Fourth Crusade

During the Fourth Crusade the noblemen were more concerned with acting honorably and avoiding shame over any religious gain they would achieve. Their central focus was doing what they considered honorable, and right, even if it did not follow the guidelines that were initially set forth for the Fourth Crusade. By doing what they considered honorable would lead them to their religious award. Geoffrey de Villehardouin expresses this insight of the crusaders acting honorably over spiritually in his writing The Conquest of Constantinople, which chronicles the Fourth Crusade. During many situations of the crusade Villehardion tells how the noblemen choose what they perceived as a more honorable and virtuous path to Jerusalem then what could have been the better spiritual path. The actions of putting honor before religion can be seen when the crusaders dealings with the Venetians, to the conquering of Zara, and then all the way to the end of the Fourth Crusade with the defeat of Constantinople. “Villehardouin and his colleagues who remained with the army stayed true to the oaths they had sworn to the Venetians; they stood firm in their sense of justice which informed them it was right to help the disposed Prince Alexius (and to turn against him when he failed to keep his promises); and they kept faith with each other, not allowing the break up of their army” (Villehardouin, xxx). Through all of the Fourth Crusade the nobleman believed that God would want them to act honorably, even if they would lead them to fight against other Christians. God would then still reward them given that all their actions would be seen as respectable. “And Villehardouin loyal to God, who had set them on the course of the crusade and who rewarded the...

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... their agreement with the Ventations and help conquer Zara. “They said they would support the treaty; it would be dishonorable to refuse it”(Villehardon, 27). Even though the crusaders went against other Christians the pope in the end knew the importantance and he understood that they only reason that they had to attack Zara was because of the other crusaders being dishonorable and abandoning them. “The pope told the envoys tat he knew well that they were constrained to do this because of others’ failings” (Villehardon, 29). The Pope in the end forgave these crusaders. “He instructed them and begged them to keep the army together because he well understood that without that army no service to God could be performed” (Villehardon, 29). This is a clear instantance of the crusaders putting honor before religion but in the end still receiving a religious reward.