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ROGER OF WENDOVER Flowers of history. The history of England from the descent of the saxons to A.D. 1235. vol.1
page 391
386
ROGER OP WENDOVEB. [A.D. 10D6.
massacre, polluting the whole place with the blood and corpses of the slain. Some few, however, escaped the common danger, and returning home, related there the slaughter of their fellow pilgrims, and earnestly advised them to have continually before their eyes the malice of that wicked nation, and more discreetly and cautiously to regulate their line of march.
Of certain pilgrims who persecuted the Jews, and were afterwards slain.
About the same time there came together out of the parts of the west, as many as two hundred thousand foot, and about three thousand horse, among whom were the noblemen, Thomas de Feria, Clarenbald de Vendole, count Herman, and William surnamed the Carpenter.* All these, filled with the spirit of madness, and attacking the Jewish people in the towns and cities through which their road lay, slew many thousands of them. This happened especially in the cities of Mayence and Cologne,where also a count named Emico, a noble of distinction in those parts, uniting himself to their company, participated in their misdeeds, and spurred them on to crime. They passed through Franconia and Bavaria, and reached the borders of Hungary, where, thinking that they might enter that kingdom as freely as they pleased, they were compelled to halt at Meezeburg, because the entrance of the bridge was closed against them. The king of the country had commanded that they should be prevented from entering his territories, from fear lest, when admitted, they should endeavour to take vengeance on
his people for having slain the followers of Godeschal. Upon this, the pilgrims petitioned the king to allow them to pass peaceably, but this being resolutely denied them, they talked of laying waste the king's lands near the rivers and marshee, burning the suburban districts, and doing him all the harm in their power. It happened, then, one day that seven hundred of the king's men were sailing by, to protect the country from the attacks of the pilgrims, when on a sudden they fell into the hands of the enemy, who put all of them to the sword except a few, who saved themselves
* From the heavy strokes of his battle-axe.
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