Tractatus de locis et statu sancte terre ierosolimitane
The Tractatus de locis et statu sancte terre ierosolimitane is a short anonymous Latin treatise on the geography and ethnography of the Kingdom of Jerusalem written in the late 12th or early 13th century. It was an influential and widely used tract. It places the "land of Jerusalem" ("terra ierosolimitana") at the centre of the world and describes it in detail. It lists its neighbours, the various Christian denominations living in it and the different European groups. It describes the special status of the Pisan, Genoese and Venetian communities within the kingdom . It contains a short description of the Hospitallers, a lengthy description of the Templars and a detailed description of the Latin ecclesiastical structure of the kingdom. The Christian holy places are listed in the sequence in which they appear in the ministry of Jesus. The names of the kingdom's main cities at different times are listed. The physical geography, fauna and fruit-bearing trees of the kingdom are given. At the end of the treatise, the feudal structure of the kingdom is detailed, including the king's coronation oath and the service that the barons of the kingdom owe . The most important barons and the number of knights they were required to supply are given. The Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli are described as beyond the kingdom's borders, but its vassals nevertheless. Finally, the non-Christian inhabitants of the kingdom are noted. In content and structure, the "Tractatus" is utterly unlike contemporary pilgrimage accounts. The date of the text is disputed. Hans Eberhard Mayer dated it no more precisely than to the late 12th century, without stating his reasons. Its most recent editor, Benjamin Kedar, dates it on internal grounds to between 1168 and 1187 . He rejects its reference to the coronation of King Leo I of Armenia in 1198 as a later addition to the text. Paolo Trovato, on the other hand, dates it to after 1198 on philological grounds. Manuscripts. The "Tractatus" is found in whole or in part in at least nine manuscripts: