut mucro, aut laqueus.

It would have been better for the wretched father to see you slaughtered than afflicted by starvation; sooner let spears pierce the father, sooner let thunderbolts burn me, sooner let the seas drown me, than that I should behold that end of yours which my soul abhors. Alas! thus it will be: this one consolation now remains to me—my death will go before; either the sword-point or the noose will free me from the sight of you.

Sed miseremini, o cives! intercedite pro innoxio, vel certe puniar ego ut nocens, dum mea famis tormento non crucietur familia.»

But have pity, O citizens! Intercede for the innocent, or at least let me be punished as guilty, provided that my household is not racked by the torment of my famine.»

LXIII.- Proditur civitas. [0536A]

63.- The city is betrayed. [0536A]

Multis ad hunc modum ille miserabiliter, sed inutiliter effusis, spernitur, irridetur, repellitur. Commissa ei fuerat ab obsidionis exordio turrium unius custodia, longe ab exercitu in angulo civitatis ad zephyrum supra montem sitae: hujus proximam inferiorem fratri ejus custodiendam Cassianus tradiderat, ut dici posset sorores duas duobus fratribus esse commissas: nec tamen incaute hoc, vel casualiter actum est: prudenter longe a Christianis deputati sunt custodes, qui aliquando fuerant Christiani, hoc provisum est et hoc actum. Sed ubi alter fratrum ille repulsus objectum se contumeliis videt, nullo intercedente, nullo miserante; saluti propriae consulit, generali civium perditione suas ulturus injurias.

With many things poured out in this way pitiably, but uselessly, he is scorned, mocked, driven away. From the exordium of the siege the guardianship of one of the towers had been entrusted to him, far from the army in a corner of the city toward the Zephyr, set above the mountain; the next lower tower adjoining this Cassianus had handed over to his brother to be guarded, so that it could be said that two sisters had been entrusted to two brothers. Nor, however, was this done incautiously or casually: prudently the guards—who once had been Christians—were assigned far from the Christians; this was provided and this was done. But when the one of the brothers—he who had been repulsed—sees himself made the object of insults, with no one interceding, no one pitying, he looks to his own safety, about to avenge his injuries by the general perdition of the citizens.

[0536B] Sopitis nocte intempesta excubiis, de muro cui junctam turrim observabat, funem demittit, per hunc gemino comitatus pignore descendit, longo fatigatus circuitu ad Boamundum tandem pervenit. Eum inter caeteros quasi principum principem orientalis ille populus arbitrabatur, quod olim Wiscardo Graeciam debellante, Boamundi fama terruerat Graecos plurimo certamine gloriosa: extunc factus Asiae celebris, nunc quoque omnium dominus putabatur. Sed jussus ad quid venisset exponere Armenus: urbis introitum pandere se paciscitur, diem statuit et horam, locumque aditui opportunum.

[0536B] With the sentries lulled in the dead of night, from the wall to which the tower he was keeping was joined he lowers a rope; by this, attended by a double pledge, he descends, and, wearied by a long circuit, at length comes to Bohemond. That eastern people reckoned him among the rest as, so to speak, the prince of princes, because once, when Guiscard was subduing Greece, Bohemond’s fame—glorious from very many contests—had terrified the Greeks: from then he became celebrated in Asia, and now too he was thought the lord of all. But the Armenian, ordered to set forth for what purpose he had come, bargains to open the entrance of the city; he fixes the day and the hour, and a place convenient for entry.

Mox filiis obsidibus ultro oblatis, datisque, solus ad funem revertitur, comitantibus tamen impellentibusque ira, audacia, spe, timore, sursum facile volat.

Soon, with his sons as hostages voluntarily offered and delivered, he returns alone to the rope; yet, with ire, audacity, hope, and fear accompanying and impelling him, he easily flies upward.

LXIV.- Boamundus episcopo Podiensi rem nuntiat. Oratio Podiensis episcopi ad milites. [0536C]

64.- Bohemond announces the matter to the Bishop of Le Puy. The address of the Bishop of Le Puy to the soldiers. [0536C]

At Boamundus nunquam pari excitus gaudio, sole orto Appodiensem episcopum, virum quem papa Urbanus tanquam alterum eumdem exercitui praefecerat, adit, ipsius fidei secretum hoc committit. Episcopus autem et fideliter rem tegere, et tectam sedulo se spondet promovere. Igitur statim exercituum rectores convocat, et qui erant in populo majores; quibus congregatis sic fatur:

But Bohemond, never before roused by equal joy, at sunrise approaches the bishop of Le Puy, the man whom Pope Urban had set over the army as though another himself, and entrusts to his fidelity this secret. The bishop, moreover, pledges both to cover the matter faithfully and, while covered, to promote it sedulously. Therefore at once he summons the commanders of the armies, and the greater men among the people; and when they are gathered, he speaks thus:

«Multum diuque, fratres, vexavit nos labor praesens, multum diuque, nisi oculus Domini super nos fuerit, vexabit. Machinas struximus, palam obstitit; moenia fodimus, repulsi sumus; pugnavimus, [0536D] hoc unum prospere cessit: sed timendum est ne haec quam instare aiunt pugna, eo sit gravior quo numerosior. Ille hostium numerus quindecim millia fuit: hi sunt, ut perhibent, quater centena millia, hostium vires non cessant crescere, nec nostrae minui.

«Much and long, brothers, the present labor has vexed us; much and long, unless the eye of the Lord be over us, it will vex. We constructed machines; it openly opposed; we dug at the walls; we were repulsed; we fought—[0536D] this one thing turned out prosperously; but it is to be feared lest this battle which they say is at hand be the graver the more numerous it is. That number of the enemy was 15,000; these are, as they report, 400,000; the forces of the enemy do not cease to grow, nor ours to be diminished.

At respicite quae est firmitas urbis, quis sit situs: fossae ejus tria latera impervie ambiunt; quartum palus et fluvius, per circuitum muri, quibus si velit mundus pares astruere non habet; fontes intus scaturiunt, caetera ad usum vitae congregare sufficienter potuerunt, apud quos per adventus nostri minas annus transiit. O Antiochia, aut nunquam esses, aut nunquam obviasses! causa viae Jerusalem est, quid Antiochiae et nobis?

But consider what the city’s firmness is, what its site is: its fosses (moats) impassably encircle three sides; the fourth a marsh and a river, along the circuit of the wall, to which the world, if it should wish to construct equals, does not have the means; fountains well up within; the rest for the use of life they have been able sufficiently to gather, among whom, under the threats of our coming, a year has passed. O Antioch, either you had never been, or you had never met us! The cause of the journey is Jerusalem; what has Antioch to do with us?

quod si hanc post tergum dimittimus, si ab hac repulsi ultra progredimur, [0537A] nihil est actum, nihil restat sperandum. Hanc, inquam, si dimittimus, non ipsa nos dimittet: semper sequitur comes; sed ut verius dicam, adversatrix haec vias obstruet, haec a tergo, haec a fronte pugnabit, haec resistens, resistendi spem aliis dabit, quae capta omnes alias formidine involvisset. O moenia!

but if we let this slip behind our back, if, repulsed from it, we advance farther, [0537A] nothing has been done, nothing remains to be hoped. This, I say, if we let it go, it will not let us go: it always follows as a companion; but, to speak more truly, this adversary will obstruct the ways, this will fight from the rear, this from the front; this, by resisting, will give to others the hope of resisting—a city which, if captured, would have wrapped all the others in fear. O walls!

utinam aut nunquam surgeretis, aut procul ab oculis atque auribus nostris! Sed deliberemus, o proceres! conferamus in medio, proponamus praemium virtituti, excitabimus, spero, corda hominum audita summa praemiorum.

Would that you either never rose, or were far from our eyes and ears! But let us deliberate, O nobles! let us bring matters into the middle, let us propose a reward for virtue; we shall rouse, I hope, the hearts of men by the hearing of the highest rewards.

Respicite Saul quid fecerit, et de antiquis exempla sumamus. Non fuit in Hebraeis, qui contra Goliath surgeret, donec regis filia et libertas patriae domui promissa David suscitarunt. Aiunt intra se multi, atque etiam palam: [0537B] cui laboro?

Look back to Saul, what he did, and let us take examples from the ancients. There was not among the Hebrews one who would rise against Goliath, until the king’s daughter and the liberty of the fatherland, promised to his house, aroused David. Many say within themselves, and even openly: [0537B] for whom do I toil?

ad quid me crucio? cur vulnera excipio? ego vitam meam pretium Antiochiae dabo?

To what end do I torture myself? Why do I receive wounds? Shall I give my life as the price of Antioch?

ingratus quispiam nescio quis principabitur. Absit ego plorem, alius per lacrymas meas rideat ingratus. Quare agite, non moveat vos ambitus regnandi: sed potius viae coeptae consummatio: melius ipsa civitas illi contingat merces, si cujus ope nos receperit, quam praemii expers virtus torpeat, excusationem quam audistis objiciens.

some ungrateful person, I know not who, will hold the principate. Far be it that I should weep, while another, ungrateful, laughs through my tears. Wherefore, come: let not the ambition of reigning move you, but rather the consummation of the road begun: let the city itself better befall him as his reward, if by whose help he shall have received us back, than that virtue, devoid of reward, should grow torpid, alleging the excuse which you have heard.

Hoc est quod sanius, quod efficacius, quod praestantius, meditari, indagare, excogitare mens mea potest: discretio vestra, o proceres! si quid minus dixerim, suppleat; si plus, adimat; si male, mutet; si bene, annuat.»

This is what my mind can more sanely, more efficaciously, more preeminently meditate, investigate, excogitate: your discretion, O nobles! If I have said too little, let it supply; if too much, let it take away; if badly, let it change; if well, let it nod assent.»

LXV.- Principatus urbis ei promittitur per quem in ipsam futurus est aditus. [0537C]

65.- The principate of the city is promised to him, through whom there will be access into the city itself. [0537C]

Ad haec universus consilii favor: prius qui primi, qui post primos posterius pro dignitate sua singuli assonant: nemo non favet, omnes ei quicunque sit urbem annuunt, per quem aditus patebit. Tunc Boamundus: «Promissum, inquit, quod jurejurando obstringitur jam quasi datum est, ut transeat quodammodo futurum in praesens, spes in gaudium: quod si soluta ab hoc vinculo tantum sunt verba, quid confert autem? pollicitis dives quilibet esse potest: quare si cupitis ratum fieri, fixumque stare, quod promittitis conjuretis.» Nulla fit mora, nulla retractio, sicut moniti sunt jurant, etiam si majora his monuisset, in spem remedii parere non duri.

To this the entire favor of the council: first those who are first, those after the first later, each according to his dignity, sound in unison; there is none who does not favor; all nod assent to grant him the city, whoever he may be, through whom the access will be opened. Then Boamund: “The promise,” he says, “which is bound by an oath is now as if given, so that what is to come passes in a certain manner into the present, hope into joy; but if, loosed from this bond, they are only words, what does it profit? anyone can be rich in promises: wherefore, if you desire it to be made ratified and to stand fixed, swear together to what you promise.” No delay is made, no retraction; as they are advised they swear; even if he had advised greater things than these, to obey in hope of remedy was no hard thing.

Sic jam certior [0537D] experrectiorque Boamundus aliquot primatibus consilium suum aperit, omnibus ad ingrediendum parandum esse manifestius indicat, maturam opem adeo sub certa spe promittit. Tunc vale invicem dato, ad propria redeunt, funibus struendis dant operam. Ille maxime qui unus inter currentes bravium comprehendere intendit; ille accelerat, ille cogitat, ille totus de noctis proximae adventu pendet quae pigra sibi supra quod amicam exspectanti vel opus debentibus videtur.

Thus now more certain [0537D] and more fully awake, Boamundus opens his plan to several leading men, more plainly indicates that all must be prepared for entering, so far as under sure hope he promises timely aid. Then, with farewell given in turn, they return to their own places, and they set themselves to the contriving of ropes. Most of all he—that one man who among the runners intends to grasp the brabeum, the prize; he hastens, he ponders, he hangs wholly upon the coming of the next night, which seems to him sluggish beyond what it seems to one awaiting a sweetheart, or to those who owe their work.

LXVI.- Traditur civitas.

66.- The city is surrendered.

Ea tandem cum advenisset, medio omnia tenente silentio, Boamundus promissam sibi turrim non sine multo sudore pedes adit, neque enim loci asperitas equos admittebat: eundo tamen nuntium [0538A] praemittit, qui excubet, qui praevideat, si tutus satis est ad moenia accessus. Sanctus ille proditor hujusmodi signum dederat abscedens: «Cum veneris, inquit, domine mi, nuntium ad pedem turris meae praemitte; ego in muris sedulus excubabo: si prospera omnia, lapidem post lapidem demittam, si adest periculum, unus indicabit.» Ad haec igitur discernendum excubator praemissus, turri appropians statim agnoscitur, agnitus prosperitatis signum accipit, rediens annuntiat quod audivit. Boamundus ergo, sicut coeperat, ad moenia pervenit, funem deforis pendentem invenit, in eo suos ligat, Armenus trahit; cumque satis firmos struxisset nexus, juventus volucris pennata corpora accincti gladiis per funes volant, Gouel Carnotensis [0538B] primus, sicut aquila provocans pullos suos ad volandum, et super eos volitans, vir ille nobilis, et a puero nihil esuriens ut laudem neque sitiens, non propter vitam laudari, sed propter laudem vivere cupiebat.

When she at last had arrived, with silence holding everything in the midst, Boamundus approaches on foot the tower promised to him, not without much sweat; for the roughness of the place did not admit horses. As he goes, however, he sends ahead a messenger [0538A] to keep watch, to foresee whether the approach to the walls is safe enough. That holy traitor, departing, had given a sign of this sort: «When you come, said he, my lord, send a messenger to the foot of my tower; I will keep diligent watch upon the walls: if all is prosperous, I will let fall stone after stone; if danger is present, one will indicate it.» Therefore, to discern these things, the sentry sent ahead, approaching the tower, is at once recognized; recognized, he receives the sign of prosperity; returning, he announces what he has heard. Boamundus therefore, as he had begun, reaches the walls, finds a rope hanging outside; on it he fastens his men; the Armenian pulls; and when he had constructed bonds sufficiently firm, the winged youth, their bodies feathered, girt with swords, fly along the ropes, Gouel the Carnotensian [0538B] first, like an eagle urging its chicks to fly and hovering over them—that noble man, and from boyhood hungering and thirsting for nothing so much as praise, wishing not to be praised for life, but to live for praise.

Primo tacitum est, dum paucitas multitudinem formidavit: at ubi multitudo introducta, formidinem exclusit; jam in leones vertit animus, quos aquilis similaverat ascensus.

At first it was silent, while their paucity dreaded the multitude: but when the multitude had been introduced, it excluded fear; now their spirit turned into lions, whom the ascent had likened to eagles.

LXVII.- Caedes civium.

67.- Massacre of citizens.

Currunt ad portas, quibus si quis occurrit, occumbit. Primus gladios eorum expertus est, in cujus primam turrim descenderunt, illius sui introductoris germanus, quem secreti hujus frater reliquerat ignarum, ne gnarum facere hoc esset sibi suisque patibulum struere. Illo itaque sociisque custodiae [0538C] repentino gladio jugulatis, fit clamor, quo turres aliae tremiscunt, fugiunt vigiles quibus licet, aliis ipsae factae tumuli, sepultos servant a quibus modo servabantur; sic ad portas descendunt nostri, propiorem in occasu, repagulis excisis, Boamundo aperiunt alteram quae boream excipit et pontem Raimundo.

They run to the gates, and whoever meets them meets his death. The first to experience their swords was the brother-german of that introducer of theirs, into whose foremost tower they descended—whom the brother of this secret had left ignorant, lest to make him knowing of it should be to erect a gallows for himself and his own. With him, therefore, and his fellow watchmen of the guard [0538C] cut down by a sudden sword, a clamor arises, at which the other towers tremble; the sentries flee who can, for others the towers themselves, having become burial-mounds, keep the buried by whom just now they were being kept; thus our men go down to the gates, the one nearer to the west, with the bars cut away; they open the other, which faces the north, for Bohemond, and the bridge for Raymond.

Ad illam per abrupta per avia Boamundus descenderat, hanc de proximo diu obsederat Raimundus, qui audito tumultu de intus, mox adest nihil cunctatus. Fuerat illa curarum maxima, ille timor magnus, ne introductis nostris, occurreret civitas, portas tueretur, auxilium excluderet; at miserante populum suum Christo, dum hi veniunt, illi fugiunt; portae custodia vacantes facile patent, [0538D] ubi secures altrinsecae in mediae trabis excidium laborant. Nox hactenus Christianis obsecuta est, aurora rutilat, dies accelerans tantum nocti gaudium invidet.

To that one by steep places, through trackless ways, Bohemond had descended; this one from close at hand Raymond had long besieged, who, hearing the tumult from within, is at once present, delaying nothing. That had been the greatest of cares, that the great fear: lest, with our men brought in, the city should run to meet them, guard the gates, shut out the aid; but Christ, having pity on His people, while these come, those flee; the gates, lacking a guard, lie open easily, [0538D] where axes from the other side labor at the cutting-out of the middle beam. Night has thus far obeyed the Christians; the dawn reddens; the hastening day begrudges to the night so much joy.

Igitur orta luce, Christiani palatia irrumpunt, captae urbi insultant, latibula rimantur, aurum, parvulos, matronas, puellas, praeterea quid quisque invenit, arripit; mares quod bellicosum est trucidat, quod imbelle reservat. At cives, qui promptus fugae, qui pede celer, relictis omnibus, in montem fugiunt, saucium pater filium non exspectat, sed nec filius patrem grandaevum.

Therefore, with light arisen, the Christians burst into the palaces, overrun the captured city, ransack the hiding-places; gold, little children, matrons, maidens—besides whatever each one finds—he snatches; as for the males, whatever is warlike they butcher, whatever is unwarlike they reserve. But the citizens, whoever is prompt for flight, whoever is swift of foot, with everything left behind, flee to the mountain; a father does not await his wounded son, nor the son his very aged father.

LXVIII.- Princeps Antiochiae Cassianus fuga sibi consulit.

68.- Cassianus, prince of Antioch, provides for himself by flight.

Situm in summa rupe castrum multos recepit, quam plurimi excluduntur, quos Christianus ensis [0539A] obvius avertit: hi pars in montem corruunt, quidam per interiores gradus ascendunt muros, dant saltum foras, exitialem aliis, atque aliis redivivum. Latus illud urbis, ut supra dictum est, obsessore vacabat; ideoque quos egrediendi licentia expediebat; visum est illis aptum fugae divortium. Ipse etiam princeps Cassianus verticem gladio, tergum lancea, jaculo saucius femur hac evaserat, quantumque nox, diluculum, calcar, equus adjuverant, jam prope Rubeam oppidum elongaverat: illic equo destitutus, ac tenebris in fruteto absconditur, sperans sive de praesenti luce viatorem opiferum, vel saltem de nocte instanti tenebras fugae solatium: hac in spe miser ille saucius, ut dixi, anhelus, sitiens, arrectis auribus, oculis ad vias intentis, [0539B] in dumo latitabat, lepusculo similis quem catulorum faucibus ereptum vepris celat.

The fortress situated on the highest crag received many; very many are shut out, whom the Christian sword, meeting them, [0539A] turns away: these—some tumble down the mountain, some by interior steps climb the walls, give a leap outward, deadly to some, and to others life-restoring. That side of the city, as was said above, was free of a besieger; and therefore, those whom the license of going out unimpeded, it seemed to them a fitting outlet for flight. The prince himself, Cassianus—his crown by a sword, his back by a lance, his thigh by a javelin wounded—had thus escaped, and, so far as night, dawn, the spur, and the horse had aided, had already gotten far, near the town Rubea: there, bereft of his horse, and by the darkness hidden in a thicket, he hides himself, hoping either by the present light for some wayfarer bringing help, or at least from the oncoming night the shadows as a solace for flight: in this hope that wretched wounded man, as I said, gasping, thirsty, with ears pricked and eyes intent upon the roads, [0539B] lay hid in a briar, like a little hare whom, snatched from the jaws of the whelps, a bramble conceals.

Proh mundi gloria! Quid nunc eo infelicius? idem heri Antiochiae princeps, Syriae dominator ac Phoeniciae, Assyriae terror, regum orientalium potentissimus, uni Solidano qui regnum Persida regnaverat, secundus; sed dum tantis miser vexaretur angustiis, sitis acrior viscera torrebat, viso ruricola aquae amphoram bajulante; illi innuit, accessit, bibit.

O the glory of the world! What now is more unhappy than him? The same man who yesterday was prince of Antioch, lord of Syria and Phoenicia, terror of Assyria, the most powerful of the eastern kings, second only to the Soldan who had ruled the Persian realm; but while the wretch was vexed by such great straits, a sharper thirst was scorching his vitals, and, seeing a countryman bearing an amphora of water, he signaled to him, he approached, he drank.

Aspiciens rusticus habitum, faciem contemplatur, stupensque ad casum et vulnera: «Heu! inquit, domine mi princeps, cui de te tantum licuit, cujus in te tanta surrexit audacia?» agnoverat enim eum, ut semper plebis oculi ad regiam majestatem intenduntur: stupebat ergo eventus adhuc recentis ignarus.

Beholding the attire, the rustic contemplates the face, and, astonished at the downfall and the wounds: “Alas!” he says, “my lord prince, to whom was so much permitted against you, whose so great audacity has risen up against you?” For he had recognized him, as the eyes of the common people are always directed toward royal majesty; therefore he was amazed, ignorant of the still-recent outcome.

LXIX.- A rustico occiditur. [0539C]

69.- He is killed by a rustic. [0539C]

Tunc Cassianus misertori infelicitatis suae fidem adhibens, simul metuens ne dissimulando diffideret, diffidendo vices hostis exsequi videretur: «Perdita est, inquit, Antiochia, Franci tenent. Ego qualem vides terno lac vulnere vix aufugi: at tu, obsecro, ne palam facias: vesperi scilicet fugae operam dabo. Tu mercedem quam maximam a me, si evasero, exspecta.» Vulgus fortunam sequitur, qua ridente, multos in eo numerabit amicos; eadem tristi, diffugiunt siccatis cadis cum faece, ferre jugum pariter dolosi.

Then Cassianus, lending trust to the pitier of his misfortune, and at the same time fearing lest by dissimulating he should seem to distrust, and by distrusting to seem to execute the offices of an enemy: «Antioch is lost, he says, the Franks hold it. I, such as you see, with a triple wound, scarcely escaped; but you, I beseech, do not make it public: this evening, namely, I will give myself to flight. You, expect from me the greatest reward, if I get out.» The common crowd follows Fortune; when she smiles, he will count many friends in his number; when the same is grim, they scatter, the jars dried with the dregs, deceitful to bear the yoke equally.

Attonitus tanto, tam repentino casu rusticus, apud se non est, infremit spiritu, stupet, deliberat tandem quid in tanto rerum cardine [0539D] sit agendum. Statim tractat interitum ejus, cujus modo vulnera miserabatur, in qua re duo pensat: accessum facilem, effectum utilem. Si hunc occiderit, praesto est merces, vestes regiae et equus, ad haec Francorum gratia: praeferenda tamen his fuerant amicus Christus, cujus inimicum interemisset, et de tanti nece principis laus immortalis, quae in mortem multos impulit mortales: sed haec aliena a mente rustica nobile nihil attendente: sic utilitatem considerat.

Astounded at so great, so sudden a calamity, the rustic is not in possession of himself; he growls in spirit, he is stupefied, at length he deliberates what in so great a hinge-point of affairs [0539D] ought to be done. Straightway he plots the destruction of him whose wounds he had just now pitied, in which matter he weighs two things: an easy access, a useful effect. If he should kill this man, the reward is at hand—royal garments and a horse, and in addition the favor of the Franks; yet to be preferred to these would have been Christ the friend, whose enemy he would have slain, and the immortal praise from the killing of so great a prince, which has impelled many mortals into death; but these things are alien to a rustic mind, which attends to nothing noble: thus he considers utility.

Porro fessum, exsanguem, seminecem, solum, inermem videt facile arbitratur, vitae [0540A] quod restat exstinguere. Quid plura? immemor honesti, pietate neglecta, servus dominum clava sublata dilaniat, cerebrum spargit, spolia satis arcta ingentibus praeferens promissis.

Moreover, he sees him weary, bloodless, half-dead, alone, unarmed; he easily deems it right to extinguish what remains of life [0540A]. What more? Forgetful of the honorable, piety neglected, the servant, with the club raised, lacerates his master, scatters his brain, preferring the tightly bundled spoils to the enormous promises.

LXX.- Tancredus hujusce expeditionis se conscium non fuisse conqueritur.

70.- Tancred complains that he had not been privy to this very expedition.

Tancredus interea ignarus omnium quae acciderant , [0539D] more suo vias procul ab urbe obsidebat, quae introitum exitumque saepius indulserant urbanis: cum ergo a profugis illac egressis captisque res gestas accepisset: «Heu mihi! heu! ingeminat, qui in tanto tam ineffabili gaudio solus cogor dolere.

Meanwhile Tancred, ignorant of all that had happened , [0539D] according to his custom was besieging the roads far from the city, which had more often indulged entrance and exit to the townsmen: when therefore he had received the events from the fugitives who had gone out that way and been captured: «Alas for me! alas! he reiterates, I who in so great, so ineffable a joy am alone compelled to grieve.

Proh pudor! quis laboravit, et ego quievi? qualis excubavit, et ego stertui?

For shame! someone labored, and I rested? what sort kept vigil, and I snored?

O Boamunde, Boamunde! aliis palam fecisti, clam mihi: o cognate sanguis! [0540B] hoccine fuit cognati sanguinis?

O Bohemond, Bohemond! you made it plain to others, secret from me: o cognate blood! [0540B] was this then befitting cognate blood?

Absentasti me, cujus praesentiam noveras in hac tanta militia primas partes non declinare. Noveras si adessem, primus ad moenia currerem, primus funes apprehenderem, primus supervolarem, primus detruncarem: hanc mihi gloriam invidisti, quanquam tibi eam vires, aetas, fortasse animus negabant. O felix ille, quicunque est, qui has Domino Deo nostro primitias libavit!

You absented me, whose presence you knew would not decline the foremost part in this so great military service. You knew that, if I were present, I would be first to run to the walls, first to seize the ropes, first to fly over, first to hew down: this glory you begrudged me, although strength, age, perhaps spirit denied it to you. O happy that man, whoever he is, who has offered these first-fruits as a libation to our Lord God!

sed properemus, o socii, praecursum amisimus, saltem subsequamur. Neque enim haec ille etiam auferet, qui vos pauperes fecit, me inglorium. At qui finxit sigillatim corda hominum, qui intelligit opera ipsorum, ipse judicet, ipse vindicet.» Haec fatus Antiochiam venit, gaudium invenit, et ipse qui modo flebat cum flentibus, jam cum [0540C] gaudentibus gaudet: quippe gaudium commune, privatam de corde nobili expellit tristitiam.

But let us hasten, O comrades, we have lost the advance; at least let us follow after. For he will not also take these away, he who made you poor, me inglorious. But let him who fashioned severally the hearts of men, who understands their works, himself judge, himself vindicate.» Having said these things, he came to Antioch, he found joy, and he himself who just now was weeping with those who weep, now rejoices with [0540C] those who rejoice: for common joy expels private sadness from a noble heart.

Accedit tamen et communi laetitia parva, quod relicti ad tutelam castrorum, pars militiae audito turbarum sonitu, cum Boamundo introierant, absentique domino palatium praeparaverant insigne: jamque introgressis omnibus qui principabantur, solus Blesensis comes aufuit; seu merita superum ira, seu fortunae invidia pudenter exclusus.

Yet there was also a small addition to the common rejoicing: for those left for the guardianship of the camp, a part of the soldiery, on hearing the sound of the tumult, had gone in with Bohemond and had prepared the palace in distinguished fashion for their lord in his absence; and now, when all who were in command had entered, the Count of Blois alone was missing—whether, by the deserved wrath of the supernal ones, or by Fortune’s envy, modestly excluded.

LXXI .

71 .

Accidit per id temporis quiddam inopinabile sine exemplo casus, cujus generis nec antecessisse nec secutum esse prodigium aetas prisca meminit, aut praesens. Considebant Boamundo vocati ad coenam [0540D] comites, Flandrensis dexter, laevus Boloniensis: aderat multa plebis palatio in eodem frequentia, pars discumbentes, pars ministri, ut fit ubi principes tanti tres ad mensam conveniunt. Cibus tacitos facit; potus, quod per quemdam prudentem dictum est, loquaces: librabat Boamundus dextra cultellum post coenam, cum Flandriae comes alludens sic ait: «Quid sibi vult haec libratio?

It happened at that time something unexpected, an unprecedented mishap, of which kind neither the ancient age nor the present remembers that a prodigy had preceded or ensued. The counts, summoned to supper [0540D] were sitting with Boamundus, the Count of Flanders at the right, the Count of Boulogne at the left; there was present in the same palace a great throng of the common people, some reclining, some attendants, as happens where three princes of such stature come together at table. Food makes [men] silent; drink, as was said by a certain prudent man, [makes them] loquacious. Boamundus was balancing a little knife in his right hand after supper, when the Count of Flanders, jesting, thus said: «What does this balancing mean?

manifestum est, video, solliciti signum, non eget curis hoc tempus, hora est gaudii, non curarum: Imo, inquit Boamundus, domine comes, alia est res, praesentia [0541A] vestra non me sinit esse sollicitum, cui ludum struo dum trutino cultellum: Hunc cujus grossitudo caeteros premit (et ardebat coram eo caeteris grossior super candelabrum cereus) hunc, inquit, semel ictum in duo dispertiam.» Visus est comitibus sermo delirus, et quem nulla possit sequi effectus facultas: quapropter subjicit Flandrensis: «Aggredere quod jactas, princeps, voti compotem donabo chlamide mea; tu vero impos me tua ne abnuas donare.» Conceditur: qui mox sublato B. ictu astantem dissecat cereum, descendens quippe ex obliquo dextra facilem caute impetravit sectionem. Fit itaque cereus unus duo, quod dictu est mirabile, ardens ardentes: ardet quae ardens deciderat pars superior; ardet inferior quae fixa astabat, neminis [0541B] manu admoto igne per se accensa. Aspicientium stupent mentes, omine acti actor ipse terretur.

“It is clear, I see, a sign of anxiety; this time has no need of cares; it is an hour of joy, not of worries.” “Nay rather,” said Bohemond, “my lord count, it is another matter; your presence [0541A] does not allow me to be anxious; for you I set up a game while I poise the little knife. This one, whose thickness presses the others (and before him there burned upon the candlestick a candle thicker than the rest), this one,” he said, “with a single stroke I will divide into two.” The speech seemed to the counts delirious, and such that no capacity of effect could follow; wherefore the Fleming subjoins: “Undertake what you boast, prince; if you obtain your wish, I will present you with my mantle; but you, if you prove unable, do not refuse to present me with yours.” It is agreed: and he, presently with the blow raised, cuts the standing candle; indeed, bringing it down obliquely with his right hand, he carefully achieved an easy section. Thus the one candle becomes two—marvelous to say—burning, burning: the upper part, which had fallen down still burning, burns; the lower part, which had stood fixed, burns, [0541B] kindled of itself with no one’s hand applied to the fire. The minds of the onlookers are astounded; affected by the omen, the actor himself is terrified.

Volitante populum rei fama, ex omni atrio, ex omni officina accurritur, stupetur, nequeunt expleri corda tuendo, adhuc stupentibus iis, adhuc mirantibus, ille subito accensus subito quoque ignis exstinguitur, augurium triste. Quod si societatem integram manendi pereundique cera et flamma conservassent, longa haereditas, longa promitteretur successio, ad supremum saeculi diem perducenda: quia vero ortus evanuit quod succreverat igniculus, sobolis quidem aruspices promittunt spem futurae, at mox transiturae. Ostendent, aiunt, terris hunc tantum fata, nec ultra esse sinent, et caetera quae subdidit Mantuanus: quae nos in nece Boamundi [0541C] junioris vidimus completa.

With the rumor of the affair flitting among the people, from every atrium, from every workshop they run together, they are astounded, their hearts cannot be sated by gazing; while they are still astonished, still marveling, that one suddenly kindled, suddenly the fire too is extinguished—a sad augury. If the wax and the flame had preserved an integral fellowship of remaining and perishing, a long inheritance, a long succession would be promised, to be brought down to the last day of the age; but since the rising little spark that had grown up vanished, the soothsayers do indeed promise hope of offspring to come, but soon to pass away. “The fates will show him to the lands only this much,” they say, “nor will they allow him beyond,” and the rest which the Mantuan subjoined: which we saw fulfilled in the death of Boamundus [0541C] the younger.

Prodigii novitas comitem defendit: non est de oppignerata chlamide ramentum, imo opes atque inopia, hae principem illa comitem circumvallantes. Itaque non solum quod debetur non exigitur: verum etiam plurimo comes munere cumulatur.

The novelty of the prodigy defends the Count: there is not a scrap from the pawned cloak; rather, opulence and indigence—these surrounding the prince, that the Count. Therefore not only is what is owed not exacted: but the Count is even piled up with a very great gift.

LXXII.- Christiani urbe potiti ab infidelibus innumeris obsidentur.

72.- The Christians, having gained possession of the city, are besieged by innumerable infidels.

Dies illa dies gaudii fuit, at crastina moeroris. Corbozan regis Persarum dux cum quadringentis millibus equitum adest, urbem obsidet, inclusis mortem minatur et carcerem. Haec audiens Blesensis comes, quantum licet maturat fugam, instar victoriae reputans, si evadere datur sociis, praesentibus [0541D] morti addictis.

That day was a day of joy, but the next of grief. Corbozan, the general of the king of the Persians, arrives with 400,000 horsemen; he besieges the city, and threatens death and prison to those shut within. Hearing these things, the Count of Blois hastens flight as far as is permitted, accounting it tantamount to a victory if escape is granted to his companions, [0541D] who at present are consigned to death.

Igitur Graeciam versus revertens, imperatori Alexio apud Cuthai civitatem Lyciae obviat cum Graecis centum millibus in auxilium Francorum festinanti. Veniebat cum eo Guido Boamundi frater, et quidam alii Francorum nobiles circiter decem millia armatos habentes. Cum ergo de obsessis Francis, de obsessoribus Persis imperator a Stephano rumorem accepisset: fama est primo eum voluisse succurrere, sed ejus qui incitare debuit, verbis revocatum, cessasse.

Therefore, turning back toward Greece, he meets Emperor Alexius at Cuthai, a city of Lycia, hastening with one hundred thousand Greeks to the aid of the Franks. With him was coming Guy, brother of Boamund, and certain other nobles of the Franks, having about ten thousand armed men. When therefore the emperor had received a report from Stephen concerning the Franks besieged and the Persians besieging, rumor has it that at first he wished to succor them, but, recalled by the words of the one who ought to have incited him, he held back.

Respondit Stephanus, aiunt, de Persarum numero consultus; si, inquit, domine mi, exercitus hic tuus illi pro esca daretur: non sufficeret ut unusquisque modicum quid accipiat. Territus verbo imperator, in Graeciam refugit, oppida, rura, casas per quae redit incendio vastat, post se [0542A] populos trahit, ne forte suis ipse alimentis hostem pasceret instantem. Voluit Guido, vixque retentus est, quamvis Graeco destitutus auxilio, Christicolis opem ferre inclusis: sed eodem quo imperator dehortante retrahitur.

Stephen answered, they say, when consulted about the number of the Persians; “if,” he says, “my lord, this army of yours were handed over to them for food: it would not suffice for each man to receive even a small portion.” Terrified by the word, the emperor fled back into Greece, ravages with fire the towns, fields, and cottages through which he returns, draws the peoples after him [0542A], lest perhaps he himself should feed the pressing enemy with his own provisions. Guy wished—and was scarcely held back—although deprived of Greek aid, to bring help to the Christians shut in; but he is drawn back by the same one who discouraged the emperor.

LXXIII.- Dira fame affliguntur

73.- They are afflicted by dire famine

Interea septos hostili milite Francos,Moenibus inclusos, Persarum spicula passos,Dira fames cruciat; res dura, sed asperior spes.Nulla quies miseris: hinc monte pluente sagittas,Illinc planitie, cohibent hanc murus et unda.Montem nihil horum: mons pervius incitat hostem.Ergo dies bellum, bellum nox excit opacaSumma tenent Turci, defendunt ima Latini.Adversum innumeras stat lancea pauca sagittas, [0542B] Dispar certamen, numerus, vires, locus, arma;Omnia disparia, praestant haec omnia Turcis.Tantum animi Francis animis praestantibus, omnemTristitiam pellunt: superant quibus omnia praestant,Consilium faciunt, qua declinare laboremArte queunt: oculique leves inducere somnos.

Meanwhile dire famine torments the Franks, shut in by hostile soldiery, enclosed by the walls, having suffered the darts of the Persians; a hard plight, but harsher their hope. No rest for the wretched: on this side, with the mountain raining arrows, on that side, the plain; a wall and wave hem this in. None of these restrain the mountain: the passable mountain incites the enemy. Therefore day rouses war, dark night rouses war. The Turks hold the heights, the Latins defend the lows. Against innumerable arrows stand a few lances; [0542B] unequal the contest—number, forces, place, arms; all unequal, and all these things are advantageous to the Turks. Only in spirit do the Franks, with outstanding souls, drive away all sadness: they overcome, though all things are advantageous against them; they take counsel, by what art they can bend aside the toil, and their eyes to draw on light slumbers.

LXXIV.- Resistunt et propugnacula instruunt.

74.- They resist and build ramparts.

Caementum, lapides, perpendicula, artificesque,Funes, vasa, dolabra parant; cunctisque paratis,Nocturni fabricant, bona res, lucem tamen odit;Exit opus noctem, redeunt in luce sagittae,Lancea stat contra, dumque instat, fabrica surgit.Dum refugit, cessat; sic fortunam inter utramque. [0542C] Construitur murus, Turcis descensibus obex,Si sit opus lignis, ut materiam petat ignis;Illuc ad sparsas juga mitte bis octo sagittas,Accipias reduces fluidos sudore jugales.Nemo redit vacuus, pharetras implere paratus;Ergo aliquam nactos, sed vix utcunque quietem:Serius infigunt jam Partica spicula Francos,Jam versant alias alio discrimine curas,Omnimoda populus lacryma, anxietate, labore,Plagis, esurie, curis, algore, calore;Quod poterant avidi carpebant nocte soporem.Ille loco panis ventres pascebat inanis.

Cement, stones, plumb‑lines, and craftsmen, ropes, vessels, and mattocks they prepare; and with all things made ready, they build by night— a good thing, yet it hates the light; the work goes forth at night, in the light the arrows return; the lance stands against them, and while it presses on, the structure rises; while it draws back, it ceases—thus between either fortune. [0542C] A wall is built, a barrier to Turkish descents, if there be need of wood, that the fire may seek its material; thither to the scattered ridges send twice eight (16) arrows, you will receive back yoke‑beasts running with sweat. No one returns empty, ready to fill the quivers; therefore they obtained some rest, but scarcely in any wise. Later the Parthian shafts now fix themselves in the Franks; now they turn to other cares with a different peril— the people with every sort of tear, anxiety, toil, wounds, hunger, cares, cold, heat; what sleep they could, they greedily snatched by night. In place of bread an empty belly was feeding their stomachs.

LXXV.- Dum indulgent somno hostis instat.

75.- While they indulge in sleep the enemy presses on.

