WHEN news reached Constantinople, that the warriors of France were marching towards the capital of Greece, on their way to encounter the Saracens, the Emperor Alexis began to repent of having implored their aid, and to apprehend that they might, after the example of other auxiliaries, seize the dominions they had been invoked to save.
Indeed the game which Alexis had to play was somewhat difficult. The empire over which he reigned was corrupt in all its parts; and the crown which he wore was a crown of thorns. Few persons who put on the imperial purple were allowed to wear it long. Since the time of Heraclius, the emperors of the East had fared badly. Some had been assassinated in their own palace; some, after being deprived of sight, had been sent into exile; and others, after being mutilated, had been consigned to a cloister. Alexis, formerly grand domestic of the empire, had obtained the dignity after incarcerating his benefactor; and his position was by no means the most enviable. The very first day on which fortune happened to frown, might witness his downfall; for discord reigned in Constantinople; and the Greeks were readier to depose a sovereign than to resist a foe.
Moreover, Alexis had a vague idea what manner of men were the Franks, and especially the Normans, who were now moving eastward. He was aware that they regarded as an enemy every man who possessed anything which they coveted; and he was not unaware that some of them were in the habit of turning their eyes covetously towards a certain rich city on the western shore of the Bosphorus. In the event of the crusaders proving hostile, the Emperor hardly had the means of resistance. The Greeks had long considered cunning more meritorious than courage, and contented themselves with exercising every faculty to deceive. The Emperor's subjects could not light; the Emperor had no military force but mercenaries, whom his subjects called barbarians; and the idea of matching hireling soldiers with crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Thoulouse, and Robert Curthose, was not to be entertained. Such being his circumstances, Alexis felt that craft, not courage, must save him from the peril which he dreaded.
While Alexis was forming his plans, and the French crusaders were approaching his territories, Hugh, Count of Vermandois, who had previously gone to Rome and received the banner of the church from the hands of the Pope, happened to be wrecked on the shores of the Epirus. Trusting to make the Count, who was brother of King Philip, a hostage fur the good conduct of his comrades, Alexis ordered that he, should be brought as a prisoner to Constantinople. As no secret was made of this faithless proceeding, Godfrey of Bouillon, soon after having landed at Philip-popoli, became aware of the circumstance, and immediately despatched messengers to demand the Count's liberation. The Emperor, on receiving Godfrey's message, returned an answer the reverse of satisfactory; and soon a crowd of Greeks, flying to the capital, brought information that the crusaders were ravaging the country and treating the inhabitants as enemies. Terrified at the consequences of his policy, Alexis sent to promise satisfaction; and God-frey, content with this assurance, marched quietly to Constantinople.
Untaught by the lesson he had received, Alexis no sooner saw the crusaders at his gates, than he conceived the great idea of starving them into submission. With this view he forbade the Greeks to supply provisions. The crusaders, however, were in a position to help themselves with impunity; and dispersing through the suburbs and over the country, they plundered palaces and villages, and brought to the camp everything necessary for their subsistence. The inconvenience of such a system was of course soon felt; and it became clear that a better state of feeling must be cultivated. Gradually both parties became reasonable. After some hesitation, Alexis sent provisions; and, with some reluctance, the crusaders refrained from pillage.
But scarcely had this difficulty been overcome, when new disputes arose. Between the Greeks and the crusaders, no sympathy could exist. Reciprocal contempt was daily manifested. The Greeks regarded the crusaders as barbarians; and the crusaders taunted the Greeks with being unable to fight their own battles. Quarrels, of course, were of frequent occurrence On one occasion a chief among the crusaders pro|>osed to seize Constantinople. On more than one occasion the Frank warriors were on the point of conflict with the Emperor's mercenaries. Even the leaders of the crusade showed little inclination to restrain the soldiers of the cross from chastising tho insolence of the Greeks.
Alexis now felt that there was too strong a probability of the crusaders' standard waving over the walls of Constantinople. It was in these circumstances, that the Emperor set his heart upon a scheme, which he believed would avert mischief. This was to obtain from the chiefs of the crusade such an oath of fidelity and obedience, as could not decently be broken. At first this object seemed unattainable; but, having already extracted such an oath from the Count of Vermandois, Alexis did not despair of success with other peers and princes. On hearing this proposal, the pilgrims expressed nothing but indignation. But after the Emperor had sent his son to the crusaders' camp as a hostage, Godfrey, with Robert Curthosc, and the Count of Flanders, and the Count of Blois, yielded. Raymond of Thoulouse scornfully refused. "I have not," exclaimed the aged warrior, "come to the East to seek a master." But Alexis found a way of overcoming Raymond's scruples; and fixed a day for the crusaders performing their homage.
At the appointed time, Godfrey and his companions proceeded to the imperial palace, and found that no pains had been spared to impress them with a high opinion of the Emperor's wealth and grandeur. Seated on his throne and surrounded by his court, Alexis received their homage, and placed his empire under their protection. Entirely occupied with the attempt to conceal his weakness by a display of superficial magnificence, Alexis regaled his fancy with the idea that he was acliieving a victory over the French princes, and did not perceive that those who had bent their knees before his throne, felt a thorough contempt for his power. While the Emperor was presenting the crusaders with rich gifts, a slight incident awoke him from his delusion.
Among the French nobles present at the memorable ceremony, was a count, known as Robert of Paris. This warrior, whose name is celebrated in history and romance, little relishing the airs assumed by the court of Constantinople, could not refrain from showing his contempt. With a gesture of scorn for the ceremonial by which he was surrounded, Robert advanced to the throne before which the crusaders had bowed, and, disregarding all signs, seated himself by the Emperor's side. The Greeks expressed intense horror at the Count's defiance of etiquette, and even the Franks could not help feeling the awkwardness of the scene.
"When you are in a foreign country,'y said one of the crusaders, pulling Count Robert by the arm, "you ought to respect its customs."
"Truly!" exclaimed Robert, looking mockingly towards Alexis; "but this is a pleasant clown who is seated, while so many noble captains are standing."
"What is your birth, and which is your country?" asked Alexis, detaining Robert of Paris, as the crusaders were leaving.
"I am a Frenchman," replied the Count, "and of the highest rank of nobles. And one thing I know, that in my country there is a place near a church, whither repair all who are eager to signalise their valor. I have often been there, without anybody having ventured to present himself before me."
"If you waited there without enemies," said Alexis, turning uneasily from Count Robert, but taking no notice of the challenge, "you are now going where you are likely to meet with plenty."
Previous article Next article
From John G. Edgar
The Crusades and the Crusaders, 1860
