The
Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in 1099 after the First Crusade, which
included people from all over western Europe who spoke many different
languages. In the 12th and 13th centuries, travellers from Europe, Asia,
and Africa, from as far away as Iceland and Ethiopia, visited and wrote about the crusader kingdom. There are many ways to refer to the kingdom in modern English, but what did medieval people call it?
This
was inspired by the Wikipedia article about the kingdom, which used to
list several incorrect or inaccurate "native-language" names. Someone
was Wrong Online and I couldn't stop until I fixed it!
For now, I've only checked modern editions of medieval texts, but there would probably be even more names and spellings if we looked in manuscripts too. I've only given one source for each name, but there could be numerous other sources for each language, especially for Latin and French.
Languages
Latin
Latin was the usual administrative and literary language of the kingdom, as it was throughout western Europe, where most of the crusaders came from. Since this is medieval Latin, there’s a lot of possible spellings - the initial "J" might also be spelled I, Ih, Jh, or Hi. When "Jerusalem" is turned into an adjective, it can end with "-limitanum" or "-lymitanum". The words might also be in a different order in Latin, or separated by other words in between, or have different forms depending on the grammar (i.e., regni/regno). I've put them all in the nominative case here, with "regnum" first.
Most names use the adjectival form of "Jerusalem", literally "the Jerusalemite kingdom":
Regnum Hierosolimitanum
...ad defendendum regnum Hierosolimitanum… (to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Letter from Gregory IX to Frederick II, Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 3, pg. 256)
Regnum Ierosolymitanum
…ut Ierosolymitani regni hereditariam dominam duxerimus feliciter in uxorem… (so that we may happily marry the rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Letter from Frederick II to fellow crusaders, Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 3, pg. 41)
Regnum Hierosolymitanum
…dedit Henrico nepoti suo regnum Hierosolymitanum… (he gave the Kingdom of Jerusalem to his nephew Henry)
(Roger of Wendover, vol. 1, pg. 201)
Regnum Ierosolimitanum
Optulit insuper totaliter regnum Ierosolimitanum… (Furthermore he bestowed the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem...)
(Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, pg. 236)
Regnum Iherosolymitanum
Regni Iherosolymitani Brevis Historia (title of the book, Short History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
Regnum Iherosolimitanum
…qui postea regnum Iherosolimitanum obtinuerunt… (who afterwards obtained the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Gislebert of Mons, pg. 503)
Regnum Jerosolimitanum
…petiit sibi regnum Jerosolimitanum de jure uxoris suae… (he sought the Kingdom of Jerusalem for himself in right of his wife)
(Roger Howden, Chronica, pg. 124)
Regnum Jerosolymitanum
…prelatis per regnum Jerosolymitanum constitutis (to the prelates established throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(letter from Innocent IV, Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 6, pt. 2, pg. 623)
Sometimes the word "Jerusalem" is simply treated as a foreign word that has no Latin declension:
Regnum Ierusalem
...metuens ne turrim Dauid et regnum lerusalem aliqua perfidia aut promissione pecunie amitteret (...fearing that he would lose the Tower of David and the Kingdom of Jerusalem by some treachery or promise of money)
(Albert of Aachen, ch. 7.35, pg. 538)
Regnum Jerusalem
Optulerunt igitur Normannorum duci Roberto regnum Jerusalem… (Therefore they offered the Kingdom of Jerusalem to Robert, Duke of Normandy)
(Robert of Torigny, pg. 86)
Regnum Iherusalem
…et regnum Iherusalem in tutela et custodia ducis Gotofredi dederunt… (and they gave the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the guardianship and custody of Duke Godfrey)
(Caffaro, Liberatio Orientis, pg. 110)
Regnum Iherusolime
…ibique a legato et a Ianuensibus monitus et precatus ut regnum Iherusolime acciperet… (and there he was advised and begged by the legate and the Genoese to accept the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Caffaro, Annales Ianuenses, pg. 5)
Regnum Hierusalem
Ut rex Richardus Henrico nepoti suo regnum Hierusalem dederit (So that Richard would give the Kingdom of Jerusalem to his nephew Henry)
(Roger of Wendover, vol. 1, pg. 201)
Regnum de Hierusalem
Conradus ivit ultra mare, et magnis viribus conquisivit Regnum de Hierusalem (Conrad went over the sea, and conquered the Kingdom of Jerusalem with his powerful men)
(Chronicon Placentinum, col. 590)
"Jerusalem" could also be treated as a Latin word in the plural ("the Jerusalems"), as cities often are in Latin (and Greek):
Regnum Ierosolimorum
...obtinuit regnum etiam Ierosolimorum postmodum universorum principum electione... (he then also obtained the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the choice of all the princes)
(William of Tyre, ch. 9.6, vol. 1, pg. 427)
Sometimes Latin authors used an ancient/Biblical term to refer to the crusader kingdom:
Regnum Palestinae
Vidimus, et praesentes fuimus ubi regnum Palestinae… (We saw, and we were present when the Kingdom of Palestine...)
