Sir Walter Scott transmitted from Naples, in February, 1832, an
Introduction for CASTLE DANGEROUS; but if he ever wrote one for a
second Edition of ROBERT OF PARIS, it has not been discovered among his
papers. Some notes, chiefly extracts from the books which he had been
observed to consult while _dictating_ this novel, are now appended to
its pages; and in addition to what the author had given in the shape of
historical information respecting the principal real persons
introduced, the reader is here presented with what may probably amuse
him, the passage of the Alexiad, in which Anna Comnena describes the
incident which originally, no doubt, determined Sir Walter's choice of
a hero.
May, A.D. 1097.--"As for the multitude of those who advanced towards
THE GREAT CITY, let it be enough to say that they were as the stars in
the heaven, or as the sand upon the sea-shore. They were, in the words
of Homer, _as many as the leaves and flowers of spring_. But for the
names of the leaders, though they are present in my memory, I will not
relate them. The numbers of these would alone deter me, even if my
language furnished the means of expressing their barbarous sounds; and
for what purpose should I afflict my readers with a long enumeration of
the names of those, whose visible presence gave so much horror to all
that beheld them?
"As soon, therefore, as they approached the Great City, they occupied
the station appointed for them by the Emperor, near to the monastery of
Cosmidius. But this multitude were not, like the Hellenic one of old,
to be restrained and governed by the loud voices of nine heralds; they
required the constant superintendence of chosen and valiant soldiers,
to keep them from violating the commands of the Emperor.
"He, meantime, laboured to obtain from the other leaders that
acknowledgment of his supreme authority, which had already been drawn
from Godfrey [Greek: Gontophre] himself. But, notwithstanding the
willingness of some to accede to this proposal, and their assistance in
working on the minds of their associates, the Emperor's endeavours had
little success, as the majority were looking for the arrival of
Bohemund [Greek: Baimontos], in whom they placed their chief
confidence, and resorted to every art with the view of gaining time.
The Emperor, whom it was not easy to deceive, penetrated their motives;
and by granting to one powerful person demands which had been supposed
out of all bounds of expectation, and by resorting to a variety of
other devices, he at length prevailed, and won general assent to the
following of the example of Godfrey, who also was sent for in person to
assist in this business.
"All, therefore, being assembled, and Godfrey among them, the oath was
taken; but when all was finished, a certain Noble among these Counts
had the audacity to seat himself on the throne of the Emperor. [Greek:
Tolmaesas tis apo panton ton komaeton eugenaes eis ton skimpoda ton
Basileos ekathisen.] The Emperor restrained himself and said nothing,
for he was well acquainted of old with the nature of the Latins.
"But the Count Baldwin [Greek: Baldoninos] stepping forth, and seizing
him by the hand, dragged him thence, and with many reproaches said, 'It
becomes thee not to do such things here, especially after having taken
the oath of fealty. [Greek: douleian haeposchomeno]. It is not the
custom of the Roman Emperors to permit any of their inferiors to sit
beside them, not even of such as are born subjects of their empire; and
it is necessary to respect the customs of the country.' But he,
answering nothing to Baldwin, stared yet more fixedly upon the Emperor,
and muttered to himself something in his own dialect, which, being
interpreted, was to this effect--'Behold, what rustic fellow [Greek:
choritaes] is this, to be seated alone while such leaders stand around
him!' The movement of his lips did not escape the Emperor, who called
to him one that understood the Latin dialect, and enquired what words
the man had spoken. When he heard them, the Emperor said nothing to the
other Latins, but kept the thing to himself. When, however, the
business was all over, he called near to him by himself that swelling
and shameless Latin [Greek: hypsaelophrona ekeinon kai anaidae], and
asked of him, who he was, of what lineage, and from what region he had
come. 'I am a Frank,' said he, 'of pure blood, of the Nobles. One thing
I know, that where three roads meet in the place from which I came,
there is an ancient church, in which whosoever has the desire to
measure himself against another in single combat, prays God to help him
therein, and afterwards abides the coming of one willing to encounter
him. At that spot long time did I remain, but the man bold enough to
stand against me I found not.' Hearing these words the Emperor said,
'If hitherto thou hast sought battles in vain, the time is at hand
which will furnish thee with abundance of them. And I advise thee to
place thyself neither before the phalanx, nor in its rear, but to stand
fast in the midst of thy fellow-soldiers; for of old time I am well
acquainted with the warfare of the Turks.' With such advice he
dismissed not only this man, but the rest of those who were about to
depart on that expedition."--_Alexiad_, Book x. pp. 237, 238.
Ducange, as is mentioned in the novel, identifies the church, thus
described by the crusader, with that of _Our Lady of Soissons_, of
which a French poet of the days of Louis VII. says--
Veiller y vont encore li Pelerin
Cil qui bataille veulent fere et fournir.
DUCANGE _in Alexiad_, p. 86.
The Princess Anna Comnena, it may be proper to observe, was born on the
first of December, A.D. 1083, and was consequently in her fifteenth
year when the chiefs of the first crusade made their appearance in her
father's court. Even then, however, it is not improbable that she might
have been the wife of Nicephorus Bryennius, whom, many years after his
death, she speaks of in her history as [Greek: ton emon Kaisara], and
in other terms equally affectionate. The bitterness with which she
uniformly mentions Bohemund, Count of Tarentum, afterwards Prince of
Antioch, has, however, been ascribed to a disappointment in love; and
on one remarkable occasion, the Princess certainly expressed great
contempt of her husband. I am aware of no other authorities for the
liberties taken with this lady's conjugal character in the novel.
