The ''Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem'' (; "History of the Franks who captured Jerusalem"), which has also been published under the simple title ''Liber'' ("Book"), is a

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 ...

chronicle of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

written between 1098 and 1105, probably completed by 1101, by

Pons of Balazun Pons of Balazun (died 1099) was an Occitan nobleman who participated in the First Crusade and in the creation of one of its earliest histories, the '' Book of the Franks Who Captured Jerusalem''. Pons was in the army of Count Raymond IV of Toulou ...

and

Raymond of Aguilers Raymond of Aguilers was a participant in and chronicler of the First Crusade (1096–1099). During the campaign he became the chaplain of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, the leader of the Provençal army of crusaders., vol. IV, p. 1009. His chronicl ...

., vol. 3 (1050–1200), pp. 297–300. Pons was a knight who died during the crusade in the spring of 1099. Raymond was the chaplain of Count

Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), sometimes called Raymond of Saint-Gilles or Raymond I of Tripoli, was a powerful noble in southern France and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He was the Count of ...

. Although the work is attributed to both of them, it seems that Pons did little beyond encouraging Raymond to begin writing before his death. The finished work is basically that of Raymond's., pp. iv–viii. As an eyewitness of the events of the First Crusade, he is one of its most important chroniclers, comparable in importance to the ''

Gesta Francorum The ''Gesta Francorum'' (Deeds of the Franks), or ''Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum'' (Deeds of the Franks and the other pilgrims to Jerusalem), is a Latin chronicle of the First Crusade by an anonymous author connected with Bohemon ...

'' and

Fulcher of Chartres Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059 in or near Chartres – after 1128) was a priest who participated in the First Crusade. He served Baldwin I of Jerusalem for many years and wrote a Latin chronicle of the Crusade. Life Fulcher was born c. 1059. His app ...

. The ''Historia Francorum'' was probably written during the crusade., vol. IV, p. 1009. It presumed to have been completed before 1105, because it does not mention the death of Raymond's patron, the count of Toulouse, in that year. Probably it was substantially complete by 1101, since it was certainly used by Fulcher of Chartres for his book, finished in that year. The ''Historia'' makes some limited use of the ''Gesta Francorum'', but it is in the main a firsthand account with a completely different focus from the ''Gesta''. Because he was close to the count, Raymond was better informed regarding the inner workings of the crusader leadership than the author of the ''Gesta''. The ''Historia Francorum'' was one of the texts given to King

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

as a coronation gift in 1137. Besides Fulcher, the author of the ''

Historia belli sacri The ''Historia belli sacri'', also called the ''Historia de via Hierosolymis''Jerzy Kaliszuk"Historia de via Hierosolymis" in Graeme Dunphy and Cristian Bratu (eds.), ''Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle'' (Brill, online 2016), retrieved 12 J ...

'' and

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 ...

also used it as a source. Seven manuscripts of the ''Historia'' survive: three from the 12th century, two from the 13th and one each from the 14th and 15th. In most cases, it was bound in a

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

alongside the works of Fulcher and

Walter the Chancellor : Walter the Chancellor (also known as Galterius cancellarius, the Latinized form of his French name, Gautier) was a French or Norman crusader and author of the twelfth century. He served as Chancellor of the Principality of Antioch and wrote ''B ...

Editions

The ''Historia Francorum'' was translated into modern

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

at the beginning of the 19th century by the French scholar

François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the a ...

, in ''Memoires sur l'histoire de France'' XXI (1824), 227–397. The Latin text was first published by

Jacques Bongars Jacques Bongars (155429 July 1612) was a French scholar and diplomat. Life Bongars was born at Orléans, and was brought up in the Reformed faith. He obtained his early education at Marburg and Jena, and returning to France continued his studies ...

in ''Gesta Dei per Francos'', I, pp. 139–183, and again in the '' Recueil des historiens occidentaux des croisades'' (1866), pp. 235–309. The most recent translation into English was provided by John and Laurita Hill in 1968: *Raymond d'Aguilers, ''Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem'' tr. John Hugh Hill, Laurita L. Hill. Philadelphia:

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, 1968.

References

{{reflist Crusade literature First Crusade 12th-century Latin books Crusade chronicles