Recueil des historiens des croisades

The Recueil des historiens des croisades (trans: Collection of the Historians of the Crusades) is a major collection of several thousand medieval documents written during the Crusades. The documents were collected and published in Paris in the 19th century, and include documents in Latin, Greek, Arabic, Old French, and Armenian.^[1] The documents cover the entire period of the Crusades, and are frequently cited in scholarly works, as a way of locating a specific document. When being quoted in citations, the collection is often abbreviated as RHC or R.H.C..

Images of the documents can be viewed in some major libraries. The 1967 reprint of the entire collection by Gregg Press can also be found in major libraries, and there are also full-text PDF files available online, which have been made available by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France Gallica project. Documents can be downloaded in their entirety, or stepped through page by page, with both the original text, and a French translation.

Presentation

According to the introductory Report^[2] to the first volume of the Western Historians, this collection brings up to date the previous collection published in 1611 by Jacques Bongars under the title Gesta Dei per Francos,^[3] due to "the discovery of many literary and historical monuments which Bongars could not have suspected the existence", including those published in the collections of Duchesne, Archery, Mabillon, Martène and many other foreign compilers.

The editors of this collection have chosen to consider 1291 as the end date of the Crusades, since the fall of Saint-Jean-d'Acre completed the ruin of Christian institutions in Palestine. So historians posterior to the middle of the fourteenth century are not included. Were also excluded works more literary than historical, like novels on the Crusades, and also the narration related to the conquest of Constantinople by the French and the Venetians, because they did take almost no part in the events of Palestine. Neither was included Joinville's Histoire, because the commission of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres did class this author among France's general historians.

Preface
Description of the manuscripts
Table of contents of the second volume
Corrections and additions
L'estoire de eracles émpereur (continuation; in Old French) Book 23 to 34
Continuation of William of Tyre from the so-called "Rothelin manuscript"
Chronological analysis of William of Tyre and his continuators
Glossary
Table

Volume 3 (1866)

Preface

I. Petri Tudebodi seu Tudebovis, sacerdotis Sivracensis, historia de Hierosolymitano itinere
II. Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolymitanorum, seu Tudebodus abbreviatus (Expeditio contra Turcos)
III. Tudebodus imitatus et continuatus, ex codice bibliothecae casinensis qui inscribitur, Historia peregrinorum euntium Jerusolymam ad liberandum Sanctum Sepulcrum de potestate ethnicorum, et a cl. Viro Mabillone editus est in Musaeo italico
IV. Raimundi de Aguilers, canonici Podiensis, historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem
V. Historia Iherosolymitana. Gesta Francorum Iherusalem peregrinantium, ab anno Domini MXCV usque ad annum MCXXVII, auctore domno Fulcherio Carnotensi
VI. Gesta Francorum Iherusalem expugnantium
VII. Secunda pars historiae Iherosolimitanae
VIII. Gesta Tancredi in expeditione Hierosolymitana, auctore Rudolfo Cadomensi, ejus familiari
IX. Roberti Monachi historia Iherosolimitana
X. Stephani, comitis Carnotensis, atque Anselmi de Ribodi Monte epistolae
Index generalis quo nomina quae ad res, locos et homines pertinent, comprehenduntur

Volume 4 (1879)

Preface

I. Baldrici, episcopi Dolensis, Historia Jerosolimitana
II. Historia quae dicitur Gesta Dei per Francos, edita a venerabili Domno Guiberto, abbate monasterii Sanctae Mariae Novigenti
III. Alberti Aquensis Historia Hierosolymitana
Index generalis quo nomina quae ad res locos, homines, pertinent, comprehenduntur

Volume 5 (1895)

Preface

I. Ekkehardi abbatis Uraugiensis Hierosolymita
II. Cafari de Caschifelone, Genuensis, De libertatione civitatum Orientis
III. Galterii, cancellarii Antiocheni, Bella Antiochena, 1114–1119
IV. Balduini III Historia Nicaena vel Antiochena
V. Theodori Palidensis Narratio profectionis Godefridi ducis ad Jerusalem
VI. Passiones beati Thiemonis
VII. Documenta Lipsanographica ad I. bellum sacrum spectantia
VIII. Primi belli sacri Narrationes minores
IX. Exordium Hospitalariorum
X. Historia Gotfridi
XI. Benedicti de Accoltis, Aretini, Historia Gotefridi
XII. Li Estoire de Jerusalem et d’Antioche
XIII. Itinerario di la gran militia, a la pavese
XIV. Fulco. Gilo
Index generalis

Historiens orientaux (1872–1906)

Volume 1 (1872)

