Sayfa 287 / 310

The infantry of the Florentines were so much impeded by their

arms and the water that they were not able to mount the banks of

the river, whilst the cavalry had made the passage of the river

more difficult for the others, by reason of the few who had

crossed having broken up the bed of the river, and this being

deep with mud, many of the horses rolled over with their riders

and many of them had stuck so fast that they could not move. When

the Florentine captains saw the difficulties their men were

meeting, they withdrew them and moved higher up the river, hoping

to find the river bed less treacherous and the banks more adapted

for landing. These men were met at the bank by the forces which

Castruccio had already sent forward, who, being light armed with

bucklers and javelins in their hands, let fly with tremendous

shouts into the faces and bodies of the cavalry. The horses,

alarmed by the noise and the wounds, would not move forward, and

trampled each other in great confusion.