FOREWORD

"It was not without a providential purpose that the historical vicissitudes of the 13th Century brou ht the Order of the Friars !inor into the "oly #and$ Without interruption% up to the present day% the sons of &t$ Francis have re'ained in the land of (esus to serve the local church and to uard% restore% and protect the "oly Christian )laces$" *)aul +I% ,postolic E-hortation% .obis in ani'o% !arch /0% 11234 ,cta ,postolicae &aedis% 1123% 1536$ In fact% the Franciscan presence in the "oly #and dates bac7 to 1/12$ "owever% it was only in later ti'es that the Friars !inor beca'e the pri'e leaders in the peaceful liberation of the "oly )laces$ 8his study offers a brief but co'pact reconstruction of the providential events that brou ht the Franciscans into the principal "oly &ites$ 8he true history of how% in 1333% the #atin cler y% na'ely the Franciscans% ca'e to possess the "oly &ites and to officiate at the' has not been clearly understood$ Often one finds only the repetition of false or i'precise opinions$ 8he Franciscans did not e-pel other brothers in faith nor dis'iss the laws ac9uired by other Christian co''unities$ With reat sacrifice they 'ade their contribution to the arran e'ents which 'ade the Christian cult relive into the "oly )laces of the Rede'ption which had been in the control of !osle' authorities for centuries$ Fr$ De &andoli% the head:librarian of the library of the Custody of the "oly #and% is an i'passioned scholar of the Crusader era$ In this wor7 he confronts his sub;ect% in a non:pole'ic fashion% with the 7een desire to deepen our 7nowled e of that era which was filled with so 'any co'ple- historical events$ In this way he carefully uides us to a 7nowled e of the e-act events of that epoch by constant references to the first:hand historical sources$ Especially those which led to the i'portant ne otiations of 1333 in Cairo between &ultan !uha''ed En:.aser and the &overei ns of .aples% Robert and &ancha% and resulted into the renewed presence of the Christian cler y in the "oly )laces$ For 'ore than a century the Fran7s and the ,rabs were capable not only of warfare a ainst each other but were also capable of conductin reasonable% peaceful ne otiations *in 1//1% 1/31% and 13336 for the s'all parcels of land which had been 'ade holy by the presence of (esus and !ary% of who' both the ospels and the <oran spea7 with respect$ ,nother i'portant point worth underlinin is the fact that the Fran7ish *or #atin6 cler y were in favor of co:e-istence in certain shrines with the various Oriental Rites both before and after the .e otiations of 1333$ 8his reveals a ray of li ht on an era that is often re'e'bered only for its episodes of intolerance$ We hope that the wor7 will find a welco'e reception and will help to pro'ote further research% dialo ue% and love for the "oly )laces$ (erusale' 10 ,pril 111= Easter &unday Fr$ Carlo Cecchitelli% of' Custos of the "oly #and

