THE Marquis de Montferrat, commander-in-chief of the army, now issued, on behalf of the barons and the Doge of Venice, a general order to the troops to collect and hand over all the booty, as had been agreed on oath and under pain of excommunication. Three churches were set aside for the reception of the spoil, and certain of the most notably trustworthy men among the French and the Venetians were posted in each to act as guards.
Each man began to bring in such booty as he had taken. Some performed this duty conscientiously, others, prompted by covetous-ness, that never-failing source of all evil, proved less honest. From the very first, those who were prone to this vice began to keep some things back, and became, in consequence, less pleasing to our Lord. Ah God! how loyally they had behaved up to now! And up to now, in all their undertakings, our Lord had shown His gracious care for them, and Ltd exalted them above all other people. But those who do right often have to suffer for the misdeeds of the unrighteous.
In this case, when the army’s gains in money and kind had been collected it turned out that the whole amount had not been handed in. There were many, in fact, who had kept things back, undeterred by fear of excommunication by the Pope. Everything brought to the churches was put together, and divided in equal parts between the French and the Venetians, according to the sworn agreement. After the Crusaders had received their share, they first handed over 50,000 silver marks to the Venetians, and then divided another 100,000 among their own people. The money was allotted in this way: one mounted sergeant received as much as two sergeants on foot, one knight as much as two mounted sergeants. No man, whatever his rank or his personal merits, received a larger amount, except by special arrangement – or unless he happened to steal it.
In cases of theft stern justice was meted out to those proved guilty; many of these were hanged. The Comte de Saint-Pol hanged one of his own knights, with his shield at his neck, for keeping back certain booty. There were however many men, of all ranks, who kept things back without ever being found out. None the less, the total value of the spoil was very great; for apart from what was stolen and what was paid to the Venetians, what remained available for distribution amounted to about 400,000 silver marks, as well as ten thousand horses of different breeds. In this way the spoils of Constantinople were divided among the victors.
After this task was completed the whole army was summoned to a conference, at which the troops with one accord declared that an emperor must be elected, as had already been agreed. Discussion went on so long that the matter of choosing the twelve persons responsible for electing an emperor was adjourned to another day. Naturally, where such a high dignity as the imperial throne of Constantinople was concerned, there could be no lack of men who aspired to, or coveted, that honour; yet the greatest disagreement at the meeting was on the question of whether the Comte Baudouin de Flandre or the Marquis de Montferrat should be chosen; for everyone said it must be one or the other.
When the chief men in the army saw how people were divided on this point, some in support of the count, others upholding the marquis, they conferred together. ‘If we elect one of these two great men,’ they said, ‘the other will leave the army and take his people with him. Then we may lose this land, just as Jerusalem was nearly lost, when, after it was conquered, Godefroy de Bouillon was elected king. At that time the Comte de Saint-Gilles was so filled with spite and envy that he incited the other barons, and anyone else he could persuade, to withdraw from the army. Many people left, and so few remained that, if God had not taken them under His protection, the land of Jerusalem would have been lost. We must therefore take care to see that such a misfortune doesn’t happen to us.
‘We ought rather to find some way of keeping both these lords in the army. So let whichever of them is by God’s will elected emperor do all in his power to keep the other satisfied. Let him, for instance, gain the other’s allegiance by granting him all the lands across the straits, towards Turkey, and also the Isle of Greece on this side. By such means we shall keep them both.’ This proposal was favourably received by all, and both the men concerned gave their willing assent to it
The day appointed for the final conference arrived, and everyone assembled. Twelve electors were chosen, six of them French and the other six Venetians. These all swore on the Holy Gospels to elect, conscientiously and loyally, the man who would best serve the interests of the state and govern the empire most worthily.
After the electors had been chosen a day was fixed for the election of an emperor. On that day the twelve men met in a very fine palace, one of the most beautiful in the world, where the Doge of Venice was then living. An amazing concourse of people had gathered there, for everyone wished to see who would be elected. The twelve electors were summoned and taken into a very richly furnished chapel inside the palace. The door was shut, so that they remained alone. Meanwhile, the barons and the knights waited in a great palace a little way from the chapel.
The council lasted until the electors were all agreed. Then, by common consent, they appointed one of their number, Névelon, Bishop of Soissons, to act as spokesman. They all came out of the chapel and went to the place where the barons and the Doge of Venice were assembled. Many eyes, as you can imagine, were turned towards the twelve, for everyone was anxious to hear the result of the election. The bishop delivered his message. ‘My lords,’ he said, ‘by God’s grace we have agreed on the choice of an emperor. You have all sworn that the man whom we elect shall be accepted by you, and that if anyone should dare to challenge his election you will come to his support. We name him now at the very hour in which our Lord was born: The Comte Baudouin de Flandre et de Hainaut.’
Shouts of joy resounded in the palace. The count was escorted out of the building and borne to the church. The Marquis de Montferrat, for his part, was the first to support him on one side, and to pay him all the honour he could. Thus the Comte Baudouin de Flandre et de Hainaut was elected Emperor, and a day fixed for his coronation, three weeks after Easter. Many a rich robe, I may say, was specially made for that occasion, and there was no lack of money to pay for the making.
Before the day appointed for the coronation the Marquis Boniface de Montferrat married the lady who had been the Emperor Isaac’s wife, and was the King of Hungary’s sister. About the same time, Eudes de Champlitte, one of the noblest barons in the army, fell ill and died. His brother Guillaume and his friends mourned him deeply and wept bitterly over his death. He was buried with great honour in the church of the Holy Apostles.
Coronation day arrived, and the Emperor Baudouin was crowned with much rejoicing and great dignity in the Church of Saint Sophia, in the year of our Lord 1204. There is no need to speak of the jubilation and the festivities attending that event, except to say that the barons and the knights did all they could to honour the occasion. The Marquis Boniface de Montferrat and the Comte Louis de Blois et de Chartrain did homage to the new Emperor as their lord. After his joyful coronation, the Emperor was escorted in great pomp, and with a great procession, to the lordly palace of Bucoleon, a more magnificent building than had ever been seen before. Here, as soon as the festivities were over, he settled down to attend to business.
The Marquis de Montferrat now called upon the Emperor to keep the promise he had made, and give him, as he had bound himself to do, possession of the land across the straits towards Turkey, and the Isle of Greece. The Emperor acknowledged his obligation and said he would gladly fulfil it. The marquis, seeing him so ready and willing to keep his word, asked him whether, in exchange for those lands, he would grant him the kingdom of Salonika, because it lay near the territory of the King of Hungary, whose sister he had married.
After much serious discussion of pros and cons the Emperor finally granted the land of Salonika to the marquis, who thereupon did him homage for it as his lord. At this there was great rejoicing in the army, for the marquis was one of the most highly esteemed knights in all the world, and one whom his fellow knights loved most, since no one was more open-handed and generous than he. Thus the marquis was persuaded to remain in the empire.