for that day. As it pleased God nothing further was done. The emperor Alexius returned to the city, and those of the host to their quarters the latter taking off their armor, for they were weary and overwrought; and they ate and drank little, seeing that their store of food was but scanty.

Now listen to the miracles of our Lord - how gracious are they whithersoever it pleases Him to perform them! That very night the emperor Alexius took of his treasure as much as he could carry, and took with him as many of his people as would go, and so fled and abandoned Constantinople. And those who remained in the city were astonished and they drew to the prison in which lay the emperor Isaac, whose eyes had been put out. Him they clothed imperially, and bore to the great palace of Blachernæ and seated on a high throne; and there they did him obeisance as their lord. Then they took messengers, by the advice of the emperor Isaac, and sent them to the host, announcing that Alexius had fled and that they had again raised up Isaac as emperor.

61. Foundation of the Latin Empire 1

1

The immediate purpose of the expedition had now been attained. Constantinople had been reached, the usurper put to flight, and Isaac restored to the throne. But the young Alexius could not, or would not, keep his promise to the crusaders. At length they sent six envoys to him to demand, under threat of force, the fulfillment of the agreement.

For this embassy were chosen Conon of Bethune, Geoffroy de Villehardouin, the marshal of Champagne, and Miles of Provins; and the doge also sent three chief men of his council. So these envoys mounted their horses and, with swords girt, rode together till they came to the palace of Blachernæ. And be it known to you that, by reason of the treachery of the Greeks, they went in great peril and on a hard adventure.

They dismounted at the gate, entered the palace, and found

1 Villehardouin, La conquête de Constantinople, ch. xlvi, secs. 211-215; ch. lvi, secs. 252-255.

Alexius and Isaac seated on two thrones, side by side. And near them was seated the empress, who was the wife of the father, and stepmother of the son, and sister to the king of Hungary a lady both fair and good. And there were with them a great company of people of note and rank, so that well did the court seem to be that of a rich and mighty prince.

By desire of the other envoys Conon of Bethune, who was very wise and eloquent of speech, acted as spokesman. "Sire," said he, "we have come to thee on the part of the barons of the host and of the doge of Venice. They would put thee in mind of the great service they have done to thee a service known to the people and manifest to all men. Thou hast sworn, thou and thy father, to fulfill the promised covenants, and they have your charters in hand. But you have not fulfilled those covenants well, as you should have done. Many times have they called upon you to do so, and now again we call upon you, in the presence of all your barons, to fulfill the covenants that are between you and them. Should you do so, it shall be well. If not, be it known to you that from this day forth they will not hold you as lord or friend, but will endeavor to obtain their due by all the means in their power. And of this they now give you warning, seeing that they would not injure you, or anyone, without first defiance given; for never have they acted treacherously, nor in their land is it customary to do so. You have heard what we have said. It is for you to take counsel thereon according to your pleasure."

Much were the Greeks amazed and greatly outraged by this open defiance; and they said that never had anyone been so hardy as to dare defy the emperor of Constantinople in his own hall. Very evil were the looks now cast on the envoys by Alexius and by all the Greeks, who once were wont to regard them very favorably.

Great was the tumult there within, and the envoys turned about and came to the gate and mounted their horses. When they got outside the gate, there was not one of them but felt glad at heart; nor is that to be marveled at, for they had

escaped from very great peril, and it was remarkable that they were not all killed or taken. So they returned to the camp, and told the barons how they had fared.

The continual friction between the Greeks and the crusaders passed at length into the open fire of war. The latter now resolved to storm Constantinople and to appropriate for themselves the territories of the Roman Empire in the East. Their crusade had ceased to be a crusade, and had become an expedition of conquest and plunder. Constantinople fell after a hard struggle, and the victors at once proceeded to divide the spoil of what was then the largest and richest city in the Christian world.

Then it was proclaimed throughout the host by Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, who was lord of the host, and by the barons, and by the doge of Venice, that all the booty should be collected and brought together, as had been covenanted under oath and pain of excommunication. Three churches were appointed for the receiving of the spoils, and guards were set to have them in charge, both Franks and Venetians, the most upright that could be found.

Then each began to bring in such booty as he had taken and to collect it together. And some brought in loyally, and some in evil sort, because covetousness, which is the root of all evil, hindered them. So from that time forth the covetous began to keep things back, and our Lord began to love them less. Ah God! how loyally they had borne themselves up to now! And well had the Lord God shown them that in all things He was ready to honor and exalt them above all people. But often do the good suffer for the sins of the wicked.

The spoils and booty were collected together, and you must know that all was not brought into the common stock, for not a few kept things back, in spite of the excommunication of the pope. That which was brought to the churches was divided, in equal parts, between the Franks and the Venetians, according to the sworn covenant. And you must know further that the pilgrims, after the division had been made, paid out of their share fifty thousand marks of silver to the Venetians, and then

divided at least one hundred thousand marks between themselves, among their own people. And shall I tell you in what manner? Two sergeants on foot counted as one mounted, and two sergeants mounted as one knight. And you must know that no man received more, either on account of his rank or because of his deeds, than that which had been so settled and ordered save in so far as he may have stolen it.

And as to theft, and those who were convicted thereof, you must know that stern justice was meted out to such as were found guilty, and not a few were hanged. The count of St. Paul hung one of his knights, who had kept back certain spoils, with his shield to his neck; but many there were, both great and small, who kept back part of the spoils, and it was never known. Well may you be assured that the booty was very great, for if it had not been for what was stolen, and for the part given to the Venetians, there would have been at least four hundred thousand marks of silver, and at least ten thousand horses. Thus were divided the spoils of Constantinople, as you have heard.

The Latin Empire of Constantinople lasted little more than half a century (1204-1261). At the end of this period the Greeks recovered Constantinople and restored the former empire. If the crusaders, instead of giving themselves up to greed, rapine, and oppression, had governed wisely and well, they might have established a permanent state in eastern Europe and thus have barred the way against the entrance of the Ottoman Turks, two hundred years later. It was a great opportunity lost.

CHAPTER XIV

ST. LOUIS 1

As Villehardouin was the first, so Jean de Joinville (1224-1319) was the second, of the great French chroniclers of the Middle Ages. Like Villehardouin, Joinville describes a crusade, in this case the crusade which St. Louis, king of France, undertook in 1248. Joinville accompanied his royal master to Egypt and the Holy Land, and shared all the perils of what proved to be a disastrous enterprise. The crusade is set forth at length in Joinville's narrative. The most interesting passages are those which describe the French king, for whom Joinville felt unbounded admiration. St. Louis is generally considered a most remarkable figure in medieval history, at once one of the ablest and one of the noblest rulers France ever had. We are fortunate, therefore, in possessing Joinville's biography, written when he was a very old man and St. Louis had long been dead. In St. Louis Joinville found realized a high ideal of Christian manhood, and he labors with success to paint a faithful portrait of the friend of his youth, who had been to him both king and saint.

62. Virtues of St. Louis 2

The great love that he bore to his people appeared in what he said, during a very severe sickness that he had at Fontainebleau, unto Louis, his eldest son. "Fair son," he said, "I pray thee

make thyself beloved by

the people of thy kingdom; for

1. Memoirs of the Crusades by Villehardouin and De Joinville, translated by Sir Frank Marzials. London, 1908. J. M. Dent and Sons.

2 Joinville, Histoire de St. Louis, ch. iii, secs. 21-24; ch. iv, secs. 26, 29; ch. v, secs. 30-32.