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- Paris masters William de Pont d’Arche, Ralph of Namur, Alexander of Courçon, Philip archdeacon of Noyon, and to the Lady [Abbess] Luitgarde of St Trudon and the community of Aywières (1) Apply Paris masters William de Pont d’Arche, Ralph of Namur, Alexander of Courçon, Philip archdeacon of Noyon, and to the Lady [Abbess] Luitgarde of St Trudon and the community of Aywières filter
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1737 year: 1216
initiator: James of Vitry
text: Early Oct. [306] On board ship in the port of Genoa. James of Vitry [I., Acconensis ecclesie minister humilis], on his way to take up office as bishop of Acre, informs his correspondents of his journey across Europe, the death of Pope Innocent III and the election of Pope Honorius III, his reception by the new pope who refused him any powers in relation to the French crusaders, his embarkation at Genoa on a strong and expensive ship, captained by those who specialize in winter sailing, his living quarters on board and provisions.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 71-8, no. 1 (RRH no. 890)
comments: [306] For the date, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, p. 52.
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1743 year: 1217
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Paris masters William de Pont d’Arche, Ralph of Namur, Alexander of Courçon, Philip archdeacon of Noyon, and to the Lady [Abbess] Luitgarde of St Trudon and the community of Aywières
text: End of Mar. [307] Acre. Writing to the Paris masters William de Pont d’Arche, Ralph of Namur, Alexander of Courçon, Philip archdeacon of Noyon, and to the Lady [Abbess] Luitgarde of St Trudon and the community of Aywières, James of Vitry [I. Acconensis ecclesie minister humilis] recalls his eventful sea voyage from Genoa to Acre, which he reached on 4 November 1216. He describes the various Christian denominations he finds there and his relations with them: Iacobite, Suriani and Nestoriani, Georgiani, Armeni, who do not have a resident bishop or leader, and, of course, Latins, although there are communities - Genoese, Pisan and Venetian - which are exempt from his authority, which is confined to the indigenous Latins, the Pullani, called Poulains in French. There are also criminals, who have migrated from their own nations. He discourses on the wickedness of some of the clergy and of the city, and he is shocked by the reluctance of owners to allow their Muslim [Sarraceni] slaves to be baptised. He preaches the coming crusade. He refers to other Christian settlements and their need of evangelization: Tyre, Beirut, Gibelet, Crac, Tortosa, Margath, Album Castrum, Tripoli, Antioch, the island of Cyprus, Jaffa and Caesarea. He makes special mention of places of pilgrimage close to Acre - Nazareth and Mt Carmel, which he can see from his window. At the time of the writing of this section of his letter, he has not yet been able to visit them for fear of the Sarraceni. He describes his daily life in detail: the celebration of Mass, the hearing of confessions until after midday when he has his main meal, although he has lost his appetite, and then the hearing of cases. So busy is he that he has to reserve prayer and contemplation for night time. Continuing his letter, he narrates how just before Lent, in spite of the danger posed by the Assasi, he travelled on a crusade-preaching journey, visiting holy places on the way: Tyre, Sarepta Sydoniorum, Beirut, where he met the archbishop of the Suriani, Biblium, Tripoli, where he met the comes civitatis et princeps Antiochie [Bohemond IV], accompanied by many milites, and where he found the common language was Arabic [lingua saracena], Crac, from where he sent letters by pigeon post, Castrum Album of the Knights Templar, Antaradus [Tortosa], with its chapel dedicated by St Peter to the Blessed Virgin Mary and with the island of Aradus, and Margat, from where he proposed to take a boat for Antioch. Receiving a letter from the patriarch of Jerusalem calling on him to return, because of the imminent arrival by sea of crusaders [peregrini], he intended to travel in a galea to Cyprus, but was held up by the weather for 15 days. Hearing that one of the hermits of Niger Mons, called Nero, had successfully preached the cross in Cyprus and knowing that the residents of Acre wanted him to return, he went back to his diocese. He ends by maintaining that with 4000 armed milites the Christians could be successful, because, he believes, of Prester John’s Christian forces in Asia and because of the quarrels among the Sarraceni, their sectarian divisions and different practices, including the Fratres Cutellorum [Assassins], with their abbas, the Vetulus Montanus. He returns briefly to the Christian sects - Suriani, Nestoriani, Iacobite and Maronitae, who are now Uniates. He believes that there is a profitable field for missions. He ends by asking for prayers for himself and his capellanus and faithful companion Iohannes de Cameraco.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 79-97, no. 2 (RRH no. 894)
comments: [307] For the date, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 52-3. Huygens argued that the letter was composed in stages, from 4 November 1216 onwards.
