Guillaume de Tyr (c. 1130-1186)

by Zhao Luyang 赵鲁阳 (See Chinese translation)

Guillaume de Tyr (alternative names) was a Franco-Syrian politician, clergyman and historian. He was born around 1130 in Jerusalem into a French family that had settled in Frankish Syria. Around the year 1146, he went to Europe to study, and stayed there for approximately 20 years. He studied liberal arts in France for ten years and theology for another six years. He also studied civil law and probably canon law in Bologna, Italy. In 1165, he returned to the Middle East.

In 1167, Archbishop Frederick of Tyre (in present-day Lebanon), granted Guillaume the archdeaconry of Tyre in the presence of and at the request of King Almaric I of Jerusalem and other distinguished men. From then until Almaric’s death in 1174, Guillaume was employed as a trusted servant of the crown.

From 1167 to 1169, Guillaume was sent on several diplomatic missions to Constantinople and Rome. He was also sent on an imperial mission to the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I Komnenos. His assignment there was to reach an agreement with the emperor on a detailed plan for a joint expedition, together with King Almaric I. Another diplomatic mission led Guillaume in 1169 to Rome, where he visited the Church of Rome.

In 1170, Guillaume was made tutor of Baldwin, son of King Almaric I. When Baldwin succeeded the throne as Baldwin IV in 1174, Guillaume was appointed chancellor of the kingdom and archdeacon of Nazareth. One year later, in 1175, he was promoted to archbishop of Tyre.

In 1179, Guillaume went to Rome to attend the Third Lateran Council, the church’s eleventh ecumenical council. Shortly after that, in 1180, Guillaume retired from his political career. He died on 29th of September 1186 in Rome.

Guillaume wrote three books in total: an account of the decrees of the Third Lateran Council of 1179, a history of the Muslim world, and his Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum (A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea), a scholarly account of the history of the Latin East from 614 to 1184. The first two have both been both lost.

Written at the request of another member of the clergy present at the occasion, the first book included a list of all the participants in the Third Lateran Council. The second, a history of the Muslim world, was said to have been written at the behest of King Almaric I. It probably included some Arabic historical literature, such as a work by the tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria, Sa'id ibn Batriq (Eutychius of Alexandria), 877-940.

His Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum was originally untitled because the many manuscripts copied after his death were given different titles. It is also known as Historia Ierosolymitana (History of Jerusalem), and as a history of the Latin kings of Jerusalem. It is a scholarly account of the history of the Latin East from 614 to 1184, written to present a glorious portrait of the Latin East to his readers and to help them understand the misfortunes it experienced. When reading Guillaume’s Historia, it is important to remember that he was actively involved in the politics of the period, therefore the work contains some of his personal biases. For example, he was trying to influence attitudes concerning the early history of the Crusades in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Nonetheless, Guillaume’s Historia is an extensive and detailed account and an important source for understanding the history of the time.

The text can roughly be divided into two parts. The first part, which focuses on early Latin history, relies on previous works and oral folklore. It refers to such authors as Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059-after 1128) and Raymond of Aguileres, both participants in the First Crusade (1096-1099), and Baldric the Dol (1050-1130), a French bishop and poet. The narrative of the second part, which describes the Latin world during Guillaume's lifetime, includes his own experiences as well as those of other well-known figures of the time. He was able to supplement the narrative with official records of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to which he had access through his role as Baldwin's tutor.

Although Guillaume claimed the Holy Land as Christ’s legacy to Christianity, he did not ignore the Muslims’ claim to the same land. He believed that the final Christian victory was in God's hands. This concession to the enemy faith was seen as an extraordinary intellectual leap. His perception of the Muslim people was, for its time, open minded. He accepted the view of Islam as an autonomous world religion, superior to paganism, and related to Christianity in sharing the same God. While the Byzantines and the Latins generally considered Islam a pagan religion, Guillaume avoided the term paganus in his Historia. He preferred the term infidelis, describing the Muslim faith, like that of Judaism, as holding a different attitude to God. He recognized the Muslims as an equal and sovereign group, and did not hesitate to grant the Muslims the right to their native land, their property and their freedom.

As Guillaume did not regard the Muslims as pagans but as believers, he was able to analyse the enemy as human beings in their own right. He was especially interested in their virtues and vices, their abilities and their achievements. For example, he praised Saladin’s intelligence and political perspicacity, and also appreciated Saladin’s uncle Shikuh's self-confidence, eloquence and urbanity. At the same time, Guillaume also sharply criticised Saladin’s tyranny and arrogance.

Guillaume also described the medieval social classes, using the term classis to refer to a social category of a person. This use of this term was extremely rare. Medieval writers before Guillaume who discussed society tended to use the term ordines, referring to the social order to which people belonged.