Anon, the king summoned his barons to Paris.
As I was entering the city I noticed a tumbrel holding the bodies of three men, sergeants from the Châtelet who had been robbing citizens and were slain by a cleric. They had robbed this cleric of all save his shirt, whereupon he rushed back to his lodging and got his crossbow and a child to carry his sword and went after them shouting he meant to kill them. He fixed his crossbow and shot one through the heart whereat the others lifted their heels to the moonlight. He got his sword from the child and ran after them. One thought to escape by wriggling through a hedge and the cleric hacked off his leg. Both pieces of this rogue lay in the tumbrel, his leg wearing a boot. The last robber was begging admittance to a house when the cleric arrived and split his head open to the teeth. So the provost was carting off these villains to show King Louis, along with the cleric who had surrendered, in order to find out what the king wished to do. I heard some time after that his majesty came out from chapel and paused on the steps to consider the dead thieves. He told the cleric that what he had done had lost him all chance to become a priest. However, his majesty said, I will take you into my service and you shall go with me oversea. King Louis did this because the young man was courageous but also to let people know he would not approve misconduct. Then his subjects called upon God to grant the king a long and fruitful life because they understood the wisdom of what he said.
His majesty wanted the barons to swear fealty, promising that if anything happened to him oversea they would remain loyal to his children. I refused. I told him I could not take the oath because I was not his vassal. Soon afterward I returned to Joinville. My cousins, the count of Sarrebruck and his brother Gobert d’Apremont, had joined with me to make up a party of twenty knights. We arranged that our baggage should be sent by cart to Auxonne, thence by way of the Saône and the Rhône to Marseille where we had engaged a ship. Therefore we would not embark with the king at Aigues-Mortes but some leagues distant at Roche-de-Marseille.
On the day of my departure I summoned the abbot of Cheminon, a most worthy white monk. I am told that one night as he slept in his dormitory he felt warm and threw aside the cover, whereupon the Holy Virgin approached and drew it across his chest so the night wind would not make him ill. If the story be true, God knows. From this monk I got my wallet and pilgrim staff. I then left Joinville castle afoot, in my shirt, with legs bare, to visit Blécourt and Saint-Urbain, which has many fine relics. Not once did I look back, fearing that my heart might wither away if I glimpsed my children.
My companions and I paused to eat at Fontaine-l’Archevêque where the abbot presented us with a quantity of jewels. Thence to Auxonne, downstream on boats with our equipment while the horses were led along the bank. We passed the ruin of a castle that was called Roche-de-Glun, destroyed by his majesty because the lord of this castle had robbed pilgrims and merchants. So in due time to Marseille and prepared for the voyage.
Horses were admitted to our vessel by means of a door in the side, which was then shut and tightly caulked because it would be submerged when we were loaded just as the bottom of a floating barrel is submerged. When this was done and all in readiness the master mariner told priests and clerics to advance, bidding them sing Veni Creator Spiritus. Once they finished singing he cried aloud to his people. In God’s name, unfurl the sails!
Thus, on the twenty-seventh day of August in that year of our Lord 1248, we cast off.
Presently the wind took us. Behind us the land receded. Each day the wind took us further from the place where we were born. Each night we slept not knowing if morning would find us drowned on the bed of the sea.
Now it is good to organize body and soul and mind for a voyage. Indeed it is wise to put the miserable flesh in order. Greffen Affagart recommends that each traveler carry a straw mat since the beams of a vessel are coated with pitch. Also, two jars. One for Saint Nicholas water, which remains sweet at sea, another for Padua wine, which is beneficial to drink in hot climates. Also, one should take a flask of preserved rose syrup to fortify the bowel. Little cooking pots, to be sure. Concerning food, salted ox tongue or ham, biscuit, cheese, almonds, figs, raisins, and sugar. We ourselves were less comfortably equipped. As to mind and soul, they must be at rest because infinite peril lurks above and beneath the surface. We are told of stupendous fish that gnaw ships apart and will not be dissuaded except by a man’s angry visage, hence one must confront them at water level with a countenance equally bold and horrific. There was some mariner, whose name I know not, who let himself down on a rope to affright the terrible fish but growing alarmed forgot his scowl and was snapped in half.
