Read Online City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire by Roger Crowley - Free Book Online Page B

same moment a ship arrived from Italy carrying the furious interdict of Pope Innocent. The actual letter is lost but its contents were clearly restated later:
… we took care to strictly enjoin in our letter, which we believe came to your attention and that of the Venetians, that you not be tempted to invade or violate the lands of Christians … Those, indeed, who might presume to act otherwise should know that they are bound by the fetters of excommunication and denied the indulgence that the [pope] granted the crusaders.
     
    This was extraordinarily serious. Excommunication threatened, at a stroke, to damn the very souls crusading was intended to save. The letter was a grenade thrown into the expedition’s uneasy pact and it opened up all the underlying tensions of the enterprise. A dissenting group of French knights, led by the powerfulSimon de Montfort, had always seen the diversion to Zara as a betrayal of crusader vows. While Dandolo was elsewhere discussing the surrender with a body of crusader lords, they called on the Zaran delegation waiting at the doge’s tent. They informed it that the French would refuse to attack the city, and ‘if you can defend yourself against the Venetians, then you will be safe’. Just to make sure the message got across, another knight shouted this information over the battlements. Armed with this promise the Zaran delegation turned on its heels and went back to the city, determined to resist.
    Dandolo, meanwhile, had got the agreement of the majority of the leaders to accept the surrender and they all returned to his tent. Instead of the Zaran delegation, which had vanished, they were confronted by the abbot of Vaux, probably with Innocent’s letter in his hand, who stepped dramatically forward with all the force of papal authority and declared: ‘Lords, I forbid you, by the pope in Rome, to attack this city; for it is a place of Christians and you are pilgrims.’ A furious row broke out. Dandolo was incensed and rounded on the crusader leaders: ‘Sirs, by agreement I arranged the surrender of this city, and your men have taken it from me, although you gave me your word that you would help me to conquer it. Now I call on you to do so.’ Furthermore, according to Robert of Clari, he was not prepared to back down before the pope: ‘Lords, you should be aware that I won’t relinquish my vengeance on them at any price, not even for the pope!’
    The crusader leaders, more squeamish, found themselves caught between excommunication and the breaking of a secular agreement. Shamefaced and appalled by de Montfort’s actions, they decided they had no option but to underwrite their commitment to the Venetian cause – the outstanding debt was tied up in the deal. Otherwise the crusade might just collapse. It was with heavy hearts that they agreed to this unpalatable act: ‘Sir, we will help you to take the city despite those who want to prevent it.’ The unfortunate Zarans, who had tried to surrender peacefully, now found themselves subjected to overwhelming force. Theytried to prick crusader consciences by hanging crosses from the walls. It made no difference. Giant catapults were wheeled up to bombard the walls; miners began to tunnel beneath them. It was all over in five days. The Zarans sued for peace on more humiliating terms. Barring a few strategic executions, the Venetians spared the citizens’ lives; the city was evacuated and the victors ‘looted the city without mercy’.
    It was now mid-November and Dandolo pointed out to the assembled army that it was too late in the year to sail on; the winter could be passed pleasantly enough in the mild climate of the Dalmatian coast. It would be better to wait until spring. It was reasonable enough, unavoidable even, but this suggestion seems to have plunged the crusade into fresh crisis. The rank-and-file crusaders felt they were being yet again shamelessly exploited – and they largely blamed Venice. They had been imprisoned on