Raymond of Aguilers, Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem
Bibliographic Information
Medieval Title:
Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem
Author:
Raymond of Aguilers; some parts likely co-authored with assistance of Pons of Balazun, a knight killed in 1099
Composition:
According to what is written in the text, Raymond was a chaplain to Count Raymond IV of Toulouse. The author states that he accompanied the count on the first crusade (1095-99 CE) and was made a priest on the journey. Raymond claims the book was written for the Bishop of Viviers. The composition is usually dated to c. 1101 CE
Textual Information
Brief Summary:
The text recounts the experiences of an eyewitness Christian crusader and includes the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 and the fulfillment of the crusade’s goal therein. It presents the fullest account of the discovery of the Holy Lance at Antioch and the visions, disputes, and trial by fire that accompanied the lance’s discovery, including its participation in battle against Muslim forces led by Kerbogha, the atabeg of Mosul, at Antioch.
Relics Appearing in Text:
Lance
Cross
Manuscripts, Editions, and Translations
Manuscripts:
There are 10 manuscripts extant. For a full list, see J. France, A Critical Edition of the Historia Francorum of Raymond of Aguilers, unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Nottingham, 1967, ci-cxx. What follows is a partial list from the Hills’ edition.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Latin MS 14378 (s. xii)
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Latin MS 5511A (s. xii)
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Latin MS 5131 (s. xii)
Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, MS Latin 1102 (c. 1200)
Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque de la ville, MS Latin 262 (s. xiv)
Berne, Burgerbibliothek, MS Latin 261 (c. 1200)
London, British Library, MS Additional 8927 (s. xii)
List of Editions of the Medieval Text:
Raymond of Aguilers. Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem. In Le ‘liber’ de Raymond d’Aguilers. Edited by John Hill and Laurita Hill. Paris: Geuthner, 1969.
John France, A Critical Edition of the Historia Francorum of Raymond of Aguilers, unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Nottingham, 1967
(This is available electronically from ETHOS by download, but the photographic record omits some pages: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.553039)
List of Translations of the Medieval Text:
Medieval Sourcebook: Raymond d’Aguiliers: Historia francorum qui ceperint Jerusalem presents an online collection of excerpts translating the Latin from August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921).
The excerpts reproduced include the Discovery of the Lance at Antioch and its carrying into battle against Kerbogha but do not include the Lance’s trial by fire and the multiple debates about its authenticity and how that could be determined. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/raymond-cde.asp
Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem. Translated by John Hill and Laurita Hill. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1968.