found an abundance of food there, and they ate their full. When the
Turks discovered that the Christians had occupied the castle, they
laid siege to it with great force. In front of the entrance to the
city was a well, and below it, not far from the city walls, another
well, where their leader Rainald cleverly set an ambush, to keep an
eye on the Turks. Soon the Turks who were being watched advanced
towards the city, and on the day on which the memory of the blessed
Michael was celebrated,[104] the duke and his retainers were attacked,
and many of those who lay in ambush were killed, while others were
forced to return in disgrace within the battlements. The surrounding
Turks attacked so relentlessly that the Crusaders were prevented from
drawing water. They became so thirsty that they drew blood from
their horses and asses, and were compelled to drink the blood. Some,
by dipping their belts and rags into a cistern, and squeezing the
liquid into their mouths, seemed to find some relief. Others,
horrible though it is to say, drank their own urine,[105] while
others dug a hole and placed themselves in the hole they had dug,
covering their parched breasts with the recently dug up earth, in the
belief that they might relieve their burning insides with a bit of
moisture. The bishops and priests who were present, and were
themselves suffering in the same way, seeing that the dangers were
hideous and human help unavailable, offered consolation, continuing
to promise heavenly rewards. For eight days their suffering
continued. While they all seemed to be subject to the same misery,
they did not all hope for God's mercy in the same way; those who had
been the leaders plotted treacherously to save themselves. Rainald,
who lead them in prosperity, secretly and foully concluded a pact
with the Turks, promising to betray to them all the soldiers he
commanded. And so he marched out as though about to battle them, but
while pretending to lead them in this way, he and many of his own men