Her husband, Nicephorus Bryennius, was the grandson of the person of
that name, who figures in history as the rival, in a contest for the
imperial throne, of Nicephorus Botoniates. He was, on his marriage with
Anna Comnena, invested with the rank of _Panhypersebastos_, or _Omnium
Augustissimus_; but Alexius deeply offended him, by afterwards
recognising the superior and simpler dignity of a _Sebastos_. His
eminent qualities, both in peace and war, are acknowledged by Gibbon:
and he has left us four books of Memoirs, detailing the early part of
his father-in-law's history, and valuable as being the work of an
eye-witness of the most important events which he describes. Anna
Comnena appears to have considered it her duty to take up the task
which her husband had not lived to complete; and hence the
Alexiad--certainly, with all its defects, the first historical work
that has as yet proceeded from a female pen.
"The life of the Emperor Alexius," (says Gibbon,) "has been delineated
by the pen of a favourite daughter, who was inspired by tender regard
for his person, and a laudable zeal to perpetuate his virtues.
Conscious of the just suspicion of her readers, the Princess repeatedly
protests, that, besides her personal knowledge, she had searched the
discourses and writings of the most respectable veterans; and that
after an interval of thirty years, forgotten by, and forgetful of the
world, her mournful solitude was inaccessible to hope and fear: that
truth, the naked perfect truth, was more dear than the memory of her
parent. Yet instead of the simplicity of style and narrative which wins
our belief, an elaborate affectation of rhetoric and science betrays in
every page the vanity of a female author. The genuine character of
Alexius is lost in a vague constellation of virtues; and the perpetual
strain of panegyric and apology awakens our jealousy, to question the
veracity of the historian, and the merit of her hero. We cannot,
however, refuse her judicious and important remark, that the disorders
of the times were the misfortune and the glory of Alexius; and that
every calamity which can afflict a declining empire was accumulated on
his reign by the justice of Heaven and the vices of his predecessors.
In the east, the victorious Turks had spread, from Persia to the
Hellespont, the reign of the Koran and the Crescent; the west was
invaded by the adventurous valour of the Normans; and, in the moments
of peace, the Danube poured forth new swarms, who had gained in the
science of war what they had lost in the ferociousness of their
manners. The sea was not less hostile than the land; and, while the
frontiers were assaulted by an open enemy, the palace was distracted
with secret conspiracy and treason.
"On a sudden, the banner of the Cross was displayed by the Latins;
Europe was precipitated on Asia; and Constantinople had almost been
swept away by this impetuous deluge. In the tempest Alexius steered the
Imperial vessel with dexterity and courage. At the head of his armies,
he was bold in action, skilful in stratagem, patient of fatigue, ready
to improve his advantages, and rising from his defeats with
inexhaustible vigour. The discipline of the camp was reversed, and a
new generation of men and soldiers was created by the precepts and
example of their leader. In his intercourse with the Latins, Alexius
was patient and artful; his discerning eye pervaded the new system of
an unknown world.
"The increase of the male and female branches of his family adorned the
throne, and secured the succession; but their princely luxury and pride
offended the patricians, exhausted the revenue, and insulted the misery
of the people. Anna is a faithful witness that his happiness was
destroyed and his health broken by the cares of a public life; the
patience of Constantinople was fatigued by the length and severity of
his reign; and before Alexius expired, he had lost the love and
reverence of his subjects. The clergy could not forgive his application
of the sacred riches to the defence of the state; but they applauded
his theological learning, and ardent zeal for the orthodox faith, which
he defended with his tongue, his pen, and his sword. Even the sincerity
of his moral and religious virtues was suspected by the persons who had
passed their lives in his confidence. In his last hours, when he was
pressed by his wife Irene to alter the succession, he raised his head,
and breathed a pious ejaculation on the vanity of the world. The
indignant reply of the Empress may be inscribed as an epitaph on his
tomb,--'You die, as you have lived--a hypocrite.'
"It was the wish of Irene to supplant the eldest of her sons in favour
of her daughter, the Princess Anna, whose philosophy would not have
refused the weight of a diadem. But the order of male succession was
asserted by the friends of their country; the lawful heir drew the
royal signet from the finger of his insensible or conscious father, and
the empire obeyed the master of the palace. Anna Comnena was stimulated
by ambition and revenge to conspire against the life of her brother;
and when the design was prevented by the fears or scruples of her
husband, she passionately exclaimed that nature had mistaken the two
sexes, and had endowed Bryennius with the soul of a woman. After the
discovery of her treason, the life and fortune of Anna were justly
forfeited to the laws. Her life was spared by the clemency of the
Emperor, but he visited the pomp and treasures of her palace, and
bestowed the rich confiscation on the most deserving of his
friends."--_History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_, chap.
xlviii.
The year of Anna's death is nowhere recorded. She appears to have
written the _Alexiad_ in a convent; and to have spent nearly thirty
years in this retirement, before her book was published.
For accurate particulars of the public events touched on in _Robert of
Paris,_ the reader is referred to the above quoted author, chapters
xlviii. xlix. and l.; and to the first volume of Mills' History of the
Crusades.
J. G. L. London, _1st March_, 1833.