(Peter of Blois, letter 113, col. 340)
Regnum Palestinum
De regno Palestino in Saracenorum manus devoluto (On the Kingdom of Palestine, which had fallen into the hands of the Saracens)
(Gerard of Wales, ch. 2.27, pg. 365)
On one occasion it's simply called the "eastern kingdom":
Regnum Orientale
...cuius opera et studio et laboribus regnum Orientale Christi servicio restitutum est... (through his work and zeal and labour, the eastern kingdom was restored to the service of Christ)
(William of Tyre, ch. 21.5, vol. 2, pg. 966)
And in one case it's not called a kingdom at all, but a "principality":
Principatus Iherosolymitanus
Dux autem Godefridus…principatum Iherosolymitanum rexit (Duke Godfrey ruled the principality of Jerusalem)
(Fulcher of Chartres 1.32, pg. 321-22)
"Kingdom of Syria", which is more usual in French, is also found in Latin:Regnum Syrie
...et ad honorem et profectum totius Christianitats et Ecclesie Romane et patriarchatus et corone regni Syrie... (...and for the honour and success of all Christianity and the Roman Church and the crown of the Kingdom of Syria...)
(Statutes of the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit in Acre, in Les Registres d'Alexandre IV, vol. 1, no. 346, pg. 103)
Old French
Old French was the usual spoken language in the kingdom, and in the 13th century, administrative documents and literary works were written in French too. There are even more possible alternate spellings for "kingdom" and "Jerusalem" in French than there are in Latin. Sometimes the word for "kingdom" still has the old nominative -s ending inherited from Latin but sometimes it has already disappeared. Here are the combinations that appear together in the sources:
Royaume de Jerusalem
Il est assise ou usage el royaume de Jerusalem... (It is the assize or usage in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(John of Ibelin, ch. 23, pg. 94)
Roiaume de Jerusalem
...assises et usages que l’on deust tenir et maintenir et user el roiaume de Jerusalem... (the assizes and usages that must be kept and maintained and used in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(John of Ibelin, prologue, pg. 52)
Royaume de Jherusalem
…il doit estre mis au tresor par comandement dou Comandour dou royaume de Jherusalem… (it must be placed in the treasury by command of the Commander of the Kingdom of Jerualem)
(Règle du Temple, ch, 83, pg. 78)
Roiaume de Jherusalem
...s’asenblerent tous les riches homes liges et autres dou roiaume de Jherusalem... (all the rich liege men and other men of the Kingdom of Jerusalem assembled)
(Philip of Novara, ch. 54, pg. )
Roiaumes de Jherusalem
…que li roiaumes de Jherusalem estoit tous perdus… (that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was completely lost)
(Robert de Clari, ch. 33, pg. 34)
Reiaume de Jerusalem
...orent esleu a roy et a seignor dou reiaume de Jerusalem le duc Godefroi de Buillon... (they were chosen by the king and lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Duke Godfrey of Bouillon)
(John of Ibelin, prologue, pg. 51)
Reiaume de Iherusalem
…il lor deit defandre et garantir les leues desus motis dou seignor dou reiaume de Iherusalem… (he must defend them and protect the aforementioned places of the lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Charter between John of Ibelin and the Teutonic Knights, in Rey, pg. 42)
Reiaume de Jherusalem
...Johan de Ybelin, qui adonc estoit baill dou reiaume de Jherusalem... (John of Ibelin, who was at the time bailli of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Annales de Terre Sainte, pg. 156)
Reaume de Jerusalem
...car il en a ou reaume de Egypte, ou reaume de Jerusalem... (because he has them either in the Kingdom of Egypt or the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Joinville, par. 252, pg. 124)
Reaume de Jherusalem
…VI galées armées au mains en ces parties dou reaume de Jherusalem… (at least six armed galleys in these parts of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Emprunts de Saint Louis, pg. 293)
Regne de Iherusalem
...voult as eaux graunter de donner le regne de Iherusalem ne cyte, ne ville, ne eshastelle ne mesoun... (he does not want to grant them any city, town, castle, or house in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Anonimalle Chronicle, pg. 8)
Regne de Jherusalem
...et moult i ot des nostres qui acrurent le regne de Jherusalem et celui de paradis par espandement de lor sanc... (and there were many of our men who increased the Kingdom of Jerusalem and that of paradise by spilling their blood)
(Jacques de Vitry, pg. 91)
Regnes de Jherusalem
Tandis com li regnes de Jherusalem estoit en tel estat… (while the Kingdom of Jerusalem was in such a condition)
(Guillaume de Tyr, book 9, ch. 14, pg. 316)
Reaulme de Jherusalem
…selonc ce que la grant estoire dou reaulme de Jherusalem nous raconte et tesmoigne… (according to what the great history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem tells and informs us)
(Longnon, pg. 1)
Royaulme de Jherusalem
…Pays de la Saincte Terre, au royaulme de Jherusalem… (the country of the Holy Land, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Longnon, pg. 2)
Roiaulme de Jherusalem
…Pet après d'aler avec eaux au roiaulme de Jherusalem… (and afterwards to go with them to the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Longnon, pg. 10)
Sometimes in French it's called the "Kingdom of Syria" instead:
Reiaume de Surie
...et puis fu il roi des .ii. reiaumes: premierement de Chipre et puis de Surie... (and then he was king of both kingdoms, first of Cyprus and then of Syria)
(John of Ibelin, appendix 3.13, pg. 684)
Reaumes de Surie
Car par leurs gens avoit esté maintes fois li reaumes de Surie aidez et maintenuz (Because the Kingdom of Syria had been helped and maintained many times by their people)
(Old French William of Tyre, ch. 20.11, pg. 256)
Reigne de Surie
Si grant ocision de gentieus homes n’avoit esté eu reigne de Surie... (Such a great slaughter of noble men had never occurred in the Kingdom of Syria)
(Guillaume de Tyr, book 10, ch. 20, pg. 362)
Reaume de Surie -
A la fin, virent li preudome du reaume de Surie... (In the end, the noble men came from the Kingdom of Syria)
(Old French William of Tyre, ch. 22.6, pg. 198)
Reiame de Surie
...et aprés fu il rei de .ii. reiames, premier de Chipre, et puis de Surie... (and afterwards, he was king of both kingdoms, first of Cyprus and then of Syria)
(Philip of Novara, ch. 74, pg. ) (the same sentence is in John of Ibelin, but with different spellings!)
