''De itinere Frisonum'' ('Of the Frisian itinerary') is an eyewitness account written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

of the Frisian crusaders' journey from

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

during the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...

(1217–1218). The narrative was composed by an anonymous participant of the venture who most likely was a member of the clergy. Abbot

Emo of Friesland Emo of Friesland (c. 1175–1237) was a Frisian scholar and abbot who probably came from the region of Groningen, and the earliest foreign student studying at Oxford University whose name has survived. He wrote a Latin chronicle, later expanded ...

of the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

monastery of Bloemhof copied it without alterations into his chronicle ('' Kroniek van Wittewierum''). Emo's version is the only surviving copy of the lost original and it is kept in the Library of the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The narrative is noteworthy for its detailed description of the geography of the lands encountered by the Frisian Crusaders on their journey and the author's perspective on the motivations of his compatriots during the venture. The narrative runs parallel up to the Frisian fleet's arrival to Lisbon with the

Rhenish The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empir ...

text known as ''

Gesta crucigerorum Rhenanorum The ''Gesta crucigerorum Rhenanorum'' ('Deeds of the Rhineland Crusaders') is an anonymous Latin eyewitness account of the Fifth Crusade written by a cleric from Neuss who travelled with a fleet from the Rhineland. It covers the period 1217–1219 ...

''. The narrative is usually used by historians for its reference to the devotional aspects of the Frisians during their visit to Lisbon. Here they make allusion to a Frisian local martyr which the narrative calls Pupeto Ulinga who according to the narrative had died during the

siege of Lisbon The siege of Lisbon, from 1 July to 25 October 1147, was the military action against the Almoravid dynasty that brought the city of Lisbon under the definitive control of the new Christian power, the Kingdom of Portugal. The siege of Lisbon w ...

of 1147. Also the text contains a section where the Frisian narrator explains why the Frisians refused to help the Portuguese in their planned attacked on the Almohad-controlled city of

Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1,499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 y ...

. The narrator claims that

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

had informed the Bishop

Soeiro Viegas Soeiro Viegas (died 29 January 1233) was the bishop of Lisbon from 1211 until his death. He is most notable for launching the successful siege of Alcácer do Sal in 1217. He spent eight or more years of his episcopate in Rome, where he was on behal ...

of Lisbon at the

Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, m ...

"that the liberation of the Church should begin at its head". The text makes no allusions to the

siege of Damietta (1218–1219) The siege of Damietta of 1218–1219 was part of the Fifth Crusade in which the Crusaders attacked the Egyptian port city of Damietta. The city, under the control of the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil, was besieged in 1218 and taken by the Crusaders i ...

, finishing the story with Frisian fleet's arrival at

in the spring of 1218. The author seems content to narrate the crusading deeds of the Frisians in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. The clerical narrator explains how his compatriots captured and destroyed by themselves without the aid of any other Christian group, the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

-controlled ports of Faro, Rota, and

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. The author furthermore was eager to explain how these deeds were fully considered part of the crusade. This was especially so when he informed

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...

of them during the Frisian fleets winter layover in

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

(October 1217 to March 1218).Villegas-Aristizábal "A Frisian Perspective," 95-103, 128-135.

Editions and translations

*Latin only: Röhricht, Reinhold
belli sacri scriptores minores''
(Geneva, 1879) pp. 57–70. *Latin and Dutch: Jansen, Hubertus P. H. and Antheunis Janse eds., ''Kroniek van het klooster Bloemhof te Wittewierum'' (Hilversum, 1991). *Latin and Spanish: Ferreiro Almeparte, Jaime
''Arribadas de Normandos y cruzados a las costas de la península ibérica''
(Madrid, 1999). *Latin and English: Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas
"A Frisian Perspective on Crusading in Iberia as Part of the Sea Journey to the Holy Land, 1217–1218,"
''Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History'', 3rd Series 15 (2018), 110–149.

References

{{Reflist History of Frisia Frisian literature Texts about the Crusades Fifth Crusade Reconquista

Editions and translations

Further reading

References