GREEK TIRE HURLED AGAINST THE TOWERS THAT GUARDED THE COVERED WAYS
One night when we were keeping guard over the towers that guarded the covered ways, it happened that the Saracens brought an engine called a petrarv, which they had not hitherto done, and put Greelefire into the sling of the engine. When my Lord Walter of Ecurey guided tour istanbul, the good knight who was with me, saw it, he spoke thus: “ Lords, we are in the greatest peril that we have ever been in, for if they set fire to our towers and we remain here we are but lost and burnt up; while if we leave these defenses which we have been set to guard, we are dishonoured. Wherefore none can defend us in this peril save God alone. So my advice and counsel is, that even time they hurl the fire at us, we throw ourselves on our elbows and knees, and pray to our Saviour to keep us in this peril.”
So soon as they hurled the first cast, we threw ourselves on our elbows and knees as he had taught us. That first cast fell between our two towers guarding the covered ways. It fell on the place in front of us, where the host had been working at the dam. Our firemen were ready to put out the fire; and because the Saracens could not shoot straight at them, because of two pavilion wings that the king had caused to be set up, they shot up into the clouds, so that the darts fell on the firemen’s heads.
The fashion of the Greek
The fashion of the Greek fire was such that it came front wise as large as a barrel of verjuice, and the tail of fire that issued from it was as large as a large lance. The noise it made in coming was like heaven’s thunder. It had the seeming of a dragon flying through the air. It gave so great a light, because of the great foison of fire making the fight, that one saw as dearly throughout the camp as if it had been day. Three times did they hurl Greek fire at us that night (from the petraries), and four times with the swivel crossbow.
Every time that our saintly king heard them hurling the Greek fire, he would raise himself in his bed, and lift up his hands to our Saviour, and say, weeping: “Fair Lord God, guard me my people! ” And verily I believe that his prayers did us good service in our need. At night, every time the fire had fallen, he sent one of his chamberlains to ask how we fared, and whether the fire had done us any hurt.
Once when they hurled it at us, the fire fell near the tower which the people of my Lord of Courtenay were guarding, and struck the bank of the stream. Then, look you, a knight, whose name was Aubigoiz, came to me, and said, “ Lord, if you do not come to our help we shall all be burned; for the Saracens have shot so many of their shafts that it is as if a great hedge were coining burning against our tower.” We sprang up, and went thither, and found he spoke sooth. We put out the fire, and before we had put it out, the Sara cans had struck us all with shafts that they shot across the stream.
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