Italian
Names for the Kingdom can be found in Italian sources from Italy from the 13th and 14th centuries, as well as 15th- and 16th-century sources from Cyprus:
Reame di Gierusalem
...e perdè in tutto suo reame di Gierusalem in poco tempo… (and he lost all of his Kingdom of Jerusalem in a short time)
(Ricordano Malispini, ch. 127, pg. 166)
The Italians who lived in the kingdom usually wrote in either Latin or French, but there are some Italian sources from Cyprus later in the 15th and 16th centuries:
Reame di Hierusalem
…per dretto, et per assisa del Reame di Hierusalem (by right and by assize of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Foucher, ch. 54, pg. 97)
Reame de Hierusalem
...et tene il reame de Hierusalem per haver l’aiuto del re Philippo... (and he holds the Kingdom of Jerusalem in order to receive help from King Philip)
(Chronique de Strambaldi, pg. 8)
Reame de Gerusalem
…Almerico fratello del re, contestabile del reame de Gerusalem… (Aimery, brother of the king, constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Florio Bustron, pg. 132)
Reame di Gerusalem
E lasciogli il soldano tutto il reame di Gerusalem (and the sultan took the entire kingdom of Jerusalem from him)
(Giovanni Villani, book 6, ch. 17, pg. 237)
Reame di Ierusalem
Il cui titolo si chiamava reame di Ierusalem (whose title was called the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Cronca Fiorentina, pg 375)
Regno di Hierusalem
…Zuane de Montolif, zamberlan del regno di Hierusalem… (Jean de Montolif, chamberlain of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Chronique de Strambaldi, pg. 40)
Regno de Hierusalem
…per recuperar il suo regno de Hierusalem et la casa de Iddio… (to recover the Kingdom of Jerusalem aand the house of God)
(Chronique de Strambaldi, pg. 51)
Regno di Gierusalem
…al quale toccava il regno di Gierusalem (to whom the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell)
(Florio Bustron, pg. 106)
Regno di Gerusalem
ma perchè era absente, per una legge special del regno di Gerusalem… (but because he was absent, by a special law of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Florio Bustron, pg. 106)
Regno di Ierusalem
Ed era grande siniscalco dello regno di Ierusalem (and he was grand seneschal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Cronaca Fiorentina, pg 249)
Old Castilian
In the late 13th century, the French version of William of Tyre's chronicle was translated into Spanish, which has these names for the kingdom:
Reyno de Hierusalem
Commo don Juan de Brenna fue coronado por rey del reyno de Hierusalem… (How Lord John of Brinne was crowned as king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 428, pg. 205)
Reyno de Suria
E por esta conquista de la cipdat de Domas uino muy grant danno al reyno de Suria(And because of this conquest of the city of Damascus, much great damage came to the Kingdom of Syria)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 77, pg. 45)
Reyno de Iherusalem
E por que los del reyno de Iherusalem non se acordauan a su uoluntad… (And because the men of the Kingdom of Jerusalem did not agree to his wish)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 180, pg. 102)
Reyno de Ierusalem
En aquel tiempo muy desconortado finco el reyno de Ierusalem… (At that time the Kingdom of Jerusalem was very disturbed)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 220, pg. 118)
Reyno de Jherusalem
…non fincaua otro heredero en el reyno de Jherusalem… (There was no other heir in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 340, pg. 170)
Regno de Iherusalem
Quando el regno de Iherusalem e toda la tierra de Egipto e de Suria era en poderío de moros… (When the Kingdom of Jerusalem and all the land of Egypt and Syria were in the power of the Moors)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 86, pg. 51)
Regno de Ierusalem
Quando el conde de Tripre, que era gouernador del regno de Ierusalem… (When the Count of Tripoli, who was the governor of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 256, pg. 135)
Regno de Jherusalem
Saladin estonçes ouo tomado tod el regno de Jherusalem… (Saladin had then taken all of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 275, pg. 147)
Regno de Suria
El regno de Suria estido un tiempo en paz… (The Kingdom of Syria was in a time of peace)
(Gran Conquista de Ultramar, ch. 20, pg. 10)
The 12th-century Fazienda de Ultra Mar also mentions the kingdom:
Regno de Jherusalem
…e dalli conquirio el regno de Jherusalem… (and there he conquered the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(La fazienda de Ultra Mar, pg. 123)
Old Catalan
