Luminais.]
[Illustration]
The lust of the army spared neither maiden nor the virgin dedicated to
God. Violence and debauchery were everywhere present; cries and
lamentations and the groans of the victims were heard throughout the
city; for everywhere pillage was unrestrained and lust unbridled. The
city was in wild confusion. Nobles, old men, women, and children ran
to and fro trying to save their wealth, their honor, and their lives.
Knights, foot soldiers, and Venetian sailors jostled each other in a
mad scramble for plunder. Threats of ill-treatment, promises of safety
if wealth were disgorged, mingled with the cries of many sufferers.
These "pious brigands," as Gunther aptly calls them, acted as if they
had received a license to commit every crime. Sword in hand, houses
and churches were pillaged. Every insult was offered to the religion
of the conquered citizens. Churches and monasteries were the richest
storehouses, and were therefore the first buildings to be rifled.
Monks and priests were selected for insult. The priests' robes were
placed by the crusaders on their horses. The icons were ruthlessly
torn down from the screens or were broken.
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