The International Prester John Project: How A Global Legend Was Created Across Six Centuries

Jacques de Vitry

Born in central France, Jacques de Vitry (c. 1160-1240) was the bishop (and later cardinal) of Acre. He was one of the foremost crusade historians and propagandists in Latin Europe during the thirteenth century and campaigned vigorously for the Albigensian Crusade and, later, the Fifth (or Egyptian) Crusade.

In addition to his histories of the Holy Land (Historia Orientalis) and the West (Historia Occidentalis), Jacques was well known for his sermons. Jacques was interested in prophecy and apocalyptic history and produced/collected two texts in particular that were important to the early spread of the Prester John legend, a Letter sent from Acre to western ecclesiastics and the ​History of the Deeds of David

This page has tags:

Contents of this tag: