THE VENETIANS AT CONSTANTINOPLE.
Nine months had elapsed since the Crusaders left Venice, and no
disaster had befallen them. The Adriatic and Ionian Seas were safely
passed; threading the Islands of the Archipelago, crossing the Ægean,
and through the Straits of the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmora,
even to the quays of the Byzantine capital, had they come, and no
voice or hand had been raised to stay them.
When a nearer approach revealed to them the beauty, the strength, and
the magnitude of the city they hoped to conquer, we may well believe,
as Gibbon has said, "that 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." Rising from seven
hills, the city towered above two continents; five hundred palaces
and splendidly domed churches bristling with spires, were doubled by
reflection in the waters, while the ramparts were crowded with
warriors and citizens.
The Emperor, Alexius the Elder, had known all their movements; but
until the fleet was almost at the border of his garden on the Golden
Horn, he would not allow that the Crusaders could come as his
enemies. When, after some delay, the fleet was anchored off Scutari,
and the army encamped within full view of Constantinople, across the
Bosphorus, Alexius was filled with alarm, and sent a messenger to the
leaders to demand why they had come {49} into his territory, to
assure them of his readiness to supply all their wants, and of his
unwillingness to injure them, at the same time declaring his power to
do so.
The astonished Crusaders returned a sufficiently clear answer. They
declared the Emperor to be a usurper; that the rightful ruler, the
son of Isaac, was with them, and if the crown and empire were at once
surrendered to him, the Crusaders would ask the young Emperor to
pardon his uncle and give him enough to live upon in luxury. They
then assured the messenger that unless he returned with an answer
assenting to these proposals, he had better not dare to come at all.
The leaders believed that a large party existed in Constantinople who
would favor the young Alexius, and deemed it expedient to give this
party an opportunity to declare themselves. They manned and armed
the galleys; Dandolo, Boniface, and Alexius were on one, and an army
of knights and barons on the others. The walls of the city came to
the water's edge for a long distance, and the deep water permitted
the ships to approach very near them; the ramparts were filled with
spectators, as the grand procession crossed the Bosphorus and halted
under their very eyes. Some one near to Alexius proclaimed: "Here is
your rightful lord. We come not to harm you, but to protect you if
you do right. He whom you now obey rules you wrongfully, against the
law of God and man. Here is the real heir. If you do not
acknowledge him, we will do our worst against you." This
proclamation was received with derision, and the people answered: "We
know nothing of him. Who is he?"
The Crusaders returned to Scutari, and made their plans for attacking
the city. So serious a matter as was now in hand overcame all
disaffections; their task seemed hopeless, and every man realized
that he must fight for the cause and not for himself. The priests
urged the {50} confession on all, advised the making of wills, and
held solemn services, praying to all the saints for protection, and
promising generous returns for such assistance.
When all was ready for action, the French undertook an assault by
land. The knights with their horses embarked on the transports,
which could be opened in such a way as to permit the mounted men to
ride across the gangways. The foot-soldiers followed on the larger
ships. Alexius went with the barons, attended with all the state
possible. The crossbowmen and archers were so placed as to clear a
landing; the impatient knights leaped into the water while it was
still up to the waist, and, lance in hand, reached the shore. The
landing was made without opposition, and the army encamped in the
Jewish quarter.
The Tower or Castle of Galata was taken next morning with little
opposition; by this means the immense chain which closed the harbor,
or the entrance to the Golden Horn, was loosened and the Venetians
were able to enter with their ships. They surprised the Greek
galleys, captured a part of them, and sunk others. Four days were
now spent in preparations for the grand attack by sea and land; and
on the fifth day, which was the 17th of July, the terrible struggle
was begun.
The French conducted the land attack with vigor, and had the Greeks
been their only opponents they would have been easily overcome. But
the brave English and Danes,--the Varangians, as they were
called,--although the hired soldiers of the Emperor, drove back the
invaders, and bravely defeated the attack.
Meantime the Doge placed a fleet in the Golden Horn, in line along
the eastern wall of the city, and began his attack in earnest.
Wherever the danger was greatest there was the Doge; and his
achievements are almost beyond belief, when his great age and weak
sight are remembered. Gibbon was not over-fond of the Venetians; let
us quote his tribute to them on this proud day:--
{51}
"On the side of the harbor the attack was more successfully conducted
by the Venetians; and that industrious people employed every resource
that was known and practised before the invention of gunpowder. A
double line, three bowshots 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 turrets 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 ascended their scaling-ladders, while
the large ships, advancing more slowly into the intervals and
lowering a drawbridge, opened a way through the air from their masts
to the rampart.
