The Great Betrayal: The Great Siege of Constantinople

Originally published in 1967, Ernle Bradford’s The Great Betrayal: The Great Siege of Constantinople describes the key actions and results of Fourth Crusade. Led by a predominantly French-led Crusading army alongside a Venetian fleet, this military force combined to topple Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire in 1204.

While this Crusade originally launched to conquer Islamic-forces in Egypt, the Crusaders ended up besieging an Orthodox Christian civilization in an attempt to unify the Church. But, the Crusade ended up dividing the two Christian sects as a result of the violence and destruction occurring during the fall of Constantinople. In addition, this attack paved the way for the Ottomans, led by Mehmed II, to capture the dilapidated city in 1453. In the end, instead of freeing the Holy Land in Egypt, the author argues that the Crusaders’ actions facilitated the conquest of eastern Europe by Islam.

Historical Comprehension

Bradford builds off of Geoffrey of Villehardouin‘s work La Conquete de Constantinople by including accounts from Byzantine figures such as Nicetas. The author views Villehardouin’s work as useful from an eyewitness perspective, but lacking an omniscient historical viewpoint. Bradford’s research, beyond that of a Crusading nobleman’s account, allows him to draw critical conclusions on the true motives of Doge Dandolo and the state of the Byzantine Empire as the Crusaders arrived in 1204. Finally, the author utilizes the accounts of Robert de Clari, an ordinary Crusading foot soldier, to show how the Crusading Army and Venetian fleets responded to the actions of their leaders during the Crusade. Overall, Bradford’s reliance on primary accounts and his ability to frame their viewpoints in his commentary yields a well-built historical narrative.

Modern Readability

The author contextualizes the Fourth Crusade for an average reader by explaining the motives of all engaged parties. As a reader less familiar with the Fourth Crusade, I found Bradford’s simple explanations for the reasons behind military actions to be concise and effective. These explanations are particularly helpful to explain why the Crusaders attacked fellow followers of Christianity and how the attacked fundamentally shifted power in Eastern Europe. The chronological flow is consistent, but occasionally the author goes into excessive detail about facets of attacks and the grandeur of Constantinople prior to 1204. However, all of the author’s descriptions further his arguments relating to the motives of the key participants and the disastrous consequences for all parties engaged in the conflict.

Unique and Balanced Perspective

Bradford covers an event that he admits is “an embarrassment to [western historians]” who are presumably Christian. Therefore, at the time of original publishing, there was little critical analysis on the causes and consequences of the Fourth Crusade. While the author’s major conclusions are occasionally overstated relating to broader themes, Bradford’s thoughtful analysis furthers Sir Edwin Pears’ work, as only the second work on this subject published in English. Finally, the author remains cognizant of and refutes the biases of key first-hand participants and of scholars who have previously analyzed the parties involved.