king his wordes out of his mouth began to fume & sweare, crying out of these cowardly Englishmē with tayles. What a pure armey (sayd he) should we haue here, if these tayles, & tayled people were purged from it? with other like words of great vilany, and much disdayne. Wherunto the English Knight aunswering agayne: MarginaliaThe worthy aunswere of an Englishe knight to Earle Rob. the kinges brother.well Earle Robert (sayd he) where soeuer you dare set your foote, my step shall goe as farre as yours: and as I beleue, we go thys day where you shall not dare to come neare the taile of my horse, as in the euent it proued true. Ibid. fol 236.

In this meane tyme, the French kyng intendyng to aduaūce forward his army, thought best to send away such as were feeble and lacked armour, to Damiata by boates. MarginaliaA number of Frēch souldiours sent to Damiata, drowned & slayne by the way.The Soldan hearyng therof prepared a great number of boates to bee caryed by wayne and carte to the water side, which meeting them by the way, drowned and destroyed by wildfire euery one, so that of all the company of our Christians, of whom some were burned, some slayne, some drowned, not one escaped alyue, saue one onely Englishe man named Alexander Giffard, who although he was sore wounded in the chase in fiue places in his body, yet escaped to the Frēch campe, bringing word to the king what was done. And this was vpon the water.

MarginaliaThe village and castle of Mansor assaulted by the Frenchmen.Now vpon the land seeyng Earle Robert woulde needes set forward weenyng to get all the glory to hymselfe before the commyng of the hoste: first they inuaded a litle village or castle, which was not farre of, called Mansor. The countrey boores and pagans in the villages by seeing the Christians come, ranne out wyth such a mayne cry and shout, that it came to the Soldans hearyng, which was nearer then our men did thinke. MarginaliaThe Frenchmen discomfited at the siege of Māsor.In the meane whyle the Christians inuading and entring into the munition incircumspectly, were pelted and pashed with stones by them which stoode aboue, wherby a great number of our men were lost, and the army sore maimed and almost in despaire. MarginaliaEarle Roberts army inclosed by the Soldan of Babylon.Then immediatly vpon the same commeth the Soldā w^t all hys mayne power, who seeing the Christians army to be diuided, and the brother separated from the brother, had that which he long wished for, and so inclosing them round about, that none should escape, had with thē a cruell fight. Then the Earle began to repent hym of his heady rashnes, but it was to late, who then MarginaliaThe cowardly flying away of the Earle Robert.seeing William the English Knight dowtely fighting in the chiefe brunt of the enemyes, cryed vnto hym most cowardly to flie, seeing God (sayd he) doth fight agaynst vs. To whom the Knight aunswering agayne, God forbid (sayd he) that my fathers sonne should runne away for the face of a Saracen. MarginaliaEarle Rob. the kynges brother drowned.The Earle then turning his horse fled away, thinking to auoyd by the swiftnes of hys horse, & so taking the riuer Thafnis, oppressed wyth harnes, was there sonken & drowned. Thus the Earle beyng gone, the French men began to dispayre and scatter. MarginaliaThe manly courage of William. Longspath.Then William de Longaspatha bearing all the force of the enemies, stoode agaynst them as lōg as he could, woundyng and slaying many a Saracen, till at length his horse being killed, and his legges maymed, he could no longer stand: MarginaliaW. Longspath slayne in battaile.who yet notwithstanding as he was downe, mangled their feete and legges, and did the Saracens much sorow, till at last after many blowes & woūds, beyng stoned of the Saracens, he yelded hys life. MarginaliaThe Frenchmen ouerthrowne.After the death of hym, then the Saracens setting vpon the residue of the army, whom they had compassed on euery side, deuoured and destroyed them all, in so much that scarse one man escaped alyue, sauing two Templaries, one Hospitular, and one poore rascall souldiour, which brought tydinges hereof to the king.

MarginaliaThe sorowes in the Frēch campe for losse of their brethren.These thynges being knowen in the French campe to the kyng and his souldiours, first of their drowning which were sent to Damiata, then of the ruine and slaughter of the army, with the kynges brother, by the towne of Mansor, there was no litle sorow and heuines on euery side, with great feare, and doubt in themselues, what was best to do. At last when they sawe no remedye, but they must stand manfully to reuenge the bloud of their brethren, then the kyng with hys host past ouer the floud of Nilus, and commyng to the place where the battayle had bene, MarginaliaThe heades and handes of the Christiās cut of.there they beheld their felowes and brethren pitifully lying with their heades and handes cut of. For the Saracens for the reward before promised by the Soldan or Sultan, to them that could bring the head and hand of any Christian, had so mangled the Christians, leauing their bodyes to the wilde beastes. Thus as they were sorowing and lamenting the rufull case of their Christen felowes, sodenly appeareth the commyng of the Sultan, with a multitude of innumerable thousandes. MarginaliaThe battayle betwene the french kyng and the Soldan.Agaynst whom the French men eftsoones prepare themselues to encounter, and so the battayle beyng strocken vp, the armyes began to ioyne. But alacke for pitie, what could the French men here do, their number first MarginaliaThe French army ouerthrowne.so maymed, their hartes wounded already with feare and sorow, their bodies consumed with penurie and famine, their horses for feeblenes not able to serue them? MarginaliaThe pitifull slaughter of the Frenchmen.In conclusion the French men were ouerthrowen, slayne, and disparcled, & seing there was no flying happy was he that first coulde yelde hymselfe. MarginaliaThe French K. wyth hys two brethren taken captiue by the Soldan.In which miserable conflict the king with his two brethren, and a few that claue vnto hym, were taken captiues, to the confusion of all Christen realmes, and presented to the Soldan. All the residue were put to the sword, or els stoode to the mercy of the Saracens whether to be slayne, or to remayne in wofull captiuitie.

