The Franks in the Peloponnese

It was in the Peloponnese that the Franks for the first time encountered real opposition to their invasion of the Byzantine Empire. Their initial attempts to break into a triangle of fortresses failed signally, and the stalemate that ensued was only dissolved by a diversion from the south. In the winter of 1204 a young nobleman from Champagne, Geoffroy de Villehardouin, had been driven by a storm into the harbour of Modon in the southern Peloponnese.

He was in fact trying to sail from Palestine, where he had been on pilgrimage, to Constantinople, in the hope of joining the crusading army. He had heard of the capture of the city, and his eagerness to share in the prizes of the conquest was enhanced by the knowledge that his own uncle and namesake was one of the outstanding leaders in that venture.

The elder Geoffroy, who held the title of Marshal of Champagne, had distinguished himself both as a warrior and in the political intrigues which preceded the assault on the Byzantine capital: what was more important for posterity, he related his experiences in the most valuable chronicle we possess of the Fourth Crusade.