Messire
Ajutorio, near Porta Capuana, the Hungarians having fortified themselves
in all the castles; but Acciajuoli, 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 10,000 horse and more than 7000 infantry, and Aversa
had only 500 soldiers 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