Chronicles of the Crusades

1lnl.l JXCIIARD'SEXPLOITS. 4 1
tl~o kings, nt the rcport of so grcnt 3 Islgcss, 1;ook 1Ci11g
Xic11:~rrlto bo tl~oir gcnern.1 ant1 lorJ ; the lhnks ouly wl~o
Ils,l follomcd their lord ron~aincd wit11 thcir poor lii~g of tho
French.
Scct. 64. Tllc king of the Englisl~, un~~scd to dclzjr, on tho
third thy of 11;s arrival nt the siege, cnuscrl hi.3 n~oo~lc~~
fortress, which he h:d cajled " N3te G'rifun," whcn it W:LS
.made in Sicily, to bo built :~ndsct np, and bcfora the dawn
of the foartli day the ~.llacl~inc st0011 crect by tl~cw:~lfs of'
Awe, 31111 from its 11eight 1t1ol;cd dow~ upon tl~c city lying
bencntll it ; ancl tlierc \vCSC tllcl'W~ I)y.~llllI'isc arcl~c!~,~ ox;?tillg
missilcs without inlorn~issicju on tl~cTurk., nnJ TLlrxinns.
Engines also for cnsting stoues, pl~cd in couvcnient posiliu~~,?,
battered the wnlls with froq~~cnt vollcys. iVforc in~port.:~nt
t1l.z~ these, sy~pers rnn'king tl~e~mselves a wny beuc:~tl~tho
ground, un~l(:rn~ineJtho foululatio~~s of tl~c wnlls ; tvllilcj.
solclic~s btxrring shiclcls, 11n.viy plantcrl I:~J~lcrs, souglit nu
entrsncc ovcr he m~nprtu. Tl~c king hi~nsclf was I'LII~II~II~
"11 and down through the mnkq dirct:tiug s~xiic, ~cproving
some, ant1 ~rging utllers, and tl~r~ was he cvcry\vl~oro
pscut with crcry one of tl~cm, so tht wl~stcvcr tlloy dl
did, ought properly to be nscribed to him. Tllc king of the
FreucI~ also I~in~sclf dill uot lightly nsmd tl~cm, 111:~l:ing :ls
bold :r,n assnnlt as he could CII tho towcr of tl~c city which is
cnllecl Cursed.
Sect. G5. The renowned C)al.rxcois and 3~'lcstocns, after
Snlntlin tho most powerful prir~ccs of tlie 11c:~lhcn, 11:d at tllnt
-.
tirnc the chnqc oF the Lcsiegecl city, wl~o, after :L conLest of
many days, 11romiset.l by thc~r interpreters the surrenclcr or
tl~c city, and a mnsom for tliei; Ilcads ; but thc liiug of t'11o
English desired to subduo their obstinncy by force ; and
wislled tht the vnnq~~isl~ecl sboulcl pay tlrcir llends for the
ransom of their bodies, but, by the medi:~tion of the Iring of the
French, their lifc nmL i~~himity of 1inlLs only w3.3 nccor~led
them, if, after snrronil~;~of the city and yielding of every
thing they possos~rr~l, l.11,: iIoly Cross should be given up.
@ Sect. 66. All tllc ho:~r:lren wnrriors in Acre wcre clloscn
men, :wJ wcrc: in nunilm nine thousand. Milny of whom,
swLdowing IU:LILY y)11I ~:O~IIS, mnde a purse of their stom:rclls,
beczuse they forcwv h t wliatc~cr they llnd of my vnluo
would be turned tlgaiust thcm, even against tl~emdvcs; if