The Devastatio Constantinopolitana ("Devastation of Constantinople") is a short anonymous Latin eyewitness account of the Fourth Crusade. It covers the period from the preaching of Peter of Capua in France in 1198[1] until 16 May 1204, shortly after the sack of Constantinople.[2]
The Devastatio's coverage is detailed and its perspective unique. It portrays the Fourth Crusade as a series of un-Christian betrayals of the poor by the rich.[1] Modern historians have used it more for its factual detail than for its perspective.[3]