We were so alarmed and terrified then that we surrendered ourselves, all four of us, to
Sir Charles of Durazzo, to spare our lives. He held us in prison; me, my
husband, and my
daughter and her
husband who died there. We were subsequently liberated by means of a treaty, provided that he retains
Apulia and
Calabria; and he is clearly intent upon securing the inheritance of
Naples,
Sicily and
Provence. He searches out alliances everywhere, and will ignore the rights of the church as soon as I am dead. Even though I still live he makes a great show of his strength. For this reason, Holy Father, I wish to absolve myself before God and you, and absolve the souls of my ancestors. I therefore restore to you and place into your hands now all of the inheritances due to me:
Sicily,
Naples,
Apulia,
Calabria and
Provence. I give them to you to offer as inheritance to whomsoever you deem to be most suitable, and who may wrest them from our enemy,
Sir Charles of Durazzo."
Pope Clement received this declaration gladly and the gift with great reverence, and said,
"My daughter of
Naples, we shall take swift action in order that this inheritance will fall to an heir of your blood; noble, powerful and strong enough to resist all those who would wish to harm him."
Public and authentic acts were drafted of all of these declarations and gifts, of those dispossessed and those newly entitled, so that justice might be ensured in the future and to make them more legitimate and clear for all those who may hear speak of them.
SHF 2-99 sync
How pope Clement came to Avignon and of the gift he made to the duke of Anjou, and how Sylvestre Budes and his companions were beheaded, and then of the land of Flanders and the adversity there, and so on.
When the
queen of Naples and
Sir Otto of Brunswick had accomplished the task which had brought them to the
pope at
Fondi, and their stay had been to their liking, they took their leave of the
pope and cardinals and returned to
Naples. It was not long before
pope Clement thought to himself that to remain any longer near
Rome would not be at all beneficial. The
Romans and
Urban were working hard to gain the affections of the
Neapolitans and
Sir Charles of Durazzo, and hence he was fearful that passage would be blocked by sea and by land so that he would not be able to return to
Avignon as he desired. The principal and particular reason that made him more inclined to return was that he wished to give as a gift to the
duke of Anjou, just as he had received it, the rights which the
queen of Naples had officially granted him. Thus he settled his affairs cautiously and in secret and set out to sea, accompanied by all of the cardinals and their attendants, in galleys and vessels which had come to them from
Aragon and
Marseille along with the
viscount of Rocaberti, an intrepid man-at-arms from
Aragon. The wind and the waves were favourable and they arrived safe and sound at
Marseille, to the great joy of the entire country.
pb 10 v