May you also know that Nicholas Saccati was baron in two villages in Sendia and had three daughters. The first one was married to Lord Comnenus Arianiti, the second one did not marry, and the third one was married to the father of Lord Domenico Sati. Lord Domenico was married to Lady Philippa Ivana and to her was born Lady Andronica, the wife of Lord Gjin, who resides in Misagne (Miza?).
I would like to add that the said Lord Musachi Comnenus, the father of the great Donna Porphida, and the aforementioned Moses Comnenus and another lord, Gjin Musachi, were all excellent horsemen and vanquished the Turks in a battle which they fought. Seeking victory with a vengeance, they cut many Turks to pieces who fled from them into the middle of the Valcha (Vajkal) valley (17). But the Turks were lying in ambush and they all turned against these lords and horsemen who fought on courageously in the middle of the valley and fled up onto a certain hill. At the top of the hill, there were Turkish infantrymen, and the said horsemen, not knowing who they were and believing them to be Christians, were taken prisoner and sent to Balaban Bendera, their commander who dispatched them forthwith to the sultan. Lord Scanderbeg sent a request to the sultan for the return of the prisoners, promising Turkish prisoners and some money in exchange. But advised by the said Balaban of their importance, he refused to free them. Indeed he skinned them alive one by one for a period of fifteen days and they died from this gruelling ordeal.
The said Musachi Comnenus was the nephew of Lord Scanderbeg and was called Dangelino because Angelina was the name of his mother, the sister of the said Lord Scanderbeg. The said Lord Musachi was married to the lady Donna Maria, my sister, to whom was born the said lady, the great Donna Porphida.
I wish to inform you that the town of Durrлs belonged to Lord Andrew Thopia. You should also know that King Robert (18), who was the King of Naples, sent one of his bastard daughters to the Prince of Morea for wife, but a great storm rose at sea and drove her ship towards the said town of Durrлs where she remained for several days. During this time, Lord Andrew fell in love with the said lady and she with him, and they agreed to live together. And so they did, and had two sons. The first one was called Lord Charles and the second one Lord George. You should also know that at this time King Robert invited his daughter and his son in law to Naples and murdered the two of them for what they had done.
The aforementioned sons fled back to their country. Later on, the said Lord Charles married Lady Voisava, the daughter of Lord Balsha, and had one son called George. This George pledged Durrлs to the Venetians but he died without leaving heirs. The second son, Lord George, i.e. the brother of the said Lord Charles, married and had children, from whom the Thopia family descends.
You should know that Lord Musachi Thopia, otherwise known as Charles Musachi, was married to Lady Zanfina, otherwise known as Suina, with whom he had two children, a boy called Andrew and a girl called Yela. The said Lady Yela was married to Lord George Cernojevic, and I have told you that Lord Scanderbeg broke up the marriage of the said Lord Musachi and Lady Zanfina Musachi, against the wishes of God and everyone and against the wishes of the children they had had, and forced him to marry his sister Lady Mamica. This lord had four sons and two daughters by his second wife. The sons turned Turk and the one daughter, Lady Yela, married Lord Andrew Musachi.
Lord Charles Thopia ruled over both Scurias, Fiisina and Blevisti in Taransa Minore (Lesser Tirana), Canabi (Krraba) and Fuorcha (Farka). And King Balsha, as I have said, held sway over Shkodra, Bar, Kotor, Šibenik, Trogir , Misia and much other territory and, in the end, the Balsha dynasty came to rule over the land of Misia.
The heads of the Dukagjini dynasty ruled over a region called Zadrima, together with the villages of Fan and some villages called Montenegro, as well as another region called Pult and Flet. All of this is now called the region of Dukagjini, including Lalla and the river Drin.
Lord John Castriota, the father of Lord Scanderbeg, ruled over the region called Mat. Later, Lord Scanderbeg became not only Lord of Mat but also Lord of Kruja, of Dibra and of Birina, i.e. of Randisia, Tomorista, Misia and the Gjonлm country down to the sea.
And Lord John Cernojevic was lord of the region called Montenegro and Zeta.
Lord Arianiti Comnenus was lord of a part of Macedonia, i.e. of the region of Зermenika, Mokra and Shpat extending to the river Devoll which divides our land from his land and marks the border.
Lord Lecca Zaccaria (19) was lord of a town called Dagno (Deja) near the river Drin.
Lord John Sarbissa (Zenevisi) was lord of the town of Gjirokastra and the region of Vagenetia and Paracalo (Parakalamo). This then passed to the son of Lord John, called Lord Amos Sarbissa (Zenevisi) and, as I have said, it belongs to us.
Lord Paul Zardari was the son of Lord Drugo Zardari, who was lord of a region called Zardaria.
Lord Groppa was lord of the town of Ohrid or, more precisely, Aeleria which belongs to us, as I have said.
Lord Ercecho was Lord of the Duchy of Saint Sava which was situated in the Kingdom of Bosnia in the direction of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and borders on Ragusan territory and Castelnuovo (Hercog-Novi), which belongs to him. Thus this Duke of Saint Sava was commonly known as Chercecho. One person from his family lives in Venice and is married.
