The
Directorium is divided into two books and twelve parts, corresponding to the
"two swords" and the
Twelve Apostles. The first book is four times as long as the second and contains eight of the twelve parts. The author begins by praising Philip VI for his intention to lead a crusade. Since he can furnish neither military nor financial aid, he offers the
Directorium instead. It is based, he says, on his personal experiences after living 24 years in infidel lands. The following is a synopsis of the twelve parts:
Part 1 The first part enumerates the four reasons or motives for undertaking a crusade: • First, there is the example of Philip's illustrious predecessors, who chased the Muslims from
Aquitaine,
Provence,
Spain and the
Holy Land. • Second, there is the duty of Christian monarch to expand the boundaries of Christendom. These have shrunk considerably on account of
heresy and the
spread of Islam. In fact, true Christians (that is, Catholics) are reduced to just a fraction of Europe or about one twentieth of the inhabited world. The author stresses that Asia is larger than supposed and claims to have travelled as a missionary as far as the
24th parallel south. He also describes the non-Catholic countries of Europe in some detail: to cross
Russia (which borders
Bohemia and
Poland) is a forty days' march and
Bulgaria another twenty. From his description of Russia, it appears that he had spent some time in the lands north of the
Black Sea. Nevertheless, Catholic Europe exceeds the other parts of the world in martial skill, in virtue and manners, in the wise use of its riches and in its good government. • Third, there is compassion for suffering Christians and those brought low by the
errors of the Greeks. Of these, the author lists the following peoples north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus:
Goths,
Ziqui,
Avogasi,
Georgians,
Alans and the tribes from which the
Huns of Attila were descended. The territories of all of these took 80 days to cross. He also mentions the Christians subject to the emperor of Persia, namely, the
Trapezuntines,
Armenians,
Jacobites and
Nestorians. He notes that
Noah's Ark came to rest in Armenia. Finally, he mentions the Christians of East Africa. He claims to have visited an island in the Indian Ocean—most likely
Socotra—where the natives practised baptism and circumcision. He considers
Ethiopia a powerful nation and relishes the fact that
Nubia—which he treats as a part of the Ethiopian nation—had at times defeated the
sultan of Egypt. He records a Nubian prophecy that they would one day destroy the Egyptians and the
Arabs, sack
Mecca and burn the body of
Muḥammad. • Fourth is the devotional motive: the natural desire of a Christian to see the
lands and places hallowed by Jesus' presence. This passage is of no historical or geographical value.
Part 2 The second part enumerates the five preambles (preparations or prerequisites) that must precede the crusade: • The first preamble is prayer and invocation of divine aid. • The second is more virtuous living. The
fall of Jerusalem in 1187 is blamed on sin. The Latin clergy in the Holy Land are singled out for vanity, greed, indiscipline and indolence. References to the military treatises of
Vegetius and
Valerius Maximus are worked in at this point. • The third is concord among the Christian powers. The especially important given that the preeminent naval powers of Christendom,
Aragon and
Genoa, were then at war. Also at war were
Naples and
Sicily, the produce and ports of which were the so valuable for provisioning a crusade. Philip VI is urged to use his influence to bring
Alfonso IV of Aragon,
Robert of Naples and
Frederick III of Sicily to peace terms. The author knows from personal experience that Frederick III is devoted to the crusade and an excellent military leader. • The fourth is military supplies:
siege engines (
balistae), tools for
mining fortifications and warships. The value of Genoa and
Venice to the crusade is stressed, especially the strategic
Genoese colonies of
Caffa and
Pera. • The fifth is a permanent fleet in the eastern Mediterranean to interdict all trade between Europe and Egypt and to prevent Egypt from sending or receiving naval assistance. Like
Marino Sanudo in his
Liber secretorum fidelium crucis (1307), the author believes that Egypt is dependent for its military strength on imports of weapons, iron and timber and will quickly succumb to a
blockade.
Part 3 The third part concerns four possible routes for the crusade. The first two are discussed and rejected. • The first route discussed is that proposed by
Ramon Llull: the overland route through north Africa. This is rejected for being too long and including a stretch of complete desert. Moreover, after traversing most of the way (and the desert), the crusaders would have to first defeat the most powerful Muslim ruler, the sultan of Egypt, before reaching the Holy Land. The
Eighth Crusade, led by
Louis IX of France, which attacked
Tunis, is dismissed as a crusade of opportunity. • The second route is the sea route from a French port (
Aigues-Mortes,
Marseille or
Nice) with a stopover in
Cyprus. Sea travel is described "prison, with the additional chance of being drowned". The author has evidently not enjoyed his travels by sea. Overall, he considers it too expensive and risky for a whole army. The absence of any Catholic harbour in the Holy Land also makes it impractical. • The third route is through Italy. There were three possibilities, all resulting in the army crossing
Vlachia and gathering at
Thessalonica: the route through
Aquileia and
Dalmatia and the two routes down Italy crossing the Adriatic either at
Brindisi (then through
Corfu and
Albania) or at
Otranto (then through
Epirus). The Catholicism of the Albanians is stressed and the military weakness of the non-Catholics along these routes. • The fourth route is the overland route through
Germany and
Hungary, which was Catholic as far as
Serbia (
Rassia) and Bulgaria. This is the author's preferred route. He believes that
Charlemagne took this route to liberate the Holy Land, although this is a legend.
Part 4 The fourth part is an extended discussion of the selected routes. Allowance is made for Provençal and Italian contingents to go by way of Italy or the sea (but not by Africa). Adequate preparations for the Adriatic crossing should be made in advance. The king of France should go overland and force his way through Bulgaria.
