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No. 25.
Treaty made under the Walls of Constantinople.
This is certainly one of the most extraordinary documents we have ever seen. A handful of warriors, in a strange and foreign country, without any certainty of reinforcements, are before the second city of the world, well peopled, completely fortified, and prepared for defence; and yet they, before giving an assault, coolly draw up a treaty, by which the city and its empire are divided amongst them; and what completes the wonder is, that they succeeded, and, for a while, obtained what they contemplated.
“We, Henry Dandolo, by the grace of God doge of Venice, Dalmatia, and Croatia, and the very illustrious lords, Boniface, marquis of Montferrat; Baldwin, count of Flanders and Hainault; Louis, count of Blois and Clermont; and Henry, count of St. Pol; each on his own part, in order to maintain among us union and concord, and to avoid every subject of offence, with the co-operation of Him who is our peace, who made everything, and for whose glory we have thought fit to establish the following order, after having reciprocally engaged ourselves with the bonds of an oath. In the first place, we all agree (after having invoked the name of Jesus Christ) to cause the city to be attacked; and if, by the aid of divine power, we succeed in entering it, we will remain and serve under the command of those who shall be established leaders of the army, and follow them as it shall be ordered. All the wealth that shall be found in the city, shall by every one be deposited in a common place, which shall be chosen for this purpose, we reserving always, as well as for our Venetians, three parts of this wealth, which are to be remitted to us as an indemnity for that which the Emperor Alexius was bound to pay to us, as well as to you. On your side, you will retain a fourth part, until we have all obtained equal satisfaction; and if there should be anything left, we will share it equally between us and you, so that all may be satisfied. And if the said wealth should not prove sufficient to discharge that which is due to us, this wealth, from whatever source it may arise, shall be shared in the same manner between you and us, as it has been thereupon agreed, except the provisions and forage, which shall be set aside and divided equally among your people and ours, in order that all may subsist in a suitable manner; and all that may be found besides shall be shared with the other booty, according as it has been agreed thereupon. We and our Venetians are to enjoy, throughout the empire, in a free and absolute manner, and without any kind of contradiction, all the prerogatives and possessions which we have been accustomed to enjoy, as well in spiritual as in temporal matters; as well as all privileges and usages, written or not written. There shall also be chosen six members on our part, and six on yours, who, after having taken an oath, shall choose in the army and raise to the empire, him whom they shall believe to be most fit to exercise it, and to command in this land for the advantage and glory of God, of the holy Romish church, and of the empire. If they agree among themselves, we will recognise as emperor him whom they shall have elected with one common voice. But if it should happen that six shall be on one side and six on the other, it shall be left to chance, and him upon whom the lot shall fall we will acknowledge as emperor. If there should be a majority on one side, we will acknowledge as emperor him in favour of whom this majority shall be declared. If the council should be divided into more than two parts, we will acknowledge for emperor him whom the most numerous party shall have elected. The person who may be chosen emperor, shall have the quarter of all that shall be conquered from the empire, the palace of Blachernæ, and the Lion’s Mouth. The three other quarters shall be shared equally among you and us. As to the clerical members who shall be of the side on which the emperor shall not have been chosen, they shall have the privilege of composing the clergy of the Church of St. Sophia, and to elect a patriarch for the glory of God, of the holy Roman church, and the empire. But as regards the clerical members on one side and the other, they shall compose the clergy of the churches which shall fall to their share. As to the wealth of the churches, care will be taken to distribute to the ecclesiastics as much as will be sufficient to provide honourably for them, and to the churches as much as will be requisite to maintain them properly. Whatever may remain of this wealth shall be divided and shared as above directed. We will, in addition, make oath, on both sides, that, dating from the last day of the present month of March, we will remain during the space of an entire year in the service of the emperor, in order to contribute to and strengthen his power, for the glory of God, the holy Romish church, and the empire; and that all those who shall have previously sojourned in the empire, shall swear fidelity to the emperor, according to the good and praiseworthy custom. Thus then, all those who now dwell in the empire, as has been mentioned, shall swear they will hold as good and authentic the regulations and treaties which have been made. It is also proper to observe that, as well on your side as on ours, there shall be chosen twelve members, at most, as it may be convenient, who, after having taken the oath, shall be charged with the duty of distributing the fiefs and honours among individuals, and of regulating the rights of service to which these same individuals shall be subjected as regards the emperor and the empire, according to what these members shall think suitable; that the fief which shall be assigned to any one shall be possessed freely and without any obstacle, by his posterity, as well masculine as feminine, and that the possessor shall have entire power to execute whatever to him may seem good, saving his obedience to the laws and the duty he shall owe to the service of the emperor and the empire. There shall be likewise done for the emperor all the service necessary, independently of that to which the possessors of fiefs and privileges shall be bound, according to the order that shall be assigned to them. It is further enacted, that no inhabitant of a nation which shall be at war with us or our successors, or the Venetians, shall be admitted into the empire until that war shall be entirely terminated. Moreover, each party is held to labour sincerely to obtain from our holy father the pope, that if any one shall attempt to contravene the present constitution, he shall be struck by excommunication. On his side, the emperor is bound to swear that he will hold the acts and gifts which shall be made, irrevocable, conformably with all which has hereupon been named. That if the present treaty should require any addition or suppression, it will be within our power and liberty to make it, assisted by our six counsellors, conjointly with the said lord marquis, assisted equally by his six counsellors. On the other side, the above-named lord doge cannot take the oath to the emperor for any service, for any fief or privilege that may be granted to him; but he or they whom he shall delegate in that which concerns him, shall take the oath to do, towards the emperor and towards the empire, all services required, conformably with all which has been thereupon mentioned.
Given, in the year of grace 1204, the 7th day of the month of March.
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No. 26.
In the year 1195, Walter Hemingford, an English chronicler, says that the Old Man of the Mountain sent to all the princes of Europe a letter, in which he exculpates the illustrious king Richard from the death of the marquis of Montferrat. Although this letter may be a little apocryphal, we publish it, to show our readers how the Old Man of the Mountain was then spoken of.
“The Old Man of the Mountain to the princes and all the people of the Christian religion, salutation. As we do not wish ill to him who is innocent and merits it not, we will not allow that the innocence of another should be compromised by any act that we have done. We will never suffer, with the permission of God, that they who have offended us shall rejoice long in the injuries inflicted on our simplicity. We signify then to you all, and we take as witness him by whom we hope to be saved, that it was not by any machinations of the king of England that the marquis was killed. He was justly killed, by our will and by our order, by our satellites, because he had offended us, and had neglected, in spite of our warnings, to make us reparation: for it is our custom first to warn those who have offended us in anything, either us or our friends, in order that they may give us satisfaction; and it is our custom, if they despise our warning, to avenge ourselves by the hands of our ministers, who obey us with the greater devotion from being convinced they shall be gloriously recompensed by God, if they fall whilst executing our orders. We have learnt likewise that it is said of the same king that he had engaged us, as less incorruptible than others, to send some one of our people to lay an ambush for the king of Franco. This is false, and the effect of a vain suspicion. God is our witness, that he never proposed anything of the kind to us, and that our honesty would not permit us to allow anything evil to be attempted against a person who had not merited it. Fare ye well.”