Gunther of Pairis: Historia Constantinopolitana

Gunther, a monk of the Cistercian abbey of Pairis in the diocese of Basel, wrote this history of the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. The text here opens with notes by the editors Canisius and Basnage, explaining that the manuscript bore only the title Historia Constantinopolitana and that the author’s name and monastery can be learned from the text, and that Gunther took his information from Martin, abbot of Pairis, who took part in the expedition. The author’s prologue follows, promising that his narrative contains nothing false or doubtful. The history then follows the crusaders to Constantinople; in the sample they camp outside the city awaiting the young emperor’s promised payments.

Gunther’s account is centred on Abbot Martin, who brought back a large collection of relics from Constantinople for his monastery, and its purpose is partly to authenticate these relics. It is nonetheless a valuable independent source for the Fourth Crusade, written within a few years of the events and based on an eyewitness, and it combines prose narrative with passages of verse.