without anything that could be eaten. Bohemund, however, never
without a plan, when he saw them wandering about unsuccessfully,
spoke these words, "If you are looking for material with which to
sustain life, if you want to provide adequately for the bodily needs
dictated by hunger, then while you search for food do not risk your
lives. Stop scurrying through the pathless mountains, since you know
that your enemies are preparing hidden traps for you in these
horrible, desolate places. Let the army move forward united, for
each is made stronger by the presence of the other, so that if one
part is attacked violently, the other may offer assistance. For even
as a sheep, if it escapes from the shepherd's grasp, is exposed to
the wolf's jaws, so the knight, if he wanders forth alone from the
tents of his companions, invariably becomes a plaything for
plunderers. Therefore remain together with each other and with your
men, and rather eat very little food than feed upon rare delicacies
in permanent captivity. To go out and come back together, to take
pleasure in being together, to do nothing rash, these are the things
that sensible men do; anyone who wanders away wishes to die." He
spoke, and returned to his companions, without enriching the
besiegers in no way by his return. But the clever Armenians and
Syrians, when they saw that the army's food was running out, and
there was nothing left to buy, traveled about among all the places
that they knew, bought grain, and brought it back to the army that
was suffering from a lack of supplies. They sold the grain at
inordinate prices, so that the amount of grain a single ass could
carry brought eight of their besants, which they called "purpled,"
approximately 120 sous. Clearly those who could not possibly pay
such a price were in great danger of succumbing to a terrible crisis
of hunger. And if the leaders were already becoming hard pressed to
pay such price, what could he do who, for all his previous wealth,