«Coment Jherusalem siet et l’estat de li».

La descrizione di Gerusalemme nella Cronaca di Ernoul (XII-XIII secolo)

Abstract

Considered by the few scholars who have dealt with it as a sort of guide for pilgrims, the description of Jerusalem contained in the so-called Chronique d'Ernoul, however, is unusual for its attention to the more mundane aspects of city life. The author of the chronicle - written in the first decades of the thirteenth century starting from an earlier nucleus by a certain Ernoul, squire of Baliano d'Ibelin - presents us with a detailed description of the Holy City by a witness who was very familiar with it. Tracing a route based on two axes (north-south, west-east), the author guides us with extreme precision through the streets of the capital of the crusader kingdom where the sacred places of Christian history are interwoven and organically integrated into the spaces of life everyday life: the streets and squares, in fact, are the protagonists of the description, together with the livestock and food markets, the weavers and goldsmiths shops. Ernoul leaves us the testimony of a lively and vital Crusader Jerusalem, a capital now lost but still considered recoverable by Christian weapons.