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

wine exported to Bougie and sold for £7 namely for a little more than 4s per mesarolia. Mabilia
in 1190 sold her wine for 7s per mecarolia. 96
Undoubtedly, Mabilia Lecavello had timed the signature of the wine contract well,
because
the reality of the crusade in the summer of 1190 did not stand up to the expectations in
February and March. Shortly after the arrival of King Richard in mid-August, it became evident
that the greatest part of the French contingent was not going to cross the sea in that year. The
immediate implication of that realisation was that the shipping needs changed significantly. Most
of the Genoese ships were not required, nor much of the secured supplies. Can this explain the
decline of transportation fees that we have noticed? For the participants in the crusade it was
obviously not just the length of the crusade that mattered. The above documentation points out
that the Third Crusade was an expensive enterprise. At the end of the First Crusade, the historian
Caffaro rejoiced in the booty won by the Genoese, which in Eugene Byrne's words was
`enormous' 97 However this booty divided among the participants included only £2 8s Od and two
pounds of pepper per person, and the leaders and consuls received special honoraria and a share
in the ships. Compared to these figures, the above-mentioned travel fee per knight and his
companions in the Third Crusade which was approximately £20 seems a phenomenal price.
Genoa was affected by the crusade in many other ways. Some aspects of the economic
impact were mentioned above: the expectations of the early part of 1190, the rapid profit of some
merchants and the troubles caused by the delay in the embarkation. Genoa, however, was also
affected by the traffic of people that crossed through the city. These people contributed to the
city's economy and affected many other aspects of life. Several cases will illustrate the
implications of Genoa standing at the crossroads between the Holy Land and Europe. In the years
1190 to 1192, the people of Genoa saw the leading personnel of Europe crossing through their
city. Many conducted business during their visits. In the cartularies there is evidence of the acts of
people such as Emperor Henry VI of Hohenstaufen98 The Genoese also witnessed the failures of
some of the crusaders. The poor bishop of Liege, for example, made his way back from the Holy
Land where he lost his money and was therefore forced to borrow money in Genoa: `cum
dominus episcopus Ragul Legiensis rediret de Ultramarinis partibus, et quam magnas expensas
96 OS9 1186,335; Lanfranco, 1216, no. 1041, from 25 July 1216. It is interesting to note that David
Abulafia found that in 1287 a Florentine merchant carried 900 mecaroliae to Tunis on board a Catalan ship,
for which the agreed price was 300 dinars. Compared to the above cases, the wine carried to Tunis was
significantly cheaper. On this case and on thirteenth-century wine trade, see David Abulafia, `A Tyrrhenian
Triangle: Tuscany, Sicily, Tunis, 1276-1300', in C. Violante, ed., Studi di storia economics toscana ne!
Medioevo e ne! Rinascimento in memoria di Federigo Melis (Pisa, 1987), pp. 63-66.
97 Eugene H. Byrne, `The Genoese Colonies in Syria', in Louis J. Paetow, ed., The Crusades and Other
Historical Essays (New York, 1928), pp. 139-182; p. 142; Ann. lan., vol. 1, p. 13.
98 GC, 1191, no. 1323 from 12 November 1191. The emperor appointed notaries. In another contract,
signed at the house of the archbishop of Genoa, Emperor Henry declared legitimate Guglielmo, son of
Robert de Levi and Agnes. GC, 1337.
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