Venice.
Henry Dandolo had, in his early years, passed, with general approbation,
through many of the subordinate offices of government; and had, a few
years before he was elected to the dignity of Doge, been Ambassador at
the court of Manuel, the Greek emperor at Constantinople. There, on
account of his inflexible integrity, and his refusing to enter into
the views of Manuel, which he thought contrary to the interest of his
country, his eyes were almost entirely put out, by order of that tyrant.
Notwithstanding this impediment, and his great age, being above eighty,
he was now elected to the office of Doge.
At this time, some of the most powerful princes and nobles of France
and Flanders, instigated by the zeal of Innocent the Third, and still
more by their own pious fervour, resolved, in a fourth crusade, to
attempt the recovery of the Holy Land, and the sepulchre of Christ, from
the hands of Infidels; and being, by the fate of others, taught the
difficulties and dangers of transporting armies by land, they resolved
to take their passage from Europe to Asia by sea. On this occasion they
applied to the Venetian State, who not only agreed to furnish ships for
the transportation of the army, but also to join, with an armed fleet, as
principals in the expedition.
The French army arrived soon after in the Venetian State; but so ill had
they calculated, that, when every thing was ready for the embarkation,
part of the sum which they had agreed to pay for the transporting their
troops, was deficient. This occasioned disputes between the French
leaders and the State, which the Doge put an end to, by proposing, that
they should pay in military services what they could not furnish in
money. This was accepted, and the first exploits of the Crusade army
were, the reduction of the town of Zara, and other places in Dalmatia,
which had revolted from the Venetians. It had been previously agreed,
that, after this service, the army should embark immediately for Egypt;
but Dandolo, who had another project more at heart, represented that the
season was too far advanced, and found means to persuade the French army
to winter in Dalmatia.
During this interval, Dandolo, availing himself of some favourable
circumstances, had the dexterity to determine the French Crusaders,
in spite of the interdiction of the Pope, to join with the Venetian
forces, and to carry their arms against the emperor of Constantinople; an
expedition which, Dandolo asserted, would facilitate their original plan
against the Holy Land, and which, he was convinced, would be attended
with far greater advantages to both parties.
The crown of Constantinople was never surrounded with greater dangers,
nor has it ever known more sudden revolutions, than at this period.
Manuel, who had treated Dandolo, while ambassador, with so much
barbarity, had been precipitated from the throne. His immediate successor
had, a short time after, experienced the same fate. Betrayed by his own
brother, his eyes had been put out, and, in that deplorable condition,
he was kept close prisoner by the usurper. The son of this unfortunate
man had escaped from Constantinople, and had arrived at Venice, to
implore the protection of that State: the compassion which his misfortune
naturally excited, had considerable effect in promoting the Doge’s
favourite scheme of leading the French and Venetian forces against
Constantinople. The indefatigable Dandolo went, in person, at the head
of his countrymen. The united army beat the troops of the usurper in
repeated battles, obliged him to fly from Constantinople, placed his
brother on the throne, and restored to him his son Alexis, who had been
obliged to take refuge at Venice, from the cruelty of his uncle, and had
accompanied Dandolo in this successful enterprise.
A misunderstanding soon after ensued between the united armies and
Alexis, now associated with his father on the throne of Constantinople.
The Greeks murmured at the favour which their emperor shewed to those
foreigners, and thought his liberality to them inconsistent with his duty
to his own subjects. The Crusaders, on the other hand, imagined, that all
the wealth of his empire was hardly sufficient to repay the obligations
he owed to them. The young prince, desirous to be just to the one, and
grateful to the other, lost the confidence of both; and, while he strove
to conciliate the minds of two sets of men, whose views and interests
were opposite, he was betrayed by Murtsuphlo, a Greek, who had gained
his confidence, and whom he had raised to the highest dignities of the
empire. This traitor insinuated to the Greeks, that Alexis had agreed
to deliver up Constantinople to be pillaged, that he might satisfy the
avarice and rapacity of those strangers who had restored his family to
the throne. The people fly to arms, the palace is invested, Alexis and
his father are put to death, and Murtsuphlo is declared emperor.
These transactions, though ascertained by the authenticity of history,
seem as rapid as the revolutions of a theatrical representation.
The chiefs of the united army, struck with horror and indignation,
assemble in council. Dandolo, always decisive in the moment of danger,
gives it as his opinion, that they should immediately declare war against
the usurper, and make themselves masters of the empire. This opinion
prevails, and the conquest of the Greek empire is resolved upon.
After several bloody battles, and various assaults, the united armies of
France and Venice enter victorious into Constantinople, and divide the
spoils of that wealthy city.
The Doge, never so much blinded with success as to lose sight of the true
interest of his country, did not think of procuring for the republic,
large dominions on the continent. The Venetians had, for their share, the
islands of the Archipelago, several ports on the coast of the Hellespont,
the Morea, and the entire island of Candia. This was a judicious
partition for Venice, the augmentation of whose strength depended on
commerce, navigation, and the empire of the sea.
Though the star of Dandolo rose in obscurity, and shone with no
extraordinary lustre at its meridian height, yet nothing ever surpassed
the brilliancy of its setting rays.
This extraordinary man died at Constantinople, oppressed with age, but
while the laurels, which adorned his hoary head, were in youthful verdure.
The annals of mankind present nothing more worthy of our admiration.
A man, above the age of eighty, and almost entirely deprived of his
sight, despising the repose necessary for age, and the secure honours
which attended him at home; engaging in a hazardous enterprise, against
a distant and powerful enemy; supporting the fatigues of a military
life with the spirit of youth, and the perseverance of a veteran, in a
superstitious age; and, whilst he led an army of religious enthusiasts,
braving, at once, the indignation of the Pope, the prejudices of bigots,
and all the dangers of war; displaying the ardour of a conqueror, the
judgment of a statesman, and the disinterested spirit of a patriot;
preparing distant events, improving accidental circumstances, managing
the most impetuous characters; and, with admirable address, making all
subservient to the vast plan he had conceived, for the aggrandizing his
native country. Yet this man passed his youth, manhood, and great part of
his old age, unknown. Had he died at seventy, his name would have been
swept, with the common rubbish of courts and capitals, into the gulph of
oblivion. So necessary are occasions, and situations, for bringing into
light the concealed vigour of the greatest characters; and so true it
is, that while we see, at the head of kingdoms, men of the most vulgar
abilities, the periods of whose existence serve only as dates to history,
many whose talents and virtues would have swelled her brightest pages
have died unnoted, from the obscurity of their situations, or the languor
and stupidity of the ages in which they lived.
But the romantic story of Henry Dandolo has seduced me from my original
purpose, which was, to give you an idea of the rise and progress of the
Venetian aristocracy, and which I shall resume in my next.