Even when it is conceded that other
important concerns came first, and that danger, want, and hunger must
often have made everything disagreeable, still, references to Nature
are very scanty, and one may look in vain for any interest in
beautiful scenery for its own sake.
There is only matter-of-fact geographical and mythological
information in William of Tours' _History of the Crusades_; for
instance, in his description of the Bosphorus he does not waste a
word over its beauty. But, as 'fruitful' and 'pleasant' are
ever-recurring adjectives with him, one cannot say that he absolutely
ignored it.
He said of Durazzo: 'They weather the bad seasons of the year in
fruitful districts rich in woods and fields, and all acceptable
conditions'; of Tyre, 'The town has a most excellent position on a
plain, almost entirely surrounded by mountains. The soil is
productive, the wood of value in many ways.' Of Antioch, 'Its
position is very convenient and pleasant, it lies in valleys which
have excellent and fertile soil, and are most pleasantly watered by
springs and streams. The mountains which enclose the town on both
sides are really very high; but send down very clear water, and their
sides and slopes are covered by buildings up to the very summits.'
There is nothing about beautiful views, unless one takes this, which
really only records a meteorological curiosity: 'From the top of one
mountain one can see the ball of the sun at the fourth watch of the
night, and if one turns round at the time when the first rays light
up the darkness, one has night on one side and day on the other.
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