People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 495 The Coronation
Outside Damietta, in the Crusader camp.

Cardinal Sebastian, who had a Mediterranean hairstyle, cut off a large piece of smoked ham from the table and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing, he said to his knight with a sarcastic face: "We just defeated Damier." Tower, he is about to be crowned Duke of Lower Egypt. Will he call himself the King of Egypt in the next city?"

"This is simply deviant and daring. Doesn't he know that the pagan territories occupied by the Crusaders should belong to His Majesty? Without His Majesty's permission, I can declare his duke title illegal!"

The knight beside him laughed bitterly.

According to legal principles, of course things should happen this way, but to put it bluntly, it was just a matter of procedure. During the First Crusade, the Crusader princes occupied the city and became kings without the approval of the Pope.

"Master Sebastian, you must not do this!"

The knight smiled bitterly and said: "We and Marquis Lothar have not yet turned against each other. At least we have to wait until some truly important nobles arrive in Egypt before we can have the confidence to attack him. Before that, please be patient. "

Sebastian snorted softly: "Of course I know how to be patient, but he actually wants a heretic bishop to crown him. His betrayal of the Catholic Church and his intention to turn to heresy are already obvious. How can I tolerate it?"

This was what made him most angry.

If Lothar bows to him and promises many benefits, such as giving him half of the commercial tax of Damietta City and donating the largest Zoroastrian temple in the city to him, he would not mind crowning Lothar.

But Lothar didn't even ask him a question from beginning to end.

One can imagine how aggrieved he, the Patriarch of Alexandria, would be if Lothar was really allowed to become the king of Egypt.

"Furthermore, since the Crusades to the South, all the territory he captured along the way has been taken into his own hands. He has never even held a meeting to negotiate with us. In my opinion, there are many people who are dissatisfied with him. It’s just that they are all afraid of him and don’t dare to come forward.”

"Tomorrow, if I take the lead in standing up, there will definitely be a crowd of responders!"

The knight was stunned for a moment, feeling a little helpless that the cardinal he served took for granted.

If you really want to break up with Marquis Lothar, you can go deep into the army in advance and contact the nobles from all sides, which can be regarded as trying to find out what they are talking about.
He was thinking this in his mind, but he couldn't say it directly. He could only make insinuations and admonish: "Since the Crusades set off, in all the battles, the Marquis Lothar's army has contributed the most and made the greatest contribution. This time, Damietta was captured. , it was also the Marquis who led the army to arrive first, and had the greatest credit, so it was only natural that he should take the largest share of the spoils."

"As for the territory of North Sinai, it is now a wasteland. If Marquis Lothar really uses these wastelands to reward heroes, I am afraid it will arouse the dissatisfaction of the other princes and generals."

Sebastian's anger gradually cooled down, but his mood sank deeper and deeper into the bottom.

"Then what should we do?"

He said angrily: "Don't forget that before I came to Egypt, I promised His Majesty the annual tribute, as well as the salary of the mercenaries. This is not just sitting in the church and selling indulgences." All together."

"I'm worried that if this continues, the prestige of that barbarian from Jura will grow higher and higher. John, haven't you heard that there are already many Copts who privately call him the King of the Eastern Franks?"

The knight was silent.

I want to say: Facing a person like Marquis Lothar, even if you can't be a friend, it's best not to be an enemy.

But it happened that Sebastian was able to serve as the bishop of the Alexandria Diocese this time, but he spent a lot of favors and wrote a lot of bad checks, and the Marquis of Lothar obviously would not allow Sebastian to levy excessive taxes.

The contradiction between the two was doomed from the beginning.

...

Early the next morning.

St. Mark's Basilica.

Lothar carefully looked at this Christian church with a strong Saracen and Egyptian style. Under the oriental round dome, there were dozens of huge stone pillars, hollow patterned wooden windows, and a A shrine.Inside the shrine is a painted mural of St. Mark riding a winged lion. Under the portrait, there is a motto written in Coptic letters that looks somewhat similar to Greek - unfortunately he cannot understand it.

