Deeds of the Franks, Book III, Chapter ix, cont.

Right from the first, these were our appointed battle lines. On the left part was that wise man, Bohemond, Robert of Normandy and the skillful Tancred, Robert de Ansa, Richard of the Principality. The Bishop of Le Puy came across the other mountain and encircled the amazed Turks on all sides. On the left, also rode the bravest of soldiers Raymond, the Count of St. Giles. On the right part was Duke Godfrey, sternest soldier in Flanders the Count, Hugo the Great and many other whose names I do not know.

However, immediately upon the arrival of our soldiers, the Turks, Arabs, Saracens and Agulani, all barbarian nations, gave flight swiftly through shortcuts on the mountains and across the flat plains. There were however numbers of Turks, Persians, Publicans, Saracens, Agulani, and other pagans 360,000 over and above the Arabs, whose number is known to no one except God alone. They fled much too quickly to their own tents, and there it was not permitted them to remain for a little while. For a second time, they took flight, and we had followed them killing them all in one day. And we received the many spoils, gold, silver, horses and asses, camels, sheep, and oxen and so much else that I cannot know. And unless the Lord was been with us in war and had quickly set up another battle line for us we would not have escaped, this battle lasted from the third hour to the ninth. But the all-powerful God, devout and compassionate, who would not permit his own soldiers to perish, nor to fall into the hands of his enemies, sent aide quickly to us. There were among the dead, two of our noble soliders, that is Godfrey of Mount Scabioso, William, son of the Marquis and the brother of Tancred, and other knights and foot soldiers whose names I do not know.

Was there ever anyone so wise and learned that he would dare to describe the military skill and might of the Turks, who was reckoning to frighten the people of the Franks with their arrows just as they terrified the Arabs, Saracens, Armenians, Syrians and Greeks? But if it is pleasing to God they would never prevail as much as our people did. They say truly themselves to be of the race of the Franks and as such no man is more naturally given to be warriors than the Franks and them. I speak the truth that no one will dare to forbid. Certainly if they would always have been steadfast in Christian faith and with Christian sanctity, and they would chose to acknowledge one god in the trinity - of God and his Son born of a virgin mother, that he suffered and had been resurrected from death and to have ascended into heaven with his disciples looking on and to have sent full comfort by the Holy Ghost and, with right minds and faith, if they had believed in him, reigning in heaven and on earth then nothing would be able to destroy these Turks not power, or greater strength, or wars, or greatest of minds. And however through the grace of God, the victory was ours. This war had been fought on the first of July.

Deeds of the Franks, Book III, Chapter ix

Meanwhile, with the city having been returned and the Turks taken to Constantinople, the emperor more and more joyful because the city had been returned to his dominion, he ordered a great distribution of alms to our poor. Then on the first day, on which we withdrew from the city, we came to a certain bridge, where we remained for two days. On the third day, however, before the sun began to rise, our men rose, and since it was night, they could not see to hold one road but were divided into two paths and they came to be divided over two days. On one path was Bohemond and Robert of Normandy, and the wise Tancred, and many others. On the other path was the Count of St. Giles, Duke Godfrey, the Bishop of Le Puy, Hugo the Great, the Count of Flanders and many others.

On the third day, the Turks attacked with a vengeance Bohemond more than anyone and those who were with him. Immediately the Turks began to hiss, babble and shout with a high voice making a devilish sound I do not know how in their own language. Sensible Bohemond, seeing innumerable Turks nearby, hissing and calling with a demonic voice, on the spot he ordered all soldiers to dismount and quickly set up the tents. Before the tents could be set up, he again said to all soldiers: " Nobles and most brave soldiers of Christ, behold now the close quarters for war that is all around us. Therefore, let all knights be in opposition to them like men and rather let the foot soldiers skillfully set up the tents."

After this had been done, the Turks now surrounded us on all sides, struggling and shooting and pointing spears and shooting arrows wonderfully far and wide. Although we were unable to thus resist them, nor were we to be buried under the mass of so great an enemy, however we endured the close quarters unanimously. Also our women on that day, who were for us as the greatest refuge, brought water for drinking to the combatants and always bravely strengthened those, fighting and defending. Thus wise Bohemond on the spot gave orders to others, just as to the Count of St. Giles,Duke Godfrey, Hugo the Great and the Bishop of Le Puy and to all other soldiers of Christ that they hurry and come to war sooner saying: "And if today they wish to grapple with the enemy, they should come as men." Therefore, the Duke Godfrey, brave and daring, and Hugo the Great came at the same time with their armies; also the Bishop of Le Puy had followed these, as one with his own army, and the Count of St. Giles next to those with a very large following.