&elected >iblio raphy

,$ ,racil% Il Sepolcro della Vergine e i Francescani% (erusale' 113=$ ,$ ,rce% Miscelnea de Tierra Santa% III% (erusale' 1120$ >$ >a atti% Gli antichi edifici sacri di Betlemme% ?erusale''e 110/$ >$ >a atti : E$ 8esta% Il Golgota e la Croce% (erusale' 1125$ D$ >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% Ierusale' 1100$ F$ Cardini% Le Crociate% Ro'a 1121$ , Couret% La Palestine sous les empereurs grecs% ?renoble 15@1$ ?$ DA,ndrea% I Frati Minori apoletani nel loro s!iluppo storico% .apoli 11@2$ &$ De &andoli% Church of the "ol# Sepulchre$ %e#s& 'oors& and 'oor(eepers% (erusale' 115@$ &$ De &andoli% Il primo con!ento francescano in Gerusalemme )*+,-.*+//0% &upple'ento a #a 8erra &anta% ?iu no:, osto% 1153$ &$ De &andoli% Itinera "ierosol#mitana Crucesignatorum% I:I+% (erusale' 1125:1153$ I$ De 8esta% 1ecueil des Trait2s de la Porte 3ttomane% III% )aris 15@@$ #eonardo Frescobaldi% Viaggio in Terra Santa% FirenBe 15@/% ?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I:+% Cuaracchi 11=@:11/2$ ?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% .&$% +I:D% Cuaracchi 11/1:113@$ ?$ ?olubovich% Serie cronologica dei primi superiori di Terra Santa% ?erusale''e 1515$ C$ #$ ?rotefend% "Die Edelherren von >oldensele"% 5eitschrift des "istorischen Vereines f6r iedersachsen% ( $ 150/% "annover 1500% /=1:/5@$ R$ ?rousset% "istoire des Croisades% I:III% )aris 1133:@$ R$ W$ "a'ilton% 7 Guide to Bethlehem% (erusale' 1131$ <$ "intlian% "istor# of the 7rmenians in the "ol# Land% (erusale' 112@$ R$ (anin% "#es ?Eor iens F (Erusale'"% Echos d83rient% 1113$ >$ de <hitrowo% Itin2raires 1usses en 3rient% ?enGve 1551$ Ch$ <ohler% "Hn Rituel et un >rEviare du &aint:&Epulchre de (Erusale' *DIII:DIII siGcle6"% 1e!ue de l83rient Latin% 5 *11==:11=16 331:30=$ ?$ #evi Della +ida% ",yyubidi"% Enciclopedia Italiana% v$ 0% !ilano : Ro'a 113=% @5@: @52$ Le Missioni Francescane in Palestina ed in altre regioni della terra% 151@$ .$ !oschopoulos% La Terre Sainte% ,thGnes 1102$ !oud;ir ed:Dyn% "istoire de 9:rusalem et "e4ron& traduite par "enr# Sau!aire& Fragments de la Chroni;ue% )aris 152@$ .iccolI da )o ibonsi% Vo#age Be#ond the Seas *,/<.*,=-% (erusale' 1130$ 1ecueil des "istoriens des Croisades& "istoriens 3rientau>% III% )aris 1553$ .$ Risciani% 'ocumenti e firmani% ?erusale''e 1131$ &$ Runci'an% 7 "istor# of Crusades% III% Ca'brid e 1100$ F$ &uriano% Treatise on the "ol# Land% (erusale' 1131$ 8$ 8obler : ,$ !olinier% Itinerum "ierosol#mitanorum et descriptionum Terrae Sanctae series chronologica% II% ?eneva 1550$ F$ 8ournabiBe% "istoire politi;ue et religieuse de l87rm2nie% )aris 11==$

?$ +antini% Il Cristianesimo nella u4ia antica% +erona 1150$ "$ +incent : F$:!$ ,bel% Bethl2em% )aris 1113$ I : "I&8ORIC,# )ER&)EC8I+E In order to better understand the history of how the Fran7ish cler y returned to the "oly )laces in the Fourteenth Century for the purpose of 'aintainin the &acred &ites and celebratin the Ro'an #itur y% it is necessary to ive a brief review of the history of the precedin centuries$ 8his review will be in with the death of our #ord and continue up to the loss of the Crusader <in do' of the "oly #and which occured when the E yptian !a'elu7e ,rabs occupied the city of ,cre in 1/11$ 8his history predates the Custody of the "oly #and *13336$ 8he Crusader )eriod *1=11: 1/116 is especially i'portant$ 8he ne-t epoch *1/11:10126 concerns the diplo'atic overtures of several European overn'ents which hoped to liberate the &anctuaries of the "oly #and$ Whereas the Crusaders tried to acco'plish this liberation 'ilitarily% these overn'ent officials tried another 'eans% na'ely% the peaceful 'eans of bilateral a ree'ents and le al contracts$ Even thou h this peaceful 'eans failed to obtain all that the Fran7s had lost in the precedin century% they did reach a satisfyin resultJ the "Fran7ish or #atin" cler y% represented by the Franciscan Reli ious% were able to enter into and officiate in four principal &anctuaries$ +arious Eastern Rites also ained privile es in these &anctuaries as a result of these accords$ Considerin the political circu'stances of the ti'es and the unli'ited hostility of the past% this was a 'a;or acco'plish'ent$ I : 1 (ewish:Christian )eriod *33:1306 In this first period there were no reat sacred structures in the "oly #and$ Rather% there were ordinary% si'ple structures owned by private parties$ 8he early Christians athered in these 7inds of places$ 8hese early Christians had their roots in either (udais' or international pa anis'$ 8he early Christians prayed in these private ho'es$ 8hey also received instructions about the life of Christ and his teachin s in lectures iven by teachers of the &criptures$ 8he first Christians were not e-e'pt fro' harass'ent and tyranny at the hands of their fellow:country'en$*K16

