The ''Annales de Terre Sainte'' ("Annals of the Holy Land") is a series of brief
annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
of the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
and the
Crusader states
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
from the
council of Clermont
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Pope Urban's speech ...
in 1095 until the
fall of Acre
The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders losing control of Acre to the Mamluks. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continu ...
in 1291. It is untitled in the manuscripts. Its modern title was coined by its 19th-century editors. The original is in
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
, but an
Old Spanish
Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian ( es, castellano antiguo; osp, romance castellano ), or Medieval Spanish ( es, español medieval), was originally a dialect of Vulgar Latin spoken in the former provinces of the Roman Empire that provided ...
translation is also known. For the thirteenth-century Crusades, it is a valuable and independent historical source.
The Old French text survives in at least three manuscript copies, each presenting a different redaction. The earliest—now in Florence,
Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana
The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML) is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze ...
, Pluteus LXI.10, folios 1r–8r—was made in late 1290 or early 1291, before the fall of Acre. It is thus an early redaction that does not extend down as far as the others. Its account ends in 1277. The two fuller texts are both now in Paris,
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
. One, Fr. 24941 (at folios 48–49), is on paper and dates to the 13th century. It goes down to 1291. The other, Fr. 6447 (at folios 369–375), is on parchment and dates to the 15th century. It stops in 1289. It also presents a much more detailed version, but for the period 1270–1289 the two versions diverge substantially. The Florence version contains some unique information not found in the other versions. For example, it alone records how the church of Saint Nicholas outside the walls at
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
was destroyed when the crusaders prepared to defend the city against
a Mongol invasion in 1260.
The surviving Spanish translation ends in 1260. It is closest to the text of Paris Fr. 6447, but in some cases condensing the latter's account and in other places augmenting it with details not found elsewhere. It diverges completely for the years 1257–1260. Both versions may be derived from a lost draft that ended in 1257. The only copy of the Spanish redaction—now in Madrid,
Biblioteca Nacional de España
The Biblioteca Nacional de España (''National Library of Spain'') is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos.
History
The library was founded by ...
, 10046—was made between 1260 and 1303 in
Gothic cursive. A note in a different hand was added after the end of the annals noting the death of
Henry the Senator
Henry of Castile (March 1230 – 8 August 1303), called the Senator (''el Senador''), was a Castilian ''infante'', the fourth son of Ferdinand III of Castile by his first wife, Beatrice of Swabia.
Youth and rebellion
Henry spent his childhood ...
in the latter year.
Material from the ''Annales'' was incorporated into the Old French ''
Gestes des Chiprois Templar of Tyre (french: Templier de Tyr) is the conventional designation of the anonymous 14th-century historian who compiled the Old French chronicle known as the ''Deeds of the Cypriots'' (French: ''Gestes des Chiprois''). The ''Deeds'' was writt ...
'', the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''
Chronicle of Amadi
The ''Chronicle of Amadi'' (or ''Istoria del regno di Cipro'', 'History of the kingdom of Cyprus') is an anonymous chronicle written around 1520 in Italian prose with some Venetian traits that detailed the history of Cyprus from the Byzantine Empe ...
'' and the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
Liber secretorum fidelium crucis''. The continuation of the ''
Estoire de Eracles
The ''Estoire d'Eracles'' ("History of Heraclius") is an anonymous Old French translation and continuation of the Latin ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'' by William of Tyre. It begins with recapture of Jerusalem by the Roman emperor Herac ...
'', an Old French translation of
William of Tyre
William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former ...
's ''Historia'', makes use of it for the 1240s onwards.
Manuscripts
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Pluteus LXI.10, ff. 1r–8rParis, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Fr. 24941, ff. 48–49 Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Fr. 6447, ff. 369–375Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, 10046
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{refend
Crusade chronicles
Old French texts