1. The Original Text of The Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople
The link to the entire text resides here:
Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople
I believe that every person has heard of the Fourth Crusade and it’s treacherous change of directions – from freeing the Holy Land into killing Greeks and Romans. Still, it is appropriate to begin with the quote of the beginning, as end should be quoted in the end.
| " | Be it known to you that eleven hundred and ninety-seven years after the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the time of Innocent Pope of Rome, and Philip King of France, and Richard King of England, there was in France a holy man named Fulk of Neuilly - which Neuilly is between Lagni-sur-Marne and Paris - and he was a priest and held the cure of the village. And this said Fulk began to speak of God throughout the Isle-de-France, and the other countries round about; and you must know that by him the Lord wrought many miracles. " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
The Chroncile clearly describes us who were the first to take the cross and where, and this is good, as usually such details have been lost through time. The Chronicle also describes us who were the emmisaries sent to Venice and how they were greeted by the Doge Enrico Dandolo:
| " | did them great honour, both he and the other folk, and entertained them right willingly, marvelling, however, when the envoys had delivered their letters, what might be the matter of import that had brought them to that country " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
The sum that the crusaders have to pay and in what time is also said. So we read of Count Thibaut’s death and Geoffrey mentions that
| " | Thus died the count; and no man in this world made a better end " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
Also, the destructive agreement over the fate of Zara is made, only that the Crusaders get out of Venice and into the Holy Land. But things never turn up quite the way they were supposed to.
| " | "The King of Hungary has taken from us Zara in Sclavonia, which is one of the strongest places in the world; and never shall we recover it with all the power that we possess, save with the help of these people. Let us therefore ask them to help us to reconquer it, and we will remit the payment of the debt of 34,000 marks of silver, until such time as it shall please God to allow us to gain the moneys by conquest, we and they together." " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
After this, we can read of the conquest of Zara, then of the meeting with Alexios and the excursion to Constantinople to reclaim the throne. It seems by reading this that Geoffrey was himself a supporter of these diversions and hoped to gain either land or property, as he did later on in his life.
We can read of the coronation of the Emperor, after a somewhat interesting depiction of the taking and losing and taking of Constantinople.
| " | „Lords, we are agreed, let God be thanked! upon the choice of an emperor; and you have all sworn that he whom we shall elect as ern,,)eror shall be held by you to be emperor indeed, and that it any one gainsay him, you will be his helpers. And we name him now at the self-same hour when God was born, the Count Baldwin of Flanders and Hainault!" " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
We can successfully read of the following events – multiple deaths, escpaes, conquerings and losses. After all, the Greeks were in war with the Crusaders and the natives had to be calmed down for them to accept a foreign rule.
After this, we can read of the attempts to take Adrianople and the relief of Adrianople, the capture of the Emperor and the death of several counts.
| " | The emperor, who was in great straits on his side, recalled his people, and he told them that he would not fly, and that they were to remain with him: and well do those who were there present bear witness that never did knight defend himself better with his hands than did the emperor. This combat lasted a long time. Some were there who did well, and some were there who fled. In the end, for so God suffers misadventures to occur, they were discomfited. There on the field remained the Emperor Baldwin, who never would fly, and Count Louis; the Emperor Baldwin was taken alive and Count Louis was slain.
Alas! how woful was our loss! There was lost the Bishop Peter of Bethlehem, and Stephen of Perche, brother to Count Geoffry, and Renaud of Montmirail, brother of the Count of Nevers, and Matthew of Wallincourt, and Robert of Ronsoi, John of Friaise, Walter of Neuilli, Ferri of Yerres, John his brother, Eustace of Heumont, John his brother, Baldwin of Neuville, and many more of whom the book does not here make mention. Those who were able to escape, they came back flying to the camp. " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
The Chronicle speaks of the damage made by Johannizza, the King of Wallachia and Bulgaria to several of the more populated areas, giving a hard time for the Latin Empire.
| " | Near there was another citv called Panedor, which surrendered to him; and he caused it to be utterly destroyed, and the people to be led captive to Wallachia like the people of Rodosto. Afterwards he rode to the city of Heraclea, that lay by a good seaport, and belonged to the Venetians, who had left in it but a weak garrison; so he assaulted it, and took it by force. There was a mighty slaughter, and the remnant that escaped the slaughter he caused to be led captive to Wallachia, while the city itself he destroyed, as lie had destroyed the others. " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
Lastly, we read of an alliance between the Nicaean Empire and the King of Wallachia against the Latin Empire, and so they assault together to have the Latin Empire on it’s knees.
| " | The head of the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat was cut off, and the people of the land sent it to Johannizza; and that was one of the greatest joys that ever Johannizza had. Alas! what a dolorous mishap for the Emperor Henry, and for all the Latins of the land of Roumania, to lose such a man by such a misadventure-one of the best barons and most liberal, and one of the best knights in the world! And this misadventure befell in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, twelve hundred and seven. " |
| -- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople |
2. Geoffrey of Villehardouin
He was born in 1160. Being on a tournament where Thibaut declared the Crusade, he was assigned to be an ambassador therefore he could easily describe the events later on. He served as a knight and a commander during 1204, in 1205 he was assigned to a Thracian city. Two years later, he began writing the Chronicle, and especially interesting is that Geoffrey wrote it in French, not in Latin. Villehardoin is supposed to die around 1212 of unknown reasons, that most probably are related to wartime injuries and old age combining itself. |