K1 : We are able to find so'e allusions to the first e-periences of opposition to the Early Church in the ,pocryphal >oo7s$ For e-a'pleJ re ardin the ,doration of the Cross% the "Doctrine of ,ddai" and the ",r'enian &yna-ariu'" of the Fourth Century tell how Cueen )rotonice% the wife of E'peror Claudius% forced the (ewish authorities of (erusale' to ive bac7 the "oly )laces to the ,postle (a'es the #esser% who was bishop of (erusale' *>$ >a atti : E$ 8esta% Il Golgota e la Croce% (erusale' 1125% 2@:256$

I : / )a an:Ro'an )eriod *130:3/@6

8he Ro'an E'peror "adrian constructed a randiose pa an te'ple over the sites of ?ol otha and the arden to'b of (esus$ "e dedicated the 8e'ple to (ove and +enus$ In >ethlehe' he built a sacred rove over the ?rotto of the .ativity$ Despite these profanations the local Christians and pil ri's re'e'bered that these new buildin s were built on sites that had been consecrated by the presence of their #ord$ 8hese sites co''e'orated events associated with his life$ Conse9uently when they went to these places they prayed in low voices in order to protect the'selves$*K/6

K/ : , biblio raphy for the first three centuries of Christian pil ri'a es was co'piled by 8$ 8obler : ,$ !olinier% Itinerum "ierosol#mitanorum et descriptionum Terrae Sanctae series chronologica % II% ?eneva 1550% 3:3=$

I : 3 8he Constantinian and >yBantine )eriod *3/@:@356 ,fter the freedo' iven by the E'peror Constantine to the Hniversal Church *3136% sacred buildin s for Christian worship were built throu hout the Ro'an E'pire$ In honor of his 'other &t$ "elena% Constantine built three >asilicas over the &acred &ites in )alestine$ 8hese were constructed over the "oly &epulchre% on the !ount of Olives% and over the ?rotto of >ethlehe'$ 8he custody of these sanctuaries was iven to the local international cler y$ ,t that ti'e 'ost of these cler y ca'e fro' a ?ree7 cultural bac7 round$ 8hey used a pri'itive oriental litur y which was still developin $ 8hus (erusale' beca'e an early and 'ost i'portant litur ical center$*K36 In @13 the )ersians devastated and burned these "oly &ites$ 8hey also carried away the Relic of the 8rue Cross$ 8he churches were restored by !odestus% ,bbot of the !onastery of &t$ 8heodosius% near >ethlehe'$ In @/1 the E'peror "eraclius defeated the )ersians and restored the Relic of the 8rue Cross to (erusale'$ 8he @33 the !osle': ,rabs be an their incursion into the area and they occupied )alestine$
K3 : 8he diverse for's of the oriental litur y *rites6 developed a distinct character in the &eventh CenturyJ they are called the >yBantine Rite% the ,r'enian Rite% the &yrian Rite% and the Coptic Rite$

