Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.14.2
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/302
Context
Marino Sanudo the Elder 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 in
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 traces the coastal route
through Greater Syria from Alexandretta to Gaza and Darum, including the stretch around
Caesarea.
Text
De Caypha ad tres
leucas est Castrum Peregrinorum, munitissimum, et erat Templariorum, sita in corde maris. De
Castro Peregrinorum ad tres leucas est Caesarea Palestinae; compassus
ponit XX milliaria (de ea part. VI cap. IV). De Caesarea ad duas
leucas est munitio Assur vel Dora; compassus ponit XV milliaria. Fuit autem Templariorum,
qui etiam post eius amissionem, annuatim soluebant domino Assur XXVIII millia bizantiorum
(de ea part. III cap. IV).
1
Textual Note
Ed. Bongars 1611Corrigenda Note
Minor corr. (punctuation)Translation
It is three leagues from Caypha to Pilgrims’ Castle, very well
fortified, which once belonged to the Templars, situated in deep sea. From the Pilgrims’
Castle it is three leagues to Caesarea of Palestine; the compass
makes this 20 miles (see 3.6.4). From Caesarea it is two leagues
to the fort at Assur or Dora; the compass makes this 15 miles. It formerly belonged to
the Templars, who, even after its loss, were indebted to the Lord of Assur for 28,000
bezants annually (see 6.3.4).
2
Translation Note
Adapted from Lock 2011Works 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: 3.14.2, p: 246.
- 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: 391.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.14.2,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/302.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.14.2.” 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/302.About this Entry
Entry Title: Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.14.2
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 3.14.2”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Marino Sanudo the Elder, Secrets for Those Faithful to the Cross 3.14.2”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife