Innocent III (Lotario dei Conti di Segni, c. 1160-1216) was one of the most influential and politically powerful popes of the Middle Ages. He became pope in 1198, at a time when the papacy reached the height of its political and legal authority. Educated in Paris and Bologna, Innocent was an exceptionally learned theologian and canon lawyer, but also a highly capable statesman who viewed the papal office as the supreme authority over the entire Christian world. During his pontificate, the Fourth Crusade was launched with the original aim of liberating the Holy Land from Muslim rule. Instead, it became one of the greatest scandals in the history of the crusading movement.

This month, we are reading Pope Innocent’s letter to the crusaders sent in February 1203 from the Lateran, the papal residence in Rome. It was not the first letter in which the pope expressed sharp condemnation of the crusaders’ conquest and plundering of Zadar. In earlier correspondence he had already threatened them with excommunication for attacking a Christian city, an act fundamentally opposed to the very idea of a crusade. In this letter, however, he refers to envoys sent by the crusading army who appeared before him and attempted to explain the events, assuring him that the crusaders regretted the attack, destruction, and looting they had carried out together with the Venetians.

The pope employs extraordinarily forceful and emotional language. He accuses the crusaders of having transformed themselves from “soldiers of Christ” into “followers of Satan,” compares them to Lot’s wife looking back toward destruction, and declares that instead of ascending toward Jerusalem they had “descended again into Egypt.” Such Biblical imagery is not merely rhetorical ornamentation: it reveals how medieval people interpreted political events through the framework of salvation history and Scripture.

Innocent orders the crusaders to return the stolen goods to the inhabitants of Zadar, to repent sincerely for their actions, and to seek forgiveness from Emeric of Hungary, under whose protection the city stood at the time. He also insists that they must never again attack Christian lands and cities.

Zadar fell in November 1202 after a short siege. According to contemporary accounts, the inhabitants resisted and displayed crosses and other Christian symbols on the city walls in the hope of preventing destruction and bloodshed by demonstrating that Zadar was a Christian city. Nevertheless, the city was plundered and suffered severe damage. The conquest of Zadar caused outrage throughout the Christian world because it stood in complete contradiction to the proclaimed purpose of crusading warfare against non-Christians. At the same time, the event effectively brought to an end the long Croatian–Venetian conflict that had been ongoing since 1181.

King Emeric attempted, through papal intervention, to compel the crusaders to restore the city, but they left Zadar only when they resumed their expedition toward Constantinople. That campaign would culminate in another enormous scandal: the conquest and sack of Christian Constantinople in 1204. Before departing from Zadar, the Venetian doge ordered the demolition of part of the city’s sea-facing walls and the strengthening of its landward fortifications so that the city could be defended more easily against a possible attack by the Croatian-Hungarian army.

This text is suited for intermediate to advanced readers of Latin (roughly B2-C1 level), especially those already familiar with ecclesiastical or medieval prose, as the vocabulary constantly moves between theology, law, diplomacy, and warfare – often within the same sentence.

At the same time, the text is surprisingly rewarding even for readers who are not yet fully comfortable with every grammatical detail. Pope Innocent III writes with such rhetorical force that one can often “feel” the meaning before fully analysing the syntax. He does not merely disapprove of the crusaders’ actions: he practically tells them that they set out for Jerusalem and somehow managed to arrive morally in Egypt instead.