I : 3 ,rab )eriod of the H'ayyads% ,bbasids% Fati'ids *@35:1=216

In @35 (erusale' was assaulted and captured by O'ar% Caliph of the ,rab !osle's$ 8he reli ious of ?ree7 bac7 round fled the &anctuaries and the "oly #and$ 8he reli ious of ,rab ori ins and of other ethnicLnational bac7 rounds *?eor ian% &yrian% ,r'enian% etc$6 re'ained at their posts$*K36 ,t first it was a period of relative freedo' and tran9uillity% but in the succeedin centuries the &anctuaries suffered fro' earth9ua7es *23@% 1=1@% 1=336% fro' fires started by ,rab !osle's *135% 1@@6% fro' the partial occupation of the atriu' of the Constantinian >asilica% fro' the destruction of all the sacred edifices and of the Roc7 of the "oly &epulchre *ordered by the Fati'id &ultan "a7i' in 1==16% and fro' other profanations% 7illin s% and persecutions$ ,ll these devastations were followed by reconstruction which was financed by the local Christians and also by the Hniversal Church$ ,fter the devastation at the hands of the )ersians in @13% the 'ost notable benefactors were &t$ (ohn the ,l'oner of ,le-andria *E ypt6 in the si-th:seventh centuries% Charle'a ne *K06 * 5136% and Constantine ID !ono'achus% E'peror of Constantinople * 1=0@6$ 8he One% Hniversal% Catholic Church e-isted durin the first 'illeniu'$ Cler y and faithful of every race and nation were all able to pray freely at the "oly )laces$ In 1=03 the situation chan ed when the >yBantine cler y separated the'selves fro' the Catholic Church% a separation which continues to the present ti'e$

K3 : It was actually 'ore a 9uestion of national bac7 round *?eor ian% &yrian% ,r'enian6 than of litur ical rite$ K0 : Charle'a ne e-ercised a true #atin protectorate over the "oly )laces and over the local faithful$ "e sent a 'onthly pay'ent of 'oney to the cler y and local people who wor7ed in the &anctuaries$ "e also received a reater de ree of liberty for Christians fro' &ultan "arun er:Rashid$ Cf$ , Couret% La Palestine sous les empereurs grecs% ?renoble 15@1% /21$

I : 0 First &el;u7 8ur7 )eriod *1=21:1=156

8he &el;u7 8ur7s of )ersia con9uered !esopota'ia% ,sia !inor% &yria and )alestine$ 8hey occupied the &acred &ites and were the first to i'pose an entrance ta- on pil ri's who desired to visit these sites$ .o cleric of any rite was allowed to re'ain within the &anctuaries$ 8hey could not re'ain there as careta7ers or functionaries$ Fro' a ;uridical viewpoint this first period of the "oly )laces *333:1=216 could be ter'ed "unifor'" because the cler y who uarded the "oly )laces were independent of the rei nin overn'ent$ ,fter 1=21 a new era be an$ Fro' the ;uridical viewpoint it could be ter'ed "'ultifor'" because the responsibility for the sites was divided into diverse cate ories between 8ur7ish% ,rab% and Christian responsibility for all or part of the sites$ 8he 8ur7ish or ,rab overn'ent was in char e% but there was a Christian functionary at the sites$ ,ccordin to !osle' le islation any places of cult were the property of the overn'ent and the overn'ent 'aintained the ri ht to rant their use$ If the site was ruined% it could be sold or iven as a present$ 8he E'perors of Constantinople were not able to resi n the'selves to the reality that they had lost both the territory of the >yBantine E'pire and the "oly )laces in )alestine$ On the other hand% the European overn'ents tolerated the fact that the loss of the "oly )laces was an irrevocable reality$ )alestinian territory and its &anctuaries belon ed to the victorious overn'ent$ !ore than ei ht hundred years of historical e-perience was the reason for this conviction$ I : @ 8he >rief E yptian:,rab )eriod *1=15:1=116 For a brief ti'e the E yptian:,rabs occupied the "oly #and$ 8hey did not respect the freedo' iven to the &anctuaries by the Caliph O'ar and succeedin &ultans% a freedo' which was respected until the arrival of the 8ur7s *1=216$ !oreover% in i'itation of the 8ur7s% they too7 possession of the "oly places and reinstituted the pil ri' ta-$

K@ : ,t the be innin of the 8ur7ish and ,rab occupation in the second half of the 11th Century% the Church of the "oly &epulchre and other &anctuaries were in serious dan er of destruction$ 8his sa'e dan er was repeated when &aladin occupied (erusale' *11526$ 8he possibility of destruction occurred at later ti'es as well$