Be that as it may, one evening off the Barbary coast we observed a mountain formed strangely like an egg. All night we sailed, yet at dawn here was the mountain, unmoved. Again this happened so we felt uneasy. A priest said we should make three processions round the masts of our ship. I myself was at this time very ill and weak but found men to carry me in their arms. After a short while, thanks to the intercession of our gracious Lord, we passed by this mountain.
When we came to Cyprus we found King Louis already there, having sailed aboard his ship Montjoie and disembarked at Limassol two weeks before the feast of Saint Rémy. We saw in profusion the granaries and cellarage he had ordered, casks of wine heaped atop one another until they resembled barns. Here were stacks of barley and wheat that had begun to sprout because of rain falling on them so they might have been grassy mounds. Yet as we loaded grain aboard ship for transport to Egypt we saw that underneath the lush growth it was as good as if newly threshed.
Because many troops had not arrived we loitered on Cyprus until Ascension. We heard that a battle impended between the king of Armenia and the richest pagan on earth, the sultan of Iconium. They say he poured melted gold into jars of the sort used to hold wine, each large enough to contain three or four hogsheads, and smashed the jars so these enormous gold forms stood upright to the astonishment and delight of visitors. It is said that twelve strong men could not topple one. Now since we had little to do while awaiting reinforcements a number of sergeants crossed over to Armenia with the idea of enriching themselves, but not one came back. In a paltry desire for wealth they forgot the Savior.
Also during this period the sultan of Cairo thought to wage war against the prince of Homs. Away he went and besieged the city. But the prince of Homs learned through spies about a canker on the sultan’s leg and bribed a ferrais, who is a valet, to administer poison. The ferrais smeared poison on a mat where his lord was accustomed to sit while playing chess and as the sultan moved his leg this venom worked into the canker and impinged upon his heart. For two days he could not eat or drink or speak. Without leadership the Babylonians felt confused. They retreated to Cairo, leaving the city of Homs at peace. This shows how each man is subject to his body, an inconstant and wretched master. But the Lord God remains unchangeable.
Also while we loitered on Cyprus here came two Nestorians, Mark and David, envoys from the great khan of the Tartars. They brought a letter professing sympathy for our cause and said the khan would help us free Jerusalem from the infidel grip. Many at court heard this with grave surprise. King Louis, however, expressed delight. He responded by despatching two friars from the Order of Predicants, entrusting them to deliver a costly tent of vermilion cloth for use as a chapel. Included were small stone effigies to illustrate Christian theology. Annunciation, Nativity, Baptism of our Lord, stages of His suffering, Ascension, arrival of the Holy Ghost, and so forth. In addition his majesty sent cups and books and whatever else would be required for the Predicants to celebrate mass. All this he did in hopes of making our faith attractive to these Tartars.
With God’s help our people assembled. We were two thousand five hundred knights plus five thousand archers, as well as a great many armed pilgrims. King Louis ordered us to the vessels and sent each captain a letter with instructions that it should not be opened until we had cleared port. Then the seals were broken and we lear
ned that we should follow his majesty to Damietta at the mouth of the Nile. How many ships followed in the king’s wake I do not know. If little boats were counted, perhaps two thousand. It was a fair thing to see, more beautiful than a picture made with stained glass.
Whitmonday the wind slackened. Thursday we came in view of Damietta. There were the sultan’s forces drawn up, kettledrums booming, cymbals clashing, Saracen horns screeching, all contributing a fearful noise while the armor of these pagans winked gold in the sun.
His majesty ordered the fleet to anchor well offshore and summoned the barons to speak with him aboard Montjoie. There at council we agreed to land next day, whereupon the king addressed us. Loyal friends, said he, if we hold steadfast in our love we shall prove invincible. Without permission of Christ our Lord we would not have ventured into a realm so powerfully guarded. I, Louis, king of France, am but a man whose life will end as do the lives of other men on a day it pleases God. All is for the best, whatever we meet, whatever befalls us. If we are vanquished, so be it. If we succeed in our quest, surely we exalt the glory of God, the glory of France, and the glory of Christendom.
