''Historia Hierosolymitana'' is a 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 c. 1107–1120 by Robert the Monk (''Robertus Monachus'')'','' a French prior.The text is dated to 1107 by Starck (2012) but somewhat later, to ca. 1116–1122, by

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...

, ''The First Crusade'' (A History of the Crusades, Volume 1) Cambridge University Press (1951), Appendix I.

Chronicle

Robert has been identified with a prior of Senuc and former abbot of Saint-Remi, who lived c. 1055 – 1122; hence he is also referred to as ''Robert of Reims'' or ''Robert of Saint-Remi'' (''Robertus Remensis''). Robert asserts in his prologue that he had been present at 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 spee ...

of 1095, which makes his account of

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

's speech that of an eye-witness, even though written from memory, twelve or more years later. Outside of this part, however, the author proposes not to write about his own observations but as a chronicler, having agree to rewrite, at the request of his abbot, 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 ...

'', an account written by a soldier of

Bohemond I of Antioch Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the q ...

, in a less "rustic" style. Robert introduced into the narrative of the First Crusade a Benedictine interpretation, and one that included apocalyptic elements. Robert's chronicle contains an account of

's speech at the

of November 1095, the call to arms for the

. This speech is also recorded by another eye-witness,

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 ...

, and most historians tend to consider Fulcher's version as closer to the original speech, while Robert's version is seen as embellished and more "dramatic", and in parts informed by the later success of the First Crusade. Both Robert's and Fulcher's account of the speech include a description of the terrible plight of the Christians in the East under the recent conquests of the Turks and the promise of remission of sins for those who go to their aid. Robert's version, however, includes a more vivid description of the atrocities committed by the conquerors, describing the

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...

of churches, the

forced circumcision Forced circumcision is the circumcision of men and children against their will. In a biblical context, the term is used especially in relation to Paul the Apostle and his polemics against the circumcision controversy in early Christianity. Forc ...

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

and torture by

disemboweling Disembowelment or evisceration is the removal of some or all of the organ (anatomy), organs of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract (the bowels, or viscera), usually through a horizontal incision made across the Abdomen, abdo ...

of Christian men and alluding to grievous rape of Christian women. According to Robert, Urban addressed his call explicitly to the race of the Franks, of which he was himself a member, invoking the valour of their ancestors, "the glory and greatness of king Charles the Great, and of his son

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

", culminating in "Oh, most valiant soldiers and descendants of invincible ancestors, be not degenerate, but recall the valour of your progenitors." Robert's version also describes the spontaneous reaction of Urban's audience, bursting into cries of '' Deus vult'' ("God wills it"); this motto and battle cry is also found in the ''

'', there in the more "vulgar" or vernacular form of ''Deus le volt''. In a further element not found in Fulcher's account, and perhaps inspired after the fact by the failure of the People's Crusade, Urban warns that the expedition is not commanded or advised for the old or feeble, those unfit for bearing arms, or for women, but for experienced soldiers, that clergy should only take part with the consent of their bishop and laymen only with the blessing of their priest. Robert's work was the likely source of

Gilo of Paris Gilo of Toucy, also called Gilo of Paris or Gilo of Tusculum (died 1139×1142), was a French poet and cleric. A priest before he became a monk at Cluny, he was appointed cardinal-bishop of Tusculum sometime between 1121 and 1123. He served as a pap ...

's ''Historia vie Hierosolimitane''. Metullus of Tegernsee, a 12th-century monk and poet, made a verse adaptation of Robert's work in his ''Expeditio Ierosolimitana''.

Publication history

An edition was produced for the

Recueil des historiens des croisades {{italic title The ''Recueil des historiens des croisades'' (trans: ''Collection of the Historians of the Crusades'') is a major collection of several thousand medieval documents written during the Crusades. The documents were collected and publish ...

series, appearing in 1866. A modern critical edition of the work was published in 2013. An English translation appeared in the

Crusade Texts in Translation Crusade Texts in Translation is a book series of English translations of texts about the Crusades published initially by Ashgate in Farnham, Surrey and Burlington, Vermont, and currently by Routledge. Publication began in May 1996. The editors of ...

series in 2005.

References

*Carol Sweetenham, ''Robert the Monk’s History of the First Crusade'', Crusade Texts in Translation, vol. 11, Aldershot: Ashgate (2005). *Georg Strack, "The Sermon of Urban II in Clermont and the Tradition of Papal Oratory", ''Medieval Sermon Studies'' 56 (2012), 30–45, DOI 10.1179/1366069112Z.0000000002
uni-muenchen.de

External links

{{Authority control Crusade literature First Crusade 12th-century Latin books Crusade chronicles