I : 2 First Crusader )eriod *1=11:11526

When the Crusaders too7 possession of (erusale' and the "oly #and they also too7 possession of the "oly )laces% in accord with the ri hts of con9uerors$ &o'e of the sites were restored or enlar ed$ Others were reconstructed$ ,fter a brief dissension with the cler y of the ?ree7 and &yrian Rites *K26% the #atin cler y was supported in their ar u'ent a ainst these Eastern Rites and certain altars in the Church of the "oly &epulchre were iven to the'$ In >ethlehe'% at the >asilica of the .ativity% the ;oint functionin of the #atin and ?ree7 *native ,rab6 cler y was restored$ 8he &yrians probably shared in this arran e'ent also$ *K56 It is i'portant to note the 'ood of the con9uerin Crusaders$ 8hey did not tolerate the idea that the sanctuaries belon ed either to the E'peror of Constantinople and the cler y of the ?ree7 Rite or to any Oriental Rite$ 8he "oly )laces had been ta7en fro' the 8ur7s and the E yptian ,rabs$ In their 'inds% by ri ht of con9uest% the sites belon ed to the #atins$

K2 : R$ ?rousset% "istoire des Croisades% I% )aris 1133% 31/$ 8heodoricus% 'e Locis Sanctis% c$ 2 *&$ De &andoli% Itinera "ierosol#mitana Crucesignatorum% II% (erusale' 115=% 3/26$ K5 : Fulcherius Carnotensis% "istoria "ierosol#mitana% 1$ I% c$ /0 *&$ De &andoli% Itinera "ierosol#mitana Crucesignatorum% I% (erusale' 1125% 1=56J M,t >ethlehe'N "Christiani% 9ui inibi conversabantur$$$ ?raeci videlicet et &yri$$$ flendo et pie cantando processerunt eis"$ 8hat is% they went out to 'eet the first Crusader 7ni hts$ ,t the Church of the "oly &epulchre in (erusale' the priests of the Eastern Rites were united with the )atriarch and the #atin cler y4 cf$ ,noni'us% 1=10: 11=5%Gesta Francorum e>pugnantium Iherusalem% c$ 32 *De &andoli% Itinera% I% 1@/6J "8unc ?raeci et &yri in la'entatione proru'pentes" *for the holy fire to descend fro' heaven6 ")atriarcha Dai'bertus% reserato sepulchri ostio" and fro' chapter 31 *p$ 1@36J "?raecis interi' et &yriis at9ue ,r'eniis ad sepulchru' orantibus"$ Iohannes WirBbur ensis% 'escriptio Terrae Sanctae% 11@0 *De &andoli% Itinera% II% /1=6J a'on st the various roups present he na'es the ?eor ians% the ,r'enians% the (acobites% the &yrians% the .estorians% the Indians% the Copts% the !aronites$ 8heodoricus% 'e Locis% ,$D$ 112/% c$ 2 *De &andoli% Itinera% II% 3/@6J ",nte ostiu' ipsius chori altare non 'ediocre habetur% 9uod ad &urianoru' tantu''odo spectat officiu'$ Deni9ue peractis a #atinis 9uotidie divinis officiis *for the precedence they had over the other rites6 &uriani vel ibide' ante choru' sive in ali9ua ecclesiae abside divinos decantare solent hy'nos% 9ui etia' plura in ipsa ecclesia *of the "oly &epulchre6 habent altariola nulloru'9ue nisi suis usibus apta vel concessa$ "ae sunt professiones sive sectae 9uae in ecclesia "ierosoly'itana divina pera unt officia% scilicet #atini% &uriani% ,r'enii% ?raeci% Iacobini% .ubiani"$ Fro' chapter 1 *p$ 3/56J ",b occidentali fere eni' parte in e-itu ecclesiae ipsius$$$ ante ipsu' e-itu' capella in honore beatae !ariae habetur% cui praesunt ,r'enii$ Ite' ad sinistra' ecclesiae a septe'trionali parte capella in honore sanctae Crucis e-istit$$$ 9uae sub &urianoru' custodia consistit"$ Ernoult% L8estat de la cit2 de Iherusalem% ,$D$ 1//5% c$ 2% *&$ De &andoli% Itinera "ierosol#mitana Crucesignatorum% III% (erusale' 1153% 3==6J "Entre le coeur *of the "oly &epulchre6% lF oO li canoine sont et le !onu'ent% a un autel oO li ?riu cantent"$

I : 5 &econd E yptian:,rab )eriodJ the ,yyubids *1152:1//16

In 1152 &aladin captured all the "oly #and fro' the Crusaders and too7 the &anctuaries as his own possession$ In the period i''ediately followin his con9uest they were closed to Christian cult$ Only those pil ri's who paid the ta- were per'itted to enter$ When peace was si ned by &aladin and Richard the #ionhearted% <in of En land *&epte'ber 111/6% the &ultan ave per'ission to "ubert Walter% the >ishop of &alisbury% for two #atin rite priests and two deacons to be reinstated and closed in at the Church of the "oly &epulchre% in the >asilica of >ethlehe'% and at .aBareth$ 8his "benevolent concession" of the &ultan did not endure very lon % probably because of the lac7 of other #atin cler y to follow the stipulations of the a ree'ent which were tanta'ount to virtual i'prison'ent$ *K16 &hortly before this ti'e% the very sa'e concession% which was very e-pensive% was iven to four reli ious of the &yrian Rite$ 8he E'peror of Constantinople% Isaac ,n el *115@:11106 as7ed &aladin to restore all the "oly )laces to the ?ree7 cler y of (erusale'$ 8he &ultan absolutely refused this re9uest$ *K1=6 8he ?er'an pil ri' Wilbrand of Oldenbur *1/1/6 found only four &yrian reli ious in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ *K116 >y 1/12 these four were no lon er present$ #ater another ?er'an pil ri' na'ed 8het'arus la'ented the situation and wrote that the "oly &epulchre stood "without la'ps% without honor% without respect% and always closed"$*K1/6 *,s a 'ar inal note% it should be re'e'bered that in this sa'e year% 1/12% the first roup of Franciscan Friars arrived with Fra Elia at their head$ With their base in ,cre% they spread out to #ebanon and &yria in order to render reli ious service to European i''i rants and Eastern Rite Christians$6 It appears that an e-ceptional situation continued in the >asilica of the .ativity in >ethlehe'$ 8he native population of >ethlehe' was probably totally Christian$ Despite the postin of overn'ent door7eepers at the principal entrance to the >asilica% the #atin cler y with their bishop% alon with the Eastern cler y% continued to officiate in the &anctuary without any difficulties$ *K136 8his situation ended with the arrival of the ferocious <hawaris'ians in 1/33$ ,nother noteworthy event of these years was the ift of "etun% <in of ,r'enia *which was still united to Ro'e at that ti'e6$ "e donated the internal door of the >asilica% a door 'ade of inlaid wood with eo'etric desi ns and crosses% and an inscription with the date of 1//2$ *K136

K1 : Ricardus Canonicus #ondoniensis% Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis 1ichardi% 1$ III% c$ 33 *De &andoli% Itinera% III% 10@:1056J "&alahadinus$$$ invitavit ad collo9uiu'$$$ habitu' fa'iliariter per interpretes collo9uiu'% di-it &alahadinus% ut episcopus 9uodcu'9ue optaret% 'a is peteret donu' et daretur ei$$$ Episcopus petiit te'pus deliberandu' us9ue in crastinu'$ I itur crastino ro avit episcopus 9uatenus ad Do'inicu' sepulcru'% 9uod visitaverat% ubi vi- itcu'9ue% 'ore &yroru' barbaro% divine celebrabantur% per'itterentur honestius divina celebrare duo presbyteri #atini cu' totide' diaconis #atinis% si'ul cu' praedictis &yris e- oblationibus pere rinoru' e-hibendi% et si'iliter totide' ad ide' in >etlehe'% si'iliter in .aBaret$ Erat 9uide' petitio 'a na% Deo ut creditur ratissi'a$ ,nnuente ro atis &oldano% per9uisitos episcopus% prout i'petraverat% instituit presbyteros in praedictis sin ulis locis% cu' diaconibus% obse9uiu' praestans Deo% ubi non erat prius% sic9ue i'petrata licentia e-euntes ab "ierusale' reversi sunt ,chone'"$ &$ Runci'an * 7 "istor# of Crusades% III% Ca'brid e 1100% 236% saysJ "$$$a few 'onths later the priests arrived and were allowed to perfor' their duties un'olested"$ K1= : It is necessary to correct the title of the para raph of R$ ?rousset in his "istoire des Croisades *II% )aris 1130% 5/1% and v$ III% )aris 113@% 116 and to correct the 'ista7en conclusion of &$ Runci'an *II% 3@2:3@56$ #i7ewise the untruths of .icephore !oschopoulos *La Terre Sainte ,thGnes 1102% 1336 ou ht to be corrected$ 8o do this I cite here the ori inal historical source of >eha ed:Din% Vie du sultan ?usuf *that is% &aladin6 as it is found in 1ecueil des "istoriens des Croisades& "istoriens 3rientau>% III% )aris 1553% /11$ ,ll three authors refer to this sourceJ

