volume one

192 HISTOnY OF TnE CfiUS.VDES.
eWdence of the saints and apostles. But Arnold was astonished
that God should only reveal himself to a simple priest,
whilst so many \'irtuous prelates were in the army ; and,
witliout denying the intervention of the divine power, he
was not ^villing to admit any other prodigies than those
performed by the valour and heroism of the Christian
soldiers.
As the produce of the offerings made to the depositaries
of the holy lance were distributed to the poor, the latter,
who were in vast numbers in the army, were not sparing in
murmurs against the chaplain of the duke of Normandy,
and they attributed to his incredidity, and that of his partisans,
all the evils that the Crusaders had suffered during
the siege of Archas. Arnold and his party, which increased
every day, on the contraiy attributed the misfortunes of the
Christians to theh' divisions, and to the turbulent spirit of a
set of visionaries. Amougst these debates the Crusaders of
the northern provinces reproached those of the south with
want of bravery in fight, "udth being less anxious for glory
than pillage, and with passing their time in ornamenting their
horses and mules* The latter, on their side, did not cease
to reproach the partisans of Arnold with their want of faith,
and their sacrilegious railleries, and, Avithout ceasing, opposed
new "sisions to the reasonings of the incredulous. One
had seen St. Mark the evangelist, another the holy Virgin,
and both had attested the veracity of the priest of 3Iarseilles.
Bishop Adhemar had appeared to a third, informing
him that he had been kept several days in hell for having
entertained some doubts of the ti-uth of the holy lance.
These recitals only serv-ed still more to inflame the minds
of the army, and violence often came to the support of trickery
and credulity. At length Barthelemi, seduced by the importance
of the part he was mad.e to play, and perhaps, also,
by the miraculous tales of his partisans, which might
strengthen his own illusions, resolved to terminate all debates
by submittinor to the ordeal bv fire. This resolution
restored calm to the Christian army, and all the pilgrims
* Ranul de Caen, who was not a partisan of the lance, and who cries
out, whilst speaking of this pretended discovery, " O fatuitas rustica !
O rusticitas credula!'' does not at all spare the Provencals, and has
transmitted to us the reproaches made to them in the Christian army.