Paper II questions The Chroniclers of the First Crusade

What is so important about some dead chroniclers?  The answer is really very simple.  You need to know who wrote the sources before you can understand why they were written  This is essential in the answering the Origin and Purpose sections of the Paper II questions.

The chronicles Chronicle  Deeds of the Franks (Gesta Francorum)  Probably written by a crusading knight from Southern Italy Purpose  The Author was a vassal of Bohomend, and was thus sympathetic towards him  It gives a knights perspective on events of the crusade

Chronicles  History of the Expedition to Jerusalem  Written by a professional cleric named Fulcher of Chartres Purpose  Fulcher admired Baldwin and eventually became his personal chaplain, and is therefore slightly biased to Baldwin  Fulcher lived the rest of his life in the middle east and came to cherish the people who lived there.  He is very tolerant of Eastern Cultures

The Alexiad  Written by Anna Comnena, the daughter of Alexius I  Her work is very detailed but she was strongly influenced by her dislike of western Christians

Lesser known Chroniclers  Raymond d’ Aguilers  Chaplain of Raymond of Toulouse  He was very religious and always writing of supernatural events and holy visions.  In other words he is writing for a particular audience  Albert of Aachen  His works date after the crusade, and he generally relies on others work  This makes him very unreliable  He was commissioned to write his history by Godfrey after the crusade and is therefore very biased to the new rulers of the middle east

The opposing viewpoint  Ibn al Athir  Born into the nobility of Mesopotamia he was a professional historian with a degree from the University at Mosul.  Writing mostly of the Third Crusade (which he was an eye witness) he makes many references to the previous struggles  Ibn al Athir tends to be far more generous to crusaders than crusading chroniclers are to Muslims

Third Crusade chroniclers Baha ad-Din – Wrote a biography of Saladin, he was a professor in Mosul university Estoire d’Ecacles – a continuation of the work by William of Tyre by several people, represents the views of the settlers Matthew Paris – A monk who wrote the Greater Chronicle, he added the story of the Duke of Austria’s banner Roger of Howden – A Parson from Yorkshire, Richard’s royal chronicler, at the siege of Acre Itinerary of Richard I – Written by Richard a cannon in London, and several knights on the crusade. Possible written to encourage others to go on a future crusade

Paper II Questions  Some questions ask you to comment on the origin of a source  Your answers will be significantly better if you can remember something about the author of the source  Questions also ask about the purpose of the source  This is more than just bias  You should inform the examiner why the source was written  Obviously know who wrote it in the first place will make this easier.