The Conquest of Constantinople

by Robert of Clari, Edgar Holmes McNeal (Translator)

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) set out to capture the Holy Land; it ended up sacking Constantinople, an Orthodox Christian city and the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Robert of Clari, an obscure knight from Picardy, provides an extraordinary recounting of the decidedly mixed triumphs of the Fourth Crusade, an event that deepened the rift between the Eastern and Western churches. His chronicle is one of the few accounts of the crusades told from the point of view of an ordinary soldier. He provides firsthand descriptions of battles with the Greek defenders of Constantinople and the various hardships endured on the crusaders' eastward journey. Robert also serves as a guide, describing the marvels of Constantinople and other sights he encountered during the crusade.

Robert's account tells of the practical, political, and theological negotiations and disputes that defined the Fourth Crusade. He recounts the Venetian Doge's stubborn bargaining with the crusaders over the use of his ships and how the pope's bishops vigorously campaigned for the conquest of Constantinople. Throughout the crusade, various kings and lords from Europe jockeyed for power as they tried to assert their political and military leadership. Robert's chronicle concludes with the political disputes between various nobles to control the Byzantine Empire and the spoils of battle.

Genres: History

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert de Clari was a knight from Picardy. He participated in the Fourth Crusade with his lord, Count Peter of Amiens, and his brother, Aleaumes de Clari, and left a chronicle of the events in Old French.

Reviews

[Mehmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A critical work to understand the Fourth Crusade, yes, but also a very readable one. Robert of Clari was a simple knight and that this eyewitness testimony survived at all is a miracle. He has a lot to offer in terms of what gossip circulated in the camp, what his opinions of any given figure involved was, a good eye for the landscape, and an enduring interest in people’s names and the monetary situation at any given point. He is a rather endearing, if gruff, narrator and a great storyteller. His love of dramatic and romantic explanations exist side-by-side with a deep awareness of the importance of material rewards. One can perhaps compare his account to that of Bernal Diaz’s of New Spain, in the doggedly pursued goal of advocating for the “poorer” crusaders who were not renumerated well enough by the great leaders of the expedition. He recounts the deaths of those leaders to the bulgarians later with content. His account of Constantinople, its people, its sights and its legends is priceless as a read, as it very clearly involved him trying to get a nice tour to cap of his journey in the company of a tour guide who was bullshitting very hard whenever they didn’t know what any given monument meant. A truely Istanbul experience. Despite all this however, it is also important to remember the horror that is recounted in this work, and Robert is much less interested in the true human cost of the event compared to for example Gunther of Pairis (who however is a much less engaging author), let alone Byzantine authors like Choniates. It still remains pertinent to say however that Robert is a deeply engaging narrator, and an emminently readable one as well.

[Raja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great description of Constantinople! The author's perspective of events as a regular Knight on the field was also eye-openning.

The book in general was plain though. With the exception of the two points noted above, it has little going for it.

[Joe Scipione · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to review this as a book as it is a primary source of the fourth crusade. Given that it is a good account of the events leading up to the crusade as well as the fall of Constantinople itself.