The ''Deeds of the Emperor Frederick on the Holy Expedition'' (''Gesta Federici in expeditione sacra'') is a short, anonymous

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 ...

account of

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

's campaign on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

(1189–1190). It was probably written in Italy in the 1190s. The ''Deeds'' did not circulate widely. It survives in two

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s. In Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 4931, it takes up eight columns across three

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

s (105d–107c). In both manuscripts, it is found alongside a longer text about Frederick, the '' Narration of the Oppression and Subjection of Lombardy'', an account of the war with the Lombard League culminating in the

battle of Legnano The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176, near the town of Legnano in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby wa ...

in 1176. This was written shortly after the

treaty of Venice The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was a peace treaty between the papacy and its allies, the north Italian city-states of the Lombard League, and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily also took part in negotiations and ...

in 1177. Ronald Witt suggests that the two may have been written by the same person. Both these texts together were adapted several times by later Italian writers. The ''Deeds'' contains little that is not found in other more substantial sources, such as the ''

History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick The ''History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick'' (Latin: ''Historia de expeditione Friderici imperatoris'') is an anonymous Latin account of the campaign waged by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, as part of the Third Crusade. It covers t ...

'' and the ''

History of the Pilgrims The ''History of the Pilgrims'' ( la, Historia peregrinorum) is an anonymous Latin account of the expedition of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa during the Third Crusade (1189–90). It was written not long after events, possibly even before the d ...

''. It is possible that the author of the ''Deeds'' had access to the ''History of the Pilgrims'', since in a few cases he uses very similar wording. It is almost certain that he had access to some of the same letters that the authors of the longer accounts did. His account was used by

Sicard of Cremona Sicardus of Cremona (Latin: ''Sicardus Cremonensis''; Italian: ''Sicardo'') (1155–1215) was an Italian prelate, historian and writer. Biography Sicardus was born in Cremona, probably to the Casalaschi family, and probably in the 1150s. His bro ...

for his chronicle.. The ''Deeds'' may occasionally clarify a reading of the ''Histories'' or resolve a discrepancy between them.See, e.g., . Although modern estimates put Frederick's crusader army at about 15,000 men, the ''Deeds'' gives its size as "90,000 armed warriors". Its account of how the army was guided by a Turk to take a road through the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...

and avoid the Via Sebaste differs from the others, all of which present the Turk as a prisoner acting under compulsion. According to the ''Deeds'', however, the Turk was an

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

who volunteered his services knowing that the emperor could have him beheaded if it turned out he was lying.

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Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend 1190s works Medieval Latin historical texts Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Third Crusade