"In the midst of the conflict the Doge's venerable and conspicuous
form stood aloft in complete armor on the prow of his galley. The
great standard of St. Mark was displayed before him; his threats,
promises, and exhortations urged the diligence of the rowers; his
vessel was the first that struck; and Dandolo was the first warrior
on 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, twenty-five towers
were rapidly occupied, and, by the cruel expedient of fire, the
Greeks were driven from the adjacent quarter."
Fearful for the fate of the French, Dandolo now hastened to their
relief with his troops. The Emperor Alexius had made a sally, but
the aspect of his foes terrified him more and more. At evening he
withdrew his forces, and in the darkness of the night, taking £10,000
and many rich jewels with him, by the way of the Bosphorus he reached
obscurity in Thrace. He deserted his throne and his people, his wife
and his children, taking with him his daughter Irene alone.
The chief eunuch of the palace, Constantine, prefect of {52} the
treasury, first discovered this flight, and sagely warned the most
noble of the Greeks, that they might arrange for the safety of the
throne at once. The old Isaac was released from his dungeon, taken
to the palace of Blachernæ, dressed in royal apparel, and seated on
the throne of which he had been so treacherously deprived. His
nobles jostled each other in their haste to protest devotion and
loyalty; and when day dawned, messengers were sent to the allies
announcing his peaceful restoration, his impatience to see his son,
and his desire to reward his "generous deliverers." These last did
not forget their rights in their generosity. They would not release
the young Alexius until his promises had been made good, and a number
of ambassadors were sent to the palace, among whom was our friend,
Villehardouin, the scribe.
When the gates were opened, the Varangian guards, bearing their
battle-axes, lined the streets; in the presence-chamber, which
sparkled with gold and jewels, the blind old Isaac was enthroned with
his wife at his side, while senators, soldiers, and noble matrons
filled the room. The ambassadors, without hesitation, clearly stated
the recompense promised them by the young Alexius on the fulfilment
of their agreement. Isaac could not understand their speech, but
their tone impressed him with their determination to have their dues.
He retired to an inner room with an interpreter, the Empress, and the
ambassadors, and there was made to comprehend that he was pledged to
submit to the Church of Rome, to aid in the conquest of Palestine,
and to pay to the Venetians the two hundred thousand marks so long
overdue them. With great prudence he worded his reply: "These
conditions are weighty, they are hard to accept and difficult to
perform; but no conditions can exceed the measure of your services
and deserts." He then affixed the golden seal of the Empire to the
treaty; and {53} his son, whose voice he longed to hear, was restored
to him.
On the 1st of August the father and the son were crowned in St.
Sophia with grand solemnities. The quarter of Pera was assigned to
the French and Venetians, and any regret or fear that existed on
either side was concealed by apparent content and enjoyment.
But it was not possible that all the discordant elements which
existed within Constantinople before the arrival of the invaders, and
those which they added should live together in harmony. It soon
became evident that Alexius was most unpopular; his long residence
abroad had tinged his manners with a foreign air, and the familiarity
in which he indulged the Frenchmen was most distasteful to the Greeks.
Beneath his gay exterior the mind of Alexius was greatly disturbed.
He at once paid the allies all the money that he could possibly
control; and small as the sum proved to be it was obtained by
violating the sanctuary, and sequestrating not only the effects of
the late Emperor's family, but also those of such individuals as had
fallen under the suspicion or dislike of Alexius IV. The allies, as
well as Alexius, realized that time must be allowed for future
payments, and that the submission of the Greek to the Latin Church
could not be made at once.
But the alarm of the young Emperor was inexpressible when he
reflected that the time agreed upon for the departure of the
Crusaders was at hand. The Greeks more than suspected the promises
that bound the Emperors to the Latins, and were neither pleased to
support their rulers in magnificent luxury nor to pay foreigners for
invading their capital. Alexius well knew in what danger the
departure of the fleet would leave him, and strove to find a way to
detain it.
He entreated the allies not to desert him until he could {54}
establish his power; he represented that his father and he had lost
the good-will of the Greeks through their friendship for the Latins,
and protested his belief that their departure would be the signal for
a revolution which would take away his power to furnish them troops
or pay them money. Again the sufferings and dangers of a winter
campaign in a hostile land were represented; again he made
promises,--of payment of his whole debt in the spring, of the
immediate organization of ten thousand soldiers and five hundred
knights for the service of God, and the supply of all necessary
provisions for the allies until the Passover; while to the Doge he
promised to keep the fleet afloat until the same time at his own
cost. The Patriarch and clergy meanwhile abjured the Greek heresy,
which mollified the opposition of the more devout, and finally the
time of their departure was deferred to April, 1204.
Alexius desired to visit the cities on or near the Bosphorus in order
to establish his authority and receive their submission, and for
sixteen hundred gold crowns a portion of the troops was sent with
him. The expedition had but a questionable success, and on his
return, early in November, he found that a party of foreign soldiers,
when excited by wine, had attacked a Jewish quarter and burst open a
synagogue.
Naturally a fierce fight ensued; and some Flemings, in order to cover
their retreat, set several houses on fire. A frightful conflagration
resulted; for eight days the fire raged, and when at last it was
extinguished, a third of the Byzantine capital no longer existed.
Several ships in the port had burned to the water's edge; the number
of churches and palaces as well as more humble dwelling-houses, the
amount of merchandise and other wealth that had been destroyed, was
unknown and unknowable. The district burned was the most populous of
the city, and the {55} hatred of the Latins was so much increased
that about fifteen thousand colonists, who had before lived quietly
in the midst of the Greeks, now fled to Pera to be under the
protection of the allies. The whole condition of affairs was most
alarming, both for the Greeks and the Latins, and but a spark was
needed to kindle another sort of fire that would destroy thousands of
lives as well as the city and its wealth.
The conduct of Alexius began plainly to show his double dealing. The
Latins and their reminders of his promises were treated with such
indifference as excited their rage and alarm. At length they lost
all patience, and in January, 1204, sent an embassy of three noble
Frenchmen and as many Venetians to demand anew from the two Emperors
the fulfilment of their contract, and to add that the Doge and the
barons had resolved to take by force what was not peacefully given
them.
This was a dangerous mission; but the six warriors, one of whom was
our scribe, with few attendants alighted at the gate of the
Blachernæ, and on foot, passing between two lines of Varangians,
reached the palace. The two Emperors with their families were
surrounded by the court; a brilliant throng of ladies, ministers, and
nobles, and an army of attendants filled the hall.
Conon de Béthune delivered the message from the allies in a
commanding voice; and, their duty accomplished, the ambassadors
retired at once, and fortunately reached their horses in safety.
Their sudden coming and more sudden going caused an unusual
excitement in the city; and when the truth was known, the Greeks were
in a frenzy of rage that such an insult had been offered them and the
perpetrators of it allowed to depart in safety; with one accord they
turned their wrath against those who had permitted the ambassadors to
escape their vengeance. They cursed the Angeli {56} as unfit to
reign, and Alexius for having sold his country to the Latins; they
swore that the time had come to choose a loyal sovereign who would
lead them to glory and freedom.
The mob destroyed the colossal statue of Minerva in the Square of
Constantine, because they believed that her right hand, pointing
towards the west, had invited the invasion of the French and
Venetians! A bronze figure of a Caledonian boar in the Hippodrome
was accredited with power to charm away sedition, and Isaac ordered
it brought within the grounds of his palace! Such were some of the
preparations for the threatened attack of the allies.
Alexius was enraged, and the blind old Isaac was prostrated by fear;
the whole city resounded with the din of confusion, and the Greeks
resolved on a characteristic revenge,--the destruction of the fleet
by fire. On a dark winter night a French sentinel was startled by
the appearance of a broad sheet of flame approaching the Venetian
fleet. He gave the alarm instantly, and the alert sailors saw and
understood their danger; a line of fire-ships had been lighted and
allowed to drift towards the fleet; the sailors hastily rowed towards
them, seized them with hooks on long poles, and towed them to the
mouth of the harbor, where a current swept them away, the only loss
being that of a vessel belonging to the incendiaries.
A tiresome succession of proposals, made only to be modified or
withdrawn, now ensued; and the Latins determined to be inactive no
longer, but at once to attack Constantinople for the second time.
