supplies in the poverty-stricken town of Branicevo because the territory ahead was uninhabited. There were so many boats there, which the Germans had brought, that our men crossed the river and bought supplies from a Hungarian fortress not far away.
We had to exchange five denarii for one stamina and a mark for twelve solidi . Thus did the Greeks perjure themselves at the very entrance to their country for the Emperor’s representatives had sworn on his behalf that they would allow us to trade in their markets at a fair rate of exchange. 1
Manuel Comnenus’ reply to Louis’ first letter of intention had been, in Odo’s words ‘sweeter than honeycomb’. At Bavarian Regensburg, then known as Ratisbon, the French court had been given eloquent promises by emissaries of the imperial court in Constantinople. Eleanor had received friendly letters from Comnenus’ wife, the Empress Irene, a Bavarian noblewoman whose sister was married to Conrad. What was a Greek promise worth? the Franks now asked.
We crossed this deserted region and entered the most beautiful and fertile country that stretches all the way to Constantinople. Elsewhere they had sold supplies correctly and found us peaceful. The Greeks, however, shut themselves in their cities and castles, letting merchandise down to us by ropes. The supplies thus received being insufficient for our needs, the pilgrims therefore satisfied their needs by plundering and looting, since they could not bear to go short in the midst of plenty. It seemed to some that the Germans were to blame for the situation, because they had looted everything and burned several unwalled suburbs. 2
So who was to blame? The ‘wily Greeks’ or the excesses of Conrad’s contingent? The duke of Philippopolis – modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria – had had to intervene after a drunken brawl between armed Germans and local people resulted in slaughter of the unarmed Greeks and the burning of everything outside the city walls. On another occasion an advance party of French knights, charged with arranging supplies for the main body, collided with Conrad’s rearguard in a market. The Germans carried off at sword-point everything for sale. The outnumbered Franks took up their weapons and bloodshed ensued.
So the hostility of the locals was the fault of the Germans. Or was it? At Adrianople – modern Edirne, Turkey – even Louis’ innocence was dented on learning that Comnenus had just signed a twelve-year truce with the Turks, during which they could do anything not directly in conflict with Byzantium’s interests. Comnenus’ army was thus freed to play a watching role while the two European contingents were on Byzantine soil. In addition, the great Zengi had been murdered by a palace eunuch caught stealing his wine. His son and successor, Nur ed-Din was so pious that the rules for his troops resembled those of Pope Eugenius III for the crusaders: no luxury garments, no alcohol and no ‘tambourine, flute or other objects displeasing to God’. 3 Nur ed-Din was also a warrior out to prove himself before he was usurped.
In council, Louis was reminded that Eleanor’s grandfather had considered destroying Constantinople as more of an obstacle than an ally to the First Crusade. It was a project that the rulers of the Latin Kingdom had also considered many times. The devout bishop of Langres, an appointee of Louis who was the Franks’ best strategist, drew up a plan to lay siege to the Christian capital on the Bosporus after poisoning the water supply. To sustain such a siege would have necessitated the cooperation of the German contingent, who were supposed to be waiting for their French allies to catch up on the European banks of the Bosporus. But Comnenus was one jump ahead: the third piece of bad news for Louis was that Conrad III had already crossed into Asia with his whole army and was heading towards Cappadocia and distant Jerusalem. Recalling Abbé Bernard’s advice to let nothing distract him from
We had to exchange five denarii for one stamina and a mark for twelve solidi . Thus did the Greeks perjure themselves at the very entrance to their country for the Emperor’s representatives had sworn on his behalf that they would allow us to trade in their markets at a fair rate of exchange. 1
Manuel Comnenus’ reply to Louis’ first letter of intention had been, in Odo’s words ‘sweeter than honeycomb’. At Bavarian Regensburg, then known as Ratisbon, the French court had been given eloquent promises by emissaries of the imperial court in Constantinople. Eleanor had received friendly letters from Comnenus’ wife, the Empress Irene, a Bavarian noblewoman whose sister was married to Conrad. What was a Greek promise worth? the Franks now asked.
We crossed this deserted region and entered the most beautiful and fertile country that stretches all the way to Constantinople. Elsewhere they had sold supplies correctly and found us peaceful. The Greeks, however, shut themselves in their cities and castles, letting merchandise down to us by ropes. The supplies thus received being insufficient for our needs, the pilgrims therefore satisfied their needs by plundering and looting, since they could not bear to go short in the midst of plenty. It seemed to some that the Germans were to blame for the situation, because they had looted everything and burned several unwalled suburbs. 2
So who was to blame? The ‘wily Greeks’ or the excesses of Conrad’s contingent? The duke of Philippopolis – modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria – had had to intervene after a drunken brawl between armed Germans and local people resulted in slaughter of the unarmed Greeks and the burning of everything outside the city walls. On another occasion an advance party of French knights, charged with arranging supplies for the main body, collided with Conrad’s rearguard in a market. The Germans carried off at sword-point everything for sale. The outnumbered Franks took up their weapons and bloodshed ensued.
So the hostility of the locals was the fault of the Germans. Or was it? At Adrianople – modern Edirne, Turkey – even Louis’ innocence was dented on learning that Comnenus had just signed a twelve-year truce with the Turks, during which they could do anything not directly in conflict with Byzantium’s interests. Comnenus’ army was thus freed to play a watching role while the two European contingents were on Byzantine soil. In addition, the great Zengi had been murdered by a palace eunuch caught stealing his wine. His son and successor, Nur ed-Din was so pious that the rules for his troops resembled those of Pope Eugenius III for the crusaders: no luxury garments, no alcohol and no ‘tambourine, flute or other objects displeasing to God’. 3 Nur ed-Din was also a warrior out to prove himself before he was usurped.
In council, Louis was reminded that Eleanor’s grandfather had considered destroying Constantinople as more of an obstacle than an ally to the First Crusade. It was a project that the rulers of the Latin Kingdom had also considered many times. The devout bishop of Langres, an appointee of Louis who was the Franks’ best strategist, drew up a plan to lay siege to the Christian capital on the Bosporus after poisoning the water supply. To sustain such a siege would have necessitated the cooperation of the German contingent, who were supposed to be waiting for their French allies to catch up on the European banks of the Bosporus. But Comnenus was one jump ahead: the third piece of bad news for Louis was that Conrad III had already crossed into Asia with his whole army and was heading towards Cappadocia and distant Jerusalem. Recalling Abbé Bernard’s advice to let nothing distract him from
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