Dum gens stertebat, murus custode carebat: [0542D] Nam, sic vulgus ait, male servat qui bene stertit,Cujus erant summae latebrosa palatia causae,Vicatim clamans, o surgite, surgite, praeco;Hostis adest, turres ascendit, jam tenet urbem:Vos quae pigra quies? miseri succurrite vobis.Haec dum clamat, ad haec clamata ita surgitur ac siIsmarus et Rodope, quas durat Thracia rupesSurgere jussa forent, jussi clamoribus iisdem,Hinc proceres statuunt latebrasque sedesque cremare:Aedibus accensis, custodes murus habebit.

While the folk were snoring,the wall lacked a guard: [0542D] For,thus the vulgar say,he keeps ill who snores well,whose palaces of supreme causes were full of hiding-places,the crier shouting ward by ward,O rise,rise,herald;The enemy is at hand,he climbs the towers,now he holds the city:What is this sluggish repose of yours? wretches,help yourselves.While he shouts these things,at these shouts they rise just as if Ismarus and Rhodope,which the Thracian crag hardens,had been bidden to rise,bidden by the same shouts,Thence the nobles resolve to burn the hiding-places and seats:With the houses set alight,the wall will have guards.

LXXVI.- Robertus urbem incendit ut mox adsit miles.

76.- Robert sets the city on fire so that the soldiery may soon be at hand.

Flandrigena huic operi Robertus adesse monetur:Impiger ipse pigros celer excit, et hac ope tardos,Ne pereant magni, dum tractant otia parvi [0543A] Fit quod dictum est, urbem Robertus et igneVastat, et urbanos dum servat moenia salvat.Si recte memini, Provincia miserat illos,Quos umbrae pigros, celeres flamma addita fecit;Illa secus montem, sed non tamen in pede montis.At vicina pedi gens atria maxima habebat,Primos introitus portis sortita reclusis,Primo quas placuit summas elegerat aedes,Principis hinc etiam Raimundo contigit aula,Inde quies genti partim aegra, superbaque partim:Ast ubi Vulcanus depascit culmina, surguntQui pigritabantur, piget indulsisse quieti.Currunt ad muros, propter tentoria figunt.Pars tegetes fabricant, sic proxima perditioniMoenia servantur, sic damnis damna levantur, [0543B] Sic generale malum cessans, in particulariSancit quod legitur: dolor est medicina doloris.

Robert the Fleming is advised to be present for this work: the industrious man himself swiftly rouses the sluggards, and by this aid the slow, lest the great perish while the small pursue idlenesses. [0543A] What was said comes to pass: Robert devastates the city also with fire, and, while he preserves the townsmen, he saves the walls. If I remember rightly, Provence had sent those whom the shades made sluggish, whom the added flame made swift; that part was along the mountain, yet not at the foot of the mountain. But a people near the foot had very great atria, having obtained the first entrances with the gates thrown open; first they had chosen the highest houses as it pleased; hence the hall of the prince Raymond too fell to them; thence rest to the people, partly ailing and partly proud: but when Vulcan feeds upon the rooftops, those who had been slothful arise; they regret having indulged in rest. They run to the walls, they pitch tents nearby. Some fashion thatches; thus the walls nearest to perdition are preserved, thus by losses losses are lightened, [0543B] thus, the general evil ceasing, in the particular it ratifies what is read: pain is the medicine of pain.

LXXVII.- Templa et palatia ignis consumit.

77.- The fire consumes temples and palaces.

Urbs accensa magis accenditur, ac magis, eheu!Excedit medicina modum, domibusque nocentiIgne pererratis, innoxia templa cremantur:Templa, quibus visis stupuisset pictor Achivus,Auri fusor Arabs, sculptores Scottus et Anglus.O quantam, quam materiam decor ille tegebatQuippe columnarum pariis de cautibus ordo;Forma pavimenti, vitreum mare, par cristalliDe cedris Libani fragrantia tigna, CoatusExsecuere trabes de silvis aetheritangis:Marmor Atlas, vitrum Tyrus, aes Cyprus, Anglia ferrum. [0543C] Singula regna suas studuerunt mittere gazas:Et quamvis furnus latens coquat AntiochenusPlumbum, aiunt, templis misisse Amathonta tegendis,Alterius domini culturam mater habebat:Alterum erat Jacobi dubitatur an ense necati,An ligno necti de templo praecipitati.Tales materiae, tantum decus, hoc perit igne.

The city, once enkindled, is kindled yet more—and more, alas! The remedy exceeds its measure, and, the noxious fire having wandered through the houses, the harmless temples are burned: temples at the sight of which the Achaean painter would have stood amazed, the Arab caster of gold, the Scot and the English sculptors. O how great—what material—that adornment covered: indeed a row of columns from Parian crags; the fashion of the pavement, a vitreous sea, the peer of crystal; fragrant beams from the cedars of Lebanon; bands hewed the timbers from forests that touch the aether; marble from Atlas, glass from Tyre, bronze from Cyprus, iron from England. [0543C] Each realm strove to send its treasures; and although the hidden furnace of Antioch smelts lead, they say Amathus sent lead to roof the temples. One held the worship of the Lord’s Mother; the other was James’s—there is doubt whether he was slain by the sword, or, bound to the wood, was cast headlong from the temple. Such materials, such great adornment, by this fire perish.

LXXVIII.- Servatis muris, instat nihilominus hostis.

78.- With the walls preserved, nonetheless the enemy presses on.

Sed jam servatis tanto discrimine muris,Hostis adhuc instat: custodes fallere tentat,Nox cavet insidias, lux spernit scire cavendas.Qui spectant altis de rupibus inferiora,Cuncta palam spectant, qui stertit, quis vigilatve, [0543D] Quae tutore carent partes, quae praeside gaudent.Gens Alemannorum frontem quae spectat ad EurumNoctu servabat, somnis in luce vacabat:Saepius haec Turci summa de rupe videntes,Spem capiunt somnis ascendere posse sub illis.Scalas ergo parant, veniunt ad moenia furtim:Ilicet ascendunt, nullo prohibente, jacebantCustodes miseri, quasi morte sopore soluti:Plurimus in turres jam scanderat arcus et ensis,Cum de longinquo cernuntur talia muro.Fit clamor, fremit urbs tandem sopita resurgitTurba stupet, visis prope se discurrere Turcis.Pars gladios stringunt, pars diffugiunt stupefacti:Qui stringunt feriunt, qui diffugiunt feriuntur,Instant Christicolae, fugiunt ad moenia Persae. [0544A] Felix cui scalae vel cordae contigit usus,Cui neutrae infelix: de moenibus exsilit altisAudax in silices, timidus strictos fugit enses,Dum tandem exciti surgunt, urgent Alemanni,Turba Latinorum, pudor! ut testantur et ipsi,Per plateas Graeci clamantes Caco Alemanni.

But now, with the walls preserved at so great a peril, the Enemy still presses on: he tries to deceive the guards; by night one is wary of ambushes, by day one disdains to know what must be guarded against. Those who look down from high crags upon the lower parts see all things openly—who is snoring and who is awake, [0543D] which sectors lack a protector, which rejoice in a commander. The people of the Alemanni whose front faces the Eurus kept watch by night; in the light they were free for sleep. The Turks, often seeing these things from the summit of the cliff, take hope that they can climb up beneath them while they are in sleep. Therefore they prepare ladders, they come to the walls stealthily: straightway they climb, with no one preventing; the wretched guards were lying there, as if loosened by death by sleep. Many a bow and sword had already climbed into the towers, when from afar such things are perceived from the wall. A clamor arises, the city roars; at last the slumbering city rises again; the crowd is amazed, seeing Turks running about near them. Some draw swords, some flee in stupefaction: those who draw strike, those who scatter are struck; the Christ-worshipers press on, the Persians flee to the walls. [0544A] Happy he to whom the use of ladders or of ropes befell; unlucky he to whom neither: from the high walls the bold man leaps onto flints, the timid flees drawn swords; while at last, roused, they rise up, the Alemanni press them; the crowd of Latins—shame!—as they themselves attest, the Greeks through the streets shouting, “Caco, Alemanni.”

LXXIX.- Obsessos fames urgens ab urbe nobiles quosdam exire compellit.

79.- Pressing hunger compels certain nobles, the besieged, to go out from the city.

Nec tunc destitit fortuna lacessere Christum,Seu Christi famulos, superata resurgere tentatAquila, succubuit scandens, ingressaque murosDescensum egressumque parat: nihil intentatumLinquens, nunc dextra tractat, nunc arma sinistra;Dicens, si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.Christicolas clausos patientes aspera luce, [0544B] Aspera nocte fames omni crudelior hosteAffligit, lacerat, consumit, macerat, inflat.Trux here, nunc trucior, cras, postcras saevior, atqueSaevior accedit, quanto magis esca recedit.Quae tanta macie, tanta inter taedia vitaeExpers auxilii, pars militiae fugiendiConsilium tractat; proba, nobilis, inclyta belloUsque sub hoc tempus, dignissima laude juventus,Wilhelmus fratresque sui, Albericus, et Ivo.Isti tres cognomen habent de Grente Maisnil,De Fontenella Radulphus et is Turonensis:At fratres, pudet, heu! pudet, heu! Normannia misit.Illud ubique genus victoria, gloria mundi,Anglorum-victor-populus, victor Siculorum, [0544C] Victor Graecorum, Capuanorum, Apulicorum;Cui Cenomanensis, Calaber, cui servit et Affer,Cui Japix, horum patitur de stirpe pudorem.Admoniti plures illorum voce fuerunt,Ut fierent tanti comites ad foedera probri:Sed Deus, Arnulfusque suus parere paratosArcent, et turpi revocant a conditione:Ast oblita Dei, patriaeque, suique juventusIlla probrosa viae coeptrix, auctorque pudendae,Perstat in incoepto, nullo revocabilis ore:Egregium factu rata, praeclarumque relatu:Si reliquis caesis, haec se substraxerit hosti.Ergo struit funes, structis quibus atque ligatis,Pendula de muro fit noctua nocte volando:Sic nocturna fugit, fuga sole oriente patescit, [0544D] Moxque fit edictum ne quis dissolvere funes.Audeat, opprobrii monimentum posteritati.

Nor then did Fortune cease to provoke Christ, or Christ’s servants; the Eagle, though overcome, attempts to rise again, it sank as it climbed, and, having entered the walls, it prepares a descent and an egress: leaving nothing untried, now it handles with the right, now weapons with the left; saying, If I cannot move the gods above, I will move Acheron. The Christ-worshipers, shut in, patient in harsh daylight, [0544B] in harsh night hunger, crueler than any enemy, afflicts, lacerates, consumes, macerates, inflates. Fierce yesterday, now fiercer, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow more savage, and it grows more savage the more the food recedes. Which, in so great emaciation, amid such wearinesses of life, lacking help, a part of the soldiery considers a plan of fleeing; proven, noble, illustrious in war even up to this time, youth most worthy of praise—William and his brothers, Alberic and Ivo. These three bear the cognomen de Grente Maisnil, Ralph of Fontenelle and that man of Tours: but brothers—shame, alas! shame, alas!—Normandy sent. That race everywhere victory, the glory of the world, the English-conquering-people, conqueror of the Sicilians, [0544C] conqueror of the Greeks, of the Capuans, of the Apulians; to whom the Cenomanian, the Calabrian, to whom even the African serves, to whom the Iapygian—of these men’s stock it suffers shame. Many were admonished by their voice to become companions to so great a pact of disgrace: but God and their Arnulf keep those ready to obey away, and call them back from the base condition; but the youth, forgetful of God, of fatherland, and of itself, that initiator of the shameful way and author of the disgraceful course, persists in what was begun, to be recalled by no speech; judging it excellent to do and remarkable to relate, if, with the rest cut down, these should withdraw themselves from the enemy. Therefore it lays out ropes, and with them set up and fastened, hanging from the wall it becomes an owl by night in flying; thus it flees by night, the flight is exposed with the sun rising, [0544D] and soon an edict is made that no one should dare to loosen the ropes—a monument of the disgrace for posterity.

LXXX.- Obsessi lethiferis cibis utuntur.

80.- The besieged use lethal foods.

Ergo ubi jam paleas pepulerunt vannus et aura,Purum quod remanet frumentum, aurum igne probatum,Purgatum terrae, gens imperterrita constans,Sed lacerata fame, miserabilis, irrequieta,In spem vivendi currunt ad opes, moriendiLethiferos gustus, ut sunt salvinca, cicuta,Elleborum, lapan, lolium, zizania mandant.His miseri ad vitam dum vescuntur, moriuntur.Praeterea ventres soleae quocunque repostae.Et quidquid corii inveniunt ubicunque rejectum. [0545A] Immissum cacabo, flammis mollescit et undis,Inde struunt epulas, felix cui sors dedit illas,At quibus invidit mortem morbosque reliquit.Pressa malis, assueta bonis tam nobilis illa,Tam praeclara ducum, comitum, regumque propago,Qualem nulla prius sepserunt moenia nec post,Expavet esuriem: pro nectare vix habet amnem.Hinc ventris fluxus, febris, hinc pestis aquosa:Nullum solamen, partam videt undique mortem.

Therefore, when now the winnowing-fan and the breeze have driven off the chaff, the pure grain which remains—gold proven by fire, purged of earth—a people undaunted, steadfast, but torn by hunger, pitiable, restless, run to resources in the hope of living; for dying they chew death-bearing tastes, such as salvinca, hemlock, hellebore, lapan, darnel, zizania (tares). While on these the wretched feed for life, they die. Besides, the bellies of shoes wherever stored away, and whatever scraps of hide they find anywhere cast aside, [0545A] thrown into a cauldron, soften by flames and by waters; from this they arrange feasts—happy the one whose lot has given those, but for those whom it begrudged, death and diseases were left. That lineage so noble, pressed by evils, accustomed to goods, that so illustrious stock of leaders, counts, and kings—such as no walls enclosed before nor after—has shuddered at hunger: in place of nectar it scarcely has a stream. Hence the flux of the belly, fever, hence a watery pestilence: no solace at all, it beholds death acquired on every side.

LXXXI.- Singulare certamen ore Petri Eremitae petunt a Persis.

81.- They seek single combat from the Persians by the mouth of Peter the Hermit.

Multa studet, volvit, rimatur, circinat, ambit.Qua vi quove modo, quanam ratione vel arteDeclinet mortem, vitam revocet fugientem, [0545B] Sit nox, sitve dies tractat, fecit ista palamqueConsilioque inito legatos mittere ad illumPersarum satrapam, cui nomen Corboran audent:Quinque, inquam, mittunt, inter quos Petrum Ere mitam:Petrum cujus erant color ater, spiritus acer,Pes nudus, statura brevis, facies macilenta.Instar asellus equi phalerae sibi sicut aselli.Petrum more eremi vilissima cappa tegebat:Scemate sub tali trabeati adit ora tyranni.Cernentes habitum, vultum, mox caetera PersaeGaudent, et sperant procumbere velle misellumPrincipis ante pedes, ut flexus flecteret ipsumPoples, et ad pacem praenuntius ante veniret. [0545C] Non sic impietas, non sic: sed pulvis ut illeQuem ventus rejicit, sic et tu rejiciere.Tunc sic est orsus sed recto vertice Petrus:«Gallica nobilitas Christi peregrina sepulcrumDum petit, egregia quae nil timet urbe potitur,Petrus apostolici dux agminis hic dominatur,Hanc fovet hospitio, conservos gaudet habere.Tu fines ejus popularis, et obsidioneClaudis Christicolas: jubeo sub nomine Christi,Sub Petri, discede suis de finibus, et cito: vel siJustitiam sequeris, si Persica regna quid aequum,Quid rectum curant, armentur et egredianturDe vestris deni vel sex, vel denique terni:Contra par numerus concurrat Christicolarum,Vincat uter populus, sibi serviat Antiochenus: [0545D] Victus uter fuerit, discedat ab Antiocheno.Aut si conditio gravis haec tibi displicet, audiQuid sequitur, quid nos proponimus, altera restatFortassis gravior: cum crastina fulserit EosNe dubites, bellum tibi noveris affore partum.Haec sunt quae populus mandat tibi verba Latinus.»

He applies himself to many things, turns them over, probes, goes in circles, makes approaches. By what force or in what way, by what plan or art he may decline death, recall fleeing life, [0545B] whether it be night or whether it be day, he considers; he made these things publicly, and, counsel having been entered upon, to send legates to that satrap of the Persians, whom they venture to name Corboran: five, I say, they send, among whom Peter the Hermit; Peter, whose complexion was dark, spirit keen, foot bare, stature short, face gaunt. Like a little donkey; a horse’s trappings to himself as for a little donkey. Peter was covered, after the manner of the desert, with a most wretched cloak: arrayed in such a guise he approaches the face of the tyrant. Seeing the dress, the countenance, and soon the rest, the Persians rejoice, and hope that the poor wretch will wish to fall prostrate before the prince’s feet, so that, bent, his knee might bend him, and that he might come beforehand as a forerunner to peace. [0545C] Not so impiety, not so: but as that dust which the wind casts away, so also will you be cast away. Then Peter began thus with head held upright: «The Gallic nobility, a pilgrim of Christ, while it seeks the sepulcher, wins a distinguished city that fears nothing; Peter, leader of the apostolic battle-line, here holds sway; he cherishes it with hospitality, he rejoices to have fellow-servants. You are ravaging his borders, and with a siege you enclose the Christ-worshipers: I order in the name of Christ, under Peter’s, depart from his borders, and quickly: or if you follow Justice, if the Persian realms care for anything equitable, anything right, let there be armed and let go forth from yours ten, or six, or finally three: against them let an equal number of Christ-worshipers run; let whichever people conquer, let the Antiochene serve him: [0545D] whoever shall have been defeated, let him withdraw from the Antiochene. Or if this condition, weighty, displeases you, hear what follows, what we propose; another remains perhaps heavier: when tomorrow’s Eos shall have shone, do not doubt, know that war will be present to you, brought forth. These are the words which the Latin people entrusts to you.»

LXXXII.- Persarum responsio.

82.- The Persians’ response.

Dum Petrus mediis proponit talia Persis,Ridet turba ducum, ridet quoque grex popularis,Subsannant miserum trabeati more locutum:Tandem dux tumido respondet gutture summus.«Persarum regnum populantes gens peregrinaOffendere deum Mahumet, eique secundumSolum Solidanum, perquirere, perdere missus, [0546A] Inveni praedam: sed claudunt moenia, frangam,Corpora vestra canum dabo rictibus, atque leonum.Haec mea vade tuis responde verba Latinis:Nam quid ego Petro, quid vestro reddere ChristoInveniam? Quanti Petrus, tanti mihi Christus:Cura mihi neuter, risus mihi, risus uterque.»Post audita Petrus spiramina tanta minarum,Ad socios remeat, rabiem ducis ordine narrat.Protinus accingunt se bello audacia GalliPectora; sed consumpta fame, et sine carnibus ossa.

While Peter in the midst proposes such things to the Persians, the throng of leaders laughs, and the popular herd laughs as well, they mock the wretch who had spoken in the fashion of the robed: at length the chief commander answers with a puffed throat. «You foreign race, ravaging the kingdom of the Persians, sent to offend the god Mahomet, and, next to him, the sole Sultan, to seek out and to destroy, [0546A] I have found prey; but the walls shut you in—I will break them; I will give your bodies to the jaws of dogs and of lions. Go: to your Latins relay these my words: for what shall I find to render to Peter, what to your Christ to return? As much as Peter is worth, so much is Christ to me: neither concerns me; to me a laugh—both of them a laugh.» After such blasts of threats were heard, Peter goes back to his comrades, and in order relates the rage of the leader. Straightway the daring Gallic hearts gird themselves for war; yet consumed by hunger, their bones were without flesh.

LXXXIII.- Fideles irruptionem meditantur.

83.- The faithful are contemplating an incursion.

Area lata jacet sub muro proxima portae,Quae patet in Boream, ponti contermina et amni. [0546B] Illuc conveniunt, ibi se metitur inermisIlle sacer populus, statuunt quis primus in hostes,Et quis prima sequens tollat vexilla secundus:Sic reliqui certo disponunt ordine bellum,Quo stent pila loco, quo lancea, quove sagittaeUnde eques, unde pedes aut irruat, aut stet in hostem.Ordine cuncta suo sic disponentibus illis,Sol ruit, extrahitur in crastina tempora bellum.Transierat Byssae, restabat tertia noctis,Cum suus Arnulfi cursu festinus anhelo,Voce manuque simul didascalus atria pulsat,Surge age, surge cito, quid signa, polumque moraris? [0546C] Coelitus ecce micat victoria, suspice stellas:Ante sequebatur modo qui praecedit, at illaQuae nunc retromeat, nunc usque, Arnulfe, praeibat:Surge, ducesque ciens, in praelia coge, pericliSi quidquam est, obses teneat, cremer aut crucifigar;Et conjux, et uterque parens, et gnatus uterque:Namque et uterque parens, gnatique, uxorque erat illi.Doctus hic a puero quo currant ordine stellaeVel quid portendant, seu mutet regna cometes,Sive senex gelidus pyrram minitetur et imbres,Seu Phaetontaeos currus, leo saevus, et ignesAut latus ensiferi nimis aestuet OrionisAuspicium belli, vel quidquid quaeque minetur, [0546D] Summus in hac doctor multos instruxerat arte,In quibus Arnulfum, geminasque ostenderat illiBelli a principio prodentes omina stellas.Altera Christicolis fatum dabat, altera Turcis:Ordine tunc alio currentes, ac prius illaeExitium Persis prodebant, gaudia Francis:

A broad area lies under the wall, close by the gate that opens to the North, bordering the sea and the river. [0546B] Thither they gather; there that sacred people, unarmed, arrays itself; they determine who shall be first against the foes, and who, following first, shall lift the standards as second: thus the rest dispose the war in fixed order—where the pikes shall stand, where the lance, and where the arrows, whence the horseman, whence the foot-soldier shall either rush upon the enemy or stand against him. While they thus set all things in their proper order, the sun plunges down; the battle is drawn out into the morrow. Vespers had passed; a third of the night remained, when his own teacher—hastening at a panting run to Arnulf—knocks at the halls with voice and hand together: “Up, come, up quickly! why do you delay the signs and the sky? [0546C] Behold, victory flashes from heaven; look up at the stars: the one who now precedes was just now following, but that one which now moves backward, until now, Arnulf, was leading. Rise, and rousing the leaders, drive them to battle; if there is any peril at all, let me be held as hostage; let me be burned or crucified—and my wife, and each parent, and each son as well: for he had both parents, and sons, and a wife.” Trained from boyhood in what order the stars run, and what they portend—whether a comet change kingdoms, or the cold old man threaten pyre and rains, whether Phaëthon’s chariots, the fierce lion, and fires, or the flank of sword-bearing Orion grow too hot as an omen of war, or whatever each may threaten— [0546D] a chief master in this art had instructed many, among whom Arnulf, and had shown to him the twin stars that from the beginning of the war were revealing omens. One gave the fated lot to the Christ-worshipers, the other to the Turks: then, running in another order than before, those stars were proclaiming destruction for the Persians, joy for the Franks.

LXXXIV.- Irruunt in hostem.

84.- They rush upon the enemy.

Ergo ubi signa poli lingua digitoque magistriLinceus Arnulfi percepit ocellus et auris:Ad proceres summos citus exit et excit in arma:Et verso versum cursus docet ordine fatum:Jam bona cuncta nova, quia transivere priora.Interea Phoebo nox cesserat, ergo reclusisEsuriens bellum gens exsilit inclyta portis. [0547A] Nunc ope, nunc opus est, nunc, Spiritus alme, vocantiAffer opem, quae prima acies, vel cuja secunda,Quae reliquae fuerint, qui te sitit imbue vatem.

Therefore, when the Lyncean little eye and ear of Arnulf perceived the signs of the sky by the teacher’s tongue and finger: he swiftly goes out to the highest nobles and excites them to arms: and, the course turned, he teaches the fate verse by verse in order: now all good things are new, since the former have passed. Meanwhile night had yielded to Phoebus, therefore, with the gates thrown open, the illustrious nation, hungry for war, leaps forth. [0547A] Now there is need of aid, now there is work, now, kindly Spirit, to the one calling bring help—what line of battle was first, or whose the second, what the rest were—imbue the vates who thirsts for you.

LXXXV.- Ordo ducum in aggressione hostium.

85.- Order of the leaders in the attack on the enemy.

Primus Hugo magnus Francos educit ab urbe:Praevius ante micat, praenobilis ante micabat:Proxima Normanni subcunt vexilla Roberti.Summi ambo comites, soli ambo regia prolesClarior Hugo genus, Robertus caetera major,Non sine re partes belli meruere priores.Tertius extrahabens Godefridus in agmine multos,Utpote Lotharidas cum Lotharidis Alemannos.Quartus Tancredo bellantum contigit ordo, [0547B] Armis praecipuus, sed non adeo numerosus.Viribus et numero sublimis in ordine quintoFulget vexillum Wiscardigenae pretiosum;Partim materia, partim crucis indice forma.Subsequitur sextus magno fremitu Raimundus,Hic ut se Turcis, non ut se misceat armis:Praesidio substet bellantes, undique spectet,Pube peremptura perimendae suppleat arma,Sit robur belli, sit murus, et instar azyli.Flandrigenae comitis vigilantia praesidet urbi,Ipse regit portas, murum armis ipse coronat,Turres omnimoda jaculorum nube, sagittis,Stipitibus, telis, saxis, sudibusve perustis,Saepius ad fabricam convertens frena recentem: [0547C] Unde minae, unde metus, ne rupta admittat et hostem:Nunc ducis ore tonat, nunc militis ense trucidat:Ille obex Turcis descensibus unicus illeMagno praesidio magni tutoris egebat.

Hugh the Great first leads the Franks out from the city: as path-leader he shines in front, as most-noble he had shone in front: next the Norman vexilla of Robert come up. Both are highest counts, both alone of royal offspring; Hugh more illustrious in lineage, Robert greater in the rest; not without cause did they deserve the foremost parts of the war. Third, Godfrey, drawing out many in the marching column, namely the Lotharingians with the Alemanni of Lotharingia. The fourth order of fighters fell to Tancred, [0547B] foremost in arms, but not so very numerous. Exalted in strength and in number, in the fifth order the precious vexillum of the son of Guiscard gleams; partly by its material, partly by the form with the sign of the cross. With great roaring the sixth, Raymond, follows, here that he set himself against the Turks, not that he mix himself in the fighting: let him stand by as support for those battling, survey on every side, supply arms with youth fated to slay those to be slain, be the strength of the war, be a wall, and like an asylum. The vigilance of the count of Flanders presides over the city, he himself rules the gates, he himself crowns the wall with arms, the towers with an all-kind cloud of javelins, with arrows, with stakes, with missiles, with stones, or with palisades singed by fire, often turning the fresh rein toward the fresh construction: [0547C] whence threats, whence fear, lest, broken, it admit the enemy: now with a general’s mouth he thunders, now with a soldier’s sword he hews down: that single barrier to Turkish sallies, that very one, stood in need of the great protection of a great guardian.

LXXVI.- Terror Persas invadit.

76.- Terror invades the Persians.

Persarum satrapam scaccis operam dare fama est,Gallica cum primus vexillifer extulit arma:Illico rumor adest exire ad praelia Francos:Princeps nil motus ludum tractabat ut ante,Sed neque cum magni comitis vexilla RobertiSurgere clamantur: proh quanta superbia! surgit,Tertia cum subeunt, ingens erat ille tumultus. [0547D] Demum captivis nostra de gente vocatis,Nam quosdam nostrae captivos gentis habebat:Quorum sint, quid significent vexilla requirensQuidnam figurent, quorum sint protinus audit.Hoc est Roberti, Godefridi hoc, illud Hugonis:«Haec est nobilitas, at major in urbe potestas.Vel jam pugnabis, vel pugnam scire negabis.»Sic fando Tancredus adest, et adest Boamundus,Et robur belli cum signiferis Raimundi.Corboran accinctos bello, jamque irruiturosChristicolas cernens timet, accitoque repenteTraduce verborum; quam Christicolae prius illiObtulerant, quam reppulerat modo conditionem,Rursus eis offert, at rursus spernitur illa.Tunc mora nulla citi pharetras arcusque sibi aptant [0548A] Assyrii, Persae, Parthi, Libies, Elamytae,Phoenicesque, Arabesque, Indique, Tyrique, Medique,Cumque his multimodae quas propter taedia longaNomine quaeque suo prohibemur scribere gentes.

It is reported that the satrap of the Persians was giving attention to chess, when the first standard-bearer of the French raised arms: Straightway there comes a rumor that the Franks are going out to the battles: the prince, not moved at all, was handling the game as before, but not even when the banners of the great count Robert are proclaimed to have risen: ah, how great arrogance! he rises, when the third come up, that was a huge uproar. [0547D] At last, with captives of our people summoned—for he had some captives of our people—asking whose they are, what the banners signify, what they depict, he immediately hears whose they are. This is Robert’s, this Godfrey’s, that one Hugh’s: «This is nobility, but greater is the power in the city. Either you will fight now, or you will deny knowledge of battle.» Thus while speaking, Tancred is present, and Bohemond is present, and the strength of war with Raymond’s standard-bearers. Corboran, seeing the Christ-worshipers girded for war and now about to rush in, is afraid, and having suddenly called an interpreter of words; the condition which those Christ-worshipers had earlier offered, which he had just rejected, he offers again to them, but it is again spurned. Then with no delay the Assyrians, Persians, Parthians, Libyans, Elamites swiftly fit quivers and bows to themselves [0548A] and Phoenicians, and Arabs, and Indians, and Tyrians, and Medes, and along with these multiform nations which, on account of long tedium, we are prevented from writing each by its own name.

LXXXVII.

87.

Transierant inter montem Christique cohortesMaxima Turcorum rabies, quasi millia centum,Scilicet a tergo missuri spicula, tanquamVenator cervos indagine claudere tentat:Aeneus his murus opponens se BoamundusAd socios tergum, vultum convertit in hostes.Ergo pugna Deo bifrons, similanda bifronti:Seu cui pone caput geminat pictura draconi:Hinc atque inde suum pro Christi sanguine fundit, [0548B] Inque vicem fusum de caedibus expiat hostis:Eia strenuitas, constantia martyrialis.Athletae Christi, totius gloria mundi,Utimini dextris: vos pauci, centuplus hostis,Utimini gladiis: eget his haec area marris,Hic ager, haec messis reliquis vos pascet in annis.Altera frons belli Boamundus solus et expersAuxilii humani sperans in numine coeli,Fidentes numero, confisus praeside ChristoAggreditur gentes, crux praevia nobile signumSignum signorum praefulgurat, hostibus horror,Christi militibus spes, murus, gloria, splendor.Miles in egregiis non ultimus admodum acerbus.Fortis, magnanimus Boamundus, Martis alumnus [0548C] Atque nepes, illud praedictum insigne gerebatRobertus celebris Girardi filius orbi,Is dextra et lingua quin mente et corpore ChristiPronus in obsequium, pronissimus in quasi fratrisFrater, et in socias quascunque vices Boamundi:Pertransit Turcas iterumque iterumque catervas,Hortando socios, hosti insultando ruenti.Turcis Robertus, Roberto instat Boamundus:Non illis ille, nec huic hic cessat adesse.

They had passed between the mountain and the cohorts of Christ the greatest fury of the Turks, as if a hundred thousand, plainly about to send javelins from the rear, just as a hunter tries to pen in stags with a drive-net: Bohemond, opposing himself to these as a brazen wall, turned his back to his comrades, his face to the enemies. Therefore a two-fronted fight for God, to be likened to a two-fronted creature: or to one for whom a painting doubles a head behind for a dragon: on this side and that he pours out his own blood for Christ’s blood, [0548B] and in turn he expiates the slaughters by pouring out the foe. Ah, strenuous valor, martyrial constancy. Athletes of Christ, the glory of the whole world, use your right hands: you few, the foe a hundredfold, use your swords: this threshing-floor needs these mattocks, this field, this harvest will feed you in the remaining years. The other front of the war—Bohemond alone and devoid of human aid, hoping in the numen of heaven—(they trusting in their number, he, confiding in Christ as presider) attacks the nations; the cross going before, the noble sign—the sign of signs—pre-gleams, a horror to the enemies, for Christ’s soldiers a hope, a wall, a glory, a splendor. A soldier among the outstanding, by no means the last, very keen. Strong, magnanimous Bohemond, alumnus and descendant of Mars, [0548C] and Robert, the renowned son of Girard to the world, was bearing that foretold ensign; he—by right hand and tongue, nay by mind and body—was prone to the obedience of Christ, most prone, as a brother to a brother, and in whatever allied turns of Bohemond: he passes through the Turk bands again and again, by heartening comrades, by assaulting the rushing foe. Robert presses upon the Turks; Bohemond presses upon Robert: that one does not cease to be present for them, nor this one for him.

LXXXVIII.- Territi fugantur Turci.

88.- The Turks, terrified, are put to flight.

Ad crucis aspectum perdit gens Persica visum,Fit tremebunda, gemens quae venerat acris et horrens.Non est amentum, non est qui exerceat arcum. [0548D] Evax, ha! ha! he! vertuntur in at! at! et heu! heu!Ergo se pecudes, Francos genus acre leonumFassa fugam morti praefert, et vivere laudi,Dum nequit ad montem regredi refugit secus amnem:Victores instant, et nunquam sternere cessant:Donec utrasque acies sociae excepere cohortesVictas, vincendae victrices vincere sanctae.Jam non pugna bifrons, jam certior ac fuit ante,Jam spes aucta aliis, aliis metus additus armis:His pugnare, illis pugna decedere suadetMultus adhuc populus, numerus cui cedit arenae,Et quod rarus equi premit acris terga LatinusChristicolis obstat, Turcis solatia praestat:Accedit tamen his astutia; sed nihil astus, [0549A] Nil dolus in Christum, sine quo nihil est nihil actum.

At the sight of the cross the Persian nation loses its sight, becomes trembling, which had come groaning, fierce and bristling. There is no javelin-thong, there is no one to ply the bow. [0548D] “Evax, ha! ha! he!” are turned into “ah! ah!” and “alas! alas!” Therefore the sheep, having confessed flight, prefer it to death, the Franks being a fierce breed of lions, and prefer living to glory, while they cannot return to the mountain and flee along the river-bank. The victors press on, and never cease to lay them low, until the allied cohorts received both battle-lines: the defeated, and the holy victors to go on conquering those yet to be conquered. Now no longer a two-fronted fight, now more certain than it was before, now hope increased for some, for others fear added to their arms: to these it counsels to fight, to those the fight counsels to withdraw, a people still in great number, a number to which the sands yield; and the fact that the Latin, scarce in horse to press the backs of the swift, hinders the worshipers of Christ, provides consolation to the Turks. Nevertheless to these there is added craft; but no craft, no guile against Christ, without whom nothing is, nothing is accomplished. [0549A]

LXXXIX.- Anceps pugna.

89.- Doubtful battle.

Venerat in bellum regnis citus a NabathaeisConfinesque suos Persas sociaverat Eurus:Ipse regebat equos, ipse arcus, ipse pharetras:Nec minus adversis, obverso turbine, dextrisTela retorquebat, tortores torta per ipsos.Vix stabat gladius contra Euri spicula Francus.Languidus Aeolio Zephyrus torpebat in antro,Traditor in bellum Francos a Gadibus usque,Atque Pyrenaeis nivibus, per et invia et Alpes,Per freta, per syrtes, per Syllam, perque Carybdim,Fidus ubique comes adduxerat, at modo fallax [0549B] Abdicat auxilium, dum Francia pugnat in Eurum:Haec animadvertens gens Persica, quod nequit armisMolitur nammis, fumo, et caligine tetraChristicolarum oculos seu nocte involvere tentatSubdit arundinibus incendia, subdit et ulvae,Subdit viminibus, quantum licet excitat Eurus.Ille suas nebulas, fumum de vepribus ille,De reliquis dumis, seu hamno, sive rubetisPerflat in obstantes furiali mente phalanges.Ergo dies piceas fulgens conversus in umbras,Fortes debilitat, confortat debile vulgus.In tenebris enses pugnant, in luce sagittae.Seu contra linces ineant certamina talpae:Sic furiis Euri nutat sententia belli. [0549C] O quotiens illa Zephyrus dum tardat in hora:Clamatum est, Zephyri succurrite, surgite pigri:Eurus pro Turcis furit, et vos surgite nobis.

He had come to the war swift from the realms of the Nabataeans, and Eurus had associated with himself his neighbors the Persians: he himself was guiding the horses, he himself the bows, he himself the quivers: no less with his right hand he was throwing missiles back at those opposite, with a whirlwind turned toward them, the hurlers their twisted missiles through the very men. The Frank could scarcely keep his sword standing against Eurus’s little darts. Languid Zephyrus was benumbed in Aeolus’s cave, a traitor, who into the war had led the Franks from Gades all the way, and through the Pyrenean snows, and through pathless places and the Alps, through straits, through the Syrtes, through Scylla and through Charybdis, a faithful companion everywhere he had brought them, but now, deceitful, [0549B] he disclaims his aid, while Francia fights against Eurus: the Persian nation, noting these things, what it cannot by arms it works by coins, and with smoke and foul gloom it tries to wrap the eyes of the Christ-worshipers as with night; it lays fires beneath the reeds, it lays them beneath the sedge, it lays them beneath the withes, as much as Eurus allows it stirs up. He blows his own mists, he blows smoke from the brambles, from the other thickets, whether from buckthorn or from briars, into the phalanxes standing against him with a frenzied mind. Therefore the shining day is turned into pitchy shadows; it weakens the brave, it strengthens the feeble crowd. In the darkness swords fight, in the light arrows. As if moles should enter contests against lynxes: thus by the furies of Eurus the judgment of the war wavers. [0549C] O how often, while that Zephyrus delays at the hour, it has been shouted, “Zephyrs, help, arise, you sluggards: Eurus rages for the Turks, and you, rise up for us.”

XC.- Praevalent Christiani.

90.- Christians Prevail.

Sic dum clamatur, Deus afflictos miseratur,Thesaurosque suos aperit, producit et indeCorum propitium, qui flando reverberet Eurum:Inque suas cogat victum revolare cavernas,Fumo Turcorum qui lumina turbet eorum,Liber ab occiduo productus carcere Corus.Nec mora mandatis obtemperat: omnia quassans,Omnia convellens, obstant quaecunque volanti:Jamque in bella venit, veniens non arma virosqueTantum pulsat: equos terret, tentoria vellit, [0549D] Horrent atque tremunt mons, vallis, campus et arbor.Eure fugis, fumoque tuo tu involveris ipse,Inque tuos Persas sua fraus, lex aequa redundat.Tunc oculis clausis Turcus, sed Francus apertisDimicat, et subito versa vice praevalet illeQui prope victus erat; superatur qui superabat:Hic fugit, ille fugat; Baal ruit, obruit alpha.Persarum velox equus est, et pinguis et acer:Contra Francorum tardus, macer, anxius, aeger:Ille fugit facile; nequit hic instare proterve:Ille quasi innumerus: vix hic quasi sexcentenus:In vigilando fugae post versa pericula Persae [0550A] Qui celer aut celeri raptatur equo velut igni,Qui fugit emersus ruit, avius, et stupefactus.At cui segnis equus, nec pes citus: ille vel armisOccidit, aut servi trahitur ducendus in usum:Hac juvenis plantam memorant in caede repertam,Qua potuit tecti vice sol imberve repelli:Tunc trahit occasus, trahitur quem miserat ortus:Sic et opes reliquas, scutellas, pocula, mensas,Urceolos, tripodes, lecticas, labra, lebetes,Ollas, flascones, tentoria, pallia, vestes:Omnia purum aurum, vel opus pretiosius auroVictor habet. Populus de paupere jam fit opimus:Jam sedet, et Turcas avido vorat ore placentas:Jam satrapis partam Persis plerique ferinam,Jam de captivo inter eos contenditur ostro.

