Publication Date
575 - 579 /1180 - 1184
Publication Place
Sur, Lebanon -
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Subject
Paper written on with ink.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
الطول: 4 سم؛ العرض: 17 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
م/ أ /24
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;14;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Date
575 - 579 /1180 - 1184
Notes
The piece is a message written on Arabic paper - different from European paper, which is very acidic - small in size and tends to yellow, but its condition is excellent. The letter contains six lines written in Latin, and was sent from Medina by the Temple Brotherhood to the Temple Brotherhood in Jerusalem. The subject of the letter revolves around the temple uniform in Jerusalem that was given to Hajj Robert du Sur du Val. The decision was taken in the city of Al-Fula in Palestine to strip him of this uniform in the city of Tyre, and to imprison him in the city of Akka until he was deported to Europe on the first boat to sail from the port of Akka. The letter does not reveal the reason for this decision or the nature of the crime committed by Robert du Sur du Val, but it seems that the matter was so important that it required the meeting of more than a hundred Knights Templar. The text of the letter can be translated as follows: “To Brother Audun de Vendôme, officer of the Brotherhood in Jerusalem, Brother Gerard de Redfort, commander of the soldiers of the Fraternity of the Temple. To Brother Audun de Vendôme, worker of the Fraternity in Jerusalem. Peace, [you know] that du Sur du Val has landed on the shore of the city of Tyre, and our worker has received him. In that country, and after that we held a meeting in Al-Fula, and a hundred knights or more gathered in the place. We asked for their opinions on what we intended to do in this matter, and they agreed, with general advice and full approval, to send to the city of Tire five of our fellow knights, to strip him of his clothes and take him to Acre, and there they would watch over him in a special room until the first procession of the season passed. “The letter reveals the traditions and rituals of the Latin brotherhood as it appears in the temple brotherhood in The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and reveals the close relationship that linked the various branches of the brotherhood in Palestine and Lebanon.
Sample Text
Khader Salameh “Frankish Letter” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;14;ar
Bu sayfanın künyesi
Prepared by:Khader SALAMEHKhader Salameh has been the Director of the Islamic Museum and Al-Aqsa Library in Jerusalem for more than two decades. He was previously employed in the Hebrew University Library and worked as a librarian in Saudi Arabia and as a teacher in Libya. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Ottoman History. He received a Certificate of Librarianship in 1986 from the Hebrew University. He obtained his BA degree from Beirut University in 1980. He catalogued the Manuscripts Collections of the Haram al-Sharif, which was published in six parts in several countries. His publications include many articles on different subjects and a recent publication in English and Arabic on the Qur'an manuscripts in the Islamic Museum.
