 Chapter 60, Part 2 of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 6 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Andrew Coleman Chapter 60, The Fourth Crusade, Part 2 When the six ambassadors of the French pilgrims arrived at Venice, they were hospitably entertained in the Palace of Saint Mark by the reigning Duke. His name was Henry Dandolo, and he shone in the last period of human life as one of the most illustrious characters of the times. Under the weight of years, and after the loss of his eyes, Dandolo retained a sound understanding and a manly courage. The spirit of a hero ambitious to signalise his reign by some memorable exploits, and the wisdom of a patriot anxious to build his fame on the glory and advantage of his country. He praised the bold enthusiasm and liberal confidence of the barons and their deputies. In such a cause, and with such associates, he should aspire, were he a private man, to terminate his life. But he was the servant of the Republic, and some delay was requisite to consult on this arduous business, the judgment of his colleagues. The proposal of the French was first debated by the six sages, who had been recently appointed to control the administration of the Doge. It was next disclosed to the forty members of the Council of State, and finally communicated to the Legislative Assembly of 450 representatives who were annually chosen in the six quarters of the city. In peace and war, the Doge was still the chief of the Republic. His legal authority was supported by the personal reputation of Dandolo. His arguments of public interest were balanced and approved, and he was authorised to inform the ambassadors of the following conditions of the treaty. It was proposed that the Crusaders should assemble at Venice on the Feast of St John of the Ensuing Year. That flat-bottomed vessels should be prepared for 4,500 horses and 9,000 squires, with a number of ships sufficient for the embarkation of 4,500 knights and 20,000 foot. That, during a term of nine months, they should be supplied with provisions and transported to whatsoever coasts the service of God and Christendom should require, and that the Republic should join the armament with a squadron of 50 galleys. It was required that the pilgrims should pay before their departure a sum of 85,000 marks of silver, and that all conquests by sea and land should be equally divided between the Confederates. The terms were hard, but the emergency was pressing and the French barons were not less profuse of money than of blood. A general assembly was convened to ratify the treaty. The stately chapel and place of St Mark were filled with 10,000 citizens, and the noble deputies were taught a new lesson of humbling themselves before the majesty of the people. Illustrious Venetians said the Marshal of Champagne, we are sent by the greatest and most powerful barons of France to implore the aid of the masters of the sea for the deliverance of Jerusalem. They have enjoined us to fall prostrate at your feet, nor will we rise from the ground till you have promised to avenge with us the injuries of Christ. The eloquence of their words and tears, their martial aspect and suppliant attitude were applauded by a universal shout, as it were, says Geoffrey, by the sound of an earthquake. The venerable doge ascended the pulpit to urge their request by those motives of honour and virtue which alone can be offered to a popular assembly. The treaty was transcribed on parchment, attested with oaths and seals, mutually accepted by the weeping and joyful representatives of France and Venice, and dispatched to Rome for the approbation of Pope Innocent III. 2000 marks were borrowed of the merchants for the first expenses of the armament. Of the six deputies, two repassed the Alps to announce their success, while their four companions made a fruitless trial of the zeal and emulation of the republics of Genoa and Pisa. The execution of the treaty was still opposed by unforeseen difficulties and delays. The marshal, on his return to Troy's, was embraced and approved by Thibault, Count of Champagne, who had been unanimously chosen general of the Confederates. But the health of that valiant youth already declined, and soon became hopeless, and he had applauded the untimely fate which condemned him to expire, not in a field of battle, but on a bed of sickness. To his brave and numerous vassals the dying prince distributed his treasures. They swore in his presence to accomplish his vow and their own, but some there were, says the marshal, who accepted his gifts and forfeited their words. The more resolute champions of the cross held a parliament at Suisson for the election of a new general, but such was the incapacity, or jealousy, or reluctance of the princes of France that none could be found both able and willing to assume the conduct of the enterprise. The acquiesce in the choice of a stranger, of Boniface, Marquess of Montferrat, descended of a race of heroes, and himself of conspicuous fame in the wars and negotiations of the times. Nor could the piety or ambition of the Italian chief decline this honourable invitation. After visiting the French court where he was received as a friend and kinsman, the Marquess in the Church of Suisson was invested with a cross of a pilgrim and the staff of a general, and immediately repass the Alps to prepare for the distant expedition of the east. About the festival of the Pentecost he displayed his banner and marched towards Venice at the head of the Italians. He was preceded or followed by the Counts of Flanders and Blois, and the most respectable barons of France, and their numbers were swirled by the pilgrims of Germany whose object and motives were similar to their own. The Venetians had fulfilled and even surpassed their engagements. Stables were constructed for the horses and barracks for the troops. The magazines were abundantly replenished with forage and provisions, and the fleet of transports, ships and galleys was ready to hoist sail as soon as the Republic had received the price of the freight and armament. But that price far exceeded the wealth of the crusaders who were assembled at Venice. The Flemmings, whose obedience to their count was voluntary and precarious, had embarked in their vessels for the long navigation of the ocean and Mediterranean, and many of the French and Italians had preferred a cheaper and more convenient passage from Marseille and Apulia to the Holy Land. Each pilgrim might complain that after he had furnished his own contribution, he was made responsible for the deficiency of his absent brethren. The gold and silver plate of the chiefs, which they freely delivered to the treasury of St. Mark's, was a generous but inadequate sacrifice, and after all their efforts 34,000 marks were still wanting to complete the stipulated sum. The obstacle was removed by the policy and patriotism of the doge, who proposed to the Barons that if they would join their arms in reducing some revolted cities of Dalmatia, he would expose his person in the Holy War, and obtain from the Republic a long indulgence till some wealthy conquest should afford the means of satisfying the debt. After much scruple and hesitation, they chose rather to accept the offer than to relinquish the enterprise, and the first hostilities of the fleet and army were directed against Zara, a strong city of the Slavonian coast which had renounced its allegiance to Venice and implored the protection of the King of Hungary. The crusaders burst the chain or boom of the harbour, landed their horses, troops and military engines, and compelled the inhabitants after a defence of five days to surrender at discretion. Their lives were spared, but the revolt was punished by the pillage of their houses and the demolition of their walls. The season was far advanced, the French and Venetians resolved to pass the winter in a secure harbour and plentiful country, but their repose was disturbed by national and tumultuous quarrels of the soldiers and mariners. The conquest of Zara had scattered the seeds of discord and scandal. The arms of the allies had been stained in their outset with the blood not of infidels but of Christians. The King of Hungary and his new subjects were themselves enlisted under the banner of the Cross, and the scruples of the devout were magnified by the fear of lassitude of the reluctant pilgrims. The Pope had excommunicated the false crusaders who had pillaged and massacred their brethren, and only the Marquis Boniface and Simon of Montfort escaped these spiritual thunders, the one by his absence from the siege, the other by his final departure from the camp. Innocent might absolve the simple and submissive penitence of France, but he was provoked by the stubborn reason of the Venetians, who refused to confess their guilt, to accept their pardon, or to allow in their temporal concerns the interposition of a priest. The assembly of such formidable powers by sea and land had revived the hopes of young Alexius, and both at Venice and Zara he solicited the arms of the crusaders for his own restoration and his father's deliverance. The royal youth was recommended by Philip King of Germany. His prayers and presence excited the compassion of the camp, and his cause was embraced and pleaded by the Marquis of Montfort and the Doge of Venice. A double alliance and the dignity of Caesar had connected with the imperial family the two elder brothers of Boniface. He expected to derive a kingdom from the important service, and the more generous ambition of Dandolo was eager to secure the inestimable benefits of trade and dominion that might accrue to his country. Their influence procured a favourable audience for the ambassadors of Alexius, and if the magnitude of his offers excited some suspicion, the motives and rewards which he displayed might justify the delay and diversion of those forces which had been consecrated to the deliverance of Jerusalem. He promised in his own and his father's name that as soon as they should be seated on the throne of Constantinople they would terminate the long schism of the Greeks and submit themselves and their people to the lawful supremacy of the Roman Church. He engaged to recompense the labours and merits of the crusaders by the immediate payment of 200,000 marks