A Crusader Manuscript from Antioch? Reappraising the Provenance of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ms. Pal. lat. 1963

Abstract

Of all the Old French manuscripts of William of Tyre, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ms. Pal. Lat. 1963 is probably the one discussed most by scholars. The investigation of this manuscript has, so far, mainly been taken up by art historians regarding the provenance of the manuscript. The consensus has been that it incorporates several different styles but the tentative theory put forward by Jaroslav Folda that it was produced in Antioch during the 1260s has become accepted. However, this ignores the textual evidence in the manuscript. This article explores the variations in this manuscript from the standard text of the Old French William of Tyre to establish its links with Antioch, or lack thereof, and determine whether anything within the text allows us to firmly establish a provenance for this manuscript. The discussion includes an analysis of the relationship with the other William of Tyre manuscripts which were mainly produced in France or the Latin East. It also explores unique readings in the manuscript relating to the geography of the lands around Cilicia, the capture of Sidon by Baldwin I in 1110, the Arian heresy and the nature of Christ, and the links to Scotland and Isabella Bruce.