the house of Champagne ended up saddled with some of the debts that
Walter incurred through his war in southern Italy. As late as 1222,
Theobald’s widow, Countess Blanche, was still being pestered by
Walter’s creditors.^44
It was now, we may guess, that the atmosphere of preparations for the
Fourth Crusade really worked to Walter’s advantage. Many leading
regionalfigures were making preparations to go east, and Walter per-
suaded some of them tofight with him in southern Italy before going
on, if they wished, to the Holy Land. Colbert-Fontainebleau states that
when Walterfinally crossed into Italy in April 1201, he had an army
spear-headed by sixty knights and forty mounted sergeants: a‘small but
effective’host, according to theGesta.^45 The future chronicler, Geoffrey
of Villehardouin–who was, of course, a vassal of the count of Brienne for
his ancestral lordship –encountered the army in the Alps. Geoffrey
himself was on his way back from Venice, where he had negotiated his
famouslyflawed transportation treaty for the Fourth Crusade. It is thanks
to Geoffrey, though, that we can identify three of the principal lords who
had decided to accompany Walter: Walter of Montbéliard, Robert of
Joinville and Eustace of Conflans.^46 It is worth stressing that all three can
be numbered amongst Walter III’s close kinsmen. The small size of the
host clearly concerned the pope, though, when it paused at Rome in
May.^47 Innocent gave Walter 500 ounces of gold and letters to dissemin-
ate in the kingdom of Sicily, urging the faithful to help the Church’s
champion.^48 Although Walter’s little army soon demonstrated its calibre,
the pope was right to have serious misgivings. As the events of the next
few years were to show, Walter had enough troops to win battles, but
not the war.
It was not until the end of May that Walter entered the kingdom of
Sicily. He soon attracted important allies to his side, such as the monks
of Monte Cassino, whose lands had been ravaged by the Germans.^49
However, the vast majority of the powers in southern Italy–starting with
the important city of Capua–reserved their judgement, waiting to see
who would emerge victorious as Walter attacked the Hohenstaufen
(^44) See d’Arbois de Jubainville,Histoire, v, no. 1438, which shows that Walter managed to
borrow some money in Rome as well.
(^45) Colbert-Fontainebleau, 235;The Deeds of Pope Innocent III, ch. 30.
(^46) Geoffrey of Villehardouin,La conquête de Constantinople, ed. and tr. E. Faral, 2nd edn, 2
vols. (Paris, 1961), i, ch. 33.
(^47) See Colbert-Fontainebleau, 235. For the date of Walter’s arrival in Rome, see Van
48 Cleve,Markward of Anweiler, 173 n. 97.
49 The Deeds of Pope Innocent III, ch. 30.‘Quingentas’isfive hundred, notfifty.
See theAnnales Casinenses, ed. G. H. Pertz, inMGH,SS, xix, 318; and Richard of San
Germano,Chronica, ed. C. A. Garufi,inRISS2, vii, part 2 (Bologna, 1936–8), 22–3.
42 Breakthrough and High Point (c. 1191–1237)