De destructione castrorum Nakel et plurium.
Devastation in the Land of Brist
An army of brothers ravages the land around Brist with fire and plunder.
That same year and summer, another army of brothers came and laid waste to the land around the city of Brist with fire and plunder.1
Mercy at a Besieged Fortress
The army besieges a fortress, and the defenders surrender on terms of safe withdrawal with their goods.
And once this had been done, the swift army advanced and besieged a certain fortress, where those who had been besieged surrendered it under these terms: that they might withdraw with their possessions unharmed.2
The Fall of Three Fortresses
The army storms three fortresses including Nakel, killing the occupants and burning them to ashes.
Then the aforementioned army advanced to two other fortresses and to the fortress of Nakel; they stormed all three fortresses in quick succession, and after capturing everyone and killing them, they reduced the fortresses to ashes.
The Crimes of Captain Henry
A captain named Henry is described for his indiscriminate cruelty against clerics, religious, and laypeople.
In this fortress there was a certain captain by the name of Henry, a knight, who indiscriminately despoiled and cruelly harassed clerics and laymen, religious and secular alike, and everyone who passed by.
Impunity and Judgment
Henry is captured and explains that unchecked freedom led him to evil, prompting a reflection on how impunity encourages sin.
This man was captured by the brothers, and when they asked him why he had committed so many and such great evils, he answered: Because no one forbade me or defended against me. See how the impunity of crimes gives free rein to offending.3
Read the original Latin
Eodem anno et estate venit alius exercitus fratrum et terram circumjacentem civitatem Brist vastaverunt incendio et'rapina. Et hoc facto processit exer citus et obsedit quoddam castrum *, ubi obsessi tradiderunt id sub hiis pactis, ut salvis rebus recederent. Deinde processit exercitus predictus ad duo castra alia, et ad castrumNakel, que tria castra expugnaverunt violenter successive, et captis omnibus et occisis, castra in cinerem converterunt. In hoc Castro fuit capitaneus quidam, Henricus nomine, miles, qui indifferenter clericos et laicos, religiosos et seculares, et quoscunque pretereuntes spoliavit, et crudeliter molestavit. Hic captus fuit a fratribus, et cum quererent ab eo, cur tot et tanta mala perpetrasset, respondit: Quia mihi nullus prohibuit, aut defendit. Ecce quomodo impunitas scelerum intencionem tribuit clelinquendi.
Notes
- 1 ↩Brist is a place name; identification is uncertain.
- 2 ↩The source reads 'exer citus' with a scribal abbreviation or corruption; normalized as 'exercitus'. The adjective 'citus' (swift) is present in the raw text and retained in translation.
- 3 ↩The source reads 'clelinquendi', a corrupt form; normalized as 'delinquendi' (of offending/wrongdoing).
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