Albert of Aix(-la-Chapelle) or Albert of Aachen; ; ''fl.'' c. 1100) was a historian of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

and the early Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon (priest) and ''custos'' (guardian) of the church of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. Endnote: See * F. Krebs, ''Zur Kritik Alberts von Aachen'' (Munster, 1881) * B. Kugler, ''Albert von Aachen'' (Stuttgart, 1885) * M. Figeonneau, ''Le Cycle de la croisade et de la famine de Bouillon'' (Paris, 1877) * H. von Sybel, ''Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges'' (Leipzig, 1881) * F. Vercruysse, ''Essai critique sur la chronique d'Albert d'Aix'' (Liege, 1889). Nothing else is known of his life except that he was the author of a ''Historia Hierosolymitanae expeditionis'' (“History of the Expedition to Jerusalem”), or ''Chronicon Hierosolymitanum de bello sacro'', a work in Latin in twelve books, written between 1125 and 1150. This history begins at the time of the Council of Clermont in 1095, deals with the fortunes of the First Crusade and the earlier history of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and ends somewhat abruptly in 1121. The ''Historia'' was well known during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and was largely used by William of Tyre for the first six books of his ''Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum''. In modern times, it was accepted unreservedly for many years by most historians, including

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

. In more recent times beginning with Heinrich von Sybel,Sybel, H. von., Duff Gordon, L. (18--)
The history and literature of the crusades
London. its historical value has been seriously impugned, but the verdict of the best scholarship seems to be that in general it forms a true record of the events of the First Crusade, although containing some legendary matter. Albert never visited the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, but he appears to have had a considerable amount of discourse with returned crusaders, and to have had access to valuable correspondence. Unlike many other chronicles of the First Crusade, Albert did not rely on the '' Gesta Francorum'', but used his own independent interviews; he may also have had access to the '' Chanson d'Antioche'', as his work shares textual similarities with that poem. The first edition of the history was published at Helmstedt in 1584, and a translation, with the original Latin, is in the '' Recueil des historiens des croisades'', Volume 4.iii (1879). A modern edition in Latin and English translation by Susan B. Edgington is available in the Oxford Medieval Texts series. (cf. Volumes 24 and 25 of Crusader Texts in Translation.)

References

*Susan B. Edgington, "Albert of Aachen and the Chansons de Geste" in ''The Crusades and their sources: essays presented to Bernard Hamilton'' ed. John France, William G. Zajac (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998) pp. 23–37. *Albert of Aachen, ''Historia Ierosolimitana'', ed. and trans. S. Edgington (Oxford: Oxford Medieval Texts, 2007).

Bibliography

* Albert of Aachen, ''Albert of Aachen's History of the Journey to Jerusalem, vol.1: Books 1-6. The First Crusade 1095-1099'', trans. S.B. Edgington (Farnham, 2013). * Albert of Aachen, ''Albert of Aachen's History of the Journey to Jerusalem, vol. 2: Books 7-12. The Early History of the Latin States 1099-1119'', trans. S.B. Edgington (Farnham, 2013).

External links

Albert of Aix
at The Latin Library (from the Patrologia Latina edition). {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Of Aix Medieval writers about the Crusades 12th-century German historians 12th-century writers in Latin 11th-century births 12th-century deaths