At this juncture a Greek of a certain sort of influence came to the
front. His name was Alexius Ducas, but he was called Marzoufle on
account of his shaggy eyebrows. He possessed great energy and
boundless ambition, and was utterly void of moral perception or
principle. As {57} grand-chamberlain he had been near the Emperors,
and gradually had come to be their chief adviser. He flattered them,
and incited the people against them; such faith had both father and
son in Marzoufle that when the people, by his connivance, assembled
in St. Sophia to elect a new emperor, they refused to believe that
this was the object of the gathering.
It was with great difficulty that any one could be persuaded to
assume the purple under the present conditions; but at last, overcome
by intimidation, a young noble of high rank and worthy character,
Nicholas Canabes, accepted the diadem. He had no fitness for such
responsibilities as now rested on the Greek Emperor. In truth, there
was no savior of Constantinople at hand. The strongest man was
Marzoufle, and in reality he was conducting the affairs of the
Empire. Hypocritically he worked his way until he gained the ear of
the treasurer and could tamper with the Varangians, and then in a
single night he consigned Canabes to a dungeon, and ordered the
murder of the young Alexius before his eyes, and a few days later
superintended his interment with great pomp. The old Isaac survived
his son's death but a few days, and Marzoufle seated himself upon the
vacant throne without opposition.
Immediately after the murder of Alexius, Marzoufle sent an invitation
to Dandolo and the barons to sup with the young Emperor, who wished
to consult with them. The barons accepted the invitation, and so
long as the messenger remained, Dandolo was silent; but as soon as he
had departed, the old Doge so forcibly represented the danger of such
a step that the acceptance was withdrawn, and, on learning the truth
about Alexius, they felt that they owed their lives to the prudence
and wisdom of Dandolo.
Marzoufle was greatly vexed at his failure to entrap the {58} leaders
of the allies, but watched carefully for another occasion, which soon
presented itself. The Count of Flanders, with a thousand men, went
to Phinea, on the Bosphorus, in search of provisions. Marzoufle
followed with a large body of troops, intending to meet the French on
their return and cut them off when they should be overweighted with
booty and weary from their expedition. But this second scheme
resulted in favor of the allies; the Greeks were totally defeated,
and Marzoufle himself only saved from being made a prisoner by the
fleetness of his horse.
Having boldly assumed full power, his next move was to invite the
Crusaders to a conference in order to make a plan for the fulfilment
of the contract made with Isaac and Alexius IV. The Crusaders were
now minded to refuse to consult with an assassin and usurper; but
Dandolo believed that no opportunity for a possible settlement should
be neglected, and offered to go alone to meet Marzoufle.
Accordingly, the Doge, in his galley, met the traitor near the Golden
Horn. Dandolo stood erect in the prow of his barge, Marzoufle was on
horseback, and their salutations were distant and formal. Dandolo,
after expressing his horror at the crimes which Marzoufle had
committed, assured him of the distrust with which the allies viewed
him, and then recounted to him the terms of the treaty to which Isaac
had set the seal of the Empire.
Marzoufle assented to all the conditions except that of submission to
the Latin Church; sooner than consent to that, he would bury his
country, and himself die beneath its ruins. In vain he was reminded
that the Greek clergy had already renounced their heresy; he was
immovable in this regard, and the two men parted with no result from
their conference except that Dandolo could say that he had used his
best endeavors to bring about a peace. A {59} second attempt was
soon after made to fire the ships. It proved useless, like the
first; and then Marzoufle saw that his only course was to prepare for
open war.
And here one can but admire the ability of Marzoufle. He found the
treasury empty, and replenished it by a strict inquiry into the
abuses under the Angeli, and the confiscation of the property of
those who had amassed wealth unlawfully. The people were unfriendly
to the crown; but by his address, his gayety, and tact he made
himself popular. The Greeks were indifferent to the welfare of their
city, but under his leading they were aroused to patriotism and
energy. The walls were repaired, and in some places raised to a
great height; lofty stone towers alternating with those of wood were
built and filled with soldiers well supplied with the means of
defence; mangonels for throwing stones and darts were mounted between
the towers, and all possible provision made for harassing the
invaders and protecting the Greeks. And Marzoufle was everywhere,
with an iron mace in his hand, and the bearing of a warrior, ordering
the works, encouraging the timid, and striking terror to the hearts
of the discontented.
The Crusaders were equally industrious in their preparations. The
decks of their vessels were piled with enormous stores of missiles
and the machines for hurling them, as well as others for belching
forth combustible matter freighted with death and destruction. The
9th of April had been fixed for the beginning of the assault, and a
council was called and an agreement made concerning the manner in
which the booty should be divided, a new ruler chosen, and other
similar affairs be settled in case they succeeded in taking the city.