of silver to accompany them in person to Egypt or if it should be judged more advantageous to maintain during a year 10,000 men and during his life 500 nights for the service of the Holy Land. These tempting conditions were accepted by the Republic of Venice and the eloquence of the Doge and Marquis persuaded the Counts of Flanders, Blois and St. Paul with eight barons of France to join in the glorious enterprise. A treaty of offensive and defensive alliance was confirmed by their oaths and seals and each individual according to his situation and character was swayed by the hope of public or private advantage by the honour of restoring an exiled monarch or by the sincere and probable opinion that their efforts in Palestine would be fruitless and unavailing and that the acquisition of Constantinople must precede and prepare the recovery of Jerusalem. But they were the chiefs or equals of a valiant band of free men and volunteers who thought and acted for themselves. The soldiers and clergy were divided and if a large majority subscribed to the alliance the numbers and arguments of the dissidents were strong and respectable. The boldest hearts were appalled by the report of the naval power and impregnable strength of Constantinople and their apprehensions were disguised to the world and perhaps to themselves by the more decent objections of religion and duty. They alleged the sanctity of a vow which had drawn them from their families and homes to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre nor should the dark and crooked councils of human policy divert them from a pursuit the event of which was in the hands of the Almighty. Their first offence, the attack of Zahra, had been severely punished by the reproach of their conscience and the censures of the Pope nor would they again imbrew their hands in the blood of their fellow Christians. The Apostle of Rome had pronounced nor would they usurp the right of avenging with a sword the schism of the Greeks and the doubtful usurpation of the Byzantine monarch. On these principles or pretenses many pilgrims, the most distinguished for their valour and piety withdrew from the camp and their retreat was less pernicious than the open or secret opposition of a discontented party that laboured on every occasion to separate the army and disappoint the enterprise. Notwithstanding this defection the departure of the fleet and army was vigorously pressed by the Venetians whose zeal for the service of the royal youth concealed a just resentment to his nation and family. They were mortified by the recent preference which had been given to Pisa, the rival of their trade. They had a long arrear of debt and injury to liquidate with the Byzantine court and Dandolo might not discourage the popular tale that he had been deprived of his eyes by the Emperor Manuel who perfidiously violated the sanctity of an ambassador. A similar armament for ages had not rode the Adriatic. It was composed of 120 flat-bottomed vessels or palinders for the horses 240 transports filled with men and arms 70 storeships laden with provisions and 50 stamped galleys well prepared for the encounter of an enemy. While the wind was favourable the sky serene and the water smooth every eye was fixed with wonder and delight on the scene of military and naval pomp which overspread the sea. The shields of the knights and squires at once an ornament and a defence were arranged on either side of the ships. The banners of the nations and families were displayed from the stern. Our modern artillery was supplied by 300 engines for casting stones and darts. The fatigues of the way were cheered with the sound of music and the spirits of the adventurers were raised by the mutual assurance that 40,000 Christian heroes were equaled to the conquest of the world. In the navigation from Venice and Zara the fleet was successfully steered by the skill and experience of the Venetian pilots. At Durazzo the Confederates first landed on the territories of the Greek Empire. The Arl of Corfu afforded a station and repose. They doubled without accident the perilous Cape of Malia the southern point of Peloponnesus or the Moria made a descent in the islands of Negrepont and Andros and cast anchor at Abidas on the Asiatic side of the helispont. These preludes of conquest were easy and bloodless. The Greeks of the provinces without patriotism or courage were crushed by an irresistible force. The presence of the lawful heir might justify their obedience and it was rewarded by the modesty and discipline of the Latins. As they penetrated through the helispont the magnitude of their navy was compressed in a narrow channel and the face of the waters was darkened with innumerable sails. They again expanded in the basin of the prepontis and reversed that placid sea till they approached the European shore at the Abbey of Saint Stephen three leagues to the west of Constantinople. The prudent doge dissuaded them from dispersing themselves in a populous and hostile land and as their stock of provisions was reduced it was resolved in the season of harvest to replenish their store ships in the fertile islands of the prepontis. With this resolution they directed their course but a strong gale and their own impatience to the eastward and so near did they run to the shore and the city that some volleys of stones and darts were exchanged between the ships and the rampart. As they passed along they gazed with admiration on the capital of the east or as it seemed of the earth rising from her seven hills and towering over the continents of Europe and Asia the swelling domes and lofty spires of five hundred palaces and churches were gilded by the sun and reflected in the waters. The walls were crowded with soldiers and spectators whose numbers they beheld of whose temper they were ignorant and each heart was chilled by the reflection that since the beginning of the world such an enterprise had never been undertaken by such a handful of warriors. But the momentary apprehension was dispelled by hope and valor and every man says the Marshal of Champagne glanced his eye on the sword or lance which he must speedily use in the glorious conflict. The Latins cast anchor before Chalcedon the mariners only were left in the vessels the soldiers, horses and arms were safely landed and in the luxury of an imperial palace the barons tasted the first fruits of their success. On the third day the fleet and army moved towards Guttari the Asiatic suburb of Constantinople a detachment of five hundred Greek horse was surprised and defeated by four score French knights and in a halt of nine days their camp was plentifully supplied with forage and provisions. In relating the invasion of a great empire it may seem strange that I have not described the obstacles which should have checked the progress of the strangers. The Greeks in truth were an unwar like people but they were rich, industrious and subject to the will of a single man had that man been capable of fear when his enemies were at a distance or of courage when they approached his person the first rumour of his nephew's alliance with the French and Venetians was despised by the usurper Alexius his flatterers persuaded him that in this contempt he was bold and sincere and each evening in the clothes of the banquet he thrice discomforted the barbarians of the west these barbarians had been justly terrified by the report of his naval power and the sixteen hundred fishing boats of Constantinople could have manned a fleet to sink them in the Adriatic or stop their entrance in the mouth of the helispont but all force may be annihilated by the negligence of the prince and the venality of his ministers the great duke or admiral made a scandalous, almost a public auction of the sails, the masts and the rigging the royal forests were reserved for the more important purpose of the chase and the trees, says Nicotas were guarded by the eunuchs like the groves of religious worship from his dream of pride Alexius was awakened by the siege of Zara and the rapid advances of the latins as soon as he saw the danger was real he thought it inevitable and his vain presumption was lost in abject despondency and despair he suffered these contemptible barbarians to pitch their camp in the site of the palace and his apprehensions were thinly disguised by the pomp and menace of a suppliant embassy the sovereign of the Romans was astonished his ambassadors were instructed to say at the hostile appearance of the strangers if these pilgrims were sincere in their vow for the deliverance of Jerusalem his voice must applaud and his treasures should assist their pious design but should they dare to invade the sanctuary of empire their numbers were they ten times more considerable should not protect them from his just resentment the answer of the doge and barons was simple and magnanimous in the cause of honour and justice we despise the usurper of Greece his threats and his offers our friendship and his allegiance are due to the lawful heir to the young prince who is seated among us and to his father the emperor Isaac who has been deprived of his scepter his freedom and his eyes by the crime of an ungrateful brother let that brother confess his guilt and implore forgiveness and we ourselves will intercede that he may be permitted to live in affluence and security but let him not insult us by a second message our reply will be made in arms in the palace of Constantinople on the 10th day of their encampment at Skutari the crusaders prepared themselves as soldiers and as Catholics the message of the Bosphorus Perilous indeed was the adventure the stream was broad and rapid in a calm the current of the uke sign might drive down the liquid and unextinguishable fires of the Greeks and the opposite shores of Europe were defended by 70,000 horse and foot in formidable array on this memorable day which happened to be bright and pleasant the latins were distributed in six battles or divisions the first or vanguard was led by the Count of Flanders one of the most powerful of the Christian princes in the skill and number of his crossbows the four successive battles of the French were commanded by his brother Henry the Counts of Saint Paul and Paulard and Matthew of Morancy the last of whom was honoured by the voluntary service