Saracen tongue

Our death was nearly agreed to; whence it happened that one of the emirs, who was our adversary, thought we were all to be killed, and came on the river, and began to cry, in the Saracen tongue, to those who had the galleys in charge, and took his turban from his head, and made a sign to them with his turban. And now they lifted anchor, and took us back a full league up the stream towards Babylon. Then we gave ourselves up for lost, and many were the tears shed.

RELEASE OF THE CAPTIVES JOINVILLE EMBARKS ON THE KING’S GALLEY DEPARTURE OF SOME OF THE CRUSADERS FOR FRANCE

As God, who does not forget His own, so willed, it was agreed, at about the setting of the sun, that we should be released. So we were brought back, and our four galleys 1 drawn to the bank. We demanded to be let go. They said they would not let us go till we had eaten, “ for it would be a shame to our emirs if you left our prisons fasting.” So we told them to give us meat, and we would eat; and they said some had gone to fetch it in the camp. The food they gave us was fritters of cheese roasted in the sun so that worms should not come therein, and hard-boiled eggs cooked foul or five days before: and these, in our honor, had beer painted outside with divers colors.

They put us on land, and we went towards the king, whom they were leading to the river from the pavilion in which they had kept him; and there followed him full twenty thousand Saracens on foot, with their swords in their belts. On the river, before the place where the king stood, was a Genoese galley, and it seemed as if there were but one single man on board. As soon as he saw the king on the bank of the river, he sounded a whistle; and at the sound of ;he whistle, eighty crossbowmen leapt from the hold of the Talley , all fully equipped, with their crossbows wound up, and n a moment they had the bolts in socket. As soon as the Saracens saw them, they took to flight like sheep, so that atone remained with the king save two or three.