ABSTRACT
En Thibaut had sent his son to Venice to equip six galleys, and these he was awaiting. They came shortly with his son who wras captain thereof. And when the galleys had come, he held himself for safe and sent secretly to all the chiefs of the companies and asked them what they thought in the matter of En Rocafort. And they answered they thought it would be well that micer Thibaut should have a general council cried and that, when they were assembled in council, they would tell all En Rocafort had done to them and they wrould seize him and wTould deliver him up. And so it was done, to their misfortune. On the following day, when they were in council, they asked him for explanations, and, upon his explanation, they seized him and delivered him up to En Thibaut. In thus delivering him up they caused the greatest misfortune men ever did cause ; it would have been better had they themselves taken vengeance on him, if their hearts were set on it. What shall I tell you ? When micer Thibaut had En Berenguer de Rocafort and En Esberto his brother (their uncle En Dalmau de San-Marti had died of illness not long before) the chiefs of the companies ran to the house and coffers of En Rocafort, and found so many gold
hyperpers that each m an’s share was thirteen hyperpers ; and so they plundered all he had. And when En Thibaut was holding En Rocafort and his brother, he embarked one night all secretly in the galleys, with all his company, and put En Rocafort and his brother on board and at once made the crew row hard and left the Company without taking leave of anyone. And in the morning, when the Company did not find micer Thibaut, and saw that he had gone away and had taken En Rocafort with him, they were very grieved and they repented of what they had done, and a tumult arose amongst them ; and they seized their arms and killed with their lances fourteen chiefs of companies who had agreed to that affair. And then they elected two horsemen and an adalil, and a captain of the almugavars to govern them until they had a chief ; and so these four were governors of the host, with the advice of the twelve. And En Thibaut de Chépoi went as far as Naples and delivered up En Rocafort and his brother to King Robert who hated them more than anyone in the world, because of the castles of Calabria which they had not surrendered as others had done. And when King Robert held them, he sent them to the castle at Aversa and he put the two brothers into
1309 a vault and there he let them die of hunger ; after they had entered no man ever gave them to eat or drink. And so you can see that the evil a man does never leaves him, and that the higher in rank a man is, the more forbearing and upright he should be.