Part 5 The fifth part discusses the possibility of negotiating treaties with the Christian but non-Catholic rulers of Byzantium and Serbia. Here the Greeks are treated as the fathers of all heresies (including
Arianism), who led the other eastern peoples astray and who have continuously betrayed and maltreated Catholics. The
Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) and the
sack of Constantinople are treated as just acts.
Michael VIII Palaiologos is called a usurper and accused of massacring the Catholics in Constantinople in 1261. The author refers to a recent chronicle of the rulers of Serbia to accuse of them gross misdeeds. His conclusions is that an invasion of the Byzantine Empire and Serbia would be a
just war to re-establish the
Latin Empire.
Part 6 The sixth part discusses the ease of conquering Byzantium. He claims to have witnessed the deposition of Emperor
Andronikos II in 1328. The same emperor was defeated by the
Catalan Company near
Adrianople. The emperor under the heirs of Palaiologos was surrounded by enemies and incapable of defending itself. The author himself claims never to have visited a country where he did not see Greek slaves. Persia alone had over 400,000, all forced to abandon their Christian faith. The reigning emperor,
Andronikos III, was a fool who paid tribute to the Catalans, the
Tatars and the
Turks. Moreover, the so-called
Ecumenical Patriarchate was subject to such a fool. The Greeks were pusillanimous, effeminate, licentious and vain. Conquering their empire would not be difficult.
Part 7 The seventh part is a detailed discussion of how to besiege Constantinople. The city was large but its population small. A landward assault should be made against the
Golden Gate, assisted by a naval assault.
Battering rams and scaling materials would be required, and the ships should be fitted for siege engines. The author suggests the use of covered ships called
barbotae and siege engines called
uxeria. These included rams with pointed iron caps suspended from ropes so they could be swung against gates. He outlines a means of putting 500 men on the wall at once through "castles" on the ships. He claims to have seen this method employed successfully against the Turks by
Martino Zaccaria, several of whose victories he witnessed. He expects that Constantinople could be taken in one day. Afterwards, Thessalonica and Adrianople would not resist long.
Part 8 The eight part, concluding the first book, outlines the administration of the conquered lands. It also treats the neglected topic of conquering Serbia in a sort of appendix. • Catholics who abandoned their faith and the
Calogeri (Greek monks) were to be banished. The people were to turn to the Catholic Church, and in exchange the restored Latin Emperor would remit their taxes. Education in
Latin and the
Inquisition were to be introduced to root out Greek heresy. The author presents a very detailed account of Greek conventicles, private chapels and oratories, which were to be suppressed as dens of conspiracy. • Serbia lacked wall cities. It also possessed a substantial Catholic population—Latins in the cities of
Antivari,
Dulcigno and
Scutari and the Albanians—that would readily side with Catholic invaders. The author estimates that only 1,000 knights and 5,000–6,000 infantry would be needed to conquer it. He describes the Serbian territory as a beautiful and fertile land abounding in mineral wealth.
Part 9 The second book begins, in the ninth part, with a discussion of the various eastern peoples. The most untrustworthy were the Armenians—with the partial exception of the
Uniates of Cilicia. The author himself was one of two Dominicans tasked by
Pope John XXII with bringing about their union with Rome in 1318. He claims that this union was brought about more by fear than love. After the Armenians come the
Gasinuli (of mixed Latin and Greek parentage), the Syrians (i.e., Jacobites), the
Murtati (of mixed Turkish and Greek parentage) and converts from Islam (who are called "baptized neophytes"). The author has a low opinion of all of them. They are, however, all useful to the crusade and Philip should use every stratagem and indulgence to win them over. The
Assassins, of whom the author has heard but never seen, should not be admitted to the king's presence.
Part 10 The tenth part (second of the second book) is devoted to the advantages of going through Turkish Anatolia rather than Egypt. The idea of sailing to Cilician Armenia is rejected on account of the poor port facilities. Only the
Portus Palorum is mentioned, the port of
Laiazzo being ignored. In attacking the Turks, the crusaders need not fear the Egyptians, since they would not dare open up Syria to attack from Persia. The author reminds his readers that the Persian khan
Ghazan, expecting help from the West, had
invaded Syria in 1299–1300, capturing Damascus.
Part 11 The eleventh part (third of the second book) describes the places which the crusade would use as centres of supply and revictualling. In
Thrace, there was a grain emporium at
Rodosto and one for wine at
Ganos. The most important city in
Macedonia was Thessalonica, which had grain and vegetables. The
Lordship of Negroponte and the Catalan
Duchy of Athens had wine, oil and cheese. The author points out that the land known in the Bible as
Asia Minor and to the Greek as Anatolia had come to be known as Turkey (
Turquia). Its northern shore had plenty of grain, meat, fish, honey and wax.
Part 12 The twelfth part (fourth of the second book) gives six reasons for expecting a quick victory over the Turks. • God would tolerate their wickedness no longer. • They were divided into numerous independent
beyliks. • They were much weaker than in the past. • They depended for their military strength on mercenaries and slaves of Christian origin, the latter ever ready to rise up if given the opportunity. • Their military equipment left much to be desired. Their horses were small and weak. They wore little armour and their weaponry was inadequate. They were capable of fighting only by ambushes and
feigned retreats. • They believed in a prophecy that foretold their defeat by a lord of the Franks. In this connection, the author reports how terror spread throughout Persia in 1308 after
Pope Clement V had proclaimed a new crusade. ==Historical interest==