קמא A TURKISH SHIP TAKEN, 1552. 507 be lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, they were spread abroad upon the field with all the captives and the booty*; and he knew them, and became very wroth, and fell upon them like a bear bereaved of her whelps, and set the battle in array against them; and one thousand of the captives fled from the hand of the Nazarenes at that time. And when the men of the ships saw that their brethren were in an evil caset, there went out again about one hundred and fifty men, with the prior of Capuat, the son of Philippo Strozzi, at their head, and they fought again. And there fell of the Arabians about five hundred men slain to the ground; and the rest drew back, for they were terrified at their presence, so they fled. And of the Nazarenes there died about two hundred and fifty men; and those who were left, returned with the rest of the captives who remained in their hand into the ships, and stayed quietly there; and sixty-six priests died in that slaughter. 1297. And it came to pass, after some days, that they went out as at other times before¶ into the borders of the Turk, and their hap was to light unawares on a great ship coming from Salonichi**, wherein were about seventy Jews; and they fought against her, and took her, and plundered 508 FORTRESS BUILT AT SAN MARTIN, 1552. NDP the persons and the goods, and returned unto Malta. And those poor and afflicted ones* sent unto the nobles of our people who were in every province†, to gather the ransom for their souls; and they gathered about ten thousand pieces of gold, and gave them to the captors as the ransom for their souls. 1298. And the soldiers whom king Henry had in Piedmont, went against Volpian, on the second day of the month of October, three hundred and thirteent, and encamped at San Martino, which is nigh unto it; and they builded there a very strong fortress, and abode therein. And Don Ferrante, the captain of the emperor's host, armed his hosts, and went to Volpian to deliver it from the hand of the king's men, and to put provision therein. And he drew nigh unto the fortress which the French had made in San Martino, and they besieged it, and cast up a bank against it, and it was straitly shut up. And there went out men from the place, and Don Ferrante said, "Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive§." So they took them, and said unto them, "Show ye us the nakedness of the city, and we will deal kindly with you." And they uncovered its nakedness, and cast up a bank against it, and the wall * Is. lviii. 7. i. e. A.M. Jewish æra, 5313=A.D. 1552. + Esther viii. 9. §1 Kings xx. 18. קמא ELBA, A.D. 1552. 509 which was of mire and dirt*, fell under it; and they took it on the tenth of the month of November, which is the ninth month. And they slew many with the edge of the sword, and hanged the captain of their host, for the blood of the captain whom the French hanged in Doronit, and because he had defied the armiest of Don Ferrante from the wall. And they put provisions into Volpian according to their heart's desire. 1299. And in Alba§ was a man of Genoa in the name of the emperor, of the family of Fornari||, and his name was Giambattista; and with him were about three hundred men. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the inhabitants of the city hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him¶. And the hosts of the king went thither in the night of the fourteenth day of the ninth month, like robbers by night**. And no man knew of their coming; and they climbed up the walls in that night at the end of the middle watch. And they smote the watchman, that he died; and they ran unto the gates of the city, and drove away the men who were there, and called with a loud voice; and all the city was moved about them. And Giambattista trembled greatly, and girded himself with his weapons of war, and went * Isa. lvii. 20. § mabx. דורוני + .פורנארי || ** Obad. 5. 1 Sam. xvii. 26. 36. ¶ Gen. xxxvii. 4. 510 ALBERT OF BRANDENBURG, METZ, 1552. DP out against them like a bear robbed of her whelps* ; and they smote him, smiting and wounding him†; and they took him alive, and strangers spoiled his labor at that time, and many of his people were slain with the edge of the sword; and the rest turned their backs, and fled for their lives; and the merchants also, and the Jews who were there, they gave up for a spoil; and in a little moment they spoiled their curtains in that night, and so the city belonged unto the captains of the king; and they fortified it, and put a garrison therein. And this was told unto Don Ferrante, who was yet at Volpian; and it grieved him much. 1300. And God sent an evil spirit between King Henry and the Marquess Albert¶, who also acted treacherously against the king, and went from him unto the emperor; and the emperor made peace with him, and made a covenant with him; and the camp of the emperor increased much. And the Lord hardened his heart, and he went to fight against Metz**, the city which is on the borders of Lorrainett; and besieged it many days. And the emperor took silver and gold in * 2 Sam. xvii. 8. Prov. xvii. 12. Ps. cix. 11. .וולפיאן || מים ** +1 Kings xx. 37. § Comp. Jer. iv. 20. ¶ Judg. ix. 23. לורינה ++ קמב THE EMPEROR BESIEGES METZ, 1552. 511 abundance, to fight against France in those days. 1301. And the war was strong against Metz, and in Picardy*; and the hosts of Queen Maria, the emperor's sister, destroyed every good piece of land†, and all the open cities they set on fire, and took also the city of Hesdin‡, which is nigh to Peronne§. And King Henry armed his trained servants||, and sent them forth; and they went on their journeys until they reached Hesdin; and they besieged it, and cast up a bank against it. And in troublous times, the men of the queen delivered it into their hand on the twenty-fourth day of the tenth month. And he sent them on their way free; and it has belonged unto King Henry until this day. And the hosts of the king in the cities of Flanders, which belonged unto Queen Maria, filled their hand also; and the cry of that desolate land went up toward heaven. 1302. In those days, the hosts of the emperor besieged Metz, and those that were numbered of them, were about one hundred and fifty thousand. [7] And they cast up a trench against it, and threw down its strong walls to the ground; and the earth shook at the voice of the battering-rams. And in the midst thereof were about ten thousand |