_ 155 _ them. They are all Albanians and are always at the ready; they ride bareback and are fine horsemen with thick lances with iron points like pikes and wooden shields in their own style. On their heads they wear felt hats with high crowns and narrow brims like couscous pots; their heads are shaven at the front, but from the middle behind they wear their hair long. For the rest, they dress like other people. These men do not change because they are like natives or casados of the island. Including the foot-soldiers, those who come from Venice and natives, there must be ten thousand men on the island paid wages by the Seigniory. Besides these there must be on the island more than a hundred thousand souls able to take arms. They are all Greeks who speak a popular Greek different from the scholastic form. They are not obedient to the Pope; the ceremonies of divine office are very lengthy. The friars and priests have long beards and hair drawn back. The friars, who do not marry and live in houses near the churches (others live in monasteries, which also exist) and they do not eat meat throughout the year. The priests do marry, but before they become priests, because afterwards they may not do so, nor may they
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