Chapter Ninety-four

 

 

A Discussion for History

 

 

As they sailed back to Italy, Tristan and Handel shared hour upon hour of discussion and dispute concerning their visit to Constantinople.

“I say no to Alexius,” said Handel time and time again. “He supported Heinrich for years, his agents killed off our people, and he sent nearly half a million gold pieces to bribe Heinrich into attacking Rome simply to get Duke Guiscard and the Normans off his back when they invaded Byzantium. He doesn’t deserve consideration in this matter!”

“Yes, did you not see the plight of those pilgrims at the infirmary and hospice of Hagia Sophia, Handel? Christians must have open access to the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem without being molested, tortured, and killed.”

“I have seen a hundred infirmaries, and Hagia Sophia is no different. It’s full of the injured and the maimed. We have similar places throughout Italy, Germany, France filled with wounded from the wars against the Saracens in Spain and North Africa, and our own wounded in Italy from fighting Heinrich.”

“There is a great difference, Handel, between the war-wounded and those who are killed and tortured for worshipping God. It is a matter of those choosing to fight as opposed to the innocent.”

“Oh, so you suppose that the dead soldiers now moldering in their graves chose their profession? Ha, the knights and nobles perhaps, but what about the poor archers and footmen who are poorly armed and slain by the thousands and tens of thousands? No, they fight to provide a few morsels of bread to their families while the nobles fight over vast estates, territories, and loot.”

“Handel, the children we saw at Hagia Sopia, did they not sear your very heart?”

“Oh, do not suppose that we lack mutilated children in our very own infirmaries and hospices of Italy, innocently caught in the tussle of war.”

“You are correct to an extent, Handel, yet you still ignore the primary issue here, the sanctity of the Holy Land. It is the birthright of Christians to visit and follow the very steps of Jesus Christ within the Holy Land while he was upon this earth. Also, did you not pay attention to the Byzantine generals as they showed their maps and the vast loss of territory in Asia Minor and the Balkans? I respect the Arabs and the Turks far more than most westerners, as you well know, but my eyes have been opened on this trip, Handel. I am beginning to see for the first time an immediate threat to Christianity and our very way of life. It behooves us to do something here, Handel.”

These conversations wrangled on day after day. The end result was typical of all political discussions, and that was that each man only entrenched himself deeper in his own philosophy.

As they landed in Naples, they were pleased to learn that King Heinrich was in full retreat in northern Italy, and equally pleased to hear that Pope Urban had recently taken possession of the Lateran Palace and Saint Peter’s Basilica. From Naples they went by coach to Monte Cassino to report to Muehler, and were further surprised to learn that Muehler was going to accompany them to Rome as they relayed information acquired in Constantinople to the Pope. Since his ordeal and escape from England years before, Muehler had always refused to leave the sheltered confines of Monte Cassino Monastery. He did not wish to go out into public; even hiding his disfigured face behind the cover of his omnipresent veil.

When they arrived at the Lateran Palace, Odo was surrounded by at least a dozen ministers, Cardinals, and bureaucrats, all buzzing about trying to shoulder their way before the Pope. Greeting Muehler, Handel and Tristan, Odo immediately cleared the room and placed guards at the door.

“So many things going on all at once, it is dizzying,” he said. “This business with Adelheid’s divorce, Conrad’s claim to the crown of Italy, our reclaiming of the Vatican, and now this mess in France.”

“France?” said Tristan, as they took positions about the table. “Pray tell! Bad news?”

“Bad news, indeed,” said Odo. “It seems the good King Philippe has taken his wandering erection a step further now, and fallen in love of all things.”

“Eh?” said Handel. “In love? Was he not content dipping his wick everywhere he pleased? Now it has to be in love?”

“Yes, apparently so,” said Odo. “He was smitten by Bertrade of Montfort, evidently, and lost his mind. He has married her.”

“Bertrade of Montfort?” said Tristan, stunned. “Is she not the wife of Count Fulk of Anjou? What about Queen Bertha?”

“Yes, unfortunately, the French king has married a married woman, and we are trying to figure out how to handle this awkward business.”

“Tis a simple matter,” said Tristan. “Bigamy is against the laws of both man and God. Philippe has long flouted his power by selling religious offices, acting with incessant promiscuity, and selling alliances as bribes. He is a disgrace. How is it that any cleric upon this earth would sanction such a marriage?”

“Easily,” mused Muehler. “He’s sold countless bishoprics and archbishoprics throughout his realm to the highest bidder. I dare say they were standing in line to accommodate Philippe.”

“Exactly,” said Odo. “Enough about Philippe, what about the bigger issue, Byzantium?”

As Tristan and Handel began to describe their visit to Constantinople and the request of Emperor Alexius, Odo and Muehler listened intently, frequently asking questions and exchanging thoughts. And as these four men conversed, they knew that the issue under discussion possessed significant implications, but they could never have guessed at that early juncture how monumental this discussion was, or that the impact of their words that day would leave its mark on history for centuries to come. Great events throughout history have often taken seed from such innocuous beginnings, and what begins as a simple conversation between men can unsuspectingly evolve into a watershed moment for the entire human race. And this is exactly what was occurring within the private meeting office of the Lateran Palace on this particular day.

