preparations to flee, he immediately ordered the master of his palace
to let it be known throughout the army, as soon as he saw flames
coming from the nearest tents, that the French troops had won the
victory. Meanwhile Kherboga began to retreat, little by little,
heading for the mountains, while our men were pursuing him
relentlessly. Then the Turks, uselessly clever, split their forces
into two parts, one of which moved along the shore of the sea, while
the other waited in place for the Franks to reach them, thinking that
in this manner they might surround our men. When our men perceived
this, they turned audaciously towards the Turkish troops, separating
themselves from their fellows; because of this excessive boldness,
they were the only group of our army that suffered a loss, with only
a few knights and scarcely any foot-soldiers escaping alive. The
instigator of this foray, together with some others, was Clairambaut
of Vandeuil, who, although reputable in his own lands, did nothing
useful in the East. Meanwhile, to face the Turks at the edge of the
sea, a seventh group was formed out of the two armies led by duke
Godfrey and the count of Normandy, and a certain count Renaud was
placed in charge. That day the battle was very bitter, and many of
our men were slaughtered by the arrows of the enemy. The cavalry of
the enemy extended from the river Pharphar to the mountains, length
of two miles. Squadrons of pagans attacked from both sides, and
struck with arrows and javelins the group of Franks whom our men had
placed in the vanguard as the strongest and most likely to resist the
Turkish attacks. In charge of them was magnificent Hugh, regal in
mind, no less brave than his ancestors, who proudly called out to his
men, "Endure, and wait courageously for the second and third
discharge of missiles, because they will then flee more quickly than
speech."