Raymond of Aguilers was a participant in and chronicler 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 ...

(1096–1099). During the campaign he became 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 ...

, the leader of the Provençal army of crusaders., vol. IV, p. 1009. His chronicle, entitled '' Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem'', which he co-wrote with

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 ...

, ends with the events immediately following the capture of Jerusalem in 1099., pp. ix–xlvi. Everything we know about Raymond is derived from the ''Historia'', the idea for which he credits to Pons. He must have been the main author and finisher, however, since Pons died before the capture of Jerusalem. The ''Historia'' was probably written as the crusade progressed and the preface added later. It was completed before the death of Count Raymond in 1105. Raymond was probably born second half of the 11th century in the vicinity of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

., vol. 3 (1050–1200), pp. 297–300. "Aguilers" is probably a reference to the village of

Aiguilhe Aiguilhe () is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Aiguilhe is close to Le Puy-en-Velay, and famous for the Saint Michel chapel. Raymond of Aguilers was from here. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Loire ...

. Before the crusade, Raymond was a

lay canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

(deacon) of the cathedral of Le Puy. He probably travelled originally in the entourage of Bishop

Adhemar of Le Puy Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (died 1 August 1098) was one of the principal figures of the First Crusade and was bishop of Puy-en-Velay from before 1087. He was the chosen representative of Pope Urban II for th ...

, the papal legate. There is a purported charter of Bishop Adhemar that refers to his chancellor as Raymond of Aguilhes, but the existence of this charter and the identification of the chancellor and the canon are doubtful. Raymond was ordained a priest during the

Siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, last ...

in 1098 and afterwards was made a chaplain to Count Raymond and thus a member of his household. Raymond was a man of simple piety. He reports that he was among the first to believe

Peter Bartholomew Peter Bartholomew (, died 20 April 1099) was a French soldier and mystic who was part of the First Crusade as part of the army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles. Peter was initially a servant to William, Lord of Cunhlat. Mysticism In December 1097 du ...

's claim to have seen in a vision the location of the

Holy Lance The Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion. Biblical references The l ...

and that he participated in the digging that led to its discovery in the

Church of Saint Peter The Church of Saint Peter (Aramaic: ''Knisset Mar Semaan Kefa'', Turkish: ''Senpiyer Kilisesi'', St. Peter's Cave Church, Cave-Church of St. Peter) near Antakya (Antioch), Turkey, is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Star ...

. The authenticity of the Holy Lance and of Peter's visions is a major theme of his work, although he admits that Peter did not unambiguously pass the

ordeal by fire Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, tri ...

. His account is partial to the

Peasants' Crusade The People's Crusade was the beginning phase of the First Crusade whose objective was to retake the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from Islamic rule. After in 1095 the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II started to urge faith ...

and takes a dim view of those who deserted or abandoned the expedition (and their vows). He had access 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 ...

'', of which he made some use, and his ''Historia'' was used as a source by

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 ...

for the work he completed in 1101. Eschatological elements in his account may have been influenced by his access to the famed Le Puy Bible..

References

External links

''Historia francorum qui ceperint Jerusalem''
Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University {{Authority control Christians of the First Crusade 11th-century French historians 11th-century Latin writers Crusade literature Crusades chaplains

References

Further reading

External links