The Great Betrayal (7 page)

There is no longer any great mystery about the diversion of the Fourth Crusade, once one has seen how very much Venice stood to gain by preventing the Crusaders from ever reaching its objective. When this is coupled with the fact that the leader of the Crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, was in agreement with Philip of Swabia to divert the Crusade to Constantinople if it were at all possible—then the pattern of events becomes immediately clear.

Not all the Crusaders were willing to wait while the negotiations over transport were settled with Venice. A Flemish squadron under John of Nesle sailed and reached Acre in the winter of 1202, while yet another group set out independently from Marseilles. Some individuals even made their own charter arrangements, rather than wait for the main body of the Crusade to assemble. Nevertheless, these independent groups were only a fraction of the great army that was gathering throughout Europe—and which was to be dependent solely upon Venice for its transport to the Near East. Most of the Crusaders did not even know that Egypt had been decided upon by their leaders as the main point of attack. A great many of them believed that Syria was to be the objective. Some of them disagreed violently in the choice of Egypt, and tried to make their own way to Syria. It was these latter whom Villehardouin so harshly castigated as having splintered the Crusade. Certainly, the ‘pro-Syria’ party was die cause of many of the arguments and dissension that broke out when the army was finally encamped at Venice.

So, gradually throughout the years 1202-3, the majority of the Crusaders and men-at-arms made their way through Europe, most of them taking the route over the Alps by Mont Cenis, and across Lombardy to Venice. It was the failure of many of the knights to arrive at Venice on time, or to make their own arrangements and sail from other ports of embarkation, which caused grave concern to the leaders of the Crusade. They realised that they would be unable to fulfil their promises to the Venetians as to the number of men and horses that would need transport, and they would therefore be unable to pay the sum that had been agreed. Since they had borrowed 5,000 silver marks from Venetian money-lenders on their first visit to the city—so that the boat-builders could begin their work—they were now in a similar position to a shipping company that has begun to build a 40,000-ton liner and suddenly realises that a 10,000-ton vessel would have been big enough.

It was hardly surprising that men like Villehardouin became embittered against the groups of knights who had already sailed from Flanders, or who were now making their own private arrangements in other ports of Europe. Villehardouin himself, in company with a number of other senior knights, was despatched to induce some of the reluctant, or independent-minded, Crusaders to come to Venice. Villehardouin, for instance, was successful in persuading Count Louis de Blois to join up with the main body and not proceed independently.

While Villehardouin and other members of the inner council were increasingly concerned at the situation in which they found themselves-, a simple Crusader like Robert de Clari could only marvel at the sight of the fleet that was in preparation: “When the Crusaders were all assembled at Venice and saw the great fleet which had been built—the fine merchantmen, warships, transports to carry the horses, and the galleys, they were amazed—almost as much as they were at the great richness of the city. Now when they saw that there was not room for them all in Venice, they decided to go and encamp on the island of Saint Nicholas, which is a league from Venice and entirely surrounded by sea…”

It was at this point that their troubles really started. Nothing could have pleased the Doge more than that the bulk of the Crusading army should be located in one place, and cut off from his city. He had no more desire to have this host of soldiers quartered in Venice itself than have many other rulers in subsequent centuries who have seen ‘armies of liberation’ descending upon their capitals. But now, as Villehardouin records, “The Venetians had faithfully fulfilled their part of the bargain—indeed they had built more ships than was necessary. So, being ready to start, they asked the counts and barons to fulfil their part of the bargain and pay the money that was owing.”

A great number of the Crusaders had run out of funds and in their turn looked to the senior knights to help them. “The barons accordingly took from each man as much as he could afford to pay. But even so, after everyone had made some contribution or other, the total sum collected from the army did not amount to half—let alone the whole—of the sum that had been agreed upon.”

Doge Dandolo was one of the most astute men of his age. It is difficult to believe that he had not always foreseen that something of this sort was likely to occur. Venice had been familiar with Crusaders and their financial problems for two centuries. Not only were there always defections from their ranks, individuals who decided at the last moment to make their own arrangements, but the average crusader—particularly the common man-at-arms—was invariably short of money. As the Doge knew, this was one of the reasons that may well have driven him to join the Crusade in the first place. Certainly all Crusaders hoped to recoup their expenditure—and make a profit during the campaign itself. Was it by chance, then, that the Venetians appear to have built many more ships than were ever likely to have been required? There was “So great a number of warships, galleys and transports that they could well have accommodated three times as many men as there were in the whole army”.

In the discussions that followed among the barons, there were many who were in favour of abandoning the idea of a centralised expedition, and of making their way individually to Egypt or Syria. Naturally their leaders were against any such notion, for to disband the Crusading army would be to render any major attack on Egypt an impossibility. The leaders borrowed all that they could, and prevailed on their followers to do the same. At the same time they even had their private plate sent over to the Doge in lieu of money. “It was a wonderful sight to see the gold and silver table-services being carried to the Doge’s palace to make up the money due.” But it was to no avail, for even after the barons and lesser nobility had scraped together all that they could, they still remained 34,000 marks short of the sum that had originally been promised.
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Doge Dandolo could afford the luxury of a smile. He had the bulk of the Crusading army safely settled on the island of Saint Nicholas, where they could be supplied by boat—but only at his convenience. A large percentage of the money that had just been paid to him had actually been borrowed at high rates in Venice, thus giving the local money-lenders an enviable hold over the borrowers. At a conservative estimate the Doge of Venice had some 50,000 marks in the exchequer. (It is difficult to calculate the exact sum, since part of it had been paid in gold and silver plate.) He had immensely increased the sea-power of the Republic in galleys, merchantmen and transports, by putting all the local shipyards to work on the Crusaders’ commission. All the ships, which would in any case be Venetian-manned, would revert to the Republic on the conclusion of the campaign. Furthermore, he was now in the position—as he explained to the Council—to retain both money and ships unless the Crusaders could complete their part of the bargain.