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1804 year: 1218
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Pope Honorius III
institution: Templars
text: After Aug. 24. [314] James of Vitry [I. Acconensis ecclesie minister] writes to Pope Honorius III. He describes how in 1217 the kings of Hungary, Cyprus and Jerusalem, the duke of Austria, the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers of St John, princes and counts, knights [equites] and footsoldiers, in a greater army than any since the city’s fall [in 1191], gathered at Acre and decided to launch a destructive raid against Damascus, but was ambushed by the Sarraceni and lost many men. It then made unsuccessful assaults on Mons Thabor [without siege engines], Belfort and Belinas. After Epiphany [6 January 1218] the king of Hungary left, travelling by way of Tripoli, Antioch and Constantinople. He was accompanied as far as Tripoli by the king of Cyprus, who died there, and by the count of Tripoli, betrothed to the sister of the king of Cyprus, who was forced by Muslim pressure to make a truce with the Sarraceni. The king of Jerusalem, the duke of Austria, the patriarch, James of Vitry himself [episcopus Acconensis], the Hospitallers of St John and most of the diminished Christian force refortified the castle of Caesarea. The Knights Templar spent an enormous sum of money building a new castle [Castrum Peregrinorum]. After returning to Acre, the Christian army was joined by Oliver of Paderborn [magister Oliverus Coloniensis ecclesie canonicus], authorized to preach the cross, who brought a fleet of cogs [cogones] containing major reinforcements. The decision was made to invade Egypt [Babylonia] and the army left Acre by sea on 24 May, reaching the Egyptian city of Damietta. The Christians established a siege camp and took a great tower in the middle of the river Nile on 24 August. They are planning to attack Damietta in spite of its strength.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 98-100, no. 3 (RRH no. 913)
comments: [314] For the date, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, p. 53.
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1808 year: 1218
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Pope Honorius III
text: Sept. 14 and 22. In the army besieging Damietta. James of Vitry [I. Acconensis ecclesie minister] writes to Pope Honorius and to his friends. He narrates how, after returning from Caesarea, the Christian army in Palestine built a new castle [Castrum Peregrinorum] by the sea, at a place on the road to Jerusalem called Districte, how the Sarraceni made an unsuccessful attack on Caesarea, how, after the Christian army had returned to Acre, a fleet of 40 Frisian and German cogones arrived not long after Easter and a council-of-war [commune consilium] decided to invade Egypt [Egyptum]. He describes the wealth of Egypt, its flatness, the absence of major fortifications other than Damiata, Babylonia - called Kayre by the Egyptians - and Alexandria, the sites of Christian pilgrimage in the country and the fact that it is the centre of the production of balsam. He maintains that most of the population are still Christian, if pacific, and comments on the fact that there are Christian populations in the East. He narrates how on 24 May the patriarch of Jerusalem embarked with the relic of the True Cross, which was a splinter of that which had been lost [at Hattin], how the army voyaged to Egypt, arrived before Damietta and established an encampment on an island before the city. He describes the practice of the incubination of hen eggs, the situation of the city, the flooding of the river Nile, sickness in the army, the difficulty, even with siege engines, of ship-borne assaults on a strong tower in the middle of the river from which a chain barred the progress of shipping. The attacks continued for 4 months until the Frisians, under magister Oliverus Coloniensis cancellarius, constructed a magnificent and expensive floating siege engine on 2 ships and the tower was captured. At the time of writing [14 September] the Christians, who were expecting reinforcements, were planning a crossing of the Nile to attack Damietta. Many Sarraceni were deserting and being baptized, while part of the garrison of Mons Thabor had been sent to Egypt and their castle had been destroyed, as had been the city of Gibelet [Gibel ?] and 