The kingdom is also mentioned in some 14th-century documents issued by King Jaime II of Aragon:
Regne de Jerusalem
…e axi esperava que encara lo Regne de Jerusalem, en que el ha dret… (and so he hopes that now the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where he has rights)
(Ferrando, Jaime II de Aragon, appendix, no. 71, pg. 47)
Regne de Iherusalem
…o el dret que ell ha en lo regne de Iherusalem… (with the rights that he has in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Ferrando, no. 137, pg. 93)
Reyaume de Jherusalem
…e regina del reyaume de Jherusalem et de Xipre… (and the queen of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and of Cyprus)
(Ferrando, no. 122, pg. 82)
And in a later medieval Valencian chronicle it's called the "Kingdom of Syria":
Regne de Suria
En l’any MCLXXXVII, en lo mes de juny, fon pres Jerusalem e totes les ciutats del regne du Suria (in the year 1187, in the month of June, Jerusalem and all the cities of the Kingdom of Syria were taken)
(Noticiario Valenciano, pg. 301)
Old Aragonese
The kingdom is mentioned the Coronica de los Conquiridores by Juan Fernandez de Heredia:
Regno de Iherusalem
…Alamania,
delà quai tierra fue senyor Godofre de Bullon: et vendio la ala eglesia
pora conquérir la tierra santa de el regno de Iherusalem… (Germany,
from which land came lord Godfrey of Bouillon: and he sold it to the
church to conquer the holy land of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Coronica de los Conquiridores, pg. 250)
Old Occitan
Occitan troubadours and trouveres often talk about crusading and Jerusalem, but rarely ever mention the kingdom itself. The only name I have found is the "Kingdom of Syria":
Regne de Suria
Ailas! lo regne de Suria / A tant perdut… (Alas! The Kingdom of Syria has lost so much)
(Ricaut Bonomel, pg. 702)
Regnes de Suria
Per vos er Damas envazitz / e Jerusalem conqueritz / e·l regnes de Suria estortz... (Through you, Damascus is invaded, and Jerusalem conquered, and the Kingdom of Syria liberated)
(Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, pg. 185)
Old Norse
Scandinavians sometimes went on crusade (notably King Sigurd I of Norway) and pilgrims came to the kingdom from as far away as Iceland. They wrote about the king (Jorsalakung) ruling in the city of Jerusalem (Jorsalaborg) in the land of the Jerusalem (Jorsalaland), and occasionally they had a name for the kingdom as well:
Jórsalaríki
Ok sem hann er staddr í Jórsalaríki… (and when he stayed in the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Thomas Saga Erkibyskups, pg. 353)
Middle High German
The kingdom is mentioned in a poem about Ludwig of Thuringia on the Third Crusade:
Jerusalem riche
…wart gecronet werdicliche / tzu Jerusalem deme riche (he rightly received the crown of the Kingdom of Jerusalem) (von der Hagen, pg. 8)
A 13th-century charter issued by Frederick II's son, Conrad IV, mentions the kingdom. Conrad's mother had been the queen of Jerusalem, so he was technically king, although he never left Europe:
Kuncriche Jerusalem
Wir Cuonrat in Romschen kunc erwelt von der gotes gnade unde erbe des kuncriches ze Jerusalem... (We, Conrad, king-elect of the Romans, and by God's grace heir of the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 5, pt. 2, pg. 1200)
One medieval poem mentions Conrad's "kingdom of Acre":
Akers kunicrich
...verdienet Âkers künicrîch, und ouch Ceciljenlant… (he gained the Kingdom of Acre, and also the land of Sicily)
(Der Marner, pg. 117)
Middle Low German
The kingdom is mentioned in a Low German version of Ludolf of Suchen’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land:
Koningrike van Jherusalem
…unde de eddelen, unde de baronen des landes, unde legeden dat koningrike van Jherusalem in Ciprum… (and the nobles and barons of the land moved the Kingdom of Jerusalem to Cyprus)
(Ludolf von Suchen, ch. 9, pg. 27)
Different versions of the 14th-century Detmar Chronik spell the name of the kingdom in various ways:
Konyngrike to Jerusalem
…myt er nam he dat konyngrike to Jerusalem (he gained the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Detmar Chronik, ver. 1, ch. 213, pg. 82)
Koninghrike to Jerusalem
…mit der nam he dat koninghrike to Jerusalem
(Detmar Chronik, ver. 3, ch. 213, pg. 314)
Koningrike van Jerusalem
…mit dere nam he dat koningrike van Jerusalem
(Sächsischen Weltchronik, ch. 379, pg. 250)
Middle English
As with Italian, there doesn't seem to be a contemporary name in English, but the French version of William of Tyre was translated into Middle English in the 15th century:
Royamme of Iherusalem
...ffor Godeffroye was duc of Loreyne after his vncle, and had also after the Royamme of Iherusalem.
