RRR: Correspondence/envoy
2127
year: 1229
initiator: Patriarch Gerold of Jerusalem
recipient: All Christians
text: May 1-31. Acre. Patriarch Gerold of Jerusalem writes a general letter, addressed to all Christians. He describes the damage done by the emperor Frederick, who arrived, already excommunicated, with only 40 milites and no money, hoping to sustain himself from local resources. In Cyprus, he detained J. de Ybellino, his sons and the king, and took control of the kingdom through violence and fraud. He immediately sent emissaries to the sultan of Egypt to treat for peace, using the pretext of refortifying Jaffa as a means of approaching him. He claimed to have restored Jerusalem, which he entered and, although excommunicated, crowned himself in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Sarraceni retain the Templum Domini and the Templum Salamonis, proclaiming Islam publicly. The emperor, who had promised that the city would be refortified, left on the following day, although the Knights Templar and the Hospitallers of St John had asked him to start refortifying as he had promised. Knowing that Jerusalem could not be held unless fortified, he returned to Acre on 25 March stating that he would soon return to the West, although there was no truce with the sultan of Damascus. The leaders in the Holy Land wanted to retain the milites provided by the alms of the late king of France and the patriarch pointed out there was no truce with the sultan of Damascus, but the emperor stated that without his authority as king of Jerusalem no milites could be retained. The patriarch made a public statement of his case to the peregrini. The emperor, insisting to the magister of the Knights Templar that mercenaries [milites stipendarii] could not be retained in the Holy Land, since this would prejudice him, forbade all milites peregrini to remain and ordered comes Thomas, whom he was leaving as ballivus in terra, to punish those who stayed. He placed crossbowmen [balistarii] and archers [sagittarii] at the city gates to prevent the Knights Templars access and to deny the city provisions, and also throughout Acre and around the Templar headquarters [domus]. His followers drove out the Dominicans and some Franciscans, who had gathered to preach the Word of God. Seeing that these measures were not effective, the emperor sued unsuccessfully for peace, but he transported weapons secretly by ship to the sultan of Egypt, sent some of his milites to Cyprus to extort money and destroyed the galeae he could not take with him. He left on 1 May secretly, telling no one, leaving Jaffa destitute, poor Christians and Siriani isolated outside the town walls, and pilgrimages interrupted.
May 1-31. Acre. Patriarch Gerold of Jerusalem writes a general letter, addressed to all Christians. He describes the damage done by the emperor Frederick, who arrived, already excommunicated, with only 40 milites and no money, hoping to sustain himself from local resources. In Cyprus, he detained J... more
sources: Matthew Paris, Chronica maiora 3:179-84 (RRH no. 1015)