ABSTRACT
Saladin had captured Acre within a week of his victory at Hattin on 4 July 1187, but Guy of Lusignan, who regarded himself as the rightful king of Jerusalem, had been released by Saladin in the summer of 1188, and had gathered a relatively small force in an effort to regain the city. It arrived outside the walls on 28 August 1189. Among the leading members of this army was Gerard of Ridefort, Grand Master of the Temple since 1185. This version of Gerard’s death on 4 October of that year was written by the Norman poet, Ambroise, within ten years of the incident described, and probably very much sooner. Richard I is, of course, the central figure and hero of the poem, and it is natural that Ambroise should present those whom the king favoured, such as Guy of Lusignan, in as good a light as possible. Gerard of Ridefort, whose actions since 1185 show him to have been one of Guy’s closest associates, was likely to have benefited from this, although the poet never actually met him. Ambroise was a participant in the Third Crusade, but was not present at Ridefort’s death, having probably arrived at Acre in June 1191 with the main body of Richard I’s army. He must therefore have received his account from those already involved in the siege, which presumably means the Templars themselves.