Thus while there is shouting, God takes pity on the afflicted, and opens His treasuries, and brings forth from there a propitious Corus, who by blowing may beat back Eurus, and may drive him, conquered, to fly back into his own caverns—the Corus brought forth free from his occidental prison—to trouble with smoke the eyes of the Turks. Without delay he obeys the commands: shaking all things, wrenching all things, whatever stands in the way of his flight; and now he comes into the wars, and coming he beats not only arms and men, he frightens the horses, he plucks up the tents, [0549D] and mountain, valley, plain, and tree bristle and tremble. Eurus, you flee, and you wrap yourself in your own smoke; and upon your own Persians their own fraud, a just law, flows back. Then the Turk with eyes shut, but the Frank with eyes open, fights; and suddenly, the turn reversed, he prevails who had been near to being conquered; he is overcome who was overcoming: this one flees, that one pursues; Baal falls, Alpha overwhelms. The horse of the Persians is swift, and fat, and keen; against it the Franks’ is slow, lean, anxious, sickly: that one flees with ease; this one cannot press forward insolently: that one is as if innumerable; this one scarcely as if six-hundred strong. In the keeping of the watch, after the perils of flight are reversed for the Persians, [0550A] whoever is swift, or is snatched away by a swift horse as if by fire; he who flees, once he has gotten out, falls headlong, pathless and stupefied. But he whose horse is sluggish, nor foot swift: he either perishes by arms, or is dragged off a slave to be used. In this slaughter they relate that a youth’s sandal-sole was found, by which, in the place of a roof, the beardless sun could be driven back. Then the West draws in him whom the East had sent forth: so too the remaining goods—little dishes, cups, tables, little pitchers, tripods, litters, basins, cauldrons, pots, flagons, tents, cloaks, garments: the Victor has them all, pure gold, or a work more precious than gold. The people from poor now becomes opulent: already it sits and with greedy mouth devours Turkish cakes; already many have meat gotten from the Persian satraps; already among them there is contention over captive purple.

XCI.- Victos Tancredus insequitur, eorum miram stragem facit. [0550B]

91.- Tancred pursues the vanquished, and makes a wondrous slaughter of them. [0550B]

At proba Tancredi laudem esuriens sitiensqueStrenuitas, praeter laudem nullius avara,Pauper opes, jejuna cibum, in sudore quietemSpernit, quaque iter est inter duo brachia fissiIn bivium Farfar, nusquam locus aptior illi:Multos persequitur, paucis comitantibus armis.Ergo inter Parthos et Persas, mistus et Indos,Inter omnigenum vires Mahumicolarum;Pardus ut inter oves, stragem Wiscardida miscetCalcibus urget equos, retrosuadis urget habenisHorrificis urget clamoribus, et stimulandi,Qualibet arte fugax acies incumbit in armos:Collo infert stimulos, mutilat quacunque gravatos [0550C] Parte, vel ante jubis, inutilibus retro caudis:Ut mortem evadat, nec sellas solvere tardat:Ensibus et pharetris etiam fugat illa solutis.Tancredus virides respergit sanguine glebas,Tancredus fossas morientum stipat acervis,Vulnere multa perit, perit et sine vulnere multa,Vulnera dum metuens, declinat vulnera turba,Quidam sponte ruunt, freno sellaque relictis;Et subeunt dumos sperando latere sub imbris:Horum cornipedis eviscerat ungula partem,Partem dum ruitur, tento pede, mors remoratur:Quem pes non tenuit: cor huic crepuit, jecur illi:Flumine salvari pars plurima posse putantes,Intromissa vadis perit auxiliaribus undis: [0550D] Viva subit tumulos eques, atque equus intrat apertos;Ut ripas ineunt, palam hunc absorbet et illum,Ergo pharetrati, loricati, phalerati,Dum Styga sic adeunt manes, alii tremefiunt.Ipse timet Pluto repeti, pavet, ac fugit uxor:At vada certa quibus sors obtulit, ii quoque partimEmergunt ab aquis, partim merguntur in ipsis:Nec sic evadunt, qui sic evadere tendunt.Tancredus sequitur, vada scit quasi .

But the proven strenuousness of Tancred, hungry and thirsty for praise, greedy for nothing besides praise, poor of wealth, fasting of food, spurns rest amid sweat; and wherever there is a route between the two arms of the split Farfar at the fork, nowhere is there a place more fitting for him: he pursues many, with few comrades-in-arms accompanying. Therefore among Parthians and Persians, and Indians mixed in, among the forces of every kind of the Mahometans; like a panther among sheep, the Guiscardid mixes massacre; he presses the horses with his heels, urges with backward-coaxing reins, urges with terrifying shouts, and by every art of goading, he leans upon the shoulders of the fleeing battle-line. He drives in the spurs at the neck, he mutilates those weighed down in whatever part, either in front at the manes, or behind at the useless tails; in order to escape death, he does not delay to loosen the saddles: and even with swords and quivers loosened he routs them. Tancred sprinkles the green clods with blood, Tancred packs the ditches with heaps of the dying, much perishes by wound, and much perishes without wound, while the crowd, fearing wounds, dodges wounds. Some rush headlong of their own accord, leaving bridle and saddle; and they go under brambles, hoping to hide under the shower (of missiles): the corniped’s hoof disembowels a part of these, a part, while one is falling, with foot held out, death is delayed; whom the foot did not hold: for this one the heart burst, for that one the liver. The greater part, thinking they can be saved by the river, once entered into the shallows, perish by the helpful waves: [0550D] the horseman alive goes under mounds, and the horse enters open hollows; as they go upon the banks, openly it swallows this one and that one. Therefore the quiver-bearing, the cuirassed, the harness-bedecked, while they thus approach the Styx, some grow tremulous. Pluto himself fears to be sought again, is terrified, and his wife flees. But those to whom chance offered certain fords, they too partly emerge from the waters, partly are submerged in them: nor do those escape thus, who strive thus to escape. Tancred follows, he knows the fords as if .

XCII.

92.

Planities super Arthasii, sub moenibus EmmaeHerbida dividui cursu circumdatur amnis:Illa viatores prius excludebat, eratqueCircuitus longi properantibus invida causa;Abscidit invidiam geminus de monte recisus,Atque viatorem admittens, altrinsecus arcus.Hos inter pontes gens Persica jam quasi tuta,Jam quasi nacta fugae post taedia longa quietem [0551B] Fessa quiescebat, bellum evasisse putabat.Cum Tancredus adest, et adest equus, arma virique:Pugna recens, visis se mutuo qui fugat Evax!Exclamat Turcus, fugiens immurmurat at! at!Magna fuit caedes sub moenibus Antiochenis,Multus ubi atque recens commisit praelia caesor:Hinc est, atque illinc per mutua vulnera fletum,Hinc illinc risum, non est hic hac vice gestum:Altera pars risit tantum, tantum altera flevit:Flevit Turca fugax, risit Normannica bellax.Normannus sternit, Turcus cadit, ut subitarumImpetus hastarum, geminique angustia pontis,Effugium retinent, bellum committere terrorNon sinit, atque fugae labor, et vires labefactae, [0551C] Plurimus et sanguis multo de vulnere fusus:Ut quot membra fere, tot gestent vulnera Persae:Ergo vae miseris quidquid tentetur ab illis:Nam nec pugna fugam solatur, nec fuga pugnam:Turcus utram tentet, neutram procedere gaudet:Ut pecus ergo perit, leo, cui leopardus inhaesit.

A plain above Arthasius, beneath the walls of Emma, grassy, is encircled by a river in a divided course: that formerly shut out travelers, and the circuit of a long detour was to those hastening a grudging cause; a twin arch cut from the mountain cut off the grievance, and, admitting the wayfarer, an arch on either side. Between these bridges the Persian nation now as if safe, now as if having found for flight, after long tedium, rest, [0551B] weary, was resting, thinking it had escaped the war. When Tancred is at hand, and at hand are horse, arms, and men: a fresh fight—on seeing each other, who puts the other to flight—Evax! The Turk shouts; fleeing he mutters, “ah! ah!” Great was the slaughter beneath the Antiochene walls, where many and fresh the slayer engaged in battles: hence and thence, through mutual wounds, weeping; hence and thence, laughter; it is not done on equal terms this time: the one side only laughed, the other only wept: the fleeing Turk wept, the warlike Norman laughed. The Norman strews, the Turk falls, since the onrush of sudden spears and the narrowness of the twin bridge hold back escape; fear does not allow them to join battle, and the toil of flight, and their forces undermined, [0551C] and very much blood poured out from many a wound: so that the Persians bear almost as many wounds as they have limbs. Therefore woe to the wretches, whatever may be attempted by them: for neither does battle solace flight, nor flight solace battle: whichever the Turk tries, neither of the two deigns to advance: thus, like cattle, he perishes—the lion to whom the leopard has clung.

XCIII.- Artasium castrum redditur.

93.- The fortress of Artasium is surrendered.

De tanta turba paucos fuga salvat, et ulna:Sic aliis stratis, aliis sternendo fugatis,Castrum restat adhuc Turcis, belloque refertum,Restat adhuc, inquam, sed inexpugnabile tanquamQuiddam non hominum fuerit, sed fabrica divum:Pergama Neptuni, Phoebi Ilium, utrumque utriusque [0551D] Collata huic: tantum, quantum illis caetera cedunt;Illa tamen pubes sociorum territa caede,Nil sibi confidens opes, aeque pauper et expers:Hinc item, inde moras examinat: ergo morarumSublata trutina, praeponderat et placet ire:Nil sibi cum Francis, nil cum coelestibus armisAiunt: post victos superorum numine Turcos.Quosdam de populo Raimundi; sive coactosEsurie dira, captosve cupidine falso;Christo posthabito, Mahumet jura colentes,Turcatos eadem qua Turcos claustra tenebant.Illi consulti quis major Christicolarum,Quisve fide potior, cui castrum reddere, cui se,Cui sua sit tutum: Raimundo credere suadent.Ille fide potior, comes, aiunt, robore major. [0552A] Non locus est metui, si vos committitis illi.Quid moror in verbis? res est rem claudere paucis:Creditur, accitur, referatur, abitur, initur.

From so great a throng, flight saves a few, and the arm: thus, with some laid low, with others strewn and routed, the castle still remains to the Turks, and is replete with war; it still remains, I say, but unassailable, as though it were not something of men, but a fabric of the gods: Neptune’s Pergama, Phoebus’s Ilium, both of each, [0551D] set in comparison with this; by as much as other things yield to those. Yet that youth of the allies, terrified by the slaughter, trusting nothing to its own resources, equally poor and destitute: on this side and that it weighs delays; therefore, the balance of delays removed, it preponderates and it pleases to go: they say they have nothing to do with the Franks, nothing with the celestial arms, after the Turks were conquered by the numen of the supernal powers. Some of the people of Raymond—either compelled by dire hunger, or captured by a false desire—Christ being set after, honoring the laws of Mahomet, Turkified, were holding the same fastness with the Turks. They, having been consulted, who is greater among the Christ-worshipers, or who is stronger in faith, to whom to render the castle, to whom themselves, to whom their possessions might be safe, advise to trust Raymond. He, superior in faith, the count, they say, greater in strength. [0552A] There is no place for fear, if you commit yourselves to him. Why do I tarry in words? the thing is to close the matter in few: trust is placed, he is summoned, it is reported, there is departure, there is entry.

XCIV.- Podiensis episcopi morientis verba ad exercitum.

94.- the dying words of the bishop of le puy to the army.

Interea praesul moritur Podiensis, et intraBasilicam Petri conditus conditur almi:At moriens proceres ad se vocat, hisque vocatis:Verba facit, monumenta sui, documenta salutis,«Dum Deus indulsit, dumque in me sospita mansit:Nec studium fratres, nec sedulitas mea vestroDefuit obsequio: vos sicut mater alumnumSollicitus fovi, docui, monui, stimulavi:Lethifera avulsi, vitalia semina sparsi:Pervigili cura solvi mihi tradita jura. [0552B] Jam nunc delibor, jam vitae terminus instat.Sic me doctrinae vobis papa ministrumTradidit Urbanus: sic vobis hunc ego trado:»Tradidit Arnulfum nulli hoc in agone secundum:«Filius hic, inquit, meus est dilectus, in ipsoEst mihi complacitum, vos aures vertite ad ipsum:Tu vero, Fili, monitus memor esto paterni:Divini large documenti semina sparge,Acceptam gratis sementem reddito gratis,Peccantes revoca, bene agentes laude corona,Urge propositum, Christi te ostende ministrumSedulitate proba, commissa negotia tracta,Nullus ad injustum donis te flectat onustum,Utque brevi breviter, vita, loquar, esto pudicus: [0552C] Sobrius, et prudens, humilis, pius atque quietus.»

Meanwhile the prelate of Le Puy dies, and within the Basilica of kindly Peter he is interred, laid to rest: But as he is dying he calls the magnates to himself, and, these called, he speaks words—monuments of himself, documents of salvation: «While God indulged, and while soundness remained in me: neither zeal, brothers, nor my assiduity failed your service: solicitous I cherished you like a mother her alumnus; I taught, I warned, I spurred: death-bearing things I tore out, life-giving seeds I scattered: with ever-vigilant care I discharged the laws entrusted to me. [0552B] Now already I am being drawn off; now the end of life is at hand. Thus Pope Urban delivered me to you as a minister of doctrine: thus to you I deliver this man:» He delivered Arnulf, second to none in this contest: «This is,» he says, «my beloved son; in him I am well pleased; turn your ears to him: But you, Son, be mindful of your father’s admonition: lavishly scatter the seeds of divine instruction, render freely the seed received freely, call back sinners, with praise crown those who act well, press the purpose, show yourself a minister of Christ; prove yourself by sedulity, handle the businesses committed to you; let no one laden with gifts bend you toward the unjust; and, to speak briefly in brief, my life, be chaste: [0552C] sober, and prudent, humble, pious, and also peaceable.»

XCV.- Ejus epitaphium.

95.- His epitaph.

Sic monet, et paulo cunctatus transit ad illumQuem mens, quem vires, quem vox coluit sua Jesum.Vir magni meriti, vir quovis dignus honore,Vir dignus titulo, si non potiore, vel isto.Conditus est Moysis clarissimus hic imitator Doctrina, studio, moribus, officio.Dux populi Moyses, et dux populi fuit iste: Ambo duces Christi, coelitus ambo sati,Ambo justitiae, doctrinae ambo studiosi: Ambo fuere Dei vox media et populi.Causa viae Moysis tellus Chanaan memoratur, Huic quoque causa viae terra fuit Chanaan: [0552D] Cernere, non uti Moysi conceditur illa: Huic quoque non uti, cernere ferme datum est.Longa Deo Moysen jejunia conciliarunt: Hunc quoque longa Deo consecrat esuries.Ipse Deus Moysen, hunc papa Urbanus, et ipse Praeco Dei sequitur, misit utrumque Deus.

Thus he admonishes, and having delayed a little he passes over to him whom his mind, whom his strengths, whom his voice venerated—Jesus. A man of great merit, a man worthy of any honor, a man worthy of a title, if not of a better, at least of this one. Here was laid to rest the most illustrious imitator of Moses in doctrine, zeal, morals, duty. Moses a leader of the people, and this man was a leader of the people: both leaders of Christ, both nourished from heaven, both zealous for justice, both for doctrine: both were the mediating voice of God and of the people. The cause of Moses’s journey is recorded as the land of Canaan, for him too the cause of the journey was the land of Canaan: [0552D] to behold it, not to enjoy it, was granted to Moses; to him likewise it was given, almost, to behold, not to enjoy. Long fasts reconciled Moses to God: long hunger consecrates this man also to God. God himself sent Moses; Pope Urban sent this man; and the Herald of God himself follows; God sent them both.

XCVI.- Tancredus cum Normanniae et Provinciae comitibus Marram obsidet.

96.- Tancred, with the counts of Normandy and Provence, besieges Marra.

Postquam urbs capta, victores gazis, victos caedibus donatos, alios ab humili ad sidera extulit, alios sub tartara a luxu et crapula submersit: Boamundus Antiochiae principatum adeptus, ad praesidium manet; Tancredus intermissum viae laborem redintegrat; algorem, aestum, inediam, sitim, montibus, vallibus, agris, municipiis, praefert: ad quorum amoenitatem [0553A] Tempe Thessa a sordescunt, Emma Heliconem suum, Harenc vireta, Barisan vites, Hersen segetes contemni dolent: praeter haec autem, et aliorum oppidorum numerus ingens singula suis opibus alienas praeferri. At Marchisides alter Julius nil actum credens, dum quid superesset agendum, causam itineris Jerusalem esse commemorat, et per Antiochiam fuisse peregrinandum, non per Antiochiam peregrinatum. Igitur quaerentes bellum comites Normannum et Provincialem sociat, cum eisdem Marran oppidum et populosum et uber aggreditur.

After the city was taken, the victors endowed with treasures, the vanquished with slaughters, some were lifted from lowness to the stars, others from luxury and crapulence were sunk beneath Tartarus: Bohemond, having obtained the principate of Antioch, remains for the defense; Tancred renews the interrupted labor of the way; he sets before himself cold, heat, want of food, thirst, in mountains, valleys, fields, and municipalities: in comparison with whose amenity [0553A] the Thessalian Tempe grow dingy; Emma her Helicon, Harenc its greens, Barisan its vines, Hersen its sown fields, grieve to be scorned: besides these, moreover, there is an immense number of other towns, each by its own resources claiming to be preferred to those of others. But the Marquess’s son, another Julius, believing nothing to have been done while something remained to be done, reminds them that the cause of the journey is Jerusalem, and that one ought to have been making pilgrimage through Antioch, not to have finished one’s pilgrimage at Antioch. Therefore, seeking war, he associates the Norman and the Provençal counts, and with these same he attacks Ma‘arrat (Marran), a town both populous and rich.

Praeviderant sibi Marrenses seu capta Antiochia territi, seu quia plurimum Francis in obsidendo obstiterant, seu volante fama ab Antiochenis contribulibus praemuniti. Harum quapiam, fortasse omnibus praemoniti [0553B] causis, tota usquequaque nudata vicinia, urbem suam impleverant, obsessuro exercitui nihil relinquentes. Huc accedit quod suburbanos etiam obstruxerant puteos, atque inopia advenas repelli posse arbitrati.

The people of Marra had foreseen matters for themselves—whether terrified after Antioch had been taken, or because they had very greatly withstood the Franks in besieging, or forewarned by winged rumor by their Antiochene fellow-tribesmen. Warned by some of these causes, perhaps by all [0553B], they had laid bare the entire neighborhood everywhere and had filled their city, leaving nothing for the army about to besiege them. To this is added that they had even blocked up the wells of the suburbs, and they thought that the newcomers could be repelled by want.

At Christicolae qui sublata cruce semetipsos abnegaverant, qui propter Deum corpora sua ad supplicia tradiderant, nihilominus urbe circumdata gratulantur, quasi ad epulas invitati: alii machinas struunt, alii struentibus ministrant: hi fundis balearibus turres quatiunt, illi silices instrumenta quassandi scapulis asportant: hos videas cursitare agiles ad spem cereris, illos regredi sub onere gementes: quidam puteos ad priscum usum revocabant, quidam in fabrica novorum exercebantur: [0553C] nonnulli de cataractis coeli opem exspectantes, aquae coelesti carcerem praeparabant: Quorum intuens vota, is qui solus laborem et dolorem examinat, qui praesumentes de se non relinquit, misso coelitus imbre, omnibus suffecit: adeo enim gravis imber et uber secutus est, ut et qui pluvias ante postulaverant, post depostularent, et lacuum opifices cassi operis poeniteret.

But the Christ-worshippers who, with the cross lifted, had denied themselves, who for God had delivered their bodies to punishments, nonetheless, with the city encircled, rejoice, as if invited to banquets: some build engines, others minister to the builders: these with Balearic slings shake the towers, those carry on their shoulders flints, the instruments for battering: you might see some, agile, running about at the hope of Ceres, others returning, groaning under their burden: certain ones were recalling the wells to their ancient use, certain ones were exercised in the fabric of new works: [0553C] some, expecting help from the cataracts of heaven, were preparing a prison for the heavenly water: beholding whose vows, He who alone examines labor and pain, who does not abandon those presuming upon Himself, by sending a shower from heaven, supplied for all: for so heavy and abundant a rain followed, that they who before had petitioned for rains afterwards begged them to cease, and the artificers of pools repented of a work made void.

XCVII.- Fames horribilis in castris fidelium.

97.- A horrible famine in the camp of the faithful.

Inundantia haec nimia peperit famem, putrescente in castris allata cerere, nullam de foris quoquam afferente, protelabatur victoria. Panis fluxerat, fames invalescebat. Pudet referre quod audierim, quodque didicerim ab ipsis pudoris auctoribus.

This excessive inundation produced famine, since the grain brought into the camp was rotting, and with no one bringing any from outside from anywhere, victory was being postponed. The bread had turned to mush, hunger was gaining strength. I am ashamed to relate what I have heard, and what I learned from the very authors of the shame.

Audivi namque qui dicerint cibi se coactos inopia, ad humanae [0553D] carnis edulium transisse, adultos gentilium cacabo immersisse, pueros infixisse verubus, et vorasse adustos: vorando aemulati sunt feras, torrendo homines, sed caninos. Hunc ipsum finem membris propriis minabantur, cum aliena deficerent: nisi aut captae urbis, aut cereris advenae intercessio esuriem lenisset.

I have heard, namely, of those who said that, compelled by lack of food, they had passed over to the viand of human [0553D] flesh, that they plunged the adults of the pagans into a cauldron, fixed the boys upon spits, and devoured them scorched: by devouring they emulated wild beasts, by roasting men—yet in a canine manner. They were threatening this very end to their own limbs, when others’ failed, unless either the capture of a city or the intercession of alien Ceres had soothed their hunger.

XCVIII.- Discordia inter Tancredum et Raimundum.

98.- Discord between Tancred and Raymond.

Haec dum ita geruntur, Tancredi Raimundique ministros discordia agitat: moxque a ministris surgit ad dominos. Vix, ah! vix compescit Tancredus animos quin Provincialium strage iram leniat, sed occurrit viro ratio, quae sanguinem vetat fundi Christianum: melius ipsa ad Wiscardi monet artes recurrere per quas orbi gloriosus innotuit. Ergo [0554A] nihil cunctatus Antiochiam venit, castri tutoribus hujus adhuc discordiae ignaris; obiter autem suos instruit milites, quomodo enses clam teneant, et quomodo deprimant.

While these things are thus being transacted, discord agitates the ministers of Tancred and of Raymond; and soon from the ministers it rises to the masters. Scarcely, ah! scarcely does Tancred restrain his spirit from appeasing his wrath by the slaughter of the Provincials; but reason meets the man, which forbids Christian blood to be shed: better, she herself counsels, to return to the arts of Guiscard, by which he became gloriously known to the world. Therefore [0554A] delaying nothing he comes to Antioch, the guardians of the stronghold still unaware of this discord; and, in passing, he instructs his soldiers how they should secretly hold their swords, and how they should keep them down.

Inde cappati tam ipse quam socii castro appropriant, janitorem vocant, januae reserantur, pacifice admittuntur qui pacem simulabant. Ingressi autem unus post alium, ubi primum numerus pugnae sufficit, simul cuncti, haec simul cuncta, lacertos, mentes, gladios nudant, Raimundi milites extrusos ad ipsum non sine colaphis remittunt: ultus itaque qua licuit Raimundum Tancredus, potentiorem astutior, corpori caput abscissum restituit, dum Trojae suae Ilium Boamundo reddit: Boamundus enim dum adhuc expers suspiceret oppidum, adeo ipse sibi mutilus videbatur, ut semiprincipem [0554B] se, non principem diceret, Raimundumque collegam suum in principatu Antiochiae nominaret: Haec insomnem, haec in somniis principem molestia torquebat. Verum ubi odium atque dilectio altrinsecus collidentes mutilo, ut dictum est, principatui cornu reddiderunt, tunc elevatum est solium Boamundi, jamque ipse experrectior cum magna manu Tancredum sociat Marram revertentem.

Thence, cloaked, both he himself and his companions approach the castle, they call the doorkeeper, the doors are unbarred, they are peaceably admitted—who were feigning peace. Having entered, however, one after another, when first the number suffices for battle, at once all together—these things all at once—they bare their arms, their minds, their swords; they send back Raymond’s soldiers, thrust out, to him, not without cuffs: thus, having taken vengeance on Raymond as it was permitted, Tancred, more astute than the stronger, restored the head cut off to the body, while he gives back to Bohemond the Ilium to his Troy: for Bohemond, while still excluded, was looking up at the town, so maimed did he seem to himself that he called himself a half-prince [0554B], not a prince, and named Raymond his colleague in the principate of Antioch: this vexation tormented the prince sleepless and in dreams. But when hatred and love, colliding on either side, restored, as has been said, the horn to the mutilated principate, then the throne of Bohemond was raised up, and now he himself, more fully awake, with a great host joins Tancred returning to Maarra.

Infesti ambo Provincialium comiti, magnifice sua adversus hostium arma munierunt.

Both, hostile to the Count of the Provincials, magnificently equipped their own arms against the enemies’ weapons.

XCIX.- Discordiae origo.

99.- Origin of discord.

Ad hujus odii fontem recurrere libet, quo minus aestuantis impetum fluenti derivantes miremur. Dum adhuc Antiochia Galliae principibus clausa resisteret, [0554C] Boamundi atque Raimundi ministros media intercurrit discordia. Frumentatum utrobique missi, annonam simul inveniunt et pugnam; ferro ceres dividitur, sauciant tanquam territae ambae partes, saucii populus uterque domum revertuntur.

To the fount of this hatred it is pleasant to recur, so that, by diverting the surge of the seething flood into a channel, we may marvel the less. While Antioch, still closed, was resisting the princes of Gaul, [0554C] a discord ran between the retainers of Boamund and Raymund. Sent on both sides to forage for grain, they find provisions and a fight at once; by iron Ceres is divided; both parties, panic‑stricken as it were, deal wounds, and wounded, each people returns home.

Viso famularis turbae sanguine principes turbantur: et si quando similis occurrerit casus, sauciorum animos ad talionem accendunt: in castris tegendum fore ignem praecipiunt, extra turbine rapido flammas suscitandas. Jussum hoc aures patulae libenter admittunt, quas difficile erat revocare prohibitas. Ubi ergo exinde major alterius partis turba minori alterius onustae obviasset, depositis illico oneribus victualium, onerabantur colla procellis alaparum; sicque editior viribus, spoliis gaudebat: impar autem [0554D] aliis non sibi desudasse lugebat spoliatus: qui alterutri linguae consonabat, modo cum ea verberabat, interdum pro ea innocens verberabatur.

At the sight of the blood of the servile crowd the princes are disturbed; and whenever a similar case should occur, they inflame the spirits of the more-wounded to talion: they enjoin that the fire be covered in the camp, but that outside flames be suscitated by a rapid whirlwind. This command gaping ears gladly admit—people whom, once let loose, it was difficult to call back under prohibition. Therefore, whenever thereafter the larger throng of one party met a smaller of the other, laden with supplies, with the burdens of victuals straightway laid down, their necks were laden with storms of slaps; and thus the one higher in forces rejoiced in the spoils, but the unequal, [0554D] spoiled, lamented that he had sweated not for himself but for others: whoever consonated with either tongue, now with it he beat, at times for it, though innocent, he was beaten.

Narbonenses, Arverni, Wascones, et hoc genus omne Provincialibus: Apulis vero reliqua Gallia, praesertim Normanni conspirabant. Britones, Suevos, Hunos, Rutenos et hujusmodi linguae suae barbaries audita tuebatur, et hoc quidem extra muros.

The Narbonnese, the Arverni, the Wascones (Gascons), and all this sort were with the Provincials; but with the Apulians the rest of Gaul conspired, especially the Normans. The barbarity of their own tongue, once heard, protected the Bretons, the Suevi, the Huns, the Ruthenians, and the like—and this indeed outside the walls.

C.- Commentum de lancea Domini.

C.- Comment on the Lance of the Lord.

In urbe quoque non effluxit seditio, sed affluxit: cum enim in supradicta fame populus turbaretur obsessus, surrexit de gente Raimundi versutus mendaciique commentor Petrus, qui salutem populi revelatam sibi praedicaret hoc modo: «Apparuit, inquit, mihi semisopito beatus Andreas apostolus, atque [0555A] hoc auribus meis praeceptum indixit: Surge, et annuntia populo laboranti consolationem coelitus elapsam, quam lateris Dominici perforatrix lancea conferet inventa: ea intra basilicam beati Petri sub terra latet: tu in tali loco (et locum designavit) pavimentum solve, ibi fodiendo annuntiatum invenies ferrum. Ubi ergo armorum horror ingruerit, illud opponite hostibus; in eo vincetis. Experrectus delusum me a somno arbitrabar, nec palam feci in perpetuum taciturus, nisi secundo et tertio commonerer: tenebat me rursus secundae noctis quies, cum rursus idem apostolus redit, ipsum idem quod prius ingeminans, sed increpanti similis et irato.

In the city likewise sedition did not flow out, but flowed in: for when in the aforesaid famine the people, besieged, were being thrown into turmoil, there arose from the party of Raymond a wily Peter, a contriver of mendacity, who proclaimed that the salvation of the people had been revealed to him in this way: «There appeared to me, he says, as I was half-asleep, the blessed Andrew the apostle, and [0555A] he enjoined this command upon my ears: Rise, and announce to the toiling people the consolation slipped down from heaven, which the spear, piercer of the Lord’s side, once found, will confer: it lies hidden beneath the earth within the basilica of blessed Peter: you, in such a place (and he designated the place), loosen the pavement; there by digging you will find the iron that has been announced. When therefore the horror of arms shall press on, set that against the enemies; in it you will conquer. Awakened, I supposed myself deluded by sleep, nor did I make it public, intending to be silent forever, unless I should be warned a second and a third time: the repose of a second night held me again, when again the same apostle returns, redoubling the very same thing as before, but like one rebuking and angry.

Quare, inquit, contempto me siles? multorumque salutem unus moraris? Clamavit ad Dominum populus, et exauditus [0555B] est, et adhuc eum tua negligentia facit quasi neglectum: festina igitur quantocius hoc corrigere, ut possis vivere.

Why, he says, with me contemned, do you keep silence? and do you alone delay the salvation of many? The people cried to the Lord, and he was heard [0555B], and even now your negligence makes him as if neglected: hasten therefore as quickly as possible to correct this, that you may be able to live.

His perterritus, ubi somnum evasi, jam simul certior factus sum et sollicitior: adhuc tamen ambigens clamne facerem, an palam: in hac cura totum transegi diem, et bissem noctis orationi et jejunio vacans, postulansque a Deo vicem tertiam, si duae ab eodem fuissent. Bis acclamaverat auroram gallus, cum vix tandem sub cantu tertio fessos artus sopor alligat: nec mora, qui primo, qui secundo venerat, illico tertiat vicem, semper terribilior, semper imperiosior, Surge, age, inquit, ignavum pecus, canis mute, mora salutis, cunctatio triumphi, damnum civium, hostium solamen; timore illic trepidasti, ubi non fuit timor: ubi est, illic non times. Restabant [0555C] adhuc minae et jurgia, cum prae timore exterritus spiritus minis subtraxit se et sopori.

Frightened by these things, when I escaped sleep, at once I became both more certain and more solicitous; still, however, wavering whether I should do it secretly or openly: in this care I passed the whole day, and a twofold portion of the night, devoting myself to prayer and fasting, and asking from God a third turn, if the two had been from the same. Twice had the cock hailed the dawn, when scarcely at last, under the third crowing, sleep bound my weary limbs: and without delay, he who had come the first time, who the second, immediately makes up the third turn, ever more terrible, ever more imperious: Rise, come on, he says, cowardly herd, mute dog, the delay of salvation, the procrastination of triumph, the loss of the citizens, the solace of the enemies; you trembled there with fear where there was no fear: where it is, there you do not fear. There still remained [0555C] threats and wranglings, when my spirit, terrified by fear, withdrew itself from the threats and into sleep.

Sudor pariter tremorque simul corpus alternabat, ac si latus alterum torreret ignis, alterum in glacie rigeret. His gradibus ad docendum veni quod didici: vos autem, patres ac fratres, ne tardetis rei sinceritatem experiri: superest mihi locum designare, vobis suffodere.» Qui rumor ubi Raimundi auribus est illapsus, statim concione habita, Petrus ad Petri basilicam vocatur, locum rogatus, sicut finxerat prius, altare significat, fodere monet; utque pondus verba habeant, vultum etiam fingit. Foditur ergo, nec proficitur, suffossa humus nequit reddere quod nec commissum fuerat, nec acceptum.

Equally sweat and tremor in turn kept alternating my body, as if fire were roasting one side, the other were stiffening in ice. By these steps I came to teach what I learned: but you, fathers and brothers, do not delay to try the sincerity of the matter; it remains for me to designate the place, for you to dig.» When this rumor had slipped into the ears of Raymond, immediately, an assembly having been held, Peter is summoned to Peter’s basilica; asked the place, just as he had previously feigned, he indicates the altar, and advises them to dig; and so that the words might have weight, he even feigns his countenance. Therefore it is dug, and no progress is made: the excavated soil cannot give back what had neither been entrusted nor received.

Habebat autem ipse clam apud se cuspidis Arabicae ferrum, de cujus inventione [0555D] fortuita, materiam fallendi sibi assumpserat: Scabram quippe intuitus, exaesam, annosam, usui nostro forma et quantitate dissimilem, auspicatus est illico hinc fidem novis figmentis adhaesuram. Nactus ergo fallendi tempus, ligone arrepto, fossam insilit, conversusque ad angulum: «Hic, inquit, fodiendum est, hic latet quod quaerimus, hinc exibit.» Tunc saepius saepiusque ictum multiplicans, demissam fraudulenter a se lanceam fossorio illidit: cooperata est dolis umbra, umbrae populus frequens, frequentiae loci angustia.

He, however, secretly had with him the iron of an Arabian spearhead, from whose [0555D] chance discovery he had assumed for himself the material for deception: looking on it as scabrous, eaten away, time-worn, unlike for our use in form and in size, he straightway augured that from this credibility would adhere to his new figments. Therefore, having found a time for deceiving, a mattock seized, he leaps into the trench, and turning to a corner: «Here,» he says, «it must be dug; here lies hidden what we seek; from here it will come out.» Then, multiplying the stroke again and again, he strikes with the digging tool the lance fraudulently let down by himself: the shadow cooperated with the wiles, the populace frequent in the shadow, the narrowness of the place’s crowding.

CI.

101.

Caeterum ubi ferrum ferro illisum tinniit, aures simplicium arrectas idem fraudis commentor, sublata [0556A] lancea, his implevit: «Ecce, ecce quod coelum promisit, quod tellus conservavit, apostolus revelavit, oratio populi contriti impetravit.» Vix haec fatum foras extrahunt, hymnis et canticis lanceam prosequuntur, muneribus donant, auro involvunt et palliis. Haec Raimundus et qui ei favebant concinnabat: sed et aliarum partium rudis simplicitas oblationibus deserviebat; ante victoriam quidem instanter, post eam vero multo instantius, quasi trophaei gloria praelatae in bellum lanceae juxta Provincialium clamorem foret adscribenda. Igitur Raimundi ampliabatur fiscus, extollebatur animus, insolescebat exercitus.

But when the iron, struck upon iron, rang, with the ears of the simple pricked up, the same contriver of the fraud, the lance lifted [0556A] up, filled them with these words: “Behold, behold what heaven promised, what earth preserved, the apostle revealed, the oration of the contrite people obtained.” Hardly had they said this when they straightway draw it forth outside; with hymns and canticles they escort the lance, they present it with gifts, they wrap it in gold and in cloaks. This Raymond, and those who favored him, were orchestrating; but even the raw simplicity of the other parties was serving with oblations—before the victory indeed earnestly, but after it much more earnestly—as though the glory of the trophy of the lance borne to the front into war ought to be ascribed, according to the clamor of the Provincials. Therefore Raymond’s fisc (treasury) was being enlarged, his spirit was being exalted, the army was growing insolent.

Favebant ei de principibus aliqui, quos ipse modo blanditiis, modo obsequiis sibi allexerat.

Some of the princes favored him, whom he himself had enticed to himself, now by blandishments, now by obsequious compliances.

CII.- Boamundus fallaciam suspicatur in lancea. [0556B]

102.- Bohemond suspects deception in the lance. [0556B]

At Boamundus, ut ipse non imprudens, rei seriem scrutatur, quisnam somniator ille esset, quibus populum ambagibus involvisset, quem fossoribus locum significasset, utque ipse insiluisset, fodisset, invenisset: statim fallaciam deprehendit, inventionem irritam, inventorem conjecturis falsificat argutis. «Pulchre, inquit, commentum est beatum Andream apparuisse homini, quem audio cauponas frequentare, fora praecurrere, nugis amicum, triviis innatum. Honestam elegit sanctus apostolus personam, cui coeli panderet arcanum: nam de loco, cui fictus non patet locus?

But Bohemond, since he himself was not imprudent, scrutinizes the sequence of the matter—who that dreamer was, with what ambiguities he had entangled the people, what place he had indicated to the diggers, and how he himself had leapt in, dug, and found—and straightway he detects the deceit, nullifies the “discovery,” disproves the discoverer by shrewd conjectures. «Finely contrived,» he says, «that the blessed Andrew should have appeared to a man whom I hear to frequent inns, to be ever beforehand at the fora, a friend to trifles, native to the crossroads. An honorable person the holy apostle chose, to whom he would lay open the secret of heaven: for as to the place—what place is not open to one who fabricates?»

si Christianus abdidit, cur altaris proximi latibulum declinavit? aut si gentilis [0556C] seu Judaeus, cur intra parietes ecclesiae? cur secus altare?

if a Christian hid it, why did he decline the hiding-place of the nearby altar? or if a gentile [0556C] or a Jew, why within the walls of the church? why beside the altar?

quod si neutri, sed fortunae ascribitur; apud quem historiographum venisse Antiochiam Pilatus invenitur. Scimus nempe et lanceam fuisse militis, et militem Pilati: at vero placet quod sequitur: quod audio inventorem illum, laborantibus frustra fossoribus, insiluisse, concessumque uni esse in tenebris, quod multis palam est negatum. O fatuitas rustica!

but if it is ascribed to neither, but to Fortune; with what historiographer is Pilate found to have come to Antioch? We know, to be sure, both that the lance was the soldier’s, and that the soldier was Pilate’s: but indeed what follows pleases: that I hear that “inventor,” while the diggers were toiling in vain, leaped in, and that in the dark it was granted to one what is denied openly to many. O rustic fatuity!

o rusticitas credula! o credulitas facile convincenda! Esto, personam honestas, locum vicina crucifixio roborat: non satis vel haec novissima hominis illius fraus patet: si pure, si simpliciter in via Dei ambulasset, si advocato sibi in apostolo confidisset, non ferret ipse inventioni suae testimonium, sed mereretur alienum.

o credulous rusticity! o credulity easily refuted! Granted, you make the person honorable, the nearby crucifixion corroborates the place: even this very latest fraud of that man is not sufficiently laid open: if he had walked purely, if simply, in the way of God, if he had confided, with the apostle called as advocate for himself, he would not himself bear testimony to his own invention, but would merit that of another.