TEXT

Epistula Innocentii III ad crucesignatos

Innocentius episcopus, servus servorum dei, comitibus, baronibus et aliis crucesignatis. Tacti sumus dolore cordis intrinsecus et non modico moerore turbati, quod qui a propriis laribus Christi milites recessistis, in via imo in invio potius satanae satellites facti estis; et qui miseratis manum ad aratrum, conversi retrorsum iam apti non estis iuxta sententiam evangelicam regno dei. Cum enim ab Aegypto in Hierusalem ascendere non novissetis, ab Hierosolima descendistis potius in Aegyptum, et retro cum Loth coniuge respexistis; propter quod cum eadem estis in salis statuam immutati (…) Sane, cum crucem tuleritis propter Christum, in eum arma postmodum convertistis, et qui debueratis Sarracenorum provinciam expugnare, Christianorum Jaderam occupastis. Accepimus enim, quod cum illuc navigio venissetis, signa vestra contra civitatem protinus expandentes, tentoria in obsidione fixistis, vallavistis undique civitatem et muros ipsius non sine multa effusione sanguinis suffodistis. (…) Veneti ergo in oculis vestris subverterunt muros civitatis eiusdem, spoliaverunt ecclesias, aedificia destruxerunt, et vos cum eis Jadertinorum spolia divisistis. Licet autem super hoc fuerimus non modicum conturbati, gaudemus tamen in domino, quod culpam vestram cognoscitis, et eam proponitis per poenitentiam expiare, sicut venerabilis frater noster Suessionensis episcopus et alii qui venerunt cum eo ex parte vestra nobis humiliter intimarunt (…) Ut igitur crimen vestrum penitus expurgetur, monemus universitatem vestram et exhortamur attentius, et per apostolica vobis scripta districte praecipiendo mandamus, quatenus de tanto poenitentes excessu et satisfacientes congrue de peccato per poenitentiam placare Dominum, et per satisfactionem proximum studeatis, universa reddentes, quae ad vos de Jadertinorum spoliis devenerunt, et a similibus de caetero penitus abstinentes. (…) Deinde salvo in aliis mandato nostro vobis iniungant sub debito iuramenti, ut vos, comites et barones, per litteras vestras apertas cum sigillis pendentibus, tam vos quam successores vestros sedi apostolicae obligetis, quod ad mandatum eius de tanta praesumptione satisfactionem curabitis exhibere, omnibus autem praecipiant in communi, ut a similibus de caetero penitus caveatis, nec invadentes terras Christianorum, nec laedentes in aliquo, nisi forsan illi vestrum iter nequiter impedirent, vel alia iusta sive necessaria causa forsan occurreret, propter quam aliud agere interventiente apostolicae sedis consilio valeretis. Caeterum verba quaedam in ore posuimus episcopi memorati, quae ipse vobis poterit fideliter explicare. Monemus igitur universitatem vestram et exhortamur in Domino et per apostolica scripta mandamus, quatenus praedicto regi Hungariae humiliter supplicetis, et de innata sibi regali clementia super offensa, quam commisistis in eum, pro deo et propter deum vobis dignetur misericordiam exhibere.

ANALYSIS

Innocentius episcopus, servus servorum Dei, comitibus, baronibus et aliis crucesignatis.

Notes:

1) servus servorum Dei – One of the traditional papal titles: “servant of the servants of God.” The expression deliberately combines supreme authority with the rhetoric of humility characteristic of Christian leadership.

2) crucesignati – Literally “those marked with the cross,” i.e. crusaders who had taken the cross (crucem suscipere). Medieval Latin frequently forms such compounds with participles.

Tacti sumus dolore cordis intrinsecus et non modico moerore turbati, quod qui a propriis laribus Christi milites recessistis, in via imo in invio potius satanae satellites facti estis; et qui miseratis manum ad aratrum, conversi retrorsum iam apti non estis iuxta sententiam evangelicam regno Dei.

Notes:

1) Tacti sumus dolore cordis… et turbati – Two perfect passive participles are coordinated: “we have been touched by grief… and disturbed.” The style is deliberately highly emotional and rhetorical from the very beginning.

2) a propriis laribus – Lares were originally Roman household gods, but by extension the word came to mean “home” or “hearth.” Medieval ecclesiastical Latin still occasionally preserves such classical expressions.

3) in via imo in invio potius – A rhetorical correction: “on the road, or rather in aberration.” The pope intensifies the accusation while speaking.

4) satanae satellites – Alliteration and polemical vocabulary: instead of milites Christi, the crusaders have become “followers/henchmen of Satan.”

5) qui miseratis manum ad aratrum – Biblical allusion to Luke 9:62: “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

6) conversi retrorsum – Literally “turned backwards.” The phrase continues the biblical imagery of abandoning one’s sacred mission.

7) apti non estis… regno Dei – aptus takes the dative here: “fit/suitable for the kingdom of God.”

Cum enim ab Aegypto in Hierusalem ascendere non novissetis, ab Hierosolyma descendistis potius in Aegyptum, et retro cum Loth coniuge respexistis; propter quod cum eadem estis in salis statuam immutati.

Notes:

1) The whole sentence is built on Biblical geography and symbolism. Egypt symbolizes slavery, sin, and worldliness; Jerusalem signifies salvation and sacred destination. The crusaders were supposed to move spiritually upward, but instead they “returned to Egypt.” The deliberate contrast between “ascending” and “descending” creates a moral rather than geographical opposition.