Introduction
Summary of the history of the Crusades, taken from the Concise History of Humanity of Abu'l-Feda (Arabic/French)
Autobiography of Abu'l-Feda, extract from his chronicle
Extract from The Complete History by ibn Athir (Arabic/French)
Appendix
Notes and corrections

Volume 2, part 1 (1887)

Advertisement

Extract from The Complete History by ibn Athir (continuation) (Arabic/French)
Extracts from The Necklace of Pearls by Badr al-Din al-Ayni (Arabic/French)
List of chapters from the extract of The Complete History by ibn Athir
Index

Volume 2, part 2 (1876)

History of the Atabegs of Mosul by ibn Athir (Arabic/French)
List of chapters
Index

Volume 3 (1884)

Anecdotes and good habits of the life of the Sultan Youssof (Saladin) of Abu’l-Mahāsin (Arabic/French)
Notice on Beha Ed-Din Abou’L-Mehacen Ibn Cheddad, Extract from the Dictionary of Ibn Khallican (Arabic/French)
Extracts from the Autobiography of Abd al-Latif (Arabic/French)
Voyage by ibn Jubayr (Arabic/French)
Extracts from ibn Muyessar (Arabic/French)
Extracts from the Nodjoum az-Zahireh of Abu’l-Mahāsin (Arabic/French)
Extracts from the Mirat az-Zeman of Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (Arabic/French)
Extracts from the Chronicle of Aleppo by Kamal ad-Din (Arabic/French)
Extracts from the biographical dictionary of Kamal ad-Din (Arabic/French)

Volume 4 (1898)

The Book of the Two Gardens, History of the Two Kingdoms, that of Nur ad-Din and that of Saladin (13 June 1146 – 29 January 1191), by Abu Shama (Arabic/French)
Tables des Matières
Publications

Volume 5 (1906)

The Book of the Two Gardens, History of the Two Kingdoms, that of Nur ad-Din and that of Saladin (continuation)
Index

Historiens grecs (1875–1881)

Volume 1 (1875)

Preface
Variantes lectiones e codice Florentino
I. Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria susceptorum (Michael Attaliata, Psellus), Annotationes Historiae et philologicae ad partem primam
II. Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Pars secunda (Anna Comnena)
III. Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Pars tertia. Transitio. (Cinnamus, Nicetas)
IV. Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Pars quarta (Nicetas)
V. Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Pars quinta. (Nicephorus Gregoras, Ioannes Phocas, Neophytus, Georgius Agropolita De Syria Expugnata. (Ephraemius)
Addenda et corrigenda

Volume 2 (1881)

Preface
Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Adnotationes Historicae et philologicae ad partem secundum.
Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Adnotationes Historicae et philologicae ad partem tertiam.
Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Adnotationes Historicae et philologicae ad partem
Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Adnotationes Historicae et philologicae ad partem quintam.
Scriptores Graeci Bellorum a Francis dei signa sequentibus in Syria Susceptorum. Appendix (Theodore Prodromos)
Index Graecitatis
Addenda et corrigenda

Documents arméniens (1869–1906)

Volume 1 (1869)

Preface
Introduction
Chap. I. Physical geography, considered together with political geography
Chap. II. The Kingdom of Lesser Armenia from the historical point of view
Chap. III. Commerce, customs tariffs, and civil condition of foreigners in Lesser Armenia
Genealogical and dynastic tables
Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa
Chronique de Grégoire le Prètre of Gregory the Priest
Oraison Funèbre de Baudouin by Basil the Doctor
Elégie sur la Prise d’Edessa by Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali
Elégie sur la Prise de Jérusalem by Catholicos Gregory Dgh'a, successor to Nerses
Chronicle of Michael the Syrian
Guiragos of Kantzag
Vartan the Great
Samuel of Ani
Hethoum the historian, count of Gorigos
Bahram of Edessa
Popular song on the captivity of Leo
Hetoum II of Armenia
Saint Nerses of Lambron
Sempad the Constable
Mardiros (Martyr) of Crimea
Doctor Mekhithar of Dashir
Appendis
Armenian charters
Index

Volume 2 (1906)

Preface

I. Chronicle of Armenia (Jean Dardel)
II. La Flor des Estoires des parties d’Orient. Livre I.-IV. (Hayton)
III. Directorium ad passagium faciendum. (Brocardus)
IV. De modo saracenos extirpandi (Guillaume Adam)
V. Responsio ad errores impositos Hermenis (Daniel de Thaurisio)
VI. Les gestes des Chiprois. Livre I.-III.
Index
Additions and corrections

References

^ Recueil des historiens des Croisades publié par les soins de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 16 vols (Paris: Imprimerie royale, 1841-1906).
^ Rapport sur la publication du Recueil des historiens des croisades, 1844 (read on Gallica).
^ Catalogue BnF.