And this was the end of that sorowfull battaile, wherin almost all the nobilitie of Fraunce was slayne, neyther was there one man welnere in all that multitude which escaped free, but either was slaine, or taken prisoner. Furthermore they that were slayne, or left halfe aliue, had euery one hys head and hand cut of, vpon the Soldans proclamation aboue mentioned.

The Sultan or Soldan, after the taking of þ^e French kyng, fraudulently suborning an army of Saracens, to the number of the French army, with the armes and ensignes of them that were slayne, made toward Damiata, where the Duke of Burgundy, with the Frēch Queene, & Odo the Popes Legate, and other byshops and their garrisons were remayning, supposing vnder þ^e shew of French men to be let in, but the captaines mistrusting their hasty commyng, and misdoubting their visages not like to þ^e French men, shutte the gates agaynst them, and so returned they frustrate of their intent.

The purpose of the Soldan was, if he might haue gotten Damiata, to send the French king hyer vp in the East countreyes to Calipha the chiefe Pope of Damascus, to encrease the titles of Mahomet, and to be a spectacle or gasing stocke to all those quarters of the world. The maner of which Calipha was neuer to let any Christen prisoner come out, whosoeuer came once in his handes. But for somuch as the Soldan missed hys purpose, he thought, by aduise of counsell, to vse the kynges life for hys owne aduauntage in recouering the citie of Damiata, as in the ende it came to passe. MarginaliaDamiata resigned to the Saracens.For although the kyng at the first was greatly vnwilling, and had rather die then surrender Damiata agayne to the Saracens: yet the conclusion so fell out, that the kyng was put to hys ransome, and the Citie of Damiata was also resigned: which citie being twise wōne, and twise lost by the Christians, the Soldan or Saladine afterward caused vtterly to be rased downe to the ground. MarginaliaThe sūme of the kynges ransome.The raunsome of the kyng, vpon condition that the Soldan should see hym safely conducted to Achon (which I take to be Cesaria) came to 60000. markes. MarginaliaThe number of the Frēch men slayne.The number of French men, and others which miscaryed in that warre by water and by land came to 80000. persons. Hæc ex Mat. Parisi. fol. 237. 238.

And thus haue ye the briefe narration of this lamentable peregrination of Lewes the French kyng. In which when the French men being once or twise well offered by the Soldan, to haue all the kyngdome of Ierusalem, and much more in free possession, they not contented with that which was reasonable and sufficient, for gredines to haue all, lost all, hauing at length no more then their naked bodies could couer, lying dead vpō the ground: and all through the orginall cause of the Pope and Odo hys Legate. By whose sinister meanes and pestilent pride, not onely þ^e liues of so many Christians were then lost, but also to the sayde Pope is to be imputed all the losse of other Cities & Christian regions bordering in the same quarters: for asmuch as by the occasion hereof, the hartes of the Saracens on the one side were so encouraged, and the courage of þ^e Christians on þ^e other side so much discomfited, that in short space after, both the dominion of Antioch and of Achon, with all other possessions belonging to the Christians, were lost, to the great diminishing of Christes Church.

MarginaliaThe two Soldans at variance about the French king.During the tyme of thys good kyng lying at Achon or Cesaria, almighty God sent such discorde betwene þ^e Soldan of Halapia, and the Soldan of Babylon, for letting the kyng so escape, that the sayd Soldan or Saladin of Babylon, to winne the kyng vnto his side, entred league wyth him (whom both hys brethren, and all his nobles almost at home had forsaken) and remitted his ransome, and also restored vnto hym such prisoners, as were in the sayd battayle found to be alyue. Thus the Lord worketh, where man commonly forsaketh. Math. Paris. fol. 261.

MarginaliaWhat mischiefe hath come to Christēdome and by what meanes.An other cause moreouer, why the ruine of this french army may worthely be imputed to the Pope, is this: for that when Lewes the French king perceiuing what a necessary frend and helper Friderike the Emperor myght be to hym in these hys affaires agaynst the Saracens, and