(Godeffroy of Boloyne, ch. 196, pg. 286)
The kingdom is also mentioned in the 15th-century chronicle of Richard Pynson:
Realme of Hierusalem
...that Christen men myght occupy the realme of Hierusalem...
(A Lytell Chronicle, pg. 78)
And in the 16th-century translation of the Swan Knight:
Realme of the Holy Land of Jerusalem
...Of the which the first was Godfrey of Boulyon, the which sithen conquered and posseded the realme of the holy lande of Jerusalem.
(Helyas, Knight of the Swan, pg. 105)
The "Kingdom of Syria" is mentioned in the 14th-century romance Richard Coer de Lyon:Kyngdom of Surrye
...The pope, Urban, has to us sent / Hys bulle and hys comaundement: / How the Sawdon has fyght begunne, / The toun of Acres he has wunne / Thorwgh the Eerl Roys and hys trehcherye, / And al the kyngdom of Surrye...
(Richard Coer de Lyon, pg. 52)
Middle Welsh
Welsh chroniclers sometimes mentioned the crusades, but they have no name for the kingdom and only rarely mention the king:
Brenhin Kaerussalem
...ac yny blaen yn tywyssogyon yd oed brenhin Kaerussalem a phadriarch Kaerussalem - the leaders of which were the King of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Jerusalem
(Brut Y Tywysogion, pg. 304)
Old East Slavic
The Russian abbot Daniel of Kiev visited Jerusalem in the early 12th century. He also gives no name for the kingdom but mentions the "prince", Baldwin I:
Князь Иерусалимский (Knyaz' Iyerusalimskiy, Prince of Jerusalem)
Пошел князь иерусалимский Балдуин на войну к Дамаску путем тем, к Тивериодскому морю… (Poshel knyaz' iyerusalimskiy Balduin na voynu k Damasku putem tem, k Tiveriodskomu moryu - Baldwin, Prince of Jerusalem Baldwin was about to make war in the direction of Damascus, and to follow the road to the Sea of Tiberias
(Daniel of Kiev, pg. 85)
Byzantine Greek
Very few Greek sources refer to the kingdom at all. Modern Greek books call Jerusalem a “basileion”, but for medieval Greek there was only one basileion, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Other states were inferior kingdoms, and Medieval Greek authors used a Latin-derived term to describe them:
Ῥηγάτον τῶν Ἰεροσολύμων (Rēgaton tēs Ierosolymōn, Kingdom of Jerusalem)
...ὅτι ή μακαρία ψυχἡ τοῦ ρἐ Ἄμαρη ἔδωκεν τούτην τὴν ὲλευθερίαν εὶσ ὅλον τὸ ῥηγάτον τῶν Ὶεροσολύμων (hoti ē makaria psyche tou re Amarē edōken toutēn tēn eleutherian eis holon to rēgaton tōn Ierosolymōn - that the blessed soul of King Amaury gave this freedom to the entire kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Sathas, Assizes of Jerusalem, pg. 51)
Ῥηγάτον της Συρίας (Rēgaton tēs Syrias, Kingdom of Syria)
...Καὶ
ἀφοὺ γὰρ ἐπλάτυνεν τῶν Φραγκῶν ἡ ἀφεντία / εἰς τὸ ῥηγᾶτο τῆς Συρίας
(Kai aphou gar eplatynen tōn Frankōn ē aphentia / eis to rēgato tēs
Syrias - and after the expansion of the Franks, who ruled in the Kingdom of Syria)
(Chronicle of Morea, line 112-113, pg. 9)
Some Greek authors do not have a name for the kingdom, but they do mention the "king of Jeruslaem" or the "king of Palestine", using the Latin word "rex" transliterated into Greek:
Ῥὴξ Ἰεροσολύμων (Rēx Ierosolymōn, King of Jerusalem)
ὁ dὲ Γοντοφρὲ ῥὴξ Ἰεροσολύμων... (ho de Godofrey, rex Ierosolymōn - but Godfrey, King of Jerusalem)
(Anna Komnene, book 11, ch. 7.3, pg. 343)
Ῥὴξ Παλαιστίνησ (Rēx Palaistinēs, King of Palestine)
Βαλδουῖνοσ δὲ ὁ Παλαιστίνησ ῥὴξ... (Baldouinos de ho Palaistinēs rēx - but Baldwin, King of Palestine)
(John Kinnamos, book 50, ch. 4.19, pg. 183)
As far as I have seen, there is no corresponding "Kingdom of Palestine" in Greek.
Arabic
As in Greek, Arabic authors tend to refer to the king instead of the kingdom, but there are several names for the kingdom as well.
