AN APPROACH TO THE MENTALITIES OF FRANKS AND BYZANTINES IN 1204

The object of the present essay is to open up new approaches to the topic of the fourth crusade and the conquest of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204. Apart from the discussion on the problematic recent application of the concepts we are going to address, I have relied on methodological tools for the history of mentalities, attempting to shed new light on the interpretation of the actions of both Franks and Byzantines. The survey on the marvellous in the accounts of that period reveals to us anew the capital of Byzantium, characterized and accompanied by the mythical element. The key of my endeavor is the interaction of the average man's frame of mind with the stimuli surrounding him. In doing so, we will be able to comprehend the individual's demeanor, the human action that determines the historical process. Furthermore, we shall scrutinize a bifurcated Christian cosmos, with similar structure of thought and contrary perspectives.