carrying their usual arms, and that they had sewn the sign of the
cross on their shoulders or elsewhere, out of any material or rag
they had at hand; they had renounced individual battle-cries as
arrogant, and instead they all humbly and faithfully shouted in
battle, "God wishes it." His heart was deeply stirred by these words,
and, inspired by God, he was stung by conscience; he ordered that
his most precious mantle be brought to him, and he had it cut up into
little crosses; he put one on himself, and gave out the other crosses
to be worn by those of his men who subscribed to the cause to which
he had dedicated himself. The knights who had followed him to this
siege also experienced a sudden change of heart, and set out on the
same journey that their leader had chosen. Such a crowd of knights
made this choice at that moment that Bohemund's brother, count Roger
of Sicily, grieved deeply that he was robbed of nearly all of his
retainers at this siege.

But I should say a few words about Bohemund's parentage, and about
the steps by which he proceeded to this position of honor. Robert,
whose surname we have given as Guiscard, was from Normandy, and was
born to a family of no great distinction. He went from there to
Apulia, but whether he left his native land voluntarily or was driven
from it I don't know. There, by some means or other, he earned
horses and arms to become a knight. He assembled, from various
places, a group of thieves to help him in his endeavours, took over
certain castles, with the aid of disgraceful treachery, occupied some
other castles after wearing them down with frequent attacks, laid
sieges to wealthy cities, and compelled them to surrender. To finish
in a few words, this "new man" extended his power, conquering at will
to such an extent that the verses on his epitaph read, "he drove him
out whom the Ligurians, Rome, and Lake Leman recognized as king,