ABSTRACT
A n d the Lord King granted the favour that all the booty should be theirs, and he would have neither the Fifth1 nor any part; and he wished that the wives and daughters of those Christians who had died in the battle should have as good a share of the booty as those who escaped alive, at which all were very joyous and content, and they thought this so rightly done that every man had twice the mind to do well. And this they showed hereafter, in the great fights and battles of which you shall hear later on; for you may be sure that good masters help much to make good vassals. Above all other lords those of the House of Aragon have this quality. I would not say to you of them that they are the lords of their vassals, but rather their companions. He who considers well the other kings of the world, how hard and rough they are to their vassals, and considers the lords of the House of Aragon, and what privileges they grant to their subjects, should kiss the ground which these lords tread. And if they ask me : “ En Muntaner, what are the privileges you know the lords of the House of Aragon grant to their subjects more than other lords ? ” I will tell you. The first privilege is, that they rule richs homens, prelates, knights and citizens and townsmen and landholders with greater truth and justice than any other lords of the world;
CHAPTER X X .
