«Est autem civitas et minor maximis et mediocribus maior».

La Gerusalemme di Guglielmo di Tiro: descrizione fisica, geografia sacra e prospettiva storica

Abstract

This article proposes a critical analysis of the description of Jerusalem compiled byWilliam of Tyre in his Historia in partibus transmarinis gestarum. Unlike other accounts, the one offered by William of Tyre focuses mainly on the material structure of the city and its development in historical perspective, depriving it, though not completely, of the mantle of eternal immutability provided by the living presence of the Loca Sancta. Jerusalem, therefore, is depicted as a true medieval city, with its richly ornamented monasteries and churches, its fortifications, its weak points and its ruined areas. Particular attention is also paid to the description of the water system and to the narration of the daily uses of the inhabitants, those of the present and those of the past, Christians and Muslims, in relation to the city's geography.