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

would sail in custodiam navium and will obey Guglielmo's instructions. If Nicola, however, fails
to do so, Bonifacio will have to pay £500, which is a larger sum than the original investment. 150
What was this enterprise all about? The consuls of Genoa were clearly building a fleet for
some purpose. What was the objective of the mission to Sicily? The notarial documents do not
provide a direct answer to these questions. It is possible to deduce that Nicola Doria was put in
charge of the eight-galley fleet, and that it was heading towards Sicily, because the sailors
mentioned the option that Markward might pay them for their past services. Why did they wait
for the fleet to return from Ultramare and Alexandria? The description in the Genoese annals
supplies a surprising answer. In his description Ogerio Pane paid high tribute to Nicola Doria for
his command of this venture. The description in the annals dismisses the impression that the
contracts in the cartulary of Guglielmo di Sori concern a private commercial enterprise. Nicola
Doria and Guglielmo Embriaco maior were acting in the general interest of the commune. Nicola
travelled according to the annals with the eight ships, and in Sicily they joined forces with the
fleet that was on its way back from the eastern parts (partibus orientis), which is the Latin East
and Alexandria that are mentioned in the contracts. The annals then briefly noted that a peace
truce was signed in Sicily: `ibique cum regno pacem firmavit', and that the outcome of this
venture was very successful. Nicola returned to Genoa carrying thousands of pounds in gold,
silver, expensive jewels and money: `aurum et argentum et lapides preciosos tantum adduxit,
unde comune Ianue habuit ultra libras 1500.151
Clearly the consuls who invested the capital earned their money, but the commune of
Genoa too benefited from this enterprise. The annals describe Guglielmo Embriaco's last activity
during this year. It was a failed attempt to release the Genoese admiral, pirate and count of Malta,
Guglielmo Grasso from his imprisonment by Markward in Sicily., 52 This remark makes it clear
that the Genoese operation in Sicily in the autumn of 1201 was in a way a fulfilment of the
promises in the charter of Walter of Palear of December 1200. The fleet must have been equipped
to challenge Markward in Sicily and to ensure the agreement with the chancellor. Genoa therefore
turned its back on Markward and more than tripled the initial investment of £450. What was the
motivation, though, for this expedition? Did Genoa do it for ideological reasons or just for the
profit? Jonathan Riley Smith wrote about the crusade against Markward von Anweiler that `for
nearly a year the pope had been envisaging a crusade against Markward as a last resort, but in fact
the plans came to very little. Only a few men, the most important being Count Walter of Brienne,
who was more concerned to assess the rights he claimed to the fief of Taranto, were enlisted...
50 Guglielmo di Sori, MS 102, p. 189, V I.
'S' Ann. Ian., vol. 2, p. 81.
152
Ann. Ian., vol. 2, p. 81.
54