2) cum Loth coniuge respexistis – Reference to Lot’s wife in Genesis 19, who looked back at Sodom and became a pillar of salt.

Sane, cum crucem tuleritis propter Christum, in eum arma postmodum convertistis, et qui debueratis Sarracenorum provinciam expugnare, Christianorum Jaderam occupastis.

Notes:

1) cum crucem tuleritis… in eum arma convertistis – The concessive clause has perfect subjunctive and the main clause perfect indicative. Although bearing the cross, the crusaders attacked Christians, thereby becoming the arms of Christ’s passion.

2) Sarraceni – Standard medieval Latin term for Muslims.

3) Jadera – Medieval Latin form of Zadar.

4) Sarracenorum provinciam expugnare vs. Christianorum Jaderam occupare – The paradox is that the expected object of crusading warfare was replaced with the sack of a Christian city.

Accepimus enim, quod cum illuc navigio venissetis, signa vestra contra civitatem protinus expandentes, tentoria in obsidione fixistis, vallavistis undique civitatem et muros ipsius non sine multa effusione sanguinis suffodistis.

Notes:

1) Accepimus quod – A common medieval formula: “we have learned/heard that…”

2) signa expandentes – Present participle describing simultaneous action: “unfurling your banners.”

3) vallare civitatem – Technical military vocabulary: “to surround/fortify against a city.”

4) non sine multa effusione sanguinis – A typical litotes: “not without much bloodshed” meaning “with considerable bloodshed.”

5) suffodere muros – Literally “to dig under walls,” i.e. undermine fortifications during a siege.

Veneti ergo in oculis vestris subverterunt muros civitatis eiusdem, spoliaverunt ecclesias, aedificia destruxerunt, et vos cum eis Jadertinorum spolia divisistis.

Notes:

1) in oculis vestris – The crusaders are accused not merely of participation, but also of passive complicity as the Venetians committed the said crimes before their very eyes.

2) The sentence proceeds through rapid perfect verbs: subverterunt, spoliaverunt, destruxerunt, divisistis. This accumulation creates a sense of relentless destruction.

Licet autem super hoc fuerimus non modicum conturbati, gaudemus tamen in Domino, quod culpam vestram cognoscitis, et eam proponitis per poenitentiam expiare, sicut venerabilis frater noster Suessionensis episcopus et alii qui venerunt cum eo ex parte vestra nobis humiliter intimarunt (…)

Notes:

1) Licet… fuerimus conturbati, gaudemus tamen – A classical concessive structure with future perfect indicative in the subordinate clause and present active indicative in the main one. The pope balances condemnation with pastoral reconciliation.

2) non modicum conturbati – A litotes: “not a little disturbed” meaning “deeply disturbed.” This restrained formulation is very characteristic of learned ecclesiastical style.

3) Suessionensis episcopus – “the bishop of Soissons.” Medieval texts frequently use Latinized episcopal titles derived from cities.

4) qui venerunt cum eo ex parte vestra – Literally: “who came with him on your behalf.”

5) nobis humiliter intimarunt – intimare in medieval administrative Latin often means: “to communicate officially,” “to report formally.”

Ut igitur crimen vestrum penitus expurgetur, monemus universitatem vestram et exhortamur attentius, et per apostolica vobis scripta districte praecipiendo mandamus…

Notes:

1) Ut… penitus expurgetur – Purpose clause: “so that your crime may be entirely cleansed.”

2) monemus… exhortamur… mandamus – A rhetorical and hierarchical progression: “we advise/warn… we exhort… we command.” The tone gradually becomes more authoritative.

3) universitatem vestram – “the whole body/community” of crusaders collectively, “all of you.”

4) per apostolica vobis scripta – “through apostolic writings,” i.e. by official papal letters.

5) districte praecipiendo – Ablative of manner: “by strictly commanding.”

… quatenus de tanto poenitentes excessu et satisfacientes congrue de peccato per poenitentiam placare Dominum, et per satisfactionem proximum placare studeatis universa reddentes, quae ad vos de Jadertinorum spoliis devenerunt, et a similibus de caetero penitus abstinentes.

Notes:

1) quatenus – In medieval ecclesiastical Latin this often introduces purpose or command: “that,” “so that.”

2) de tanto… excessu – excessus in medieval legal/ecclesiastical language often means “transgression,” “grave offense.”

