The Itinerarium Regis Ricardi (in full, Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi) is a Latin prose narrative of the Third Crusade, 1189-1192. The first part of the book concentrates on Saladin's conquests and the early stages of the crusade, with a long description of the expedition of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The rest of the book describes King Richard I of England's participation in the crusade.
The Itinerarium was formerly attributed to Geoffrey de Vinsauf, and was said to be a first-hand narrative. In fact, it was apparently compiled by Richard de Templo, a canon of Holy Trinity, London, in the early 1220s, on the basis of at least two lost contemporary memoirs. The first part is similar to the so-called Latin Continuation of William of Tyre, which seems to be a reworked version of the Itinerarium . The second part, in particular, is closely related to an Anglo-Norman poem on the same subject, Ambroise's L'Estoire de la Guerre Sainte. It is not clear whether or not Richard de Templo went on the Third Crusade, but some of the differences between his text and Ambroise's Estoire indicate that he was writing from first-hand knowledge.
William Stubbs's edition of the Itinerarium (Rolls Series, 1864) appeared before the manuscript of Ambroise's poem was discovered. Hans E. Mayer published an edition of an earlier version of the text in 1962, and Helen J. Nicholson translated Stubbs's edition in 1997.
Editions
William Stubbs (ed.), Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi (1864), available at Google Books.
Hans E. Mayer, Das Itinerarium Peregrinorum. Eine zeitgenössische englische Chronik zum dritten Kreuzzug in ursprünglicher Gestalt. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 1962.
Helen J. Nicholson, The Chronicle of the Third Crusade: The Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1997.
Ambroise, sometimes Ambroise of Normandy, was a Norman poet and chronicler of the Third Crusade, author of a work called L'Estoire de la guerre sainte, which describes in rhyming Old French verse the adventures of Richard Cœur de Lion as a crusader.
Year 1192 (MCXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1192nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 192nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 92nd year of the 12th century, and the 3rd year of the 1190s decade.
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, who was Archbishop of Tyre from 1127 to 1135. He grew up in Jerusalem at the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been established in 1099 after the First Crusade, and he spent twenty years studying the liberal arts and canon law in the universities of Europe.
Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas, was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi and Gesta Regis Ricardi, English 12th-century chronicles, which are now attributed to Roger of Howden.
The Battle of Arsuf took place on 7 September 1191, as part of the Third Crusade. It saw a multi-national force of Crusaders, led by Richard I of England, defeat a significantly larger army of the Ayyubid Sultanate, led by Saladin.
The Battle of Cresson was a small battle between Frankish and Ayyubid forces on 1 May 1187 at the "Spring of the Cresson." While the exact location of the spring is unknown, it is located in the environs of Nazareth. The conflict was a prelude to decisive defeat of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin two months later.
Balian of Ibelin, also known as Barisan the Younger, was a crusader noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was lord of Ibelin from 1170 to 1193. As the leader of the defense of the city during the siege of Jerusalem in 1187, he surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin on 2 October 1187.
Reginald Grenier was lord of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Château de Taillebourg is a ruined castle from the medieval era. It is built on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the village of Taillebourg and the valley of the river Charente, in the Charente-Maritime department of France. It commanded a very strategic position and was therefore the focus of much conflict throughout the medieval era.
Frisian involvement in the Crusades is attested from the very beginning of the First Crusade, but their presence is only felt substantially during the Fifth Crusade. They participated in almost all the major Crusades and the Reconquista. The Frisians are almost always referred to collectively by contemporary chroniclers of the Crusades and few names of individual Frisian crusaders can be found in the historical record. They generally composed a naval force in conjunction with other larger bodies of crusaders.
The Massacre of Ayyadieh occurred during the Third Crusade after the fall of Acre when King Richard I had more than two thousand Muslim prisoners of war from the captured city beheaded in front of the Ayyubid armies of sultan Saladin on 20 August 1191. Despite attacks by Muslim forces during the killings, the Christian Crusaders were able to retire in good order. Saladin subsequently ordered various Crusader prisoners of war to be executed in retaliation.
Garnier de Nablus, also known as Garnier of Syria, was the tenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1190 to 1192, succeeding Armengol de Aspa. He fought at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 during the Third Crusade. It was under his magistracy that the headquarters of the Order were transferred from Tyre to Acre. He was succeeded by Geoffroy de Donjon.
Geoffrey III of Rancon was a French army commander who lived in the 12th century. He was Lord of Taillebourg, and served as Eleanor of Aquitaine's army commander during the Second Crusade.
Gökböri, or Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri, was a leading emir and general of Sultan Saladin, and ruler of Erbil. He served both the Zengid and Ayyubid rulers of Syria and Egypt. He played a pivotal role in Saladin's conquest of Northern Syria and the Jazira and later held major commands in a number of battles against the Crusader states and the forces of the Third Crusade. He was known as Manafaradin, a corruption of his principal praise name, to the Franks of the Crusader states.
Jordan Lupin was the first count of Bovino in the Norman kingdom of Sicily. He played a major role in the final years of Norman rule and first years of the Staufer dynasty. Twice he was involved in opposing crusader armies passing through Sicily. In the second instance, he led a revolt, apparently in the hope of seizing the throne. He was successful in attracting significant support, and was even crowned anti-king, but was ultimately captured and executed.
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 the series, all from the United Kingdom, are Malcolm Barber, University of Reading; Peter Edbury, Cardiff University; Bernard Hamilton, University of Nottingham; Norman Housley, University of Leicester; and Peter Jackson, University of Keele.
Helen J. Nicholson FRHistS FLSW is Emerita Professor of Medieval History and former Head of the History Department at Cardiff University. She is a world-leading expert on the military religious orders and the Crusades, including the history of the Templars.
Gilbert de Vascoeuil, Lord of Saint-Denis-le-Thiboult, Lord of Vascœuil, Castellan of Gisors, was a nobleman during the time of the Angevin Empire. He owned lands in both England and France, and served as Governor of Gisors during its surrender.
Raymond II was the 9th Viscount of Turenne from the House of Comborn. He was a son of Viscount Boson II and Eustorgie d'Anduze, and grandson of Raymond I of Turenne.
The Alvor massacre took place in June 1189 during the Third Crusade, when a fleet of crusaders from the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark and the County of Flanders stormed the castle of Alvor in the Algarve, then part of the Almohad Caliphate, and massacred 5,600 people. The place of the conquest and massacre of Alvor in the Portuguese Reconquista is unclear, but there are grounds for thinking that it was part of the strategy of King Sancho I, who launched a siege of Silves a month later.
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