William of Tyre

Medieval prelate and chronicler, archbishop of Tyre

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Lived 1130–1186, aged 56

Wikipedia
45 languages
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Era
1130–1186
Aged 56

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

A medieval archbishop who tutored a boy king, discovered the child had leprosy, then watched his own influence collapse in the court intrigue that followed. He died obscure, but his chronicle of twelfth-century Jerusalem — the only eyewitness account written by someone born there — became the definitive history of the Crusader kingdom.

Biography

About

William grew up in Jerusalem at the height of the Crusader kingdom, then spent twenty years studying liberal arts and canon law in European universities. After returning in 1165, King Amalric sent him as ambassador to Byzantium and made him tutor to the young Baldwin, whom William discovered to be a leper. He rose to chancellor and archbishop of Tyre, and in 1179 led the eastern delegation to the Third Council of the Lateran. But when a rival faction took control during Baldwin IV's reign, William's influence crumbled; he was passed over for Patriarch of Jerusalem and died in obscurity in 1186…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from William of Tyre

William of Tyre

saidundated

In the present work we seem to have fallen into manifold dangers and perplexities.

— Prologue (tr. Babcock and Krey, 1943, vol. 1, p. 54)

William of Tyre

saidundated

The Tyrians were now suffering most severely from hunger.

— Bk. XIII, ch. 13 (tr. Elizabeth Hallam, 1989, pp. 111–113)

William of Tyre

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Ascalon [Ashkelon] is one of the five cities of the Philistines.

— Bk. XVII, chs. 22-25, 27-30 (tr. James A. Brundage, 1962, pp. 70-73; PL, CCI, 126-136)

William of Tyre

saidundated

The whole territory of Egypt, from its furthermost frontiers, which are said to border on Ethiopia, lies between two sandy deserts which are doomed to perpetual sterility.

— Bk. XIX, ch. 23 (tr. James A. Brundage, 1962, pp. 136-38; PL, CCI, 770-71)

William of Tyre

saidundated