The Conquest of Constantinople (Mediaeval Academy Reprints for Teaching)

In His Own Words, Without Partisan Bias or Self-glorification, Robert of Clari recorded his observations of the Fourth Crusade as an eyewitness and participant caught up by events, rather than making them. Recording the events of the journey, as well as the sights, miracles, and people that he saw, the account is an important historical and literary, as well as human document.

'Among the many remarkable episodes of the crusading age, perhaps the most astounding was the exploit of those French knights and Venetian seamen who set out to rescue the Holy Land and ended by capturing Constantinople. This expedition, known to modern historians as the Fourth Crusade, is memorable also for the number of contemporary accounts which it inspired. One of these is the story dictated by Robert of Clari, a simple, obscure knight of Picardy, who was a member of the crusading host and shared its experiences.' -- From the introduction by Edgar Holmes McNeal

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) comprised French knights and Venetian sailors; they set out to capture the Holy Land but ended up sacking Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. Robert of Clari, an obscure knight from Picardy, provides an extraordinary account of the trials, travails, and decidedly mixed triumphs of the Fourth Crusade. Told from the perspective of an ordinary soldier, The Conquest of Constantinople offers a rare and colorful firsthand description of the crusaders' various experiences, including the hardships they endured and the battles they fought.