CHAP. LVII.
THE TURK SENDS LETTERS TO THE POPE, WHO, IN CONSEQUENCE, WISHES TO FORM A CROISADE AGAINST HIM.—LE BLANC[178], KNIGHT-MARSAL OF HUNGARY, DEFEATS THE TURKS NEAR THE PORT OF SAMBRINE[179].
The grand Turk, moved by presumption at his unexpected success and prosperity, and through his great pride, sent two letters to pope Nicholas, of similar contents,—the one in Latin, the other in French. The tenour of the last was as follows: 'Morbesan lord of Achaia, son to Orestes, with his brothers,—to the high priest of Rome, health, according to his deserts. Whereas it has lately come to our ears that, at the request and prayers of the people of Venice, you have publicly preached in your churches, that whoever shall take up arms against us shall receive in this life a remission of his sins, with a promise of life eternal hereafter. This we did not hear of until the arrival of some pilgrims, who have crossed the sea in venetian vessels,—and it has caused in us the utmost astonishment. Although you may perhaps have received powers from the God of thunders to absolve and release souls, so much the more prudently and discreetly should you exercise this power, nor by such means induce the Christians to act hostilely against us, and more especially the Italians; for we have lately had information that our fathers have declared the turkish nation was innocent of the death of your Christ crucified,—and that they neither possess nor have any knowledge of those places which are by you held sacred, and that we have always had the jewish nation in hatred, who, from what we have read in histories and chronicles, did most treacherously betray and deliver up the Christ to the roman judge in Jerusalem, to suffer death on the cross.
'We marvel, therefore, and grieve, that the Italians should be our enemies,—for we are naturally inclined to be attached to them, as being, like to ourselves, of the issue of the trojan race, and of ancient birth. We are sprung from the same blood, and regularly descended from king Priam and his line; and it is our intention to advance with our armies to those parts of Europe that have been promised to us by the gods of our forefathers. We have also the intention of restoring Troy the great, and to avenge the blood of Hector and the queen Ixion[180], by subjecting to our government the empire of Greece and punishing the descendants of the transgressors. We also intend subjugating the island of Crete, and the others in that sea, of which the Venetians have robbed us by violence.
'We require, therefore, that you act with more discretion, and that you impose silence on your preachers in Italy, that they may no longer comply with the requests before mentioned of these Venetians, and provoke the Christians to wage war against us, as we have no cause of warfare against them from any difference in our creeds. It is of no importance that we do not put our whole faith in your Christ, since we allow him to have been a very great prophet; and as we do not follow his law, we are not to be compelled to believe in him.
'If any dispute has arisen between us and the Venetians, it is without colour of justice, or of authority from Cæsar or from any other prince. Through their pride and ambition, they have possessed themselves of many islands and other places that formed part of our government,—which usurpations we cannot and will not longer suffer, for the time of repossession is near at hand.
'For these and other reasons you ought therefore to be silent, and desist from your enterprises, especially as we know the Venetians to be a distinct people, in their manners and laws, from the Romans, although they think themselves superior to all the world; but, by the aid of our great god Jupiter, we will bring their pride and insolence to an end. Should you not prudently desist from your intentions, we shall march our whole force against you, aided by the numberless kings of the east, who seem now to be slumbering; and we will bring an irresistible force by sea and land, not only against you and your walking pilgrims bearing the cross, but also against Germany and France, should you excite them to war upon us.
'With the aid of Neptune, god of the sea, we intend to cross the Hellespont, into Dalmatia, with numberless armies, and to visit the northern regions as far as Thrace.
'Given at our triumphal palace in June, in the 840th year of Mohammed, sealed and enregistered.'
About this time, the chevalier le Blanc, who was not of a noble family, but originally a smith in Hungary, before he commenced captain in the wars under the king of Hungary, took the field to combat the Turks, having with him from twenty to twenty-four thousand combatants, and had gained the port of Sambrine, where were full eighty thousand Turks. They had waited at this port fifteen days, to see if any reinforcements would arrive, which coming to the knowledge of the knight, he departed from Mortune[181], and came up with the Turks two hours before day-break, and attacked them with such courage that twenty-four thousand were slain: the rest fled to their shipping and escaped,—for the Hungarians had no vessels to pursue them. The Turks, however, fought valiantly,—and the knight with many of his companions were wounded. He returned back with fifty Turks his prisoners: six of whom he sent to pope Nicholas: six to the king of France, and six to the duke of Burgundy. In the number was the first cousin of the grand Turk.