Date of Award
5-2002
Honors Thesis Number
12615
Major
History
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Dotson
Abstract
On November 28, 1199, the Fourth Crusade began with the enlistment of an anny of knights in northern France. It was fifteen months after Pope Innocent ill had asked for men to join another crusade. The Fourth Crusade was fought with the express purpose to get possession ofJerusalem according to the pope. However, it never reached its intended goal. Both men that I have chosen to study saw these events with their own eyes, but they both give a different point of view to the events. Robert de Clari and Geoffrey de Villehardouin left accounts of the crusade written from very different points of view. All of the crusaders faced many trials including the siege ofZara, the decision to attack Constantinople, the taking of the Tower ofGalata, and most importantly the sack ofConstantinople. The following paper investigates the different points of view that Clari and Villehardouin held, and shows how they are equally important to our understanding of the events of the Fourth Crusade. In researching the subject, I assert that an individual's personal involvement during the crusades should be considered a vital source of infonnation. As I will indicate in this paper, the personal accounts of the crusades are a very important part ofour history because they give us another view of the battles.
Comments
Name on title page: Jami K. Smith.