Qualiter capta est Damieta, anno gracie moccoxixo
L’ tituli Sancte Crucis in Ierusalem reuerendo cardinali, H’ humilis magister
domus Teutonicorum in Ierusalem
salutem. Sinceritatis uestre nouerit dignatio quod
omnipotens Dominus excercitui Christiano diu fatigato clementer misertus
Damietam
ciuitatem sine inflictu uulnerum aut pugna mirabiliter per pietatis sue gratiam exulibus
suis
tradidit ita ut nullius meritis, sed sue solummodo laudi possit uel debeat
attribui. Sic ▬▬▬ autem noueritis
ipsius Dei misericordiam euidenter pro nobis in illa ciuitate operatam. Tanta siquidem
mortalitas hominum in ea
emersit ut nec morientes tradere sepulture sufficerent.
Superstites enim uite infirmitatis molestia
graui laborabant ita quod cum ipsam
ciuitatem primo transiremus plus quam tria milia mortuorum inuenimus in
ea more
canum in plateis iacere. Homines siquidem nostri circa medie noctis silentium consilio
ut
credimus quorundam de ▬▬ ciuitate
intromissi fuerunt, ⁊ legatus missis nunciis suis turres ⁊ homines
perfide gentis
captiuauit quamplurimos. Alii multi ascendentes fortiores turres aurora lucente
in
eis presto labantur. Exorta siquidem luce nonarum Nouembrium, omnes se captiuos
Sara
ceni Damietam dederunt, ⁊ ciuitatem totaliter in potestatem Christianorum
quamuis inuiti tradiderunt.
In primo uero motu captionis ciuitatis multi nequam
homines accurrentes infinitam pecuniam fur
tiue subtraxerunt. Domini autem
exercitus uidentes que facta fuerunt per Deum coadunati communi consi
lio omnen
pecuniam auri ⁊ argenti communiter congregare decreuerunt, ⁊ omnes qui aliquam partem
inde subtraxerant dominus legatus uinculo excommunicationis innodauit, nisi
resipiscerent restituendo.
Summam uero pecunie uobis scribere ignoramus quia non
dum pecunia congregata fuit quando presens
pagina scripta fuit. Sed sicut captiui
Saraceni nobis dicunt ⁊ ipsi uidimus inestimabilis the
saurus in ea inuentus est qui
secundum arbitrium communitatis excercitus distribui debet. Timemus autem quod amor
pecunie multos faciet fures permanere. Sciatis autem quod ante captionem Damiete
illi de ciui
tate nunciauerunt quod uiribus adnichilati ulterius ciuitatem retinere
non potuerunt. Soldanus
autem ut amicus Damiete condoluit ⁊ eis succurrere uolens
plures suorum periculo exposuit. Quingentos
enim uiros de excercitu suo meliores
elegit ⁊ duobus diebus ante captionem ciuitatis Dami
te1 intrare ipsam ciuitatem misit. Qui uenientes
de excercitu Soldani excercitum nostrum apud ma
chinam Sancti Iohannis que
trebucheta dicitur intrare uolebant. Sed diuina gratia eos errare copulit.2
Ducenti quidem apud descensum regis Ierosolumitani fugatis custodibus fossati qui
uigiliis prefuerant
ubi intrarent ⁊ gladiis ⁊ cultellis ferientes uiam ad
ciuitatem preparare sibi armata manu
nitebantur. Dominus siquidem rex cum suis in
sabulo illa nocte manebat. Diuina itaque
gratia strepitu inualescente uulgus
commune peregrinorum accurrens cxl eorum occidit, ⁊ xl captiuauit,
cxxx abdicati
ciuitatem intrauerunt. Nam sociis eorum interfectis ipsi tercia die captiuati
in
ciuitate miseri semper manebunt compediti. Ceteri uero qui captiuitatem & gladium
euaserant
reuersi ad Soldanum que acta fuerunt narrabant. Prima igitur die cum
capta fuit ciuitas
Dami\e/te, sequenti nocte Soldani ▬ excercitus castra remouens de loco suo
Nilum ascendit,
ubi maneant uel quid intendant adhuc ignoramus. Preterea latere
uos nolumus quod ante
captionem Damiete nuncii Soldani nobiscum colloquium
habuerunt, & omnem terram
sanctam nobis reddere uoluerunt preter duo castra,
Crac & Muntreal, de quibus etiam prouentus
annuatim \Christianis/ reddere uoluerint, quam diu pax duraret. Insuper omnes captiuos
Christanos3
How Damietta was captured in the 1219th year of grace
To Leo, reverend cardinal of the titular-church of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme,1 from H[ermann], the humble master of the house of the
Teutonic Order in Jerusalem,2 greeting. Let the Honour of Your Sincerity know that the Lord
Almighty, being mercifully compassionate to the long-wearied Christian army, has
wonderfully delivered the city of Damietta without a wound or blow being struck, by the
grace of his goodness to his exiles,3 so that it
could not and ought not to be attributed to anyone’s merits, but only to his own praise.