We confessed our sins. Each man readied himself for the morrow and organized his affairs, knowing he should die if it so pleased our Lord.
Very early the king heard mass as it is said at sea. Then, having armed himself, he ordered everyone to do likewise and go aboard the small boats. He himself boarded a Normandy coche, as did the legate who was holding the True Cross. Into a longboat went Geoffrey de Sargines, Jean de Beaumont, and Matthew of Marly with the banner of Saint Denys. While I was looking to the conveyance of my people one of Érard de Brienne’s knights called Plonquet attempted to jump into a boat as it was pulling away but fell in the water and drowned. We set our course toward land where a large party of Saracens awaited us, fully six thousand. At our approach they spurred hotly forward. When we got ashore we thrust the points of our shields in the sand and fixed lances. At the last moment these unbelievers wheeled aside, none anxious to have his belly punctured.
Soon thereafter came a message from Baoudoin de Reims. He asked if I would hold up for him, which I did quite readily since he was a valiant knight bringing hundreds more. I saw the Comte de Joppa, his galley surging through the waves like a thunderbolt amid the screech of horns and drums booming. His galley looked very fine, what with painted escutcheons that bore his arms and three hundred men at the sweeps. Alongside each hung a targe displaying the arms of Joppa, which are gold with a cross of gules patée, and from each fluttered a pennon. When this galley came ashore his knights leapt out and hurried to join us. About the distance of a crossbow shot to our right here came the banner of Saint Denys. A Saracen boldly galloped toward it thinking others would follow, or because he was unable to control his mount, and went galloping straightway to hell.
As for his majesty, the legate and others urged him to remain on board until the landing was decided for if he were slain the expedition must fail. But when he learned the banner of Saint Denys was ashore he would not be separate from the emblem of his sovereignty. He set his feet together, slung his shield about his neck and all at once leapt into the water, which came up to his waist. Now others shouted Montjoie! They flung themselves into the sea, a rare and splendid thing to behold what with pagan arrows glancing like sparks off their helmets. So the Babylonians drew together, excitedly speaking in their tongue, and came toward us. We advanced with the spirit of Christ while the legate held overhead the True and Holy Cross.
Our Lord proved merciful. By noon the unbelievers had enough and retreated to the city. I think they lost quite five hundred, including four emirs. All plunged shrieking into eternal fire. Then his majesty sent for the legate and the bishops. Loudly we chanted Te Deum Laudamus.
Next morning came emissaries to speak with the king. They said the fighting men had gone away and the city was deserted, excepting old people and the sick. They said the king should hang them if they did not speak the truth. His majesty detained them until we could find out. Presently we learned that certain of our knights were inside and our standard flew from a turret. We gave thanks and praised the Lord because Damietta was very strong, with moats and palisades, barbicans, weapons of every sort. We could have taken it only after a siege reduced the people to starvation, as King John took Damietta more than a generation earlier. Our enemies had sent pigeon messengers to Cairo but heard nothing, so they thought the sultan was dead. That is why they quit the city. In fact, the sultan had not recovered from the poison he got while playing chess at Homs.
We learned that he punished his soldiers for giving up Damietta and had fifty officers strangled. I am told that one of these officers, condemned along with his son, requested the favor being executed first. But the sultan denied this indulgence. On the contrary, the officer was forced to watch his son strangled. Such is the cruelty of Egyptians.
We released a good fifty Christians who told us they had been enslaved at Damietta for twenty-two years. They told his majesty how the unbelievers called us pigs. The pigs have come, said they. Also there were Syrians who had been subservient to these infidels, who displayed crosses when we entered the city. They were permitted to keep their houses and goods.
We thought we could not leave Damietta until the feast of All Saints because each year the Nile spreads across Egypt, preventing much travel by land. However we did not feel threatened. King Louis with his queen took up lodging in the palace. The legate and each high baron took a beautiful house appropriate to his rank inside the walls. The army camped outside. Bedouin now and again would approach but rode away if crossbowmen went to shoot at them. During the night they returned to steal horses. They would cut off the heads of sleeping pilgrims or dig up corpses of hanged men in order to collect heads because Sultan Ayub paid ten gold bezants for a Christian head. Thus it became necessary to keep watch. At times they got into camp after the guards rode past, which is how they killed my lord of Courtenay’s sentinel whom they found asleep. They left his body on a table but took his head to show the sultan. As a result his majesty posted crossbowmen and directed the guards to patrol on foot, walking so close together they almost formed a palisade, which made us rest easier at night.
