This is the first full translation of Marino Sanudo Torsello's Secreta
fidelium Crucis to be made into English. The work itself is a piece of
crusading propaganda following the fall of Acre in 1291, written between
1300 and 1321, but it includes much of historical relevance along with
interesting observations on the early history of Jerusalem and the
Crusader Kingdom. The translation is based upon the text edited by
Jacques Bongars in 1611. There is an introduction that contextualises
the book, its author, his sources and his audience. The notes provide
essential information to clarify internal textual references and
allusions, as well as the role of Biblical references in Sanudo's grand
design. The index is designed to make this detailed text usable and
accessible. In this, his major work, Sanudo advocated the conquest of
Egypt as the means to regain Jerusalem for the Latins and worked through
his points with considerable detail alongside references to 13th-century
Mediterranean history, especially involving Louis IX of France and
Charles of Anjou, king of Naples. Books I and II give considerable
detailed discussion of the concept, plan and costs of his proposed
crusade. Book III provides an outline history of the crusades and the
crusader states. It is derived from a wide-reading of other sources
especially of William of Tyre, and, for events after 1184 on the
Eracles, the letters of James of Vitry, and Sanudo's own experiences in
the east. Throughout, the work contains a staggering amount of
cartographical, ethnographical, geographical, and nautical information,
as well as numerous unique insights into historical events and
personalities of the late 13th century, not only in Outremer but in
Western Europe.
