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

until the end of June 1217. This official peace truce meant that there was no reason not to allow
commerce to continue as usual for a period of another four years.
The reflection of these debates in Ad liberandam shows that this is not just an academic
exercise or a speculation in hindsight. There were indeed some real problems involved in the
preparation for the crusade in that sense. The first and perhaps crucial point was the timetable of
the crusade, including the official beginning of the crusade and its length. In James Powell words,
`Innocent had a fairly definite idea about the timetable to be followed. '303 This was true when
Quia maior was composed and is certainly the first impression from Ad liberandam. In the
opening paragraph of Ad liberandam, 01 June 1217 was declared as the embarkation
date for
which the `crucesignali se praeparent. ' This timetable corresponded to the expiration date of the
pact with Egypt 304
According to the pope's plan, the crusade was to last three years. This can be inferred
from Quid maior, where Innocent demanded that the wealthy personnel of Europe and its cities
should sponsor knights for this length of time, `competentem conferant numerum bellatorum
cum expensis ad triennium necessariis secundum proprias facultates' [my emphasis]. 30' The
distribution of indulgences was also limited to three years period. 306 An exception to this time
plan was a prohibition on commerce with the enemy, which was scheduled for four years and
presumably started one year before embarkation on the crusade:
Prohibemus insuper omnibus christianis, et sub anathemate interdicimus, ne in terras
Saracenorum, qui partes orientales inhabitant, usque ad quadriennium transmittant, aut
transvehant naves suas [my emphasis]307
An announcement of pax generaliter that applied to alI populi Christiani was also fixed
for four 308
year. These resolutions had affected two of Genoa's main engagements in the sphere
of its international affairs on the eve of the Fifth Crusade. First, Genoa's relationship with its
Italian rivals and especially with Pisa after decades of continuing war, and second, Genoese
trade
with Egypt which was flourishing until then.
From the Genoese perspective the factor of international relations and especially the
question of hegemony over trading centres were of particular importance in this period. From the
beginning of the century Genoa's international relations had been through very rapid changes, the
war with Pisa had been going on for nearly two decades, and the conquest of Constantinople
affected Genoese
trade throughout Romania and consequently contributed to the growing tension
303James Powell, Anatomy of a Crusade, p. 28.
304 Alberigo et al. (eds. ), Conciliorum oecumenicorum decrela, p. 243.
305 Quia maior, p. 93 and Ad liberandam, in Alberigo, Conciliorum, p. 244,16-18.
306 Ad liberandam, p. 243,38-40.
307
Ad liberandam, p. 246,15-18.
308
Ad liberandam, p. 246,24-29.
93