Jean Dardel was a Friar Minor of the French province of the
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
order, chronicler of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in the fourteenth century, and adviser and confessor to
King Leo V (or VI) of Armenia. Nothing is known regarding him except what he himself tells us in his ''Chronique d'Arménie'', a work unknown until the late 19th century.
Biography
Dardel was born in
Étampes
Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department.
Étampes, together with the neighboring ...
, near Paris, and became a Franciscan about the middle of the 14th century. Not earlier than 1375 he went with other pilgrims to Jerusalem and
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
. Arriving at Cairo he found the unhappy Leo, last King of Armenia (
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
), who after a nine-months siege in the fortress of Gaban was made prisoner by the Emir of
Aleppo and brought to Jerusalem: and from there sent, together with his family, to Cairo (July, 1375).
In Cairo Dardel accepted the invitation of the imprisoned monarch to act as his adviser, confessor, and secretary. With Dardel was a companion named Brother Anthony da Monopoli. Dardel saw the king frequently and said Mass before him, a privilege easily obtained from the
sultan. He remained in Cairo till 1379, and, as he tells us, wrote some of the letters which the king sent to Europe seeking to procure his freedom. Eventually King Leo entrusted him with his royal seal and letters of credence, and sent him as ambassador to King
Peter IV of Aragon, and, failing success with him, to all the other kings of
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
to obtain his freedom. Dardel and his companion, Brother Anthony, set out from Cairo on 11 September 1379, and reached
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 1 March 1380. After travelling over half of Europe he barely succeeded in inducing the
King of Aragon
This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre ...
to send an embassy with gifts to the sultan. Under the leadership of the pilgrim Gian-Alfonso di Loric, with some support from King
John I of Castile
John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile.
Biography
His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 137 ...
, the release of King Leo was thus secured, and he arrived in Venice on 12 December 1382. He set out for France, paid homage there to
Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
(the
antipope), and then went on to Spain where the King of
Castile received him royally.
[
Clement VII appointed Dardel Bishop of Tortiboli in the Kingdom of Naples on 11 April 1383, as a reward for his labours on behalf of the Armenian king. He left a ''Chronique d'Arménie'', for a long time unknown to ]Orientalists
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
. It was discovered by Canon Ulysse Robert, who came across the manuscript in the Library of Dole
Dole may refer to:
Places
* Dole, Ceredigion, Wales
* Dole, Idrija, Slovenia
* Dole, Jura, France
** Arrondissement of Dole
* Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska
* Dole, Ljubušk ...
in France, and it was published at the turn of the 20th century by the Institut des belles lettres of France in the second volume of the ''Recueil des Historiens des Croisades''.[
]
References
;Attribution
* Cited sources:
** Original text in Recueil des Historiens des Croisades: Documents Arméniens (Paris, 1906), II, 274-1038
** Armenian version by G. ERGEANTZ, Jowhannu Dardeli Zhamanakagruthiun Hajoz (St. Petersburg, 1891)
** ROBERT, La Chronique d'Arménie de Jean Dardel, evêque de Tortoboli in Archives de l'Orient Latin (1884), II, 1-15
** TEZA, Leone VI e frate Giovanni in Atti del R. Instituto Veneto di scienze, LXVI, ser. VIII, vol. IX, pt. II, 322-328
** MAYER in Romania (July, 1907), 450-455.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dardel, Jean
People from Étampes
French chroniclers
14th-century French historians
People of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Bishops of Lucera
Franciscan bishops
14th-century Armenian historians
French male writers