of the Martian and nobles of Champagne the sixth division the rearguard and reserve of the army was conducted by the Marquess of Montferrat at the head of the Germans and Lombards the chargers saddled with their long Parisians dragged on the ground were embarked in the flat palinders and the knights stood by the side of their horses in complete armour their helmets laced and their lances in their hands the numerous train of sergeants and archers occupied the transports and each transport was towed by the strength and swiftness of a galley the six divisions traversed the Bosphorus without encountering an enemy or an obstacle to land the foremost was the wish to conquer or die was the resolution of every division and of every soldier jealous of the preeminence of danger the knights in their heavy armour went into the sea when it rose as high as their girdle the sergeants and archers were animated by their valour and the squires letting down the drawbridges of the palinders led the horses to the shore before their squadrons could mount and form and couch their lances the 70,000 Greeks had vanished from their sight the timid Alexius gave the example to his troops and it was only by the plunder of his rich pavilions that the Latins were informed that they had fought against an emperor in the first consternation of the flying enemy they resolved by a double attack to open the entrance of the harbour the tower of Gallata in the suburb of Perra was attacked and stormed by the French while the Venetians assumed the more difficult task of forcing the boom or chain that was stretched from that tower to the Byzantine shore after some fruitless attempts their intrepid perseverance prevailed 20 ships of war the relics of the Grecian navy were either sunk or taken the enormous and massy links of iron were cut asunder by the shears or broken by the weight of the galleys and the Venetian fleet safe and triumphant rode at anchor in the port of Constantinople by these daring achievements a remnant of 20,000 Latins solicited the license of besieging capital which contained above 400,000 inhabitants able, though not willing to bear arms in defence of their country such an account would indeed suppose a population of near two millions but whatever abatement may be required in the numbers of the Greeks the belief of those numbers sought the fearless spirit of their assailants in the choice of the attack the French and Venetians were divided by their habits of life and warfare the former affirmed with truth that Constantinople was most accessible on the side of the sea and the harbour the latter might assert with honour that they had long enough trusted their lives and fortunes to a frail bark and a precarious element and loudly demanded a trial of knighthood a firm ground and a close onset either on foot or on horseback after a prudent compromise of employing the two nations by sea and land in the service best suited to their character the fleet covering the army they both proceeded from the entrance to the extremity of the harbour the stone bridge of the river was hastily repaired and the six battles of the French formed their campant against the front of the capital the basis of the triangle which runs about four miles from the port to the Pappantes on the edge of a broad ditch at the foot of a lofty rampart they had leisure to contemplate the difficulties of their enterprise the gates to the right and left of their narrow camp poured forth frequent sallies of cavalry and light infantry which cut off their stragglers swept the country of provisions sounded the alarm five or six times in the course of each day and compelled them to plant a palisade and sink an entrenchment for their immediate safety in the supplies and convoys the Venetians had been too sparing or the Franks too voracious the usual complaints of hunger and scarcity were heard and perhaps felt their stock of flour would be exhausted in three weeks and their disgust of salt meat tempted them to taste the flesh of their horses the trembling usurper was supported by Theodore Lascaris his son-in-law a valiant youth who aspired to save and to rule his country the Greeks regardless of that country were awakened to the defence of their religion but their firmest hope was in the strength and spirit of the Varangian guards of the Danes and English as they are named in the Writers of the Times after ten days incessant labour the ground was levelled the ditch filled the approaches of the procedures were regularly made and 250 engines of assault exercised their various powers to clear the rampart to batter the walls and to sap the foundations on the first appearance of a breach the scaling ladders were applied the numbers that defended the vantage ground repulsed and oppressed the adventurous Latins but they admired the resolution of 15 knights and sergeants who had gained the assent and maintained their perilous station till they were precipitated or made prisoners by the imperial guards on the side of the harbour the naval attack was more successfully conducted by the Venetians and that industrious people employed every resource was known and practised before the invention of gunpowder a double line three bow shots in front was formed by the galleys and ships and the swift motion of the former was supported by the weight and loftiness of the latter whose decks and poops and turret were the platforms of military engines that discharged their shot over the heads of the first line the soldiers who leaped from the galleys on shore immediately planted and assented their scaling ladders while the large ships advancing more slowly into the intervals and lowering a drawbridge opened away through the air from their masts to the rampart in the midst of the conflict the doge of venerable and conspicuous form stood aloft in complete armour on the prowl of his galleys the great standard of Saint Mark was displayed before him his threats, promises and exaltations urged the diligence of the rowers his vessel was the first that struck and Dandolo was the first warrior on the shore the nations admired the magnanimity of the blind old man without reflecting that his age and infirmities diminished the price of life and enhanced the value of immortal glory on a sudden by an invisible hand for the standard bearer was probably slain the banner of the republic was fixed on the rampart 25 towers were rapidly occupied and by the cruel expedient of fire the greeks were driven from the adjacent quarter the doge had dispatched the intelligence of his success when he was checked by the danger of his confederates nobly declaring that he would rather die with the pilgrims than gain a victory by their destruction Dandolo relinquished his advantage recalled his troops and hastened to the scene of action he found the six weary diminutive battles of the french encompassed by 60 squadrons of the greek cavalry the least of which was more numerous than the largest of their divisions shame and despair had provoked alexias to the last effort of a general sally but he was awed by the firm order and manly aspect of the latins and after skirmishing at a distance withdrew his troops in the close of the evening the silence or tumult of the night exasperated his fears and the timid usurper collecting a treasure of ten thousand pounds of gold basely deserted his wife his people and his fortune threw himself into a bark stole through the bosporus and landed in shameful safety in an obscure harbour of Thrace as soon as they were prized of his flight the greek nobles sought pardon and peace in the dungeon where the blind isek expected each hour the visit of the executioner again saved and exalted by the vicissitudes of fortune the captive in his imperial robes was replaced on the throne and surrounded with prostrate slaves whose real terror and affected joy he was incapable of discerning at the dawn of day hostilities were suspended and the latin chiefs were surprised by a message from the lawful and reigning emperor who was impatient to embrace his son and to reward his generous deliverers end of chapter 60 part 2 chapter 60 part 3 of the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 6 this is a Liebervox recording all Liebervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Liebervox.org recording by Andrew Coleman chapter 60 the fourth crusade part 3 but these generous deliverers were unwilling to release their hostage till they had obtained from his father the payment or at least the promise of their recompense they chose four ambassadors Matthew of Montmorency our historian the marshal of champagne and two Venetians to congratulate the emperor the gates were thrown open on their approach the streets on both sides were lined with the battle axes of English and English guard the presence chamber glittered with gold and jewels the false substitute of virtue and power by the side of the blind Isaac his wife was seated the sister of the king of Hungary and by her appearance the noble matrons of Greece were drawn from their domestic retirement and mingled with the circle of senators and soldiers the latins by the mouth were like men conscious of their merits but who respected the work of their own hands and the emperor clearly understood that his son's engagements with Venice and the pilgrims must be ratified without hesitation or delay withdrawing into a private chamber with the empress, a chamberlain an interpreter and the four ambassadors the father of young Alexius inquired with some anxiety into the nature of his stipulations the submission of the eastern empire to the pope the sucker of the holy land at a present contribution of 200,000 marks of silver these conditions are weighty was his prudent reply they are hard to accept and difficult to perform but no conditions can exceed the measure of your services and desserts after this satisfactory assurance the barons mounted on horseback and introduced the air of Constantinople to the city and palace his youth and marvellous adventures engaged every heart in his favour and Alexius was solemnly crowned with his father in the dome of Saint Sophia in the first days of his reign the people already blessed with the restoration of plenty and peace were greeted by the joyful catastrophe of the tragedy and the discontent of the nobles