مملكة القدس (mamlakah al-Quds, Kingdom of Jerusalem) -
...والآن قد خلص لنا جميع مملكة القدس (wal-ān qad khalasa linā jamīʿ mamlakah al-Quds - and now all the Kingdom of Jerusalem has been preserved for us)
(Abu Shama, pg. 391)
البلاد الشامية الافرنجية (al-bilād ash-Shāmiyyah al-Ifranjiyyah, Land of Frankish Syria) -
...و من جميل صنع الله تعالى لاسرى المغاربة بهذة البلاد الشامية الافرنجية (wa min jamīl ṣanaʿ Allah taʿālā li-asrā al-Maġāribah bi-hiḏah al-bilād ash-Shāmiyyah al-Ifranjiyyah - and it is beautiful, what God Almighty did for the Maghribi prisoners in the land of Frankish Syria)
(Ibn Jubayr, pg. 307)
مملكة الشام القدسية (mamlakah ash-Shām al-qudsiyyah, Jerusalemite Kingdom of Syria)
...مالك ألمانية...ومملكة الشام القدسية معز إمام رومية... (malik Almāniyyah...wa mamlakah
ash-Shām al-qudsiyyah, muʿizz imām Rōmiyyah - King of Germany...and of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, protector of the Roman pope)
(Letter from Frederick II to al-Kamil, al-Tarikh al-Mansuri, pg. 34)
ملك الشام الفرنجي (mulk ash-Shām al-franjiyy, Frankish dominion of Syria)
...فکانت...مقدمة لملك الشام الفرنجي... (fa-kānat...muqaddimah li-mulk ash-Shām al-franjiyy - they were... a vanguard against the Frankish dominion of Syria)
(Abu Shama, pg. 492 - from the context, the word is apparently "mulk" rather than "malik")
زمان الفرنج (zamān al-Faranj, reign of the Franks)
...صهاريج قدیمة کانت من زمان الفرنج... (ṣahārīj qadīmah kānat min zamān al-Faranj - old cisterns that were left from the reign of the Franks)
(al-Yunini, pg. 9 - zamān normally means "time" but can also refer to a kingdom)
مملكة عكا (mamlakah ʿAkka, Kingdom of Acre)
...المباركة التي استقرت بيني وبين مملكة عكا... (al-mubārakah allatī istaqarrat baynī wa bayna
mamlakah ʿAkka - the blessing that was settled between myself and between the Kingdom of Acre)
(Ibn al-Furat, pg. 270)
Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be a Latin or French equivalent of "Kingdom of Acre", even though that name is very common in modern English.
Sometimes there is no name for the kingdom and the king is simply the "king of the Franks":
ملك الافرنج (malik al-Ifranj) -
...كنت اتردّد الى ملك الافرنج (Kuntu ataraddadu ilā malik al-Ifranj... - I used to stay with the king of the Franks)
(Usama ibn Munqidh, pg. 81)
Classical Armenian
The name of the kingdom is found in the Armenian version of Michael the Syrian's chronicle:
թագաւորութիւն յերուսաղէմ (T’agaworowt’iwn Yerowsaġem, Kingdom of Jerusalem)
...զի բարձցէ զթագաւորութիւնն որ յերուսաղէմ... (zi barjc’ē zT’agaworowt’iwnin or Yerowsaġem... - in order to destroy the Kingdom of Jerusalem)
(Michael the Syrian, pg. 474)
Just a few lines later the king of Jerusalem is mentioned, with a slightly different spelling:թագաւորն Երուսաղէմի (T’agaworn Erowsaġemi, King of Jerusalem)
Եւ Թագաւորն Երուսաղէմի (Ամաւրի) եկն ի վերայ Դամասկոսի... (Ew T’agaworn Erowsaġemi (Amaory) ekn i veroy Damaskosi... - And the King of Jerusalem (Amalric) marched against Damascus)
(Michael the Syrian, pg. 474-475)
Syriac
The Syriac version of Michael the Syrian also gives the name of the kingdom:
ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܦܪܢܓܐ ܕܐܘܪܫܠܡ (Malkutha d-Faranja d-Urishlem, Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem)
...ܡܠܟܘܬܐ…ܕܦܪܢܓܐ ܕܐܘܪܫܠܡ ܘ ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ... (malkuta d-Faranja d-Urishlem w-Antiokya - the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem and Antioch)
(Chabot, Michael the Syrian, book 29, ch. 11, pg. 705)
I haven't found any other Syriac references to the kingdom, but Bar Hebraeus often refers to the king:
ܡܠܟܐ ܕܐܘܪܫܠܡ (malka d-Urishlem)
ܣܝܪ ܐܡܘܪܝ ܐܝܘܗܝ ܕܡܠܟܐ ܕܐܘܪܫܠܡ (Sir Amori ayohi d-malka d-Urishlem - Lord Amaury, brother of the king of Jerusalem)
(Bar Hebraeus, pg. 327)
Middle Georgian
Georgian chronicles also do not seem to have a name for thee kingdom, nor do they ever directly mention the king. One author apparently heard that there were "Alemanni" in Jerusalem, presumably from a French or Arabic source:
იერუსალიმს ალამანთა (Ierusalims Alamanta, Alemanni in Jerusalem)
...მეფენი ბერძენთანი, იერუსალიმს ალამანთა... (mepeni berdzentani, ierusalims alamanta - the Greek kings and the Alemanni in Jerusalem)
(The History and Eulogy of Monarchs, pg. 705)
The Life of King David IV mentions the usual term, the Franks:
ფრანგეთისანი (Prangetisani)
...მეფენი და ჴელმწიფენი ოვსეთისა და ყივჩაყეთისანი, სომხეთისა და ფრანგეთისანი... (mepeni da qelmts’ipeni ovsetisa da q’ivchaq’etisani, somkhetisa da prangetisani - The kings and sovereigns of Ossetia, the country of Qi’pchaks, Armenia, the lands of the Franks)
(Life of David, pg. 360)
Other languages
I haven’t been able to find a
name in Hebrew. The Jewish pilgrims Benjamin of Tudela and Petachiach
of Regensburg mostly ignore the crusaders and don't seem to call the
kingdom anything at all in Hebrew. Is the kingdom mentioned in medieval literature
in Irish? Galician? Could there be names in Coptic, Turkish,
Persian? Possibly other languages as well? If anyone has any suggestions
I will certainly add them to the page.
