Roger of Sicily and the Normans in Lower Italy 1016-1154 (Heroes of the Nation)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 Excerpt: ...hopes. At the moment George of Antioch was with sixty ships off Corfu attempting to raise the siege. He turned south apparently with orders to meet Louis and escort him to Palermo, where Roger hoped to strike a bargain with him that would be a set-off to the league of the two Empires. But a Greek fleet under the Admiral Churupes had already surrounded Louis's little flotilla off Cape Malea, the Greek commander disguising his design of taking the French King captive by inviting him to return "to visit his friend and brother in Constantinople." The Norman fleet next appeared on the scene, the Queen's galley was freed, and Louis, ascending one of George's ships, got away by the trick of hoisting the Venetian flag. George himself, though he seems to have lost twenty of his galleys in the fight, then set his course for the Bosphorus. Apparently unpursued, 1 See Cinnamus, op. cit., p. 98 seq., for a vivid description of the he passed up the straits and appeared before Constantinople, where he threw fire-arrows against the Imperial Palace at Damalis and laid a suburb in ashes; after which piece of bravado he returned to the open sea. His next exploit was to fall upon a Greek fleet which was bringing the tribute home from Crete; after an indecisive fight, he made for Cape Malea, where he encountered the united fleets of Venice and the Empire in full force. According to a version which favours the Norman side, he sank or plundered nineteen galleys of the enemy, and followed the rest for some distance. Whatever the issue of these later fights, the Admiral's exploits had been brilliant; he had struck a blow at the very heart of the Greek Empire. Louis meanwhile had landed on the Calabrian coast (29th of July, 1149). While he waited to be rejoined by Eleanor,...