Rorgo Fretellus, also spelled FetellusJames Rose Macpherson, ed. (1896),
Fetellus (circa 1130 A.D.)
' (London:

Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society __NOTOC__ The Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society (PPTS) was a text publication society based in London, which specialised in publishing editions and translations of medieval texts relevant to the history of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Particular ...

), pp. v–x. (fl. 1119–1154),

Jonathan Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Ea ...

(1981), "Review of ''Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte'' by P. C. Boeren (North-Holland Publishing, 1980)", ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland'', 113(2), pp. 200–201. was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

priest in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

who wrote a widely circulated description 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 Christian holy places in the Holy Land, the ''Descriptio de locis sanctis''.

Life

Fretellus was born in the

County of Ponthieu Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu p ...

and went to the Holy Land around 1110. In 1119 he was the chancellor of the

Prince of Galilee The principality of Galilee was one of the four major seigneuries of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin, grandson of Balian. The direct holdings of the principality centred around Tiberias, ...

and by 1121 he was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the archdiocese of Nazareth.

Benjamin Z. Kedar Benjamin Ze'ev Kedar (; born 2 September 1938)Who's Who in Israel 2001 (Tel Aviv, 2002), p. 214: "KEDAR, Benjamin Z. is an Israeli historian, professor emeritus of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was president of the internat ...

(2000), "Fretellus", in John Block Friedman and Kristen Mossler Figg, eds., ''Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia'' (London and New York: Routledge), p. 202. By about 1148 he had become the archdeacon of the

patriarchate of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

, or perhaps of Nazareth.

Work

The ''Descriptio de locis sanctis'' survives in several recensions, all descended from a model composed by Fretellus in 1128–1132 or possibly as early as 1119–1121. The earliest finished version dates to 1137 or 1138 and was dedicated to

Jindřich Zdík Jindřich Zdík (also anglicized as ''Henry Zdík''; – 1150 in Prague) was a Czech bishop and diplomat. He served as bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150. He was a promoter of church reforms and is considered one of the most educated Czechs of ...

bishop of Olomouc The following is a list of diocesan bishops and archbishops of Olomouc. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc. It was reestablished in 1063 and in 1777 it was elevated to an archdiocese. Bishops of Olomouc *''898/ ...

. A revised version was also published by Fretellus either about the same time as the first or perhaps as late as 1148. Its dedication is subject to different interpretations. It was most likely dedicated to Count

Rodrigo González de Lara Rodrigo González de Lara (''floruit'' 1078–1143) was a Kingdom of Castile, Castilian nobleman of the House of Lara. Early in his career he ruled that half of Asturias allocated to Castile. He was faithful to the crown throughout the reign of U ...

, governor of

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, but according to one modern editor the dedication was in fact to a

count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...

, probably Count

Raymond V Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

. If this latter view be correct, the ''Descriptio'' must date to 1148 and the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

. A third version was produced at the Avignonese papal ''curia'' between 1356 and 1362, when Cardinal

Nicolau Rossell Nicolau is a Portuguese and Catalan given name, a variant of Nicholas. Nicolau may refer to: *Nicolau Coelho, Portuguese explorer *Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (1946–1978), East-Timorese politician *Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida (1740–1811), Por ...

incorporated into a copy of the ''

Liber censuum The ''Liber Censuum Romanæ Ecclesiæ'' (Latin for "Census Book of the Roman Church"; also referred to as the Codex of Cencius)Gregorovius, 1896, p. 645. is an eighteen-volume (originally) financial record of the real estate revenues of the papa ...

''. Jean Richard (1983), "Review of ''Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte'' by P. C. Boeren (North-Holland Publishing, 1980)", ''Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale'' 26(103), pp. 252–253. The ''Descriptio'' is not a very original work. It incorporates much earlier material to which Fretellus had access in the library of the cathedral of Nazareth, including possibly Pseudo-Eugesippus' ''Tractatus de distantiis locorum Terrae Sanctae''. Although "it does not tell us very much about the conditions in the towns and villages under Frankish rule", it is still a useful source on the learning to which a crusader cleric had access in the twelfth century. The ''Descriptio'' begins by describing the location of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

: "The city of Jerusalem is situated in the hill-country of Judea, in the province of Palestine".Macpherson (1986), p. 1. It is probable that in this famous passage Fretellus has simply combined his

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

geography (

Judaea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the prese ...

) with the name of the former Arab province ( Filasṭīn).

Nur Masalha Nur ad-Din Masalha (, ; born 4 January 1957) is a Palestinian writer, historian, and academic. His work focuses on the history, politics, and theology of Palestine, including themes such as the Palestinian Nakba, Zionism, and liberation theolog ...

(2018), ''Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History'' (London: Zed Books), p. 115.

Editions

*Macpherson, James Rose, ed.
Fetellus (circa 1130 A.D.)
'. London:

, 1896. *Boeren, Petrus Cornelis, ed. ''Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte''. North-Holland Publishing, 1980.

Life

Work

Editions

References

Further reading