Pactum Warmundi
Encyclopedia
The Pactum Warmundi was a treaty of alliance established in 1123 between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
and the Republic of Venice
.
was taken prisoner by the Artuqids, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was subsequently invaded by the Fatimids of Egypt
. The Doge of Venice
, Domenico Michele
, set sail with a large fleet, which defeated the Egyptian fleet off the coast of Syria and captured many ships. The Venetians then landed at Acre
; the Doge completed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he celebrated Christmas
, and met with Patriarch Gormond and the Constable
William Buris
, governing Jerusalem in place of Baldwin II. It was agreed that the Venetian fleet would help the crusaders attack either Tyre or Ascalon
, the only two cities on the coast still under Muslim control; the barons from the south of the Kingdom wanted to attack Ascalon, while those in the north preferred to direct the fleet against Tyre, which was larger and wealthier and a valuable port for enemy Damascus
further inland. According to William of Tyre
, "The matter came near resulting in a dangerous quarrel." Tyre was chosen by lot.
, and thus it is known as the Pactum Warmundi ("Warmundus" being the Latin
form of his name). Earlier treaties had been negotiated between Jerusalem and the Venetians and other Italian city-states
, and the Venetians themselves had been granted privileges in 1100 and 1110 in return for military assistance, but this treaty was far more extensive. The Pactum granted the Venetians their own church, street, square, baths, market, scales, mill, and oven in every city controlled by the King of Jerusalem, except in Jerusalem itself, where their autonomy was more limited. In the other cities, they were permitted to use their own Venetian scales to conduct business and trade when trading with other Venetians, but otherwise they were to use the scales and prices established by the King. In Acre, they were granted a quarter of the city, where every Venetian "may be as free as in Venice itself." In Tyre and Ascalon (though neither had yet been captured), they were granted one-third of the city and one-third of the surrounding countryside, possibly as many as twenty-one villages in the case of Tyre. These privileges were entirely free from taxation, but Venetian ships would be taxed if they were carrying pilgrims, and in this case the King would personally be entitled to one-third of the tax. For their help in the siege of Tyre, the Venetians were entitled to 300 "Saracen besants
" per year from the revenue of that city. They were permitted to use their own laws in civil suits between Venetians or in cases in which a Venetian was the defendant, but if a Venetian was the plaintiff the matter would be decided in the courts of the Kingdom. If a Venetian was shipwrecked or died in the Kingdom, his property would be sent back to Venice rather than being confiscated by the King. Anyone living in the Venetian quarter in Acre or the Venetian districts in other cities would be subject to Venetian law.
The Pactum was signed by Patriarch Gormond; Ehremar
, Archbishop of Caesarea
; Bernard, Bishop of Nazareth; Aschetinus, Bishop of Bethlehem; Roger, Bishop of Lydda; Guildin, abbot of St. Mary of Josaphat; Gerard, prior of the Holy Sepulchre
; Aicard, prior of the Templum Domini
; Arnold, Prior of Mt. Sion
; William Buris; and the chancellor, Pagan. Aside from William and Pagan, no secular authorities witnessed the treaty, perhaps indicating that the Venetians considered Jerusalem a papal fief.
as fully autonomous entities within the Kingdom; he asserted his feudal rights by asking for the service of three Venetian knights. The treaty seems to have been in force up to the fall of the Kingdom in 1291, and the Venetian communes in Acre and Tyre were particularly powerful and influential in the 13th century after the Kingdom lost Jerusalem and was reduced to a coastal state. They resisted Emperor Frederick II
's attempts to claim the Kingdom, and virtually ignored the authority the Lord of Tyre
, conducting affairs instead as if they controlled their own independent lordship — which, essentially, they did, thanks to the terms of the Pactum.
Other Italian and Provençal
city-states demanded and were granted similar commercial treaties by the King of Jerusalem throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, notably the Genoese
and Pisa
ns. The communes established by these treaties were in a sense an early form of European colonialism
, and were an important step in the commercial development of the Italian city-states that culminated in the Italian Renaissance
in the following centuries.
The text of the treaty is preserved in the chronicle of William of Tyre
, who must have taken it from a surviving copy in Tyre; Fulcher of Chartres
, a contemporary, barely mentions the treaty at all. The text was also published in Urkunden zur ältern Handels und Staatsgeschichte der Republik Venedig by G.L.F. Tafel and G.M. Thomas in 1856.
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
and the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
.
Background
In 1123, King Baldwin IIBaldwin II of Jerusalem
Baldwin II of Jerusalem , formerly Baldwin II of Edessa, also called Baldwin of Bourcq, born Baldwin of Rethel was the second count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and the third king of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death.-Ancestry:Baldwin was the son of Hugh, count of Rethel, and his wife Melisende,...
was taken prisoner by the Artuqids, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was subsequently invaded by the Fatimids of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The Doge of Venice
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...
, Domenico Michele
Domenico Michele
Domenico Michele was the 35th Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1117 to 1130.In August 1122 Domenico Michele led a Venetian fleet of 100 vessels and around 15,000 men for the defense of the Holy Lands. The fleet sailed under the flag of St. Peter, which the Pope had sent to Michele. Over the...
, set sail with a large fleet, which defeated the Egyptian fleet off the coast of Syria and captured many ships. The Venetians then landed at Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
; the Doge completed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he celebrated Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, and met with Patriarch Gormond and the Constable
Officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
There were six major officers of the kingdom of Jerusalem: the constable, the marshal, the seneschal, the chamberlain , the butler and the chancellor...
William Buris
William I of Bures
William of Bures was a French crusader from Bures-sur-Yvette, Ile-de-France.He arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem before 1115, with his brother Geoffrey. They were vassals of Joscelin I of Edessa....