5 fortresses between Tyre and Damascus, at a time when the Christians had strengthened the fortresses [munitiones] of Districtum and Caesarea on the way to Jerusalem. Further, the sultan of Egypt had died from sorrow at the loss of the tower in the Nile. James of Vitry asks for prayers that the Christians successfully take Egypt. In the copy of his letter to the pope, James reports that 9 ships with domnus Petrus Hanibal and other Romans arrived in the week after 24 August. Cardinal Pelagius of Albano, the papal legate, has reached Acre with a Roman prince and is daily expected in Egypt. In the copy of his letter to his friends, James of Vitry asks for prayers for those who have died, including magister Walterus de Tornacho archidiaconus ecclesie Acconensis, who did much good in Acre; magister Constantius de Duacho decanus ecclesie Acconensis; domnus Iohannes de Cameracho ecclesie Acconensis cantor; domnus Reinerus, a cleric in James’s household who became Sancti Michaelis in Accon pastor; H. serviens episcopi Acconensis; magister Thomas cancellarius Noviomensis; magister Leonius qui legebat de Theologia in civitate Acconensi; magister Alexander nepos magistri R. cardinalis; Iohannes iunior de Cameraco nepos cantoris ecclesie Acconensis; magister Reinaldus de Barbachon ecclesie Acconensis thesaurarius. James adds that he was very ill for 2 months in the camp before Damietta.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 101-11, no. 4 (RRH no. 915)
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1826 year: 1219
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Pope Honorius III
institution: Templars
additional institution: Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem
text: May - Sept. 1-30. [317] James of Vitry [I. Acconensis ecclesie minister] writes to Pope Honorius III. He continues his narrative of the Fifth Crusade, describing how the Christian army reached Damietta, took the strong tower in the middle of the river Nile, breaking the iron chains that stretched across the river and prevented ships passing up stream, although the Sarraceni sank ships to impede any progress. Cardinal Pelagius had his cog hauled into the upper river, as had James of Vitry himself, although with losses, including his barbota with 20 men on board, and the cog of the Knights Templar, which had to fight its way upstream with heavy losses. He describes galley battles [galeae] with losses on both sides and the attempt by the Sarraceni to build a bridge up-river, the sufferings during the winter from storms, floods, cold and disease, the deaths of Cardinal Robert de Courçon and the bishop of Paris, the building of a canal round the Christian camp, the fasting and liturgical processions decreed by Cardinal Pelagius of Albano and the patriarch of Jerusalem, and their expulsion of malefactors, the passage of ships up the canal, the flight of the sultan of Egypt, the building of a pontoon by the Christians, their occupation of the bank on which the city stood, its encirclement and the preparation of siege-engines, the arrival of major Muslim reinforcements under Coradinus rex Damasci [al-Mu‘azzam], the brother of the sultan of Egypt, and their withdrawal after an unsuccessful assault on the Christians, because of threats to Aleppo and Damascus from the sultan of Konya, the king of Cilician Armenia and one of Saladin’s sons. James returns to his letter, the early part of which had been written at the time of the Easter passage. He describes attacks on the city, a break down in discipline and a Muslim attack that resulted in heavy Christian losses. He reports the deaths or captivity of 200 milites of the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem and others, among whom were the electus Belvacensis, domnus Walter regis Francie camerarius, filius eius vicecomes de Bellomonte, domnus Iohannes de Archies, domnus Andreas de Espoisse and domnus Andreas de Nantuel, the brother of the electus. He reports desertions from the Christian army, but also that the Muslims in Damietta face starvation. He hopes that once Damietta is taken the crusade will advance into Egypt and will then recover Jerusalem.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 112-22, no. 5 (RRH no. 924)
comments: [317] For the date and the structure of the letter, which was composed in two parts, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 53-4.
