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

Jacques de Vitry's Letter VII

Dated April 18th, 1221, this letter sent by Jacques de Vitry in Damietta to crusading leaders back in Europe conveys King David's strong belief in the King David stories that had circulated around the crusader camp.

This letter supplements Jacques initial hopes about eastern Christians led by Prester John by integrating the deeds of the Relatio de Davide to Prester John and the future capture of Acre, Damietta, Cairo, Babylonia, and other regions in Egypt.

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Jacques de Vitry Born in central France, Jacques de Vitry (c. 1160-1240) served as bishop of Acre from 1214 and then cardinal from 1229 until his death. 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 / Historia Hierosolymitana) 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 1217 Letter sent from Acre to western ecclesiastics and a 1221 Letter relating the story of the History of the Deeds of David.
Jacques de Vitry's Letter from Acre (Letter Two) In March of 1217, Jacques de Vitry writes from Acre back west in order to garner more support for what would eventually become the Fifth Crusade.

In his letter, he writes of the "Prester John Christians" of the east as likely allies in the fight against Islam. Specifically Jacques refers to a figure called King David— either the son or grandson of Prester John— a figure who was himself "commonly called Prester John." This is perhaps the first moment of Prester John as a title observed within the legend's lore.

Brewer edits and translates the letter (pp. 98-100):
But now in the city of Acre, I... await the arrival of pilgrims with great longing. Indeed, I believe that if we had 4,000 men of arms, through God's favour we would not be able to find anyone strong enough to resist us. Indeed, there is a great discord amongst the Saracens, and many of them, knowing their error for certain, if they dared to and had the help of Christians, they would be converted to the Lord. I also believe that the Christians living amongst the Saracens are greater in number than the Saracens [themselves]. Also, many Christian kings living in the Easter regions up to the land of Prester John, hearing of the arrival of the crusaders, would come to their help and go to war with the Saracens.

Later in the letter, Jacques explains that these "Prester John Christians" are Jacobites, or monophysites, an interesting contrast to the general trend of identify Prester John's people as Nestorians, who practice a dyophysite belief about Christ.

A few years later, Jacques expands on this faith by integrating the figure of King David, borrowed from a report called the Relatio de Davide that Jacques assimilated into the framework of the Prester John legend, as demonstrated in this so-called "Letter VII."

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