Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/238

Context

Marino Sanudo the Elser of Torcello, from a wealthy and powerful Venetian family, was a statesman and geographer who spent much of his career from the late 13th century until his death in 1338 living and travelling abroad. He reached the Peloponnese and Aegean islands, Cyprus and Cilicia, Constantinople, the Levant, and Egypt, but also western and northern Europe. A learned and eloquent advocate for a new crusade, he wrote the voluminous Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross (Secreta fidelium Crucis), a strategic manual full of economic, military, and geographic detail as well as maps, and presented different versions of it to popes Clement V (in 1307) and John XXII (in 1321). This passage from his account of the Holy Land discusses the first years of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the infamous siege of Caesarea Maritima in May of 1101.

Text

Rex igitur ad inchoatam regni dilatationem sollicitus, et providus in agendis, audiens ad portum Iopen Ianuensium adventasse LXX galeas, quasi in veris principio, cum solent reges ad bella procedere, tam navium ipsorum quam etiam personarum fretus auxilio, Assur expugnavit, quae alio nomine Antipatrida nominatur, ab Antipatro, de quo supra part. I cap. XII fecimus mentionem. Est autem civitas maritima, inter Iopen et Caesaream sita, densis sylvis amonea, et uberrima pascuis. Cesaream etiam Palestinae, que antequam per Ascalonitam Herodem augeretur in honore Caesaris, Turris Stratonis vocabatur, simili Ianuensium auxilio mari terraque obsidens subiugavit. Ibi Ianienses repertum vas pretiosum, sive de viridi lapide, quem Smaragdum afferunt, pro parte mercedi acceperunt, et matrici ecclesiae dederunt. Est enim in littore maris sita, utilem tamen portum non habens; ab oriente autem, habet paludem aquae dulcis magnae et profundae quae corcodillos nutrit: hortorum ac pascuorum gaudet copia. Ibi mansionem habuit Philippus cum filiabus suis; ibi Cornelius centurio audivit ab angelo, “Orationes tuae et eleemosynae tuae ascenderunt in memoriam in conspectu Domini. Sed accersi Simonem in Iopen; hic dicet tibi quid te oporteat facere.” Act. X. Ibi etiam Paulus diu detentus ut Romam pergeret, suam prosequutus est appellationem. Act. XVI. Post haec rediit rex versus Ramam. Hanc civitatem edificaverunt Arabes prope Lidam, cum Peregrini primo iverunt ad partes illas, post tempora Mahumeti. 1

Textual Note

Ed. Bongars 1611

Corrigenda Note

Minor corr. (spelling, punctuation)

Translation

Therefore the King (Baldwin I) was concerned over the delayed start of his reign, and, looking ahead to what had to be done, heard that 70 Genoese galleys had arrived at the port of Iope, bringing assistance in the very ships and the men, right at the beginning of spring when kings are accustomed to go to war. He defeated Assur, which is called by another name, Antipatris, after Antipater (see note above 3.1.12). It is a coastal city located between Iope and Caesarea, idyllic with its dense woods and most abundant with pastures. Then (Baldwin) captured Caesarea Palestinae, which before it was inaugurated by Herod of Ascalon in honor of Caesar was called Strato’s Tower, laying siege on sea and land again with the support of the Genoese. There the Genoese received as part of their booty a vase that had been found, a precious one in green stone that they claimed was emerald, and they gave it to their mother church. The city is located on the seashore but it does not have a useful harbor. On the east it has a freshwater swamp, large and deep, which feeds crocodiles, and it enjoys copious fields and pastures. There Philip had his house with his daughters, and Cornelius the centurion heard from an angel, “Your prayers and alms will arise as a memorial in the sight of the Lord. But send for Simon in Iope, for he will tell you what you must do.” (Acts 10). And after being detained there for a long time, Paul went to Rome and pursued his appeal (Acts 16). After this the King returned toward Rama. The Arabs had built this city near Lida, when pilgrims first went to those parts after the time of Mohammed. 2

Translation Note

Adapted from Lock 2011

Works Cited

1 Marino Sanudo, Gesta Dei per Francos Sive Orientalium Expeditionum et Regni Francorum Hierosolimitani Historia 2: Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis Super Terrae Sanctae Recuperatione et Conservatione, ed. Jacques Bongars (Hanover: Wechelian, 1611), bk: 3.6.4, p: 152.
2 Marino Sanudo, Marino Sanudo Torsello, The Book of the Secrets of the Faithful of the Cross: Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis, trans. Peter Lock, Crusade Texts in Translation 21 (London: Routledge, 2011), p: 243.

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/238.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/238.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4”
Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.6.4”

Additional Credit:

TEI encoding by William L. Potter
Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife

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