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which the pagans were to perform their stipulation, and to be set at liberty. However, upon that day, the pagans neither produced the Holy Cross, nor the Christian captives, nor yet the money which they had promised for the safety of their life and limbs in consequence of which failure, all those pagans were sentenced to undergo capital punishment. When this was told to Saladin, he sent word to the king of England and the whole army of the Christians, that if they cut off the heads of his pagan subjects, he himself would strike off the heads of all the Christians whom he had in his power.

On the fourteenth day of the month of August, being the fourth day of the week, on the vigil of the Assumption of Saint Mary, the Mother of God and ever a virgin, the king of England went beyond the outer trenches and pitched his tents near the army of the pagans, and remained there some days, having issued orders that all his army should attend him; few, however, did so, in consequence of the deficiency of horses and arms. On the same day, Saladin sent to the king of England costly presents, and requested him to put off the day on which he had proposed to cut off the heads of the pagans; but the king declined to put off the day any longer, or to accept the presents of Saladin. On Saladin seeing and hearing this, he caused the heads of all the Christians, whom he had in his hands, to be cut off; which was accordingly done on the eighteenth day of the month of August, being the Lord's day. On the same day, the king of England moved his army, and drew near to the army of Saladin, and had an engagement with him, on which occasion many fell on both sides both killed and wounded, among whom, Peter Mignot, one of the household of the king of England, was slain.

The king of England, although he heard of the death of the Christians who had been slain, was still unwilling to anticipate the time which he had fixed upon for taking off the heads of the pagans. However, on the seventeenth day of the month of August, being the third day of the week and the thirteenth day before the calends of September, the king of England caused all the pagans who belonged to him from the capture of Acre to be led out before the army of Saladin, and their heads to be struck off in the presence of all. The duke of Burgundy also caused the heads of the pagans to be cut off who had belonged to the king of France, both within the city, and without, and near the walls of the city.

Still, the king of England and the duke of Burgundy preserved some of the pagans for their ransom, whose names were as follow: Mestoc, Karakois, Hessedin, the son of Caulin, Hessedin Jordic, Passelari, Kamardoli, and Kaedin. The number of the pagans thus slain was five thousand, all of whom the Christians disembowelled, and found much gold and silver in their entrails, while they preserved their gall for medical purposes. On the twenty-first day of the month of August, after the slaughter of the pagans, the king of England delivered into the charge of Bertram de Verdun the city of Acre, and the queen of England, the queen of Sicily, and the daughter of the emperor of Cyprus. On the twenty-second day of the month of August, being the fifth day of the week, the king of England crossed the river of Acre with his army, and, pitching his tents between that river and the sea, on the sea-shore between Acre and Cayphas, remained there four days. After this, he proceeded along the sea-shore towards Joppa, while his ships sailed near him on the sea with his provisions and engines of war, in order that if he had any necessity for so doing, he might be enabled to return to his ships. Saladin and his army in the meantime proceeded along the mountain passes, not far from the king's army, that he might impede his passage.

In the month of September, on the third day after the exaltation of the Holy Cross, when the king of England and his army had passed the straits of Merle, and the duke of Burgundy with the Templars and Franks was keeping the rearguard, and the king of England had hoisted his standard in the midst of them, and had delivered his dragon27 to Peter de Pratelles to carry, against the claim of Robert Trussebut, who had claimed to carry the same according to the right of his predecessors, Saladin made a fierce attack upon the duke of Burgundy and those who were with him. But no Christian was slain on that occasion, with the sole exception of Jacques de Avennes, who, with a few men withstood Saladin and his army; as the duke of Burgundy took to flight. On this, the king of England, hearing the noise in the rear, wheeled about and manfully engaged with the army of Saladin, and gained a victory over him, slaying three thousand of the pagans; after which he remained there three days. The king then wrote to his deputies and friends to the following effect:

27 The royal standard.

The Letter of Richard, king of England, on the departure of the king of France from Acre.

"Richard, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to N., his dearly beloved and faithful subject, greeting, Know, that after the capture of Acre, and after the departure of my lord the king of France from us at Acre, who there basely abandoned the purpose of his pilgrimage, and broke his vow, against the will of God, to the eternal disgrace of himself and of his realm, we took the road to Joppa; and when we approached near Assur, Saladin met us with a mighty host of his Saracens, and made an attack upon us. However, by the mercy

of God, we lost not a man on this day, with the exception of one of extreme valour, and much endeared to the whole army by his merits, namely, Jacques de Avennes, who was ever ready and devoted, like a stay and support to the army, in all holiness and in the sincerity of the faith, for many years past, to serve God in the army of the Christians. After this, by the will of God, we arrived at Joppa. We fortified that city with trenches and a wall, making it our purpose everywhere, to the very best of our power, to promote the interests of Christianity. Also, on a second day, being the vigil of the Nativity of Saint Mary, Saladin lost an infinite number of his great men, and taking to flight, as though bereft of the benefit of all aid and counsel, laid waste the whole of the land of Sulia. Further, on the third day before the rout of Saladin, we were wounded in the left side with a javelin, but by the grace of God have now recovered from the effects thereof. Know, also, that by the grace of God, we hope within twenty days after the Nativity of our Lord, to recover the Holy City of Jerusalem, and the Sepulchre of our Lord, after effecting which we shall return home. Witness ourselves at Joppa, on the first day of October."

