Walter the Chancellor
Encyclopedia
Walter the Chancellor was a French or Norman crusader and author of the twelfth century.

He served as Chancellor of the Principality of Antioch
Officers of the Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch mirrored the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in it selection of great offices: constable, marshal, seneschal, admiral, Chamberlain, butler, chancellor and at certain times also bailiff....

 and wrote "Bella Antiochena" ("Wars of Antioch" or "The Antiochene Wars") about the history of the Principality
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

 from 1114-1122, mostly during the reign of Roger of Salerno
Roger of Salerno
Roger of Salerno was regent of the Principality of Antioch from 1112 to 1119.He was the son of Richard of the Principate and the 2nd cousin of Tancred, Prince of Galilee, both participants on the First Crusade. He became regent of Antioch when Tancred died in 1112; the actual prince, Bohemund II,...

. He was certainly present at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis
Battle of Ager Sanguinis
In the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, also known as the Battle of the Field of Blood, the Battle of Sarmada, or the Battle of Balat, Roger of Salerno's Crusader army of the Principality of Antioch was annihilated by the army of Ilghazi of Mardin, the Artuqid ruler of Aleppo on June 28,...

 in 1119, in which Roger was defeated and killed by Ilghazi
Ilghazi
Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq was the Turkish Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122.- Biography :His father Artuk was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and had been appointed governor of Jerusalem by the Seljuq emir Tutush. When Artuk died, Ilghazi and his brother Sökmen succeeded him as...

, and Walter was probably taken into captivity for a brief time in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

. Nothing more is known about him. Even his place of origin is uncertain, as the editorial introduction of Receuil des Historiens des Croisades points out. Some authors claim on the basis of "gallicisms" in his Latin that he is of French origin, while others cite that fact that he is in the party, and writing a history of, the Norman Roger of Salerno. The text itself gives no indication.

The Bella Antiochena was written in two parts, the first sometime before Ager Sanguinis in 1119, and the second probably around 1122, or in stages from 1119 to 1122. The work was published in Jacques Paul Migne
Jacques Paul Migne
Jacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...

's Patrologia Latina
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....

 in 1853, the Receuil des Historiens des Croisades in 1895, and by H. Hagenmeyer in 1896. Walter was used as a source by the later 12th century chronicler William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...

.

Further reading

  • Thomas S. Asbridge and Susan B. Edgington (translators), 1999. Walter the Chancellor's "The Antiochene Wars": A Translation and Commentary, (Ashgate) ISBN 1-84014-263-4
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