Tristan and Handel conveyed their opposing positions on Emperor Alexius’ request as Odo and Muehler picked each man’s position apart. Tristan, being exponentially more eloquent and analytical than Muehler, carried the day and managed to convince both Muehler and Odo that a Muslim threat did, indeed, exist, and that this threat was growing. What especially impressed Muehler and Odo was the fact that Tristan was unmovable in his stance that Christian pilgrims were being molested by the Seljuq Turks, and that this abuse would worsen unless military action was taken in the form of a crusade, such as had been previously carried out in Tunis against the Moors.

Handel was equally vehement about avoiding entanglement in Alexius’ conflict with the Turks, and felt that the Byzantines should be left to their own fate. “The Saracens, whether they be Moors, Arabians, or Turks, would not dare attack continental Europe again,” he insisted, referring to their defeat by Charles Martel in the year 732 at Tours. “We are far, far too powerful!”

“They continue to fight in Spain despite the Reconquista,” responded Tristan. “And never forget, they once controlled Sicily and Lower Italy until the Normans came, and now push west against Byzantium. It seems I have always said that the Saracens are a loose confederation of Islamists, what we must fear most is the possibility of them uniting one day. And I warn you, that time approaches. Best that we make a move before time becomes our enemy.”

“The more I listen to you, Tristan, the more I agree,” said Muehler. “The Holy Father has no money for such a venture, nor troops. Only because of the generosity of others did we manage to even get him here within the Lateran Palace. No, the cupboards are bare, I fear.”

“He needs neither money nor troops,” said Tristan.

This so confounded the other three that silence fell amidst the room as they exchanged looks, then stared simultaneously at Tristan.

“What the hell does that mean?” said Handel.

“Analyzing your initial objections about Pope Urban getting involved in the Saracen incursions into Byzantium,” said Tristan, “Alexius then resorted to making an issue about Christians retaking the Holy Land, but he has no interest in that, actually. Fundamentally, what he really wants is western mercenaries to throw against the Turks who are invading his borders.” Then he looked at Odo and said, “Europe is full of dispossessed second sons of nobility, adventurers, and mercenaries. All you have to do is be the voice that raises this Christian army. With your voice, they will appear by the thousands, by the tens of thousands. The Papacy need not provide troops or money. Let the nobles and the knights finance their own venture into the East. But as they advance against the Turks, let them continue on to the Holy Land and reclaim it in the name of Christianity. In the process, they can claim Islamic territory, castles, and wealth, which is abundant to the east.”

“Such a war as this,” said Muehler, shaking his head with concern, “is well beyond the scope of what we undertook with our Italian expeditionary force in Tunis. Indeed, it is even beyond the scope of what is currently going on in Spain against the Moors, or even beyond the scope of our war against Heinrich here in Italy. We are talking about mobilizing an entire continent against another continent, an entire race against another race. There’s never been such a war. It would be… devastating.”

“If only you and Muehler could have been in Constantinople,” Tristan said, looking at Odo in earnest. “If only you could have seen the military maps, spoken to the high clerics, or walked the hospice of the Hagia Sophia. Then you would…”

“Handel,” interrupted Muehler, “you were there in Constantinople with Tristan, yet you don’t share his passion over reinforcing Alexius. Why?”

“I agree with Tristan in that what we saw there was disturbing. Muehler, you said it best a moment ago. A war of this magnitude would be devastating. I’ve worked this bloody damned Investiture War for ten years now, and have had my fill. I’ve too often walked among the dead strewn about like cordwood, one atop the other, in the aftermath of battle, and that bothers me. I’ve also seen villages and towns set afire by the enemy, as well as by our own troops, and when towns burn, people burn. I’ve seen fields and crops laid to waste and ground salted, and when this occurs, starvation follows. I’ve seen the hordes of refugees freezing and starving along the roadside in winter, the elderly, women and children, and was able to do nothing to help. I’m sick of war, and a war such as Alexius proposes will be a butchering such as man has never witnessed before, nor endured. This may all sound odd coming from an assassin such as myself, but I am still, after all, a man of God.” Then Handel fell silent.

The others fell silent also, momentarily losing themselves in personal reflection over Handel’s words. Finally, Muehler looked over at Handel and said, “Thank you, Jurgen, your thoughts are sincerely appreciated.” Then he turned to Tristan, who appeared touched by what Handel had said, and asked, “And how do you respond to these profound words by Handel.”

“I cannot and will not dispute the ugliness of war, especially in the wake of Handel’s sincere and heartfelt description of it,” Tristan replied. “I more than anyone in this room have expressed concerns about violence and assassination within our own Benedictine operations. History is replete with great men and great institutions who failed to take decisive action at seminal moments, and who also ended up disappearing into the fog of history. There has never been a greater institution upon this earth than Christianity, and though I do not believe it is yet under direct assault, the moment is not far off. Failure to act now while the Turks, Moors, and Saracens are still disaggregated could well prove to be fatal. This is exactly what I told Duke-General Bertucci in North Africa, and having been to Byzantium, I feel even more strongly that Islamic power is on the rise and that eventually a great leader will appear in their midst and call for unification against the West.

“My concern is not for Emperor Alexius, but for the survival of Christianity itself, the right of common men to worship and follow their faith without fear of persecution. I ask you this, if the Turks take Byzantium, why would they stop at Constantinople? No invading horde has ever halted their advance in the face of success, only halted upon being repelled. Indeed, once Constantinople falls, the doors to the rest of the continent stand wide open.”