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The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium

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The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium The LatinRenovatio of Byzantium The Medieval Mediterranean Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400–1500 Managing Editor Hugh Kennedy SOAS, London Editors Paul Magdalino, St. Andrews David Abulafia, Cambridge Benjamin Arbel, Tel Aviv Larry J. Simon, Western Michigan University Olivia Remie Constable, Notre Dame Frances Andrews, St. Andrews VOLUME 90 The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium The Empire of Constantinople (1204–1228) By Filip Van Tricht Translated by Peter Longbottom LEIDEN • BOSTON 2011 Cover illustration: Emperor of Constantinople (2011), by Chris Roelants (photograph: Peter Van Tricht). With kind permission of the artist/photographer. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tricht, Filip van. [Latijnse renovatio van Byzantium. English] The Latin renovatio of Byzantium : the Empire of Constantinople (1204–1228) / by Filip Van Tricht ; translated by Peter Longbottom. p. cm. — (The medieval Mediterranean : peoples, economies, and cultures, 400–1500, ISSN 0928-5520 ; v. 90) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-20323-5 (hbk. : acid-free paper) 1. Latin Empire, 1204–1261. 2. Crusades—Fourth, 1202–1204. 3. Istanbul (Turkey)—History—Siege, 1203–1204. 4. Istanbul (Turkey)—History—To 1453. 5. Istanbul (Turkey)—Politics and government. 6. Istanbul (Turkey)—Social conditions. 7. Byzantine Empire—History—1081–1453. 8. Byzantine Empire—Politics and government. 9. Imperialism—Social aspects— Byzantine Empire—History. 10. Social change—Byzantine Empire—History. I. Title. DF611.T75 2011 949.5’04—dc22 2011006131 ISSN 0928-5520 ISBN 978 90 04 20323 5 Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. To my loving parents CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................. ix Maps ................................................................................................... xi Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Prologue .............................................................................................. 15 Chapter One The Constitutional Treaties of 1204–1205: The Latin Restructuring of Byzantium ...................................... 41 Chapter Two The Imperial Ideology ......................................... 61 Chapter Three The Imperial Quarter .......................................... 103 Chapter Four Imperial Authority within the Empire in Its Entirety ............................................................................................ 157 Chapter Five The Central Elite .................................................. 251 Chapter Six Religion, Church and Empire ........................... 307 Chapter Seven The Byzantine Space ............................................ 351 Chapter Eight The Latin Orient .................................................. 433 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 473 Bibliography ........................................................................................ 483 Index ................................................................................................... 521 PREFACE The present book has been in the making for a long time. I first came into contact with the Latin Empire of Constantinople in 1995 during my history studies at the University of Ghent when a profes- sor of mine, dr. Thérèse de Hemptinne, suggested Henry of Flanders/ Hainaut—the second Latin Emperor of Constantinople—as a possible subject for my licentiate’s thesis. The prospect of writing a biography of such a valiant knight, as he is for instance portrayed in Henry of Valenciennes’ chronicle, appealed to me instantly. Since my childhood days I have been interested in the Middle Ages and, of course, especially in the knightly lifestyle. On our many holidays in France my parents always took me and my older broth- ers to visit the nearby castles, abbeys and cathedrals. Carcassonne was unforgettable. The sight of the magnificent ruins of the so-called Cathar strongholds in the Pyrenees, such as Peyrepertuse, captured my imagination. Closer to home my favourites were, and still remain, the castle of Beersel (near Brussels)—which functioned as the setting of an episode of an in Belgium well-known comic book—and the unique Count’s Castle in my hometown of Ghent, which