There, the knights experienced a side of crusading life they had not encountered before. Although the town itself had been destroyed by the Saracens, the orchards and suburban gardens had been left. The trees were heavy with fruit, and flowers filled the air with rich and exotic scents. Richard ordered camp to be struck in an olive grove. This surely was the Promised Land. The sun was still hot, but without their armor on, it was not unbearable. Along with the other soldiers, William, Gavin, and Hal gorged themselves on figs, grapes, and pomegranates and flavored their tasteless dried beef with lemon juice. Before leaving the battle site at Arsuf, many men had cut slabs of flesh from the dead horses to supplement the biscuits and hard bread they were all heartily sick of. They had brought sackfuls of it with them, which they now proceeded to roast. But although the smell of fresh meat sometimes made William’s mouth water, his stomach revolted at the sight. “Never, never will I let that happen to you,”
