Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the EmpireHutton, William Holden
History
Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire
Hutton, William Holden
Istanbul (Turkey)
"But the Count Baldwin stepping forth, and seizing him by the hand,
dragged him thence, and with many reproaches said, 'It becomes thee
not to do such things here, especially after having taken the oath of
fealty. It is not the custom of the Roman Emperors to permit any of
their inferiors to sit beside them, not even of such as are born
subjects of their empire; and it is necessary to respect the customs
of the country.' But he, answering nothing to Baldwin, stared yet more
fixedly upon the Emperor, and muttered to himself something in his own
dialect, which, being interpreted, was to this effect--'Behold, what
rustic fellow is this, to be seated alone while such leaders stand
around him!' The movement of his lips did not escape the Emperor, who
called to him one that understood the Latin dialect, and inquired what
words the man had spoken. When he heard them the Emperor said nothing
to the other Latins, but kept the thing to himself. When, however, the
business was all over, he called near to him by himself that swelling
and shameless Latin, and asked of him, who he was, of what lineage,
and from what region he had come. 'I am a Frank,' said he, 'of pure
blood, of the nobles. One thing I know, that where three roads meet in
the place from which I came, there is an ancient church, in which
whosoever has the desire to measure himself against another in single
combat, prays God to help him therein, and afterwards abides the
coming of one willing to encounter him. At that spot a long time did I
remain, but the man bold enough to stand against me I found not.'
Hearing these words the Emperor said, 'If hitherto thou hast sought
battles in vain the time is at hand which will furnish thee with
abundance of them. And I advise thee to place thyself neither before
the phalanx, nor in its rear, but to stand fast in the midst of thy
fellow-soldiers; for of old time I am well acquainted with the warfare
of the Turks.' With such advice he dismissed not only this man, but
the rest of those who were about to depart on that expedition."
A scene such as this made the Greeks regard the Westerns simply as
barbarians, and they rejoiced when the host at last passed over the
Bosphorus to fight the Turks. For the first year Alexius remained with
the army; but as they became divided among themselves, and refused to
give up to him the territory they conquered in the East, he returned
to Constantinople, satisfied with the conquest which had driven back
the Turks in Asia for more than 200 miles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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