their regret and their fears were covered by the polished surface of pleasure and loyalty the mixture of two discordant nations in the same capital might have been pregnant with mischief and danger and the suburb of Galata was assigned for the quarters of the French and Venetians but the liberty of trade and familiar intercourse was allowed between the friendly nations and each day the pilgrims were tempted by devotion or curiosity to visit the churches and palaces of Constantinople their rude minds insensible perhaps of the finer arts were astonished by the magnificent scenery and the poverty of their native towns enhanced the populousness and riches of the first metropolis of Christendom descending from his state young Alexius was prompted by interest and gratitude to repeat his frequent and familiar visits to his Latin allies and in the freedom of the table the gay petulance of the French sometimes forgot the emperor of the east in their most serious conferences it was agreed that the reunion of the two churches must be the result of patience and time but avarice was less tractable than zeal at a larger sum was instantly dispersed to appease the wants and silence the importunity of the crusaders Alexius was alarmed by the approaching hour of their departure their absence might have relieved him from the engagement which he was yet incapable of performing but his friends would have left him naked and alone to the caprice and prejudice of a perfidious nation he wished to bribe their stay the delay of a year by undertaking to defray their expense and to satisfy in their name the freight of the Venetian vessels the offer was agitated in the council of the barons and after a repetition of their debates and scruples a majority of votes again acquiesced in the advice of the doge and the prayer of the young emperor at the price of 1600 pounds of gold he prevailed on the marquis of Montferrat to lead him with an army around the provinces of Europe to establish his authority and pursue his uncle while Constantinople was awed by the presence of Baldwin and his confederates of France and Flanders the expedition was successful the blind emperor exalted in the success of his arms and listened to the predictions of his flatterers that the same providence which had raised him from the dungeon to the throne would heal his gout restore his sight and watch over the long prosperity of his reign yet the mind of the suspicious old man was tormented by the rising glories of his son nor could his pride conceal from his envy that while his own name was pronounced in faint and reluctant acclamations the royal youth was the theme of spontaneous and universal praise by the recent invasion the Greeks were awakened from a dream of nine centuries from the vain presumption that the capital of the Roman Empire was impregnable to foreign arms the strangers of the west had violated the city and bestowed the scepter of constant time their imperial clients soon became as unpopular as themselves the well-known vices of Isaac were rendered still more contemptible by his infirmities and the young Alexius was hated as an apostate who had renounced the manners of his country his secret covenant with the Latins was divulged or suspected the people and especially the clergy were devoutly attached to their faith and superstition and every convent and every shop resounded with the danger of the church and the tyranny of the Pope an empty treasury could ill supply the demands of regal luxury the Greeks refused to avert by a general tax the impending evils of servitude and pillage the oppression of the rich excited a more dangerous and personal resentment and if the emperor melted the plate and despoiled the images of the sanctuary he seemed to justify the complaints of heresy and sacrilege during the absence of Marquis Boniface and his imperial pupil Saint-Noble was visited with a calamity which might be justly imputed to the zeal and indiscretion of the Flemish pilgrims in one of their visits to the city they were scandalised by the aspect of a mosque or synagogue in which one god was worshiped without a partner or a son the effectual mode of controversy was to attack the infidels with the sword and their habitation with fire but the infidels and some Christian neighbours presumed to defend their lives and properties and the flames which bigotry had kindled consumed the most orthodox and innocent structures during eight days and nights the conflagration spread above a league in front from the harbour to the prepontis over the thickest and most populous regions of the city it is not easy to count the stately churches and palaces that were reduced to a smoking ruin to value the merchandise that perished in the trading streets or to number the families that were involved in the common destruction by this outrage which the doge and the barons in vain affected to disclaim the name of the Latins became still more unpopular and the colony of that nation above 15,000 persons consulted their safety in a hasty retreat from the city to the protection of their standard in the suburb of Perra the emperor returned in triumph but the firmest and most dexterous policy would have been insufficient to steer him through the tempest which overwhelmed the person and government of that unhappy youth his own inclination and his father's advice attached him to his benefactors but Alexias hesitated between gratitude and patriotism between the fear of his subjects and of his allies by his feeble and fluctuating conduct he lost the esteem and confidence of both and while he invited the Marquis of Montferrat to occupy the palace he suffered the nobles to conspire and the people to arm for the deliverance of their country regardless of his painful situation the Latin chiefs repeated their demands resented his delays suspected his intentions and exacted a decisive answer of peace or war the haughty summons was delivered by three French knights and three Venetian deputies who girded their swords mounted their horses pierced through the angry multitude and entered with a fearful countenance the palace and presence of the Greek emperor in a peremptory tone they recapitulated their services and his engagements and boldly declared that unless their just claims were fully and immediately satisfied they should no longer haunt him either as a sovereign or a friend after this defiance the first that had ever wounded an imperial ear they departed without betraying any symptoms of fear but their escape from a servile palace and a furious city astonished the ambassadors themselves and their return to the camp was the signal of mutual hostility among the Greeks all authority and wisdom were over-born by the impetuous multitude who mistook their rage for valour their numbers for strength and their fanaticism for the support and inspiration of heaven in the eyes of both nations Alexius was false and contemptible the base and spurious race of the Angeli was rejected with clamorous disdain and the people of Constantinople encompassed the senate to demand at their hands a more worthy emperor to every senator conspicuous by his birth or dignity they successively presented the purple by each senator the deadly garment was repulsed the contest lasted three days and we may learn from the historian Nicetus one of the members of the assembly that fear and weaknesses were the guardians of their loyalty a phantom who vanished in oblivion was forcibly proclaimed by the crowd but the author of the tumult and the leader of the war was a prince of the house of Ducas and his common appellation of Alexius must be discriminated by the epithet of Morzufl the vulgar idiom expressed the close junction of his black and shaggy eyebrows at once a patriot and a courtier the perfidious Morzufl who was not destitute of cunning and courage opposed the Latins both in speech and action inflamed the passions and prejudices of the Greeks had insinuated himself into the favour and confidence of Alexius who trusted him with the office of Great Chamberlain and tinged his buskins with the colours of royalty at the dead of night he rushed into the bed chamber with an affrighted aspect exclaiming that the palace was attacked by the people and betrayed by the guards starting from his couch the unsuspecting prince threw himself into the arms of his enemy who had contrived his escape by a private staircase but that staircase terminated in a prison Alexius was seized stripped and loaded with chains and after tasting some days the bitterness of death he was poisoned or strangled or beaten with clubs at the command or in the presence of the tyrant the emperor Isaac Angelus soon followed his son to the grave at Morzufal perhaps might spare the superfluous crime of hastening the extinction of impotence and blindness the death of the emperors and the use of patience of Morzufal had changed the nature of the quarrel it was no longer the disagreement of allies who overvalued their services or neglected their obligations the French and Venetians forgot their complaints against Alexius dropped a tear on the untimely fate of their companion and swore revenge against the perfidious nation who had crowned his assassin yet the prudent doge was still inclined to negotiate he asked as a debt a subsidy or a fine £50,000 of gold about £2 million sterling would the conference have been abruptly broken if the zeal or policy of Morzufal had not refused to sacrifice the Greek church to the safety of the state amidst the invectives of his foreign and domestic enemies we may discern that he was not unworthy of the character which he had assumed of the public champion the second siege of Constantinople was far more laborious than the first the treasury was replenished and discipline was restored by a severe inquisition into the abuses of the former reign and Morzufal an iron mace in his hand visiting the posts and affecting the port and aspect of a warrior was an object of terror to his soldiers at least and to his kinsmen before and after the death of Alexius the Greeks made two vigorous and well conducted attempts to burn the navy in the harbour but the skill and courage of the Venetians repulsed the far ships and the vagrant flames wasted themselves without injury in the sea in an nocturnal sally the Greek emperor was