His
family was a family of Crusaders. The father, William of Montferrat,
had gone overseass and fought valiantly against the infidel.
Boniface's eldest brother, William of the Long Sword, married a
daughter of the titular King of Jerusalem, and their son became
titular king in turn. Another brother, Conrad, starting for the Holy
Land, stopped at Constantinople, and did there such good service that
the Greek emperor gave his sister to him in marriage; but afterwards
fearing the perfidy of his brother-in-law, Conrad fled to Syria, and
there battled against Saladin. Yet another brother, Renier, also
served in the Greek Empire, married an Emperor's daughter, and
received for guerdon of his deeds the kingdom of Salonika. Boniface
himself had fought valiantly against Saladin, been made prisoner, and
afterwards liberated on exchange. It was no mean and nameless knight
that Villehardouin was proposing as chief to the assembled Crusaders,
but a princely noble, the patron of poets, verrsed in state affairs,
and possessing personal experience of Eastern warfare. I extract these
details from M. Bouchet's
Notice].
Many were the words spoken for and against; but in the end all agreed,
both small and great. So were letters written, and envoys chosen, and
the marquis was sent for. And he came, on the day appointed, through
Champagne and the Isle-de-France, where he received much honour, and
specially from the King of France, who was his cousin.
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