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The commoner way for the Crusaders to reach the Holy Land was down the valley of the Danube to Constantinople, and then by sea or across Asia Minor, It was in this way that they met most Eastern Christians. Unfortunately, it was always the meeting of enemies. The Franks were astounded by the magnificence of Constantinople, but they thought the Greeks a very poor set: they were cowards, frightful liars, and stubborn schismatics. And the Byzantines thought equally ill of the Crusaders. All their old scorn for Western barbarians was now quickened by theological hatred against Latin heretics. The Franks came pushing in, noisy, quarrelsome, rude, and quite shameless Azymites; the Byzantines were frightened to death of them; they flattered them, sold them sham relics (these barbarians were incredibly gullible), but their chief anxiety was to move them on, get rid of them across the Hellespont, where they could meet the infidel they wanted to fight. And whether they slew or were slain did not matter one jot. So Greek treachery, lying promises, and betrayal into the hands of the Turk fill up a large part of the story of the Crusades. And the Frankish knights, who, with all their roughness, were gentlemen, and had the (Western) mediæval sense of honour, stored up bitter memories against the liars who cajoled and deceived them. On the other hand the Byzantine Court was naturally furious at the ignoring of its rights shown in the establishment of the Latin States in Palestine.

The mutual rancour between Franks and "Romans" came to a climax in the abominable story of the fourth Crusade. It was preached and energetically pushed forward by Pope Inno-