Nam quid tantae illi [0556D] contumeliae rependam, quod nostram quae de sursum est descendens a patre luminum victoriam, ferro suo Provinciales deputant? Deputent ipsi suam comes cupidus, et vulgus stolidum: nos autem in nomine Domini Dei nostri Jesu Christi vicimus et vincemus. Haec Boamundus et cum eo qui summatum subtilius discernebant Normannus et Flandrensis comites, Arnulphusque vicepraesul et Tancredus.

For how shall I repay him for so great a contumely, that they assign our victory—which is from above, descending from the Father of lights—by their own steel to the Provincials? Let the greedy count and the stolid vulgus assign it to themselves; but we, in the name of the Lord our God Jesus Christ, have conquered and shall conquer. These things Bohemond—and with him those who more subtly discerned the summation—the Norman and Flemish counts, and Arnulf the vice-prelate, and Tancred. [0556D]

CIII.- In quo et Raimundo displicet.

103.- In which even Raymond is displeased.

Igitur Raimundus acutis Boamundi argumentorum spiculis sauciatus, mille artibus. mille semitis vindictam investigat: ita secum sine medio disjungens Wiscardidae contumelias, aut praemoriar aut [0557A] ulciscar. Si palam occursus non suppetit, suppetat occultus: ubi non valet lancea, valeat sica.

Therefore Raymond, wounded by the sharp spicules of Bohemond’s arguments, seeks out vengeance by a thousand arts. a thousand paths: thus with himself, setting a disjunction without a middle about the Guiscardid’s insults, either I will die first or [0557A] I will avenge. If an open encounter does not suffice, let a hidden one suffice: where the lance does not avail, let the dagger avail.

. . . . . Dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirat? (VIRG. Aeneid.

. . . . . Deceit or valor—who would inquire in the case of an enemy? (VIRG. Aeneid.

lib. II.)

book 2.)

Cum, inquit, mea est urbis tutela, praesidium montanum, mihi regia princeps, mihi forum, mihi pons et porta parent: lancea quoque, populi numerus arbitrii est mei. Quid restat, nisi ut exstincto, principatum obtineam Boamundi? Haec et multo plura volventi, prae omnibus sedet motum iri inter plebes seditionem, ut a pede ad caput exundetur, proludant in foro hinc inde jurgia, surgat clamor turbari populos, duces utrinque suis auxilium ferant, in Boamundum omnis arcus, omne jaculum intendatur.

“Since,” he says, “the guardianship of the city is mine, the mountain praesidium; to me the royal palace is principal, to me the forum, to me the bridge and the gate give obedience: the lance also, and the number of the people, are at my discretion. What remains, save that, with Bohemond extinguished, I obtain the principate? While he turns over these things and much more, above all it is settled that sedition is going to be set in motion among the plebs, that from foot to head it may overflow, that brawling-quarrels may prelude here and there in the forum, that a clamor may arise and the peoples be thrown into turmoil, that leaders on both sides may bring aid to their own, that against Bohemond every bow, every javelin may be aimed.”

Has dum Raimundus tanquam leo in [0557B] spelunca sua molitur insidias: noluit taceri iniquitatem Deus, quin Arnulfo indicata, ilicet per eum Boamundo indicatur. Sic elusa fraude, salvata est a morte anima viri, cujus vita plurimum Jerosolymipetis jam profuerat, plurimum adhuc profutura. Hanc igitur habuerunt irae originem, hinc coepit edii fomes.

While Raymond, like a lion in [0557B] his own cave, is contriving ambushes: God did not will that the iniquity be kept silent; rather, once disclosed to Arnulf, straightway through him it is made known to Bohemond. Thus, the fraud having been foiled, the man’s life was saved from death, whose life had already profited the Jerusalem-seekers greatly, and was yet to profit greatly. Therefore wrath had this origin; hence began the tinder of hatred.

CIV.- Marra capitur.

104.- Marra is captured.

Sed revocat me obsidio, tanquam messorem seges intermissa dum is retrogradus spicas recolligit elapsas. Igitur Marram usquequaque bello circumseptam suffodiunt, Marrae supervolitant sagittae, concutiunt fundae, tremefaciunt minae: undique clamor, undique assultus, undique plaga: contra urbani quasi par pari reddunt, reverberant balearica [0557C] tormenta similibus, missilia jacula eminus, cominus vomeres marmora demittunt: plurimum sauciant, plurimum sauciantur: hi moriuntur ut vivant, infirmantur ut valeant, fluunt ut durent: illis intentio est coeptum, jamque semiactum opus peragere, tanto labori finem quaerere, adipisci gloriam superando, superare fortunam patiendo: sed dum crebrius crebriusque tanquam malleis incus, vel flagellis area, silice infatigabili moenia percelluntur, fatescit turris, murus solvitur, propugnacula ruunt, ruina simul et claustra pandit et gradus exstruit. Igitur vae, vae Mahumicolis, Christicolis gaudium: quippe his prospera omnia, illis omnia etiam ipsae suae spes adversantur.

But the siege calls me back, as a field calls back a reaper, interrupted, while he, going backward, gathers up the ears that have slipped out. Therefore they mine beneath Marra, encompassed on every side by war; over Marra arrows fly, slings shake it, threats make it tremble: on every side clamor, on every side assault, on every side blows: in reply the townsmen, as it were, return like for like, they beat back the Balearic [0557C] engines with similar ones, from afar they hurl missile javelins, at close quarters they let down marble blocks with ploughshare-blades: they wound very many, they are very much wounded: these die that they may live, are weakened that they may be strong, bleed that they may endure: their intent is to complete the enterprise already half done, to seek an end to so great a labor, to attain glory by overcoming, to overcome fortune by suffering: but while, more and more frequently, like an anvil by hammers, or a threshing-floor by flails, the walls are smitten by indefatigable flint, the tower gapes, the wall is loosened, the bulwarks fall, the ruin at once both opens the barriers and builds steps. Therefore woe, woe to the Mahomet-worshipers, joy to the Christ-worshipers: for to these all things are prosperous, to those everything, even their very hopes themselves, turns adverse.

Nec mora, patefacto aditu, [0557D] aditor non deest, contra civitas obsistere nititur, quidquid virium habet, introitui opponit: summopere certatur, dum haec invalescit pugna, dum horsum fervet, aliorsum tepescit defensio, minus jam minusque scuta sonant, quale paulo ante ad grandinem saxorum pene fatiscebant. Ergo applicantur muro scalae, superat turres ascensor, urbi captae insultat: sed audito strepitu, visoque discursu, defendentis turbae cadunt animi, pedes refugi latebras petunt, armis projectis vivere speratur. At nostri urbe capta, alii caedibus insistunt, alii gazis; pars victum quaeritat, pars rapinas exercet, victoriam adeptos laborum juvat meminisse jocundius graviorum.

Nor was there delay: the access having been laid open, [0557D] an assailant is not lacking; contrariwise the city strives to resist, it opposes to the entrance whatever strength it has: to the utmost the contest is waged; while this fight gains strength, while it boils this way, elsewhere the defense grows tepid; now less and less the shields resound, which a little before were almost giving way under the hail of stones. Therefore ladders are applied to the wall, the climber overmasters the towers, he makes an onset upon the captured city: but when the crash is heard and the running to and fro is seen, the spirits of the defending crowd sink, their feet in flight seek hiding-places, with their arms cast away life is hoped for. But our men, the city taken, some persist in slaughters, others in treasure; part seeks victuals, part practices rapine; for those who have obtained victory it delights to remember their labors, and the heavier, the more pleasantly.

Sic venatricem olim turbam et ipse venator jocundantem, licet jejunam vidi, quos a praecedentis [0558A] noctis hora penultima ad tertiam sequentis dies media fatigaverat.

Thus once I myself, a hunter, saw a venatic throng making jocund sport, though fasting, whom weariness had fatigued from the next-to-last hour of the preceding [0558A] night to the third hour of the following day, midmorning.

CV.- Arcae obsidentur.

105.- Arca is besieged.

Jamque saepius de valle lacrymarum ad montem gaudii excelsum surgere assueti Christicolae successus urgere suos, instare favori numinis haud cessant. Arcas oppidum aggrediuntur, non impari ac Marram nisu, sed dissimili eventu. Surgit in margine planitiei tumulus declivia Libani ab austro pertingens, mare ad occasum quasi stadiis viginti remotus despectans: ejus pedem fluvius abluit, qui ab ortu ad littora derivans, Hierosolymitano laevum latus imperio concedit, Antiochiae dextrum, inter Tortuosam et Tripolim limes notissimus, munitum arte et natura praesidium, difficilem hosti grassaturo [0558B] aditum minabatur.

And now the Christ-worshippers, often accustomed to rise from the vale of tears to the high mount of joy, do not cease to press their successes, to insist upon the favor of the Divine. They attack the town of Arcas, with an effort not unequal to that at Marra, but with a dissimilar outcome. There rises on the margin of the plain a mound reaching the declivities of Lebanon from the south, looking down upon the sea to the west, removed by about twenty stadia: a river washes its foot, which, deriving from the east to the shores, yields the left flank to the Jerusalemite dominion, the right to Antioch—a most well-known boundary between Tortosa and Tripoli—a stronghold fortified by art and by nature, threatened a difficult approach to an enemy about to advance [0558B].

Christicolae autem plurimo jam certamine, virtuti omnia cedere experti, Arcas circumdant, pars fluvium transmeat, ut portarum obstruat egressum: pars citra manet, de opibus Crach. et Raphaniae oppidorum, ac reliquae hujusmodi citerioris viciniae facilius alenda. Tancredus in primis transmeatoribus emicat summopere exsultans, quod desiderati regni oram ingredi meruisset: pons tamen saxeus antiqua fabrica continuabat exercitum, ut facile ab his ad illos posset transmigrari.

But the Christ-worshippers, now after very much contest, having learned by experience that all things yield to valor, surround Arcas: part crosses the river, to obstruct the exit by the gates; part remains on this side, to be more easily victualed from the resources of the towns of Crac. and Raphania, and of the remaining nearer neighborhood of this sort. Tancred flashes forth among the foremost crossers, exulting exceedingly that he had merited to enter the border of the desired kingdom: nevertheless a stone bridge, of ancient workmanship, kept the army continuous, so that one could easily pass over from these to those.

Ergo ubi armis clausa sunt claustra; fortia fortibus, gentilia Christianis, principes de more tormenta muralia struunt: singuli singula, unum comes Normannus, alterum Raimundus, tertium Tancredus: nam Boamundus Marra eversa Antiochiam [0558C] redierat, ubi etiam dux Godefridus et comes Flandrensis adhuc hiemabant. Hugonem magnum ad Ciliciam revocaverat bellum, in quo saucius femur Tharsum fertur curandus, imo humandus. Solis igitur tribus suprascriptis principibus obsidionis labor incumbit, oppugnant incessanter, et acriter expugnantur.

Therefore, when the barriers were shut with arms—strength matched by the strong, and what is “gentile” confronted by Christians—the princes, as is their custom, set up mural engines of war: each his own—one the Norman count, another Raymond, the third Tancred; for Bohemond, with Marra overturned, had returned to Antioch [0558C], where also Duke Godfrey and the Count of Flanders were still wintering. War had recalled Hugh the Great to Cilicia, in which, wounded in the thigh, he is reported at Tarsus to be in need of treatment—nay rather, of burial. Accordingly the toil of the siege rests upon the three aforesaid princes alone; they assail without cease, and are stoutly assailed.

Dum sic autem certatur, quiddam contigit quod praeterire socordia est, memorare utile et honestum.

While thus the struggle is being waged, something occurred which it would be sloth to pass over; to recount it is useful and honorable.

CVI.- Mirabilis visio Anselli proximae mortis praesaga.

106.- A marvelous vision of Anselm, presaging his imminent death.

Erat in exercitu nostro heros nobilis, cui magnum nomen contulerant hinc probitas, inde genus, tertia honestas, quartus Ribot mons haereditas propria militiae [0558D] fetura praeclarae notissimus. Vocabulum illius viri Ansellus regi Franciae, imo ternae Galliae curias celebre personabat. Is in meridie, ut est moris, cum lassos somnus ocellos submisisset, somnium vidit, quod experrectus adito sapienti viro indicatori meo Arnulfo indicavit.

There was in our army a noble hero, upon whom a great name had been conferred—on this side by probity, on that side by lineage, third by honor, fourth by Mount Ribot, his own hereditary estate—very well known for a splendid breeding of soldiery [0558D]. The name of that man, Ansellus, resounded as renowned in the court of the king of France, nay, in the curiae of triple Gaul. He at midday, as is the custom, when sleep had lowered his weary little eyes, saw a dream, which, having awakened, he reported—after approaching the wise man—unto my informant Arnulf.

«Videbar, inquit, mihi per somnium super caeni congeriem stare, unde palatium suspiciebam excelsum, cujus quam maxime simul omnia communem usum excellebant: spatiositas, celsitudo, materia, forma, soliditas, ornatus. Pedem ejus marmor, ebur, argentum formabant; reliquum corpus aurum prorsus et gemmae. Deambulabant per porticus in excelso personae innumerabiles, quarum singulas tanti aedificii censura decuisset: adeo speciosi, adeo proceri, adeo ornati, adeo per [0559A] omnia venusti proceres eminebant; cumque perspicacius intuens admirarer, deprehendi quasdam praecognitae mihi figurae reliquias, quibus comites militiae hujus nostrae hos fuisse animadverterem.

«“I seemed,” he says, “to myself in a dream to be standing upon a heap of mud, whence I was gazing up at a lofty palace, in which, most of all things together, the common utility excelled: spaciousness, loftiness, material, form, solidity, ornament. Its base was formed by marble, ivory, and silver; the remaining body was entirely gold and gems. Countless persons were walking through the porticoes on high, each of whom the standard of so great an edifice would have judged becoming: so handsome, so tall, so adorned, so in all [0559A] respects charming did the nobles stand out; and as, looking more keenly, I marveled, I detected certain remnants of a figure previously known to me, by which I perceived that these had been companions of this our soldiery.”»

Tunc mihi corde et animo studiosius inhianti, et si quis patuisset aditus anhelanti conscendere, apparuit quidam ille noster, quem taliter ibi tunc amisimus: (nomenque et modum locumque et diem obitus viri recolebat) ille mihi, inquam, sic ait: Hanccine beatorum turbam agnoscis, Anselle? Vix, inquam; neque enim alia ad cognoscendum signa remanserant: nisi qualibet quinquagenarium quempiam regressum agnoscimus, qui a nobis puer septenni est egressus. Tunc ille: Hi sunt Jerosolymipetae, qui viam Dei in qua adhuc et tu laboras, ab initio aggressi [0559B] rebus humanis excesserunt, et meruerunt habere coronas perpetuas: tu quoque in proximo, ne forte invideas, ad nos conscendes; bonum enim certamen certavisti, et cursum consummasti.

Then, as I, with heart and mind, was gaping more eagerly, and—had any approach lain open—panting to ascend, there appeared a certain one of ours, whom in just such a way we then lost there: (and he recalled the man’s name and the manner, place, and day of his death). He, I say, thus said to me: “Do you recognize this crowd of the blessed, Ansel?” “Hardly,” I said; “for no other signs for recognition remained—unless, in any case, we recognize some fifty-year-old returning, who went out from us as a seven-year-old boy.” Then he: “These are the Jerusalem-pilgrims, who, having from the beginning undertaken the way of God in which even you are still laboring, have departed from human affairs and have merited to have perpetual crowns; you also, shortly—lest perhaps you feel envy—will ascend to us; for you have contested the good contest, and you have consummated the course.” [0559B]

Hic me stupefactum sopor dimisit et visio: tua, Domine, sapientia mihi consulat.» Tunc Arnulfus metum verbis a viri pectore solatoriis excludens: monet tamen confitendum peccata esse, accipiendam poenitentiam, et post haec eucharistiam. Actum illico, et ministris commilitonibusque suis stipendia reddere debita est adjectum. Jamque intrepidus equo insidens, stipante militum caterva, circa muros, ut solent nobiles, spatiabatur: cum repente silex improvisa de turribus illapsa est, quae Anselli occiput sparsit et cerebrum, moxque labentem militia excipit; [0559C] illuc corpus reportant cum lacrymis, unde modo gaudentes exierant, spiritus ad beatitudinem ascendit promissam.

Here sleep and the vision left me, stupefied: may your wisdom, Lord, be my counselor.» Then Arnulf, excluding fear from the man’s breast with consolatory words: nevertheless advises that sins must be confessed, penance received, and after these the Eucharist. It was done forthwith, and it was added that the owed stipends be rendered to his attendants and fellow-soldiers. And now, fearless, mounted on his horse, with a throng of soldiers pressing around, he was taking his ease around the walls, as nobles are wont: when suddenly an unforeseen flint-stone slipped down from the towers, which scattered Ansel’s occiput and brain, and soon the soldiery catches him as he falls; [0559C] they carry the body back with tears to that place whence just now rejoicing they had gone out, his spirit ascended to the promised beatitude.

CVII.- Oppidani Arcarum acriter resistunt.

107.- The townsmen of Arca resist sharply.

Condito, prout decuit, illustri viro, cum exercitus noster nihil in obsidendo proficeret, praescripto dant mandatum Arnulfo, ut Antiochiam revertatur, quatenus morantium Godefridi Robertique Flandrensis quietem increpet, bellumque adesse nuntiet Damascenum: Arnulfus autem ut semper ipse ad reipublicae utilitatem promptissimus, libens ultro scapham ascendit propter navalia hostium Tortuosae, Heracliae, Valoniae, Gibel: tandem Laodiciam pervenit, inde Antiochiam per multa pericula, paucis [0559D] comitantibus excurrit. Illic principes causam viae nactus expergisci monet, docet bellum imminere, cujus fortunam, nisi maturatum fuerit, horum terminabit absentia.

With the illustrious man laid to rest, as was fitting, since our army was making no progress in besieging, by a written order they give a mandate to Arnulf to return to Antioch, so that he may rebuke the repose of the delaying Godfrey and Robert of Flanders, and announce that the Damascene war is at hand: but Arnulf—since he himself was always most prompt for the utility of the republic—willingly of his own accord boarded a skiff near the shipyards of the enemy at Tortuosa, Heraclea, Valonia, Gibel: at length he reached Laodicea, thence he hurried to Antioch through many perils, with few [0559D] accompanying. There, having found the princes, he sets forth the cause of the journey, warns them to awaken, shows that war is impending, the fortune of which, unless it be hastened, their absence will bring to an end.

Cognito autem belli rumore, Franci militia principatum stimulat, nec minus ipsa ab ipso stimulatur, unanimiter arma frementes, breve tempus inter parandum perveniendumque expendunt. Ergo ubi exercitus congregati fama finitimos percurrit, cessat bellum, satagit hostis se tueri, non alios grassari: at nostri perpetuo impetu, sed non efficaci propositum urgent: sagittas, jacula, silices, et quidquid in turres hostiliter mittitur, incunctanter mittunt; natura pro loco pugnat, nihil proficiunt. Compertum habebant plurimi et expertum quiescendo interdum [0560A] vincere, ubi frustra fuerit laboratum: propterea ex hoc in hoc sibi consulunt inclinare, ut cunctando fame crucient oppidanos.

With the rumor of war known, the Frankish soldiery stimulates the principate, and no less it in turn is stimulated by it, unanimously roaring for arms; they expend a brief time between preparing and arriving. Therefore, when the report of the armies assembled runs through the neighbors, the war ceases; the enemy busies himself to protect himself, not to assail others: but our men, with perpetual assault, yet not effective, press their design: arrows, javelins, flints, and whatever is sent hostilely against the towers, they send without delay; Nature fights on behalf of the place, they make no progress. Very many had ascertained and experienced that by resting one sometimes [0560A] prevails, when labor has been in vain: therefore they take counsel to incline from this course to that, to torment the townsmen with famine by delaying.

Consilii magistra fuit ubertas exterior parituram se intus minitans egestatem.

Exterior abundance was the instructress of counsel, menacing that it would bring forth poverty within.

CVIII.- Probatione ignis impostura de lancea declaratur.

108.- The imposture concerning the lance is declared by the proof of fire.

Dum ergo vacant arma, dumque otium curas excludit mavortias, oboritur quaestio de supra memorata cuspidinis inventione examen factura: vexabat namque schisma populum, his factum laudantibus, illis damnantibus, neutra parte admodum rata. Unde placuit summis procerum ut qui erroris initium fuerat, ipse litem finiret, ignito argumento rei dubiae fidem facturus. Accito itaque in concilium Petro, [0560B] adjudicantur novem passus hinc inde flammantium medii spinarum, quatenus hac examinatione aut illaesi vera probetur inventio, aut falsa ustulati.

While therefore arms are idle, and leisure shuts out martial cares, a question arises about the above-mentioned discovery of the spearhead, to conduct an examination: for a schism was vexing the people, these lauding the deed, those damning it, with neither party quite ratified. Whence it pleased the highest nobles that he who had been the beginning of the error should himself end the dispute, about to render credence to the doubtful matter by a fiery proof. Accordingly, Peter having been called into the council, [0560B] there are adjudged nine paces of a middle path of thorns, burning on either side, to the end that by this examination either, unscathed, the discovery be proved true, or, scorched, false.

Datur jejunio triduum, legitime orandi vigilandique induciae: sic disceditur; at mox postridie iterum convenitur. Flammescunt ordine gemino spinae; Petrus tunica et braccis velatus, nudus caetera per medium graditur, in exitu ambustus cadit, postridie exspirat. Videns quid actum est populus, calliditate verbosa seductum se fatetur, errasse poenitet; Petrum Simonis Magi discipulum fuisse testatur.

A triduum is granted for the fast, lawful truces for praying and keeping vigil: thus they part; but soon on the next day they convene again. The thorn-heaps blaze in a double row; Peter, clothed with tunic and breeches, otherwise naked, walks through the middle, at the exit falls burned, and on the next day expires. Seeing what has been done, the people confess themselves to have been seduced by wordy cunning, repent of having erred; they testify that Peter had been a disciple of Simon Magus.

CIX.

109.

At Raimundus et complices sui Provinciales obstinatis animis reum defendunt, sanctum praedicant, Arnulfo minantur, utpote fraudis revelatae summo [0560C] scrutatori; denique manum armatam in eum mittunt, domi improvidum oppressuram; nisi praemonitus ad Normanniae comitem, cui militabat, ipse festinasset. Comes epulabatur et cum eo Flandrensis, ambo simul juncti discumbebant, sed audita festinantiae causa vocatur, in medium sessurus; comites altrinsecus secedunt, mittuntur arma armatis occursura. Caeterum, illi, audito Normannorum fremitu, territi rem dissimulant, aliud quaerere atque aliorsum tendere simulantes: hoc se artificio tuentur; alioquin non tam frustra quam male arma sumpsisse, si quos absolvisset fuga, dolituri.

But Raymond and his accomplices, the Provincials, with obstinate minds defend the defendant, proclaim him holy, and threaten Arnulf, as the supreme scrutinizer of the fraud revealed [0560C]; finally they send an armed band against him, to overwhelm him off his guard at home—had he not, being forewarned, himself hastened to the Count of Normandy, whom he served as a soldier. The Count was banqueting, and with him a Fleming; both, joined together, were reclining; but when the cause of the haste was heard, he is summoned, to sit in the middle; the counts withdraw to either side; troops are dispatched to meet the armed men. However, they, on hearing the rumble of the Normans, terrified, dissemble the matter, pretending to seek something else and to turn elsewhere: by this artifice they protect themselves; otherwise they would have grieved, not so much that they had taken up arms in vain, as that they had taken them up to their hurt, if there had been any whom flight had let go.

CX.- Proponitur fabricanda aurea Salvatoris imago.

110.- It is proposed that a golden image of the Savior be fashioned.

[0560D] Postquam fraudis commentor Petrus, quam meruit, poenam luit; denuo fit conventus, ut elapso cassatae inventionis gaudio, novum succedat solatium. Imago Salvatoris auro purissimo effigienda proponitur, ex populo Israelitici structura tabernaculi, quantae in his, quantae in illis fuerint expensae; devotio illius saeculi retrectatur, nec praeteritur merces incunctata, frequentes ex hoste victoriae; moneturque et pro amotis jam periculis Deo esse gratandum, et pro amovendis supplicandum. Hujus igitur exhortationis Arnulfus praedicator ipse auditores suos quocunque volebat inclinabat.

[0560D] After Peter, the contriver of the fraud, paid the penalty he had deserved, a convocation is held anew, so that, the joy of the annulled contrivance having slipped away, a new solace might succeed. The Image of the Savior, to be fashioned in most pure gold, is proposed; to the people is adduced the structure of the Israelitic tabernacle—how great the expenditures were in these and how great in those; the devotion of that age is reconsidered, nor is the un-delayed reward passed over—frequent victories over the foe; and they are admonished both that thanks should be rendered to God for the dangers already removed, and that supplication should be made for those to be removed. By this exhortation, therefore, Arnulf the preacher himself bent his hearers whithersoever he wished.

Marthranensis autem episcopus homo paulo rudibus eruditior, et pene sine litteris litteratus prope astabat, ut expleto sermone benedictionis insigne super populum [0561A] dextram extenderet: hos penes duos jus fabricae consistebat, reliqui omnes oblationibus insistebant. Itaque brevi opus magnum consummatur, quod nisi sedula excudisset instantia, massa informis Jerusalem perferretur: nam tertii jam mensis labor in quartum exierat, cum poenitet morarum principes, pudet quoque circa oppidulum via intermissa, tandiu excubasse.

But the Bishop of Marthranum, a man a little more educated than the rude, and literate almost without letters, stood close by, so that, when the discourse was finished, he might stretch out over the people [0561A] his right hand, the insignia of blessing: with these two the right over the construction resided; all the rest were intent on offerings. Accordingly, in a short time the great work is consummated, which, unless sedulous urgency had hammered it out, a shapeless mass would have been carried to Jerusalem: for the labor of the third month had already passed into the fourth, when the leaders repent of the delays, and are ashamed, too, to have kept long watch around the little town, the road being interrupted.

CXI.- Jerusalem pergit exercitus.

111.- The army proceeds to Jerusalem.

Quapropter opera inutili dimissa ante urbium portas Tripolis, Gibleth, Baruth, Sidonis, Tyri, Achon, Caiphas, Cesareae feliciter transitur: ab his omnibus aes grande et victualium copia audacter exigitur, incunctanter redditur, liberaliter erogatur; nam omnes hae littus a borea in austrum vergens, [0561B] turribus altis muniunt ordine praemisso peregrinantibus obviae. At ubi dimisso littore a tergo Ramulam venitur, Tancredus pernox, castra movet, ante lucanus socios praevenit, Hierusalem pervenit, muros circumvenit.

Wherefore, the useless work having been dismissed before the city gates of Tripolis, Gibleth, Baruth, Sidon, Tyre, Acon, Caiphas, Caesarea, it is happily passed by: from all these a great sum of copper-money and an abundance of victuals is boldly exacted, it is without delay paid, it is liberally dispensed; for all these, lining the shore slanting from the north to the south, [0561B] fortified with high towers, meet the pilgrims with a formation sent ahead. But when, the shore left behind the back, one comes to Ramla, Tancred, all night long, moves the camp, forestalling his companions before daybreak, reaches Jerusalem, encircles the walls.

[0561] (Veniens tamen, Bethlehem ab hostibus liberat, quae obsessa ad eum pridie clamaverat per legatum.) Eminus tamen sub primo aspectu visam Jerusalem salutat, genua humo affixus, oculos urbi, cor coelo, cujus videlicet salutis imago metrum est praesens.

[0561] (Coming, however, he frees Bethlehem from the enemies, which, besieged, had cried to him the day before through a legate.) From afar, however, at the first sight he greets Jerusalem seen, his knees fixed to the ground, his eyes to the city, his heart to heaven, of which, namely, the image of salvation is the present measure.

Salve Hierusalem, gloria mundi,In qua nostra salus, passio ChristiProbris Judaicis ludificataCoelo sole solo testibus alma,Humani generis hoste perempto, [0561C] Immunes sceleris traxit ab orco,In te passa crucem clausa sepulcroLux de luce, Dei dia propago,Infernum penetrans inde reduxitQuos seductus Adam sub Styga mersit.At mox docuit tum redivivamSurrexisse dies tertius illam.Post haec aethereas scandit ad aedes,Nam suscepit eum splendida nubes,Quem cum suspiceret gens Galilaea,Audit: sic veniet seu petit astra.Haec scis dicte sacer mons ab Olivis,Salve praeterea, regia Sion,In qua discipulos, Kyrie eleison [0561D] Clamantes, sonitu sub vehementi,Demisso veluti turbine coeli,Replestis subito, Spiritus alme,In linguis veniens terror et igne,Salve stella maris, janua coeli,Partus psalma, tuae filia prolis,Semper virgo manens post in et antePartum, vel minimae nescia mendae.O per circuitum flumina, ripae, Fons, nemus, urbs, casa, mons, vallis, avete.

Hail, Jerusalem, glory of the world, in which our salvation, the Passion of Christ, mocked by Jewish reproaches, with heaven, sun, and soil as kindly witnesses, after the enemy of the human race was slain, [0561C] drew forth from Orcus those guiltless of crime. In you the Light from Light, the divine offspring of God, suffered the cross and was enclosed in the sepulcher; penetrating Hell, from there he led back those whom Adam, deceived, had plunged beneath the Styx. But soon the third day taught that then the Revived One had arisen. After these things he climbs to the ethereal halls, for a splendid cloud received him; and as the Galilean people looked up at him, it hears: thus he will come as he seeks the stars. These things you know, O sacred Mount named from Olives; hail, moreover, royal Sion, in which the disciples, crying Kyrie eleison, [0561D] under a vehement sound, as if with a whirlwind sent down from heaven, you suddenly filled, kindly Spirit, coming in tongues, awe, and fire. Hail, star of the sea, gate of heaven, nourishing mother, daughter of your offspring, always remaining virgin after and before the birth, and ignorant of the least blemish. O all around, rivers, banks, spring, grove, city, cottage, mountain, valley, hail.

CXII.- Tancredus solus e monte Olivarum urbem considerat.

112.- Tancred alone from the Mount of Olives surveys the city.

Cumque vicina turri Davidicae signa affixisset, [0562A] dato metandis castris edicto, ipse procul solus sine socio, sine armigero montem conscendit, unde ad patrem Christum Deigenam ascendisse didicerat. En temeritas, en novum obsidionis genus. Occasum obsidet Tancredi miles, ortum Tancredus: partem aliam pauci, aliam unus: aliam sine duce militia, aliam sine militia dux: neutrius uterque, imo nullius auxilio confisus.

And when he had affixed the standards near the Davidic Tower, [0562A] an edict having been given for marking out the camp, he himself afar, alone, without companion, without armiger, climbed the mount whence he had learned that Christ, the God-begotten, had ascended to the Father. Behold rashness, behold a new kind of siege. Tancred’s soldiery besiege the Occident, Tancred the Orient: one part by a few, another by one; one sector the soldiery without a leader, another the leader without soldiery—each relying on the aid of neither, nay, trusting in no one’s help.

Ille maxime qui quanto ortui propior, tanto a Francorum subsidio remotior erat; suorum longe in occasu metantium, exercitus sequentis valde remotius in occasu sequenti. Ipse igitur eques, ipse pedes, ipse signifer Tancredus, a monte Olivarum in civitatem obtutum fixerat, solo vallis Josaphat intervallo abscisam. Inspiciebat enim populum discurrentem, turres armatas, militiam [0562B] frementem; viros ad arma, nurus ad lacrymas, sacerdotes ad vota conversos; ejulatu, strepitu, clangore, hinnitu vias intonantes.

He most of all, who the nearer to the rising, the farther from the Franks’ relief; his own men encamping far off in the west, the following army much more remote in the further west. Therefore Tancred, himself horseman, himself footman, himself standard-bearer, from the Mount of Olives had fixed his gaze upon the city, cut off by the single interval of the Valley of Josaphat. For he was inspecting the people running to and fro, the towers armed, the soldiery [0562B] roaring; men turned to arms, daughters-in-law to tears, priests to vows; the streets thundering with wailing, din, clangor, and whinnying.

Stupebat templorum Dominici aeriam rotunditatem, Salomoniaci insolitam longitudinem, spatiosae porticus gyrum, quasi alteram in urbe urbem. Saepius vero ad Calvariam sepulcrique templum dominici oculos reducebat; spectaculum quidem remotius, sed arduitate sua patulum, ipse tamen loco sublimior. Ad haec suspirans, ad haec conquiniscens; illa aevum pro luce pascici cupere, si quando cujus prospectabat fastigia liceat sibi Calvariae osculari vestigia.

He was astounded at the airy rotundity of the Lord’s temples, at the unusual length of the Solomonic one, at the circuit of the spacious portico—almost another city within the city. Yet more often he would bring his eyes back to Calvary and to the temple of the Lord’s Sepulcher; a spectacle indeed more remote, but by its own steepness patent—he himself, however, higher in position. At these he was sighing, at these acquiescing; to feed upon those sights for a lifetime in place of daylight he desired—if ever it might be permitted him to kiss the footprints of Calvary, whose pinnacles he was gazing upon.

CXIII.- Cui occurrit eremita.

113.- Whom an eremite meets.

Obtulerat autem ei fors ad haec discernenda opportunum doctorem Turricolam consultum sibi [0562C] eremitam, qui ipsum ubi praetorium Caiphae, ubi suspendium Judae, quae portarum Aurea, quae Speciosa, unde Jacobus in praeceps dejectus, qua Stephanus ad lapides ejectus, et hujusmodi prorsus quaenam haec, quaenam illa forent instruebat. A quo et ipse mutuo cujus esset sectae, patriae, stirpis, nominis rogatus, Christianum se Normannigenam Wiscardidam Tancredum respondit. Sed audita Wiscardi sobole, stupens ille ac perspicacius intuens ait: «Tunc illius sanguis es ducis, quo fulminante, totiens Graecia tremuit; quo bellante, Alexius fugit; quo obsidente, Dyrrachium patuit; cujus imperio tota usque Bardal Bulgaria paruit; non loqueris ignaro: neque enim me tantus patriae [0562D] meae fefellit populator.

But chance had offered to him, for discerning these things, an opportune teacher—Turricola, an eremite consulted by him [0562C]—who instructed him where Caiaphas’s praetorium was, where Judas’s hanging-place, which of the gates was the Golden, which the Beautiful, from where James was cast headlong, where Stephen was cast out to stones, and, of this sort, precisely which were these, which were those. By whom he in turn, asked of what sect, country, lineage, and name he was, he replied that he was a Christian, a Norman-born Tancred, a Wiscardid. But when the offspring of Wiscard was heard, that man, astounded and looking more keenly, said: «Then you are the blood of that duke, at whose thunderbolt-ing so often Greece trembled; while he was warring, Alexius fled; while he was besieging, Dyrrachium lay open; to whose command all the way to Bardal Bulgaria submitted; you are not speaking to one ignorant: for so great a ravager of my fatherland did not deceive me.» [0562D]

Hostis hic quondam meus nunc demum, te misso, oblatas mihi injurias delinivit. Vivit in te adhuc, vivit ille formidatus populis, audaciae avuncularis vigor, cujus pristini nova mibi refers insignia: stupebam primo hostem advenam spreto consorte solivagum occursare, tantum armis et equo confisum, socias sequi aut antecedere sperabam cohortes. Stuporis causa ignorantia mea erat, cum qua et ipsum a me repulisti.

This one who was formerly my enemy has now at last, with you dispatched, soothed the injuries inflicted upon me. Still there lives in you—there lives, dreaded by peoples—the vigor of avuncular audacity, of whose former prowess you bring back to me new insignia. I was amazed at first that a foreign foe, his comrade spurned, would skirmish lone-wandering, trusting only in arms and horse; I was hoping allied cohorts would follow or precede. The cause of my astonishment was my ignorance—together with which you have repulsed him from me.

Jam simul mihi creatus es, et de ignoto cognitus, et de temerario strenuus, et de hoste veteri frater novus. Jam te deinceps non stupebo, si feceris stupenda: imo stupebo, si stupenda non feceris; ex illa ortum [0563A] familia communem hominum viam terere non decet: attamen cave, cave fili, ecce hostis.»

“Now at once you have been created for me, and from unknown—known, and from temerarious—strenuous, and from an old enemy—a new brother. Now henceforth I shall not be astonished at you, if you do stupendous things; nay rather, I shall be astonished if you do not do stupendous things; sprung [0563A] from that family, it is not fitting to tread the common way of men: yet beware, beware, son; behold the enemy.”

CXIV.- Irruentes ab urbe milites solus fundit.

114.- He alone routs the soldiers rushing out from the city.

Ecce porta milites effundit, quae tunc, ut ad eum conscenderent, in vallem Josaphat quinque demittebat: illi tanto fiducialius adventabant, quo abundantius superat comitem dux, quinarius unitatem. Ergo alii alios quisque reliquos ad diripienda spolia praecurrere festinabant: at Wiscardides vale dato, colloquium dimittit, ad incursum os, animum, sonipedem, fraxinum convertit, et quem primum reperit in montem advolasse, primi cogit spiritum sub Styga, corpus in vallem corruere. Idem manebat secundum casus: sed damnatus ruinae equus equitem salvavit: illum, inquam, equitem infortunio [0563B] fortunatum, cujus frons humum dum reperit, cuspidi obviae pectus non est repertum; praecidit itaque ruinam ruina speratam insperata quae tamen . . . dium facit magis dejecturo quam dejiciendo si . . . tit odiosa.

Behold, the gate pours out soldiers, which then, that they might climb up to him, was letting down five into the Valley of Jehoshaphat: they were approaching all the more confidently, in proportion as a leader more abundantly surpasses a comrade, the five surpass the one. Therefore some were hastening to outrun others, each to outstrip the rest, to despoil the spoils: but the Wiscardid, after bidding farewell, dismisses the colloquy, and toward the onset he turns face, spirit, steed, and ash-wood spear, and the first whom he found to have flown up onto the mountain, he compels his spirit first under Styx, his body to crash down into the valley. The same fate awaited a second; but a horse doomed to a fall saved the horseman—that rider, I say, fortunate in misfortune [0563B], whose brow, while it found the ground, did not offer up his chest to the opposing spear-point; thus an unexpected fall forestalls the fall that was hoped for, which nevertheless . . . makes . . . more for one about to cast down than by being cast down, if . . . be odious.

Nam licet ambobus utilis hunc a labore, illum a nece liberaret; damnatur tamen utilitas, ubi damnosa utriusque impeditur voluntas. Tertius accelerabat, et hunc quoque felicem dixerim, si ipse jacens jacentem se pariter lugeat infelicem. At voti compos, impotem se fecit, qui dum ad congressum ruinam distulit, in congressu durius et miserabilius ruit.

For although what was useful to both would have freed this man from labor, that one from death; yet utility is condemned, whenever the damaging will of each is hindered. A third was hastening, and I would call this one fortunate also, if, as he lies, he likewise laments himself lying unfortunate. But, his wish attained, he made himself impotent: for while he deferred his ruin to the encounter, in the encounter he fell more harshly and more miserably.

Illaesi restabant duo quorum stamina rumpentes retinuit parcas. In egrediendo rumpi coeperant, at mox refugis redintegratae sunt colus: [0563C] quippe Tancredi plusquam leonino attonitos fremitu ad portam fuga celeris reducit: sic quondam catuli ovile repetunt, ubi claustra feram summovent, quam in ipsos tutores fames egit acerbior. Victor a moenibus repulsus super spoliis nil movetur oblatis, equorum discursu libero, phalerato ornatu, divite armorum, huc illuc sparsorum, aureo fulgore; redit ad suos solaturus reditu quibus jam ingeminabat mora desolationem desolatis abscessu.

