The most gracious and the best God, angered by ugly filths and unworthy and disgusting vices of the Poles, who had sinned, betraying his Majesty by manifold injustices, wickednesses and abuses, directed against them the savage and barbaric rage of the Tartars.
(...)
Nothing refrained him [duke Henry] from future fight - neither two defeats inflicted by Tartars on the Poles near Tursko and Chmielnik, nor the mighty forces of Tartars, which could hardly be counted, nor the thinness of his own forces. Whichever side would the tide of the future battle turn, he was invigorating with courage both himself and everyone else with rousing words, proving that one must value more and consider as more glorious and bringing more merits such a victory, which would allow him to suffer the death of the body, but to triumph with spirit. He considered and he was convincing about that his soldiers, that it would be a more true and everlasting victory, if both he and them happen to fall in battle in defence of faith and Christian religion, rather than gaining victory and saving their lifes, but staining themselves with some vices.
(...)
Henry deploys his army and divides it into four units. The first unit consisted of crusaders and volunteers speeking various languages gathered from various nationalities. To reinforce them, so the ranks were more compact, as there was not enough of them, gold diggers from the town of Zlota Gora (for the gold mines were located there) were attached to them. These were commanded by the son of the Margrave of Moravia, Boleslav. The second unit consisted of knights from Cracow and from Greater Poland, under comand of the brother of the fallen voivode of Cracow Wlodzimierz, Sulislav. The third unit consisted of knights from Opole. They were lead by the duke of Opole, Mieczyslav. The fourth of Poppo of Osterna, the grand master of Prussia, with brothers and his knights. The fifth was lead by duke Henry himself. It consisted of Silesian squires and squires from Wroclaw, better and more significant knights from Greater Poland and Silesia as well as a small number of others [other soldiers], hired for pay.
The number of Tartar units was the same [as the number of Henry's units], but they were much superior in numbers, as well as in selection and battle experience of warriors. And each of those units alone, taken separately, surpassed / exceeded all the hosts of the Poles.
The fight was started by the unit consisting of crusaders, volunteers and gold diggers (...) Both sides clashed in a ferocious attack. The crusaders and volunteers smashed with their lances the first lines of the Tartars and were advancing forward. But when the fighting with swords started, the Tartar archers encircled the unit of crusaders and volunteers in such a way, that other Polish units could not give them a hand without exposing themselves to danger. Finally the unit faltered and fell under the rain of arrows, just like delicate ears beaten by hail (because many in this unit were uncovered and unarmoured). And when the son of Dypold (...) and other knights from the first rows fell there, the others, who also had been dwindled by the Tartar arrows, retreated towards the Polish units.
Then two units of the knight Sulislav and of the duke of Opole Mieczyslav undertake the fight, which would be fought fortunately and constantly against three units of Tartars who were replacing wounded soldiers by fresh soldiers during the fight, and would inflict a severe defeat on the Tartars, because they were supported and protected from the Tartar arrows by covering fire of Polish crossbowmen. The Tartar ranks at first were forced to fall back, and soon after that, when the Poles attacked them even more strongly - to flee.
In the meantime someone from the Tartar units - it is unknown if he was of Russian or of Tartar origin - running very fast here and there between the two armies was terribly yelling, addressing to both armies contradictory words of encouragement. For he was yelling in Polish: "Run, Run!" ["Biegajcie, biegajcie!" - in original], which means: "Escape, escape!" - sawing terror among the Poles, at the same time in Tartar language he was encouraging the Tartars to fight and to endure.
On these calls the duke of Opole, Mieczyslav, convinced, that those were not shouts of the enemy but of his own countryman and friend, whose action was caused by compassion, not by deception, giving up the fight ran away from the battlefield and pulled with him a great number of soldiers, especially those, who had been under his command in the third unit.
When duke Henry noticed this, and when others told him about this, he started to sigh and mourn, saying: "Gorze happened to us" ["Gorze nam się stało!" - in original], which means: a great misfortune fell on us. However, Henry, not yet completely terrified by the escape of Mieczyslav and men from his unit, leads to a fight his fourth formation, consisting of the best and the bravest warriors. Henry attacks and strikes the three Tartar units, the same which had been defeated and forced to fall back by the two previously mentioned Polish units, as hard as he can. His unit kills many Tartars and forces them to retreat.
Then the commander of the Tartar army sent to combat his reserve unit, bigger than all the [previous] three. He resumes the fight, brings help to the endangered, and dispersed Tartars, and with tremendous attack strikes the Poles. But because the Poles, who still tried to tempt for victory, were not giving their ground, for some time ferocious fight between both armies lasted. When during that fight a significant part of the most excellent Tartars fell, it was a close call for the Poles to achieve the full victory. For the Tartars, when their ranks dwindled, already started to think about escaping.
