Page images
PDF
EPUB

קכא

BARBAROSSA IN CALABRIA.

bands, and commanded the first, saying,

361

"Go

ye to the west side, then return, and we will take them alive in the midst of us;" and they did So. And it came to pass, toward the morning of the seventeenth day of the fourth month, that the French lifted up their eyes toward the coast of Marseille, and behold, there were ships coming; but they were not terrified before them, for they knew not that evil was determined against them. And the ships drew nigh, and they knew them, and cried out, "Treason! Treason!* The enemy has sold us:" and they hastened to flee, and went into the port of Antibes and went on shore, and left the ships as they were, and pursued after them and took them, as a man taketh the tip of the eart. And of the French, not one man was taken [p] in their pits, except the prince of Matalonit, who was wounded in his thigh, and hastened not to flee. And the half of the captives the French left in their haste, and brought them unto Genoa; and it grieved the lords of Nizza much.

1092. Then came Barbarossa, the chief captain of Solyman's host, into the sea of Calabria, and with him one hundred and fifty galleys; and none

* 2 Kings xi. 14.

† Amos iii. 12.

UND. Mataloni (in Latin, Magdelonum), a small town five leagues north east of Naples, with the title of duehy.

362

BARBAROSSA OFF PROVENCE.

קכא

stumbled in his camp*. And they burned Reggio, which is situated opposite to Messina, and took the spoil thereof; and the uncircumcised were terrified before them. The posts went out in haste, and came unto Genoa on the fifteenth day of the fourth month. And they were sore afraid, and fortified the city, and soldiers came into the midst thereof, for the fear of him fell upon them. And Barbarossa drew nigh by command of King Francis, and came into the sea of Provence; and his fame went through the whole world. And they did no harm to the men of Genoa; for so the king had commanded, because there was peace between them.

1093. And Andrea Doria went unto Spain by command of the emperor; for he feared, lest the men of Barbarossa should go thither before it was known, to slay the mother with the children.

1094. In the same year, when Solyman went to fight against Vienna, he fought hard against Istrigonia; and the city was besieged. And they cast up banks against it, and battered its walls, and the city was broken up; and they slew all the males that were therein with the edge of the sword; and also of the Turks many fell slain to the ground in that battle. And he turned and went unto Alba Royalt, and fought against it * No feeble person was in this armament. + Gran.

Stuhlweissenburg.

קכא

KNIGHTS TAKE SOLYMAN'S SHIP.

363

also, and there was none to save it; and they did there also as they had done in Istrigonia, only that of the women and the children they left some gleanings, for they had compassion upon them. And Alba Royal was a city and a mother in Hungaria in former times; and in it they set the royal crown upon the head of their king, on the day when he was anointed. And on this day it fell into the hand of the enemy, for their sin was not felt until now. The Lord is the God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed*.

1095. And Solyman sent a great ship unto Algier, and with her seven hundred Turks, who drew the sword. And the knights of Malta who first lived at Rhodes met with her, and took her, and brought her unto their own country. And many were slain by the edge of the sword in

that battle.

1096. And the emperor journeyed from Cremona and went unto Boschit; and Paul also went thither, and spoke with him. And the emperor obtained nothing of all that he asked for; and they parted the one from the other. The duke of Florence also went thither, and asked of him the fortresses; and the emperor gave them unto him.

+1 Sam. ii. 3.

+, probably the ancient Mesia-Sylvia in the Milanese, on the river Orbe.

364

SPANIARDS PREVAIL IN PIEDMONT.

קכא

And the emperor journeyed thence, and went unto Trent; he delayed not to go thither, for he had heard the report of his sister.

1097. And the duke of Cleves gathered together his soldiers the second time; and Maria the queen went out against him with much people and with a strong hand. And it came to pass that day, that they set the battle in array there, and the men of the duke were smitten, and many of them fell to the ground; and the rest fled, and left the battering-rams, for they hastened to flee: and the war was strong in the borders of Flanders in those days.

1098. And Andisano* was a small city in the borders of Piedmont, and its walls were fortified; and no soldiers came in there; and they remain upon their ward until this day. And when they saw that the emperor hastened to depart, and that he turned not to the war of Piedmont, they were sore afraid, and their heart melted and became like water; and they said, "Now shall the French lick up all that are round about us†, and we shall die of hunger; how long shall this war be a stumbling-block unto us?" And it came to pass, in the fifth month, which is the month Abib, that they put forth their hand unto the French, and brought them into the city, for their fear fell

[blocks in formation]

P SOLYMAN'S FLEET TAKES VILLA FRANCA. 365

upon them; and when the Spaniards heard of it they went thither and besieged it, and cast up trenches against it. And they were not terrified before them; for it was a small city whose walls were fortified. And it came to pass while they were fighting, that the French gathered themselves together, and came swiftly as the eagle flieth, and fell upon them suddenly. And the Spaniards drew back before them, and many fell slain to the ground, and the rest fled for their lives; and the French came into the city and put a garrison in the midst thereof. And it became as thorns in the sides of the men of the emperor at that time. And it came to pass after some days, that they returned and fought against it and took it; and all the males that were therein they slew with the edge of the sword: they left no gleanings.

And it came to

1099. And the ships of Solyman, and the ships of King Francis, came into the haven of Villa Franca on the fifth day of the month of August, and remained on the coast of the sea; and the French and the Turks went on shore; and the men of the city fled and cared not for their vessels, for they hastened to flee. And they came into the city and took all the spoil thereof, and burned the city with fire, and the smoke of it went up toward heaven. And those that were feeble behind were

« PreviousContinue »