This the admirals of both the fleets learnt and, emboldened by their recent success, attacked him again on the third day and gained a brilliant victory over him, and after it sailed back to the harbour of Pasari. Then, as so often happens in such cases, they were either overelated by their previously gained victories or they thought they had driven the vanquished to despair, and consequently relaxed as if they had completed their task, and held Robert in contempt. For they detached all the quick-sailing ships and sent them to Venice to carry the news of Robert’s complete defeat.
Peter Contarinus by name
Whenen Robert heard of this from a certain Venetian, Peter Contarinus by name, who had lately deserted to him, he fell into deep despondency and found life scarcely tolerable. He soon, however, thought better of it and recovering his spirits again attacked the Venetians. These were panic-stricken by his unexpected arrival; they at once bound together their larger vessels with ropes in the neighbourhood of the harbour of Corfu, and having thus constructed what is called an ‘open sea harbour ‘ they drove the smaller vessels into it; then armed and awaited his coming.
When he came, the battle began, and it was a terrible one and fiercer than the two former for the men fought more madly than before. So the battle waxed fiery; and neither side would yield, but on the contrary fought face to face. The Venetians had previously consumed all their provisions and consequently the boats were empty but for the soldiers; so the boats, owing to their lightness, floated about as if upheld by the surface of the water, which did not come up even to the second stripe; the soldiers rushed in a mass to the side of the ships facing the foe, and so were drowned; they numbered about thirteen thousand.
The other ships were taken, crews and all. After this signal victory Robert in a fit of harshness treated many of the prisoners most cruelly, for he had the eyes of some gouged out, the noses of others cut off, and some he deprived of their hands and feet, or both. About the rest he sent word to their fellow-countrymen that whoever wanted to ransom a friend for a price might come without fear.
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