Illaesi there remained two, whose threads, as the Parcae (Fates) were snapping them, he held back. In the act of going out they had begun to be broken, but soon the distaffs were reintegrated for the refugees: [0563C] for Tancred’s more-than-leonine roar, stunning them, brings them back to the gate in rapid flight: thus once the whelps return to the sheepfold, when the bars drive off the wild beast, which a harsher hunger has driven against the very guardians themselves. The victor, repulsed from the walls, is moved not at all by the spoils proffered—the unbridled coursing of horses, trappings (phalerae) in ornament, the rich array of arms scattered here and there with golden gleam; he returns to his own to console them by his return, those for whom his delay was already doubling desolation, desolate by his withdrawal.

Interea frequentes copiae, subsidium libens, juventus fervida adventaverant; quin et tenera, duriorque aetas, sexus quoque mollior, omnes aderant: adeo firmis infirmos in concurrendo aequabat aequa sive una concurrentum devotio.

Meanwhile numerous forces, a willing succor, the fervid youth had arrived; nay even the tender and the harder age, the softer sex as well, all were present: to such a degree, in the onset, the equal—or rather the one—devotion of the concurrents made the weak equal to the strong.

CXV.- Descriptio civitatis.

115.- Description of the city.

[0563D] Tempus est in explanando sanctae civitatis situ paululum delectare: ut quorum oculos pascere non valet propter remotionem, saltem animos juvet transmissa ad manus et fusa per aurem. Hujus ergo sancti ambitus quadrangularis est forma, capacitas ampla; Eoa frons latr . . . boreale directa, altera vero et alterum sinuosa: nam medii intervenientes anfractu australi in Galilaea occiduo quod frons altera . . . . tatum est ad turrim David lateribus normam . . . dent linearem: sed ab eo quod in Eurum . . . . vallis Josaphat montem Oliveti submovet . . . situ humilis; contentorum tamen dignitate praecellens: ibi namque Gessemani, ibi torrens Cedron, ibi Dei aulae aula, coeli reginae sepulcrum, ibi protomartyris Stephani lapidatio ibi cum sanguineo sudore [0564A] Dominica monstratur oratio. Porro ut rem ordine prosequar, ibi pyramides duae, superior regis Josaphat rotunda, inferior vero beati, ut fertur, Jacobi quadrata: infra Siloe, infra puteus Jacob, circum circa ab utroque vallis latere eremitalis plurima crepido.

[0563D] It is time, in explaining the site of the holy city, to delight a little: so that for those whose eyes cannot be fed because of the remoteness, at least their minds may be helped by what is transmitted to the hand and poured through the ear. Therefore the circuit of this holy (city) has a quadrangular form, an ample capacity; the Eoan front . . . directed toward the northern side, while the other and the other are sinuous: for the parts intervening in the middle, by a southern winding, in the western Galilaea, in that the other front . . . . is laid out toward the Tower of David, the sides . . . give a linear rule: but from that which toward the Eurus . . . . the Valley of Jehoshaphat sets beneath the Mount of Olives . . . low in situation; yet surpassing in the dignity of the things contained: for there Gethsemane, there the torrent Cedron, there the hall of God’s court, the sepulcher of the Queen of Heaven, there the stoning of Stephen the protomartyr, there together with the bloody sweat [0564A] the Lord’s prayer is shown. Furthermore, to pursue the matter in order, there are two pyramids, the upper of King Jehoshaphat, round, but the lower, as it is said, of blessed James, square: below, Siloam; below, Jacob’s well; all around, on either side of the valley, a very many hermit ledges.

Item a meridie vallis montem Sion ab Acheldemach disterminat; juxta puteum praescriptum a valle Josaphat exiens, et usque sub turrim David gyrum ducens, huic fronti latus praebet continuum monticulus in urbis cornu a Zephyro descendens, in dextro latere paulo erectior, in sinistro viciniae humili fere coaequalis: sed haec vicinia usque Josaphat quartum sociat latus castris accommoda figendis.

Likewise on the south a valley separates Mount Sion from Akeldama; near the aforesaid well, coming out from the Valley of Josaphat and leading a circuit as far as beneath the Tower of David, a little hill descending from the city’s corner from the West (Zephyr) presents to this front a continuous flank—on the right side a little more elevated, on the left almost coequal with the low-lying vicinity: but this vicinity, all the way to Josaphat, unites the fourth side, suited for pitching camps.

CXVI.- Dispositio exercitus.

116.- Disposition of the army.

[0564B] Igitur comites Normannus et Flandrensis hac in parte obsident, ei quae adhuc S. Stephani dicitur portae oppositi. Dexter ab his Tancredus imminet, si tamen ad Phoebi ortum terrae situm metiris, tunc quidem inferior: si vero ad depressionem tumoremque loci, paulo superior. Ipsi praescriptum illud cornu expugnandum contingit, unde adhuc expugnata turris, Tancredi appellatur.

[0564B] Therefore the counts, the Norman and the Fleming, besiege on this side, opposite to the gate which is still called St. Stephen’s. On their right Tancred presses; if, however, you measure the site of the ground by Phoebus’s rising, then indeed he is lower; but if by the depression and the swelling of the place, somewhat higher. To him falls the assault of that aforementioned horn, whence even now the tower, having been stormed, is called Tancred’s.

At ducis castra vallis opacat, cujus frons supradicta eminentem Tancredi pertingebat viciniam. Porro mons Sion Raimundo comite metatore gaudet, solo muri humilis obice ad Jerusalem submotus; nunc suburbium, antiquitus pars urbis, imo urbs, eam quae nunc est Jerusalem suburbium habens. Tribus itaque portis terna deputata [0564C] est obsidio: e regione, duabus: tertiae id est occidentali, ex obliquo: hanc subjecta valle ab occursibus faciente liberam, illas vicina planitie assultibus opportunas.

But a valley overshadows the leader’s camp, whose aforesaid front reached to the eminence adjacent to Tancred. Furthermore Mount Zion enjoys Count Raymond as camp‑surveyor, removed from Jerusalem by the mere obstacle of a low wall; now a suburb, in antiquity a part of the city—indeed a city—having as its suburb that which is now Jerusalem. To three gates, therefore, a threefold siege was deputed [0564C]: opposite, to two; to the third, that is, the western, obliquely: this one made free from encounters by the valley lying below, those convenient for assaults by the neighboring plain.

At vallis Josaphat vacavit libera tum loci situ, tum populi statu liberata: si quidem pars illa urbis timere nescia valle reducta, aggere, arduo muro inexpugnabili munitur.

But the Valley of Jehoshaphat remained free, both by the site of the place and freed by the condition of the people; since indeed that part of the city, unacquainted with fear, set back from the valley, is fortified with a rampart and with a steep, impregnable wall.

CXVII.- Boamundus abest et alii duces.

117.- Bohemond is absent and other leaders.

Porro exercitus advena partim bellis partim morbis attritus, praesertim Gallorum comitum Stephani Hugonisque absentationibus, nec non Boamundi principantis absentia minoratus, nec muro humiliori sufficiebat oppugnator, nedum munitas natura turres in ortu occasuve cingere tentaret: sed duorum utcunque laterum, utriusque autem quasi ad [0564D] medium longitudine obarmata, tanto acrius Christicola populus expergiscitur, quo ampliorem invaserat hostem numerus minor; quo augendam fore hostilem, suam minutum iri turbam certissime constabat; quo aridiore siti mensis Junius torrebat castrenses. Ad interiores, satiem, umbram, quietem, otia, somnos; ab exterioribus fame, sole, labore, bellis, vigiliis laceros cogens.

Moreover the alien army, worn down partly by wars, partly by diseases, especially by the absences of the counts of the Gauls, Stephen and Hugh, and likewise diminished by the absence of Bohemond the ruler, was not sufficient as an assailant even for the lower wall, much less would it attempt to encircle the towers, fortified by nature, in the east and in the west: but on two sides somehow, and on each as though armed in its length up to the middle [0564D], the Christ-worshipping people bestirs itself all the more keenly, the smaller number having invaded the larger enemy; the more it was most certain that the enemy’s throng would be increased, their own would be diminished; the more the month of June was scorching the camp-dwellers with drier thirst. Driving them to the inner quarters for satiety, shade, rest, leisures, sleeps; from the outer things, compelling them torn by hunger, sun, toil, wars, and watches.

CXVIII.- Aptantur machinae.

118.- The machines are made ready.

Igitur avidi quietis labori insistunt, quaerunt solliciti machinas, proximae parasceves auroram muris destinant scandendis. Sic enim praememoratus mihi praemonuerat ille turricola monachus, Tancredo indice, nostratibus ea die assultum indicens. Caeterum perlustrata circumquaque vicinia, nullum fuit nemus, [0565A] non palatium, non turris, quae ad scalarum fabricam lignum mitterent.

Therefore, eager for rest, they persist in labor; anxious, they seek the machines, and they designate the dawn of the coming Parasceve for the walls to be scaled. For thus that aforementioned tower-dwelling monk had forewarned me, on Tancred’s indication, announcing to our countrymen an assault on that day. However, the neighborhood having been thoroughly surveyed on every side, there was no grove, [0565A] no palace, no tower to send wood for the fabrication of ladders.

Memphis ab Hierusalem Damascum expultricem suam veterem nova vectrix expulerat, ideo recens adhuc ille Aegyptiae expeditionis annus nihil siccum, nihil viride reliquerat intentatum: secretae tamen latebrae aliquantas celabant trabes, quae solertem nequiverunt Tancredi fallere sollicitudinem. Abstractae igitur et allatae, unam duntaxat scalam implent, hoc in tempore omnem removisse inopiam aestimatae, aderat namque dies capiendis armis praefinita, citra quam ultraque hinc coarctaverant, inde imminebant graves utrobique angustiae: citra, quoniam investigandae scalarum materiae arctas concesserat inducias breve biduum: ultra, si quidem post illum, nec in illo [0565B] die praefixo muros invadere, hoc erat datum a monacho oraculum annullare. Propter haec igitur scala, et una non habuit sociam et sine socia gratati sunt unam.

Memphis had, by a new victress, expelled from Jerusalem to Damascus her old expeller; therefore that year, still recent from the Egyptian expedition, had left nothing dry, nothing green unattempted: secret hiding-places nonetheless concealed some beams, which could not deceive the skillful solicitude of Tancred. Drawn off then and brought in, they suffice to fill but a single ladder, thought in this crisis to have removed all lack; for the day fixed for taking up arms was at hand, on either side of which heavy straits had hemmed them in—on this side, since for investigating the material for ladders it had granted narrow truces, a brief two days; beyond, since indeed if after that, and not on that [0565B] fixed day, to assail the walls, this was to annul the oracle given by the monk. Because of these things, therefore, the ladder, and single, had no companion, and without a companion they were grateful for even one.

Itaque muro applicatur qui turres continuat laevas Tancredi, secundam tertiae: Jamque astabat sublimis, et quasi sesquipedalia haec jactans: «Quoniam quidem socias cum exspectarim non habeo, deinceps ut habeam non exspectabo.»

Therefore the ladder is applied to the wall which connects Tancred’s left towers, the second to the third: And now it stood aloft, and, as it were, tossing out these sesquipedalian words: «Since indeed, though I have waited for companions, I do not have them, henceforward, in order that I may have them, I will not wait.»

CXIX.- Murus conscenditur.

119.- The wall is scaled.

Igitur vicinia, inventio, opus, propinquo repertori opifica ad reptandum in muros ducatum Tancredo dabant: quem tamen si cujus alius invita sors vertisset, animus acer hanc sibi tantam arroget laudem. Itaque morarum nescius, jam primis [0565C] innitebatur gradibus, jam stricto ense dextra fulminabat. Porro majestas generis, dignitas nominis, gratia meriti, spes merendi: hinc plebs reclamans, inde nobilitas reluctans, incoeptis obviant; jamque haerentis laevae dextram exarmant apprehensam.

Therefore the vicinity, the discovery, the need, the implements for the finder close at hand were giving to Tancred the lead for creeping onto the walls: which, however, if reluctant Fortune had turned to someone else, his keen spirit would claim so great a praise for himself. Therefore, ignorant of delays, he was already leaning upon the first steps [0565C], already with a drawn sword his right was flashing lightning. Moreover, the majesty of his lineage, the dignity of his name, the grace of his merit, the hope of meriting: on this side the plebs protesting, on that side the nobility reluctant, oppose the undertakings; and now, while his left clings, they seize and disarm his right hand.

Subit revocati officio juvenis, et ipse si fors juvet, gaudere dignus: si invideat, flere dignior. Felix ille per omnes ab imo ad supremum gradus; in summa operis infelix. Arripuerat enim jam laeva murorum apicem, cum adversarius ensis in eum descendit, ut qui bimanus et fulminans modo conscenderat, vix descendere orbus gladio et manu hac fere illo penitus potuisset.

The youth, recalled to his duty, steps up—himself, if chance should favor, worthy to rejoice; if it should begrudge, more worthy to weep. Fortunate he through all the steps from the lowest to the highest; at the summit of the work, unfortunate. For he had already seized with his left hand the apex of the walls, when an adversary’s sword came down upon him, so that he who but now had been mounting two-handed and fulminating could scarcely descend, bereft of his sword and of this hand almost, and of that one utterly.

Refertur itaque in castra medicandus auriga currus Tancredici, quem Simon tenuit, magnis [0565D] tamen excidit ausis. Neve tacito nomine audaciam militis meritus non remuneret favor, nomen erat juveni Raibaldus, Francia tellus, agnomen Cremium, Carnotum nobilis ortus, vires et probitas; hae magnae, major at illa, refertur saucius. Nemo autem relati utile duxit supplere vices, quippe gladios verens descensores, mille in unum unius ascensoris.

He is therefore borne back to the camp to be treated, the charioteer of Tancred’s chariot, whom Simon held, yet he fell short of great ventures [0565D]. And lest favor, by a silent name, should not remunerate the soldier’s audacity as it deserves, the young man’s name was Raibaldus; the land, Francia; the by-name, Cremium; of Chartres, noble in origin; strength and probity—these great, but that greater—he is reported back wounded. Moreover, no one thought it useful to supply the place of the one carried back, indeed fearing the swords of the descenders, a thousand against the one of a single ascender.

Illum enim in angulum tota convenerat pugna interior, cum totus reliquae civitatis ambitus ab exteriori vacaret sopito similis. Videns fraudata sedulitas defensoribus favere fortunam, oppugnatoribus autem adversari, scalam refert non modo inutilem, verum et damnosam: si tamen ad singularitatem recurratur excusabilem.

For into that corner the whole interior fight had convened, while the entire circuit of the rest of the city on the exterior was vacant, like one asleep. Seeing sedulity defrauded, fortune favoring the defenders but being adverse to the assailants, he reports the ladder not only useless, but even damaging: if, however, there be a resort to singularity, excusable.

CXX.- Ligna obsidioni apta frustra quaesita quasi divinitus reperiuntur. [0566A]

120.- Timbers suitable for the siege, sought in vain, are found as if by divine intervention. [0566A]

Consulunt in medium proceres scrutari latebras, vias atque invia peragrare, undecunque ligna corrodere statuunt, ut nulli haec indagatio parcat principi: mox quod statuitur impletur: laborantibus caeteris frustra, Tancredus a desiderio suo non est fraudatus. Miraculi species est quod narrabo, neque tu, quisquis rem bene consideras, actum coelitus negabis.

The nobles consult in common to scrutinize the hiding-places, to traverse the roads and the trackless, they resolve to scrape together wood from wherever, so that this investigation spare no prince: soon what is resolved is fulfilled: while the rest toil in vain, Tancred was not defrauded of his desire. What I will narrate has the semblance of a miracle, nor will you, whoever considers the matter well, deny that it was done from heaven.

Tancredum gravis dissenteria torquebat, cum tamen ipse sibi equitando non parceret. Vix equo insidens, pestis illa crebro descendere, longe abscedere, latebras quaerere virum compellebat. Saepenumero hac molestatus angustia, cum fatigatis ex itinere [0566B] sodalibus ipse labori cedere ingloriusque reverti disponeret: solita augente molestia, gravari coepit, elongavit, descendit, descendens sociorum oculos evasisse putabat, cum respiciens comperit non esse evasum.

A grievous dysentery was tormenting Tancred, though he nevertheless would not spare himself in riding. Hardly seated on his horse, that pest was frequently compelling the man to dismount, to go far aside, and to seek hiding-places. Very often troubled by this strait, when, with his comrades wearied from the journey [0566B] he himself was minded to yield to the toil and to return inglorious: as the usual annoyance was increasing, he began to be burdened; he drew off, dismounted; dismounting he supposed he had escaped the eyes of his companions, but looking back he discovered that he had not escaped.

Longius ergo latebras quaerens, alios denuo passim aspicit vagantes, sic jam tertio, sic quarto sedem mutans: demum in secessu longo sub rupe cavata, arboribus clausa circum atque horrentibus quietem invenit. Papae! quis ut Deus?

Therefore, seeking hiding-places farther off, he again beholds others wandering here and there, thus now for the third time, thus for the fourth, changing his seat; at length, in a long seclusion beneath a hollowed rock, enclosed around by trees, bristling, he found quiet. Good heavens! Who is like God?

o qui de petra aquas, qui de asino sermonem, qui de nihilo omnia eruit; ipse de perculsi vulnere militis exercitum sanavit, de infirmitate firmavit, de plaga vili pretiosius quovis metallo antidotum confecit: nam dum ibidem virtus expulsiva operaretur, versa ad oppositae rupis concavitatem fronte, ligna [0566C] quatuor intro patent, quibus nulla proposito operi desiderari poterant aptiora; illa ipsa, ut fertur, erant quorum ope rex Aegyptius Hierusalem expugnaverat; quibus visis, ipse adhuc, tanta sunt gaudia, nec sibi credens, nec oculis, surgit et accedit, palpat, rem perspicit. Ergo heus! heus!

O you who from the rock drew waters, who from an ass drew discourse, who from nothing drew out all things; he himself from the wound of a stricken soldier healed the army, from infirmity made it firm, from a cheap wound compounded an antidote more precious than any metal: for while there the expulsive virtue was at work, with his face turned toward the concavity of the opposite crag, four timbers [0566C] stand open within, than which none could be more apt for the proposed work; those very ones, as it is said, were by whose aid the Egyptian king had stormed Jerusalem; and on seeing them, he—still, so great is the joy—believing neither himself nor his eyes, rises and approaches, feels, and sees the matter clearly. Therefore ho! ho!

o comites! huc, huc accurrite, clamat; huc, huc, ingeminat, Deus en plusquam petimus dat: quaesiimus lignum rude, reperimus fabrefactum. Vocati adsunt extemplo socii, unde gemuerant gaudent, ille gementem adhuc exercitum, misso nuntio, festinat consolari.

O comrades! hither, hither, run up, he cries; hither, hither, he reiterates: behold, God gives more than we petition: we sought rude wood, we have found it craft-wrought. Summoned, the comrades are present forthwith; where they had groaned, they rejoice; he, with a messenger sent, hastens to console the still-groaning army.

Promulgato per populum gaudio, tollitur vox laetitiae et exsultationis in tabernaculis Francorum, proceditur sicut in litaniis cantando obviam.

With the joy promulgated among the people, the voice of joy and exultation is lifted up in the tents of the Franks, and they proceed, as in litanies, singing as they go forth to meet.

CXXI.- Robertus Flandrigena opificum tutor constitutus. [0566D]

121.- Robert the Fleming appointed guardian of the workmen. [0566D]

Mox tunc eligitur operi Flandrigena Robertus opificum tutor, dum ligna caetera fabri quaesita reperissent, reperta incidissent, incisa retulissent. Lucus erat in montibus, et montes ab Hierusalem remoti ei quae modo Neapolis, olim Sebasta, ante Sychar dicta est, propiores, adhuc ignota nostratibus via, nunc celebris ac ferme peregrinantium unica. Illuc praedictus comes solitis comitantibus quasi ducentis missus, innumeris hostium millibus exponitur, ante et retro, dextrorsum et sinistrorsum circumfusis.

Soon then for the work Robert the Fleming is chosen, tutor of the workmen, while the craftsmen should have found the remaining timbers when sought, should have cut what was found, and should have carried back what had been cut. There was a grove in the mountains, and the mountains, distant from Jerusalem but nearer to that city which is now Neapolis, once Sebaste, earlier called Sychar; the way thither was as yet unknown to our countrymen, now celebrated and almost the sole one of pilgrims. Thither the aforesaid count, sent with his usual companions, about 200, is exposed to countless thousands of enemies, who were poured around before and behind, to the right and to the left.

Ipse non secus turmas ac tubas quam patriam et tibiam perhorrescens luce inter per q. . . fabricam jaculabatur feras, nocte cum fabris in ferina epulabatur. [0567A] Itaque labor ille et domino erat cum utilitate voluptas, et laborantibus famulis parta sine metu refectio. Utque satis caesi feliciter nemoris, comes redit sapienter viam armis praemuniens, ipse audacter cum retroneis sequens vulgus diligenter in medio tuetur, per arcus Damasci, per cannas Arabiae, per pila Aethiopiae indemnis transmeat; sed audita comitem comes nusquam descivisse prosperitas; exitum reditum semper prosecuta hymnos et pompam, a complurimis impetrat favorem, laudem ab omnibus meretur.

He himself, shuddering at troop-formations and trumpets no less than at fatherland and flute, by daylight amid the w... workshop he would cast at wild beasts; by night he feasted with the smiths on venison. [0567A] Thus that labor was for the lord a pleasure with profit, and for the laboring servants a refreshment obtained without fear. And when enough of the grove had been successfully felled, the count returns, wisely pre-fortifying the way with arms; he himself, boldly following with those in the rear, diligently protects the crowd in the middle, he passes unharmed through the bows of Damascus, through the canes of Arabia, through the pikes of Ethiopia; but, as is reported, prosperity never caused the count to defect; his departure and return always attended by hymns and pomp, he obtains favor from very many, he merits praise from all.

CXXII.

122.

Exstabat medium inter castra, et vallem Josaphat pomerium, quo nullum aptius aut aptum aeque assultibus hostium, nullum civibus formidolosius imminebat: [0567B] quippe illius cornu murus paulo humilior erat, turris rara, campus, ut dixi, exter extensior; area haec tamen hoste vacabat, stupor indigenis, at providentia ducum partem illam supremo bello reservabat, dum turris lignea strueretur, de cujus culmine Francorum alae in moenia volarent. Igitur allatae abies, cypressus, et pinus veras dissimulant, fictas vero assimulant minas: materia scilicet rudis formam exspectat ad Zephyrum ut formata ad Eurum pugnet.

A pomerium stood in the midst between the camp and the Valley of Josaphat, than which nothing more apt or equally apt for the assaults of the enemy loomed, nothing more formidable to the citizens: [0567B] for on that wing the wall was a little lower, the tower-work sparse, and the outer plain, as I said, more extensive; yet this area was empty of the foe, a wonder to the natives, while the foresight of the leaders was reserving that part for the ultimate battle, while a wooden tower was being constructed, from whose summit the wings of the Franks would fly into the walls. Therefore the fir, cypress, and pine brought in dissimulate true threats and simulate feigned ones: the raw timber, to wit, awaits its form for Zephyr, so that, once formed, it may fight toward Eurus.

CXXIII.- Dira obsidientium fantes; machinae aptatae et moenibus admotae.

123.- Dire boasts of the besiegers; engines fitted and brought up to the walls.

Interea vero tum cereris tum undae inopia, bella quoque, aliud minans, aliud instans; illud furor Aegypti, hoc Palaestinus, Arabicus, Damascenus immaniter [0567C] aestuabant; jam enim fruticati per circumitum, hastis et calybe ipsa sua fruge quam germinaverant horrebant colles; unde rarissima, imo etiam nulla jam castrensi inediae ceres advena succurrebat. Quaesitis utcunque vesci, vescenda vero quaerere extra castra omnino non licebat: ut quae prior obsederat gens, jam multo verius, quam obsidens, dici posset obsessa. Unicus et universus errabat per exercitum planctus; frustra Romaniae bella, frustra Antiochiae famem, frustra reliquos labores superatos esse: quandoquidem totum jam pelagus pervadatos apprehensi arena littoris naufragos fecerit: lugubre igitur, verumtamen pium, et vel ipsius hostibus miserabile solatium cerneres: cum, vita perosa, cohors mortem ultro vocaret: fuerat [0567D] namque qui conjurato impetu tanquam ad uxorios sic ad murales ruerent amplexus, quasi una mens et ratio singulorum haec foret: Osculabor desideratam meam Hierusalem priusquam moriar.

Meanwhile, indeed, there was a scarcity both of grain and of water, and wars too, one menacing, another pressing on; that former was the frenzy of Egypt, this one Palestinian, Arabian, Damascene, raged monstrously: [0567C] for already, having put forth shrub-growth all around, the hills bristled with spears and with steel, with the very crop which they had germinated; whence a most rare—nay, now no—foreign Ceres came to succor the camp’s starvation. They fed on what was somehow sought, but to seek edibles outside the camp was absolutely not permitted: so that the people who had earlier besieged could now much more truly be called besieged than besieging. A single and universal lament wandered through the army; in vain that the wars of Romania, in vain that the famine of Antioch, in vain that the remaining labors had been overcome: since, after traversing the whole sea, seized by the sand of the shore, it has made them shipwrecked. Therefore you might behold a mournful yet pious solace, pitiable even to the enemies themselves: when, hating life, the cohort was of its own accord calling for death: [0567D] for there were those who, with a sworn impetus, rushed to embraces of the walls as to conjugal embraces, as if this were the one mind and plan of each individual: I will kiss my longed-for Jerusalem before I die.

Miseri! in quorum oscula modo ferrum, modo saxa, interdum sudes perustas omnia necem subitam osculati pluebant muri. Ac nec sic quidem coepta semel potuit terreri devotio: quin saepius saepiusque alii in morte aliorum eosdem repeterent amplexus.

Wretches! upon whose kisses the walls rained now iron, now stones, at times charred stakes—everything bringing sudden death to those who had kissed. And not even thus could the devotion once begun be frightened off; rather, again and yet again, others at the death of others sought the same embraces.

Jam exierat in Julium labor, a diutini certaminis exordio quinquies per septenarium revolutus. Consummatum est opus, tormenta fabrefacta, exstructae machinae, parata omnia quae praesentis instantia necessitatis postulabat; adhuc tamen postes, tabulae, [0568A] crates, nexus inconnexi, annecti et erigi sed prius transferri indigebant. Ad transferendum ergo nox eligitur, dies crastini jacentia erigit, sparsaque huc illuc membra in suum redintegrat corpus.

Already the labor had passed into July, rolled five times through the septenary from the exordium of the long contest. The work is consummated: the engines are fabricated, the machines erected, all things prepared which the urgency of the present necessity demanded; yet the doorposts, planks, [0568A] hurdles, joinings unjoined, needed to be joined and raised, but first to be transferred. For the transferring, therefore, night is chosen; the next day raises what was lying prone, and reintegrates the limbs scattered hither and thither into its own body.

Translatas quoque machinas mox transpositio sequitur castrorum, ut jam non minus obsessis quam obsessoribus palam fieret, quoniam murus ille bello fuerit destinatus. Ingravescit itaque civibus malum, turbatur omnium mens consilii inops, qua praecisus fuerat certaminis occursus: fastigiosae moles timorem excluserant. Praeterea partem illam multo nemore sollicitus munierat labor, balearibus scilicet tormentis ad hostiles assultus: frustra haec autem, quippe amoto hinc et aliorsum admoto, ut dictum est, metu, quod tamen in extremis rebus solatium [0568B] restat, machina interior transplantatur, ubi opposita reverberet exteriorem transportatam.

The transferred engines too are soon followed by a transposition of the camp, so that it now became clear no less to the besieged than to the besiegers that that wall had been destined for war. Therefore the evil upon the citizens grows heavier; the mind of all is thrown into confusion, bereft of counsel, by which the encounter of the struggle had been cut off: lofty masses had shut out fear. Moreover, anxious labor had fortified that part with much woodland, namely with Balearic engines for hostile assaults: yet this is in vain, since, the fear being removed from here and moved elsewhere, as has been said; and that which nevertheless remains as a consolation in extremity, the inner machine is transplanted, where, set opposite, it might beat back the external one that had been transported. [0568B]

CXXIV.- Aries impellit turres.

124.- The ram drives against the towers.

Parati ergo utrinque ad pugnam; alii tremefaciunt muros, alii tuentur. Aries suffossor a pede terebrans turres quassat, marmora arietem in collum super lapsa. Turris una et ipsa lignum, urbi congreditur: sed et volens invitae; nutans stabili, altera occurrit immobili, altera stat ad occurrentem.

Ready therefore on both sides for battle; some make the walls tremble, others defend them. The battering-ram, an underminer at the foot, boring through, shakes the towers, marble blocks having slipped down upon the ram onto its neck. One tower too, itself of wood, engages the city: and the willing one [meets] the unwilling; the nodding [meets] the stable; one runs up against the motionless, another stands against the one running up.

At si liceat, cedat. In cujus spectaculi stupore elephas merito similandus recurrat, quem narrant fabulae sub aspectu muris trepidare. Interea non cessat clamor, non fragor, non vulnus: saxa, spicula, sagittae utrinque volant: scuta, galeae, crates, muri ad ictus remugiunt: prae sonitu et jactu, oculi auresque non [0568C] magis suum exercent opus, quam alternum.

But if it be permitted, let it give way. At the stupor of which spectacle the elephant would deservedly be likened as running back, whom the fables report to tremble at the sight of mice. Meanwhile the clamor does not cease, nor the crash, nor the wound: stones, darts, arrows fly on both sides: shields, helmets, hurdles, walls resound to the blows: because of the noise and the hurling, the eyes and the ears do not [0568C] exercise their own work any more than the other’s.

Coeptam tamen moles lignea non tardat viam, saltans praestat ut post obrutam callis barbicanam jam patebat liberior. At ubi eo usque appropiatum est, ut alternae cuspidis obvium jam tinniret ferrum, idem qui obstacula prius quasi praeco Graecus mylanys clamans domine sequentis removerat, aries consecutae modo turriculae unicus obstabat. Procedere murorum non permittebat objectio: recurrere machina prohibebat subsecuta; dextram laevamque diverticulo gradientis natura negabat, cuja refert dumtaxat, modo egredi, regredi modo, digredi nunquam: dedit ergo poenas Normannico torre ambustus latera, quod a cornu strenuo ungulae degeneravit [0568D] segnities: id ipsum prius interior flamma tentaverat, sed affluens incendio occurrit unda exterior, ille mansit illaesus.

Nevertheless the wooden mass, once begun, does not slow its way; by leaping it contrives that, after the barbican of the pathway was overwhelmed, the track already lay more free. But when it was approached so far that the iron now rang, meeting the other’s point, the same man who earlier, like a Greek herald bellowing, had cleared away the obstacles of those following, the single ram of the small tower that had come up behind stood in the way. The projection did not allow advance toward the walls; the machine that followed forbade a return; nature denied the walker a by-way to right or left, whose nature allows only now to egress, now to regress, never to digress: therefore it paid the penalties, its flanks scorched by a Norman torch, because from a vigorous horn it degenerated into the hoof’s sloth [0568D]: that very thing an inner flame had tried earlier, but an outer wave, flowing in, met the blaze; on that occasion it remained uninjured.

En iterum sumpto fulmine Christicolis Mahumicolae pluunt, ut stillata nocentem amphora potet, qui prius utilis pice et sulphure et face fuerat ustulatus. Expertus est itaque idem bis inflammatus, bis aquatus, bis Mahummet victum, bis victorem Christum: et hic quoque elementa actorem cognoverunt suum, ad ejus nutum, alterutrum victoriae permutantia vices; patefacto aditu, machina procedit, semel atque iterum saltando felix, flebilis tertio, silva recens sub onere fatiscit, obsequio immatura.

Behold, again, having taken up the thunderbolt, the Mahomet-worshipers rain upon the Christ-worshipers, so that a dripping amphora may make the harm-doer drink, who previously had, to good effect, been singed with pitch and sulphur and torch. He therefore experienced this same thing—twice inflamed, twice watered, twice Mahomet conquered, twice Christ victorious: and here too the elements recognized their own author, at his nod exchanging with each other the turns of victory; the entrance having been opened, the machine advances, happy once and again by leaping, lamentable the third time: the fresh timber yields under the load, unripe for service.

CXXV.- Machinarum effectus artibus eludunt obsessi.

125.- The besieged elude the effects of the machines by arts.

Quae vulgo soliva, quasi quia per solum vadat, [0569A] nuncupatur trabs fissa latus alterum enervat, quippe laevo parieti pro fundamento subjecta. Laesa ergo pedem alterum machina stat immobilis, procedere invalida, retrocedere indignata, astare contenta. Ecce iterum dolor et vetus ex usu et novus ex casu: renovata est desolatio, cicatrix vetus.

That which in the common tongue is called a “solive,” as if because it goes along the ground, [0569A] a split beam enervates the other side, since it was set beneath the left wall as a foundation. Therefore the machine, with the other foot injured, stands immobile, unable to advance, unwilling to retreat, content to stand by. Behold again pain, both old from use and new from mishap: desolation has been renewed, the old scar.

«Bene, inquiunt; spes quoque lenta fuit; si quidem inviti credidimus, a quo post creditum laedendi fueramus; en exitus quem praesagae ab exordio mentes augurabant.» Inter hos tamen gemitus, falcata acie armatur pertica, ad secandos funes calybs efficax, quorum nexibus implicitae de muris minabantur trabes. Horum igitur excisionem, illarum mox comitata est solutio, solutionemque ruina: dextimae sinistimaeque turris solatium cessabat, quarum remotiusculam [0569B] Tancredus, propiusculam comes Normannus fundae balearis turbine dissolvebant. Suapte causa sollicitae acclamantem non audiebant viciniam.

«Well, they say; hope too was slow; since indeed we unwilling believed the very one by whom, after believing, we were to be harmed; behold the outcome which prescient minds from the beginning were auguring.» Amid these groans, however, a pole is equipped with a falcate edge, steel effective for cutting the ropes, by whose bindings the beams, entangled, were threatening from the walls. Therefore the excision of these was soon followed by the loosening of those, and the loosening by ruin: the solace of the right-hand and left-hand tower was failing, of which the somewhat more distant Tancred, the somewhat nearer the Norman count, were dismantling by the whirlwind of the Balearic sling. The vicinity, anxious on its own account, did not hear the one shouting. [0569B]

Praesertim Normannica tam nocentior quo propior, ideoque odiosior facile jam succubuisset impulsibus: sed objectae tormento paleae ruinam differebant; latebant enim post saccos moenia, ut jam non tremerent ad marmor volans. Erant itaque labor multus, fructus minimus, planctus plurimus, risus nullus. Sed quos ad risum lacrymabilem non moveat sacerdos bellicus, cum fatiscente militia, ille delicatus ordo in albis et stolis scalam vehentes, flentes vehendo gemerent, flendo psallerent; et haec quidem gestatio et opus erat, et sermo, sed sermo magis.

Especially the Norman one, so much the more noxious the nearer, and therefore more odious, would already easily have succumbed to the impulses; but straw-bales interposed before the engine were deferring the ruin; for the walls were lying hidden behind sacks, so that they no longer trembled at the flying marble. There was, accordingly, much labor, minimal fruit, very much plaint, no laughter. But who would not be moved to lachrymable laughter by the war-priest, while the militia was giving way, that delicate order in albs and stoles, bearing a ladder—by weeping they groaned as they bore it, by weeping they sang psalms; and this carrying was indeed both a work and a speech, but more a speech.

Tuncque prae labore militaris torpebat virtus, [0569C] visu insolito experrecta. Redit ad muros, pium illud Kyrie eleison comitans; illud, inquam, et ab imo pectore egressum, et ad summi aures judicis efficaciter progressum. Exaudivit enim Dominus clamorem contritorum, neque ultra sustinuit perfidorum blasphemias.

Then, because of toil, military valor was growing torpid, [0569C] awakened by an unusual sight. It returns to the walls, accompanying that pious “Kyrie eleison”; that, I say, both having gone forth from the deepest breast, and having advanced effectively to the ears of the Most High Judge. For the Lord hearkened to the cry of the contrite, nor did He any longer endure the blasphemies of the perfidious.

Qui divisit mare Rubrum in divisiones, et eduxit Israel per medium ejus: modo solatus est desolatos suos, atque ubi jam spes exciderat vitae, aditum reseravit victoriae: nam multa expertis, at frustra caetera: flumina quoque qua licet placuit imitari, ut vel sic clamidatam possent arcem exuere. Sitire cruorem arundo solita jam flammas vomit, non jam, inquam, exstingui aut exstinguere sitiens, sed accendere furens, emittente [0569D] cornu spicula, tellurem putes versa vice in coelum fulminare: ideo ferrum candens aera ab imo in sublime dissecat, dum pennae subsequentis remigio adjuta flammivoma cuspis paleas simul perfodit et accendit, cujus incendii vires ejusdem artis tutela non ferens: cedunt flammis qui nec jaculis ante cessarant, nec balistis. Vacuos igitur civibus muros, scalae hostibus mox replent applicatae: sed et pontis instar trajecta palma, cives hostibus continuat, lignum saxis, murum machinae: hac quoque ope in urbem repit juventus avida manibus pedibus a procellis in portum tranans.

He who divided the Red Sea into divisions, and led out Israel through its midst: just now has consoled his desolate ones, and where the hope of life had already fallen away, he reopened an approach to victory: for, though many things had been tried, the rest were in vain: it also pleased them to imitate rivers, so far as it was permitted, so that even thus they might strip the mantled citadel. The reed accustomed to thirst for blood now vomits flames, no longer, I say, thirsting to be extinguished or to extinguish, but raging to kindle, the horn sending forth darts [0569D]; you would think the earth, with the roles reversed, to be thunder-bolting the sky: therefore glowing iron cleaves the air from below upward, while the flame-vomiting point, helped by the oarage of the following feather, at once pierces and kindles the straw, and the protection of the same art does not bear the force of that fire: they yield to the flames who had not yielded before to javelins nor to ballistae. Therefore the walls emptied of citizens are soon filled by enemies, the ladders being applied: and a palm laid across like a bridge connects citizens to enemies, wood to stones, the wall to the engine: by this help too the youth, eager, creeps into the city, swimming with hands and feet from the storms into a harbor.

CXXVI.- Bernardus Sancti Valerici, Lettholdus et Engelbertus muros subeunt

126.- Bernard of Saint-Valery, Letthold, and Engelbert go up to the walls

Primus in his stricto juvenis praefulgurat ense, [0570A] Gloria militiae, generis quoque gloria clari.Bernardus, te sancte vocans Valerice patronum,A quo et cognomen simul, agnomenque trahebat:Vos tamen in muris reperitque doletque repertosNobile par fratrum Lettholde, secuteque fratremEngelberte ortu scansuque secunde priorem:Quos scala in muros in scalam Flandria misit:Moenia partiti discurrunt, ille per Eurum,Fratres per Zephyrum: laniant laniataque trudunt:Corpora quaeque ruunt, fragor hos sequitur, fragor illum.Prima tamen cervix humeros quae caesa reliquit,Caediferam sensit dextram: quae tertia repsit,Stabat adhuc truncus, cum jam galeatus ad imaDeciderat vertex: at mox hunc ille secutus, [0570B] Et caesus calcem est expertus, et integer ensemSed jam crudescit bellum, jam crebrior arcesIrrumpit populus, veterem jam moenia civemIndignata novo superante, stupent gravitatemPlantae victricis; quod dura quod improba cursusPraegravis inculcet, rapida involet, horrida pulset.

