Rorgo Fretellus

Rorgo Fretellus, also spelled Fetellus[1] (fl. 1119–1154),[2] was a Frankish priest in the Kingdom of Jerusalem who wrote a widely circulated description (in Latin) of the Christian holy places in the Holy Land, the Descriptio de locis sanctis.

Fretellus was born in the County of Ponthieu and went to the Holy Land around 1110. In 1119 he was the chancellor of the Prince of Galilee and by 1121 he was a canon of the archdiocese of Nazareth.[3] By about 1148 he had become the archdeacon of the patriarchate of Antioch, or perhaps of Nazareth.[2][3]

The Descriptio survives in several variants, all descended from a model composed by Fretellus in 1128–1132 or possibly as early as 1119–1121.[2] The earliest finished version dates to 1137 or 1138 and was dedicated to Jindřich Zdík, bishop of Olomouc.[3] A revised version was also published by Fretellus and dedicated to Count Rodrigo González de Lara, governor of Toledo.[3] This second version may have been made about the same time as the first or perhaps as late as 1148.[3] According to one modern editor, the dedication was in fact to a count of Toulouse, probably Count Raymond V, and was made later, in 1148, during the Second Crusade.[2] A third edition was produced at the Avignonese curia between 1356 and 1362, when Cardinal Nicolau Rossell incorporated into a copy of the Liber censuum.[3][4]

The Descriptio is not a very original work. It incorporates much earlier material, to which Fretellus had access in the library of the cathedral of Nazareth, including possibly Pseudo-Eugesippus' Tractatus de distantiis locorum Terrae Sanctae. Although "it does not tell us very much about the conditions in the towns and villages under Frankish rule", it is still a useful source on the learning to which a crusader cleric had access in the twelfth century.[2] The Descriptio begins by describing the location of Jerusalem: "The city of Jerusalem is situated in the hill-country of Judea, in the province of Palestine".[5] It is probable that in this famous passage Fretellus has simply combined his Biblical geography (Judaea) with the name of the former Arab province (Filasṭīn).[6]

Editions
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References
  1. James Rose Macpherson, ed. (1896), Fetellus (circa 1130 A.D.) (London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society), pp. v–x.
  2. Jonathan Riley-Smith (1981), "Review of Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte by P. C. Boeren (North-Holland Publishing, 1980)", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 113(2), pp. 200–201. doi:10.1017/s0035869x00157958
  3. Benjamin Z. Kedar (2000), "Fretellus", in John Block Friedman and Kristen Mossler Figg, eds., Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia (London and New York: Routledge), p. 202.
  4. Jean Richard (1983), "Review of Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte by P. C. Boeren (North-Holland Publishing, 1980)", Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale 26(103), pp. 252–253.
  5. Macpherson (1986), p. 1.
  6. Nur Masalha (2018), Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History (London: Zed Books), p. 115.

Further reading
  • Hiestand, Rudolf. "Un centre intellectuel en Syrie du Nord? Notes sur la personnalité d'Aimery d'Antioche, Albert de Tarse et Rorgo Fretellus". Le Moyen Âge, 100 (1994): 7–36.
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