The crusade of Nicopolis and its aftermath: Views from Byzantine, French and Ottoman sources

Abstract

The Crusade of Nicopolis (1396) was one of the last crusades directed against the Ottomans, led primarily by joint Franco-Burgundian and Hungarian forces. Albeit on the margins, the Byzantines and Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos were also involved in this crusading project as they hoped to relieve Constantinople from the Ottoman blockade it endured since 1394. The resounding defeat inflicted on the crusaders by the Ottomans was echoed in both Byzantine, French and Ottoman sources. This paper shall attempt to offer a comparative reading of Byzantine, French and Ottoman sources on some aspects of the Crusade of Nicopolis. The first part of this paper will seek to analyze the Byzantine sources, consisting of histories, letters and orations, investigating their literary, political, and religious perceptions of the event. The second part will deal with French and Ottoman sources, especially focusing on their depictions of the Byzantine involvement in the crusade, as well as the narrative links between Nicopolis, the blockade of Constantinople and the travels of Manuel II.