Lord Scanderbeg died on the 4th of December of the year 1466. He lived for 23 years after his return and conversion to Christianity. When he returned, he was about forty years old, so he lived to about the age of sixty three. The war between the sultan and Lord Scanderbeg went on for about twenty four years, and after his death, it continued with other lords of Albania for about another seven years. The said Lord Scanderbeg was intelligent and courageous and inclined to do good. He was the greatest ruler from among all his predecessors. After taking Mat, the principality of his father, he took possession of the town of Kruja, which his father had not owned, and later became commander-in-chief of the lords of Albania. After a short while, he aimed at ruling the whole country. He captured Lord John and Lord Coico Balsha, who were brothers, and sent them to King Ferdinand the Elder of Naples. The latter kept them in prison and he took over their principality which extended between Kruja and Lezha, the so called the land of Misia. He also took the principality of Lord Moses Comnenus away from him, which was situated in Dibra, This Moses was a hearty man of strength and courage. As he was not able to put up such an act of violence as had been perpetrated against him, he fled to the sultan. The sultan made him commander of one of his armies and sent him to do battle against Scanderbeg. But later, Scanderbeg sent him a message begging him to return home, adding that he would treat him as a brother. Moses did return, realizing that he was not safe with the sultan and not wishing to waste any more Christian blood. When my father died, he also took Tomonishta away from us, i.e. Lesser Myzeqe. He did the same to other lords, too, taking away the lands of Commi (Koman?) and Randisia which could not be defended because he had raised an army of warriors, and the sultan was threatening to invade at any time. Great expectations were raised when Pope Pius II announced the formation of a crusade, but later, when the said pope died, the expectations began to wane and in the end, the sultan expelled us for our sins, as was the will of God, because we were simply in his way.
Be aware, my sons, that on our land in Tomorica there is a hamlet called Horcova (20) at the side of a mountain, and a river flows past the said hamlet from the other side. Between the mountain and the said hamlet flows a torrent and near the said torrent, on the mountain side of it, there is a vein of gold. Do not forget this, because it is our land.
Note also that the other Dukagjinis do not stem from the dynasty in direct lineage, but have appeared on the scene recently to their good fortune. Among them is Paul Dukagjini who appeared with Lord John, the father of Lord Scanderbeg. To this first Paul were born Nicholas Dukagjini and Lekл Dukagjini, and two brothers called George and Progan Dukagjini, who died. To their brother Lekл was born Stephen Dukagjini who is now in the Marches of Ancona. Of the said Nicholas, one child has survived called Progan, who has now turned Turk and has become the Pasha of Romania. In the Marches are the descendants of the said Stephen, i.e. Lekл and Paul Dukagjini.
You should know that the grandfather of Lord Scanderbeg was called Lord Paul Castriota. He ruled over no more than two villages, called Signa (Sina) and Gardi Ipostesi. To this Lord Paul was born Lord John Castriota who became Lord of Mat. And to him was born Lord Scanderbeg. The mother of the said Lord Scanderbeg, i.e. the wife of the said Lord John, was called Lady Voisava Tribalda who was of a noble family.
You should also know how they were related to the Marquis of Tribalda. Let me inform you that they were related to them through his wife. As you know, to Lord Blaise Musachi was born Lady Theodora who was married to Lord Paul, the son of Lord Vugo (Vuk) Zardari. This Lord Vuk was himself ruler over a land called Zardaria. And to the said Lady Theodora and Lord Paul was born Lady Maria who was Duchess of Ferrandina.
So that you understand properly, let me tell you that to Lord Musachi was born Lord Andrew, my grandfather, and Lord Blaise. To the said Andrew was born Lord Gjin, my father, and Lady Maria, who was the mother of Lady Scanderbeg. To the said Lord Blaise was born Lady Theodora who was married to Lord Paul Zardari. To them was born the aforementioned Lady Maria who was Duchess of Ferrandina. I myself, Lord John Musachi, was born the son of Lord Gjin. Lady Chiranna, my mother, was the daughter of Lady Maria, the sister of Lord Vuk Zardari. My lady mother and Lord Paul, the father of the said Duchess of Ferrandina, were thus blood cousins. But the marriage of the said Lady Maria with Lord Vranakonti took place at a time when almost all the lords of Albania had been defeated by the sultan. The said lady was young at the time and disposed of no riches because her family had also been defeated and most of them had been slain in the said warfare with the sultan. In order not to fall into the hands of the Turks, they formed an alliance with Lady Scanderbeg. She, too, had been constrained into exile to this region. Before leaving the area, Lady Maria married the said Vranakonti who was later to become the Duke of Ferrandina and was to be accorded the titles of knight and baron.
I would like you to know who the father of the lady Donna Joan Comnenus was and where the mother of Lord Thomas Minutolo came from. I have already told you that Lord Scanderbeg broke up the marriage of Lady Zanfina Musachi and Lord Charles Musachi and gave to the said Charles his sister Yela. The said Lady Zanfina married Lord Moses Comnenus, to whom was born a Lord Comnenus otherwise known as Caesar Comnenus, and Lady Despina. To Lord Caesar was born the lady Donna Joan Comnenus, who is the wife of Lord Paul Brancazzo, a nobleman from the seat of Nido. Lady Despina was married to the Duke of Ferrandina and bore him two daughters. One was Lady Andronica, who went to Milan with the Duchess of Milan. There, she married a gentleman from Pavia of the house of Corte who had two castles and she became rich. The other daughter married Lord Charles Minutolo, to whom Lord Thomas Minutolo, a gentleman of Capua, was born ...