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Here, too, a young knight, who bore a white shield in hopes of gaining some honorable bearing, so distinguished himself, that Richard thus greeted him at the close of the day: "Maiden knight, you have borne yourself as a lion, and done the deeds of six croises" and granted him a lion between six crosses on a red field, with the motto "Tinctus cruore Saraceno" tinted with Saracen blood, whence he assumed the name of Tynte.
Nowadays, all memory of Saracens has been swept out of the land. In default of anything better, they are printing a local halfpenny paper called "II Saraceno" a very innocuous pagan, to judge by a copy which I bought in a reckless moment. This museum also contains a buxom angel of stucco known as the "Genius of Bourbonism."
The garment interested me; it may be a legacy from the Arabs who dominated this region for some little time, despoiling the holy sanctuary and leaving their memory to be perpetuated by the neighbouring "Monte Saraceno." The costume, on the other hand, may have come over from Greece; it is figured on Tanagra statuettes and worn by modern Greek shepherds.
Saracenism explains many anomalies in their mode of life and social conduct. From these troublous times dates, I should say, that use of the word cristiano applied to natives of the country as opposed to Mohammedan enemies. "Saraceno" is still a common term of abuse. The fall of Luceria may be taken as a convenient time-boundary to mark the end of the Saracenic period.
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