Matthew of Edessa

“The Frankish duke wept bitterly to see his soldiers massacred.”

“What a sight! The air was full of the harsh sound of arrows thudding from bows, horses reared up in terror and the mountains reverberated with the din of battle.”

“The fighting was fierce and lasted for the greater part of a day; blood ran in rivers. The Franks, overwhelmed and lost in a foreign land, could see no way out of their desperate situation. Confused, they stopped and herded together like frightened animals.”

“On both sides the troops were commanded by royal princes and they massacred each other mercilessly.”