Game Session 5: March Pact

November 22nd, 2023

Context

If the gathered crusaders agree to attack Constantinople, before the attack they must negotiate what their rule will be like in the event of their success. The March Pact was a sort of proto-constitution for crusader rule in Constantinople. In the third of the March Pact debates, characters will debate issues of trade rights in the aftermath of a successful conquest of Constantinople, and given that conquest means booty, how are the spoils of war divided and what are the rules of war to be adopted.

Moderator:

Marquis Boniface of Montferrat

For this debate, Boniface may appoint a proxy moderator. This must be announced at the beginning of the debate.

Questions:

The fourth major debate revolves around the division of spoils - both trade concessions and spoils of war.

Constantinople is the largest city in the Christian world and a global trade hub for goods coming from as far away as China. Italian and other Western merchants have come to trade in the city for centuries, and over the years they have obtained rights and privileges there. The most generous arrangement was given to Venice as a traditional ally of the emperors of Constantinople. As a major part of this Crusade, Venetian Crusaders will almost certainly want to see these rights continued and even expanded.

And as the final debate before the attack on Constantinople begins, characters must also answer how will the siege be prosecuted. In medieval, like modern warfare, there were rules for what constituted the proper conduct of warfare. Who was considered a valid target, were any areas considered safe zones and inviolable, and, most important for our characters, how will the spoils of war be divided?

Notes

For this debate, students will need to take notes and discuss:

1. What trade concessions/ privileges will different groups receive as the result of the Conquest of Constantinople?

2. What are the rules that must be followed during the capture of Constantinople - should you succeed? This includes rules for combatants:

• who is the enemy?

• who can be captured/ held for ransom?

• or who can be killed (everyone or no women/ children/ clerics)?

• are churches or monasteries inviolable and sanctuaries (i.e. no killing/looting there)?

• what is the division of spoils?