First among these a youth shines forth with drawn sword, [0570A] the glory of soldiery, and the glory too of distinguished lineage. Bernard—calling you, Saint Valery, his patron—from whom he drew both a cognomen and an agnomen: yet he both finds you on the walls and grieves to have found you, O noble pair of brothers, Letthold, and you, Engelbert, follower of your brother, second to the former both in birth and in the scaling. Flanders sent them by a ladder onto the walls, by a ladder; having divided the ramparts they run, that one toward Eurus, the brothers toward Zephyr: they mangle and they shove the mangled. Bodies on every side collapse; a crash follows these, a crash him. Yet the first neck which, hewn, left the shoulders, felt the slaughter-bearing right hand; the third that crawled—still the trunk was standing, when already the helmeted summit had fallen down to the depths. But soon he followed this one, [0570B] and, cut down, he learned the heel, and, whole, the sword. But now the war grows bloodier, now a denser populace bursts into the citadels; the walls, indignant that the old citizen is now overcome by a new one, are amazed at the weight—at the gravity—of the victorious sole: that, hard and immoderate, the over-heavy charge stamps down, swoops swiftly, strikes horribly.

CXXVII.- Urbs capitur.

127.- The city is captured.

Ergo fugam trepidi satis aspernata coloniExcutiunt tremulas transverso vertice plantas,Victori assultant; admissus victor inertePlebe levat pressos; assultus, praemia, muros,Ascensus avidae graduum penuria gentisVota morabatur, vicinum limen aditur,Frangitur, atque humeris pulsato cardine solis [0570C] Mox Josaphateae patuerunt robora portae,Ergo ubi claustra patent, cuncta aspirant, nihil obstat.Huc, illuc, dextra, laeva, sursum atque deorsum;Per sata, per dumos, per tecta, per arva, per hortosDissiliunt, interficiunt, rapiunt, populantur.Hic pecus, ille domum; pars aurum, pars orichalcum,Falsa decepti specie, fulvoque nitore;Plurimus argentum, quidam gemmas, alii ostrum;Servos nonnulli, cursim omnia et omnia raptim.Ut tamen in vulgo fert fabula, qua sua cuiqueEst prurigo gravis, prior illuc involat unguis.Sic modo posthabitis ornatibus ambitiosis, [0570D] Quo sua quemque rapit penuria, sistitur illic:Esuriens furno non esurit arma reperto,Nec sitiens unda sitit aera pecusve reperta.Tecta subit laesus, ruit ad velamina nudus;Ad calices bibulus, ad opes festinat avarus.Sternere nobilitas, vulgus spoliare laborat:Miles caede rubet, dux exhortatur et urget.Hinc ambo validi, comites ambo, ambo Roberti,Hic Normannorum comes, ille Flandrigenarum,Duxque Godefridus bello celeberrima virtus,Illinc magnanimus sancti comes AegidianusE regione ruens vicinas scanderat arces,Et quam Davidicam vocat incola, cinxerat armis,Non sine multorum nece praecipiti refugarum,Quos fuga de muris ad asylum traxerat arcis.

Therefore the settlers, though alarmed, having quite spurned flight, shake off their trembling soles, with head turned askance; they assault the victor; the victor, once admitted, lifts up those pressed down by the inert plebs; assaults, rewards, the walls—the shortage of steps for ascent was delaying the vows of the eager tribe; the near threshold is approached, it is broken, and, the hinge smitten by shoulders alone, [0570C] soon the oaken timbers of the Josaphat Gate stood open. Therefore when the bars lie open, all aspire, nothing hinders. Hither, thither, right, left, upward and downward; through sown lands, through brambles, through roofs, through fields, through gardens they leap apart, they kill, they seize, they lay waste. Here one [seizes] cattle, there one a house; some [take] gold, some orichalc, deceived by the false appearance and tawny gleam; many [take] silver, certain ones gems, others purple; some slaves—everything in haste and everything by snatching. Yet, as the tale in the crowd has it, where each has his own grievous itch, thither the nail first flies. Thus, with ambitious ornaments for the moment set aside, [0570D] where lack drags each one, there he takes his stand: the hungry man, an oven having been found, does not hunger after arms; nor does the thirsty man, water having been found, thirst for bronze or for cattle. The wounded one goes under a roof, the naked rushes to garments; the bibulous to cups, the greedy hastens to wealth. The nobility strives to lay low, the crowd to despoil: the soldier reddens with slaughter, the leader exhorts and presses on. Here both strong, both counts, both Roberts—this one the count of the Normans, that one of the Flemings—and Duke Godfrey, a fame-most valor in war; and from there the great-souled Count of Saint-Gilles, rushing from the opposite side, had scaled the neighboring citadels, and the one which the inhabitant calls Davidic he had encircled with arms, not without the death of many headlong refugees, whom flight from the walls had dragged to the asylum of the citadel.

CXXVIII.- Tancredus. [0571A]

128.- Tancred. [0571A]

At Tancredus homo, qui non homo, sed leo, sed necOs oculosve leo, quin imo cor ipse leonis,Ad majora furit; neuter quod somniet Ajax,Non Hector, non Hectoreus superator AchillesAudeat: hoc facile et pronum Wiscardida ducisCuria templorum, nunc unius ante duorum,Nunc tantum domini, prius et domini et Salomonis:Hoc quidem adhuc gyrat latus, illud et auster habebat,Haec spatiosa capax circumdata moenibus altis,Cardine tam gemino ferrata fugam atque timorem,Horrorem, et bellum totam imo receperat urbem:Hoc adamas ferrum, durum hoc, sed durior illeTancredus pulsat, confringit, conterit, intrat: [0571B] Cujus ad introitum fugit irrevocabile vulgusEt Salomoniacae quindeniforum latus aulaeIrrumpunt; piger ense cadit, celer effugit ensem,Compos effugii portam obserat, obice fulcit,Aut vitae stabilis spes; aut mora quantula mortisAd Domini templum vertit se vertit, et ecceLimina signifero patefiunt, culmina signo.

But Tancred the man—who is not a man, but a lion, yet not a lion in mouth or eyes, nay rather the very heart of a lion—rages to greater deeds; what neither Ajax would dream, nor Hector, nor Achilles the Hectorean overcomer would dare: this the Guiscardine duke finds easy and ready—the Court of the Temples, now of one instead of two, now only of the Lord’s, earlier of both the Lord and Solomon. This side, indeed, still wheels; that one too the south possessed; this, spacious, capacious, surrounded by high walls, iron‑clad at a twin hinge, had received flight and fear, horror, and war—indeed the whole city—into its depths. This is adamantine iron, hard this; but harder still is Tancred: he beats it, breaks it, crushes it, enters. [0571B] At his entrance the irrevocable crowd takes flight, and they burst into the side of the Solomonic hall of fifteen doors; the sluggish falls by the sword, the swift escapes the sword; the master of escape bars the gate, shores it with a bolt. Either the hope of stable life, or some brief delay of death, turns itself toward the Temple of the Lord—and lo, the thresholds are opened to the standard‑bearer, the summits to the Sign.

CXXIX.- Templum spoliat.

129.- He despoils the temple.

Stabat in excelso simulacrum fusile throno,Scilicet argentum grave, cui vix sena ferendoDextera sufficiat fortis, vix dena levando.Hoc ubi Tancredus prospectat, «Proh pudor! inquit,Quid sibi vult praesens, quae stat sublimis imago?Quid sibi vult haec effigies? quid gemma?

There stood upon a lofty throne a molten simulacrum,Namely heavy silver, for which scarcely six strong right hands would suffice for bearing, scarcely ten for lifting.When Tancred looks upon this, «For shame! he says,What does this present image, which stands sublime, mean? What does this effigy mean? what the gem?

quid aurum? [0571C] Quid sibi vult ostrum? nam gemmis totus et ostroMahumet redimitus erat, radiabat et auro,Forsitan hoc Martis, vel Apollinis est simulacrum:Nunquid enim Christus?

what gold? [0571C] What does the purple signify? for Mahomet was entirely wreathed with gems and with purple, and was shining with gold. Perhaps this is a simulacrum of Mars, or of Apollo: surely not Christ?

non hic insignia Christi,Non crux, non sertum, non clavi, non latus baustum:Ergo neque hic Christus, quin pristinus Antichristus,Mahummet pravus, Mahummet perniciosus:O si hujus socius nunc affore, ille futurusJam meus hic ambos pes supprimat Antichristos.Proh pudor! arce Dei potitur conviva barathri,Vernaque Plutonis, Deus est operi Salomonis.Corruat ergo citus, jam dudum corruat iste; [0571D] Statne superbus adhuc quasi nos quoque sorpserit ipse?»Vix jussum fuerat, videas jam stare peractumMilite nil jusso complente libentius isto.Abripitur, trahitur, dirumpitur, obtruncatur.Materia carum, sed forma vile metallum,Ergo diffictus de vili fit preciosus.

not here the insignia of Christ,
Not the cross, not the wreath, not the nails, not the gashed side:
Therefore neither is this Christ, nay rather the former Antichrist,
Mahomet depraved, Mahomet pernicious:
O if this one’s associate, that future one, were now at hand,
already here my foot would press down both Antichrists.
For shame! the guest of the abyss possesses the citadel of God,
and the house-born slave of Pluto is a god to Solomon’s workmanship.
Let him therefore fall quickly; let him long since have fallen; [0571D] Does he still stand, proud, as if he himself had swallowed us too?»
Hardly had it been ordered, you might see the deed already standing accomplished—
no soldier ever fulfilled an order more gladly than this.
It is snatched away, dragged, torn apart, hacked down.
The material dear, but the form base metal;
therefore, recast from the vile, it becomes precious.

CXXX.- Spolia distribuit militiae.

130.- He distributes the spoils to the soldiery.

Interior paries per circuitum radiabat,Argenti lamma quae lata fere cubitalis,Ad spatium longum densa ad quasi pollicis amplum,Ducebat longos sinuosa per atria gyros,Pondus erat lammae quasi septem millia marcae;Hoc quasi segne jacens et inutile traxit in usumVir sapiens: hinc et famulos armavit inermes, [0572A] Hinc revestivit nudos, et pavit egentesHinc quoque militiae numerum quam sola voluptasAuxit, et externis sua fulsit signa maniplis.Sub gemmis paries, sub gemmis multa columna,Multa sub argento latebat, multa sub auro.Insignis fabricae decus, ars celebranda per orbem,Materies oculis solamen deliciosis.Tanquam conspectum fugiens, lucemque perosaTalibus involucris obducta, sub aere latebat.Reddidit ergo diem, longo jam carcere clausis,Et tenebras passis Tancredi gratia signis:Inque vacans aurum esuriens laxavit egentum;Marmora denudans, et Christi membra reformans

The inner wall all around was radiant, a plate of silver which was nearly a cubit broad, along a long stretch thick to almost the breadth of a thumb, it led winding long gyres through the halls, the weight of the plate was about seven thousand marks; this, lying as if sluggish and useless, a wise man drew into use: from this he armed unarmed household-servants, [0572A] from this he reclothed the naked and fed the needy, from this too he increased the number of the soldiery beyond what mere indulgence had done, and made his standards shine for foreign maniples. Under gems the wall, under gems many a column, much lay hidden under silver, much under gold. The distinguished ornament of the fabric, an art to be celebrated throughout the world, a material solace for fastidious eyes. As if fleeing sight and hating the light, covered by such wrappings, it lay hidden beneath bronze. He therefore gave back the day to those long shut in prison, and, by Tancred’s grace, to the ensigns that had suffered darkness; and, the gold now freed, he poured it out to the hungry needy, stripping the marbles and refashioning the members of Christ

CXXXI.- Hostes fundit.

131.- He routs the enemies.

Porro dispositis quae disponenda fuerunt, [0572B] Post mirata sacri gemmas, aes, marmora templi:A prece devota Tancredus suscitat arma,Invenit obstantes: sed eo penetrante catervas,Aut ruit, aut refugit, medium non invenit, hostisJam vacat exterior, nec sentit praelia campus:Curritur, et caedem penetratur ad interiorem,Utque patent aditus, tunc quid Tancrede, quid ensis?Quid probitas posses, docuerunt stagna cruoris:Cui narrare vacet per singula sive peremptae,Sive peremptricis luctus, ac gaudia turbae:Tantaque de tantis orientia commoda damnis.Mille modis, et mille viis, et mille ruinis.Mars fremit: ira furit, gladius vorat, occubat hostis.Eia, sancte furor, sacer ensis, sancta vorago; [0572C] Spargite, spargimini gens prava, viri scelerati,Sanguinis insontis fusor, sons fundere sanguisQui Christum totiens in membris dilacerasti,Excipe membra vices tibi quas reddunt modo Christi.

Furthermore, the things which had to be arranged having been arranged, [0572B] after he had admired the gems, the bronze, the marbles of the sacred temple: from devout prayer Tancred rouses arms, he finds those resisting; but as he penetrates the ranks, the enemy either collapses or flees, he finds no middle. Now the outer part lies empty, nor does the field feel battles: they run, and the slaughter is driven into the inner quarters; and as the entrances stand open, then—what, O Tancred, what the sword? What worth could do, the pools of gore taught. Who has leisure to narrate in detail either the griefs of the slain or of the slayer, and the joys of the crowd: and the advantages arising from such great losses. In a thousand modes, and a thousand ways, and a thousand ruins. Mars roars: wrath rages, the sword devours, the enemy lies low. Ah, holy fury, sacred sword, holy abyss; [0572C] be scattered, and scatter, perverse race, criminal men, you shedder of innocent blood—be yourself the guilty blood to be poured out—who so often have torn Christ in his members, receive in turn the limbs, the reprisals which Christ’s members now render to you.

CXXXII.- Urbis populatio; hostes victi animos colligunt.

132.- Sacking of the city; the defeated enemies rally their spirits.

Interea belli fremitu resonante per urbem,Conveniunt illuc spe caedis hic, ille lucelli:Mox alios alios rapiunt sua quemque voluptas.Ergo calybs, ferrum, cedrus, aes, cupressus, electrum,Robur portarum, decor, et SalomoniacarumFracta ruunt, latebras produnt, bello patefiunt: [0572D] Quid latitasse tibi Christi scelerate negator,Quid prodest divi portas clausisse palatii?Mille licet claudas aditus, lateasque sub ipsisMille tamen clausis, aditus per mille traheris:Ecce fugam probitas, audacia nacta timorem;Quo pecus ore lupi fracto populantur ovili,Strage pari gentem patefactam Gallicus ensis,Exilis numerus secat innumerabile vulgus,His jugulare senes, illis avellere parvos,Multis cura fuit, gemmatas exuere aures.Caede tamen visa, caesoribus advolat ultor,Mox quoque caedendus: numero sine et ordine milesInstar ab occulto conciti examinis antro;Quod vel aqua pastor, vel fumo exire coegit [0573A] Exsilit, irrumpitque aditus quod cuique repertum,Aut frons, aut aures, aut nares, caedit hiulcum.Sic ubi cognatae latebras solvere ruinae,Spicula mille volant, et mille volant quasi vernaeGrandinis; ira sudes, numerus non colligit enses.

Meanwhile, with the roar of war resounding through the city, they gather there—this man in hope of slaughter, that one of petty lucre: soon one passion, then another, snatches men away, each by his own desire. Therefore steel, iron, cedar, bronze, cypress, electrum, the oak-strength of the gates, the decor, and the Solomonic adornments, broken, crash down, betray hiding-places, are laid open to war: [0572D] What has it profited you, wicked denier of Christ, to have hidden? what to have shut the gates of the divine palace? Though you close a thousand approaches, and hide beneath those selfsame thousand closed ones, yet through a thousand you are dragged forth by ways a thousand. Lo, valor has found them in flight, audacity has found them in fear; as, with the wolf’s mouth burst open, wolves ravage the flock in the sheepfold, so the Gallic sword hews down the folk laid bare with equal carnage; a scanty number cuts an innumerable crowd—these to slit the throats of old men, those to tear away the little ones; for many the care was to strip jeweled ears. Yet, the slaughter seen, an avenger flies at the slaughterers—soon himself also to be slaughtered: soldiery without number and without order, like a swarm roused from a hidden cavern, which either the shepherd with water or with smoke has forced to come out, [0573A] leaps forth, and bursts in wherever an entry is found by anyone; whether brow, or ears, or nostrils—it hacks it gaping. Thus, when kindred ruins have undone their hiding-places, a thousand darts fly, and a thousand fly as if the very offspring of hail; wrath supplies the stakes, and number does not reckon the swords.

CXXXIII.- Anceps pugna, fugantur fideles. Ebrardus Pusiatensis fugatos revocat.

133.- Uncertain battle, the faithful are put to flight. Ebrardus Pusiatensis recalls the routed.

Gallica strenuitas, ingens et parva, pusillusGrex, sed grex validus, numero nequit obvia tantoPectora ferre diu, cedunt, cedentibus instantQui modo cedebant: et quantum frangere, quantumFracta subire prius victorem limina juvit,Tantum praecipites juvat accelerare recursus,Perque suo patulas pulsu revolare fenestras, [0573B] Rursus et hos illi, rursusque hi, non minus illos,Hinc illuc agitant, mox illinc huc agitandi:Sic aliis alii modo cedebant, modo versiInstabant, vicibus variis fugiendo fugandoChristicolae Mahummicolas, MahummicolarumChristicolas turmae, bellique erat exitus anceps,Et velut alludens Mars, hinc Mars inde favebat,Multiplicique fuga jam luserat agmen utrumqueCum tandem accurrens vis bellica PusiatensisEbrardus, sic fama refert, unus clypeatusPartibus in sociis ultro casu exclypeatis,Unus ad innumeras clypeus stetit, obvius hastas,«Et tonitru magno, proh Francia! proh fuga turpis [0573C] Proh pudor! exclamat: bellatum venimus, anveSaltatum?

Gallic strenuousness, huge and small, a tiny Flock, yet a strong flock, cannot long bear breasts opposed to so great a number; they yield, and upon the yielding press those who just now were yielding: and as much as before it delighted them to break, to pass beneath the shattered thresholds of the victor, so much it delights them, headlong, to hasten their returns, and to fly back through the wide windows by their own impulse, [0573B] in turn those drive these, and in turn these, no less, those, from here to there they harry them, soon from there to here to be harried: thus some to others were now yielding, now, turned about, they pressed on, in varied turns, by fleeing and making flee, the Christians the Mahometans, and the companies of the Mahometans the Christians; and the outcome of the war was doubtful, and, as if playing, Mars favored now here, now there, and with manifold routs had already toyed with each column, when at last, running up, the war-strength of Pusiat, Ebrardus (so fame reports), a single shield-bearer in the allied ranks by chance otherwise unshielded, stood as a single shield against numberless spears, facing them, «And with great thunder, ah France! ah shameful flight, [0573C] ah disgrace! he cries: did we come to wage war, or to dance?

certe pueri sic fingere pugnasSunt soliti; solitae plausus celebrare puellae.Ecce minae totiens inter convivia jactae.Vosne, viri Franci? sed nec quos dicere Francas:Esse nurus digner, trepidas qui frangere caulasInclusumque pecus jugulare diu trepidastis:Exuite ergo metum, patriasque resumite vires.En ego prima feram, me caetera signa sequantur.»Sic stimulat frendens, sed agens majoribus uritSpectantes stimulis, nam protinus obice parmaePectora protectus, dextramque exertus et ensem,Unus mille viros invadit Martius heros:Voce satis, sed mota magis duce strage juventus,Seu cunctis idem fremitus, par ira, cor unum, [0573D] Mens eadem fuerit: sic cursu perpete cuncti,Hortantique favent, praecurrentemque sequuntur.

surely boys are wont thus to feign battles; girls were wont to celebrate with applause. Behold the threats so often tossed amid banquets. Are you the Frankish men? Nay, not even such as I would deign to call Frankish daughters-in-law: you who have long trembled to break the pens and to slaughter the enclosed flock. Therefore cast off fear, and resume your fatherland’s strengths. Lo, I will carry the first standard; let the other standards follow me.» Thus he goads them, gnashing, but by acting he scorches the onlookers with greater spurs; for straightway, with the barrier of the parma protecting his breast, and with right hand and sword thrust forth, one martial hero assails a thousand men. The youth is moved enough by his voice, but more by the leader set in motion with slaughter; whether the same roar, equal wrath, one heart, [0573D] the same mind was in all: thus all, with unbroken course, favor the exhorter and follow the one running ahead.

CXXXIV.- Horrenda infidelium strages.

134.- Horrendous slaughter of the infidels.

Infinita licet debellent millia pauci,Non tamen aut nocet hos minor, aut juvat amplior illos,Cum damno est numerus, si quidem quo major acervus,Quo magis est densum, tanto plus debile vulgus,Stipatim fodiunt alios alii, perimuntque,Et variis vicibus modo saucia corpora sani,Et modo dum casu casum est sine vulnere stratos.Vulnere prostrati vivos necuere necati:Quo major plebis cumulus, major quoque cladis; [0574A] Quippe cadens stantem suffocat, stansque cadentem:Sic quoque sopitum gladius non praeterit ullum,Costas rimatus, per colla, per ilia ductus,Terga per et ventres, larga sanie oblinit aedes,Gloria cunctarum quas mundus habet fabricarum,Fit lacus horrendi, velut actor obhorreat unde.Quantus, quantus erat templi stupor ille capacis,Limina, maceriae, sedes, tabulata, columnae;Omnia sanguis erant, nihil exstabat nisi sanguis:Namque pavimentum penitus sub strage latebat,Ut nisi submersus non tangat marmora poples:Quippe cruor tantus, tanta inficit unda penates:Quanta nec Emathiam sub Caesare, nec sub AchivoMarte firges [ f. Phryges], nec sub Mario, Syllave Latinos

Although few may war down infinite thousands, nevertheless neither does the lesser number hurt these, nor does the greater help those; number is to one’s damage—for indeed, the greater the heap, the more dense it is, by so much the more feeble the mob. In close file they dig at one another and destroy, and by varied turns now the sound men [stab] wounded bodies, and now, by mere chance, men are laid low without a wound. Overthrown by a wound, the slain have killed the living: the greater the pile of the populace, the greater also the ruin; [0574A] for the one falling suffocates the one standing, and the one standing the one falling. Thus too the sword does not pass by any man lulled asleep, probing the ribs, led through necks, through flanks, through backs and bellies; it besmears the halls with copious gore, the glory of all the structures which the world possesses, becomes a lake of horror, at which even an actor would shudder. How great, how great was that stupefaction of the capacious temple—thresholds, walls, seats, floors, columns; all things were blood, nothing stood forth except blood. For the pavement lay hidden deep beneath the slaughter, so that unless one were submerged the knee would not touch the marbles. For so great was the gore, such a wave defiles the halls, as great as neither Emathia under Caesar, nor under Achaean Mars the Phryges [ f. Phryges], nor the Latins under Marius or Sulla.

CXXXV.- Tancredus invidentiam incurrit Arnulfi. Hujus adversus Tancredum ad proceres oratio. [0574B]

135.- Tancred incurs the envy of Arnulf. His speech against Tancred to the nobles. [0574B]

Sed nec haec tam festa dies nomine careat: ipsa est qua illustrat Julius annum, Idus Julium; ipsa est in serie feriarum sexta, ab obsidionis exordio in quadragenis penultima. O beatus Idus ac prae caeteris gloriosas! in his si quidem divisi sunt, qui in orbem terrarum fidei rudimenta spargere jussi sunt.

But let not even this so festive day be without a name: it is the very one by which July illumines the year, the Ides of July; it is the sixth in the series of feast-days, and from the beginning of the siege the penultimate among the forty days. O blessed Ides and, before the rest, most glorious! on these, indeed, were apportioned those who were bidden to scatter the rudiments of the faith throughout the orb of the lands.

Ab iis coepit exordium seminis Ecclesiae, in iisdem seges rediviva horreum cumulat, ecce in iis pater ille familias operarios mane misit: ecce in iis vesperi vinea penum replet. O igitur merito Iduum Idus sua gloria meruit indici! O Tancrede, hic quoque [0574C] post victoriam de victoriae fructu certamen, et post certamen certaminis fructum pacem invenisti!

From them began the exordium of the seed of the Church; in these same, the reborn harvest heaps up the granary; behold, in these that father of the household sent out laborers in the morning: behold, in these the vineyard in the evening fills the pantry. O therefore, deservedly, the Ides of the Ides has merited to be proclaimed by its own glory! O Tancred, here too [0574C] after victory you found, from the fruit of victory, a contest; and after the contest, from the fruit of the contest, peace you found!

Orta est enim inter principes adversus Tancredum invidia, quod uni super omnes cumulatius abundaverit Deus, quibus armata jaculis Arnulfi quasi alterius Ulyssis facundia virum provocat, intus vocat, proceres convocat. Consedere duces, surgitque secundus Ulysses: tum defixo paululum in terram vultu, deinceps sic orditur: «Multa me hortantur, o Patres! obsequium meum voluntati vestrae subjicere: inter quae haec ipsa etiam nuper mihi oblata injuria.

For envy arose among the princes against Tancred, because God had abounded more copiously upon him alone above all; by which Arnulf’s eloquence, armed with javelins as of another Ulysses, provokes the man, calls him within, summons the nobles. The leaders sat, and a second Ulysses rises; then, with his face fixed for a little upon the ground, thereafter he thus begins: «Many things, O Fathers, urge me to subject my obedience to your will: among which also is this very injury lately offered to me.»

Haec enim me docet quantum distet ab homine homo, beneficus a raptore, ab invasore assertor. Vos me de humili promovistis, vos de ignoto celebrem dedistis, vos quasi unum ex vobis, et comparticipem [0574D] tributorum creastis, et haec quidem gratia et a prisca proavorum liberalitas descendens nova. Vos regius sanguis, o duces!

For these things teach me how far a man differs from man, the beneficent from the robber, the invader from the assertor. You promoted me from the lowly, you made me celebrated from the unknown, you created me as if one of yourselves, and a co-participant [0574D] of tributes, and this favor indeed, both new and descending from the ancient liberality of forefathers. You, royal blood, O leaders!

bene a quo fonte decurristis in me patuit, cui largi, cui divites fuistis; cum vobis parci, vobis pauperes essetis. At Tancredus me persequitur, saeve tyrannidem exercet, in me saevit; quod communis assensus vester mihi sanxerat, ipse derogat, ipse mihi vices pontificis aufert, vos dedistis; ipse me spoliat, vos investistis. Tuemini igitur, o fortissimi proceres!

well from what fountain you flowed down upon me it was evident, how lavish, how wealthy you were to me; while toward yourselves you were sparing, to yourselves poor. But Tancred persecutes me, cruelly exercises tyranny, rages against me; what your common assent had sanctioned for me, he himself derogates; he himself takes from me the vicarious functions of the pontiff, which you bestowed; he himself despoils me, you invested me. Therefore protect me, O most valiant nobles!

jus vestrum, ulciscimini injuriam vestram, punite injuriam. Nemo putet meam esse hanc contumeliam, vestra est, omnium nostra: mihi quidem res imminuta est, vobis aucta injuria, ad me redundat damnum, ad vos dedecus: nam qui dispensationem conculcat, nempe omnino dispensatorem [0575A] damnat: scriptum est enim: Qui temnit legem, spernit regem. Cur autem vos non sperneret, qui Deum spernit?

your right, avenge your injury, punish the wrong. Let no one think this contumely is mine; it is yours, the contumely of us all: my cause indeed is diminished, to you the injury is augmented; to me the loss redounds, to you the disgrace: for he who tramples the dispensation assuredly altogether condemns the dispenser [0575A]: for it is written: He who scorns the law, despises the king. Why then would he not spurn you, who spurns God?

cur vobis pareret, qui aris non parcit? cur vos patitur palliatos, qui templum Domini excrustavit? templum, inquam, Domini, non ab heri et nudius tertius constructum, nec quolibet dispensante circumactum, non ubivis, non quando, non quomodo, non a quovis fundatum: haec est enim domus Domini firmiter aedificata; ipse Dominus fundavit eam.

why should he obey you, who does not spare the altars? why does he endure you pallium‑clad, who has stripped the temple of the Lord? the temple, I say, of the Lord, not built since yesterday or the day before yesterday, nor turned about at the management of just any steward, not founded just anywhere, not at any time, not in any manner, not by just anyone: for this is the house of the Lord firmly built; the Lord himself has founded it.

Hic ille est locus in quo patriarcha Jacob vere Dominum esse asseruit, quem portam coeli vocavit, ubi scalam coelos tangentem et angelos ascendentes et descendentes vidit. Hunc Christus Dominus et praesentatione sui illustravit infans, et reverentiae zelo mercimoniis ejectis sic extulit adolescens: [0575B] Scriptum est, domus mea, domus orationis vocabitur. Longum est enumerare quibus paginae veteris aut novae laudibus hujus sanctae domus cumulatur majestas.

This is that place in which the patriarch Jacob truly asserted that the Lord was there, which he called the gate of heaven, where he saw a ladder touching the heavens and angels ascending and descending. This place the Lord Christ both illumined, as an infant, by the presentation of himself, and, by zeal for reverence, with the merchants cast out, thus exalted as a youth: [0575B] It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer. It is a long task to enumerate with what praises in the pages of the Old or the New the majesty of this holy house is heaped up.

Quod si satis, o Marchisida, attendisses, huic saltem pepercisses, quasi in terris coelo: huic, inquam, unico in terris, si quid terra coelis simile habet, coelorum simillimo. At indulgendum est Wiscardidae: secutus est enim patrum suorum vestigia. Quis inter amplexus, inter oscula compatrem suum a moenibus rota dejecit?

But if you had attended enough, O Marchisida, you would at least have spared this one, as though a heaven upon earth: this one, I say, the only one on earth—if the earth has anything like the heavens—the most similar to the heavens. But indulgence must be granted to the Wiscardid; for he followed the footsteps of his fathers. Who, amid embraces, amid kisses, cast his godfather down from the walls by means of a wheel?

nempe Wiscardus? quis vivus pro mortuo, incolumis pro tumulando in montem Cassinum perlatus est? Utique Wiscardus: Quis nepotem suum ad concordiam elicitum, prius calida, mox gelida perfudit?

surely Wiscardus? who, alive instead of dead, unharmed instead of for entombment, was borne to Mount Cassino? Assuredly Wiscardus: Who drenched his nephew, lured out to concord, first with hot, soon with cold water?

[0575C] Idem Wiscardus: qui tamen fertur ecclesiarum fundator, non subversor: nec denudasse, at multas ornasse. Papae! o Wiscardida, nesciebas me domus Dei ministrum!

[0575C] The same Wiscardus: who nevertheless is said to be a founder of churches, not a subverter: not to have denuded, but to have ornamented many. Good heavens! O Wiscardid, you did not know me to be a minister of the house of God!

an prudens, sciens, contempto me conculcato jure, prolato scelere sanctuarium profanasti? si ignoranter peccatum est; cur post notitiam non est ad veniam recursum? Quod si peccavit industria; cur jam cessat rapina?

or is it wittingly, knowingly, with me despised and right trampled underfoot, that by crime brought to light you have profaned the sanctuary? if it was sinned ignorantly; why, after knowledge, has there not been recourse to pardon? But if it sinned by design; why does rapine now cease?

Adhuc restant ecclesiae, adhuc in altaribus gemmae; quin, irrue, rape, ejice ministros, succede ejectis, sileat Arnulfus, suadeat Tancredus. At vos, o proceres! si quid bene merui, vobiscum laboravi, nunquam deserui.

Churches still remain, still gems upon the altars; nay, rush in, seize, cast out the ministers, take the place of the ejected; let Arnulf be silent, let Tancred advise. But you, O nobles! if I have deserved well in anything, I have labored with you, I have never deserted.

Ab ipso bellorum primordio Nicaea vigilantiam meam sensit, ubi, me increpante pigritiam, strenuitas fervebat; hortante juvenes, senectus [0575D] juvenebatur; sopitas excitante fundas, moenia tremebant. Mox in valle Dorecil circumsepti ab hostibus, mortem ante oculos videntes, de vita diffidebamus; ubi tamen neque mentem confudit timor, neque fraus consilio adfuit, neque abfuit labori effectus. Mittendum esse ad socios, ignaris nuntiandum, diffusos aggregandos memini; ego consului, ego implevi.

From the very beginnings of the wars Nicaea felt my vigilance, where, as I rebuked sloth, strenuousness boiled; as I urged on the youths, old age [0575D] was made young; as I roused the slumbering slings, the walls trembled. Soon in the valley of Dorecil, hemmed in by the enemies, seeing death before our eyes, we despaired of life; yet there fear did not confound the mind, nor was fraud present to counsel, nor was effect absent to labor. I remembered that a message must be sent to our allies, that the uninformed must be notified, that the scattered must be aggregated; I took counsel, I fulfilled.

Non fraudulenter alienos humeros onere gravavi, quod mei recusarent, uno comitatus Achate, et ipso sicut imbelli sic inermi. Per millia hostium aufugi, infinitis sequentibus evasi, eventum nuntiavi, victoriam adduxi, vici. Antiochiae quis fuerim, testis est hostis.

I did not fraudulently load others’ shoulders with a burden that my own refused, accompanied by a single Achates—and he himself as unwarlike as unarmed. Through thousands of enemies I fled, with innumerable pursuers I escaped; I announced the outcome, I brought victory, I conquered. At Antioch what I was, the enemy is witness.

Diutinum agonem illum haec non explicet dies: ut de Marra quoque prope redempta sileam, redeat in memoriam saltem Archas, [0576A] et prioris quidem illius fugae modum habui disparem, at metum eumdem. In qua linter exilis prope moenia, praeter navalia, intra littora Maracheae, Tortuosae, Valoniae, Gibelli, tandem Laodiciam me pervexit; ubi vix expositus per mille pericula Antiochiam adii, moras ducum increpui. O adducti proceres!

This day would not suffice to expound that long agony: to be silent also about Marra, almost recovered, let at least Archas return to memory, [0576A] and indeed I had a different manner of that former flight, but the same fear. In it a slender skiff, near the walls, past the dockyards, within the shores of Marachea, Tortuosa, Valonia, Gibellus, at length carried me to Laodicea; where, scarcely set ashore, through a thousand perils I made for Antioch, I rebuked the delays of the leaders. O constrained nobles!

vos testes habeo, vos adduxi. Ex illo usque in praesens, neque vidit otium meum Phoebus, neque somnolentiam Phoebe, neque faciem mensa neque animus quietem, dum reipublicae inservio, invigilo, insenesco, immorior. Multo autem plura praemissis subditurus eram, o patres, sed prae compendio dimissa caetera diem adversario relinquam.»

I have you as witnesses; I have brought you. From that time even to the present, neither has Phoebus seen my leisure, nor Phoebe my drowsiness, nor has the table seen my face nor my mind rest, while I serve the republic, keep vigil, grow old, and die away. But I was going to add much more to what has been sent ahead, O fathers; but for the sake of brevity, the rest being dismissed, I will leave the day to the adversary.»

CXXXVI.- Respondet Tancredus.

136.- Tancred Responds.

Ab his surgit ambiguus, primo utrum sequeretur [0576B] ducem fervorem animi, an judicis favorem: ergo sic incipit [ deest Tancredus]: «Scitis, proceres, studium meum: militia fuit, non persuasio nec linguositas me promovit, sed ensis et lancea: proinde indulgendum mihi fore postulo, si tractus ad lites, artis ignotae excessero rationes: si tyro rudis aut citra metam pressero aut ultra laxavero habenas. Id opinor consideravit adversarius: hinc me provocandi sumpsit audaciam, qui sicut scorpius in cauda, ita omnem habet suam militiam in lingua: vae, inquam, vae lingua: a cauda est scorpii. Audistis ipsi, non est externo opus teste, qua VI persuadente genus meum corroserit.

From these he rises, ambiguous, at first whether he should follow, as leader, the fervor of his spirit, or the judge’s favor [0576B]: therefore he thus begins [Tancred is lacking]: “You know, nobles, my pursuit: it has been soldiery; not persuasion nor loquacity advanced me, but sword and lance: accordingly I ask that indulgence be granted me, if, drawn to litigation, in an unknown art I should exceed the proper reasonings; if, a raw tyro, I either press short of the goal or loosen the reins too far. This, I think, the adversary considered: hence he took the boldness of provoking me, who, just as the scorpion has it in the tail, so has all his warfare in his tongue: woe, I say, woe to the tongue: it is the scorpion’s tail. You yourselves have heard; there is no need of an external witness, with what force of persuasion he has corroded my lineage.”

Wiscardo secundae ab Alexandro audaciae detraxit, tanto principi homo de [0576C] cujus sobole quispiam principem non vidit. Wiscardi acta nota sunt orbi, non est qui possit detrahere, nisi qui semper studuit candidum in nigra, nigrum in candida colorare: quid quod in opibus opitulari, et postponerent necessitati delicias, auro vitam redimere, gemmis conculcare hostes? de argento milites creare iste pervertendo et depravando vocat ecclesias excrustare?

He has detracted from Wiscard, second to Alexander in audacity, so great a prince assailed by a man of [0576C] whose stock no one has ever seen a prince. The deeds of Wiscard are known to the world; there is no one who can detract, save one who has always studied to color the white in black and the black in white. What of the fact that, by means of wealth, they gave succor, and that they would postpone delights to necessity, redeem life with gold, trample foes underfoot with gems? To “create soldiers out of silver”—this man, by perverting and depraving, calls “stripping the churches”?

Nonne hic est, qui sermocinari per parochias solet, clamans: Dicite, pontifices, in sancto quid faciat aurum? nempe ob reipublicae tutelam, ob infidelitatem debellandam, urgente periculo, instante bello, necessitate coactus, aes vacans et quasi dormiens excitavi, ut qui servierat fulgens, eidem melius serviret bellans; non inde cudi murenulas neptibus meis gratiosus, res tantum transtuli, [0576D] non consumpsi. Promovi ut fructum multiplicent, quasi non sensissent motum, non surgerent in augmentum.

Is not this he who is wont to sermonize through the parishes, crying out: “Say, pontiffs, what is gold doing in the holy place?” Surely for the protection of the commonwealth, for the subduing of infidelity, with danger pressing, with war imminent, compelled by necessity, I roused the bronze lying idle and, as it were, sleeping, so that what had served by shining might serve the same better by warring; not that, ingratiating myself, little “murena”-bracelets should be hammered out for my granddaughters, I only transferred the asset, [0576D] I did not consume it. I promoted that they might multiply their fruit, as though, had they not felt movement, they would not rise into increase.

Seminavi ut metam, post messem creditori meo decuplum persolvam. Verum nec erit Arnulfus, nec qui tot redimat neptes templi claviger, cum thesauros ejus gazis cumulabo: interim etiam ungues tentabo arcere, neque dum Hierosolymis militabit Tancredus, templum Domini spoliabit Arnulfus. Animadvertite, o proceres!

I have sown to the end that, after the harvest, I may pay my creditor tenfold. Yet neither Arnulf, nor he who redeems so many nieces, shall be the temple’s key-bearer, when I shall heap up its treasures with hoards: in the meantime I will even try to ward off the claws; nor, while Tancred is soldiering at Jerusalem, will Arnulf despoil the Temple of the Lord. Take note, O nobles!

quaenam est, si non haec injuria. Nobis adhuc forinsecus extorribus hunc ipsum judicem elegi, super hac quaestione consului, suum ne singulorum quod quisque occuparet, sive domus sive curia foret: ab interrogato sic accepi. Decretum est, inquit, atque universaliter sancitum, id suo juri cuique, quodcunque sit, relinquendum fore, cujus [0577A] post ingressum urbis primus fieret occupator.

what is it, if not this injustice. We still being exiles outside, I chose this very judge, I consulted him concerning this question—whether what each might occupy would be his own, whether it be a house or a curia: from the one questioned I thus received. “It has been decreed,” he says, “and universally sanctioned, that to each there must be left to his own right, whatever it may be, of which [0577A] after the entry of the city he should be the first occupier.”

