Ernoul

Ernoulwas a squire ofBalian of Ibelinwho wrote an eyewitness account of thefall of Jerusalemin 1187.This was later incorporated into anOld Frenchhistory ofCrusader Palestinenow known as theChronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer(French:La Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le trésorier), often abbreviatedErnoul-Bernard.The chronicle covers the years from 1100 until 1228. A few manuscripts copied for Bernard, treasurer ofCorbie Abbey,extend the narrative down to 1232.

Authorship

Ernoul himself is mentioned only once in history, and only in his own chronicle. He was asquireofBalian of Ibelin,an important crusader noble inJerusalem,and accompanied his lord on an embassy from KingGuy of Jerusalemto CountRaymond III of Tripoliin 1187. Balian and his retinue remained behind for a day atNablusduring the voyage to Tripoli; the rest were ambushed at theBattle of Cressonon May 1. It was Ernoul who investigated the almost-emptyTemplarcastle ofLa Fèvebefore news of the battle reached Balian. No other mention is made of Ernoul. However, it is clear that he was at theBattle of Hattinon July 4, as his chronicle gives an account from the rearguard, which was commanded by his master Balian.

According to M. R. Morgan, the squire Ernoul was the same man asArneis of Gibelet,who was an important noble in the crusaderKingdom of Cyprusin the first half of the 13th century, and must have been connected to theIbelins,who were also important there; the Gibelets had strong ties to the Ibelins throughout the 12th and 13th centuries in both Jerusalem and Cyprus. This identification is rejected by Peter Edbury, who suggests that Arneis lived too late to be Ernoul, and also that their names are too dissimilar.

Chronicle

TheChronicle of Ernoulis found in a number of separate but similar manuscripts, stemming from an original source thatdoes not survivebut assumed to have been written by Ernoul himself. The basis of these is a 13th-centuryOld Frenchtranslation of theLatinchronicle ofWilliam of Tyre,who wrote in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the mid- to late-12th century. This French translation came to be known as theEstoire d'Eracles,because William of Tyre began his chronicle with the reign ofByzantine emperorHeraclius.

One of the more important manuscripts is known as theLyon Eracles,which is the basis of modern editions. It was edited by Morgan asLa Continuation de Guillaume de Tyr (1183–1197).This manuscript continues until 1248, and the section containing the years 1184–1197 is not found in any other manuscript. The 19th centuryRecueil des historiens des croisades,a collection of crusade texts compiled by theAcadémie des inscriptions et belles-lettres,used a different version of theEraclesknown as theColbert-FontainebleauEracles.There is also a shorter manuscript known as theabrégé,and aFlorentine Eraclesfrom theLaurentian LibraryinFlorencewhich has a unique section from 1191 to 1197 and continues until 1277.

The text known asThe Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer,edited by L. de Mas Latrie in the 19th century, has a separate manuscript tradition. It is essentially the same as theabrégé,and appears to have been produced from the French translation of William of Tyre, which was then mostly removed except for a few sections. It carries on until 1227 or 1231, depending on the manuscript.

The surviving texts were written in their final form from the 1230s to the 1250s. Ernoul himself may have written only a small part, covering the years 1186 and 1187, in which Balian and the Ibelin family feature prominently.

References

Bibliography

• Edbury, Peter W. (1996).The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation.Ashgate.
• Edbury, Peter W. (2015). "Ernoul,Eraclesand the Beginnings of Frankish Rule in Cyprus, 1191–1232 ". In Sabine Rogge; Michael Grünbart (eds.).Medieval Cyprus: A Place of Cultural Encounter.Waxmann Verlag. pp. 29–52.
• Edbury, Peter W. (2017). "Ernoul,Eraclesand the Fifth Crusade ". In E. J. Mylod; Guy Perry; Thomas W. Smith; Jan Vandeburie (eds.).The Fifth Crusade in Context: The Crusading Movement in the Early Thirteenth Century.Routledge. pp. 163–199.
• Gaggero, Massimiliano (2012)."LaChronique d'Ernoul:problèmes et méthode d'édition ".Perspectives médiévales.34.
• Gaggero, Massimiliano (2018). "Western Eyes on the Latin East: TheChronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorierand Robert of Clari'sConquête de Constantinople".In Laura Morreale; Nicholas L. Paul (eds.).The French of Outremer: Communities and Communications in the Crusading Mediterranean.Fordham University Press.
• Handyside, Philip D. (2015).The Old French William of Tyre.Brill.
• Morgan, M. Ruth, ed. (1973).The Chronicle of Ernoul and the Continuations of William of Tyre.Oxford University Press.
• Nicholson, Helen(2006). "Ernoul". In Alan V. Murray (ed.).The Crusades: An Encyclopedia.Vol. 4 vols. ABC-CLIO. vol. 2, pp. 407–408.
• Shirley, Janet, ed. (2016) [1999].Crusader Syria in the Thirteenth Century: TheRothelinContinuation of theHistoryof William of Tyre with Part of theEraclesorAcreText.Routledge [Ashgate].
• Mas Latrie, Louis de,ed. (1871).Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier.Paris: Société de l'histoire de France.

External links

• Old French translation and continuation of William of Tyre,fromInternet Medieval Sourcebook
• Guillaume de Tyr et ses continuateurs,edited byAlexis Paulin Paris,1879 (at the Internet Archive)