Albert of Aix(-la-Chapelle) orAlbert of Aachen;Latin:Albericus Aquensis;fl. c. 1100) was a historian of theFirst Crusade and the earlyKingdom of Jerusalem. He was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards becamecanon (priest) andcustos (guardian) of the church ofAachen.[1][2]
Nothing else is known of his life except that he was the author of aHistoria Hierosolymitanae expeditionis (“History of the Expedition to Jerusalem”), orChronicon Hierosolymitanum de bello sacro, a work in Latin in twelve books, written between 1125 and 1150. This history begins at the time of theCouncil of Clermont in 1095, deals with the fortunes of the First Crusade and the earlier history of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and ends somewhat abruptly in 1121.[3]
TheHistoria was well known during theMiddle Ages, and was largely used byWilliam of Tyre for the first six books of hisHistoria rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum. In modern times, it was accepted unreservedly for many years by most historians, includingEdward Gibbon. In more recent times beginning withHeinrich von Sybel,[4] its historical value has been seriously impugned, but the verdict of the best scholarship seems to be that in general it forms a true record of the events of the First Crusade, although containing some legendary matter.[5]
Albert never visited theHoly Land, but he appears to have had a considerable amount of discourse with returned crusaders, and to have had access to valuable correspondence, for example: he interviewed survivors of theBattle of Ramla, writing down their experiences; another example can be seen from the case of the killing ofWilliam II Jordan, told by returning Crusaders to Germany.[1][6] Unlike many other chronicles of the First Crusade, Albert did not rely on theGesta Francorum, but used his own independent interviews;[7] he may also have had access to theChanson d'Antioche, as his work shares textual similarities with that poem.[8] The first edition of the history was published atHelmstedt in 1584, and a translation, with the original Latin, is in theRecueil des historiens des croisades, Volume 4.iii (1879). A modern edition in Latin and English translation by Susan B. Edgington[9] is available in the Oxford Medieval Texts series.[10] (cf. Volumes 24 and 25 ofCrusader Texts in Translation.)
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Albert of Aix".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 499. Endnote: See{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)