The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

Tyre. Who was responsible to these accomplishments? Who governed the community in these
times of crisis? How did it reflect on the relationships between Genoa and its settlers, inhabitants
of the kingdom of Jerusalem?
The period between 1187 and 1195 was probably the most significant time in the history
of the Genoese in the Latin East. Genoa's representatives in the Latin East were granted ten
charters during this short period, which enabled the reestablishment and the fast recovery of the
commune. A close examination of these charters and the people involved in the political and
diplomatic events is therefore important. The following table lists the charters, the names of the
lords who bestowed them, and the names of the Genoese recipients who represented the
commune.
Table 4: Charters granted to the Genoese between 1187 and 1195
Year 1187 * 1189 1190 1191 1192 1195
Date N/A April 11/04 14/04 04/05 26/10 April After May September
Granted
by.
Granted
in:
Barons of
Archbishop
Bohemond Conrad of King
the
Joscius
III of
Montferrat Guy
kingdom T re
Conrad of Henry of Henry of
King gy Guy
Montferrat Champagne Champagne
Tyre Tyre Tyre Tyre Acre Jaffa Tyre Acre Acre
Guglielmo
Recipients P ta
( (Piper iper? )
not
specified
Guido Spinola
[Rodoani
Marino
flio Guglielmo
tealoa ,
de
Nicola
Cartofigo Admiral
Ricio and Ugo Gafforio
Lercario
* The barons of the kingdom granted the Genoese two charters of which only one remains. A summary
of the missing charter from the late thirteenth century appears in the margins of the barons' charter that
was published. See CDG, vol. 2, no. 170, p. 319, note b.
An analysis of table 4 allows a better understanding of the process of recovery of the
Genoese commune and the ways it gained its new status in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Several
questions will be addressed in the analysis: who was appointed to manage the Genoese
community and by whom? How powerful were the representatives of the commune?
The charters from 1187 were given to the Genoese during the war, when Saladin's forces
were still advancing, threatening to overtake what remained of the crusader states. The first
charter was granted by the `barones regni lerosolimitani, ' which explains why it is commonly
known as the barons' charter. 524
The list of people in charge of the kingdom during the crisis as it
appears in this charter included religious authorities headed by Archbishop Joscius of Tyre and
the barons themselves including the lords of Caesarea, Tripoli, Jaffa, Sidon and representatives of
the military orders. The charter was granted at an unknown date amid the crisis, obviously before
Joscius set off to recruit crusaders in Europe and before Conrad of Montferrat became the lord of
524
1 Libri Iurium, vol. 1/2, no. 330
150