Bernard Desclot | |
|---|---|
 The Bernard Desclot monument which was built in 1888 and was destroyed in 1937. The photograph was taken in 1910 | |
| Born | c. 1288 |
| Died | 13... |
| Language | Catalan language |
| Nationality | Catalan |
| Genre | Chronicler |
Bernard Desclot (inCatalan: Bernat Desclot) was aCatalanchronicler whose work covering the brief reign ofPeter III of Aragon (1276–1285) forms one of the fourCatalan Grand Chronicles through which the modern historian views thirteenth- and fourteenth century military and political matters in theKingdom of Aragon and thePrincipality of Catalonia,[1] including the "Aragonese Crusade". Desclot'sChronicle begins in the eleventh century but gains especial interest when he comes to describe events current within living memory. Bernard's literary model wasRomance, and his account is spiced with dramatic monologues of the central characters and thrilling episodes, such as the escape of Peter's brother,James II of Majorca, from the fortress ofPerpignan, through the castle's drains.
Nothing of Bernard himself is known save what little can be gleaned through hisChronicle.
F.L. Critchlow provided an English translation of the section covering the reign of Peter III inChronicle of the Reign of King Peter III of Aragon, 1276-85 (Princeton University Press) 1928.
