Page:The Fall of Constantinople.djvu/205

 THE CONDITION OF CONSTANTrNOPLE IN 1200. 1S7 ing of a fire which broke out while his companions were be- sieging the city, he says that, though it was the third fire which had occurred in the city since tlic Franks had come into the country, more houses were destroyed by it than there were in the three largest cities belonging to the kingdom of France. The treasure in the imperial palace of Bncoleon was enormous, " sans fin ni raesure." The palace of Bhichern was found equally well supplied. " There was gold and silver for all, vessels of precious metal, satins and silk cloth, furs of various kinds, and every sort of goods which have ever been found on earth." Constantinople at the end of the twelfth century impressed the Western traveller with its wealth and magnificence much more than any city in Europe would now be likely to impress any inhabitant of any of the Western countries who was tol- erably familiar with the towns of his own province. The picturesqueness and stateliness of Constantinople is that which strikes every modern traveller when he gains his first view of' the ancient city. Imperial dignity, magnificence, opulence, and prosperity were the characteristics which im- pressed themselves most deeply on the traveller at the end of the twelfth century. The Crusader who arrived by The principal ^. -, ,. n /• i buildings iu sca cau2:ht siffht fii'st ot a c^roup 01 domes and towers the city. » & » i belonging to the churches and great public build- ings, most prominent of which were Ilagia Sophia, the Great Church, dedicated to the Divine Wisdom, the churches of the Divine Peace, Ilagia Irene, and of the Holy Resurrection. * 1 Coiistantine had been the founder of these churches. Probably at the time -when he named them lie was still hesitating whether he should declare for Christianity or not, and hence he gave them names which would be suitable in either event. The Temple of Wisdom and the Tem- ple of Peace would have been reproductions of temples in Rome. At a later date popular belief assumed that these churches were dedicated to saints. In the Middle Ages the official name of Ilagia Sophia was " the Great Church of the Divine Wisdom of the Incarnate Word." These churches are jDerhaps the most striking illustrations of Constantino's va- cillation, but they are not the only ones. His statue at Constantinople represented him as Ai)ollo, but the emblems of the Crucifixion served as