Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations

A phrase Prof. Nicol keeps referring to in this book is "The profit and the honour of Venice." The tale he tells is the gradual movement of Venice from a trading post channeling Byzantine goods into Western Europe and taking out timber and slaves in the opposite direction, to a state which is the only hope of the struggling Byzantines for their future existence outside the Ottoman Empire.
Moving from the one status to the other, the "Profit and Honour of Venice" is first and foremost, and is the justification of the gradual choking off of any assistance to the Byzantines. The book is a necessary text for the full study of Byzantium's connection with the West. Overall not a happy read, but, well done. Poorly mapped.