Letter From Anselm of Ribemont to Manasses, Archbishop of Reims, July 1098

Bibliographic Information

Medieval Title:

N/A

Author:

Anselm of Ribemont

Composition:

July 1098, Latin

Textual Information

Brief Summary:

In this letter, Anselm of Ribemont reports the events which he and other crusaders have encountered. He informs the Archbishop of the successful siege of Nicaea and much of the letter is spend recounting the details of their ongoing siege of Antioch. The efforts of the soldiers are praised, though Anselm admits some of the men became overconfident in their victory, and as such were chastised by God, with many men having died from starvation or exposure to the cold. Anselm specifically highlights a battle in which the Lance and the True Cross were carried at the front of their army, leading to a resounding victory against the Turks.

Relics Appearing in Text:

Lance
True Cross

Manuscripts, Editions, and Translations

Manuscripts:

N/A

List of Editions of the Medieval Text: 

“No. XV.“ In Epistulae et chartae ad historiam primi belli sacri spectantes. Die Kreuzzugsbriefe aus den Jahren 1088-1100. Edited by Heinrich Hagenmeyer, 156-60. Innsbruck, 1901.

Text available from archive.org: https://archive.org/details/epistulaeetchart00hageuoft

List of Translations of the Medieval Text: 

“Letter 7. Anselm of Ribmont to Manasses, Archbishop of Reims (July, 1098).” In Letters from the East: Crusaders, Pilgrims and Settlers in the 12th-13th Centuries. Translated by Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate, 26-90. Burlington: Ashgate, 2010.