The Deeds of God through the Franks

G >> Guibert of Nogent >> The Deeds of God through the Franks

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The Third Book of the Deeds of God by the Franks Ends.

BOOK FOUR

I think that no one can justifiably ridicule me for undertaking this
task. For although I did not go to Jerusalem, and to this day am
unacquainted with many of the people and places, I think that these
conditions in no way hinder the general usefulness of what I do, if
the things which I have written or shall have written have been taken
from men whose testimony is endowed with truth. If anyone objects
that I did not see, he cannot object on the grounds that I did not
hear, because I believe that, in a way, hearing is almost as good as
seeing. For although, "What has been thrust into the ears stirs the
mind more slowly than those things which have appeared before
reliable eyes,"[146] nevertheless, who doubts those historians who
wrote the lives of the saints, who wrote down not only what they saw
with their own eyes, but what they drunk up from what others have
understood and told them? For if the narrator is reliable and, as
one reads, "testifies to what he saw and heard,"[147] then stories
told by those who speak the truth about events no one has seen are
clearly acceptable as true. If there is anyone who objects, and who
despises this undertaking, he has the option, if he wishes, of
offering corrections. Whoever is displeased with what we have done
may write his own version.

Thus the Lord's army, led by Raymond, Count of Saint-Gilles, Bohemund,
Godfrey, and many others, entered Armenia, rejoicing at the
possibility of Turkish attacks. On their way they took a fort which
was difficult to approach, so that any attempt to attack it seemed
futile. A pagan of that district, a certain Symeon, well known for
having Christian surname, asked our leaders for control of that area,
so that he could guard it against Turkish attacks. They did not
refuse the favor he requested, and he remained there, intending to
guard the land. Then our men moved on and reached Cappadocian
Caesarea.[148]After they left the province of Caesarea, they reached
a very lovely, wealthy city,[149] which the Turkish army had been
besieging for three weeks before the arrival of our army. But their
siege produced no results. When our men approached, the citizens
voluntarily surrendered the city. A certain knight called Peter of
the Alps asked that the leaders grant him the right to protect the
region in the name of the emperor of the Greeks and of our own
leaders. His request was willingly granted, since the meritorious
fidelity of the petitioner was well known. As the day then drew to a
close, Bohemund heard that a large but insignificant group of the
enemies who had earlier besieged this city was moving ahead of our
men. And so, taking with him only his immediate retinue, he set out
in pursuit, but did not find those whom he sought. Now the army
reached a town called Coxon,[150] where they found great abundance of
useful supplies. The inhabitants of this place happily opened their
gates to our men, and for three days fed them properly and well.

After the count of Saint-Gilles heard that the Turks, who usually
supplied the garrison for the city of Antioch, had left the
stronghold, he sent part of his army ahead to take possession of the
city and to maintain control of it. He chose four men from among the
leaders of his army, of whom three had the same name, that is, Peter,
and the fourth was called William of Montpellier, a man well know
among us for his feats of arms, and he gave them 500 knights to lead.
And so, not far from the above-mentioned city, they entered valley
and in that valley found a fort, and there they heard that the Turks,
with a large army, were in control of the city of Antioch, and in
addition they learned that the Turks were making great preparations
of men and arms, to defend themselves against the French, in case
they attacked. Therefore one of those Peters we named above, whose
surname had been derived from a place called Roaix, separating
himself from his companions, entered a valley of a town named Rugia,
[151] where he found Turks and Saracens, with whom he fought. After
killing many of them, he pursued the others. The Armenians took
notice of this and, pleased with the man's bravery, and impressed by
his unusual boldness against the Turks, surrendered voluntarily to
his command. Quickly thereafter he was given control of a city named
Rusa[152] when its inhabitants capitulated, and several other forts
surrendered to him. The rest of the army departed from Coxon, the
city we mentioned, and marched through high mountains along
incredibly rocky paths so narrow that no one could pass the man in
front of him, but each man had to proceed one step at a time,
stepping carefully, in single file. A deep gulley lay beneath the
narrow, rough path, so that if a horse happened to push up against
another horse, he would fall to instant death. There you would have
seen armed men, who, having just been converted by the hardship and
starvation of the journey from knights into foot-soldiers, were
suffering wretchedly, smashing their fists, tearing their hair,
begging for the relief of death, selling their shields, helmets, and
all of their arms, regardless of their true worth, for three or four,
perhaps five cents. When they could find no buyer, they threw their
shields and other fine equipment into the gulley, to disencumber
their weakened, endangered bodies. When they finally emerged from
these rocks and precipices, after unbearable suffering, they entered
a town called Marasim,[153] whose inhabitants came forth joyfully to
meet them, bring abundant supplies to sell to the soldiers. The rich
earth replenished the exhausted men, until the presence of their
leader Bohemund, who was following those who were waiting for him
there, was restored to them.

