Oh, race of Franks, race from across the mountians, race chosen and beloved by
God . . . We wish you to know what a grievous cause has led us to your country, what peril
threatening you and all the faithful has brought us here. From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to us. A race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God . . . has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage, and fire. They have captured the inhabitants and taken them away. They have destroyed them by cruel tortures. . . . They destroy altars, after having defiled them with their uncleanness. They circumcise Christians, and the blood of the circumcision they either spread upon the altars or pour into the vases of the baptismal font. When they wish to torture people by a base death, they perforate their navels, and taking out their intestines, they tie them to a stake. Then they flog the victims and make them walk around the stake until their guts spill on the ground and they collapse. Others they tie to a post and shoot arrows into them. Others they cut off their heads with a single blow. What shall I say of the rape of women? To speak of it is worse than to be silent.