3) poenitentes… satisfacientes – Present participles “repenting” and “making satisfaction.”

4) satisfacere de peccato – Technical penitential expression: “to make satisfaction for sin.”

5) placare Dominum… proximum placare – Deliberate parallelism of reconciliation with God and with one’s neighbour. The second obligation is expected to be met through restitution (universa reddentes… et a similibus de caetero penitus abstinentes – “completely abstaining from similar acts in the future.”

Deinde salvo in aliis mandato nostro vobis iniungant sub debito iuramenti ut vos, comites et barones, per litteras vestras apertas cum sigillis pendentibus, tam vos quam successores vestros sedi apostolicae obligetis…

Notes:

1) salvo in aliis mandato nostro – Literally: “our command remaining preserved in other matters.”

This formula safeguards previously issued papal instructions, the style now shifting strongly toward legal-administrative language.

2) iniungant sub debito iuramenti – “let them impose under obligation of oath.” The subjunctive depends on the preceding framework of command. Oaths played a central role in medieval political and ecclesiastical culture and formal sworn obligation transformed repentance into legally binding action.

3) litterae apertae – “open letters,” i.e. publicly valid official documents.

4) cum sigillis pendentibus – “with hanging seals.” Detached hanging seals were an important sign of documentary authenticity in medieval diplomatic practice.

5) tam vos quam successores vestros – The obligation extends not only to the present nobles, but also to their heirs and successors.

… quod ad mandatum eius de tanta praesumptione satisfactionem curabitis exhibere omnibus autem praecipiant in communi, ut a similibus de caetero penitus caveatis nec invadatis terras Christianorum, nec laedatis in aliquo…

Notes:

1) praesumptio here means “audacious offense,” “presumptuous act.”

2) curare + infinitive – Common medieval and classical construction: “to take care to,” “to ensure.”

3) satisfactionem exhibere – Technical ecclesiastical language: “to provide satisfaction/reparation.”

4) praecipiant in communi – “let them command everyone collectively.”

5) cavere ab aliqua re – “to beware of,” “to refrain from.”

6) de caetero “in the future.”

7) The syntax becomes more direct and forceful through negative subjunctives: nec invadatis, nec laedatis

… nisi forsan illi vestrum iter nequiter impedirent, vel alia iusta sive necessaria causa forsan occurreret propter quam aliud agere interventiente apostolicae sedis consilio valeretis.

Notes:

1) nisi forsan – “unless perhaps.”

2) iusta sive necessaria causa – Typical legal pairing: “a just or necessary reason.” The pope leaves open the possibility of legitimate military action under carefully controlled conditions.

3) interveniente… consilio – Ablative absolute: “with the counsel of the Apostolic See intervening.” Even exceptions ultimately remain subordinated to papal authority.

Caeterum verba quaedam in ore posuimus episcopi memorati, quae ipse vobis poterit fideliter explicare.

Notes:

1) verba in ore ponere – “to place words in someone’s mouth.” The expression often appears when authority is delegated.

2) episcopi memorati – “of the aforementioned bishop.”

3) fideliter explicare – “to explain faithfully,” i.e. accurately and loyally according to papal instruction.

Monemus igitur universitatem vestram et exhortamur in Domino et per apostolica scripta mandamus quatenus praedicto regi Hungariae humiliter supplicetis…

Notes:

1) The triple formula returns: monemus, exhortamur, mandamus. This repeated rhythm structures the papal argument and reinforces authority.

2) supplicare takes the dative (regi Hungariae); humiliter supplicetis – “that you humbly beseech.” The crusaders who recently acted violently must now adopt the posture of penitential humility. The king in question is Emeric of Hungary (r. 1196-1204).

… et de innata sibi regali clementia super offensa, quam commisistis in eum, pro Deo et propter Deum vobis dignetur misericordiam exhibere.

Notes:

1) innata regali clementia – Conventional language of royal praise: “his innate royal mercy.”

2) offensa quam commisistis in eum – Medieval Latin often uses committere in aliquem: “to commit an offense against someone.”

3) pro Deo et propter Deum – Intensified religious formula: “for God and because of God.”

4) dignetur misericordiam exhibere – Deponent subjunctive: “may he deign to show mercy.”

Source: Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, ed. Tadija Smičiklas, vol. III (Zagreb, 1905), pp. 22-24.