Finally they arrived in the plains where the renowned city of Antioch
was situated, whose particular glories, beyond those by means of
which she flourished in this world, are those which grew out of her
Christian fame. Pharphar was the name of the river on which she was
located. When our men had reached a place near the bridge over that
river, some of them, who had been assigned the task of forming the
vanguard of the army, met up with a large force of Turks, who were
well supplied with provisions, and were hurrying to bring aid to the
besieged. When our men saw them, they charged with Frankish ferocity,
and almost instantly defeated them and scattered them in all
directions. Like charging rams, they tore them to pieces, and the
Turks threw away the arms that only moments before had been able to
inspire terror. The mass of foot-soldiers fled through their own
lines, in their haste and confusion wounding and crushing their own
allies. The madness of pride now felt humiliation, and the man who
anticipated taking pleasure in heaping up destruction upon us was now
happy if he could get himself out alive, even though dishonored.
Those who had come to bring aid to the besieged were turned into
instant, filthy piles of cadavers. The Almighty mercifully converted
what they had brought to aid the besieged into gifts for the
besiegers. Thus after they had been destroyed, like grain crushed by
hail, great quantities of grain and wine fell into our hands, and the
foot-soldiers acquired the valuable horses, camels, mules, and asses
that remained. And so our men built camps on the shore of the
above-mentioned river. Bohemund, together with 4000 of his best men,
undertook blockade of the city's gate, and remained on guard all that
night to prevent anyone from getting in or out. The next day, the
twelfth calends of November,[154] the fourth day of the week, in the
middle of the day, the army arrived, set up camp, and began a
blockade of three of the city's gates; the fourth gate was left free,
since it was inaccessible to the besiegers because of the great
height of the surrounding mountains, and the narrowness of its paths.
However, not only the inhabitants, but the Turks themselves who were
inside the city were so frightened by us that none of them came out
to fight us. No one put up any resistance, but instead they behaved
as though we had come to the market, and this pretence of peace
continued, as though a truce had been declared, for fifteen days.
The city was surrounded by signs that augured well for beginning this
siege; fresh abundance of everything necessary to sustain life was
vividly present; I am surprised that at that time the crusaders found
abundant grapes hanging on the vines everywhere, wheat shut up not in
granaries, but in ditches and underground pits. The trees had plenty
of apples, and whatever made their lives more comfortable was
supplied by an extremely fertile soil. The Armenians and the Syrians,
who formed the entire population of the city (except for the Turks,
who, as I mentioned earlier, were not permanent residents), since
they inhabited the city itself, and were titular Christians, visited
us in great numbers, and told them whatever they had learned among us.
They enticed the Franks with their deceptive, repeated lies, and,
whispering in their ears, using the most flattering terms, they
claimed that they shunned the Turks, although they did not allow
their own wives to go beyond the city limits; when they left the
Franks, and were back in the city, they reported to the Turks
whatever news they had been able to gather about the weaknesses of
the Christian side. Thus, informed by the Syrians about our plans,
the Turks from time to time rushed out from the city to sneak up upon
our men and attack them as they were searching for food, and they
covered over the most used paths and made unexpected attacks upon
them as they sought the mountains and the sea, never permitting them
to rest from ambush or open attack. Not far off was a fort named
Harenc[155] in which they had placed a garrison of the fiercest
Turkish warriors, who made frequent raids upon the Franks when they
were unprepared. Our leaders, unwilling to suffer such affronts,
sent a large force of cavalry and infantry to find out where those
who were doing so much harm to their men were concealing themselves.
When they found their hiding place, they at first attacked them, but
then, cleverly simulating flight, they permitted themselves to be
brought to a position where they knew that Bohemund was waiting in
ambush. At that point, two of our men died in pursuit of the Turks.
Coming out of his hiding-place, Bohemund fell upon the enemy, leading
the group who appeared to have turned their backs, delivering the
punishment they deserved by attacking the Turks with all his forces.
He killed many of them, made others prisoners, and brought those he
had captured back to the gate of the city, where, to terrify the
citizens who were watching, he ordered that they be decapitated.
Some of the citizens, however, climbed to the top of this gate and
wore out our men by discharging so many arrows that a cloud of
missiles flowed in the midst of Bohemund's camp, and one woman died
when struck by one of the arrows. Finally the leaders consulted with
each other, and decided to set up a fort at the top of a mountain
which they called Malregard, and which, as a formidable stronghold,
might serve to drive away the Turks. Thus the fort was being
constructed, and there you would have seen the greatest princes
laboring at carrying rocks. There no poor man might complain that he
had to endure hardships inflicted upon him by the power of great men,
since those who were in charge would permit themselves no rest in
bringing the work to completion. For they knew by the instinct of
pious nature, even if they had not read it, what Marius, according to
Sallust, said, "If you behave gently, but rule the army firmly, you
will be a master, not an general."[156] And when the fort was built,
the leaders took turns guarding it. Christmas was near, and the
grain and other food for the body began to diminish severely, and
throughout the army everything that was for sale was expensive.
There was no energy to go even a moderate distance to seek food;
within the territory held by those who called themselves Christians
almost nothing to eat could be found; no one could go into the
Saracen region without large military force. Therefore, compelled by
hunger, the leaders held a meeting to discuss how to deal with the
danger of such a large group of men starving unless something were
done for them. Finally they decided to send part of the army to
search everywhere for supplies, while the others maintained the siege
they had undertaken. Bohemund then said, "If, O powerful soldiers,
it seems prudent to you, I, with the support of the army of the count
of Flanders, shall devote myself to the effort of procuring food."
The offer was accepted gratefully by the younger men, since they were
worn out by greater thirst and more urgent need for food. The day
after the Lord's Nativity, which was the second day of the week, had
been celebrated, with what emotion and energy they could muster, the
two princes just mentioned, together with 20,000 foot-soldiers and
cavalry, set out as swiftly and as energetically as they could to
attack the Saracen provinces. Meanwhile the Turks, Arabs, Saracens,
and other Gentiles, who had assembled from Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleph,
[157] and other places, with one purpose in mind, to bring aid,
hastened to Antioch in large numbers. They had heard that the
Christians were coming into their own lands, to gather food and other
supplies; as dusk fell, they moved in formation towards the place
where they had learned our men were, with an eagerness that would
soon be turned to grief. They divided themselves into two lines of
battle, setting the first in front of us, and moving to position the
other behind us. But the count of Flanders, trusting in divine power,
with the sign of the Cross fixed to his heart and body, relying
confidently on the excellent count Bohemund, attacked the enemy with
the courage to be expected of such men. The battle began, but from
the first moment of contact, the enemy turned in flight. The battle
turned into victory, and many a sharp spear shattered in the bodies
of those who had turned their backs to flee. The enemy's shields
were battered by long ashwood lances that were struck with such force
that they dwindled into slivers. No helmet prevented a head struck
by the edges of the Crusaders' swords from being wounded; and they
found the stitching of their so-called impenetrable cuirasses too
fragile. Armor protected no part of the body; whatever the
barbarians thought firm was weak; whatever the Franks touched
shattered. The field was covered with innumerable corpses, and the
thick pile of dead men disturbed the evenness of the grassy field.
Everywhere the earth, sprinkled with the hateful blood of Gentiles,
grew dark. Those who survived the carnage we inflicted saved their
lives by their speed afoot, and were pleased to unburden themselves
of their spoils, not out of generosity towards us, but to increase
their speed. Our state of mind changed utterly: fear changed into
courage, battle into victory, mourning into joy, hunger into plenty.
He who was naked now had clothing, those who were on foot now had
chariots, the poor man had money, the man who had been cast out now
danced with gratitude and joy. While these things were going on, the
fact that Bohemund and the count of Flanders were not present at the
siege was not hidden from the Turks who were in control of Antioch.
Made more confident by their absence, they came out, though
cautiously, to challenge us in battle more often, trying to find out
where the besiegers were weakest. Finally, seeing day, the third day
of the week, that seemed apt for trying their courage, they made a
sudden assault, and killed many of our foot-soldiers and knights, who
were caught unaware. The magnificent bishop of Puy lost a mainstay
of his court, the man who was his standard-bearer, who was among
those who perished. Had not the the river upon whose banks their
camp was pitched separated them, the carnage among the Christians
would have been very great. Meanwhile, Bohemund was on his way back,
having pillaged the Saracen provinces; he was traveling through the
mountainous area in which Tancred was staying, thinking that there he
might be able to find something to help the men besieging Antioch.
Although some of our men had carried off whatever they could see,
many found nothing at all, and returned empty-handed, that is,
without anything that could be eaten. Bohemund, however, never
without a plan, when he saw them wandering about unsuccessfully,
spoke these words, "If you are looking for material with which to
sustain life, if you want to provide adequately for the bodily needs
dictated by hunger, then while you search for food do not risk your
lives. Stop scurrying through the pathless mountains, since you know
that your enemies are preparing hidden traps for you in these
horrible, desolate places. Let the army move forward united, for
each is made stronger by the presence of the other, so that if one
part is attacked violently, the other may offer assistance. For even
as a sheep, if it escapes from the shepherd's grasp, is exposed to
the wolf's jaws, so the knight, if he wanders forth alone from the
tents of his companions, invariably becomes a plaything for
plunderers. Therefore remain together with each other and with your
men, and rather eat very little food than feed upon rare delicacies
in permanent captivity. To go out and come back together, to take
pleasure in being together, to do nothing rash, these are the things
that sensible men do; anyone who wanders away wishes to die." He
spoke, and returned to his companions, without enriching the
besiegers in no way by his return. But the clever Armenians and
Syrians, when they saw that the army's food was running out, and
there was nothing left to buy, traveled about among all the places
that they knew, bought grain, and brought it back to the army that
was suffering from a lack of supplies. They sold the grain at
inordinate prices, so that the amount of grain a single ass could
carry brought eight of their besants, which they called "purpled,"
approximately 120 sous. Clearly those who could not possibly pay
such a price were in great danger of succumbing to a terrible crisis
of hunger. And if the leaders were already becoming hard pressed to
pay such price, what could he do who, for all his previous wealth,
was now all but a pauper?

Great torture had come upon them lack of food was crushing them; the
madness of hunger laid low the highest by exhausting their strength.
Bread was far off, and they had neither the meat of cattle nor of pig:
the hands of the indigent had torn up the grass far and wide.
Whatever food they had finally had disappeared. Their limbs were
weak, and they had lost heart. The skin of those who had nothing to
eat was stretched with dreadful swelling. Without nourishment their
strength ebbed, and they died. A brief torment delivered those who
were killed in battle, but those who were hungry were tortured at
length; therefore protracted death brought them a greater reward.
Clearly angelic bread fed those who rejoiced in the finest reward for
their sufferings, the more they bore the burden of agonies. Others
fought, struggling to endure various misfortunes, and scarcely
anything went in their favor; they preferred unhappiness to joy. Now
they struggled to follow Christ, bearing a double cross, rejoicing
that they had surpassed His commands, who had imposed upon them only
one cross. Hideous hunger gnawed at their weak hearts, and their
dried-up stomachs cracked open; suffering racked their bowels, and
destroyed their thinking. Disease ate away at their minds, already
attacked by the ferocity of battle, and both day and troubling night
threatened slaughter. Their minds were sharp although their strength
was slight; their illness refreshed the energy of the soul, and they
did not fear to go forth to shed blood.[158]

Meanwhile, William, who was called the Carpenter, not because he was
a craftsman in wood, but because he prevailed in battle like a
carpenter, by cutting men down, and who was from beyond the Seine,
powerful in words, but less so in action, magni nominis umbra, "the
shade of a great name,"[159] a man who set out to do things too great
for him, but finished nothing, who when he set out for Jerusalem took
from his poor neighbors the little that they had to provide himself
shamefully with provisions for the journey, this man, I say,
unwilling to suffer hunger, while he could see others much needier
than he remaining faithful, silently fled. His reputation in war was
for boasting only, and not for deeds done. In Spain, when a Frankish
expedition took place against pagans who had come from Africa, he,
whose boldness was entirely confined to words, retreated like wretch,
leaving countless men stranded by his flight. This probably took
place by the will of God, so that divine judgment may show that those
men whom public repute has made famous are worse than everyone else,
and less capable of bearing difficulties. Nor is this evident in his
case alone, but it is very clearly the case among others, whose names
I shall pass over, that those whose reputation for martial ferocity
among us had been pre-eminent became weaker than rabbits when they
took their place in the Lord's army. The more their conduct deviated
from the true path, the more contemptible it should be held. While
they were here in France, fighting unjustly, making beggars with
their criminal looting, they clearly should have been afraid that
their souls would undergo certain damnation; but there, where they
had every chance of eternal life, their sinful cowardice was evident.