Saint Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark and a saint recognized by all Christian sects. Because he is the founder of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and was martyred in Alexandria, he is also the most widely recognized patron saint of Egypt.

In large Egyptian cities such as Cairo, Alexandria, and Damietta, there are churches of St. Mark of their own.

Alexandria once enshrined the remains of St. Mark, but unfortunately it was stolen by the Venetians more than 300 years ago. It was only then that the Venetian emblem became the flying lion of St. Mark.

A group of Crusader nobles surrounded Lothar and came to the main hall of the church.

The bishop of the Coptic Cathedral and a group of clergy behind him have been waiting here for a long time. Seeing these wolf-like crusader nobles who seem to have the lingering smell of blood on their bodies, they can't help feeling frightened. .

Compared with the Saracen nobles who have long been accustomed to walking around the streets, visiting prostitutes and enjoying themselves, as if they were lions with their fangs pulled out, the Crusader nobles are like a pack of evil wolves!
The bishop took a deep breath and tried to keep a dignified expression on his face.

He knew that the relationship between brothers from the same clan could not restrain the Franks who were fighting for their superiors. It was said that they were a group of evil-doing and murderous people in Europe. It was impossible for them to become modest gentlemen in a foreign country.

When the Eastern Empire's navy raided Damietta, almost the entire city was burned to the ground.

The Coptic Christians in the city were not spared because of their status as brothers. Many young Coptic men and women were treated as rare breeds of slaves by the Eastern Empire's navy and brought back to Constantine. fort.

"The ceremony is about to begin. Your Highness, please sit down in your seat."

The bishop guided Lothar to sit on a lone chair in the center of the hall. Behind it was a huge painted mural. Comparing the two, Lothar seemed smaller and smaller. This was obviously a means to highlight the divine power.

Lothar listened impatiently to the bishop's prayers and preaching. For him, this long process was no different from going to jail. What was even worse was that everyone's eyes were focused on his face. He couldn't even raise his hand to scratch himself.

After the bishop finished preaching, a priest came to Lothar with a jar containing holy anointing oil, and applied it on his head, hands, and chest - which corresponded to Lothar's usual way of making a false sign of the cross. gesture.

The olive oil with the aroma of herbs made Rosa feel dizzy.

After that, there was another series of lengthy procedures, and Lothar was like a puppet on strings, letting them play with them, until finally - the Coptic Bishop of Damietta held up a somewhat small ducal crown and a golden scepter. Staff, walked slowly towards Lothar.

Lothar was crowned the Duke of Lower Egypt, the ruler of the lower Nile Delta, rather than the king of a principality independent of the kingdom's legal principles. This meant that Lothar was still surrendered to the Kingdom of Jerusalem and belonged to the wishes of its subordinate vassals.

On the one hand, it is considered that as a subordinate prince of the kingdom, he can accept the canonization of Baldwin IV or the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Needless to say, his relationship with Baldwin IV is a strong candidate for the Patriarch of Jerusalem this time. Archbishop William of Tire also had a close relationship with him.

If he were temporarily crowned with the title of duke as a subordinate prince of the kingdom, he could get the endorsement of both of them and increase Lothar's legitimacy as the Duke of Lower Egypt.

On the other hand, it is also a warning to Sebastian or other Catholic forces not to create obstacles for themselves at this time. I have many options, including Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Copticism.

When the bishop arrived, Lothar knelt down on one knee and clasped his hands in prayer.

He didn't want to do the whole hassle like Napoleon did. He picked up the crown and put it on himself. That would make himself uncomfortable. After all, he was a fierce man who was only one step away from unifying Europe. Moreover, he was the democratically elected emperor of France and the foundation of his rule. Originating from the French nation, not from the divine right of kings.

As Lothar put on the ducal crown and received the golden staff, this somewhat simple coronation ceremony came to an end.

Immediately, people cheered and shouted loudly throughout the church.

It was not an illusion. Lothar clearly noticed that the way people looked at him was subtly different from before. They were more awed and reverent, as if after that ceremony, he was really enveloped in a sacred halo.

The system prompt sounded immediately
(End of this chapter)