During this time Gautier d’Autrèche surrendered his soul to God. When he perceived cavalry not far away he was overcome by rage. He armed himself, mounted his charger and had the flap of his pavilion lifted. Then he spurred out to meet the enemy but lost control and fell off. This happened because some of the enemy horses were mares and Gautier’s stallion was attracted to them. People who observed this said that four Saracens rushed toward Gautier while he lay on the ground and struck him heavily with maces. Constable Imbert de Beaujeu with several of his majesty’s sergeants picked up Gautier and brought him back. He was unable to speak. Physicians examined him and bled both arms. That night Aubert de Narcy thought we should find out if he had improved. The chamberlain met us when we entered, saying Gautier was asleep. We approached quietly. He lay on a pallet draped with miniver. He was dead. King Louis, being informed, remarked that he cared little for such men in his army because the knight had gone out unattended.
We discovered later that many soldiers visited harlots while we were encamped and would engage them in the very shadow of the palace. Of bodily pleasure what can be said? Men seek happiness outside themselves when it may be met only within.
The feast of Saint Remigius having passed and no news of Comte Alfonse de Poitiers, who was his majesty’s brother, we began to worry. At length he appeared, delayed for a reason I do not know, which was fortunate or he would have sailed through the vortex of a storm outside Damietta. More than two hundred vessels, counting little boats, were flung about, smashed, nearly all on board drowned. In truth it is not for us to comprehend the multitudinous paths of His divine work, nor expound upon them. We should live content in the knowledge that He embodies all things and maintains the universe.
Anon, King Louis assembled us to discuss a mean
s of conquering Egypt, whether we should besiege Alexandria or march against Cairo. Most thought we should lay siege to Alexandria because of its good harbor where ships could land provisions. A second brother of the king, Comte Robert d’Artois, dissented. Cairo is the principal city of Egypt, said he, and if you would kill a viper you must crush its head. His majesty agreed.
Now the river that flows through the heart of Egypt, past Cairo to Damietta, originates in Paradise. The rivers Pison, Hiddekel, and Euphrates also descend from Paradise, each differing from the rest. But this mighty river partitions itself in order to become several streams. Then once a year it seeks to unite itself by overflowing the land, hence the water grows murky. Whoever wishes to drink it must draw a bucket at sundown, adding a handful of beans or almonds so that by morning the water will have clarified. Peasants till their fields when this flood recedes. They harvest rich crops of wheat, cumin, barley, rice, and I know not what else. How these floods arise is a mystery to all save God. Fishermen who live far to the south cast their nets in the Nile at dusk and each morning harvest the produce of heavenly trees such as rhubarb, aloe, cinnamon, and ginger. This happens because strong winds topple dry wood in Paradise just as they do on earth.
The sultan of Cairo a long time past, desiring to learn the source of this river, despatched an expedition to find out. These men subsisted on a kind of bread that is twice baked, so is called biscuit. When they got back they reported divers marvels. Elephants, lions, serpents that walked or crawled to the river bank to gaze at them while they traveled. At last they came to the base of a cliff so huge and steep they were unable to climb up, from which the Nile fell streaming down. They were able to discern at the summit a foison of green trees, therefore they told the sultan they had glimpsed Paradise on earth.
As to practical matters, we learned that if water from the Nile is poured into white earthenware jugs made by Egyptians it becomes as cold as water drawn from a well. We suspended jugs of it from the cords of our pavilions. And we learned to our dismay that these accursed unbelievers had dug more canals than might be seen in all of France. Thus, travel was no easy march. I do not know how many streams the Nile makes of itself. Some say four, one proceeding to Damietta, another to Alexandria, another to Tanis, another to Rexi. We encamped by the stream of Rexi while opposite our tents a host of Saracens prepared to dispute the crossing.
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