vanquished by Henry, brother of the Count of Flanders the advantages of number and surprise aggravated the shame of his defeat the folklore was found on the field of battle and the imperial standard a divine image of the virgin was presented as a trophy and a relic to the Cistercian monks the disciples of Saint Bernard near three months without accepting the holy season of Lent were consumed in skirmishes and preparations before the Latins were ready or resolved for a general assault the land fortifications had been found impregnable and the Venetian pilots represented that on the shore of the prepontis the anchorage was unsafe and the ships must be driven by the Count far away to the streets of the helispont a prospect not unpleasing to the reluctant pilgrims who sought every opportunity of breaking the army from the harbour therefore the assault was determined by the assailants expected by the besieged and the emperor had placed his scarlet pavilions on a neighbouring height to direct and animate the efforts of his troops a fearless spectator whose mind could entertain the ideas of pomp and pleasure might have admired the long array of two embattled armies which extended above half a league the one on the ships and galleys the other on the walls and towers raised above the ordinary level by several stages of wooden turrets the first fury was spent in the discharge of darts stones and fire from the engines but the water was deep the French were bold the Venetians were skillful they approached the walls and a desperate conflict of swords spears and battle axes was fought on the trembling bridges that grappled the floating to the stable batteries in more than a hundred places the assault was urged and the defence was sustained till the superiority of ground and numbers finally prevailed and the Latin trumpets sounded a retreat on the ensuing days the attack was renewed with equal vigor at a similar event and in the night the doge and the barons held a council apprehensive only for the public danger not a voice pronounced the words of escape or treaty and each warrior according to his temper embraced the hope of victory or the assurance of a glorious death by the experience of the former siege the Greeks were instructed but the Latins were animated and the knowledge that Constantinople might be taken was of more avail than the local precautions which that knowledge had inspired for its defence and a third assault two ships were linked together to double their strength a strong north wind drove them on the shore the bishops of Troyes and Soissons led the van and the auspicious names of the pilgrim and the paradise resounded along the line the episcopal banners were displayed on the walls a hundred marks of silver had been promised to the first adventurers and if their reward was intercepted by death their names have been totalised by fame four towers were scaled three gates were burst open and the French knights who might tremble on the waves felt themselves invincible on horseback on the solid ground shall I relate that the thousands who guarded the emperor's person fled on the approach and before the lance of a single warrior their ignominious flight is attested by their countrymen Nicetus the army of phantoms march with the French hero and he was magnified to a giant in the eyes of the Greeks while the fugitives deserted their posts and cast away their arms the latins entered the city under the banners of their leaders the streets and gates opened for their passage and either design or accident kindled a third conflagration which consumed in a few hours the measure of three of the largest cities of France in the close of evening the barons checked their troops and fortified their stations they were awed by the extent and populousness of the capital which might yet require the labour of a month if the churches and palaces were conscious of their internal strength but in the morning a suppliant procession with crosses and images announced the submission of the Greeks and deprecated the wrath of the conquerors the usurper escaped through the golden gate the palaces of Blanchernay and Boussillon were occupied by the Count of Flanders and the Marquis of Montferrat and the Empire which still bore the name of Constantine and the title of Roman was subverted by the arms of the latin pilgrims Constantinople had been taken by storm and no restraints except those of the great humanity were imposed on the conquerors by the laws of war Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat still acted as their general and the Greeks who revered his name as that of their future sovereign were heard to exclaim in a lamentable tone Holy Marquis King have mercy upon us his prudence or compassion opened the gates of the city to the fugitives and the slaves of their fellow Christians the streams of blood that flowed down the pages of Nicitus may be reduced to the slaughter of two thousand of his unresisting countrymen and the greater part was massacred not by the strangers but by the latins who had been driven from the city and who were exercised the revenge of a triumphant faction yet of these exiles some were less mindful of injuries than of benefits and Nicitus himself was indebted for his safety to the generosity of a Venetian merchant Pope Innocent III accuses the pilgrims for respecting in their lust neither age nor sex nor religious profession and bitterly laments that the deeds of darkness, fornication, adultery and incest were perpetrated in open day and that noble matrons and nuns were polluted by the grooms and peasants of the Catholic camp it is indeed probable that the license of victory prompted and covered a multitude of sins but it is certain that the capital of the east contained a stock of venal or willing beauty sufficient to satiate the desires of twenty thousand pilgrims and female prisoners were no longer a threat or abuse of domestic slavery the Marquis of Montferrat was the patron of discipline and decency the Count of Flanders was the mirror of chastity they had forbidden under pain of death the rape of married women or virgins or nuns and the proclamation was sometimes invoked by the vanquished and respected by the victors their cruelty and lust were moderated by the authority of the chiefs and feelings of the soldiers for we are no longer describing an eruption of the northern savages and however ferocious they might still appear time, policy and religion had civilized the manners of the French and still more of the Italians but a free scope was allowed their avarice which was glutted even in the holy week by the pillage of Constantinople the right of victory unshackled by any promise or treaty had confiscated the public and private wealth of the Greeks and every hand, according to its size and strength, might lawfully execute the sentence and seize the forfeiture a portable and universal standard of exchange was found in the coined and uncoined metals of gold and silver which each captor at home or abroad might convert into the possession most suitable to his temper and situation of the treasures which trade and luxury had accumulated the silks, velvets, furs the gems, spices and rich movables were the most precious as they could not be procured for money in the rudor countries of Europe an order of rapine was instituted nor was the share of each individual abandoned to industry or chance under the tremendous penalties of perjury excommunication and death the Latins were bound to deliver their plunder into the common stock three churches were selected for the deposit and distribution of the spoil a single share was allotted to a foot soldier two for a sergeant on horseback four to a knight and larger proportions according to the rank and merit of barons and princes for violating this secret engagement a knight belonging to the count of St. Paul was hanged with his shield and coat of arms around his neck his example might render similar fenders more artful and discreet but avarice was more powerful than fear and it is generally believed that the secret far exceeded the acknowledged plunder yet the magnitude of the prize was the largest scale of experience or expectation after the whole had been equally divided between the French and Venetians 50,000 marks were deducted to satisfy the debts of the former and the demands of the latter the residue of the French amounted to 400,000 marks of silver about 800,000 pounds sterling nor can I better appreciate the value of that sum in the public and private transactions of the age than by defining it as seven times the annual revenue of the kingdom of England in this great revolution we enjoy the singular felicity of comparing the narratives of Viaduan and Necetus the opposite feelings of the Marshal of Champagne and the Byzantine senator at the first view it should seem that the wealth of Constantinople is only transferred from one nation to another and that the loss and sorrow of the Greeks is exactly balanced by the joy and advantage of the Latins but in the miserable account of war the gain is never equivalent to the loss the pleasure to the pain the smiles of the Latins were transient and fallacious the Greeks forever wept over the ruins of their country and their real calamities were aggravated by sacrilege and mockery what benefits accrued to the conquerors from the three fires which annihilated so vast a portion of the buildings and riches of the city what a stock of such things as could neither be used nor transported was maliciously or wantonly destroyed how much treasure was idly wasted in gaming, debauchery and riot malicious objects were bartered for a vile price by the impatience or ignorance of the soldiers whose reward was stolen by the base industry of the last of the Greeks these alone who had nothing to lose might derive some profit from the revolution but the misery of the upper ranks of society is strongly painted in the personal adventures of Nicetas himself his stately palace had been reduced to ashes with a huge conflagration and the senator with his family and friends found an obscure shelter in another house which he possessed near the church of Saint Sophia it was the door of this mean habitation that his friend the Venetian merchant guarded in the disguise of a soldier till Nicetas could save by a