ABSTRACT
Historians have long noted the strong similarities between the accounts of the First Crusade given by the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum, and by Raymond of Aguilers in his Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem. 1 The obvious similarity between their accounts of the interview between Alexius I and Count Raymond of Toulouse on or about 22 April 1097 was remarked on by the earliest editors and bibliographers of crusader manuscripts. 2 Jacques Bongars commented on the point in the introduction to his collection of crusade sources. Caspar von Barth, in his commentary on the Bongars collection, stated that Raymond of Aguilers had copied from the Gesta in this passage: 'Primi auctoris (i.e. anonymi) verba ipsissima ponit Raimundus iste, cum tamen in alio fuerit exercitu, et aeque rebus gestis ipse adfuerit, quae sane res mira mihi obvenit. ' 3
Discussion of the relationship between the two chronicles had been much influenced by this passage which is reproduced here in parallel texts as Appendix 1. The accounts are startlingly close but Raymond of Aguilers gives more details of the exchanges between Count Raymond and Emperor Alexius and
explainsthemotiveforCountRaymond'sangeragainsttheemperor.Further, henotesthearrivaloftheProvenryalarmyandtheBishopofLePuy,andadds thattheemperorgaveCountRaymondfewpresents.Theclosenessofthetwo accountsisstriking,andthis,togetherwithcertainanomalies,hasgivenrise toconflictingviewsoftherelationshipbetweenthetwochronicles.