Therefore our men were greatly astonished when such a great multitude of Turks had appeared with Arabs and Saracens and others whom I do not know how to count, since on all sides the hills and valleys and all flat places inside and out were nearly covered with this exommunicate race. Thus there was secret talk among us, praising and advising and saying: "Be unanimous in faith to Christ and the victory of the Sacred Cross, since today, if it pleases God, you will be raised up to all riches."

cont...........

Interestingly Raymond, Canon of Le Puy, wrote that Bohemond was rashly separated from the rest of the army. Anonymous was not the only person chronicling the progress of the Crusaders.

Comments on Book Two

Book Three is very short and almost completely translated but before I move on I would like to say a few things about Book Two. One thing that strikes me is the big hoop-de-doo over markets. If you figure it, there are thousands of people on the move; they are hungry, they need stuff, their horses need stuff. You cannot go down to Costco and load up the wagon so you need a market.

When the Roman empire collapsed in the West, most of the cities were abandoned and empty. The population of Rome was reduced to about 20,000 people from about a million after the collapse of the empire. London was left largely empty too, since the Anglo Saxon invaders feared the cities as abodes of ghosts and demons. Paris could not shrink much because it never was the capital of the Roman province of Gaul. It was Clovis I who made Paris a capital.

You need urban centers to support guilds, shops and markets. Most people in the early Middle Ages grew their own food and there were few means of preserving anything. You can imagine that it would be like at the end of summer when you are crossing the road to share your excess zucchini and tomatoes with your neighbor and find them coming the other way with a basket of zucchini and tomatoes for you. You could try to sell them, but who would buy. Occasionally traveling merchants would pass through town and if you had some gold or coin and they had something you wanted, this would be your opportunity to buy, until towns started growing again. Kings began to give charters to towns to run their own affairs and to have fairs, that is annual markets. Since kings were rulers over their people not the land, these fairs were a source of tax revenue for the kings and is partly why the Crusaders needed Alexius to give them a market.

Of course the Eastern part of the empire did not fall with the West and so probably still had trade and shops but when 50,000 hungry men show up on your doorstep (or however many people actually appeared with the Crusader army) the local bakery is probably not going to be able to keep up with the demand for bread. This brings me to the topic of bread. At Nicea, the men, not having any bread to eat, sat quietly on the plain before the city. Once the bread showed up, the men, glutted with carbs, attacked. Frances Moor Lappe, who wrote Diet For a Small Planet, wrote that meat makes people aggressive. Clearly it is carbs that do so. Stay away from the bread!!

Aggression leads me to the third item that I would like to point out - the flinging of the heads of Turks, who were killed, over the walls. I do not know if Tolkien was acquainted with this work or if this was a common act in sieges, but the orcs did this when they attacked Minas Tirith in the Return of the King. 'Our guys' are the orcs.

I found a nice webpage with four accounts from the Middle Ages about markets. It is worth taking a look at. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1250medfairs.html

Deeds Of the Franks, Book Two, Chapter Eight, cont.

However, there was on one side of the city a very large lake, in which the Turks were sending their own ships, both coming and going, and bearing food, wood and many other things. Then our nobles, as one in agreement, sent messengers to Constantinople to speak with the emperor that that he would send ships to be lead to Cyiot where there is a port and order oxen to be brought together which they would drag the ships across the mountains and forests and all the way to near the lake. Which he did immediately and he ordered his Turcopoles to go with these ships. On the day the ships, thus brought over, had arrived, they were not willing to set these immediately into the lake; but with night coming over them, they sent these ships onto that very lake, full of Turcopoles with well ornamented weapons. At earliest daylight, the ships were standing at the appointed place just in time, speeding across the lake to fight against the city. The Turks, seeing this, were wondering, not knowing whether it was their own people or the emperor's. Afterwards they recognized them to be people of the emperor, they were frightened unto death, wailing and crying; the Franks were rejoicing and gave glory to God. Moreover, the Turks, seeing that they would not be able to have any help from their own armies, sent an envoy to the emperor saying that they would voluntarily give back the city, if they would be permitted to leave the city with their wives and children and their property. Then the emperor, full of vain and evil thinking, ordered that these may depart unpunished and without fear, and to be lead to Constantinople with great faith. Very zealously he saved those people as he had these people protected from injuries and obstructions of the Franks.

We were in that siege for seven weeks and three days and many of our men there received martyrdom and dying joyfully gave back their happy souls to God. And among the poorest people were many who died of hunger in Christ's name. These triumphing in heaven bear the robe of martyrs that they received, crying out with one voice, "Avenge our blood Lord, he who is devoted to you, who is blessed and praiseworthy in the lives of the ages. Amen"