De Itinere Navali
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''De itinere navali'' ('Of the Seaborne Journey') is an anonymous
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 ...
account of the siege and capture of Silves in 1189, one of the expeditions of the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...
. It was written by an eyewitness shortly after the events it records. It is known from a single copy made a few decades later. It has been translated into English three times.


Manuscript and editions

''De itinere navali'' survives in a single manuscript, now
shelfmark A shelfmark is a mark in a book or manuscript that denotes the cupboard or bookcase where it is kept as well as the shelf and possibly even its location on the shelf. The closely related term pressmark (from press, meaning cupboard) denotes only t ...
MM. V. 11 at the . It is a copy, not an
autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
. The manuscript contains only twelve
folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...
s in a mediocre state of preservation. In a few places, the text is illegible. Large
initial In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter (books), chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin ''initiālis'', which means '' ...
s set partially into the margin indicate the basic divisions of the text. The manuscript dates to the early 13th century and was possibly copied in
southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
. In places the original handwriting has been corrected by a superior scribe using a higher quality ink. Besides ''De itinere navali'', the manuscript contains one other text relating to the Third Crusade, the short ''
Epistola de morte Friderici imperatoris The ''Letter on the Death of the Emperor Frederick'' () is an anonymous Latin newsletter about the sudden death of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa on 10 June 1190 during the Third Crusade. The letter was written by an eyewitness before the crusa ...
''. The manuscript was purchased in 1837 in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
by , who paginated it and had it bound in calfskin. He brought it to scholarly attention and left it to the Turin Academy. He also published the first edition in 1840. published Gazzera's edition with a Portuguese translation in 1844. published a new edition for the
Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...
(MGH) in 1928, although it contains many errors.
Charles Wendell David Charles Wendell David (1885–1984) was a noted American bibliophile, medievalist and librarian. He worked tirelessly both to reconstruct Europe's war-torn repositories and to establish new libraries in the United States. Biography David went to ...
prepared a corrected edition in 1939. The first partial English translation, of only the part dealing with the conquest of Silves, was by John Slaughter in 1968. It was based on the Portuguese translation of Silva Lopes. The first full English translation, by Jonathan Wilson, appeared in 2009. A translation by
Graham Loud Graham Anthony Loud (born 1953) is a professor emeritus of medieval history at the University of Leeds. Loud is a specialist in the history of southern Italy during the Central Middle Ages (tenth to thirteenth centuries), and also in German his ...
appeared the following year. Most recently, Dana Cushing has published an edition and translation with a facsimile of the manuscript.; ; .


Title

''De itinere navali'' is untitled in the manuscript. Every editor has supplied his or her own title (in Latin). *Gazzera entitled it ''De itinere navali, de eventibus, deque rebus, a peregrinis Hierosolyman petentibus, MCLXXXIX, fortiter gestis narratio'', which David considered overlong. *Silva Lopes translated Gazzera's title with the addition of a mistaken reference to the crusaders' point of departure being the mouth of the
Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
: ''Relação da derrota naval, façanhas e successos dos cruzados que parti'rão do Escalda para a Terra Santa no anno de 1189''. *The MGH edition bears the title ''Narratio itineris navalis ad Terram Sanctam'', which David considered misleading, since the account does not follow the itinerary all the way to the Holy Land. *David entitled it ''Narratio de itinere navali peregrinorum Hierosolymam tendentium et Silviam capientium, A.D. 1189'', although he calls it ''Narratio de itinere navali'' for short. For his English translation, Loud translated David's title as ''An Account of the Seaborne Journey of the Pilgrims Heading to Jerusalem Who Captured Silves in 1189''. *The ''
Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle The Medieval Chronicle Society is an international and interdisciplinary organization founded to facilitate the work of scholars interested in medieval annals and chronicles, or more generally medieval historiography. It was founded in 1999 and in ...
'', noting that its four previous editor gave it four different titles, supplies its own: ''Narratio de itinere navali ad Terram Sanctam''. *A short form of Gazzera's title, ''De itinere navali'', appears in the title of Cushing's edition.


Date and authorship

The author of ''De itinere navali'' is anonymous. He was a participant in the expedition and an eyewitness to the events he describes. His account is contemporary. In light of its victorious tone, it is probable that he composed it before the city of Silves was recaptured by the Almohads in July 1191. He refers to 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 ...
(1147) as having taken place 44 years earlier, which is either an error for 42 if counting from the time of the expedition or else indicates that he was writing in 1191. (The author also refers to the siege of Tortosa of 1148 as having taken place at the same time as Lisbon.) Although it itself is not a diary, the ''Narratio'' was probably composed from notes taken as events occurred. One result of this is that at no point does the narrative reference events which have not yet occurred. He was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
from the
Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...
in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. He refers to "we of the German kingdom" (''nos de regno Teutonico'') and the "ships of our empire" (''naves de nostro imperio''). He uses the
German mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...
(''miliare Teutonicum''). He was probably from northern Germany, where his expedition originated. He compares the
Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...
to the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
and the city of Silves to
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...
. Chroust and David considered him in all likelihood a priest, although ''De itinere navali'' is not an especially pious or learned work. His education appears to have been "rudimentary". Cushing argues that he was in fact a layman of the artisan or merchant class. His description of the sea voyage indicates that he was not an experienced sailor.


