Joan borrowed money wherever she could,armed galleys,and left Marseilles with her husband,her sister,and two faithful advisers,Acciajuoli and Spinelli,on the l0th of September 1348.The king and queen not being able to enter at the harbour,which was in the enemy's power,disembarked at Santa Maria del Carmine,near the river Sebeto,amid the frenzied applause of an immense crowd,and accompanied by all the Neapolitan nobles.They made their way to the palace of Messire Ajutorio,near Porta Capuana,the Hungarians having fortified themselves in all the castles;but Acciatjuoli,at the head of the queen's partisans,blockaded the fortresses so ably that half of the enemy were obliged to surrender,and the other half took to flight and were scattered about the interior of the kingdom.We shall now follow Louis of Tarentum in his arduous adventures in Apulia,the Calabrias,and the Abruzzi,where he recovered one by one the fortresses that the Hungarians had taken.By dint of unexampled valour and patience,he at last mastered nearly all the more considerable places,when suddenly everything changed,and fortune turned her back upon him for the second time.A German captain called Warner,who had deserted the Hungarian army to sell himself to the queen,had again played the traitor and sold himself once more,allowed himself to be surprised at Corneto by Conrad Lupo,the King of Hungary's vicar-general,and openly joined him,taking along with him a great party of the adventurers who fought under his orders.
This unexpected defection forced Louis of Tarentum to retire to Naples.The King of Hungary soon learning that the troops had rallied round his banner,and only awaited his return to march upon the capital,disembarked with a strong reinforcement of cavalry at the port of Manfredonia,and taking Trani,Canosa,and Salerno,went forward to lay siege to Aversa.
The news fell like a thunder-clap on Joan and her husband.The Hungarian army consisted of 10,000horse and more than 7000infantry,and Aversa had only 500soldiers under Giacomo Pignatelli.In spite of the immense disproportion of the numbers,the Neapolitan general vigorously repelled the attack;and the King of Hungary,fighting in the front,was wounded in his foot by an arrow.Then Louis,seeing that it would be difficult to take the place by storm,determined to starve them out.For three months the besieged performed prodigies of valour,and further assistance was impossible.Their capitulation was expected at any moment,unless indeed they decided to perish every man.Renaud des Baux,who was to come from Marseilles with a squadron of ten ships to defend the ports of the capital and secure the queen's flight,should the Hungarian army get possession of Naples,had been delayed by adverse winds and obliged to stop on the way.All things seemed to conspire in favour of the enemy.Louis of Tarentum,whose generous soul refused to shed the blood of his brave men in an unequal and desperate struggle,nobly sacrificed himself,and made an offer to the King of Hungary to settle their quarrel in single combat.We append the authentic letters that passed between Joan's husband and Andre's brother.
"Illustrious King of Hungary,who has come to invade our kingdom,we,by the grace of God King of Jerusalem and Sicily,invite you to single combat.We know that you are in no wise disturbed by the death of your lancers or the other pagans in your suite,no more indeed than if they were dogs;but we,fearing harm to our own soldiers and men-at-arms,desire to fight with you personally,to put an end to the present war and restore peace to our kingdom.He who survives shall be king.And therefore,to ensure that this duel shall take place,we definitely propose as a site either Paris,in the presence of the King of France,or one of the towns of Perugia,Avignon,or Naples.Choose one of these four places,and send us your reply."The King of Hungary first consulted with his council,and then replied:--Great King,we have read and considered your letter sent to us by the bearer of these presents,and by your invitation to a duel we are most supremely pleased;but we do not approve of any of the places you propose,since they are all suspect,and for several reasons.
The King of France is your maternal grandfather,and although we are also connected by blood with him,the relationship is not so near.
The town of Avignon,although nominally belonging to the sovereign pontiff,is the capital of Provence,and has always been subject to your rule.Neither have we any more confidence in Perugia,for that town is devoted to your cause.
As to the city of Naples,there is no need to say that we refuse that rendezvous,since it is in revolt against us and you are there as king.But if you wish to fight with us,let it be in the presence of the Emperor of Germany,who is lord supreme,or the King of England,who is our common friend,or the Patriarch of Aquilea,a good Catholic.If you do not approve of any of the places we propose,we shall soon be near you with our army,and so remove all difficulties and delays.Then you can come forth,and our duel can take place in the presence of both armies."After the interchange of these two letters,Louis of Tarentum proposed nothing further.The garrison at Aversa had capitulated after a heroic resistance,and it was known only too well that if the King of Hungary could get so far as the walls of Naples,he would not have to endanger his life in order to seize that city.Happily the Provencal galleys had reached port at last.The king and the queen had only just time to embark and take refuge at Gaeta.The Hungarian army arrived at Naples.The town was on the point of yielding,and had sent messengers to the king humbly demanding peace;but the speeches of the Hungarians showed such insolence that the people,irritated past endurance,took up arms,and resolved to defend their household gods with all the energy of despair.