The prince of Galilee departed, but was met by a large body of Saracens, by whom, after displaying acts of valour worthy of a prince, he was slain and left dead on the field. On the other hand, the king was so hardly pressed that, finding himself abandoned by his men, he descended the eminence and made for a small valley; but he was pursued, wounded in four places, and at length struck off his horse.
The Saracens, ignorant that it was the king, rushed on him from all quarters to put him to death, when a knight from Catalonia, called sir Galleran Savary, throwing himself over the king's body, cried out, in the syrian language, 'It is the king! it is the king!' upon which a saracen captain made a sign with his hand, when all around dropped their swords to the ground, and the captain thrust his own into the scabbard. He then advanced to the king, took him by the hand, and, addressing him in Greek, said, that it had pleased God to deliver him into the hands and power of the sultan. 'You will come before him; but take comfort, for I have the greatest hopes that he will be a good friend to you.' The catalonian knight was made prisoner with the king; for his life was spared on account of the great courage he had displayed.
Thus was the king of Cyprus made captive by the Saracens, who fastened a chain round his neck: and, shortly after, a body of saracen infantry came up, who wanted, by all means, to put the king to death, but God, from his kind mercy saved him, for he was a man of great charity, and of a pious life toward his God.
The army of Cyprus, after its defeat, saved itself as well as it could, and the greater part fled to the mountains: there remained dead on the field from sixteen to seventeen hundred. The Saracens carried the king to the coast where their shipping lay, and put him under a strong guard.
There were in this battle two counts from Germany, namely, the count de Humberche and the count de Noorch, protector of Cologne, with a certain number of their vassals. There were also from Savoy the lord de Varembon and sir John de Champaigns lord de Gruffy,—and all these gentlemen escaped death and imprisonment.
When the news of this defeat and capture of the king was known throughout Cyprus, sir Gilles de Lusignan, brother to the king and archbishop of Nicosia, sir James de Caffran marshal of Cyprus, who had remained as guard to the royal children, were much troubled at these melancholy events; and, about midnight of this same Sunday, they left the city of Nicosia, carrying with them the king's sister and his children, to the castle of Cerines, on the sea coast, about five leagues distant from Nicosia, where they remained until the king's return.
On the morrow, Monday, the commonalty of the town hastened to the palace to learn some news of the king; but finding no one to speak with, they returned home, and taking their wives, children and effects, quitted the town, leaving the whole abandoned to old beggars and blind men. Some of them fled to Famagousta, others to Cerines, to divers towns, or to the mountains, so that it was a piteous spectacle.
On the second day after the battle, the chief of the Saracens marched his army to Nicosia, which he found abandoned. He was lodged in the royal palace, and caused a proclamation to be instantly issued for all the inhabitants to return to their houses and occupations, on promise of not being disturbed, or any way molested. In consequence of this proclamation, from ten to twelve thousand persons returned to the city.
The king of Cyprus and the grand master of Rhodes had at this time a considerable fleet at sea, on board of which were the bastard of Burgundy, brother to duke Philip, the lord de Roubaix, and many other great lords from divers countries, very impatient to combat the Saracens, but they never could have a favorable wind to carry them near the infidels. The bastard of Burgundy had arrived at Baffa, in hopes of being present at the battle in which the king was captured; but hearing of the unfortunate issue of that day, he and his men returned and embarked again on board of the fleet.
At length, the Christians had a favourable wind, which brought them in a short time within sight of the enemy's fleet. The commander of the Saracens was then on board, and, seeing the Christians so numerous, sent messengers in haste to the governor of Nicosia, ordering him, on pain of being reputed a traitor, to return with his men to his ship without delay. This order he obeyed, but not until he had plundered the city of all that he could, and reduced the inhabitants to poverty. He also set fire to the royal palace and to several other parts of the town, and then marched for Salina, where the saracen fleet lay. On their march, they forcibly took many children from the breasts of their mothers, and flung them on thorns among the hedges, and then stoned them to death.