No. 31.
Upon the Funeral Ceremonies of the Prussians.
When a man, particularly a noble, died, he was placed upon a seat in the midst of his family and his friends, who said to him, “Hilloa! hadst thou not a comfortable house and a handsome wife, why didst thou die? Hadst thou not large flocks, horses of speed, and dogs of sure scent? What has driven thee from the world?” They then spread out the riches of the dead man, asking him the same questions; and as he made them no answer, those who were present charged him with messages to their deceased friends and relations.[168] They made the defunct funeral presents: for the men, this was a sword, to defend them against their enemies; for the women, it was a needle and thread, with which they might mend their clothes during their long voyage. The poor were buried, the rich were consumed upon a funeral pile.[169] The relations accompanied the convoy on horseback, sword in hand, uttering cries to drive away evil spirits. When arrived at the place of the ceremony, the cortège went three times round the pile, repeating these words: “Hilloa! why hast thou quitted life?” With the dead they burnt household goods, horses, dogs, falcons, everything which had ministered to the wants or pleasures of the deceased upon earth; sometimes even the wives, and the slaves who were attached to him, were cast into the lighted pile. Panegyrists, whom they called talissons[170] and ligastons, pronounced the eulogy of the dead; and whilst the flames ascended towards the heavens, they fancied they beheld him in the clouds, mounted upon a white horse, clad in brilliant armour, holding three stars in the right hand, a falcon on the left hand, and advancing towards another world in all the splendour of power and glory.
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No. 32.
Letter from the Count of Artois upon the taking of Damietta.
To his very excellent and very dear mother, Blanche, by the grace of God, illustrious queen of France, Robert, Count d’Artois, her devoted son, salutation, filial piety, and a will always obedient to hers. As you take much interest in our prosperity, in that of ours and of the Christian people, when you shall learn them with certainty, your excellence will no doubt rejoice to know that the lord, our brother and king, the queen and her sister, and ourselves also, are enjoying, thanks to God, perfect health. We ardently desire that you may be in the enjoyment of the like. Our dear brother, the Count of Anjou, is still afflicted with his quartan fever, but it is less violent than it was. The lord, our brother, with the barons and pilgrims who passed the winter in the isle of Cyprus, assembled on board their vessels, at the port of Limisso, on the evening of the Ascension, in order to proceed against the enemies of the Christian faith. After much labour, and much opposition on the part of the winds, they arrived, under the guardianship of God, on the Friday after Trinity, and towards mid-day, upon the coast, where, having cast anchor, they assembled in the king’s vessel, to deliberate upon what was to be done. As they saw before them Damietta, and the port guarded by a great multitude of barbarians, on horseback as well as on foot, and the mouth of the river covered with a great number of armed vessels, it was resolved that on the following day, all should land with our lord the king.
On the morrow, the Christian army, leaving the large vessels, descended into the galleys and small boats. Full of confidence in the mercy of God, and in the succour of the holy cross, which the legate carried near the king, they directed their course towards the shore and against the enemy, who launched a great number of arrows against them. Nevertheless, as the small boats, on account of the too great depth of the sea, could not gain the shore, the Christian army, leaving their boats to the care of Providence, threw themselves into the sea, and gained land, although loaded with their armour. Although a multitude of Turks defended the shores against the Christians, nevertheless, thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, the latter made themselves masters of it without loss, and killed a great number of the horse and foot soldiers, and some, as we hear, of great name. The Saracens retreated into the city, which was well fortified by the river, its walls and strong towers; but the All-Powerful Lord gave it up, on the next day, which was the octave of the Trinity, to the Christian army; the Saracens flying away, after having abandoned it. This was done by the favour of God alone. Know that these same Saracens have left the city full of provisions of all kinds, and of machines of war. The Christian army, after having fully supplied itself, left half for the provisioning of the city. The king, our lord, has sojourned there with his army, and, during his sojourn, has caused to be brought from the vessels all he requires. We have thought it best to remain here till the retreat of the waters of the Nile, which will, as we hear, inundate the country, and would cause great losses in the Christian army.
The countess of Anjou was confined in the isle of Cyprus, of a fine well-made boy, whom she has left at nurse there. Given at the camp of Jamas, in the year of our Lord 1249, in the month of June, and on the eve of St. John the Baptist.