precipitate flight the relics of his fortune and the chastity of his daughter in a cold wintry season these fugitives nursed in the lap of prosperity departed on foot his wife was with child the desertion of their slaves compelled them to carry their baggage on their own shoulders and their women whom they placed in the centre were exhorted to conceal their beauty with dirt instead of adorning it with paint and jewels every step was exposed to insult and danger the threats of the strangers were less painful than the taunts of the plebeians with whom they were now levelled nor did the exiles breathe in safety till their mournful pilgrimage was concluded at Slymbria above 40 miles from the capital on the way they overtook the patriarch without attendance and almost without apparel riding on an ass and reduced to a state of apostolic or poverty which had it been voluntary might perhaps have been meritorious in the meanwhile his desolate churches were profaned by their licentiousness and party zeal of the latins after stripping the gems and pearls they converted the chalices into drinking cups their tables on which they gamed and feasted covered with the pictures of Christ and the saints and they trampled underfoot the most venerable objects of the Christian worship in the cathedral of Saint Sophia the ample veil of the sanctuary was rent asunder for the sake of the golden fringe and the altar a monument of art and riches was broken in pieces and shared among the captors their mules and horses were laden with wrought silver and gilt carvings which they tore down from the doors and pulp it and if the beast stumbled under the burden they were stabbed by their impatient drivers and the holy pavement streamed with their impure blood a prostitute was seated on the throne of the patriarch and that daughter of Belial as she is styled sung and danced in the church to ridicule the hymns and processions of the orientals nor were the repositories of the royal dead secure from violation in the church of the apostles the tombs of the emperors were rifled and it is said that after six centuries the corpse of Justinian was found without any signs of decay or putrefaction in the streets the French and Flemings clothed themselves and their horses in painted robes and flowing headdresses of linen and the course in temperance of their feasts insulted the splendid sobriety of the east to expose the arms of the people of scribes and scholars they affected to display a pen, an inkhorn and a sheet of paper without discerning that the instruments of science and valor were alike feeble and useless in the hands of the modern Greeks their reputation and their language encouraged them however to despise the ignorance and to overlook the progress of the Latins in the love of the arts the national difference was still more obvious and real the Greeks preserved with reverence the works of their ancestors which they could not imitate and in the destruction of the statues of Constantinople we are provoked to join in the complaints and invectives of the Byzantine historian we have seen how the rising city was adorned by the vanity and despotism of the imperial founder in the ruins of paganism some gods and heroes were saved from the acts of superstition and the forum and hippodrome were dignified with the relics of a better age several of these are described by Nicetus in a florid and affected style and from his descriptions I shall select some interesting particulars one the victorious charioteers were cast in bronze at their own or the public charge and fitly placed in the hippodrome they stored a loft in their chariots wheeling round the goal the spectators could admire their attitude and judge of the resemblance and of these figures the most perfect might have been transported from the Olympic stadium two the Sphinx River Horse and Crocodile denote the climate and manufacture of Egypt and the spoils of that ancient province three the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus a subject alike pleasing to the old and the new Romans but which could rarely be treated before the decline of the Greek sculpture four an eagle holding and tearing a serpent in his talons a domestic monument of the Byzantines which they ascribed not to a human artist but to the magic power of the philosopher Apollonius who by this talisman delivered the city from such venomous reptiles five an ass and his driver which were erected by Augustus in his colony of Nicopolis to commemorate a verbal omen of the victory of Actium six an equestrian statue which passed in the vulgar opinion for Joshua, the Jewish conqueror stretching out his hand to stop the course of the descending sun a more classical tradition recognised the figures of Beleraphon and Pegasus and the free attitude of the steed seemed to mark that he trod on air rather than on the earth seven a square and lofty obelisk of brass the sides were embossed with a variety of picturesque and rural scenes birds singing, rustics labouring or playing on their pipes sheep bleeding lambs skipping the sea at a scene of fish and fishing little naked cupids laughing playing and pelting each other with apples and on the summit a female figure turning with the slightest breath and thence denominated the winds attendant eight the Phrygian shepherd presenting to Venus the prize of beauty the apple of discord nine the incomparable statue of Helen which is delineated by Nicitus in the words of admiration and love the well-turned feet snowy arms, rosy lips bewitching smiles swimming eyes, arched eyebrows the harmony of her shape the lightness of her drapery and her flowing locks that waved in the wind a beauty that might have moved her barbarian destroyers to pity and remorse ten the manly or divine form of Hercules as he was restored to life he had lost a hand of Lysippus of such magnitude that his thumb was equal to the waist his leg to the stature of a common man his chest ample his shoulders broad his limbs strong and muscular his hair curled his aspect commanding without his bow or quiver or club his lion's skin carelessly thrown over him he was seated on an osier basket his right leg and arm stretched to the utmost his left knee bent and supporting his elbow his head reclining on his left hand his countenance indignant and pensive eleven a colossal statue of Juno which had once adorned her temple of Samos the enormous head by four Yoko Voxen was laboriously drawn to the palace twelve another colossus of palace or Minerva thirty feet in height and represented with admirable spirit the attributes and character of the martial maid before we accuse the Latins it is just a remark that this palace was destroyed after the first siege by the fear and superstition of the Greeks themselves the other statues of brass which I have enumerated by the unfeeling avarice of the crusaders the cost and labor were consumed in a moment the soul of genius evaporated in smoke and the remnant of base metal was coined into money for the payment of the troops bronze is not the most durable of monuments from the marble forms of fidious and praxiteles the Latins might turn aside with stupid contempt unless they were crushed by some accidental injury those useless stones stood secure on their pedestals the most enlightened of the strangers above the gross and sensual pursuits of their countrymen more piously exercised the right of conquest in the search and seizure of the relics of the saints immense was the supply of heads and bones crosses and images scattered by this revolution over the churches of Europe and such was the increase of pilgrimage and ablation that no branch perhaps of more lucrative plunder was imported from the east of the writings of antiquity many that still existed in the 12th century are now lost but the pilgrims were not solicitous to save or transport the volumes of an unknown tongue the perishable subsidence of paper or parchment can only be preserved by the multiplicity of copies the literature of the Greeks had almost centered in the metropolis and without computing the extent of our loss we may drop a tear over the libraries that have perished in the triple fire of Constantinople End of chapter 60 Part 3 Chapter 61 Part 1 of the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire Volume 6 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Recording by Dick Duret The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire Volume 6 Chapter 61 Part 1 Chapter 61 Partition of the Empire by the French and Venetians Part 1 Partition of the Empire by the French and Venetians Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 1 Part 2 Part 1 Part 2 Part 1 Part 2 Part 1 Part 2 Part 1 and victory, agreed to divide and regulate their future possessions. It was stipulated by treaty that twelve electors, six of either nation, should be nominated, that a majority should choose the emperor of the east, and that if the votes were equal, the decision of chance should ascertain the successful candidate. To him, with all the titles and prerogatives of the Byzantine throne, they assigned the two palaces of Bocoleon and Blasheron with a fourth part of the Greek monarchy. It was defined that the three remaining portions should be equally shared between the Republic of Venice and the barons of France, that each feudatory, with an honorable exception for the doge, should acknowledge and perform the duties of homage and military service to the supreme head of the empire, that the nation which gave an emperor should resign to their brethren the choice of a patriarch, and that the pilgrims, whatever might be their impatience to visit the Holy Land, should devote another year to the conquest and defense of the Greek provinces. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Latins, the treaty was confirmed and executed, and the first and most important step was the creation of an emperor. The six electors of the French nation were all ecclesiastics, the abbot of Loches, the archbishop-elect of Accre in Palestine, and the bishops of Troyes, Swesson, Halberstadt, and Bethlehem, the last of whom exercised in the camp the office of Pope's Legate. Their profession and knowledge were respectable, and as they could not be the objects, they were best qualified to be the authors of the choice. The six Venetians were the principal servants of the state, and in this list, the noble families of Quirini and Contarini are still proud to discover their ancestors. The twelve assembled in the chapel of the palace, and after the solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, they proceeded to deliberate and vote. A just impulse of respect and gratitude prompted them to crown the virtues of the doge. His wisdom had inspired their enterprise, and the most useful knights might envy and applaud the exploits of blindness and age. But the patriot Dandelion was devoid of all personal ambition and fully satisfied that he had been judged worthy to reign. His nomination was overruled by the Venetians themselves. His countrymen and perhaps his friends represented, with the eloquence of truth, the mischiefs that might arise to national freedom and the common cause from the union of two incompatible characters of the first magistrate of a republic and the emperor of the east. The exclusion of the doge left room for the more equal merits of Boniface and Baldwin, and at their names all meaner candidates respectfully withdrew. The marquee of Montferrat was recommended by his mature age and fair reputation by the choice of the adventurers and the wishes of the Greeks. Nor can I believe that Venice, the mistress of the sea, could be seriously apprehensive of a petty lord at the foot of the Alps. But the Count of Flanders was the chief of a wealthy and warlike people. He was valiant, pious, and chaste in the prime of life since he was only 32 years of age, a descendant of Charlemagne, a cousin of the King of France, and a composer of the prelates and barons who had yielded with a reluctance to the command of a foreigner. Without the chapel, these barons, with the doge and marquee at their head, expected the decision of the twelve electors. It was announced by the Bishop of Suisson in the name of his colleagues. Ye have sworn to obey the prince whom we should choose. By our unanimous suffrage, Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and Heynult, is now your sovereign and the Emperor of the East. He was saluted with loud applause and the proclamation was re-echoed through the city by the joy of the Latins and the trembling adulation of the Greeks. Boniface was the first to kiss the hand of his rival and to raise him on the buckler, and Baldwin was transported to the cathedral and solemnly invested with the purple buskins. At the end of three weeks he was crowned by the legate in the vacancy of the patriarch, but the Venetian clergy soon filled the chapter of Saint Sophia, seated Thomas Morissini on the ecclesiastical throne and employed Ariat to perpetuate in their own nation the honors and benefits of the Greek Church. Without delay, the successor of Constantine instructed Palestine, France, and Rome of this memorable revolution. To Palestine he sent as a trophy the gates of Constantinople and the chain of the harbor and adopted from the Assisi of Jerusalem the laws or customs best adapted to a French colony and conquest in the east. In his epistles the natives of France are encouraged to swell that colony and to secure that conquest to people a magnificent city and a fertile land which will reward the laborers both of the priest and the soldier. He congratulates the Roman Pontiff on the restoration of his authority in the east invites him to extinguish the Greek schism by his presence in a general council and employs his blessing and forgiveness for the disobedient pilgrims. Prudence and dignity are blended in the answer of the innocent. In the subversion of the Byzantine Empire he arranges the vices of man and adores the providence of God. The conquerors will be absolved or condemned by their future conduct. The validity of their treaty depends on the judgment of Saint Peter but he inculcates their most sacred duty of establishing a just subordination of obedience and tribute from the Greeks to the Latins from the magistrate to the clergy and from the clergy to the pope. In the division of the Greek provinces the share of the Venetians was more ample than that of the Latin emperor no more than one fourth was appropriated to his domain. A clear moiety of the remainder was reserved for Venice and the other moiety was distributed among the adventures of France and Lombardi. The venerable Dandolo was proclaimed despot of Romania and invested after the Greek fashion with a purple buskins. He ended at Constantinople his long and glorious life and if the prerogative was personal the title was used by his successors till the middle of the 14th century with a singular though true edition of lords of one fourth and a half of the Roman Empire. The doge a slave of state was seldom permitted to depart from the helm of the Republic but his place was supplied by the Baal or Regent who exercised a supreme jurisdiction over the colony of Venetians. They possessed three of the eight quarters of the city and his independent tribunal was composed of six judges four counselors, two chamberlains, two fiscal advocates and a constable. Their long experience of the eastern trade enabled them to select their portion with discernment. They had rashly accepted the dominion and defense of Edurnaupol but it was the more reasonable aim of their policy to form a chain of factories and cities and islands along the maritime coast from the neighborhood of Ragoosa to the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. The labor and cost of such extensive conquests exhausted their treasury. They abandoned their maxims of government adopted a feudal system and contented themselves with the homage of their nobles for the possessions which these private vassals undertook to reduce and maintain and thus it was that the family of Sanut acquired the Duchy of Naxos which involved the greatest part of the archipelago for the price of 10,000 marks the republic purchased of the Marquis of Montferrat the fertile island of Crete or Candia with the ruins of a hundred cities but its improvement was tinted by the proud and narrow spirit of an aristocracy and the wisest senators would confess that the sea not the land was the treasury of Saint Mark. In the moiety of the adventurers the Marquis Boniface might claim the most liberal reward and besides the island of Crete his exclusion from the throne was compensated by the royal title and the provinces beyond the Hellespont but he prudently exchanged that distant and difficult conquest for the kingdom of Thessalonica Macedonia 12 days journey from the capital where he might be supported by the neighboring powers of his brother-in-law the king of Hungary. His progress was hailed by the voluntary or reluctant acclamations of the natives and Greece the proper and ancient Greece again received a Latin conqueror who trod with indifference that classic ground. He viewed with a careless eye the beauties of the valley of Tempe traversed with a cautious step the straits of Thermopylae occupied the unknown cities of Thebes Athens and Argos and assaulted the fortifications of Corinth and Napoli which resisted his arms. The lots of the Latin pilgrims were regulated by chance or choice or subsequent exchange and they abused with intemperate joy their triumph over the lives and fortunes of a great people. After a minute survey of the provinces they weighed in the scales of avarice the revenue of each district the advantage of the situation and the ample or scanty supplies for the maintenance of soldiers and horses their presumption claimed and divided the long lost dependencies of the Roman scepter the Nile and Euphrates rolled through their imaginary realms and happy was the warrior who drew for his prize the palace of the Turkish Sultan of Iconium. I shall not descend to the pedigree of families and the rent roll of estates but I wish to specify that the Counts of Blois and St. Paul were invested with the Duchy of Nice and the Lordship of De Monaca. The principal fiefs were held by the service of Constable Chamberlain Cupbearer Butler and Chief Cook and our historian Geoffrey of Villa Hardouin obtained a fair establishment on the banks of the Hebrews and united the double office of Marshal of Champagne and Romania. At the head of his knights and archers each baron mounted on horseback to secure the possession of his share and their first efforts were generally successful but the public force was weakened by their dispersion and a thousand quarrels must arise under a law and among men whose sole umpire was the sword. Within three months after the conquest of Constantinople the emperor and the king of Thessalonica drew their hostile followers into the field. They were reconciled by the authority of the Doge, the advice of the Marshal, and the firm freedom of their peers. Note William de Champlain, brother of the Count of Dijon, assumed the title of Prince of Ikea on the death of his brother. He returned with a regret to France to assume his paternal inheritance and left Villa Hardouin, his by-yee, on condition that if he did not return within a year Villa Hardouin was to retain an investiture. Brossettes add addendum to the Lebeau volume 16 page 200. M. Brossett adds from the Greek chronicle edited by M. Bouchon the somewhat unnightly trick by which Villa Hardouin disembarrassed himself from the troublesome claim of Robert, the cousin of the Count of Dijon, to the succession. He contrived that Robert should arrive just 15 days too late and with the general concurrence of the assembled knights was himself invested with a principality. Two fugitives who had reigned at Constantinople still asserted the title of emperor and the subjects of their fallen throne might be moved to pity by the misfortune of the elder Alexius or excited to revenge by the spirit of Moussouf, a domestic alliance a common interest a similar guilt and the merit of extinguishing his enemies a brother and a nephew induced the more recent usurper to unite with the former the relics of his power. Moussouf was received with smiles and honors in the camp of his father Alexius but the wicked can never love and should rarely trust their fellow criminals he was seized in the bath deprived of his eyes stripped of his troops and treasures and turned out to wander an object of horror and contempt to those who with more propriety could