The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

what way the progress of the crusade was viewed in Genoa. Because Genoa did not take part in
the crusade it was not discussed much in the contemporary chronicles. The notarial cartularies
served as the main source of information and especially important was the cartulary of Guglielmo
di Sori. It was suggested that one of the reasons for Genoa's reluctance to supply ships for the
crusade was its experience in the previous crusade. Genoa was engaged in other conflicts, of
which Sicily was the most important one. It was suggested that Genoa responded to Pope
Innocent III's declaration of crusade against Markward von Anweiler, however, it was also
demonstrated that there were substantial financial reasons to engage in that war.
The study of Genoa's patterns of trade in the Mediterranean and the legal implications of
the commercial contracts in the eyes of the Genoese proved that Genoa's handling of its
commerce during the time of the Fourth Crusade did not take into consideration the crusaders'
plan to attack Egypt. It was suggested that some of the common scholarly perceptions of the
Fourth Crusade may be wrong. For example, the fact that vast number of contracts directed
merchants to Egypt in September 1203" is an indication that the merchants of Genoa did not
expect a war in this region. This implies that they did not believe that the crusaders were going to
proceed to Egypt in that autumn. Genoa's trade in Constantinople was stopped because of the
long conflicts in that city and the diversion of Fourth Crusade. Genoa therefore sought new
markets. The opening of the road to Aleppo was undoubtedly related to the progress of the
crusade and Genoa's growing enmity with Venice throughout the Mediterranean Sea and,
particularly, in Crete and the Latin East.
The cartularies as an alternative source of information proved to be exceptionally rich in
the cases of the study of the Genoa at the time of the Third and Fourth Crusades. In the discussion
of the Fifth Crusade, the cartularies were employed to assess the commercial implications of the
boycotts on trade in Alexandria in different periods. The issue of captives was discussed in
somewhat different manner to the recent scholarly discourse. On the one hand, captivity was
examined as a reason to engage in a crusade. On the other hand, it was suggested that the
Genoese and other merchants functioned as mediators: because of their access to Muslim centres
they could help to ransom captives.
Another aspect concerning the Fifth Crusade that emerges from the cartularies is female
response to preaching. The influence of James of Vitry was attested in contemporary wills from
the time of the Fifth Crusade, which also included the unique evidence of Genoese woman who
planned to join the crusade in person.
Chapters Four and Five dealt with the Genoese who settled in the Latin East. The case of
the Embriaco family or the de Biblio was given special consideration as a microcosms of life in
the crusader states and a case study for the examination of the changes in Genoa's attitude
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