4 - The Citadel of the Cranes

Summary

They made a course for this country, steering the ship toward land, and sailed into a harbor where they dropped anchor. Once on terra firma, they very soon saw an extremely fine city surrounded by an impressive wall, finely decorated with the most beautiful shining yellow and green marble, with black, red, and white insets making up striking checkered patterns, as well as a great many images of things both strange and familiar, some known to them only by hearsay, and all as clear as glass. The whole was surrounded by a deep defensive ditch full of water so that the whole city was surrounded by a moat. The battlements were also built and decorated magnificently, gilded, and decorated with all kinds of artistically arranged precious stones. This magnificent citadel had nothing to fear from any attackers. The towers, defensive parapets, and firing-ports were carefully planned and arranged—so we are told in the books in which the city is described. We must be grateful to the person who passed this story on to us for giving us such a clear picture. Amazing people, too, lived in the shining city.

When our brave warriors reached land, then, they took in the sails, dropped anchor at once, and put out the boat. Duke Ernst said to his friends and companions: “It seems that things have turned out well, now that God has sent us to this beautiful country and fine-looking city. We had very few provisions left, and we can replenish our supplies here so that we do not starve. We have had to suffer a lot since we took to the seas and had no sight of any land, but now that we have found this amazing-looking city, I am confident that there will be people in charge there, and we shall find out today whether they are Christians or pagans. We shall have to approach them diplomatically so that they will sell us the provisions we need. If they are not Christians they will not let us live, but it is just as well if we lose our lives here—we set out to fight for God, and we should not complain if we fall in battle rather than starving to death on the ship.”