OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

93

aspired to the glory of reducing the Greeks, aswell as the Bohemians, within the pale of thechurch; and their deputies invited the emperorand patriarch of Constantinople to unite with anassembly which possessed the confidence of thewestern nations. Palseologus was not averse tothe proposal; and his ambassadors were intro-duced with due honours into the catholic senate.But the choice of the place appeared to be aninsuperable obstacle, since he refused to pass theAlps, or the sea of Sicily, and positively requiredthat the synod should be adjourned to some con-venient city in Italy, or at least on the Danube .The other articles of this treaty were more rea-dily stipulated: it was agreed to defray the tra-velling expences of the emperor, with a train ofseven hundred persons , 9 to remit an immediatesum of eight thousand ducats' for the accommo-dation of the Greek clergy; and in his absenceto grant a supply of ten thousand ducats, withthree hundred archers and somegallies, for theprotection of Constantinople . The city ofAvignon advanced the funds for the preliminaryexpences ; and the embarkation was prepared at[Marseilles with some difficulty and delay.

In his distress, the friendship of Palaeologus

* Syropulus, p. 10. In this list the Greeks appear to have exceededthe real uumbeis of the clergy and laity which afterwards attendedthe emperor and patriarch, but which are not clearly specified by thegreat ecclesiarch. The 75,000 florins which they asked in this negoci-ation of the pope (p. 9) were more than they could hope or want.

' I use indifferently the words ducat and Jlorin, which derive theirnames, the former from the dukes of Milan , the latter from the republicof Florence. These gold pieces, the first that were coined in Italy , per-haps in the Latin world, may be compared, in weight and value, toone-third of the English guinea.

CHAPLX VI.

Negocia-tions withtheGreeksA. u.1434-1437