secular princes were desirous for their soules health, and for deuotion
sake, to goe on pilgrimage to Ierusalem. Wherefore out of the family of our
lorde the Earle, sundry of vs, both gentlemen and clerkes (principall of
whom was myselfe) with the licence and good will of our sayd lord the
earle, sped vs on that voiage, and trauailing thirtie horses of vs into
high Germanie, we ioyned our selues vnto the Archbishop of Mentz. And being
with the companies of the Bishop seuen thousand persons sufficiently
prouided for such an expedition, we passed prosperously through many
prouinces, and at length attained vnto Constantinople. Where doing
reuerence vnto the Emperor Alexius, we sawe the Church of Sancta Sophia,
and kissed diuers sacred reliques. Departing thence through Lycia, we fell
into the hands of the Arabian theeues: and after we had beene robbed of
infinite summes of money, and had lost many of our people, hardly escaping
with extreame danger of our liues, at length we ioyfully entered into the
most wished citie of Ierusalem. Where we wer receiued by the most reuerend,
aged, and holy patriarke Sophronius, with great melodie of cymbals and with
torch-light, and were accompanied vnto the most diuine Church of our
Sauiour his sepulchre with a solemne procession aswell of Syrians as of
Latines. Here, how many prayers we vttered, what abundance of teares we
shed, what deepe sighs we breathed foorth, our Lord Iesus Christ onely
knoweth. Wherefore being conducted from the most glorious sepulchre of
Christ to visite other sacred monuments of the citie, we saw with weeping
eyes a great number of holy Churches and oratories, which Achim the Souldan
of Egypt had lately destroyed. And so hauing bewailed with sadde teares,
and most sorowful and bleeding affections, all the ruines of that most holy
city both within and without, and hauing bestowed money for the reedifying
of some, we desired with most ardent deuotion to go forth into the
countrey, to wash our selues in the most sacred riuer of Iordan, and to
kisse all the steppes of Christ. Howbeit the theeuish Arabians lurking vpon
euery way, would not suffer vs to trauell farre from the city, by reason of