Der «Rithmus espeditione ierosolimitana». Des sogenannten haymarus monachus fiorentinus

On July 4, 1187 Saladin's attack on the Crusader States of the Holy Land culminated in the Battle of Hattin, which saw the bloody defeat of the Christian armies, the loss of the relic of the Cross, and the capture of King Guy of Jerusalem and many knights and nobles, many among the 40 later killed. The response of western Christendom was the Third Crusade. As a participant, an anonymous ecclesiastic - identified in the past with the Florentine Monaco, who became Archbishop of Caesarea and later Patriarch of Jerusalem toward the end of the 12th century - describes the course of events. The short poem, composed with a certain elegance in rhythmic, rhymed verse, alternates levels of narration. The Rithmus is presented in a new critical edition, which replaces that of Paul Riant and William Stubbs after more than a century. It is accompanied by a translation and a series of explanatory textual notes, which explicate by reference to sources and an extensive historical bibliography.