And thus ▬▬▬ you should know that the mercy of God himself
manifestly worked for us in that city; since indeed such a great human pestilence broke
out within it that there were not even enough people to carry those who died to their
grave. Those who remained alive were afflicted with a serious assault of weakness, so
that when we first passed through the city, we found more than three thousand dead in
it, lying in the streets like dogs. Our men were admitted around the silent-hour of
midnight by a scheme (so we think) of certain people from ▬▬ the
city, and the legate, having sent his messengers, took captive as many of the towers and
men of the perfidious race as possible. Many others were slipping away, climbing the
stronger towers as the light of dawn was about to break upon them; and at daybreak on 5
November, all the Saracens in Damietta gave themselves up as captives, and they handed
over the city, however unwillingly, entirely into the power of the Christians. At the
beginning of the commotion of the city’s capture, many good-for-nothing men hastened
there, and removed by stealth an immense amount of money. But the commanders of the
army, seeing what had been done by God, decided by the common consent of their
colleagues, to collect together all the gold and silver money. And the lord legate bound
everyone who had carried off any portion of it with the fetter of excommunication,
unless they repented by restoring it. The total amount of the money, I have no knowledge
of to write to you, since when the present letter was written the money had not yet been
collected. But as the captive Saracens tell us, and we ourselves have seen, an
inestimable hoard has been discovered there, which according to the general will of the
army ought to be distributed. But we fear that the love of money will cause many to
continue as thieves. But you should know that before the capture of Damietta, those in
the city announced that, with their strength reduced to nought, they were no longer able
to sustain the city. The Sultan, however, as a friend of Damietta, sympathised, and in
wishing to help them, exposed many of his own men to danger. For two days before the
capture of the city of Damietta, he sent five hundred of his finest men from his army to
enter the city. When the men from the Sultan’s army turned up, they planned to force a
way through our army near St John’s siege-engine which is called the Trebuchet. But
divine favour drove them in the wrong direction. Indeed, at the descent of the king of
Jerusalem, two hundred of those who had been charged with keeping watch of the moat
where they might enter having fled their posts, striking with swords and knives, they
were endeavouring to prepare the way into the city for themselves with armed hands. For
the lord king with his [soldiers] was staying on the sand that night. And so, by divine
grace, the clamour growing louder, the general troop of crusaders running towards [the
scene], 140 of them were slain, 40 were captured, and 130 entered the city. And so,
their companions being killed, they were captured on the third day in the wretched city,
and they will remain there shackled forever. The rest, who had avoided captivity and the
sword, went back to the Sultan and reported what had been done. In these circumstances,
once the city of Damietta had been captured on the first day, the following night the
Sultan’s army withdrew its military encampment from its position and went up the Nile.
Where they are staying or what they mean to do, so far, we do not know. In addition, we
do not want it to be concealed from you that, before the capture of Damietta, messengers
of the Sultan held a meeting with us, and they wished to give back all the Holy Land to
us, except for two castles, Krak and Montréal,4 for which they also wished to render an income annually to \the Christians/for as long as peace should endure. Moreover, all
the Christian captives […]