“These people are unable,” he said, “to pay us any more. They are unable to keep the agreement they have made with us. So we for our part are fully entitled to retain the money that they have already paid us. No civilised state in the world would deny us our right to behave in this way. Neither we nor Venice would be blamed if that was what we did.” But he could afford to be magnanimous. “I say, though, that we should offer them terms…”

This speech by the Doge to his own people is reported by the Count de Villehardouin. Robert de Clari records his words to the assembled council of the Crusaders. “My Lords,” he said, “you have betrayed our trust. From the moment that your ambassadors first made this proposition about the fleet, I have ensured that every aspect of business throughout my territories should be directed to the sole aim of furnishing your Crusade. This for a year and a half, even more. But my people have now lost a great deal—and that’s the reason why they, and I too, are determined that you shall pay us the money you owe. And if you don’t, then let me tell you that you shall not move a foot from the island until we have been paid. Quite apart from which, you will not find anyone who’ll bring you anything to eat or drink.”

It is hardly surprising that the barons and the others who heard these words retired from the Doge’s presence, “distressed and very embarrassed”.

In a speech to his own council, Doge Dandolo now made his intentions plain. No doubt there were some who were already saying that the Doge had not only saddled the Republic with a vast weight of bad debts but that they also had a large and potentially hostile army on their doorstep. Any sceptics as to the ability of the Doge to produce the finest possible solution—finest possible for his city-state, that is—were silenced before they could even murmur a complaint.

“The City of Zara has been taken from us by the King of Hungary,” began the Doge. “It is, as we all know, one of the strongest cities in existence. With our own forces we have no hope of recapturing Zara. But what if we make use of the French? I suggest that we ask them to help us in this matter of Zara. If they do this, we will agree to postpone their payment of the 34,000 marks until they, and ourselves combined, have gained that amount of money by conquest.”

There could be nothing but assent to such a brilliant suggestion. At one blow the Venetians would eliminate the threat that Zara represented to their Adriatic communications and trade. At one blow they would be free of the Crusaders, and there still remained a good chance that they would get full payment for the use of their fleet through any successes the Crusading armies might have over the Moslems.

The Doge can hardly have been surprised at the overwhelmingly favourable reception accorded to his speech. Knowing the situation that they were in, perhaps he was hardly less surprised when the barons and the inner council of knights reacted with an almost equal enthusiasm. He pointed out to them that it was already winter—hardly the time therefore to contemplate a long voyage across the Mediterranean. But if they came with him and the Venetians, and captured Zara, then they would be able to winter there in comfort. In the spring the fleet would reassemble and, with refreshed forces, the Crusade could proceed on its way, enriched by their share of the loot from Zara.

There were, of course, some dissentients, and some who murmured that they had not left their family estates to make war against a Christian city—even if it happened to be one with which the Venetians had some long-standing feud. They had come to fight against the heathen. They had come to redeem the Holy Places, so that Christian pilgrims could enjoy the right of visiting Jerusalem and making their devotions on that sacred earth where Christ had lived on his own pilgrimage through the world. “Not all of the army,” writes Robert de Clari, “were happy about this decision [to attack Zara]—only the most important of the Crusaders.” But decisions are taken by “the most important”, and the barons realised only too clearly that they had no choice but accept the Doge’s proposition.

Aware that there is nothing like a good gesture to convince the simple or the hesitant, Doge Dandolo now said that if the Crusaders were prepared to help him, he for his part would join with them and ‘take the Cross’. The spectacle of this aged man, with “his sightless, but bright and clear eyes”, kneeling weeping at the altar, as the Cross was sewn upon his cap, moved even the Venetians to tears. Thousands of the citizens hastened to join the Crusade themselves. The effect upon the French knights was electric, and even hardened foot soldiers were moved by the selfless abnegation of this old man (who had nevertheless ensured that if he went on the Crusade his son would act as his regent).
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The fact remains that, as a solution to their problems, the attack on Zara still horrified a great many of the Crusaders. Those who could manage to pay the extortionate sums demanded by Venetian boatmen had themselves ferried off Saint Nicholas island and quitted the Crusade. A contemporary historian described the feelings among the virtually imprisoned troops: “The proposal to attack Zara seemed cruel and iniquitous to our leaders, not only because it was a Christian city, but because it belonged to the King of Hungary. The King himself had taken the Cross and placed himself and his possessions (as is the custom) under the Pope’s protection. Much time was lost, for the Venetians were constantly urging us to accept their proposition while we were equally concerned in refusing it… Our men thought it despicable, and contrary to moral law, that soldiers of the Cross of Christ should set out to slaughter and pillage fellow-Christians—for such was inevitably bound to happen in an assault on the city. They therefore refused to agree with the Venetian proposals.” The obstinacy made no difference in the long run. Shortage of food and water, coupled with disease which had broken out among the troops crowded together on the small island, meant that in the end the army would be forced to comply with Dandolo’s suggestion.

Remembering that the Pope had always suspected the Venetian connection with the Crusade, and that he had insisted on a papal legate accompanying the expedition, it is natural to inquire what this emissary of the Pope was doing during these months. Cardinal Peter of Capua, Innocent III’s legate, did not arrive in Venice until the last week of July. As soon as he heard of the proposal made by the Doge to the leaders of the Crusade, he immediately registered his formal protest. He suggested that the army should embark immediately. That the Venetians had not been paid the full sum due to them was counterbalanced, in his opinion, by the fact that only about a third of the army that had originally been envisaged had arrived. Many of the prospective Crusaders, indeed, having heard the news from Venice as they made their way southward from Germany and France, had already halted and turned back.