All started from the port of Abydos together. Then might you have seen
the Straits of St. George (as it were) in flower with ships and galleys
sailing upwards, and the beauty thereof was a great marvel to behold.
Thus they sailed up the Straits of St. George till they came, on St.
John the Baptist’s Eve, in June (23rd June 1203) to St. Stephen, an
abbey that lay three leagues from Constantinople. There had those on
board the ships and galleys and transports full sight of
Constantinople; and they took port and anchored their vessels.
Now you may know that those who had never before seen Constantinople
looked upon it very earnestly, for they never thought there could be in
all the world so rich a city; and they marked the high walls and strong
towers that enclosed it round about, and the rich palaces, and mighty
churches—of which there were so many that no one would have believed it
who had not seen it with his eyes—and the height and the length of that
city which above all others was sovereign. And be it known to you, that
no man there was of such hardihood but his flesh trembled: and it was
no wonder, for never was so great an enterprise undertaken by any
people since the creation of the world.
Then landed the counts and barons and the Doge of Venice, and a
parliament was held in the church of St. Stephen. There were many
opinions set forth, this way and that. All the words then spoken shall
not be recorded in this book; but in the end the Doge rose on his feet
and said: “Signors, I know the state of this land better than you do,
for I have been here erewhile. We have undertaken the greatest
enterprise, and the most perilous, that ever people have undertaken.
Therefore it behoves us to go to work warily. Be it known to you that
if we go on dry ground, the land is great and large, and our people are
poor and ill-provided. Thus they will disperse to look for food; and
the people of the land are in great multitude, and we cannot keep such
good watch but that some of ours will be lost. Nor are we in case to
lose any, for our people are but few indeed for the work in hand.
“Now there are islands close by which you can see from here, and these
are inhabited, and produce corn, and food, and other things. Let us
take port there, and gather the corn and provisions of the land. And
when we have collected our supplies, let us go before the city, and do
as our Lord shall provide. For he that has supplies, wages war with
more certainty than he that has none.” To this counsel the lords and
barons agreed, and all went back to their ships and vessels.