Hugh was the bishop of
Jabala
)
, settlement_type = City
, motto =
, image_skyline = Jableh Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• A ...
, or, as it was then called, ''Gibellum'', a town in
Syria, during the 12th century. When the
County of Edessa
The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-115 ...
fell to
Zengi in 1144,
Raymond of Antioch sent Hugh to report the news to
Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...
.
[Silverberg, pp. 3–7] In response, Eugene issued the
papal bull ''
Quantum praedecessores
{{italictitle
''Quantum praedecessores'' is a papal bull issued on 1 December 1145 by Pope Eugenius III, calling for a Second Crusade. It was the first papal bull issued with a crusade as its subject.
The bull was issued in response to the fall ...
'' the following year calling for the
Second Crusade. Hugh also told the historian
Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...
about
Prester John
Prester John ( la, Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian nation lost ...
, the mythical
Nestorian Christian priest-king of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, who was intending to help the Crusader States against the Saracens.
[Halsall, Paul (1997)]
"Otto of Freising: The Legend of Prester John"
Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Retrieved June 20, 2005. Otto included the story in his ''Chronicon'' of 1145; it is the first recorded mention of the Prester John legend.
Notes
References
Silverberg, Robert
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gran ...
, ''The Realm of Prester John'',
Ohio University Press
Ohio University Press (OUP), founded in 1947, is the oldest and largest scholarly press in the state of Ohio. It is a department of Ohio University that publishes under its own name and the imprint Swallow Press.
History
The press publishes ap ...
, 1996 (paperback edition)
Christians of the Crusades
12th-century bishops
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
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