An instrument was drawn up, signed, and sealed by Dandolo and the
barons at the camp of Galata, and little else remained to be done
before the attack should begin. As we regard the position of the
allies, it would seem that madness alone could {60} lead them to this
assault. Their temerity is appalling. Before them was an apparently
impregnable fortress, and four hundred thousand men, who now had a
bold leader and were themselves filled with hatred of their foes.
The allies numbered less than twenty thousand, and could neither hope
for assistance from friends without, nor from treachery within the
walls. They could only rely on their bravery and their good fortune.
The Greeks depended on their position and their overwhelming numbers.
All alike believed that Heaven would favor them, and thus sustained
their courage. Gibbon thus graphically describes the siege:--
"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. Their 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
skilful. 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 and 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.
{61}
"In the 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 immortalized by fame.[1]
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.
[1] Pietro Alberti and André d'Urboise.
"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 countryman Nicetas; an
army of phantoms marched 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 in 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 labor 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 Blachernæ and Boucoleon 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."
The anxieties and cares of the conquerors were by no means ended by
victory. They had overcome the strongest {62} fortress in existence,
and were in possession of a city whose vast size and inconceivable
wealth (as yet but half known to them) impressed them with their
responsibilities, and foreshadowed difficulties which must be met
with the greatest prudence. The Greeks were a degenerate and
effeminate people, demoralized by bad government and
pleasure-seeking. In the language of an old historian, they "cheated
time and offended Nature, by rearing flowers in winter, and culling
in spring the fruits of autumn." Dandolo and the barons perceived
that this people must be protected; and how to do this before the
whirlwind of profligacy and avarice which was sure to follow, was a
grave question.
"The Marquis of Monteferrato was the model of virtue; the Count of
Flanders, the mirror of chastity;" and they, as well as Dandolo,
endeavored to avert the terrors of pillage and rapine. A
proclamation was issued in their name, commanding that the helpless
and innocent should be spared; and the Count of St. Pol hanged one of
his knights, who offered abuse to a woman, with his shield and
coat-of-arms about his neck, as a warning that the leaders must be
obeyed. But avarice was not checked. The imperial treasury and the
arsenal were guarded, and the rest of the city was given up to
plunder.
Under the penalties of perjury, excommunication, and death, the whole
body of Crusaders and Venetians were bound to deposit all their
plunder, of whatever sort, in three churches selected for the
purpose. In spite of all these precautions and the severe punishment
of the disobedient, Gibbon says that the plunder which was secreted
exceeded in value that which was exposed and divided according to the
agreement previously made. This may easily have been true of the
rare precious gems and small articles of inestimable value which
existed in Constantinople, but that which was divided far exceeded
any anticipations which had been indulged by the leaders.
{63}
Sismondi estimates that the riches of Constantinople before the siege
reached twenty-four million pounds sterling. The Count of Flanders
wrote to the Pope that the wealth of Constantinople exceeded that of
all Europe put together; and Villehardouin declared that never in the
history of the world had so great riches been collected in a single
city. The property divided was valued at one million eight hundred
thousand pounds; and if Gibbon is correct, the whole booty must have
reached four million pounds sterling. In the division half was given
to the Crusaders, and half to the Venetians; and the latter received
fifty thousand silver marks additional, which was due them from the
barons.
The whole story of the terrible destruction of works of art--of
bronzes sent to the melting-pot, of marbles and other beautiful
statues and ornaments that were ruthlessly broken--is heart-rending,
but is not strictly a part of the story of Venice, since the ignominy
and sacrilege of these deeds belong to other nations as well.
Nothing was sacred to the plunderers. Pears tells us--
"Every insult was offered to the religion of the conquered citizens.
Churches and monasteries were the richest storehouses, and were
therefore the first buildings to be rifled. Monks and priests were
selected for insult. The priest's robes were placed by the Crusaders
on their horses. The icons were ruthlessly torn down from the
screens or were broken. The sacred buildings were ransacked for
relics or their beautiful caskets. The chalices were stripped of
their precious stones and converted into drinking-cups. The sacred
plate was heaped with ordinary plunder. The altar-cloths and the
screens of cloth-of-gold, richly embroidered and bejewelled, were
torn down, and either divided among the troops or destroyed for the
sake of the gold and silver which were woven into them. The altars
of Hagia Sophia, which had been the admiration of all men, were
broken for the sake of the material of which they were made. Horses
and mules were taken into the church in {64} order to carry off the
loads of sacred vessels, and the gold and silver plates of the
throne, the pulpits, and the doors, and the beautiful ornaments of
the church. The soldiers made the chief church of Christendom the
scene of their profanity. A prostitute was seated in the patriarchal
chair, who danced, and sang a ribald song for the amusement of the
soldiers.... The plunder of the same church in 1453 by Mahomet the
Second compares favorably with that made by the Crusaders of 1204."
Hazlitt adds to his account of the pillage:--
"Gems of the choicest water, vases of inestimable value, relics of
odorous sanctity, were pilfered from the altars, the reliquaries, or
from private dwellings, by rapacious soldiers, who sold them at a
paltry price; and although these matchless rarities were recovered,
partly by process of exchange and the ignorance of art, no
inconsiderable portion was irretrievably lost. Some, however, found
a worthy destination. The proud monuments of human genius,
sculptures, paintings, frescos, mosaics, and minerals, which the
industry and taste of ten generations of men had gradually amassed in
that city of cities, were scattered by this great revolution among
the palaces and churches, the castles and abbeys, of Western Europe.
Many of the Venetian public buildings were decorated with the
trophies which fell to the lot of the Republic herself; and Venice
accounted no treasures more precious than the four antique bronzes,
which were afterward known as the 'Horses of St. Mark.'"
Many beautiful objects from St. Sophia were also taken to Venice, and
placed in San Marco. The high altar with its bronze gates and marble
columns was a rich trophy, as well as many sculptures and pictures,
vessels of gold and silver, and a great quantity of church furniture.
The famous picture of the Virgin, believed to have been painted by
Saint Luke when inspired by the Holy Ghost, was also obtained by the
Venetians, who were accused of having taken the larger share of the
spoils and of having concealed many treasures in their vessels.
{65}
It was not until the 9th of May that attention was given to the
important matter of the election of a new Emperor. Six Venetians and
six Frenchmen or Lombards, according to the agreement made before the
siege, met in the chapel of the Boucoleon to deliberate on this
momentous and difficult question. The choice lay between Baldwin,
whom the French favored, Boniface, who was the choice of the
Lombards, and Dandolo, whom the Venetians believed the most worthy
and best to have earned the purple. "That old man," said they, "has
gained the wisdom and experience of age without losing the vigor and
fire of youth; his sight may be dim; but his intellect is clear and
strong,--it is he who took Constantinople." The electors, too, were
of this opinion, until one of the Venetians opposed it, and in a long
argument showed so many good reasons against the election of Dandolo
that the matter rested between Baldwin and Boniface, and at midnight
the expectant thousands heard the cry, "Long live the Emperor
Baldwin!"
Boniface and Dandolo hastened to congratulate the Count of Flanders,
and to take their part in raising him on the buckler; according to
the ancient custom, he was thus carried from the palace to St.
Sophia, and placed on the golden throne of the Emperors, while the
barons pressed forward to kiss his hand, and he was solemnly invested
with the scarlet buskins. A few days later, he was crowned by the
Legate, as no Patriarch then existed in Constantinople. The
Venetians, however, soon had the satisfaction of seeing one of their
nobles, Thomas Morosini, on the ecclesiastical throne, while their
clergy filled the Chapter of St. Sophia. The French clergy did not
regard this with favor, and a lengthy correspondence with Rome ensued.
At first Innocent declared the election of Morosini to be entirely
null; but in the course of the correspondence {66} many
considerations were presented to his Holiness which moderated his
views. He did not love the Venetians, but he feared them, and
thought it wiser to be at peace with them than to arouse their
stubbornness. Indeed, Venice now had some claim to consideration at
the Vatican. The restorers of the papal supremacy at the Greek
capital were a different people from the conquerors of Zara, and
after mature reflection Innocent approved of the elevation of
Morosini to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. One can but feel a
certain sympathy with Innocent at the result of the great Crusade for
which he had labored and from which he hoped so much.
"His long and careful preparations had been defeated by Philip,
Boniface, and Dandolo. All the efforts he had made to strike a
deadly blow at Islam had come to naught. The preparations made at so
much cost had resulted in an attack upon Christians, and not upon
Moslems. Constantinople had been captured instead of Jerusalem. The
opportunity, so favorable from many causes, had been lost, and no
other presenting equal advantages was ever to occur again. The
internal quarrel between the Saracen leaders, and the weakening of
Egypt by the non-rising of the Nile during a succession of years,
were accidental circumstances which were never repeated. The supreme
moment for striking a blow at the Saracens at a time when it could
have been struck with effect had passed. Innocent's energy was too
great to allow him to sit idle under the failure, but all his efforts
were unable to create an expedition equal in strength to that of
1202."
Preparations were now made for the second coronation of Baldwin by
the Patriarch on a scale of magnificence which surprised the
Crusaders. He was again seated on a shield and raised on the
shoulders of the chiefs, and then descending was conducted to St.
Sophia by the barons and principal officials. Boniface carried the
imperial robe of cloth of gold. The Count of St. Pol {67} bore the
imperial sword. At St. Sophia a solemn Mass was celebrated, the
crown was placed on his head, and the words "He is worthy" pronounced
and repeated by the bishops and people. After the new sovereign had
communicated, he received all the imperial insignia, and headed the
procession from the church to the Boucoleon, attended by the
Varangians. The streets and houses on the way were decorated with
all the rich carpets and hangings which had been spared by the three
fires and the pillage, and a Frank Emperor was seated on the throne
of Constantine with the full approbation of the Holy See.
Again a grave question, that of the division of the conquered
territory, occupied the attention of the Doge and the barons.
Twenty-lour commissioners, one half of whom were Venetians, were
authorized to make the allotment. Venice received the Morea, the
Illyric Islands, a large portion of Thessaly, the Sporades, the
Cyclades, the cities of Adrianople, Trajanople, Didymotichos, and
Durazzo, the province of Servia, and the coasts of the Hellespont.
But with all this, the Venetians were not content. They desired
possession of Candia, which had been given to Boniface. This island
would be most advantageous to a maritime and mercantile nation; but
of what use to a prince who had neither ships nor commerce? This
reasoning so commended itself to Boniface that he gladly sold the
coveted possession to the Republic for thirty pounds weight of gold,
or about ten thousand eight hundred pounds sterling.
Various titles were conferred by Baldwin on the companions of his
labors and honors. Some of these were most fantastic; and the one
suggestion of the weakness of age recorded of Dandolo is that to his
dignity of Doge of Venice, Dalmatia, and Croatia, he added the
epithet of "Despot and Lord of One Fourth and One Half of the
Romanian Empire:" and as indicating that he was second {68} only to
Baldwin, he claimed the right to tinge his buskins with the imperial
purple!
Thus far all was well; but Baldwin and his friends knew that much
serious work remained to be done. Other conquests must be made, and
a powerful foe vanquished in Theodore Lascaris, the brave son-in-law
of Alexius III., who had many adherents throughout the Empire. But
before making any offensive movements it was necessary to obtain
provisions and secure reinforcements, which had been promised by the
Armenians. The summer was spent in foraging and exploring
expeditions, and during the winter the Latins made themselves
comfortable in their luxurious quarters.
Baldwin grew very impatient of the delay of the Armenian troops.
They were absolutely needful to insure his success in any siege or
attack. At last his impatience overcame his prudence; and in March,
a small contingent having arrived, he set out for Adrianople, where
in April he was joined by Dandolo and the Venetians, who doubled his
numbers. The lofty ramparts of the great city could not be easily
taken, nor its numerous garrison hastily overcome. The King of
Bulgaria with his troops had come to the aid of Lascaris. Fourteen
thousand Comans, who, mounted on their fleet steeds, used their bows
and lances with unequalled dexterity, continually skirmished almost
within bowshot of the army of the Latins, inspiring even these brave
soldiers with doubt and hesitation. At length, however, these taunts
produced their effect, and the whole Crusading army were eager to
chastise the insolence of these barbarians. Even Dandolo, "the
Prudent of the Prudent," was as much in favor of an attack as he was
ignorant of its risks; and it was settled that he, with a few of the
barons, should remain in charge of the camp and siege-works with a
reserve corps, while Baldwin should lead the attack.
{69}
With the first movement of the Crusaders, the Comans retreated; and
Baldwin, deceived by their tactics, pursued them fully two leagues,
when suddenly he perceived that he had been led almost within the
lines in which King John had disposed his troops for battle. The
Comans then wheeled round and attacked their pursuers with the
swiftness of lightning. Just when Baldwin thought himself on the
point of victory, the whole Bulgarian army was upon him, and he must
retreat or see his own army cut to pieces. He decided on retreat;
and Dandolo and Villehardouin were informed by the first stragglers
who reached the camp of the total rout of the army, the death of the
Count of Blois, and the capture of the Emperor Baldwin.
