Stewart Binns - Crusade

Invigorated by our victory, we set a course south-east, across the arid plains of central Anatolia. For those of us who had survived so far, there was much envy of our dead comrades who basked in Heaven, for we endured a living Hell.

All the locals we passed, cowering in their dark hovels and cool caves, looked at us in amazement as we staggered and stumbled in the scorching heat. They thought us mad, and so we were. Qilich Arslan had destroyed every village, killed every beast and poisoned every well on our route and for miles around. We had gone beyond the reach of the Emperor’s supply lines. We were on our own.

Our progress became slower by the day, the death toll escalated, and hunger and thirst killed many, especially the old and young. Disease spread, and many turned around in a vain attempt to find their way back to Constantinople, their will broken. Some just walked off to find the shade of a tree, where they curled up to await the comfort of death.

The huge destriers, the Normans’ legendary war horses so critical in battle, were unable to cope with the conditions; most died, leaving many of our knights to walk like infantry. Our beasts of burden died too, and everything that we could not carry ourselves had to be discarded. Basic campaign discipline started to be ignored. Animals and people were not kept apart, latrines were not dug, and disease and infection spread. What had once been a mighty, well-disciplined army now resembled a ragged stream of hapless humanity.

The Princes tried hard to keep up morale, but they too were wilting.

Sweyn seemed to find strength when it had deserted everyone else. With Adela always at his side, he rode up and down the long meandering lines of Crusaders, encouraging them to keep their discipline and commitment. He won many admirers, including Hereward.

‘When we found him in the forest at Bourne, he was all but dead. Now he is an example to us all, with such determination – he reminds me of my old friend Martin Lightfoot, built like a hunting dog and with the stamina to match. He and Adela make a fascinating couple, more like brother and sister than man and wife. Why have they never had children?’

As Hereward was a fellow member of our Brethren, I was tempted to reveal the true nature of Sweyn and Adela’s marriage, but thought it better that they should tell him in the course of time if they wanted him to know.

‘I’m not sure, but I suspect they’re both much more interested in living the life of a warrior – and emulating a certain Hereward of Bourne – than in having children.’

Robert asked the Brethren to gather in his tent one night after supper – which consisted of a few pieces of dried goat’s meat and one swig of wine that the heat had turned to vinegar – in order to discuss the dilemma. He had been doing some arithmetic.

‘We are dying in droves. By the time we cross Anatolia our numbers will have halved, our horses will be all but gone, and there will be no pack animals left to pull our baggage train.’

Hereward offered the wisdom of his years of service in conditions such as the ones we were now facing.

‘Qilich Arslan is your biggest enemy, not this godforsaken place. He is making you pay for Nicaea and Dorylaeum by laying waste to everything in your path. But he could also be your salvation. He must still be close by, waiting until you are weak enough for him to strike again.’

‘You make our prospects sound worse, not better.’

Sweyn suddenly got to his feet.

‘But he’s got what we need.’

Hereward looked elated; Sweyn had understood his intention.

Robert was still unsure.

‘And?’

‘We take it from him.’

‘How?’

‘A small force attacks as a diversion.’

Adela was quick to see the possibilities.

‘An even smaller force spirits away his baggage train, horses, goats and whatever else we can plunder.’

‘Exactly.’

There were smiles all round as spirits lifted for the first time in several weeks.

Robert then threw in some words of caution.

‘Everyone is in a bad way. We have to be careful; if the others hear that food and water and horses are just over the next hill, there will be a mass exodus within the hour. The Crusade will be over.’

Hereward suggested a plan.

‘For obvious reasons, Robert must stay with the army to continue his duties. Estrith will stay with the sick and wounded. The attacking feint should be undertaken by the English contingent, led by Edgar and Edwin. I will pick a hundred or so of Tacitius’s Byzantines – he can be trusted, and I know his men – and Sweyn and Adela will lead them to capture Sultan Arslan’s baggage train from under his nose.’

‘And what will you do?’ asked Adela.

‘I’ll be right behind you two, keeping an eye on you. But first, we have to find Arslan. At first light tomorrow, Adela, Sweyn and I will slip out of camp with a dozen or so Byzantines who know this land and go in search of a Seljuk sultan.’

Three days later, the hunting party returned.

At what I suspected was Hereward’s prompting, Sweyn gave the news and repeated the detail of the feint.

‘Arslan is about thirty miles away to the north-east. It looks like he’s poised to strike. Men are arriving from the east all the time. Edgar, when can you be ready to leave?’

‘This evening, under cover of darkness; we don’t want to alert too many curious eyes. I’ll tell Robert. Estrith, will you carry on with your duties with the sick?’

‘No, where my family goes, I go. Besides, I don’t want to have to answer all the questions in the morning about where the English have gone!’

Robert gave us as many of the skinny Arabic horses and surviving pack animals as he could spare to carry away our ill-gotten gains. He also granted us extra rations of food and water and provender for the animals.

By dawn the next morning, our small band had made excellent progress.

We found some shade and rested during the day, before travelling again at night. Nobody slept much in the heat of the day, but it was a time for reflection. Sweyn did most of the talking, usually in the form of questions and always aimed at Hereward.

‘How long did it take you to overcome the fear of battle?’

‘I never did, it is always there. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a liar or a fool.’

‘But it must get easier to deal with?’

‘In a way, but the fear doesn’t go away, you just learn how to turn it to your advantage. Do you fear what we are about to do?’

‘Yes, I do, but I would only confess it to the Brethren.’

‘It’s a wise man who admits to his fears and anxieties – and also a strong one. Your fear will keep you alert and, when the time comes, you will turn it into the strength you need to do what you have to do.’

Edwin and I sat and watched as the great man bestowed his wisdom. Estrith was coiled around him in a loving embrace, while Sweyn and Adela sat at his feet, hanging on every word.

It brought back some fond memories from England, as well as many sad ones.

We launched our attack on Qilich Arslan’s camp in the dead of night.

After locating the baggage train and leaving Sweyn and Adela’s team in position, we attacked from the opposite side; fortunately, it was the dark of the moon. A group of junior knights found a hidden position in a dry river bed. They acted as a platoon of archers and loosed a storm of fire arrows into the black night. There was soon chaos as the fires took hold and thick smoke swirled around. We then rode through the Seljuk camp, making the kind of commotion worthy of several thousand horsemen rather than several dozen.

All in all, we made three sorties through the camp before the Turks got themselves organized sufficiently to inflict on us increasing numbers of casualties. We then withdrew and took up positions that would enable us to cover the escape of our bounty hunters.