Haec forsitan ipse praeteriisse putat: ego praesentia habeo, non exciderunt, stant fixa. Pudeat judicem in dies mutare sententias, nedum quod heri sanxerit, hodie neget, et angui lubrico conformetur et Protheo. Nam quo teneam modo mutantem Prothea vultus.

Perhaps he himself thinks these things have been passed over; I hold them present—they have not fallen out, they stand fixed. Let a judge be ashamed to change his sentences day by day, let alone deny today what he sanctioned yesterday, and conform himself to the slippery serpent and to Proteus. For by what method am I to hold Proteus changing his faces?

Quod si fortasse primos aditus sibi usurpat, in hac quoque parte victus succumbit; testatur ei forsitan miles unus, sed exercitus mihi: qui audierit, sed mille qui viderunt. Ego primus irrui, primus portas fregi, quo sequi non auderet, ego praecessi, quos nec a tergo spectare, ego a fronte debellavi. At fugas suas nobis jactat, periculis consuluisse, suggessisse de nuntio, demum nuntiasse.

But if perhaps he usurps to himself the first approaches, in this point too, vanquished, he succumbs; perhaps one soldier attests for him, but an army for me: one who has heard, but a thousand who have seen. I was first to rush in, first to break the gates; where he did not dare to follow, I went before; those whom he did not even dare to behold from the rear, I from the front utterly vanquished. Yet he brags to us of his flights, that he consulted for dangers, that he suggested about a message, finally that he sent word.

Quis adeo stolidus, o proceres! ut ex his ejus formidinem non perpendat? Nempe a periculo [0577B] uspiam mitti, hoc est abesse a periculo et liberari.

Who is so stolid, O nobles, that from these things he would not weigh his fear? Surely to be sent anywhere from danger [0577B], that is, to be away from danger and to be set free.

Quid quod et persuasit, et se ingessit, et ultro abscessit? Nimirum ex his colligitur quod aufugit: neque enim haec abscessio, sed vero nomine fuga dicenda est. Juste hoc vocabulum jactantiae ejus intercidit; cujus tota intentio, ardor unicus, sola sitis fuga fuerit.

What of the fact that he both persuaded, and thrust himself in, and then of his own accord withdrew? Clearly from these things it is gathered that he fled: for this is not to be called a withdrawal, but by its true name a flight. Justly this term of his vaunting falls away; his whole intention, his single ardor, his sole thirst, was flight.

Sed excusatus abit propter suos quos enumerat, quibus occurrit metus: attendat quid ista sonant; mille modos inter lethi mors illa timori qua timidi coepere mori. Pudet me, o patres, hujus certaminis; ad quod tamen, ne sibi imputet, non me coegit adversarius; reverentiae vestrae ascribat, ea me impulit. Jam ergo fatiscenti equo lora supprimam; quid de peracto cursu debeatur, vos [0577C] discernite.»

But he goes away excused on account of his own, whom he enumerates, whom fear met: let him attend to what those words signify; among a thousand modes of death, that death is fear itself, by which the timid began to die. I am ashamed, O fathers, of this contest; yet to it—let him not impute it to himself—the adversary did not compel me; let him ascribe it to your reverence; that impelled me. Now therefore I will check the reins on a flagging horse; as to what is owed for the course completed, you [0577C] discern.»

CXXXVII.- Sententia procerum.

137.- Opinion of the nobles.

Cumque haec verborum in auribus principum consonuisset dissonantia: ipsi jam ad aequitatem respondentis aequanimes redditi; sopita invidia, justitiam scrutantur. Medium quoddam inveniunt, quo nec frustra declamaverit Arnulphus, nec paratis proprio sanguine opibus frustretur Tancredus. Judicant ubera non debere relinqui arida, quae tantum lactis effuderint, cum praesertim Tancredi liberalitas aliis non desit ecclesiis: hanc praecipue quae indignum ditavit, debet et ipse versa vice fovere indignam.

And when this dissonance of words had sounded together in the ears of the princes, they themselves, now rendered even‑minded toward the equity of the respondent, with envy lulled, scrutinize justice. They find a certain mean, whereby neither shall Arnulf have declaimed in vain, nor shall Tancred be frustrated of the resources prepared by his own blood. They judge that the breasts which have poured out so much milk ought not to be left dry, since Tancred’s liberality is not lacking to other churches; this church in particular, which enriched an unworthy man, he too, in turn, ought to cherish—unworthy though it be.

Quid plura? septingentis templum redonat marchis consilio principum Marchisides, non invitus: hoc medio conjunguntur qui abjuncti fuerant [0577D] viri: ambo conspicui, ambo ab humili potentes, ambo omnium invidia, cum neuter nisi forte alterutrum invideret. De quibus simile illi quod de Hectore et Aenaea edidit Mantuanus, confidenter et ipse protulerim.

What more? With seven hundred marks the Marchisid, by the counsel of the princes, restores the temple, not unwillingly: through this middle way the men who had been sundered are joined [0577D]: both conspicuous, both powerful from a humble estate, both the envy of all, since neither envied anyone, unless perhaps each envied the other. Concerning whom I too would confidently bring forth something like that which the Mantuan set forth about Hector and Aeneas.

Si duo praeterea misisset Gallica tales Terra viros, jam dudum Gallos habuissent reges Memphis et Babylon: tanta enituit virtus in hoc facundiae, in illo audaciae, in utroque liberalitatis, discretionis, sollicitudinis, justitiae, prudentiae.

If furthermore the Gallic Land had sent two such men, Memphis and Babylon would long since have had Gauls as kings: so great a virtue shone forth—in this one, of eloquence; in that one, of audacity; in both, of liberality, discretion, solicitude, justice, prudence.

CXXXVIII.- Franci sub Ascalone victores.

138.- Franks victorious at Ascalon.

Jam transierant post praedicta duae, et ab eadem quarta parasceve fulgebat, illa quoque geminavit laetitiam: quippe sub Ascalonae moenibus Francos [0578A] vidit victores. Turbaverat enim regem Memphios Hierusalem capta, hinc tota fremens Aegyptus equitum trecentis millibus sexagena cumulaverat, miseratque bellatum peditum numerus sicut maris arena. At ubi de adventu bellorum nuntiatum est Francis; illi velut a fame ad epulas occurrunt, fundunt nostri quod dictum est, et ubi dictum est, pauci multos: quo autem ordine, urgens jubet praeteriri Tancredus: indulget tamen Ascalonitas post victoriam vexillo comitis Raimundi elato, seque suasque turres substringere mancipatos; eo namque praeside, Davidica tutores suos immiserat illaesos, ex quo hujus viri fides in populo illo magna celebrabatur.

Already two had passed after the aforesaid, and from the same the fourth Parasceve (Friday) was shining; that one too doubled the joy: indeed beneath the walls of Ascalon it saw the Franks [0578A] victorious. For the capture of Jerusalem had disturbed the Memphian king; hence all Egypt, roaring, had heaped up 360,000 horsemen, and had sent to war a number of foot-soldiers like the sand of the sea. But when news of the coming of the wars was announced to the Franks, they run up as from hunger to banquets; our men rout, as has been said, and where it has been said, few [overcome] many: but as to in what order, Tancred, pressing, commands it to be passed over; nevertheless he grants to the Ascalonites, after the victory, with the standard of Count Raymond raised, to bind themselves and their towers as mancipated in subjection; for under that chief, the Davidic city had sent in its guardians unharmed, whence the good faith of this man was greatly celebrated among that people.

Sed exorta in magistratu de magistratu lite; quod sortito regnum Godefrido [0578B] Raimundus nollet suffragari: urbs neophyta ad idolatriam redit, spretis comiti simul et jugo regis et subjugatorum habenis, quod nefas quidem expiari non habet; licet eumdem multa jam clarificent probe gesta, et maneant clariora; superba vanaque indignatoris contemptio praesens totum deturpat comitem et praeteritum et futurum. Heu miser! nescis, heu miser!

But a quarrel having arisen in magistracy about magistracy; because, the kingship having been allotted to Godfrey [0578B] Raymond would not give his suffrage: the neophyte city returns to idolatry, with the count spurned, and likewise the yoke of the king and the reins of the subjugated—an impiety (nefas) which indeed has no expiation; although many deeds already rightly done make that same man illustrious, and brighter things remain; the proud and vain contempt of the indignant one at present utterly disfigures the count, both his past and his future. Alas, wretch! you do not know, alas, wretch!

quae vincula, quas strages innocentiae struis, dum stragis vinculorumque instrumentum Ascalonam solvis, nocentem non premis, jugum detrahis. Moestissima haec tuae indignationis dies infinitam ad posteros perniciem transmittit.

what chains, what slaughters of innocence you are piling up, while you unloose Ascalon from the instrument of slaughter and of chains, you do not press the guilty, you remove the yoke. This most mournful day of your indignation transmits infinite ruin to posterity.

CXXXIX.- Tancredus oppidum Bezan munit.

139.- Tancred fortifies the town of Bezan.

At Tancredus semper se transiens, semper de bono melior, semper Deo sublimante humilior: [0578C] quamvis opum adeptione templalium prae caeteris abundet; sub rege tamen novo militat, nec jugum indignans, nec solitudinem expavescens: in id enim summe miles militem redegerat haerentem abiens; ut congregatis omnibus, vix ducentae loricae Hierusalem tuerentur. E quibus Wiscardides circiter octoginta sibi ascitis, uberes praedas et frequentes undique corradebat, praedones ab urbe vigilanter arcebat, ditator civium, hostium pauperator. Ea nimirum sollicitudo virum impulit ad munimen oppidi quod nunc Bezan, olim Bezamis legimus appellatum.

But Tancred, always surpassing himself, always from good to better, always the higher God exalts him the more humble: [0578C] although by the acquisition of temple-wealth he abounds beyond the rest; yet he serves under the new king, neither resenting the yoke nor dreading solitude; for herein the consummate soldier, as he went away, had reduced the soldier who stayed behind to this point: that, with all assembled, scarcely two hundred corselets would defend Jerusalem. Of these, the Guiscardid, having enrolled to himself about eighty, would scrape together rich and frequent booty from every side, would vigilantly ward brigands away from the city—an enricher of citizens, an impoverisher of enemies. This concern, to be sure, impelled the man to the fortifying of the town which we read is now called Bezan, formerly Bezamis.

Locus ille ab Hierusalem remotus, non saxo, non palo, non aggere munitus: squalore suo terrebat indigenas, advenis nihil blandus. Nam praeter [0578D] caetera, populi frequentia circumfusi jam obsidebat innocuum, nocentem obsessura multo frequentior. Verum id ipsum providerat audacia viri, et quemadmodum venator nemus, aut dumeta auceps, noverat unde major praedae copia deberet avelli.

That place, remote from Jerusalem, fortified by neither rock, nor stake, nor rampart: by its own squalor it terrified the indigenes, in no way ingratiating to newcomers. For, besides [0578D] the rest, the frequency of people, poured around, already was besieging the innocent—much more numerous would it besiege the guilty. But the man’s audacity had foreseen this very thing, and, just as a hunter the grove, or a fowler the thickets, he knew whence a greater supply of prey ought to be torn away.

Igitur Bezan vallo utcunque circumducto vestitum, caetera per circuitum municipia spoliat, arata disjungit, jugum a bove ad rusticum transfert, claudit mercibus vias, urbibus portas. Quibus plagis Caiphas afflicta, quamvis mari et turribus septa civitas, fatiscit tamen: primo quidem tormentis balearibus obruta, mox per funes, per pontes, per scalas immissos mucrones passa.

Therefore, Bezan, outfitted with a rampart drawn round it after a fashion, he despoils the other municipia all around, disjoins the ploughed lands, transfers the yoke from the ox to the rustic, closes the roads to merchandise, the gates to the cities. By which blows Caiphas, afflicted—though a city enclosed by the sea and by towers—nevertheless cracks: at first indeed overwhelmed by Balearic artillery, soon, through ropes, through bridges, through ladders, it suffered blades thrust in.

CXL.- Boamundus et Balduinus Jerusalem pergunt.

140.- Bohemond and Baldwin proceed to Jerusalem.

His diebus Boamundus et Baldoynus Gottifredi [0579A] regis frater, de quo supradictum est, votum eundi Jerusalem complere cupientes, cum non parva militum manu iter arripiunt: qui dum per vallem Camelae et Damasci viciniam, nec non per Caesaream Philippi incederent, mirabile dictu per medios hostes, qui circumquaque exploraturi discurrebant, liberi transierunt: erat autem quadragesimalis diei tempus. Qui cum Jerusalem properassent, gaudia ibi paschalia cum rege Gottifredo celebrarunt. Quo videlicet tempore Daybertus Pisanorum episcopus vir in litteris potentissimus atque eloquentissimus; qui in multis navibus Joppem aggressus fuerat, eodem Boamundo juvante, in patriarchatum Jerusalem sublimatur.

In those days Bohemond and Baldwin, the brother of King Godfrey [0579A], of whom mention has been made above, desiring to fulfill the vow of going to Jerusalem, set out with no small band of soldiers: who, while they were marching through the Valley of Carmel and the vicinity of Damascus, and likewise through Caesarea Philippi, wondrous to say, passed unmolested through the midst of enemies, who on all sides were running about to reconnoiter: now it was the time of the Lenten fast. When they had hastened to Jerusalem, they celebrated there the Paschal joys with King Godfrey. At that same time Daimbert, bishop of the Pisans, a man most powerful in letters and most eloquent; who with many ships had attacked Jaffa, with the same Bohemond aiding, is elevated to the patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Arnulfus autem magnae indolis vir, quanquam dignitatis hujus electione donatus [0579B] fuerat, tamen libentissime annuit, sperans Christianitatem ibi magis in illo quam in se profuturam. Ordinantur ibi quatuor episcopi, scilicet Roggerius Tharsi, Mamystae Bartholomeus, Bernardus Artasii, Benedictus Edessae, qui cum Boamundo et Baldoyno in presbyteratus officio positi venerant. Expleta itaque solemnitate paschali, Boamundus cum tribus suis patribus revertitur, reddens singulis civitatibus praesules suos.

Arnulf, however, a man of great natural character, although he had been endowed by the election to this dignity [0579B], nevertheless most willingly assented, hoping that Christianity there would profit more in him than in himself. There are ordained there four bishops, namely Roger of Tarsus, Bartholomew of Mamistra, Bernard of Artasium, Benedict of Edessa, who had come, placed in the office of the presbyterate, with Boamund and Baldwin. The Paschal solemnity therefore completed, Boamund returns with his three fathers, restoring to each city its own prelates.

Baldoynus quoque cum suo archiepiscopo Benedicto Edessam, cujus ipse comitatum tenebat, rediit.

Baldwin also returned with his archbishop Benedict to Edessa, whose county he himself held.

XLI.- Urbem Meletaniam ab obsidione liberat Boamundus. Praelio commisso a Turcis captus abducitur.

41.- Bohemond frees the city of Meletania from siege. With battle joined, he is captured by the Turks and led away.

[0579C] Nec mora Boamundus ipse, cum audisset a relatoribus, urbem Meletaniam Turcorum armis circumdatam esse, quae decem dierum itinere aut plus ab Antiochia distabat; coacto in unum exercitu, ad liberandum eam ire conatur. Verum Turci cognoscentes illum jam in proximo adesse, obsidionem ex industria dimittentes, ut eorum est consuetudo, recesserunt. Magis enim ipsi ad tempus vel horam terga vertendo, quam accedendo praevalent.

[0579C] Nor was there delay: Bohemond himself, when he had heard from relators that the city Meletania was surrounded by the arms of the Turks, which was at a distance of a ten-days’ journey or more from Antioch; with the army gathered into one, he attempts to go to free it. But the Turks, learning that he was already at hand, letting the siege drop on purpose, as is their custom, withdrew. For they prevail more by turning their backs for a time or an hour than by approaching.

Nam et fugiendo spicula ejiciunt, seseque insequentes vulnerant. Boamundus ergo cum civitati appropinquans Turcorum aciem non reperisset, consultum est sibi a suis quatenus urbem ingressus paululum ibi prius requiesceret; ac sic postea quiete refotis viribus [0579D] suis, contra Turcos ad debellandum exiret. Qui non credidit eorum consiliis, sed ex stulta audacia immoderanter praesumens, absit, inquit, ut Boamundus quod nunquam fecisse meminit, modo facturus sit; hoc enim faciunt vulpes, quae mox ubi latrantes canes audierint, latebras quaerentes absconduntur.

For even while fleeing they cast their darts, and wound those pursuing. Therefore Bohemond, when, as he approached the city, he had not found the Turks’ battle-line, was advised by his own men that, having entered the city, he should rest there a little first; and thus afterward, with his own forces quietly refreshed [0579D], he should go out against the Turks to fight the war to an end. He did not trust their counsels, but, presuming immoderately out of foolish audacity, said, “Far be it that Bohemond should now do what he remembers never to have done; for this is what foxes do, who, as soon as they have heard barking dogs, hide themselves, seeking lairs.”

Ivit igitur post Turcos, eosque inveniens, cum eis praelium, quod utinam nunquam iniisset, mox inchoavit. Cumque hi et illi simul praeliarentur, Boamundus retinetur, ligatur, Mahummicolis magnum gaudium, vae miserabile Christianis facturus. Qui deinde in Romaniam ad Anismam regem vinculis mancipandus perducitur: de cujus post captione Antiochia misera facta ita manebat, ut non esset qui adjuvaret eam, neque consolaretur.

He went, therefore, after the Turks, and finding them he straightway began a battle with them—would that he had never entered upon it. And when both sides were simultaneously fighting, Boamund is held back, bound—about to make great joy for the Mahumicolis, alas a miserable thing for the Christians. Then he is conducted into Romania to King Anisma, to be consigned in chains; after whose capture wretched Antioch remained in such a state that there was none to help her nor to console her.

CXLII.- Godefridi regis obitus. [0580A]

142.- The obit of King Godfrey. [0580A]

Sequitur e vestigio miserrimus casus, quo Jerusalem non minori luctu affligebatur. Nam Gottifredus, rex optimus et timens Deum, capto mox Boamundo ex hac luce migravit. Erat enim jam annus unus evolutus ex quo regnare coeperat, cum ad obitum pervenisset.

There follows on the heels a most wretched calamity, whereby Jerusalem was afflicted with no less grief. For Godfrey, a most excellent king and fearing God, Bohemond having soon been taken, migrated from this light. For already one year had elapsed since he began to reign, when he came to his death.

Qui tamen antequam praesenti luce caruisset, dum corporis infirmitate teneretur, ad se patriarcham Daybertum atque Arnulfum, caeterosque accersiri jubet, quibus ille: «Ecce, inquit, viam universae terrae ingredior. Modo ergo adhuc me vivente consilium inter vos habeatur, et quis vice mei in Jerusalem regnare debeat praevideatur.» At illi respondentes: «Nos, inquiunt, magis hoc in tua providentia ponimus, et quem nobis ad hoc [0580B] ipsum elegeris, ei procul dubio subdemur.» At ille: «Si, inquit, in mea dispositione statuitur, Balduinum fratrem meum ad hoc culmen suscipiendum idoneum judico.» At illi Balduinum audientes, continuo unanimiter consentiunt, laudant, eique jurejurando fidelitate firmata subduntur; quoniam illum virum liberalem pecuniae, studiosum militiae, affatu humilem, magnanimitate sublimem cognoverant. Haec quippe omnia natura ipsa, ut ita dicamus, in eo manu propria exsculpserat.

Who, however, before he was deprived of the present light, while he was held by infirmity of the body, orders that the patriarch Daybert and Arnulf, and the others, be summoned to him; to whom he: «Behold,» he says, «I am entering the way of all the earth. Therefore now, while I am still alive, let counsel be held among you, and let it be foreseen who ought to reign at Jerusalem in my stead.» But they, answering: «We,» they say, «rather place this in your providence, and whom you shall have chosen for us for this very thing [0580B], to him we will without doubt submit.» And he: «If,» he says, «it is established by my disposition, I judge Baldwin, my brother, suitable for assuming this summit.» And they, hearing Baldwin, immediately with one mind consent, praise, and submit themselves to him, their fealty confirmed by oath; for they had known that man to be liberal of money, studious of soldiery, humble in address, exalted in magnanimity. For indeed nature itself, so to speak, had carved all these things in him with its own hand.

Erat enim ille, sicut superius dictum est, in Rages quae et Edessa dicitur, dux constitutus ibique tunc morabatur.

For he was, as was said above, in Rages, which is also called Edessa, appointed duke, and was then staying there.

CXLIII.- Balduinus succedit Godefrido in regno Jerosolymitano; Antiochiae sufficitur Tancredus, qui Mamystam, Adanam et Tarsum sibi subjicit. [0580C]

143.- Baldwin succeeds Godfrey in the kingdom of Jerusalem; at Antioch Tancred is appointed, who subjects to himself Mamysta, Adana, and Tarsus. [0580C]

Sed interim sepulto ante Golgotha rege praescripto, mittitur Edessam nuntius, cujus accitu Balduinus Jerosolymam veniat, germani sceptro successor creandus; idque magnae dissensionis et belli flammam suscitasset: sed eadem qua Balduinus accersitus necessitate, vocati ad regimen Antiochiae Tancredi abscessus litem praecidit. Substituti ergo haeredes, Jerosolymis Balduinus, Tancredus Antiochiae, certatim ad famam currunt; tum ne a seniorum virtute degeneret junior, tum alter alterius invidia succensi. Praeterea Marchisidam urget suspecta dignitas, quod magis hospes, quam princeps [0580D] ipse sibi videtur: unde tanto experrectiorem esse eum oportuit, quo suspectior erat brevitas principatus sub Boamundi reditum finem exspectans.

But meanwhile, the king having been buried before Golgotha as prescribed, a messenger is sent to Edessa, by whose summons Baldwin might come to Jerusalem, to be created the successor to his brother’s scepter; and this would have kindled the flame of great dissension and war: but by the same necessity by which Baldwin was summoned, the departure of Tancred, called to the regimen of Antioch, cut short the quarrel. The heirs therefore being substituted—Baldwin at Jerusalem, Tancred at Antioch—they run competitively toward fame; both lest the junior degenerate from the virtue of his seniors, and each inflamed by envy of the other. Moreover the Marquess is pressed by a suspect dignity, because he seems to himself more a guest than a prince [0580D] himself: whence it behooved him to be the more wakeful, the more suspect was the shortness of his principate, awaiting Bohemond’s return as its end.

His exercitus curis primo Balduinum a se exterminat, qui inter Antiochenos potentior, jugum novum indignabatur. Is sub Boamundo militiae principatum obtinuerat: sed jam erexerant ejus animos partim, ut fieri solet, princeps novus, partim tradita sibi ad regendum Edessa. Quo expleto, mox ad ampliandos fines animum Tancredus intendit, quos paulo ante, Boamundo regnante, Graeci contraxerant.

By these anxieties the army first of all drives Baldwin away from itself, who, being more powerful among the Antiochenes, was indignant at the new yoke. He, under Bohemond, had held the command of the soldiery; but already his spirits had been lifted, partly, as commonly happens, by a new prince, partly by Edessa entrusted to him to govern. This accomplished, Tancred soon set his mind to enlarging the borders, which the Greeks had a little before, while Bohemond was reigning, contracted.

Igitur Mamystam, Adanam, Tharsum, brevi, sed acri molimine debellat, secundoque suis legibus subjicit, praedecessoris incuriae primitus elapsas.

Therefore, by a brief but sharp exertion, he subdues Mamysta, Adana, and Tarsus, and with success subjects them to his own laws, they having at the outset slipped away through his predecessor’s neglect.

CXLIV.- Laodiciam expugnat. [0581A]

144.- He takes Laodicea by storm. [0581A]

Inde revertens Laodiciam totis viribus aggreditur: sed naturae praesidio munita, viro obstitit, cui nec ferrum, nec calybs, nec marmor, nec prorsus hominum labor norant obsistere, Urbs ea, sicut hodie ex ruinis ipsius deprehendere est, quondam nobilis, ecclesias, populum, opes, turres, palatia, theatra, et hujusmodi quae habent aliae, inter alias cuncta habuit praeclara. Excipio Antiochiam, nulla per circuitum urbs tanta priscae nobilitatis reservat insignia. Columnarum ordo multiplex, aquae per abrupta ductus, turrium ad astra eductio, effigies per compita excubantes, omnia pretiosa, ars et materia de praeterita praesenti, de integra dirutae, de populosa desertae testimonium perhibent, utpote [0581B] post tot soles, post tot grandines, opus adhuc insigne.

Thence returning he attacks Laodicea with all his forces: but fortified by the defense of nature, it stood in the way of the man, to whom neither iron, nor steel, nor marble, nor in short the labor of men knew how to make a stand. That City, as it is possible today to discover from its ruins, once noble, possessed churches, people, wealth, towers, palaces, theaters, and such things as others have—among other cities it possessed all things illustrious. I except Antioch: no city round about preserves such great insignia of ancient nobility. A manifold order of columns, a duct of water through precipitous places, a raising of towers to the stars, effigies keeping watch at the cross-roads, all precious—art and material bear testimony from the past to the present, from intact to ruined, from populous to deserted, seeing that [0581B] after so many suns, after so many hailstorms, the work is still remarkable.

Hujus longitudinem terminant ad ortum tumulus, ad occasum mare: latitudinem hinc inde planities: per circuitum aut murus aut ruina: infinitas populi nil reformidans, ipsa caeteris gentibus formido: suo tempore multo aggere includi sprevit, pauco munimine contenta. Sed redeo ad tumulum, quod jam solum adversus hostes supererat munimen. Ille arduus atque in vertice spatiosior cives receperat, qui dimissa planitie, illuc confugerant bellici fremitus terrore perculsi.

Its length is bounded to the east by a tumulus, to the west by the sea: its breadth on either side by a plain: around its circuit either a wall or a ruin: fearing nothing of the infinite multitudes of peoples, itself a dread to the other nations: in its time it scorned to be enclosed by a great agger, content with little muniment. But I return to the tumulus, which now alone remained as a defense against the foes. That steep height, and more spacious on its summit, had received the citizens, who, the plain having been abandoned, had fled thither, smitten with terror by the martial roar.

Arduitas ipsa vel sine muro repelleret obsessores: quo tamen coronata, duplex robur adversariis objicit, hinc artis, hinc naturae. His confisi claustris Graeci Tancredum exspectant adventantem: at princeps bellum [0581C] et sciens et sitiens, aliquot praemittit cursores, qui aut elicitos capiant, aut eliciant capiendos. Graeci vero, ut semper vigilantissimi, adversus haec praecavent: quatenus nec deprehendantur vagi, nec exeant provocati.

The steepness itself would repel the besiegers even without a wall; but crowned with it, it throws a double strength against its adversaries—here of art, here of nature. Trusting in these barriers, the Greeks await Tancred as he advances: but the prince, [0581C] both skilled in and thirsty for war, sends ahead several couriers, to either seize those lured out, or to lure out those to be seized. The Greeks, however, as always most vigilant, take precautions against these things: so that neither may wanderers be caught, nor may they go out when provoked.

Dementiae ascribunt portas egredi: qui cum de turribus exclusos aspiciunt, inclusi tremunt. Ab hoc ipso princeps argumentum timoris accipit; et, «Io! comites, exclamat: aggrediamur ovile hoc; videtis arduum, scitote vacuum. Plenum est opibus, at sine viribus.

They ascribe the going out of the gates to madness; when they see from the towers those shut out, those shut in tremble. From this very thing the prince takes an argument of fear; and, "Io! comrades," he cries out: "let us attack this sheepfold; you see it steep, know it empty. It is full of wealth, but without strength."

Nulla est prorsus audacia militis, qui non erubescit includi portis. Conscendamus aggerem, murus, dico, aut securibus cedat, aut scalis.» Jubet princeps, accelerat miles, curritur ad muros: malleus, ligo, securis, et hoc [0581D] omne genus ad portas fremit: illae quamvis duplices, quamvis ferreae, non ferunt: tremunt quasi simplices ac vimineae. Videns civitas ferrum, marmora caedere ictibus; quin ipsam strenuitati naturam, diffisa claustris, ad arma vertitur.

There is absolutely no boldness in the soldier who does not blush to be enclosed by gates. “Let us mount the rampart; the wall, I say, must yield either to axes or to ladders.” The prince orders, the soldier hastens, there is a running to the walls: the hammer, the mattock, the axe, and this [0581D] whole genus of tools roar at the gates: those gates, although double, although iron, do not endure; they tremble as if single and of wicker. The city, seeing iron hewing the marbles with blows; nay, distrustful of the barriers, turns even nature itself to strenuousness, to arms.

Molem saxeam de turribus pluit, nullum teli genus jactu vacat, nemo intra moenia otiosus. Expulerat pavorem hostis necis pavor; dumque effectus instat propior, efficacius repellitur causa efficiens. Praeterea commoditas ipsa populum invitat: quippe de turribus saxa demittere pronum est cuivis aetati ac sexui.

From the towers a rocky mass rains down; no kind of missile is left idle from being hurled; no one within the walls is idle. The fear of the enemy’s killing had driven out fear; and as the effect presses nearer, the efficient cause is repelled more efficaciously. Moreover, the very convenience invites the populace: for from the towers to let down stones is easy for every age and sex.

Sagittae contra ad turres volant, quibus saepe aut effoditur oculus, aut perfoditur manus. His decernitur vicibus; donec exhaustae tam vires, quam pharetrae refici postulant: praesertim ferrum calybs [0582A] dum portas frangunt, ipsa quoque nunc dissiliunt, nunc franguntur.

Arrows in reply fly toward the towers, by which often either an eye is gouged out or a hand is pierced through. By these exchanges the issue is contested; until, exhausted, both the forces and the quivers demand replenishment: especially since iron and steel [0582A] while they break the gates, themselves also now spring apart, now are broken.

CXLV.- Raimundus comes Tripolim obsidet; auxilium ab imperatore deposcit; captus Antiochiam cum opibus ducitur.

145.- Raymond the count besieges Tripoli; he begs aid from the emperor; captured, he is led to Antioch with his wealth.

Sed dum sic pugnatur annus transit, in quo tamen aliquando Raimundus comes Graecis opitulari volens, repellitur: aliquando Turci principes disperguntur. Postremo laboranti Hierusalem strenuissime subvenitur. Haec unus omnia operatus est, sic tamen ut obsidionem non solveret Tancredus, illa semper incolumi.

But while thus they fight, a year passes; in which, however, at one time Raymond the count, wishing to assist the Greeks, is repelled; at another, the Turkish princes are dispersed. At last, most strenuously is succor brought to Jerusalem in distress. One man wrought all these things, yet in such a way that Tancred did not dissolve the siege, it always remaining intact.

Ipse Persas, ipse Aegyptios, ipse Provincialem, ut diximus, comitem debellavit. Comes ille mirae audaciae vir Tripolim obsidebat, tot millia unus circiter 400 partim pedites [0582B] partim milites habens Christianos. Eo fretus numero, colliculum urbi vicinum muro et turribus munire coepit, quem etiam montem peregrinum, urbana quadam comitate, quod commune erat, sibi minime usurpans nuncupavit.

He himself thoroughly subdued the Persians, he himself the Egyptians, he himself the Provençal count, as we have said. That count, a man of wondrous audacity, was besieging Tripoli, against so many thousands he alone having about 400 Christians, partly foot [0582B] and partly mounted soldiers. Relying on that number, he began to fortify with a wall and towers a small hillock near the city, which hill also, with a certain urban comity, not at all usurping to himself what was common, he named the Pilgrim Mount.

Illic residens, urbem proximam crebris assultibus infestabat, nec minus urbani novum illud municipium pene diruebant. Perquam rarissimus fulgebat dies qui sequestram planitiem utroque, sive alterutro sanguine conspersam non videret. Adeo multitudinis opes alios, alios paucitas inops ad bellum stimulabat: quoniam ubi rarus est bellator, ipsa sua raritas animos accendit: ubi multus, dispendia cruoris facile tolerantur, fitque voluptati horror bellicus.

Residing there, he infested the neighboring city with frequent assaults, nor did the townsmen do less, nearly demolishing that new municipality. A very rare day shone that did not see the intervening plain spattered with the blood of both, or at least of either. So greatly did the resources of multitude stimulate some to war, the needy scantiness others: for where the warrior is rare, his very rarity inflames spirits; where he is many, the losses of blood are easily tolerated, and warlike horror becomes a delight.

Sic recalcitrando castrum, et civitas, diminutio popelli sui Raimundum [0582C] terret: eadem ipsum transfretare atque a Graeco imperatore auxilium implorare compellit. Fert secum apocrypham illam cuspidem, cujus supra mentio facta, inventorem suum per flammas temporales ad aeternas transmisit; hanc, inquam, secum asportat Alexio munus. Remuneratur et ipse summopere, gratus quidem quod sua, longe autem gratior quod seipsum obtulerit: eundo namque Jerusalem invitatus nescivit supplicare, redux supplicat; inde, quanto ante fuerat surdior rogatus; tanto post fit exauditior, rogans.

Thus, with the fort and the city kicking back, the diminution of his small folk frightens Raymond [0582C]: the same thing compels him to cross over and implore aid from the Greek emperor. He bears with him that apocryphal spearhead, mention of which was made above, which transmitted its inventor through temporal flames to eternal ones; this, I say, he carries off with him as a gift for Alexius. He himself is remunerated exceedingly, Alexius being grateful indeed that he had offered his goods, but far more grateful that he had offered himself: for, going to Jerusalem when invited, he did not know how to supplicate; returning, he supplicates; hence, by as much as before he had been more deaf when entreated, by so much after he becomes more heard, when entreating.

Cumulat gratia concors odium Antiochia tam huic, quam illi inimica. Remittitur ergo cum magnis, ut dixi, muneribus ad expugnandum hostem amborum Marchisidam. Deliberant [0582D] intra homines: judicat qui sedet super Cherubim in coelo Deus.

A concerted favor heaps up hatred; Antioch is an enemy both to this man and to that. He is therefore sent back with great, as I said, gifts to storm the enemy of both, the Marquis. Deliberations are held [0582D] among men; he who sits above the Cherubim in heaven—God—judges.

Mittis Alexi Tancredo gazas, dum Raimundi biremes, donis tuis refertae pene submerguntur; quae felicibus tamen auspiciis multa infelicitatis loca praeterlapsae in hostilem fiscum ad portum Tharso proximum deferuntur: nothis agitatae furentibus, inimicorum manus nequeunt declinare. Volante autem ad aures principis fama, praecipitur comitem Graecasque opes Antiochiam duci; eum, ad servandum; eas, ad spargendum. Nec tamen diu tenetur quidquid jubetur, abjurat et jurat.

You send, Alexius, treasures to Tancred, while Raymond’s biremes, crammed with your gifts, are nearly submerged; which, however, under happy auspices, having slipped past many places of ill-fortune, are borne into the enemy’s fisc to the harbor nearest to Tarsus: agitated by the raging Noti, they cannot evade the hands of enemies. But when the report flies to the prince’s ears, it is ordered that the count and the Greek wealth be led to Antioch; him, to be preserved; them, to be scattered. Yet whatever is commanded is not held for long; he abjures and he swears.

Sicque adjurato claustra panduntur, alioquin vita comite servando claudenda. Volvuntur caetera fortunae nutu, fit modo quispiam de paupere dives, item pauper de divite

And so, the oath having been sworn, the bars are opened; otherwise, with the Count to be preserved alive, they ought to be shut. The rest are turned at Fortune’s nod: now someone becomes rich from poor, likewise poor from rich

CXLVI.- Laodicia anno et semis expugnata capitur. [0583A]

146.- Laodicea, stormed after a year and a half, is captured. [0583A]

At Tancredus semper in eodem agone permanet, quod semel coepit nunquam deserit. Laodiciam obsidet, nec nisi captam dimissurus. Jam tamen annuae ac pene semis morarum taedere coeperat: cum Deus artem qua posset capi civitas inspiravit.

But Tancred always remains in the same struggle; what he once has begun he never abandons. He besieges Laodicea, nor would he desist until it was taken. Already, however, the delays of a year and almost a half had begun to weary him, when God inspired the art by which the city could be seized.

Assueverant clausi insidiari clausoribus, et dum in meridie foris dormiretur: aliquando cum impetu de intus erumpebant: ut non sine caede et rapina somni rumperentur. Clamore facto exciti Franci armabantur; Laodicenses interim re peracta illaesi redibant: ita semel, secundo, tertio quoque exercitum fallentes, ipsos se fallendi viam ostenderunt: quoniam ubi saepius nec dissimiliter idem iteratur, [0583B] Tancredus ut arte artem deludat, insidiis insidias rependit. Praecipit tentorium construi, cujus capacitati par nullum ante visum fuerat nec auditum: quaeritur quoque pinus altissima tanto oneri columna sustinendo.

The shut-in had become accustomed to set ambushes for the besiegers, and while at midday people were sleeping outside, sometimes they would burst forth from within with an onrush, so that slumbers were broken not without slaughter and plunder. A shout having been raised, the roused Franks armed themselves; meanwhile the Laodicenes, the matter accomplished, returned unhurt: thus, deceiving the army once, a second time, and even a third, they themselves showed the very way to deceive themselves; since when the same thing is repeated again and not differently, [0583B] Tancred, that by art he might outplay art, repaid ambush with ambush. He orders a tent to be built, to whose capacity no equal had before been seen nor heard; a very tall pine is also sought as a column to sustain so great a burden.

Dixit, et facta sunt. Igitur arbor, sinus spatiosi per gyrum explicantur, funes, laquei telas et coronant et tendunt. Putant qui vident superbe actum, uti solent, ob fastum sublimare palatia in urbibus urbani.

He said, and it was done. Accordingly the tree is set up; the spacious folds are unfurled all around; ropes and loops both crown and stretch the webs. Those who see think it has been done superbly, as urbanites are wont, to exalt palaces in cities on account of pride.

At Tancredus in ortu luciferi militiam vocat, et eam sub umbraculo stipat equis insidiantes, ubi opus fuerit, nihil cunctaturos, quibus nec calcar deerat ad bellandum. Sole autem orto partem non modicam exercitus in oculis hostium frumentatum mittit, reliqui sumpto cibo sopori vacare simulantes, spem rapinae atque opportunitatem [0583C] spectatoribus promittunt. Videntes oppidani altum omnia tenere silentium, sperant quoquomodo consueverant turbare exercitum, celerique reditu improvisae tarditatem evadere ultionis.

But Tancred, at the rising of the Morning Star, calls the soldiery, and packs them beneath the canopy, lying in wait with their horses—men who, when there should be need, would hesitate at nothing, and to whom no spur was lacking for waging war. But with the sun risen he sends no small part of the army, before the eyes of the enemy, to forage for grain; the rest, having taken food, feigning to give themselves to sleep, promise to the spectators the hope of rapine and an opportunity. The townsmen, seeing that a deep silence holds everything, hope, in whatever way they had been accustomed, to throw the army into disorder, and by a swift return to evade the slowness of unexpected vengeance. [0583C]

Egrediuntur ergo certatim currentes ad spolia, alii aliis praecursum invidentes. Paucis manentibus fere exeunt omnes, adeo incautos fallebat opportunitas simulata: currunt ad praedam et indulgetur: oneratis jamque ad portas regredientibus, intercurritur. Nam qui obumbrati et parati exspectant, confestim via patefacta accelerant, portis oppositi, reditum excludunt.

