William of Tyre

William of Tyre (29 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. He was the archbishop of Tyre. He is sometimes known as William II so that he is not confused with his predecessor, William I, the Englishman.In his history, William of Tyre writes, "in the fourth year after Tyre had been [captured] (that is, in 1127/28), the king, patriarch, and other leading men elected (as archbishop of Tyre) William, the venerable prior of the church of the Sepulchre of the Lord", adding that this William was "an Englishman by birth, and a man of most exemplary life and character". A few chapters later, William reports that when the Patriarch Stephen died (in 1130), "he was succeeded by William, prior of the church of the Sepulchre of the Lord…He was Flemish by birth, a native of Mesines." Two Williams were prior of the Holy Sepulchre at an early time then, with William of Mesines (Flanders) probably directly succeeding William the Englishman as Prior of the Holy Sepulchre. This also means that William of Mesines could only have been prior from 1127 (the year of the election of William the Englishman to the archbishopric of Tyre) to 1130, the year of his own election as Patriarch. See William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea", Vol. 1, trans. Emily Babcock and A.C. Krey, Bk. XIII, Ch. 23 and Bk. XIII, Ch. 26. 

References

Category:1130s births
Category:1186 deaths
Category:Writers from Jerusalem
Category:Historians
Category:Ambassadors
Category:Academics