Then, like the stars that, according to the Apocalypse (VI.13; VIII.
10; IX.1) were seen to fall from the sky, Peter, the celebrated
Hermit about whom we spoke previously, also foolishly fled.

Why do you follow this plan, Peter? Why do you forget the meaning of
your name? If Peter is originally "stone," which designates
something solid, what do you mean by thinking of flight? Stone
cannot easily be moved. Stay your steps and recollect your old
hermitage, your earlier fasting. You should have joined your bones
to your skin,[160] you should have stretched your stomach with the
least roots, fed it with the grass eaten by cattle. Why do you
remember immoderate eating? That is not the monastic rule, nor what
you learned from the woman who gave you birth; or let your own
teachings drive you. Even as you compelled people to go on this
journey, and have made them into paupers, so you should go before
them, carrying out the commandments that you have taught them. Once
he abstained from grain, eating only fish and wine. For a monk, more
pious food would be leeks, cress, turnips, cardamum, nuts, filberts,
barley, lentils, and herbs, without fish or wine, but with crumbs of
bread.[161]

And so the refugees from the pious siege and from the holy suffering
were pursued by Tancred, a man steady in the pursuit of Christ's
business, who followed and caught them; and, as was right, heaping
abuse on them, he brought them back. He placed no faith in their
promises to return until each had sworn on his faith to return to the
sacred army and to submit to whatever judgment the leaders might make
about their desertion. Therefore William, willing or unwilling, was
compelled to return, and he was brought to the court of the
magnificent Bohemund, outside of which he remained awake all night.
The next day, at dawn's early light, he was led into the presence of
this fine prince. To Peter, covered with the shame he had earned for
himself, the leader said, "Although the name of the Frankish race,
stands forth with regal majesty everywhere, and although France, the
mother of virtue and resolve in accordance with God's will has sent
forth men who until now have been the most morally unblemished, she
bore you, you, useless babbler and most impure of all men, to her own
disgrace and infamy, as though you were some kind of monster. O good
Father of all things, what kind of Carpenter did we have, who, like
construction worker with a pick axe, hacked away, with lances and
swords, at the backs of the Gentiles? See how the craftsman has worn
out a thousand swords with the strength of his blows, and
single-handedly slain the pagan people while we merely rested. Where
is that haughty firmness, that quickness with words that was
nourished at the Loire and at the Seine, which has resulted in so
little action, but in so much steady, thundering speech? Alone, he
had been able to aid the laboring moon,[162] yet, foully sluggish, he
has done nothing useful whatever. Certainly it is in accord with
your great strength that the man who had betrayed the people of the
Lord in Spain exert himself in Syria to achieve the full measure of
honor. Let it be so. Certainly it suits you to do nothing else; in
this way you will receive the most generous reward for behavior that
has been so wretched." Now his derisory speech began to make the
Franks who were standing there feel shame, and with difficulty they
restrained the angry man from speaking. Tempering his severity, the
illustrious man spared the wretch, and was content to exact from him
the oath to continue the journey to Jerusalem, whether prosperity or
penury attended them. And William promised that Tancred, who had
prevented him from escaping, would henceforth be his friend, if he
decided to behave in a manly fashion. After these words were spoken,
they came to mutual agreement. A short time later, that remarkable
Carpenter, who, when he was out of harm's way, once threatened to be
executioner to the Turks, forgot his oath, and that profligate of
fidelity did not hesitate to flee furtively again. However, let no
one be surprised that the army, although pious, had suffered such
want, since it is clear that, with the great crimes they had
committed, they struggled against receiving the divine gifts which
would have been theirs had they behaved properly. Such need
afflicted them, and they were so horribly overcome by lack of food,
that if any of our men happened to move any distance from the army,
anyone else from the army who found him alone would kill him, even
for the slightest gain. Such utter devastation raged among our men
that scarcely thousand horses could be found in so great an army;
everyone was in beastly agony from a lack of food, which did not
prevent, but rather inspired some men to criminal actions. Tortured
by divine punishment, many of them were brought to remember their
true selves by repenting; despairing of their own strength, they were
driven by hope for something better to rely on God alone, the only
true support in such tribulation. Under these circumstances they
learned increasingly that the more they watched their supplies
diminish and their strength ebb away, the more they were taught to
submit with appropriate humility to God, for whom they believed all
things possible.

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