The ''Gesta crucigerorum Rhenanorum'' ('Deeds of the Rhineland Crusaders') is an anonymous

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 ...

eyewitness account of the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Sala ...

written by a cleric from

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

who travelled with a fleet from the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. It covers the period 1217–1219 and was written shortly after the capture of Damietta. It ends with the return of the Rhenish crusaders and does not describe the disastrous end of the crusade. The text is divided into seven sections. There is an English translation of the first part covering the

siege of Alcácer do Sal The siege of Alcácer do Sal lasted from 30 July to 18 October 1217. The well fortified city of Alcácer do Sal was a frontier outpost of the Almohad Caliphate facing Portugal. It was besieged by forces from Portugal, León, the military orders a ...

.In , based on the Latin edition of . The full text in Röhricht runs to p. 56.

Georg Waitz Georg Waitz (9 October 1813 – 24 May 1886) was a German medieval historian and politician. Waitz is often spoken of as the leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke, though perhaps he had more affinity with Georg Heinrich Pertz or Friedrich Christo ...

suggested that the ''Gesta'' was written by the same Goswin who wrote the '' Carmen de expugnatione Salaciae'', a poem about the siege of Alcácer. Unlike the ''Carmen'', the ''Gesta'' does not report any miracles in connection with the capture of Alcácer. The ''Gesta'' is especially valuable for its report that at the time of the decision to attack Alcácer in the summer of 1217, it was known among the crusaders that King

Frederick II of Germany Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerus ...

would not be departing on crusade that year. The ''Gesta'' was used as a source by

Caesarius of Heisterbach Caesarius of Heisterbach (ca. 1180 – ca. 1240), sometimes erroneously called, in English, Caesar of Heisterbach, was the prior of a Cistercian monastery, Heisterbach Abbey, which was located in the Siebengebirge, near the small town of Oberdollend ...

and was incorporated with some modifications into the third continuation of the ''

Chronica regia Coloniensis The ''Chronica regia Coloniensis'' ("Royal Chronicle of Cologne", German: ''Kölner Königschronik''), also called the ''Annales Colonienses maximi'', is an anonymous medieval Latin chronicle that covers the years 576 to 1202. The original chronic ...

''. There are two manuscript copies of the ''Gesta'': *London,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, Burney 351, folios 223–227 (13th century) *Leiden, Universitaire Bibliotheken, VLF 95, folios 2–5 (15th century)

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{refend 1219 works Medieval Latin historical texts Texts about the Crusades Fifth Crusade