This text of the Anonymous Gesta Francorum is intended primarily for students of Classical Latin with a preliminary knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, as acquired perhaps in a year of introductory Latin at the college or university level. It may also be helpful to students in schools, or to anyone returning Latin after some time away from it. The Latin of the Gesta Francorum is usually quite straightforward, even allowing for features that will be unfamiliar to those new to Medieval Latin, and the narrative has sufficient momentum that it will often allow the reader to guess intelligently at what is being said.
Although the notes often identify grammar and vocabulary specific to Medieval Latin (ML), I have not attempted to point to every instance in which the Latin of the Gesta departs from what a Classical Latinist would expect. Instead, I have tried to offer help whenever a student of Classical Latin (CL) might easily be puzzled or misled by Medieval usage, and in such cases I have thought it important to indicate the word or construction that we would expect to find in Classical Latin. For a detailed study of the Latin see the article by John Gavignan, “The Syntax of the Gesta Francorum” (see below).
This text was taken originally from The Latin Library, with macrons added thanks to The Latin Macronizer. The text is largely of Rosalind Hill, The Deeds of the Franks and the Other Pilgrims to Jerusalem (Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford, 1962), but I have added section numbers to the book and chapter headings of the text in Hill. I have also used classical Latin spellings instead of medieval ones, and regularized the spellings of most proper names.
Cover image: enamel plate depicting Godfrey of Bouillon; enameler Colin Nouailher (French), based on a woodcut by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen; ca. 1541. Metropolitan Museum, New York, object Number: 1993.65.4. Photo credit: Flickr user unforth.