, governing Jerusalem in place of Baldwin II. It was agreed that the Venetian fleet would help the crusaders attack either Tyre or Ascalon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
, the only two cities on the coast still under Muslim control; the barons from the south of the Kingdom wanted to attack Ascalon, while those in the north preferred to direct the fleet against Tyre, which was larger and wealthier and a valuable port for enemy Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
further inland. According to William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, "The matter came near resulting in a dangerous quarrel." Tyre was chosen by lot.
Treaty
A treaty of alliance was established between Jerusalem and the Venetians prior to the beginning of the siege of Tyre in February 1124 (the city capitulated to the crusaders later that year). The treaty was negotiated by Patriarch GormondWarmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Warmund, also Garmond, Gormond, Germond, Guarmond, or Waremond, was Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1118 to his death at Sidon in 1128. He was from Picquigny in Picardy....
, and thus it is known as the Pactum Warmundi ("Warmundus" being the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
form of his name). Earlier treaties had been negotiated between Jerusalem and the Venetians and other Italian city-states
Italian city-states
The Italian city-states were a political phenomenon of small independent states mostly in the central and northern Italian peninsula between the 10th and 15th centuries....
, and the Venetians themselves had been granted privileges in 1100 and 1110 in return for military assistance, but this treaty was far more extensive. The Pactum granted the Venetians their own church, street, square, baths, market, scales, mill, and oven in every city controlled by the King of Jerusalem, except in Jerusalem itself, where their autonomy was more limited. In the other cities, they were permitted to use their own Venetian scales to conduct business and trade when trading with other Venetians, but otherwise they were to use the scales and prices established by the King. In Acre, they were granted a quarter of the city, where every Venetian "may be as free as in Venice itself." In Tyre and Ascalon (though neither had yet been captured), they were granted one-third of the city and one-third of the surrounding countryside, possibly as many as twenty-one villages in the case of Tyre. These privileges were entirely free from taxation, but Venetian ships would be taxed if they were carrying pilgrims, and in this case the King would personally be entitled to one-third of the tax. For their help in the siege of Tyre, the Venetians were entitled to 300 "Saracen besants
Bezant
Bezant is a medieval term for a gold coin from the Byzantine Empire, which term is derived from the Greek name Βυζάντιον for the relatively minor city which in the 4th c. became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great...
" per year from the revenue of that city. They were permitted to use their own laws in civil suits between Venetians or in cases in which a Venetian was the defendant, but if a Venetian was the plaintiff the matter would be decided in the courts of the Kingdom. If a Venetian was shipwrecked or died in the Kingdom, his property would be sent back to Venice rather than being confiscated by the King. Anyone living in the Venetian quarter in Acre or the Venetian districts in other cities would be subject to Venetian law.
The Pactum was signed by Patriarch Gormond; Ehremar
Ehremar
Ehremar or Ebramar or Evremar was Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1102 to 1105 or 1107, and then Archbishop of Caesarea.Ehremar was a priest from Thérouanne in France who in old age went east with the First Crusade...
, Archbishop of Caesarea
Archbishop of Caesarea
The Archbishop of Caesarea was one of the major suffragans of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem during the Crusades. The Bishop of Caesarea became metropolitan of Palestine in the early 3rd century but after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 he was subordinate to the Patriarch of Jerusalem...
; Bernard, Bishop of Nazareth; Aschetinus, Bishop of Bethlehem; Roger, Bishop of Lydda; Guildin, abbot of St. Mary of Josaphat; Gerard, prior of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan....
; Aicard, prior of the Templum Domini
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
; Arnold, Prior of Mt. Sion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
; William Buris; and the chancellor, Pagan. Aside from William and Pagan, no secular authorities witnessed the treaty, perhaps indicating that the Venetians considered Jerusalem a papal fief.
Results of the treaty
Baldwin II ratified the Pactum upon his release from captivity in 1125, although he refused to recognize the Venetian communesMedieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
as fully autonomous entities within the Kingdom; he asserted his feudal rights by asking for the service of three Venetian knights. The treaty seems to have been in force up to the fall of the Kingdom in 1291, and the Venetian communes in Acre and Tyre were particularly powerful and influential in the 13th century after the Kingdom lost Jerusalem and was reduced to a coastal state. They resisted Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
's attempts to claim the Kingdom, and virtually ignored the authority the Lord of Tyre
Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries.-Introduction:According to the 13th century jurist John of Ibelin the four highest barons in the kingdom proper were:* the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon...
, conducting affairs instead as if they controlled their own independent lordship — which, essentially, they did, thanks to the terms of the Pactum.
Other Italian and Provençal
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
city-states demanded and were granted similar commercial treaties by the King of Jerusalem throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, notably the Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
ns. The communes established by these treaties were in a sense an early form of European colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
, and were an important step in the commercial development of the Italian city-states that culminated in the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
in the following centuries.
The text of the treaty is preserved in the chronicle of William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, who must have taken it from a surviving copy in Tyre; Fulcher of Chartres
Fulcher of Chartres
Fulcher of Chartres was a chronicler of the First Crusade. He wrote in Latin.- Life :His appointment as chaplain of Baldwin of Boulogne in 1097 suggests that he had been trained as a priest, most likely at the school in Chartres...
, a contemporary, barely mentions the treaty at all. The text was also published in Urkunden zur ältern Handels und Staatsgeschichte der Republik Venedig by G.L.F. Tafel and G.M. Thomas in 1856.
Sources
- Norwich, John JuliusJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
. A History of Venice. Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
: New York, 1982. - William of TyreWilliam of TyreWilliam of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E.A. Babcock and A.C. Krey. Columbia University PressColumbia University PressColumbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
, 1943.