to be carried thither on a silken bed, to honour the Saracens
with his presence, and animate his men to fight; and from it, by
using his arbalest, in which he was skilled, he slew many with
darts and arrows. His sappers also carried a mine under the
tower, at which a petraria was directed; and having made a
breach, they filled it with logs of wood, and set them on fire;
when, by the addition of frequent blows from the petraria,
the tower fell suddenly to the ground with a crash.
CH. XIII.—How the Turks vigorously repelled King Richard’s men
- who were assaulting the city, and how King Richard slew with his
- arbalest one who had on the armour of Alberic Clements.
- Perceiving, therefore, how difficult success was, that
he had a most warlike enemy to contend with, and that there was need of all his strength for the attack, the king thought it best to incite the minds of his younger soldiers by rewards, rather than to urge them by severe orders; for whom will not the love of gain draw on? He therefore ordered the herald to proclaim a reward of two aurei, afterwards three, and then four, to whoever should overthrow a potraria from the walls; and for each stone displaced from the wall, he promised a reward of four aurei. Then you might see the young men bound forward, and soldiers of great valour press on emulously to draw stones from the wall, as eager for glory as for gain, and persisting in their efforts amidst the darts of the enemy. Very many of them failed in their undertaking, while others were driven back by fear of death; for the Turks from above vigorously repelled them, and neither shields nor arms availed to protect them. The height of the wall was very great, as well as its thickness; but the men of valour, overcoming all diffi- culties, extracted very many stones from the solid wall; and when the Turks rushed upon them in a body, and tried to cast them down, they strove to repel them, but, having forgot their arms, they exposed themselves to the darts, in an almost unarmed condition. One of the Turks, vaunting in the armour ' of the aforesaid Alberic Clements, which he had put on, was shewing himself, to the annoyance of our men, on the highest part of the wall, in a boastful manner; but King Richard inflicted on him a deadly wound, piercing him through the heart with a cast of his arbalest; the Turks, grieving at his fall,
