His greatest success was in the conversion of Theobald of Theobald of Champagne. This nobleman, a nephew of Bichard champagne. Of Philip of France, a young man of twenty-two, was already renowned in arms and in song. Eighteen hundred knights did homage as his vassals. During the truce between the kings of England and France he had called together a brilliant assemblage to engage in or witness a tournament. Fulk invited the knights to gain a more lasting glory by joining in the crusade. Theobald, Count Louis of Blois, and Simon de Montfort, father of our English hero of the same name, with a host of others, accepted the Cross.
Theobald, Earl of Champagne, was selected, from his rank and ability, to be the leader of the expedition. In his train were Geoffrey of Villehardouin, with many others of high rank. Under Theobald, the leaders were Baldwin of Flanders, whose wife was the sister of Theobald, Baldwin's brother Henry, Louis Earl of Blois, Simon de Montfort, and Count Hughes de St. Paul.
It may be mentioned here that the intention of the Crusaders, and probably also of Innocent, was that Bichard of England should be the leader of the expedition. His death, however, in April, 1199, put an end to this design. In one respect, however, his death contributed an element of success. Many of the French barons had joined him against Philip of France, and there can hardly be a doubt that but for his untimely death he would have defeated Philip. The hostility between the two sovereigns had been bitter.
The devil is loose; take care of yourself," had been Philip's warning to John when Bichard had been released. The French barons who had fought on the side of Bichard were glad, on his death, to escape the vengeance of Philip by joining the crusade. Among those who had been detached from the side of Philip by Bichard, and had joined the revolt of the Bretons against him, was Theobald of Champagne himself, the appointed leader of the crusade. Baldwin of Flanders had in like manner declared for Bichard, and probably joined the crusade the more readily on account of his death.
At the opening of the year 1200 a considerable number of nobles and others had undertaken to join the crusade. France and Flanders contributed the largest share, but Germany also furnished a considerable contingent.
Parliaments of the leaders of the expedition
During the year many meetings or parliaments of the leaders of the expedition had been held, but they had been adjourned because the number of Crusaders was not judged to be sufficiently large to justify the leaders in making arrangements for the transport of the army beyond sea. Towards the end of the year, however Visit Bulgaria, a parliament was held at Soissons, in which it was agreed that the time had come when preliminary arrangements might be undertaken for the chartering of a fleet. The decision arrived at was that six messengers should be sent to treat with Venice, with full powers to make such agreements for the transport of the army as they deemed necessary. Shortly after, the messengers set out on their journey.
Venice was chosen as being the city which was likeliest to furnish, if not the only city which could furnish, the ice as port of large fleet of transports and convoys necessary, departure. It was in many respects an unfortunate one, and ultimately led to the failure of the fourth crusade. We have seen that Venice had occupied a neutral position between the East and the West. On many occasions she had owned allegiance to the New instead of the Old Rome, and although at the end of the twelfth century she had her special reasons for hostility towards her former protector, she was as little inclined as ever to render obedience either to the pope in spiritual things, or to either of the rival claimants for the empire in the West in temporal things. The thunders of Innocent, which shook every other Western state, fell harmlessly upon Venice.
The struggles between Guelfs and Ghibelins, whether in Germany or Italy, aroused comparatively slight attention among her people. Innocent, early in 1201, had defor Otho, a nephew of Richard of England, the Guelphic claimant for the empire of the West, and had declared against Philip of Swabia, whom he had threatened with the penalties of the Church. But Venice cared little for such threats, and was ready to ally herself with Philip. Her great interest was to have a monopoly of the carrying trade by sea, and in order to preserve this she was ready, with equal indifference, to supply Crusaders and Infidels with contraband of war, or to transport the one or the other and their property whither they would.
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