The Letter of the king of England to the abbat of Clairval, on the same subject.

"Richard, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to the venerable man and his most dearly-beloved friend in Christ, the abbat of Clairval, health and a succession of continued prosperity. After the mournful and universally bewailed loss of the Holy

City of Jerusalem, the City of the living God, in favour of which his name was invoked, the earth was alarmed and trembled, because the King of heaven had lost His own land, the land upon which His feet had stood. But the blessing of God being diffused from the Apostolic See throughout the whole earth, the friends of the Cross of Christ, as your holiness is not unaware, vying with each other, pressed onwards to assume the sign of the Cross on their foreheads and on their shoulders, and to avenge the injuries done to that Holy Cross. Among these and ourselves was divided the task undertaken by us of thus serving the living God, on assuming the sign of the Cross for the purpose of defending the scenes of His death which had been made holy by His precious blood, and which the enemies of the Cross of Christ had hitherto disgracefully profaned; and within a short time after the arrival of my lord the king of the Franks at Acre, there, by the guidance of the Lord, did we also arrive; shortly after which the noble city of Acre was surrendered to my lord the king of the Franks and ourselves, the lives being saved of the Saracens who had been sent for the purpose of defending and protecting it, and an agreement being fully confirmed on the part of Saladin that he would give up to us the Holy Cross, and one thousand five hundred captives alive, a day being appointed for the due performance of the said covenants. However, the time having expired, and the stipulation which he had agreed to being utterly disregarded, we put to death about two thousand six hundred of the Saracens whom we held in our hands, as we were bound to do; retaining, however, a few of the more noble ones, in return for whom we trusted to recover the Holy Cross and certain of the Christian captives. After this, the king of the Franks having returned home, and the ruins and breaches in the walls of the city of Acre being duly repaired, and the city properly fortified with trenches and a wall, we agreed that at Joppa we would promote the interests of Christianity and pursue the object of our vow; and, together with ourselves, the duke of Burgundy with the French placed under his command, the count Henry with his men, and many other earls and barons, and an innumerable body of people, determined to proceed. As between Acre and Joppa there was a very considerable distance, and a very long road, we at length, after much toil, and a severe loss of men, came down to Cæsarea. Saladin, also, on the same march lost a great number of his men. After the people of God had taken breath for a

time at that place, we pursued our intended route towards Joppa. Our vanguard having gone before and pitched their tents at Assur, Saladin with a mighty host of Saracens made an attack upon our rear-guard; on which, by the favouring grace of the Divine mercy, he was put to flight by only four battalions who faced about against him, and for a whole league was pursued in his flight by the entire troops of the Christians; in consequence of which, such a slaughter took place of the more noble Saracens whom Saladin had with him, namely, in the vicinity of Assur, on the vigil of the Nativity of Saint Mary the Virgin, being Saturday, that Saladin had experienced none like thereto on any one day in the preceding forty years. We, however, by the grace of God, lost not one that day, with the exception of one very valiant man, Jacques de Avennes, and much endeared to the whole army by his merits, who was ever ready and devoted, like a stay and support to the army, in all holiness and in the sincerity of the faith, for many years past, to serve God in the army of the Christians. After this, by the guidance of the Lord, we arrived at Joppa, and strengthened that city with trenches and a wall, making it our purpose in every quarter to promote the interests of Christianity to the utmost possible extent. Since the day of the discomfiture of Saladin above-mentioned, he has not dared to engage with the Christians, but, like a lion in his den, has been secretly lying in ambush in the more elevated places for the purpose of slaying the friends of the Cross like sheep destined for slaughter. Accordingly, on hearing that we were marching towards Ascalon with hasty steps, he overthrew that place and levelled it with the ground, and has now deserted and set at nought the whole land of Syria, as though he had been utterly bereft of the benefit of all counsel and assistance; in consequence of which, we consider it to be a ground for sanguine hopes, that in a short time, by the bounty of God, the inheritance of the Lord will be entirely regained. And as the inheritance of the Lord has already in some measure been regained, and we have in the recovery thereof endured all the heat and burden of the day, and have now exhausted all our money, and not only our money, but our strength and body as well; we do notify unto your brotherhood that we are not able to remain in the country of Syria beyond the festival of Easter. The duke of Burgundy, with the Franks placed under his command, count Henry, with his men, and the other earls, barons, and knights, who, in the service of God have