Sources
Latin
Historia diplomatica Friderici Secundi, ed. Jean-Louis-Alphonse Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 3 (Paris, 1852) and vol. 6, pt. 2 (Paris, 1861)
Roger de Wendover, The Flowers of History, ed. Henry G. Hewlett, vol. 1 (London, 1886)
Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, ed. Frederick Madden, vol. 2 (London, 1866)
Regni Iherosolymitani Brevis Historia, Caffaro, Annales Ianuenses, and Caffaro, Liberatio Orientis, ed. Luigi Belgrano, Annali genovesi di Caffaro e de' suoi continuatori, vol. 1 (Genoa, 1890)
Gislebert of Mons, Chronicon Hanoniense, ed. George Pertz, Monumenta Germania Historica Scriptores, vol. 21 (Hannover, 1869)
Roger of Howden, Chronica, ed. William Stubbs, vol. 3 (London, 1870)
Albert of Aachen, Historia Ierosolimitana: History of the Journey to Jerusalem, ed. and trans. Susan B. Edgington (Oxford University Press, 2007)
Robert de Torigny, Chronique, ed. Léopold Delisle, vol. 1 (Rouen, 1872)
Willelmi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi Chronicon, ed. R. B. C. Huygens, Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Medievalis vol. 63-63A, Brepols, 1986.
Chronicon Placentinum, ed. Ludovico Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores vol. 16 (Milan, 1730)
Fulcher of Chartres, History Hierosolymitana, ed. Heinrich Hagenmeyer (Heidelberg, 1913)
Peter of Blois, Epistolae, ed. Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologia Latina vol. 207 (Paris, 1855)
Gerard of Wales, Expugnatio Hibernica, ed. James F. Dimock (London, 1867)
Les Registres d'Alexandre IV, ed. Charles Bourel de la Roncière (Paris, 1895)
Old French
John of Ibelin, Le Livre des Assises, ed. Peter W. Edbury (Brill, 2003)
Philip of Novara, Le Livre de Forme de Plait, ed. and trans. Peter W. Edbury (Cyprus Research Centre, 2009)
Jean de Joinville, Vie de Saint Louis, ed. Jacques Monfrin (Paris, 2002)
Philip D. Handyside, The Old French William of Tyre (Brill, 2015)
Peter W. Edbury, “A new text of the Annales de Terre Sainte”, In Laudem Hierosolymitani: Studies in Crusades and Medieval Culture in Honour of Benjamin Z. Kedar, ed. Iris Shagrir, Ronnie Ellenblum, Jonathan Riley-Smith (Ashgate, 2007)
E.G. Rey, Recherches géographiques et historiques sur la domination des Latins en Orient (Paris, 1877)
La Règle du Temple, ed. Henri de Curzon (Paris, 1886)
The Anonimalle Chronicle, 1333 to 1381, ed. V.H. Galbraith (Manchester. 1927)
La traduction de l'Historia Orientialis de Jacques de Vitry, ed. Claude Buridant (Paris, 1986)
Guillaume de Tyr et ses continuateurs, vol. 1, ed. Alexis Paulin Paris (Paris, 1879)
"Emprunts de Saint Louis en Palestine et en Afrique", ed. G. Servois, in Bibliothèque de l’école des chartes 29, no. 4 (Paris, 1857)
Robert de Clari, La conquête de Constantinople, ed. Philippe Lauer (Paris, 1924)
Livre de la conquiste de la Princée de Morée, ed. Jean Longnon (Paris, 1911)
Italian
Louis de Mas Latrie, Histoire de l’Île de Chypre sous la règne des princes de la Maison de Lusignan, vol. 3 (Paris, 1852)
Assises du Royaume de Jérusalem (textes français et italien), ed. Victor Foucher, vol. 1, pt. 1 (Rennes, 1839)
Chroniques d’Amadi et de Strambaldi, ed. René de mas Latrie, pt. 2, Chronique de Strambaldi (Paris, 1893)
Florio Bustron, Chronique de l’Île de Chypre, ed. René de mas Latrie (Paris, 1884)
Istoria di Ricordano Malispini, ed. Crescentino Giannini, (Bologna 1867)
Cronica di Giovanni Villani, ed. F.G. Dragomanni, vol. 1 (Florence, 1844)
Cronaca Fiorentina, in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, vol. 30 (1903)
Old Castilian
La Gran conquista de Ultramar, ed. Louis Cooper (Madison, 1989)
La fazienda de Ultra Mar, ed. Moshé Lazar (Salamanca, 1965)
Old Catalan
Jesús Ernesto Martínez Ferrando, Jaime II de Aragón (Barcelona, 1948)
"Noticiario Valenciano", in Boletín de la Sociedad Arqueológica Luliana, vol. 4 (1892)
Old Aragonese
