A study of the problems of authorship and style of the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolymitanorum

The Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolymitanorum is one of only two complete accounts of the First Crusade by an eye-witness and participant that has come down to us. As such, it has been a fundamental source for study of that event since the beginning of the twelfth century. Many later accounts of the First Crusade are based almost wholly or in part upon it. The early twelfth century chronicles largely rely upon the testimony of witnesses rather than upon personal experience, and most of them derive from the Gesta; yet the author of the chronicle is unknown. It is customary among modern historians of the First Crusade to refer to him as "the Anonymous." Some of the problems which puzzle historians concerning the identity of the unknown author have not yet been fully investigated. The careful reader of the chronicle will note marked variations in the style of the writing. While much of the writing is simple, narrative reporting, numerous passages make extensive use of scripture and liturgy. Other episodes are of an imaginative, legendary, even poetic nature. [...]History, Department o