Content


Synopsis

''De itinere navali'' begins with a statement of purpose and inspiration: This is followed by a brief statement on background, referencing the fall of Jerusalem to
Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
in 1187 and the preaching of the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...
, which "moved a huge number of people ... to avenge this offence." The narrator's expedition started from
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
and went out to sea from on 22 April 1189. ''De itinere navali'' is mostly a day-to-day account of the expedition until its arrival in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
in October 1189. The fleet of eleven ships sailed first to England, where they arrived on 24 April at
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
. They put out to cross the
Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...
on 24 May from Yarmouth. They then followed the coast of France, stopping at
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
, before putting in at
Gozón Gozón is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Its capital is the town of Luanco (also called Lluanco). The Cantabrian Sea lies on its northern edge, and it is bordered to the south by Corvera de ...
in the
kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
on 18 June. During the sea voyage, "many of hecompany saw two candles burning for a long time", which may have been Saint Elmo's fire. They also saw pods of dolpins or porpoises: "a huge multitude of fish, six or seven feet long and resembling sturgeon, very often passed our ships at high speed, with all their bodies out of the water." From Gozón, they made a brief pilgrimage overland to
Oviedo Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador (, ) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain. The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo to ...
before sailing to
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, where they arrived in July. At this juncture, the author repeats the legend of the mares of
Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...
, which "conceive from the wind ... horses that are ... extraordinarily speedy, but live for no more than eight years." This legend is also found in ''
De expugnatione Lyxbonensi ''De expugnatione Lyxbonensi'' ('On the Conquest of Lisbon') is an eyewitness account of the Siege of Lisbon at the start of the Second Crusade, and covers the expedition from the departure of the English contingent on 23 May 1147 until the fall ...
''. At Lisbon, having learned that a previous group of crusaders had sacked Alvor, the crusaders were asked by King
Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I (born ; Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) also referred to as Sancho the Populator (), was King of Portugal from 1185 until his death in 1211. He was the second king of Portugal. Sancho was the second but only surviving legitimat ...
to assist him in capturing Silves. The expedition was augmented by 37 ships from Galicia plus a Portuguese squadron. At Silves, they were joined by a ship from
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. At this point in the narrative, the author gives a detailed description of Silves. The siege began on 21 July and is recounted in detail, including the use of
siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...
s by both sides and extensive tunneling. On 3 September, the city was handed over by agreement. The author notes when the crusaders acted "in defiance of the treaty" and how this created bad blood between them and King Sancho. After a description of the division of—and disputes over—the booty, the author notes that nine other castles came into Portuguese hands as a consequence of the fall of Silves. The expedition entered the Atlantic again on 20 September. The remainder of the narrative describes the voyage as far as Marseille, noting the places passed along the way.


Historical value

''De itinere navali'' is the most valuable historical source for the expedition and the siege of Silves. The author was a keen observer with a special interest in geography and generally accurate with numbers. He scrupulously records the days as they pass, allowing for the precise dating of events. The numbers he gives of ships and people are reasonable. So far as can be checked, he is generally accurate on both counts. ''De itinere navali'' is also a valuable geographical source, given its author penchant for naming places and giving geographical asides. He even includes references to political and ethnic geography, as when he notes that three of the nine bishoprics of Brittany are
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
-speaking and the rest
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
-speaking. He notes the "five kingdoms of the Spanish", which are
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
,
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
, Castile ("of those people who are specifically called the 'Spanish'"), León (which he calls Galicia) and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. He occasionally goes beyond what he himself saw to describe places further afield, such as
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
and
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. In these cases he is somewhat less accurate.; . ''De itinere navali'' displays some anti-
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
and anti-Portuguese bias. The most praised individual, however, was a Galician knight who single-handedly removed a stone from the wall while under fire and returned to camp. Respect is shown to the fighting abilities of the crusaders' Muslim adversaries. The author had no tolerance for violations of contracts and promises. ''De itinere navali'' does not provide particulars on the organization of its expedition. It appears, however, that it was composed of "urbanite burghers". There is no indication that any of the crusaders were other than commoners. The only person of
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
ly rank mentioned is the Galician and no higher noble is mention. The leaders of the expedition are called "magistrates" (''magistri'') or collectively the ''magistratus''. The members of the expedition are called "associates" (''socii'') and a ''
contubernium In ancient Rome, ''contubernium'' was a quasi-marital relationship between two Slavery in ancient Rome, slaves or between a slave (''Slavery in ancient Rome#The slave in Roman law and society, servus'') and a free person who was usually a form ...
''. Decisions are said to be made in common or in council. Of historical interest is the mention of ''duces vie'' ('leaders of the way') that conducted the fleet into La Rochelle. These seem to be
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...
. Likewise, the Galician knight is described as ''dux ... navis nostre'' ('leader of our ship'). ''De itinere navali'' is also one of the few texts to imply that the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...
was a
military order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organ ...
, although it is probably a mistake based on the close association of the order in Spain with the
Templars The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...
and
Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend 12th-century Latin literature Chronicles about the Crusades in Latin