Juan Fernandez de Heredia, Coronica de los Conquiridores, ed. G.U. Umphrey, “Aragonese texts now edited for the first time”, Revue hispanique vol 16 (1907)
Old Occitan
Ricaut Bonomel, "Ir' e dolors s' es dins mon cor asseza", in Giulio Bertoni, "Il serventese di Ricaut Bonomel (1265)", Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie 34.6 (1910)
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, "No m'agras' iverns ni pascors", in Alfons Serra-Baldó, Els trobadors (Barcelona, 1934)
Old Norse
Thomas Saga Erkibyskups, ed. Eirikr Magnusson, vol. I (London, 1875)
Middle High German
Des Landgrafen Ludwig’s des Frommen Kreuzfahrt, ed. Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen (Leipzig, 1854)
Historia diplomatica Friderici Secundi, ed. Jean-Louis-Alphonse Huillard-Bréholles, vol. 5, pt. 2 (Paris, 1859)
Der Marner, ed. Philipp Strauch (London, 1876)
Middle Low German
Ludolf von Suchen, Reisebuch ins heilige Land, ed. Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten (Greifswald, 1861)
Sächsischen Weltchronik, ed. L. Weiland, in MGH Scriptorum qui vernaculars lingua usi sunt, vol. 2 (Hannover, 1877)
"Detmar-Chronik", ver. 1 and 3, in Die Chroniken der niedersächsichen Städte: Lübeck, ed. Karl Koppmann (Leipzig, 1884)
Middle English
William Caxton, Godeffroy of Boloyne or the Siege and Conquest of Jerusalem, ed. Mary Noyes Colvin (London, 1893)
Richard Pynson, A Lytell Chronicle, ed. Glenn Burger (University of Toronto Press, 1988)
"Helyas, Knight of the Swan", in Early English Prose Romances, vol. III, ed. William J. Thoms (London, 1858)
Middle Welsh
Brut Y Tywysogion: The Chronicle of the Princes, ed. John Williams ab Ithel (London, 1860)
Old East Slavic
Literary monuments of Ancient Russia, XII century, vol. 1, ed. M.A. Venevitinova (1883) (Памятники литературы Древней Руси. XII век., т. I, под ред. М. А. Веневитинова (1883))
Byzantine Greek
Assizes of Jerusalem, ed., Konstantine N. Sathas, Bibliotheca graeca Media Aevi, vol. 6 (Venice 1877)
Leontios Makhairas, Chronique de Chypre, ed. Emmanuel C. Miller and Konstantine N. Sathas (Paris, 1882)
The Chronicle of Morea, ed. John Schmitt (London, 1904)
Anna Komnene, Alexias, ed. Diether R. Reinsch and Athanasios Kambylis, vol. 1, Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae Series Berolinensis vol. 40, pt. 1 (Walter de Gruyter, 2001)
John Kinnamos, Rerum ab Ioannes et Alexio [sic] Comnenis Gestarum, ed. Augustus Meineke, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (Bonn, 1836)
Arabic
Abu Shama, Le Livre des deux jardins, ed. A.-C. Barbier de Meynard, Recueil des historiens des croisades, Historiens orientaux, vol. 4 (Paris, 1898)
Usamah ibn Munqidh, Usamah's Memoirs Entitled Kitab al-i'tibar, ed. Philip K. Hitti (Princeton University Press, 1930)
Ibn al-Qalanisi, History of Damascus, ed. H. F. Amedroz (Brill, 1908)
The Travels of Ibn Jubayr, ed. William Wright, 2nd ed., rev. M.J. De Goeje (Brill, 1907)
al-Tarikh al-Mansuri, ed. Michele Amari, Biblioteca Arabo-Sicula, appendix II (Leipzig, 1887)
Moshe Sharon and Ami Schrager, "Frederick II’s Arabic inscription from Jaffa (1229)", Crusades 11 (2012)
The History of Ibn al-Furat, ed. Q. Zurayk, vol. 7 (Beirut, 1942)
Early Mamluk Syrian Historiography: Al-Yunini’s Dhayl Mir’at al-Zaman, ed. Li Guo, vol. 2 (Brill, 1998)
Classical Armenian
Mikhayeli Patriark'i Asorwoy Zhanranakagrut'iwn (Chronicle of Lord Michael, Syrian Patriarch), ed. anonymous, (Jerusalem, 1870)
Syriac
Chronique de Michel le Syrien, ed. Jean-Baptiste Chabot, vol. 4 (Paris, 1910)
Gregorii Barhebraei Chronicon Syriacum, ed. Paul Bedjan (Paris, 1890)
Middle Georgian
"The Life of David, King of Kings", in The Georgian Chronicle, ed. Simon. Qaukhch'ishvili (Tbilisi, 1955)
"The History and Eulogy of Monarchs", in The Georgian Chronicle, ed. Roin Metreveli, (Tbilisi, 2008)
General
Mary Whitby, ed., Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204 (Oxford University Press, 2007)