They therefore go out, running in rivalry for the spoils, some begrudging others the lead. With few remaining behind, almost all go forth, so far were the incautious deceived by the feigned opportunity: they run to the prey, and indulgence is granted; when they are laden and now returning to the gates, they are intercepted. For those who, under cover and prepared, are waiting, immediately, the way laid open, hasten, and, posted against the gates, shut out the return.

Tancredus super exclusos irruit, sine cunctatione aut capiuntur, aut necantur. Perterriti itaque reliqui custodes et paucissimi facti, [0583D] neque muris, neque sibi confidunt: petunt ultro pacem, reseranda offerunt claustra, ad ingressum invitant, tuti commercio egressus. Placet principi, sicque post labores diutinos, quietis domum Antiochiam revisit.

Tancred rushes upon the excluded; without delay they are either captured or slain. Terrified, therefore, the remaining guards, and now very few, [0583D] trust neither in the walls nor in themselves: of their own accord they seek peace, offer that the gates be unbarred, invite to an entrance, with safe egress for commerce. It pleases the prince; and thus, after long labors, he revisits Antioch, the home of rest.

CXLVII.- Archiepiscopus Mediolanensis cum comite Pictavensi contra Danisman superatur; redimitur Boamundus.

147.- The Archbishop of Milan with the Count of Poitou is defeated against Danishmend; Bohemond is ransomed.

Tunc temporis Anselmus Mediolanensis archiepiscopus, Willelmusque comes Pictaviensis contra Danisman in Romania praeliati, archiepiscopus interimitur: comes vero vix Turcorum manus evasit fuga lapsus; tandem vero pauper, inops, nudus ad [0584A] Ciliciam confugiens, ubi ad Tancredum pervenit, Tancredum invenit. Omnium enim bonorum opulentia cumulatur susceptus, qui omnium suscipitur egenus: exin confortatus, ad montem peregrinum transit, illic qui Jerusalem eant, a comite accipit comitatum. Ea tempestate Boamundi redemptio sollicitat populum, praecipue Balduinum comitem, qui Tancredi praecipuus erat inimicus.

At that time Anselm, archbishop of Milan, and William, count of Poitou, having fought against Danishmend in Romania, the archbishop is slain: but the count barely escaped the hands of the Turks, slipping away in flight; at length, however, poor, destitute, naked, fleeing for refuge to [0584A] Cilicia, where he came to Tancred, he found Tancred. For, once received though needy of all things, he is heaped with the opulence of every good; strengthened thereafter, he crosses to the Pilgrim Mountain, and there he receives from the count an escort for those who go to Jerusalem. At that time Bohemond’s redemption stirs the people, especially Count Baldwin, who was the chief enemy of Tancred.

Is monendo, spondendo, increpando, Antiochenos pulsat, ut carcerem Boamundo aperiant. Bernardus quoque patriarcha recens summopere nititur, quasi retribuens quod eum de ipso carcere sublimaverit Boamundus: nec Tancredus tamen huic studio obviat, licet Boamundi redditio prosperitati ejus obviatura videatur. Partim his, partim illis aspernantibus: Boamundus [0584B] revertitur decem miriadibus Michelatorum .

By admonishing, by pledging, by rebuking, he presses the Antiochenes to open the prison for Boamundus. Bernard as well, the newly-appointed patriarch, strives exceedingly, as though repaying that Boamundus had raised him up from that very prison; nor, however, does Tancred oppose this zeal, although the restoration of Boamundus seems likely to run counter to his prosperity. With some of these, some of those spurning it: Boamundus [0584B] is brought back for ten myriads of Michaelators.

[0583] Reddit ei Tancredus quod acceperat, et quod non acceperat: alterum quidem libens, atque alterum coactus. Laodiciam, Mamistam, Adanam, Tharsum proprio sudore partas, reddere cogitur, alioquin catenis et ferro mancipandus. Sic bonis omnibus, socia etiam militia nudato, vix tandem oppidula duo supplici supplentur.

[0583] Tancred returns to him what he had received, and what he had not received: the one indeed willingly, and the other under compulsion. He is forced to give back Laodicea, Mamistra, Adana, Tarsus, won by his own sweat, otherwise to be consigned to chains and iron. Thus, stripped of all goods, and even of confederate militia, scarcely at length are two little towns supplied to the suppliant.

CXLVIII.- Bellum movent Assyrii, Edessam circumdant, praelium committunt.

148.- The Assyrians wage war, surround Edessa, join battle.

Interea bellum movent Assyrii, vicinamque infinita multitudine Edessam circumdant. Volat Antiochiam rumor: Boamundus opem ferre oratus non differt: transit Euphraten, patriarcha cum eo et Tancredus, [0584C] Goscelinus quoque, qui tunc temporis urbem regebat Maresium, et ipse transit, secum ducens quidquid virium habet. Turci adventu Boamundi audito, Edessam dimittunt, abscedunt paululum Martis avidi, sed dissimulantes: ea quippe astutia fugam simulant, ut fallant advenas inconsulte secuturos: ut hi per nota ad tuta deveniant, illi ad periculum per ignota; ut hi ad panem, illi ad famem; ut hi ad armorum supplementa, illi ad detrimenta.

Meanwhile the Assyrians raise war, and with an infinite multitude they surround neighboring Edessa. The rumor flies to Antioch: Bohemond, asked to bring aid, does not delay: he crosses the Euphrates; the patriarch with him, and Tancred; [0584C] Goscelin too, who at that time was ruling the city Maresium, he also crosses, leading with him whatever force he has. The Turks, when they heard of Bohemond’s advent, leave Edessa; they withdraw a little, eager for Mars, but dissembling: indeed by that astuteness they simulate flight, so as to deceive the newcomers who will follow incautiously: that these by known ways may come down to safe places, those to danger by unknown; that these to bread, those to hunger; that these to supplements of arms, those to detriments.

Sic paulatim triduo ultra Carras urbem eliciendo, alii fallunt, atque alii falluntur: donec ad flumen Chobar venitur et transitur. Illi urbi belli dilatio Turcis jam sufficit; fugae obmissa simulatione, bellum cient, bellum voce, bellum manu exercent: consummatum esse de nostris putant, quasi transgressis fluvium [0584D] erepta sit fugae libertas, fatigatis ex itinere vires. Nec longe a vero putandum est: sic est actum.

Thus, little by little, in three days, by drawing them out beyond the city of Carras, some deceive, and others are deceived, until the river Chobar is reached and crossed. The postponement of battle at that city now suffices the Turks; the pretense of flight being dropped, they rouse war, they exercise war by voice, they exercise war by hand: they think our men are consummated, as if, once the river was crossed, [0584D] the liberty of flight had been snatched away, and their strengths were fatigued from the journey. Nor is it to be thought far from the truth: so it was done.

Christiani ternis agminibus incedebant, Boamundus dextra: sinistra et parte et sorte comes Balduinus; ambo inermes, indeparati, improvidi. Tancredus in medio paratus, providus, armatus; Turci antecedebant non longe quasi praevii, prope habentes excubias quae statum omnem Francorum nuntiarent. Lucis quadrans supererat, transierat dodrans, cum Franci castrametari incoeperant in ordine praescripto.

Christians were proceeding in three columns, Boamundus on the right: on the left both in position and by lot Count Balduinus; both unarmed, unprepared, improvident. Tancredus in the middle, prepared, provident, armed; the Turks were going on ahead not far, as if forerunners, having outposts near at hand to announce the whole condition of the Franks. A quarter of daylight remained, three-quarters had passed, when the Franks had begun to encamp in the prescribed order.

Ergo ubi quis paratus, quis non, ab exploratoribus Turci agnoscunt: repente conversi, armatum Tancredum declinantes, hinc Boamundi, inde Balduini [0585A] exercitum perturbant: neutri tegmina induere licet, nudo capite pugnant et pectore. Antiocheni resistere nituntur, nudi nequeunt, castris excedere coguntur. Illic hostibus circa sarcinas ambitiosamque suppellectilem occupatis, nostri respirant: sero qua licet, bello se aptantes, rerum damno salvant corpora, eas amittere lucrifacere vocant.

Therefore, when, as to who was prepared and who not, the Turks recognize from the scouts: suddenly turning back, declining the armored Tancred, on this side they throw into disorder the army of Bohemond, on that of Baldwin [0585A]: to neither is it permitted to don coverings; they fight with bare head and breast. The Antiochenes strive to resist; unarmed they are not able, they are compelled to depart from the camp. There, with the enemies occupied around the baggage and the ostentatious furnishings, our men breathe again: late, as far as it is permitted, adapting themselves for war, with the loss of their goods they save their bodies; to lose those they call making a profit.

CXLIX.- Captivus ducitur Balduinus et Benedictus archiepiscopus qui a Tancredo liberatur.

149.- Baldwin and Benedict the archbishop are led captive, who is liberated by Tancred.

At Edessani subito pereunt, nec sua, nec se tueri licet; capitur Balduinus, vinctusque abducitur; Benedictus quoque infelix archiepiscopus captus trahebatur, imposita humeris geminorum sarcina clavengorum. Is cum ante aciem Tancredi duceretur: Tancrede! Tancrede!

But the Edessenes suddenly perish, nor is it permitted to defend either their goods or themselves; Baldwin is taken and led away bound; Benedict likewise, the unhappy archbishop, having been captured, was being dragged, a burden of twin panniers laid upon his shoulders. As he was being led before Tancred’s battle-line: Tancred! Tancred!

fer opem exclamat, moveat [0585B] te miseri poena Benedicti. Auditus est clamor, atque ubi, cujus esset, Marchisides agnovit; illico incurrit, liberat ac reducit, liberatum multo restituit, propter se dicit assistere, trementem solatur, praesente se docet nihil esse timendum. Dehinc ardenti hostes aggredi, vesper obstat, militiaeque dehortatio, noctis viciniam adesse objiciens: eadem objectio Boamundum tenet; placet in crastinum bellum differre.

bring aid, he cries; let the punishment of wretched Benedict move you. The shout was heard, and when he recognized whose it was, the Marquess’s son acknowledged it; straightway he rushes in, frees him and leads him back, sets the freed man greatly to rights, says that he stands by him on his account, consoles him trembling, teaches that with himself present nothing is to be feared. Then, burning to attack the enemies, evening [0585B] stands in the way, and a dissuasion from the soldiery, alleging that the nearness of night is at hand: the same objection holds Bohemond; it pleases them to defer the battle to the morrow.

Interea noctis caligo orbem involvit, dispositis excubiis, principes corpora dant sopori; at vulgus, et quos non alebat curia, fugae invigilant .

Meanwhile the gloom of night envelops the orb, the watches having been posted, the princes give their bodies to sleep; but the common crowd, and those whom the curia was not nourishing, keep vigil for flight .

CL.- Christiani fugam capiunt.

150.- Christians take to flight.

[0585C] Obstabat fluvius reditui, unum duntaxat habens vadum, reliqui cursus ripas prominentia sua impervias, illam quasi portam unicam vigiles observabant: ne per eam genti exterritae refugium pateret. Igitur tentatores fugae dum pauci sunt, vado arcentur: ubi multi, nequeunt arceri. Contemnitur edictum principis, ubi populum conturbat formido mortis: rumpunturque claustra prohibita, cum multiplicatur exundans turba.

[0585C] The river stood in the way of the return, having only a single ford; the banks of the rest of its course were impassable by their projections; the sentries watched that as though it were the one gate: lest through it a refuge should stand open to the terror‑struck nation. Accordingly, the attemptors of flight, while they are few, are kept from the ford: when many, they cannot be kept back. The edict of the prince is contemned, when the fear of death throws the people into confusion: and the forbidden barriers are broken, when the overflowing crowd is multiplied.

Sed et alii aliorsum a ripa ad ripam ligna trajecerant, quibus pro ponte utebantur: custodes itaque cedunt coacti, Boamundum excitant, custodiae vim illatam quaeruntur, fugam produnt, Tancredum quoque jam excierat rumor, parant reditum ambo, derelictos se a populo conspicantes. Aliis festinare libet ac praecurrere, [0585D] Tancredo subsequi ac morari: ipse pro muro secuturis hostium telis opponitur, alii fugam maturant; ipse frenis, alii calcaribus utuntur. Misertus est tamen plebi suae Deus.

But also others elsewhere had thrown logs from bank to bank, which they were using in place of a bridge: accordingly the guards, compelled, give way; they rouse Bohemond, they complain that violence has been inflicted upon the watch, they disclose the flight; the rumor had already roused Tancred as well; both prepare a return, perceiving themselves abandoned by the people. To some it is pleasing to hasten and run ahead, [0585D] to Tancred to follow and to linger: he himself sets himself as a wall against the missiles of the enemies who were going to follow, others hasten their flight; he uses the reins, others the spurs. Nevertheless God took pity on his people.

Turcis fugitur ignaris, illos habebat sopor altus; dum fuga vigil calles supellectile ornat pretiosa: abjiciunt vestes, papiliones, vasa argentea aureaque, et quidquid grave est fugamque moratur: ipsa etiam vitae praesidium arma. Imber male fecerat vias, pulverem in lutum converterat, equi et pedi lubrico, et caudae sarcina tardabantur. Aderat Bernardus patriarcha, et ipse cum fugientibus fugiebat, et mula ejus lutosa cum tardis tardabatur.

The Turks being unaware, a deep sleep held them; while wakeful flight bedecks the byways with precious furniture: they throw away garments, pavilions, silver and golden vessels, and whatever is heavy and delays the flight—yes, even arms themselves, the protection of life. A shower had ruined the roads, had turned dust into mud; horses and foot were on the slippery ground, and the pack at their tails was being delayed. Bernard the Patriarch was present, and he too fled with the fugitives, and his mule, muddied, was being delayed with the slow.

Nemo eis instabat, instantes tamen strictis [0586A] ensibus, arcubusque intentis infinitos videre videbatur. Quam turbatus erat a timore oculus ejus, non minus interiore exterior! Igitur consortes fugae rogans rogat: «Audite, filii, audite patrem, abscidite hoc quod a puppi pendet remigium, non modo cursum non moderans, verum etiam tenens; abscidite, inquam, non erubesco in tempestate hac jumenti tergum premere decurtati, dummodo levati; abscidite, sic peccata vestra Deus abscidat, ego autem abscissoris omnia absolvo.» Multi obseratis auribus transeunt, timor caecus aures obserabat, ne minis alium miserebat, adeo sua singuli affligebantur miseria: jam rauscerat clamando, cum a milite confuga, tandem remedium accipit, remissionis tamen praescriptae commercio.

Nobody was pressing upon them, yet he seemed to see assailants pressing, with drawn [0586A] swords and bows bent, without number. How disturbed by fear was his eye, the outer no less than the inner! Therefore, beseeching his partners in flight, he begs: «Listen, sons, listen to a father: cut off that ‘oarage’ which hangs from the stern, which not only does not moderate the course, but even holds it back; cut it off, I say: I do not blush, in this tempest, to press the back of a docked beast of burden, provided it is lightened; cut it off—thus may God cut off your sins, and as for the cutter, I absolve all things.» Many pass by with their ears barred—blind fear was barring ears—nor did he move another to pity even by threats, so much was each one afflicted by his own misery. Already he had grown hoarse with shouting, when at last he receives a remedy from a soldier who had fled, though by the bargain of the prescribed remission.

Absolvuntur scilicet [0586B] duo in facto uno: miles a noxa, jumentum a cauda; miles dum caudam metit, in benedictionibus seminat, metit quoque de benedictionibus: dum ei patriarcha ore et corde et dextra benedicit. Messor itaque cum simul et caudam et benedictionem messuisset, ad usque Edessam exinde sociat, cum eo currit cui facultatem currendi reddiderat ereptam.

Namely, [0586B] two are absolved in one deed: the soldier from guilt, the beast of burden from the tail; while the soldier reaps the tail, he sows in benedictions, and he also reaps from benedictions: while the patriarch blesses him with mouth and heart and right hand. Therefore the reaper, when he had at once reaped both the tail and the benediction, from then on he keeps company as far as Edessa, he runs with him to whom he had restored the faculty of running, once snatched away.

CLI.- Servanda datur Edessa Tancredo; hostes, captis vicinis oppidis, Arthasium ingrediuntur.

151.- Edessa, to be kept, is given to Tancred; the enemy, the neighboring towns having been captured, enter Arthasium.

Populus quoque reliquus illuc conveniunt, et qui primatum obtinebant, postremi. Illic etiam conferunt quem Balduino debeant creare successorem, qui suae tantae molis pondera valeat sustinere. Tancredus eligitur dignus, ipse manet et regit: Boamundus vero Antiochiam remeat.

Likewise the remaining people convene there, and those who held the primacy, last. There they also confer whom they ought to create as successor to Baldwin, one who may be able to sustain the burdens of so great a charge. Tancred is chosen as worthy, he himself remains and rules: Bohemond indeed returns to Antioch.

Igitur divulgato [0586C] per urbes finitimas Francorum damno, Cylices, Syri, Phoenices exsultant, subacti pariter atque subigendi. Hi metum de corde excutiunt, illi de vertice jugum. Tharsum, Adana, Mamista in jus suum revertuntur, Graecos suscipiunt, nostrates extrudunt.

Therefore, when the Franks’ loss had been published [0586C] through the neighboring cities, the Cilicians, Syrians, and Phoenicians exult—those already subjugated and those yet to be subjugated alike. These shake fear from their heart, those the yoke from their head. Tarsus, Adana, Mamistra return to their own right, they receive the Greeks, they drive out our countrymen.

Turci ingrediuntur Arthasium, totam usque pontem Farfar viciniam populantur. Postremo naves Graecae quam maxima multitudo Laodiciae portum replent; et ipsae armis plenae non minus fabrilibus atque bellicis bellum simul gerentes et fabricam. Caemento caementariisque advectis, fabricare incipiunt; saxa poscentibus parietinae abundant, munitur portus, surgit fabrica.

The Turks enter Arthasium, and they ravage the whole neighborhood as far as the Farfar bridge. At last Greek ships, a very great multitude, fill the port of Laodicea; and they themselves, full of equipment no less workshop than warlike, conduct at once both war and fabric. With cement and masons conveyed, they begin to build; as stones are being demanded, wall-works abound; the harbor is fortified, the fabric rises.

Vix Boamundus rumorem acceperat, cum imperfecti operis spe impulsus, adventans omnia [0586D] invenit imperfecta. Stabat supra portus portam antiqua turris de nomine sancti Eliae cognominata, solius interstitio portus a novo opere abjuncta. Hanc quoque muniunt Graeci, et castro suo continuant, fabricato arcu super portum, usus gratia inter se ab hac praevii ad illud, et muniminis firmi ad remigium hostile arcendum.

Hardly had Bohemond received the rumor, when, impelled by the hope that the work was unfinished, on arriving he found all things [0586D] uncompleted. Above the gate of the harbor there stood an ancient tower, surnamed from the name of Saint Elias, separated from the new work by the interval of the harbor alone. This too the Greeks fortify, and they connect it to their castle, by fabricating an arch over the harbor, for the sake of use as a passage between them, from this to that, and as a strong muniment to ward off hostile shipping.

CLII.- Boamundus revocat Tancredum.

152.- Bohemond recalls Tancred.

Videns Boamundus omnia adversari, Antiochiam revertitur, moxque de statu principatus sui in commune tractare disponit: Tancredum revocat, cui cum partiatur curas, apprime necessarium: vocatus ille nil pigritans adest, qui nihil unquam pigritando [0587A] fecit. Habita itaque intra beati Petri basilicam concione, Boamundus sic orditur:

Seeing that all things were adverse, Bohemond returns to Antioch, and soon resolves to deliberate in common about the state of his principate: he recalls Tancred, especially necessary for him, with whom he may share the cares: summoned, he is present delaying nothing, he who never did anything by dawdling [0587A]. Therefore, an assembly having been held within the basilica of blessed Peter, Bohemond thus begins:

«Magna opus est, o proceres, hac in tempestate providentia, quam si negligimus, perimus. Invaluit contra nos gentilitas, vias nobis circumcirca obstruxerunt Graeci et Turci: geminas totius orbis opulentissimas exasperavimus potestates; Constantinopolim et Persida. Oriens nos per terram territat, occidens vero et terra et mari: nam ut alia omittam, Arthasium hactenus Antiochiae clypeus fuit, modo arcus intendit, modo in nos acuit sagittas: nos pauci sumus, et tamen semper de paucis fimus pauciores: valde imminutus est numerus noster, ubi unus est amissus comes Edessanus.

«Great need there is, O nobles, in this tempest for providence; if we neglect it, we perish. Heathenism has grown strong against us; the Greeks and the Turks have blocked the roads all around us: we have exasperated the twin most opulent powers of the whole world—Constantinople and Persia. The East terrifies us by land, but the West both by land and by sea: for, to omit other things, Arthasius, hitherto the shield of Antioch, now bends the bow, now sharpens arrows against us. We are few, and yet from few we always become fewer: our number is greatly diminished, when a single man has been lost—the Count of Edessa.

Proinde vigilate, considerate attenti, quid in tanto rerum cardine sit agendum; [0587B] ego quod sentio breviter exponam. Expetendae sunt nobis vires transmarinae [ al. transalpinae], Galliarum populi concitandi, audacia illa aut nos liberabit, aut nulla. Utimini me, me, inquam, hoc in negotio ministro; ego pro salute vestra non recuso laborem, gratissimus est mihi meus ille labor, per quem vobis paretur quies.»

Therefore keep vigil, consider attentively what must be done at so great a hinge of affairs; [0587B] I will set forth briefly what I perceive. Forces from across the sea are to be sought for us [alt. transalpine]; the peoples of Gaul must be stirred up; that audacity will either free us, or none will. Use me—me, I say—as minister in this business; I, for your safety, do not refuse the labor; most welcome to me is that labor of mine, through which rest is prepared for you.»

In his desinit et sedet; surgit Tancredus, et ab his incipit.

At this he ends and sits; Tancred rises, and from these he begins.

«Prudenter atque manifeste expositam, o proceres! audistis tam robur hostium, quam infirmitatem nostram, originem quoque ac finem, causas et remedium. Pulchre, bene, recte super his disseruit dominus princeps noster Boamundus, nec dedignatus est morbo medicinam quaerere se offerre ministrum.

«Prudently and manifestly expounded, O nobles! you have heard both the strength of the enemies and our weakness, the origin also and the end, the causes and the remedy. Beautifully, well, and rightly upon these matters has our lord prince Bohemond discoursed, nor has he disdained, in seeking a medicine for the malady, to offer himself as the minister.

[0587C] Verum, o proceres! quorsumnam istud? an in nobis non est qui mitti possit?

[0587C] But, O nobles! to what, pray, does that tend? Or is there not among us one who can be sent?

nisi is elongetur, qui potius longe positus fuerat acclamandus. Circumdante caulas luporum agmine, praesentia pastoris opus est non absentia; ille praesens periculo se opponit, canes incitat, praedones arcet, gregem liberat; idem, si absit, cessat latratus, crudescit rapina: ipse quiescit, grex dissipatur. Valde et merito socordiam meam increpabit auditor, ubi sonuerit Boamundum abiisse, mansisse domi Tancredum.

unless he be removed to a distance, he who rather, when placed far away, ought to have been acclaimed. With a troop of wolves surrounding the sheepfolds, the presence of the shepherd is needed, not his absence; he, being present, sets himself against the danger, incites the dogs, wards off the robbers, frees the flock; the same man, if he be away, the barking ceases, the rapine grows savage: he himself is at rest, the flock is scattered. Greatly and with merit will the hearer rebuke my sloth, when it is heard that Bohemond has gone away, Tancred has stayed at home.

At fortasse in verbo illo tentatus sum: ut quid animi habeam, audito eo, manifestem. Palam est voluntas mea, non reprimo aestuantem. Hoc pro salute communi periculum mihi expostulo, tutus aggredior, pro munere amplector: [0587D] utque petitio assensum impetret, coram Deo polliceor sedulitatem in obsequio, celeritatem in reditu; ac ne qua forte ingenium meum crapula turbet, latice contentus, vinum nesciam, donec reducem me Antiochia excipiat.

But perhaps in that word I was tested: so that, when I heard it, I might make manifest what spirit I have. My will is plain; I do not repress it boiling over. This danger for the common safety I claim for myself, I approach it securely, I embrace it as an office: [0587D] and that the petition may obtain assent, before God I promise assiduity in obedience, celerity in return; and lest perchance drunkenness disturb my temperament, content with water, I shall not know wine, until Antioch receives me back on my return.

Subinde etiam fas mihi esto sub iisdem tegulis biduanam agere quietem; ante vero nefas. Haec meis si jusseritis onera libens humeris imponam: gravioribus ultro onerandus, si graviora imposueritis. Objicit Boamundus: Magna res est de qua agitur, magno volumine tractanda, severae vix cuiquam personae impenetrabilis.

Presently let it also be lawful for me to take a two-day rest under the same roof-tiles; but before that, indeed, it is unlawful. If you shall order these burdens for me, I will gladly place them upon my shoulders: ready even to be loaded with heavier ones, if you impose heavier. Bohemond objects: It is a great matter that is at issue, to be handled in a great volume, scarcely impenetrable to any severe person.

Propositi est nostri graves excire potestates: hoc non cuivis hominum contingit, non potest gravia movere nisi gravis, magno opus est flatu, ut possit quercus alta radicibus evelli. Non audient Tancredum: [0588A] vix, ah! vix, utinam Boamundum audiant, qui ad exsilii laborem vocandi, nunc placida composti pace principantur. Quapropter de caetero jam, ne cujuspiam temeritas dispositioni meae occurrat, ire proposui: non est mutabile, stat fixum, solvendum est votum, quod mea fecit ferro compedita devotio.

It is our purpose to summon forth grave potestates: this does not befall just anyone among men, nor can a man move gravia unless he himself is gravis; there is need of a great blast, that a tall oak may be torn up by the roots. They will not listen to Tancred: [0588A] scarcely, ah! scarcely—would that they might listen to Bohemond—who, though to be called to the labor of exile, now principantur in a placid, composed peace. Wherefore henceforward now, lest anyone’s rashness run counter to my disposition, I have resolved to go: it is not changeable, it stands fixed; the vow must be paid, which my devotion, manacled with iron, has made.

Absolverunt me beati Leonardi suffragia, ego votum visitandi eum, aut praemoriar, aut absolvam.»

The suffrages of blessed Leonard have absolved me, as for my vow of visiting him, either I shall die beforehand, or I shall fulfill it.»

CLIII.- Boamundus relicta Tancredo Antiochia omnibus destituta transfretat.

153.- Bohemund, Antioch left to Tancred, destitute of all, crosses over.

Conticitum est de caetero, neque ultra a quoquam voluntati principis obviatum, quoniam quidem notum est in populis proverbium, lex sequitur regem, quo vult rex ducere legem. Paratur ergo navigium, [0588B] habent remiges paratos denae biremes, quibus trinae simplicis remigii sociantur, quas vulgo sandalias vocant. Hoc Boamundus contentus numero, in conspectu classis Pelasgae transfretat, relicta Marchisidae Antiochia.

Thereafter it fell silent, nor did anyone any further oppose the will of the prince, since indeed the proverb is known among the peoples: the law follows the king, where the king wishes to lead the law. Therefore a vessel is prepared, [0588B] the oarsmen have ready ten biremes, to which three single-banked craft are joined, which they commonly call sandalia. Content with this number, Boamundus crosses over in sight of the Pelasgian fleet, leaving Antioch to the Marquis.

Asportantur aurum, argentum, gemmae, pallia; urbs absque tutela, absque stipendiis, absque stipendiariis Tancredo relinquitur. Habuisse me veridicos memini relatores, qui in ea penuria illum vini abstinuisse praedicarent, aquae simplicis haustu contentum. Dumque vel modico uti Lyaeo propter stomachum blande moneretur: Sinite me, aiebat, cum abstinentibus abstinere; fixum fixi de genimine vitis nolle accipere, donec omnibus sufficiam dare: absit ego crapula distendar, commilitones mei inedia marcescant!

Gold, silver, gems, and palls are carried off; the city, without protection, without stipends, without stipendiaries, is left to Tancred. I recall that I had truthful reporters, who declared that in that scarcity he abstained from wine, content with a draught of simple water. And while he was gently advised to use even a small measure of Lyaeus (wine) for his stomach: “Allow me,” he said, “to abstain with the abstinent; I have fixed it as fixed not to receive anything from the offspring of the vine, until I suffice to give to all: far be it that I be distended with crapulence while my fellow-soldiers wither with hunger!”

CLIV. [0588C]

154. [0588C]

Jamque soles fere quadraginta inopia pertingebat, cum pleno cornu copia adest, aurumque non modicum coeli pluunt. Quidam de civibus penuria curiae audita, misericordia motus Tancredum adit, postulansque mercedem statim impetrat, ut penuriam levet, opem ferat. «Habet, inquit, urbs ista centenos cives, singulis quorum marsupiis facile est aureos effundere millenos.

And now want was stretching on for nearly forty days, when abundance is at hand with a full horn, and the heavens rain down no small amount of gold. A certain one of the citizens, the curia’s penury having been heard, moved by mercy approaches Tancred, and, requesting a reward, straightway obtains it, that he may lighten the penury and bring help. «This city,» he says, «has a hundred citizens, from each of whose purses it is easy to pour out a thousand gold pieces.

Rogati non tenebunt; tu, domine, roga, ego nomina patefaciam quae roges.» Obtemperatur consilio, nominantur scribendi, scribuntur vocandi, vocantur rogandi, rogantur intus missi. Incusatur urgens necessitas, in quo petitio praesens excusatur, fulcit excusatam retributio promissa, [0588D] ut non tam sub nomine doni quam mutui peti videatur: nec reticetur vicina hostilitas, non repellenda nisi armati occurrerint, nec occursuri nisi auro intercedente provocati. Tot confluentibus in unum causis, demum efficitur, ut praescriptus aureorum numerus impetretur; quibus receptis Marchisides confortatus, militiam confortat, jacentem suscitat, inermem armat, supplet numerum qui exciderat, neque donec deficiat aureus, cessat augere militarem.

“If asked, they will not hold out; you, lord, ask; I will lay open the names for you to ask.” The counsel is obeyed: they are named for writing down, they are written for summoning, they are summoned for requesting, those sent within are asked. Urgent necessity is alleged, whereby the present petition is excused; the promised restitution buttresses what has been excused, [0588D] so that it may seem to be sought not so much under the name of a gift as of a loan; nor is the neighboring hostility kept silent—one not to be repelled unless armed men should meet it, nor will they meet it unless, with gold intervening, they are provoked. With so many causes flowing together into one, at last it is brought about that the prescribed number of gold pieces is obtained; which, once received, the Marchisides, strengthened, strengthens the soldiery: he raises the prostrate, arms the unarmed, replenishes the number that had fallen away, nor, until the gold fails, does he cease to augment the military force.

Exinde prostrata resurgere coepit Antiochia, et de territa fore terribilis. Arthasium statim aggreditur, quae cum aliis matrem infestabat, omnium tam acerbissima quam proxima Syrorum. Hanc igitur primam Tancredus circumdat ad cujus ictus vix stant turres silicibus concussae; quod audiens [0589A] Raduanus [0589C] Kalepti rex cum triginta millibus accurrit adversus paucitatem in multitudine confidens: Arthasienses quoque illi se jungunt, omnes adversus Antiochiam.

Thence Antioch, prostrate, began to rise again, and from being terrified to become terrifying. At once he assails Arthasium, which, along with others, was harrying the mother-city, the most bitter of all and the nearest of the Syrians. Therefore Tancred surrounds this first, at whose blows the towers, shaken in their stones, scarcely stand; hearing this [0589A] Raduanus [0589C] king of Aleppo runs up with 30,000, trusting in his multitude against the few: the Arthasians also join themselves to him, all against Antioch.

CLV.- Arthasio Raduanum expellit.

155.- He expels Raduan at Arthasio.

Erat media inter eos planities scopulosa, per quam utcunque caballis ire, currere vero omnino non licebat: vel si quando ad cursum quispiam cogeretur, nec pedem ungula, nec ungulam ferrum tueri poterat, quin cautes aspera calcem permoleret equinam, equus atque eques ruerent prostrati. Tancredus, ea re cognita, paululum secedit, illuc hostibus permittit accedere, qua loci difficultas fugam remoretur, quod Raduanus aut negligens, aut ignorans, hac militiam impetit Christianam; illa tanquam [0589B] torpida loco manet, sustinet donec lancea suum habeat tempus. Jamque praetergressis loca aspera Turcis, Tancredus quasi a somno excitatus in mediis fulminat: illi facile terga vertunt sperantes, ut est moris, fugiendo gyrare, gyrando sagittare.

There was a rocky plain between them, across which one could somehow go with horses, but to run was by no means permitted: or if ever someone were forced to a run, neither could the hoof protect the foot, nor the iron protect the hoof, without the rough crag grinding down the equine heel, and horse and horseman falling headlong prostrate. Tancred, this matter known, withdraws a little, allows the enemy to approach to that place where the difficulty of the ground would delay flight; and Raduanus, either negligent or ignorant of this, attacks the Christian militia in that spot; it, as though [0589B] torpid, remains in place, and holds back until the lance may have its time. And now, when the Turks had passed beyond the rough places, Tancred, as if roused from sleep, thunders in their midst: they easily turn their backs, hoping, as is their custom, by fleeing to gyrate, and by gyrating to shoot arrows.

Delusae sunt aut eorum spes et artes, deluserunt eas lancea et via: altera urgens, altera cursus impatiens: haec tergum fodit, illa gradum sistit. Inutiles igitur equi, pharetrae et arcus abjiciuntur, confiditur pedibus propriis, ubi diffiditur alienis, suis quantum licet utuntur: humani sunt, mallent esse cervinos: ne tamen nihil egerit Raduanus, paucos Christiani nominis sagittavit, reliquam operam dedit fugae; sagittarii ejus, pars evadit saucia, nonnulli caesi prosternuntur.

Deluded were either their hopes and their arts; the lance and the way deluded them: the one pressing, the other impatient of running: this one digs into the back, that one halts the step. Therefore the horses, quivers, and bows prove useless and are thrown away; trust is placed in their own feet, where distrust is placed in those of others; they use their own as much as is permitted: they are human; they would prefer to be deer-like: yet, lest Raduanus have done nothing at all, he shot a few of the Christian name, he devoted the remaining effort to flight; of his archers, a part escapes wounded, several, cut down, are laid low.

CLVI.- Antiochiam victor revertitur. Apamiam circumdat. [0589C]

156.- He returns victorious to Antioch. He surrounds Apamea. [0589C]

Victor itaque Tancredus Arthasium recipit: ea munita, Antiochiam revertitur; confortata spoliis infidelium fides, imo quasi a mortuis resurgens expergiscitur, renovato principe gaudet fortunam renovari: ipse etiam accipitri conformandus, cui negata diu volandi licentia, longus carcer animos tabefecit; ea demum reddita, si missi ad rapinam primos impetus fortuna juverit, in desiderio sunt secundi, visaque gruum caterva, tenentem vexat, [0590A] opportune, importune super volitans. Ardore pari Tancredus inflammatur, ubi nactus victoriam, spoliis Calepti ditescit. Jamque Laodiciam novam aggressurus, monetur veterem multiplicatis bellatoribus fulcire: ipse Apamiam reliquo exercitu circumsepiat; factumque est ita.

Victorious therefore Tancred recovers Arthasium: this secured, he returns to Antioch; the faith, strengthened by the spoils of the unfaithful, nay, as though rising from the dead, awakes; with the prince renewed, it rejoices that fortune is renewed. He himself too is to be likened to a hawk, to whom the license of flying long denied, a long prison has wasted his spirits; that at length restored, if fortune shall favor his first sallies when sent out to rapine, he is eager for a second; and, a flock of cranes having been seen, he harasses the one keeping the ranks, [0590A] hovering above, seasonably or unseasonably. With equal ardor Tancred is inflamed, and, having found victory, he grows rich with the spoils of Aleppo. And now, about to attack New Laodicea, he is advised to bolster the Old with multiplied fighting-men: let him himself surround Apamea with the remaining army; and so it was done.

Repondit Tancredus Graecis vicem, qui castrum castro opposuerant, nunc contra ipse Castrensibus Castrenses obfirmat: Apamiam vero non plurimo, sed strenuo milite circumdat, quasi morti addicto et ipse addictus. Prope Sysara, prope Haman, prope Raphania, prope alia complura tam oppida quam urbes, omnia minis plena et hoste fremiscunt. Obsident ergo Christiani urbem unam, Christianos vero urbes multae; annonam qui quaerere egent nequeunt, nisi bipertito exercitu; [0590B] pars altera maneat, altera exeat: sic divisi periculum declinant, quod vix sufficiant congregati.

Tancred paid the Greeks back in kind, who had set a camp against a camp; now in turn he himself matches garrison to garrison against the Garrison. Apamea, however, he surrounds not with a very numerous, but with a strenuous soldiery, as if devoted to death, and he himself devoted. Near Sysara, near Haman, near Raphania, near many other places both towns and cities, all are full of menaces and rumble with the enemy. Therefore the Christians besiege one city, but many cities besiege the Christians; those who need to seek provisions cannot do so, unless with the army split in two; [0590B] let one part stay, the other go out: thus divided they decline a danger which, even when assembled, they scarcely suffice to meet.

Deo sunt haec ascribenda, non viribus humanis, palam pro Christianis Christus dimicat.

These things are to be ascribed to God, not to human powers; openly Christ fights for the Christians.

CLVII.- Summa Laodicensium necessitas.

157.- Utmost necessity of the Laodiceans.

Nuntiatumque ei de Laodicensium suorum penuria, quod data pascendis ipsis alimenta defectum minarentur: in proximo aut ingressuram fore cererem, aut egressuram manum bellatricem. Ingressum autem prohibebat magnus hostium numerus, qui per compita insomnes excubabant. Turbatus nuntio princeps (noverat enim quia sola fames urbes asserit, nescit plebes jejuna timere) in partes varias animum fundit: anne habendum postponat habito, an habitum habendo.

And it was announced to him about the penury of his own Laodiceans, that the provisions given for feeding them were threatening failure: that shortly either Ceres would be entering, or a warlike band would be going out. But entry was being prohibited by a great number of enemies, who kept sleepless watches at the crossroads. Disturbed by the message, the prince (for he knew that hunger alone claims cities; the fasting plebs does not know how to fear) pours out his mind into various parts: whether he should postpone what was to be had to what was had, or obtain what was to be had by taking possession.

Durum est multum [0590C] labore partam Laodiciam abdicere, grave Apamiam ex facili parandam dimittere: nam quasi impossibile constat esse, ut et hoc faciat, et illud non omittat. At virtus quae sola res impossibiles ad possibilitatem redigit, virum confortat: monet petentibus opem cursim succurrere, mansuros ad castrorum regimen milites sic hortari: «Eia, Christi martyres! parate fundi atque fundere pro eo sanguis; constantes estote: bene coepistis, bene consummate: non vos terreat paucitas vestra; non est victoria in numero, sed in Dei virtute.»

It is hard to renounce Laodicea, acquired with much [0590C] labor; grievous to let go Apamea, to be procured with ease: for it is held as almost impossible that he both do this and not leave that undone. But Virtue, which alone reduces impossible things to possibility, strengthens the man: it counsels to run swiftly to the aid of those seeking help, and to exhort thus the soldiers who would remain for the governance of the camp: «Up, martyrs of Christ! prepare to be poured out and to pour out blood for him; be steadfast: you have begun well, consummate well; let not your fewness terrify you; victory is not in number, but in the virtue of God.»