chap, il.] ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 165

army that he compares their numbers to all theanimals that people the face of the earth and themultitudes of fish in the ocean, and well it mightbe said, compared to the small number of theChristians; and we may form some opinion fromthe document come down to us of the vassals whichaccording to the feudal agreements one of theSyrian towns had to give, 1 from which it ^appears that the whole of Assur had onlyfive knights’ fiefs, or fifty horse and various pro-visions, of not much amount, in kind.

The Franks sent to him overtures of peace, and hisonly answer was to set fire to the Church of Nazareth. 2

In 1266 a corps of five hundred Eng- ^gglish cross-bowmen were shipped for theHoly Land. 3

Stern was the discipline in Bibars’ soldiery, and(to a Moslem) there was the severest morality, forthere was no scandalous wine, and elderly well-conducted matrons gave the troops water to drinkand even aided the men in transporting themachinery for war. The standard of the Prophetwas planted by the sultan himself and prayersregularly said in the churches converted into

1 Cod. Dipl. Geros. i., cxl.—Appendix, lxxiv.

2 Micliaud : Hist., v. 15.

3 Cod. Dipl. Geros. i., Num. xlv., 325.