my now six year old stepson Stan is also very fond of. It is true to say that my mother and father with these and other cultural excursions nurtured in me a deep love for human history, with a clear partiality for the medieval period. As a kid I consequently built many a Lego fortress, fought many a fierce battle with my Playmobil army and—last but not least— enthusiastically dressed up as a Templar knight. After I had succesfully completed my licentiate’s thesis, I obtained a scholarship enabling me to prepare a doctorate’s thesis. It went with- out saying that I would continue my research concerning the Latin Empire, which had aroused my interest with its complex and fasci- nating relations between the various peoples and cultures involved. The dissertation that I embarked upon in short aimed at unravelling the political identity of the Latin Empire in the years 1204–1261. In the Spring of 2003 this work was finished. The publication at hand is to be considerd as a thoroughly reworked version of the first part of my dissertation. A number of revisions were indeed in order in the context of the relative flood of publications x preface that appeared in the wake of the 800th anniversary of the crusader conquest of Constantinople in 2004. Professionally I had meanwhile taken on a job as a parliamentary assistant, in which capacity I passed as it happens on a regular basis the first Latin Emperor Baldwin of Flanders/Hainaut’s somewhat forgotten statue, portraying him in imperial robes, in the entrance hall of the federal parliament building in Brussels. Because of the international character of the chosen topic there were many challenges I had to overcome while writing this book. These were mainly related to the varied nature, inter alia linguistically and typologically, of the available source material and of the already exist- ing literature. The path often seemed uncertain, the road ahead a slip- pery slope. However, in the years that have past since I began my research, I have been fortunate in being able to rely on the never fail- ing aid and support of a number of people, whom I would all like to thank warmly. My promotor, the kindhearted prof. dr. Thérèse de Hemptinne, without doubt deserves a special mention. She inspired me to under- take this work and motivated me to finish it. I also want to single out prof.-em. dr. Edmond Voordeckers, who encouraged me while still working on my licentiate thesis and who has managed to pass on to me his passion for Byzantium, though he most likely is unaware of his influence. Further I should thank prof. dr. David Jacoby, prof. dr. Walter Prevenier, prof. dr. Jeannine Vereecken and dr. Krijnie Ciggaar for their valuable remarks. On a more personal level I am indebted to my good friends Kim and Stijn, who—at a time when morale was low—jestingly made me solemnly promise that one day I would com- plete this book. Of course I also thank my mother-in-law Chris for providing the beautiful cover painting and my brother Peter for skill- fully photographing it. Last but certainly not least I want to thank my sweetheart Borg (you truly are the love of my life), my dear stepson Stan—who likens himself to Constantine the Great and aspires to be a knight one day, or an astronaut or a racing cyclist for that matter—and my little daughter Juno Guinevere for the happiness and joy they daily bring to me. Ultimately I would like to thank my ever caring mother and father, without whom this book would never have been written and to whom it is thus dedicated. KININGDOM OF HUNGARY RRavavnnoo Dononauau Niiss BLACK PRIPRINCCIIPAPALIITYTY SEA OF SERSERBIABIA TTirirnovnovo EMEMPIREIRE OF BUBULGARRIIA Anchialos BeroeBeroe Aggaathopolisthopolis e e e e l p SkoSkoppiaia PhiP s o opl opl KonKonstastannteteiiaa opl SStroumtrouma (S(Strymtrymoonn) h i s l lis lis lis n i i lippop l o a Amastrisstris s e i SStenimtenimaachoschos i ian ian ian p a y TzeTzepaipainna p y r r r r rysis rysis rysis r K p o z d d d d i iopo iopo iopo i izye izye izye n V V V o V ryr d d d d A A A Mararitsaitsa (H(Hebros)ebros) A s V V V V o p y Medeiaeia a a a a l lon lon lon o tzit i oliso Heerraklakleiaeia k Vaardarrdar ((AxioAxioss)) HODOPEESS z k kos kos RRH kos l h rk rk r rk i i r m s p phi phi phi PonPontikatika er er er e A A A A oso m D D D D a Dyyrrrrachioachion PPrileprilep s P Pam Pam ik Pam Meellnikn a n Didymymoteiteichonchon TzoTzouuroroulonulon PPAPAPHLLAAGONIA h ConConstastantintinopnoplele
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