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1840 year: 1220
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Pope Honorius III, master John of Nivelles, the abbess and convent of Aywières
text: Spring. [319] James of Vitry [I. Acconensis ecclesie minister/Acconensis episcopus] informs Pope Honorius III, master John of Nivelles, the abbess and convent of Aywières and others of the fall of Damietta to the crusaders. He narrates how the Sarraceni offered to return the relic of the True Cross, and all the land, together with Jerusalem and all captives, and promised to subsidize the refortification of Jerusalem and to return the castles of Turo, in the territory of Tyre, Sephet, Beaufort and Belinas, the walls of which thay had destroyed. They wished to retain Craccus and Mons Regalis, for which they would pay an annual rent. Many of the peregrini wanted to accept this offer, but others suspected fraud, especially the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers of St Mary of the Germans, the papal legate, the patriarch, archbishops, bishops and all the clergy, who feared that the withdrawal of the crusaders would encourage the Muslims to recover the land, Jerusalem, Mons Thabor and other castles. And they did not believe that the Muslims had the True Cross. James describes how in the midst of these debates the city was entered and surrendered to the crusaders without resistance. He describes the dreadful conditions in Damietta and its purification. A basilica and churches were established [out of mosques], but because of looting, the withdrawal of money by the Muslims or its casting into the river, only 400000 besants could be collected for division. 400 of the more eminent Muslims were kept in captivity to be ransomed, but others were sold into slavery and more than 500 were baptized. With the agreement of the peregrini, the papal legate incorporated the city into the kingdom of Jerusalem and its houses and towers were divided among the peregrini according to nationhood. The city of Thanei with its castle also fell into Christian hands, to be granted suffragan status under Damietta. James eulogizes the crusaders. He returns to a Muslim assault that he had described in an earlier letter, in which there were more than 1000 Christian losses and the electus Belvacensis, frater eius Andreas de Nantuel, Iohannes de Archies miles strenuus, Andreas de Espoisse, Galterus camerarius regis Francie, filius eius vicecomes Bellimontis, frater Andegavensis episcopi, Odo de Castellione and many others were captured. James himself had joined a Christian sortie, unarmed and accompanying the papal legate who carried the relic of the True Cross, but was unharmed. He dwells on the difficulty of besieging Damietta. He asks for prayers. In the copy of his letter to the pope he tries to estimate the number of defenders and inhabitants of Damietta. In the copies of his letter to John of Nivelles and the abbess of Aywières he reports that Dominus Reinerus prior sancti Michaelis, Colinus Anglicus clericus noster and two of James’s companions, magister Michael and domnus Matheus, to whom James had given care of the church of the Holy Cross [in Acre], have joined the Order of Friars Minor [Franciscans]. With difficulty James has retained the services of [I. de Cameracho] the cantor, Henricus [senescalcus ecclesie Acconensis] and others. He describes the spread of the Order of Friars Minor and how the magister and founder of the Order [Francis] preached to the Muslims and to the sultan of Egypt himself. In the copy of his letter to John of Nivelles he adds greetings from his companions O. de Dionanto, I. de Cameracho his cantor and Henricus senescalcus ecclesie Acconensis. He reports that he is ill and sends 2 little boys, saved from a fire in Egypt, together with silk cloth and other letters. He asks John to show his letter to the abbot of Villers and other friends.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 123-33, no. 6 (RRH no. 928)
comments: [319] For the date, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, p. 54.
RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1872 year: 1221
initiator: James of Vitry
recipient: Pope Honorius III, Abbot Walter of Villers, Master John of Nivelles, his brothers and friends at and near Oignies, Duke Leopold of Austria, Stephen dean of Paris, Philip chancellor of Paris, all the masters and scholars living in Paris
text: Apr. 18. [323] James of Vitry [Iacobus Acconensis ecclesie minister/Acconensis episcopus] writes to Pope Honorius III, Abbot Walter of Villers, Master John of Nivelles, his brothers and friends at and near Oignies, Duke Leopold of Austria, Stephen dean of Paris, Philip chancellor of Paris, all the masters and scholars living in Paris, and his friends everywhere. He continues his account of events at Damietta. He dwells on bad behaviour in the Christian army, dissensions, the departures of the king of Jerusalem, the magister of the Knights Templar with most of his brothers, nearly all the French [Francigene] milites, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the Cypriots and nearly all the settlers in the Latin East, which gravely weaken the crusade, although comes Matheus from Sicily remains with milites retained at his own expense. The Christians remain in Damietta. The sultan of Egypt and his army are not far off and threaten them. James describes the dangers attached to the raiding expeditions of milites and Turcopoles, particularly from Beduini, the imprisonment of more than 3000 Christian captives, taken not only in battle but by Muslim pirates at sea, in Alexandria, Cairo and Damascus, combats between Christians and Muslims, Christian deserters and their treatment by the Sarraceni. He records how the sultan of Egypt persuaded his brother Coradinus, the sultan of Damascus, to besiege the new castle near Acre called Castrum Peregrinum, leading to many leaving Damietta to go to the castle’s relief and the refusal of those in Acre to travel to Egypt. The sultan also ordered another brother called Saleph, who was prince of Calaph in terra Assyriorum, to raid Antioch and Tripoli, with the result that no help is to be had from the principality or county, while Muslim galleys impede the transport of peregrini and merchandise and deprive the crusade of assistance from Cyprus. Muslim attacks on Thaneos and Damietta have increased. There has been an outburst of Christian fervour, so that the army has become like a monastery [quasi claustrum monachorum], and moral and sumptuary sanctions have been imposed, including the expulsion, whipping and branding of prostitutes and fines for tavern drinking or gambling. James describes the enormous efforts made at port and fortification construction, especially as suitable stone can only be found in Cyprus and Syria. The Christians now have 4 fortifications in Egypt: Damietta, Thanis, Turonum in sabulo and castrum Butavant, which is surrounded by water. Meanwhile the Sarraceni are weakened by dissension and fear the approach of David rex Indorum, commonly known as Prester John [presbyter Iohannes]. James incorporates a history of the deeds and conquests of David/Presbyter Iohannes, which he says has been translated from Arabic into Latin and had been brought to the count of Tripoli by merchants carrying spices and precious stones from the East. He has heard that David, who intends to subdue all the Muslim lands, has sent 3 armies, one to the land of Calaph [Aleppo] held by the brother of the sultan of Egypt, one to Baldach [Baghdad] and the third towards Mausa [Mosul], which used to be called Nineveh and is only 15 days’ march from Antioch. James had heard that some Christian prisoners were sent to Baghdad and on to King David, who, when he knew they were Christians, returned them to Antioch. James describes the consternation among the Muslims, the release to the crusade of the electus Belvacensis, frater eius, vicecomes Bellimontis, Iohannes de Archies, Odo de Castellione, Andreas de Espoisse and some Knights Templars, Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem and Hospitallers of St Mary of Germans, with renewed offers of a truce. The crusaders are also glad to hear that the emperor Frederick II was arriving with a large army in the following August. James writes that an Arabic book of prophecy, which has come into his possession, prophesies the successes of Saladin and the Third Crusade and foretells future Christian successes in Egypt and Syria and the liberation of Jerusalem. For him this message is reinforced by an apocryphal gospel, provided by the Suriani, containing similar prophecies. James has used it, the news of King David and the planned arrival of the emperor Frederick, to preach a comforting sermon to the crusaders in Egypt.
sources: James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 134-53, no. 7 (RRH no. 941)
comments: [323] For the date, see Huygens’s introduction to James of Vitry, Lettres, pp. 54-5.
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