hate and with more justice could punish the assassin of the emperor Isaac and his son as the tyrant pursued by fear or remorse was stealing over to Asia he was seized by the latins of Constantinople and condemned after an open trial to an ignominious death his judges debated the mode of his execution the axe the wheel or the stake and it was resolved that Moussouf should ascend the theodosian column a pillar of white marble of 147 feet in height from the summit he was cast down headlong and dashed in pieces on the pavement in the presence of innumerable innumerable spectators who filled the form the forum of Taurus and admired the accomplishment of an old prediction which was explained by this singular event the fate of Alexius is less tragical he was sent by the Marquis a captive to Italy and a gift to the king of the Romans but he had not much to applaud his fortune if descendants of imprisonment and exile were changed from a fortress and the Alps to a monastery in Asia but his daughter before the national calamity had been given in marriage to a young hero who continued the succession and restored the throne of the Greek princes the valour of Theodore Lekaris was signalized in the two sieges of Constantinople after the flight of Moussouf when the latins were already in the city he offered himself as their emperor to the soldiers and people and his ambition which might be virtuous was undoubtedly brave could he have infused a soul into the multitude they might have crushed the strangers under their feet their abject despair refused his aid and Theodore retired to breathe the air of freedom in Anatolia beyond the immediate view and pursuit of the conquerors under the title at first of despot and afterwards of emperor he drew to his standard the bolder spirits who were fortified against slavery by the contempt of life and as every means was lawful for the public safety implored without scruple the alliance of the Turkish sultan niece where Theodore established his residence Prusa and Philadelphia Smyrna and Ephesus opened their gates to their deliverer he derived strength and reputation from his victories and even from his defeats and the successor of Constantine preserved a fragrant a fragment of the empire from the banks of the manda to the suburbs of nicomedia and at length of Constantinople another portion distant and obscure was possessed by the lineal heir of the comini a son of the virtuous manuel a grandson of the tyrant andronicus his name was alexius and the epithet of great was applied perhaps to his stature rather than to his exploits by the indulgence of the angeli he was appointed governor or duke of trepizond his birth gave him ambition the revolution independence and without changing his title he reigned in peace from synope to the fascis along the coast of the black sea his nameless son and successor is described as the vassal of the sultan whom he served with 200 lances that communion prince was no more than duke of trepizond and the title of emperor was first assumed by the pride and envy of the grandson of alexius in the west a third fragment was saved from the common shipwreck by michael a bastard of the house of angeli who before the revolution had been known as a hostage a soldier and a rebel his flight from the camp of the marquis bonafas secured his freedom by his marriage with the governor's daughter he commanded the important place of durazo assumed the title of despot and founded a strong and conspicuous principality in eporous italia and thessaly which have ever been people by a warlike race the greeks who had offered their service to their new sovereigns were excluded by the hardy latins from all civil and military honors as a nation born to tremble and obey their resentment prompted them to show that they might have been useful friends since they could be dangerous enemies their nerves were braced by adversity whatever was learned or holy whatever was noble or valiant rolled away into the independent states of trepizond eporous and niece and a single patrician is marked by the ambiguous praise of attachment and loyalty to the franks the vulgar herd of the cities and the country would have gladly submitted to a mild and regular servitude and the transient disorders of war would have been obliterated by some years of industry and peace but peace was banished and industry was crushed in the disorders of the feudal system the roman emperors of constant noble if they were endowed with abilities were armed with power for the protection of their subjects their laws were wise and their administration was simple the latin throne was filled by a titular prince the chief and often the servant of his licentious confederates the thieves of the empire from a kingdom to a castle were held in rule by the sword of the barons and their discord poverty and ignorance extended the ramifications of tyranny to the most sequestered villages the greeks were oppressed by the double weight of the priest who were invested with temporal power and of the soldier who was inflamed by fanatic hatred and the insuperable bar of religion and language forever separated the stranger and the native as long as the crusaders were united at constant noble the memory of their conquest and the terror of their arms imposed silence on the captive land their dispersion betrayed the smallness of the numbers and the defects of their discipline and some failures and mischances revealed the secret that they were not invincible as the fears of the greeks abated the hatred increased they murdered they conspired and before a year of slavery had elapsed they implored or accepted the sucker of a barbarian whose power they had felt and whose gratitude they trusted the latin conquerors had been saluted with a solemn and early embassy from john or joanese or calo john the revolted chief of the bulgarians and willachians he deemed himself their brother as the rotary of the roman pontiff from whom he had received the regal title and a holy banner and in the subversion of the greek monarchy he might aspire to the name of their friend and accomplice but calo john was astonished to find that the counter flanders had assumed the pomp and pride of the successes of constantine and his ambassadors were dismissed with a hearty message that the rebel must deserve a pardon by touching with his forehead the footstool of the imperial throne his resentment would have exhaled in acts of violence and blood his cooler policy watched the rising discontent of the greeks affected a tender concern for their sufferings and promised that their first struggles for freedom should be supported by his person and kingdom the conspiracy was propagated by national hatred the firmest ban of association and secrecy the greeks were impatient to sheath their daggers in the breasts of the victoria strangers but the execution was prudently delayed till henry the emperor a brother had transported the flower of his troops beyond the helispont most of the towns and villages of thrace were true to the moment and the signal and the latins without arms or suspicion were slaughtered by the vile and merciless revenge of their slaves from the mortica the first scene of the massacre the surviving vassals of the count of st poel escaped to adieu nopel but the french and venetians who occupied that city were slain or expelled by the furious multitude the garrisons that could have effected their retreat fell back on each other towards the metropolis and the fortresses that separated separately stood against the rebels were ignorant of each others and of their sovereigns fate the voice of fame and fear announced the revolt of the greeks and the rapid approach of their bulgarian ally and calla john not depending on the forces of his own kingdom had drawn from the citian wilderness a body of 14 000 commons who drank at it at his was said the blood of their captives and sacrificed the christians on the altars of their gods alarmed by this sudden and growing danger the emperor dispatched a swift messenger to recall count henry and his troops and had bald when expected the return of his gallant brother with a supply of 20 000 armenians he might have encountered the invader with equal numbers and a decisive superiority superiority of arms and discipline but the spirit of chivalry could sell them discriminate caution from cowardice and the emperor took the field with 140 knights and their train of archers and sergeants the marshal who dissuaded and obeyed led the vanguard in their march to adrian opal the main body was commanded by the count of blois the aged doge of venice followed with the rear and their scanty numbers were increased from all sides by the fugitive latin's they undertook to besiege the rebels over adria now adrian opal and such was the pious tendency of the crusades that they employed the holy week and pillaging the country for their subsistence and enframing engines for the destruction of their fellow christians but the latin's were soon interrupted and alarmed by the light cavalry of the comans who boldly skirmished to the edge of their imperfect lines and a proclamation was issued by the marshal of romania that on the trumpets sound the cavalry should mount and form but that none on the pain of death should abandon themselves to a desultory and dangerous pursuit this wise injunction was first dissipated by the count of blois who involved the emperor in his rashness and ruin the comans of the pathian or tata school fled before their first charge but after a career of two leagues when the knights and their horses were almost breathless they suddenly turned rallied and encompassed the heavy squadrons of the franks the count was slain on the field the emperor was made prisoner and if the one disdained to fly if the other refused to yield their personal bravery made a poor atonement for their ignorance or neglect of the duties of a general note gibbon appears to me to have misapprehended the passage of nasetus he says that principal and subtlest mischief that primary cause of all horrible miseries suffered by the romans that is the bison teens it is an effusion of malicious triumph against the venetians to whom he always ascribed the capture of constantan opal end of chapter 61 pot one recording by dick dirrett manchester new hampshire usa