De victoria fratrum contra Sambilas in territorio Bethen.
The Might of Bethen and the Call for Aid
The formidable warriors of Bethen in Sambia are so powerful that the brothers of Königsberg dare not attack alone, prompting them to summon Livonian reinforcements for a coordinated assault.
In the land of Sambia there is a certain territory called Bethen, where fierce men lived — so powerful that from a single village five hundred men fit for war could go forth, men whom the brothers from Königsberg alone did not dare to attack. So they asked the master from Livonia to send them some brothers and men-at-arms from his own forces as aid, setting a day and a place where they were to assemble for battle.1
Devastation Before the Allies Arrive
The Königsberg brothers begin ravaging Bethen with fire and plunder before the Livonian forces have joined them.
And so the brothers from Königsberg, coming with their army to the boundary fixed before the appointed place, began to ravage the said territory with plunder and fire, while the Livonians had not yet appeared.
Sambian Onslaught and Livonian Deliverance
The Sambians rally and overwhelm the brothers, who are on the verge of flight, until the timely arrival of the Livonian cavalry turns the tide into a decisive victory.
At this the Sambians, roused and gathering their army, attacked the brothers' forces in hostility, and when the brothers now wished to turn to flight, compelled as they were by the sheer strength of the enemy, the army of the Livonian brothers arrived with many great warhorses, and so together, attacking the enemies as one, they destroyed the whole army of the Sambians by the edge of the sword, having captured the women and children.2
The Ashes of Bethen
The victorious brothers burn the dwellings of Bethen and the surrounding region to the ground.
They burned the dwellings of this territory and the surrounding areas to ashes.
Read the original Latin
In terra Sambie est quoddam territorium dictum Bethen, in quo homines feroces habitabant, et adeo potentes, quod de una villa quingenti viri ad bellum habiles poterant procedere, quos fratres de Kunigsbergk soli invadere non audebant. Unde rogaverunt magistrum de Lyvonia, ut de partibus suis aliquos fratres et armigeros ipsis in subsidium destinaret, assignantes diem et locurn*, ubi debebantb ad prelium c'onvenire. Venientes itaque fratres de Kunigsbergk cum suo exercitu in termino prefixo ad locum deputatum, inceperunt dictum territorium rapina et incendio devastare, Lyvoniensibus adhuc non comparentibus. Unde Sambite commoti convenientes exercitum fratrum hostiliter invaserunt, et dum jam vellent in fugam converti, compellente ipsos nimia hostium potencia, exercitus fratrum Lyvoniensium cum multis et magnis dextrariis supervenit, sicque simul invadentes inimicos totum illum exercitum Sambitarum in ore gladii deleverunt, captis mulieribus et parvulis. Habitaciones hujus territorii et circumjacencium in cinerem redegerunt.
Notes
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