This news fell upon Dandolo like a thunderbolt, and he immediately
saw that a retreat to Constantinople must be made at once. The
Bulgarians were approaching, and the Latins were too few to meet
them. In the night, in spite of many obstacles, the retreat was
begun; after four painful days the old Doge and the remnant of the
troops reached the capital, bringing such tidings as overwhelmed the
whole city with grief and dread. No news had they of Baldwin's fate;
not only the Count of Blois, but the flower of the army of the
Crusaders, had been cut off in the retreat; the Bulgarians might soon
attack Constantinople; the neighboring cities favored Lascaris, and
aided the Comans; and worst of all, they had learned that these bold
horsemen had met and destroyed every man of the Armenian army which
had been sent to Baldwin. The garrison of the capital was small,
provisions were scarce, and it would require months for help to come
from Venice, France, or the Vatican.
And now came the crudest blow of all in the death of Dandolo. He
died at the Boucoleon on June 14. His disease (dysentery) might have
been overcome had his mortification and anxiety been less; he could
not survive {70} the thought that the great undertaking to which he
had devoted all his powers, and which had been so fruitful of great
results, should end ingloriously for Venice and for himself.
He was interred in St. Sophia with imperial honors; his armor was
buried with him, and for nearly two centuries and a half his grave
was unviolated, and Gentile Bellini had the proud satisfaction of
bringing the cuirass, the sword, and the helmet which the great Doge
had worn at the taking of Constantinople to Venice, and presenting
them to the descendants of the grand old hero.
There is an inexpressible sadness in the death of the Doge under such
a weight of sorrow and disappointment, and tortured by apprehensions
of evil which were never realized. King John did not suspect the
weakness of the Latins; the Comans fled to the north to avoid the
summer's heat; and the Bulgarian monarch turned his back on
Constantinople, and attacked the King of Thessalonica.
The result of Dandolo's achievements was of vast import and value to
his beloved Republic. She acquired world-wide glory and new
territory, greater scope for commerce and extended feudal domain; her
standard now floated above almost every seaport, large or small, from
the Lido to the Golden Horn.
"The great power of Venice over the Adriatic, the Ægean, and
especially over the islands mentioned, and over a portion of the
Morea, dates from the Latin conquest,--a power which was used, on the
whole, well and wisely, which introduced or continued fairly good
government, and which has left traces in well-constructed roads and
fortresses. But, as was natural, the results of the Latin conquest
were more markedly visible in Venice herself than in any of the
possessions she obtained. Her marts were filled with merchandise;
her ships crowded the great canals and her harbor with the spoils of
Asia and the products of the Levant; her architecture reproduced and
improved upon that of {71} Constantinople. The spoils of the New
Rome were her proudest ornaments. Her wealth rapidly increased. The
magnificence of the New Rome was transferred to Venice, which was
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the most splendid of
Christian cities."
A fourth of Constantinople was assigned as a residence for the
Venetians, where they were permitted to have their own magistrates
and laws; throughout the Greek realm the coins, weights, and measures
of Venice were recognized, and the treaty of 1198 was resumed with
its privileges to Venetian merchants. The Doge of Venice was to be
represented in Constantinople by an officer who should protect the
commercial interests of Venice in the East. Marino Zeno, who had
been a close friend of Dandolo, was at once elected to this office of
Balio, or Podestà. Three Councillors of State, a Treasurer and an
Advocate, a Court of Proprio and a Court of Justice of the Peace, and
a commandant of the troops of the Republic in Romania were sent out
to support Zeno in his lofty and arduous duties.
The Venetians cherished the memory of Dandolo. His genius had long
added lustre to the Republic, and the news of his death plunged the
whole city into sincere mourning. His achievements and the exploits
of his army aroused the pride of the Venetians to its highest pitch,
and they desired to perpetuate in some stable manner the fame of what
is known as the Fourth Crusade. Fortunately the time was propitious
to their wishes; the close of the thirteenth century brought a
revival of art and literature which, among its many glorious results,
numbers the rehearsal of the deeds of Dandolo and his allies by the
historians, and the picturing of their immortal achievements upon the
walls of the Ducal Palace.
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