But among many banners of the Tartars, there was one huge banner, on which such a sign X was painted. And on the top of the pole of that banner, there was a representation of an awful, black head, with chin covered by beard. When the Tartars fell back one staje behind [one staje = 134 meters], and were likely to start escaping, the standard-bearer of that banner started to, as hard as he could, shake that head, which was high on a pole.
Immediately some steam, smoke and mist belched from it and spread over the entire Polish army, its smell was so stinking that the fighting Poles, almost fainted and barely alive, weakened and became unable to fight. It is known, that Tatars since the very beginning of their existence until the present time were always using both in wars and beyond them the art and science of predicting, divination, prophecies and sorcery and that they practices it also in the fight fought at that time against Poles. And there is no any other nation among the barbarians, which would more believe in their divination, prophecies and sorcery, when some action has to be taken.
Therefore the Tartar army, realizing the fact that the already almost victorious Poles under the influence of mist, smoke and stink were seized by fear and some sort of doubt, raising terrible battle cry, turn against the Poles, and disrupting their formations, which had been compact until that time, in the midst of enormous slaughter, in which gloriously fell the son of the Margrave of Moravia Dypold, duke Boleslav called Szepiolka, with many other knights, and Teutonic master from Prussia Poppo with his units suffered a terrible defeat, forces of the remaining unit of the Poles started to retreat.
Duke Henry, fighting very bravely, was not yet abandoned by all of his forces. But when the rest of the Poles dispersed during the flight, the Tartars encircled the duke in such a way, that he was being attacked both from the front and from behind. Despite this duke Henry did not abandon his fight and did not surrender, but killing encountered on his way enemis, attempted to break through their crowd. However, the small handful easily succumbed to violence and suffered destruction by the superior enemy forces. Already there were just four knights around Henry: brother of the killed in the battle of Chmielnik voivode of Cracow Wlodzimierz - Sulislav, the voivode of Glogow - Klemens, Konrad Konradowic and Jan Iwanowic. And when other [soldiers] are busy with fighting, these four, with the greatest effort and hardship, doing what they can, bring duke Henry out of the fighting ranks, trying to save him from tha danger of death. Breaking through enemy lines, they want to keep the duke alive and prepare to escape with him, in order to make the defeat less painful and less shameful thanks to salvation of the duke.
Their plan maybe even would have succeded, but the ducal horse, wounded many times, could barely move. Therefore the Tartars recognized the duke from his badges and quickly caught him up. Henry, with three knights - because the fourth knight, Jan Iwanowic, detached from them - was hemmed by the Tartars. He fought against them for some time, supported only by his three knights. In the meantime Jan Iwanowic, breaking through the battle lines of the enemies, brought a fresh horse, received from ducal servant Roscislav, for the duke, and the duke, bestriding this new horse, following Jan Iwanowic, who was paving the way through enemy forces for the duke.
Unfortunately, when Jan Iwanowic wounded during the escape, in spite of everything managed to escape, duke Henry lost all chances to escape and was for the third time encircled by Tartars. Deprived of all hope to escape, duke Henry again with great courage fights against the Tartars, once from the right side, once from the left side. But when he raised his arm, trying to cut the Tartar who blocked his way, another Tartar pierced him with a spear below his armpit. Duke Henry, hanging down his arm, slipped from his horse, mortally wounded.
Tartars, shouting loudly, in chaotic, incredible noise, captured the duke and drawing him outside the area of combats, at a distance of two crossbow shots from the battlefield, cut his head with a sword and, tearing all badges from his body, leave the naked body.
Also a considerable number of Polish lords and nobles suffered a glorious, martyred death for their faith and in defence of Christianity in that battle. Among them more famous and greater, as was already mentioned above, were: the brother of voivode of Cracow Wlodzimierz, Sulislav; the voivode of Glogow Klemens; Konrad Konradowic; Stefan from Wierzbna and his son Andrzej; son of Andrzej from Pelcznica Klemens; Tomasz from Piotrkowice and Piotr Kusza. (...) Jan Iwanowic, chased by 9 Tatars, during his escape managed to join with two of his squires and with another knight, Lucman - who also had two squires - and despite 12 wounds, which had been inflicted to him, he [together with Lucman and their squires] attacked his oppressors, those nine Tartars, when they did a stop during the pursuit in some village one mile away from the battlefield, and killed eight of them, keeping the ninth as prisoner. After those events he joined the monastery of Dominicans, where he lived devoutly and in fear of the Lord, grateful that the Lord of Heaven saved him in such a great danger. And the duke of Opole Mieczyslav, accompanied by some knights, escaped to the castle of Legnica. He did not deserve to gain the palms of martyrdom for the faith of Christ together with so many knights.