"#e 1er d;o'ada pre'ier% un a'bassadeur arriva de Constantinople la ?rande F la rEsidence du sultan et fut rePu avec les plus rands honneurs$ #e 3 du 'Q'e 'ois% il fut prEsentE F la cour et dElivra son 'essa e$ Il de'andait% entre autres choses% 9ue la croi- de la crucifi-ion lui fRt livrEe4 ensuite% 9ue lAE lise de la REsurrection et toutes les autres S lises de la +ille sainte fussent re'ises F des prQtres no'inEs par son ouverne'ent4 puis 9uAil y eRt une alliance offensive et dEfensive entre les deu- nations$ Il de'andait aussi la coopEration du sultan dans une e-pEdition contre lATle de Chypre$ Il resta avec nous deu- ;ours% et repartit acco'pa nE de notre a'bassadeur% 9ui Etait Ibn:el >eBBaB lAS yptien$ On lui avait rEpondu par un refus positif F tout ce 9uAil avait de'andE$ On dit 9ue le roi des ?Eor iens avait offert deu- cent 'ille piGces dAor pour se faire donner la croi-% et 9uAon nAavait pas acceptE sa proposition"$ In the s'all volu'e "istor# of the 7rmenians in the "ol# Land% (erusale' 112@% 31% by <$ "intlian we find this 9uotationJ "Further'ore as recorded in the ,nnals of the ,bbey of ,nchin% ,r'enians could buy fro' hi' the church of the "oly &epulchre which was 7ept closed until 111/$ We find the followin record in the ,nnals of the ,bbey of ,nchinJ ",r'eni christiani% 'a no dato censi pretio &epulchru' Do'inicu' sua' ecclesia' et Do'ini 8e'plu' a &alahadino rede'erunt"$ 8his is a co'pletely inaccurate state'ent$ ,t the ti'e of !osle' rule such a transaction would not have been possible$ K11 : Wilbrand von Oldenbur % Itinerarium Terrae Sanctae% 1$/% c$@ *De &andoli% Itinera% III% /356J "Et nota% 9uia ipsa ecclesia et sanctu' sepulcru' et o'nia 9ue intus sunt contenta% a 9uatuor sacerdotibus surianis% 9ui e-ire non per'ittuntur% in bona devotione custodiunt$" Describin the Cenacle% Wilbrand saysJ "In su''o illius *!ount &ion6 9uia latus est 'ons% labetur 9uodda' lar u' et pulchru' aspectu cenobiu'% in 9uo 'anent ecia' &uriani% &arracenis tributarii% 9ui pere rinis illuc venientibus 'onstrant locu'% in 9uo Do'inus cenavit cu' suis discipulisU$ 8he 'onastery was entrusted to the &yrians by the Canons of &t$ ,u ustine before they left (erusale' in 1152$ K1/ : 8het'arus% Iter ad Terram Sanctam% ,$D$ 1/12% c$ 2 *De &andoli% Itinera% III% /@36J "Ecclesia do'inici sepulchri et locus passionis sine lu'inaribus% sine honore% sine reverentia se'per clausa e-istit% nisi forte ratia oblationu' pere rinis aperiatur"$ On the other hand% the cler y at >ethlehe' en;oyed a little 'ore liberty$ Cf$ 8het'arus% c$ 1= *p$ /@36J ">ethlehe'$$$ adhuc est inte ra nec a sarracenis devastata% 9ua' 9uide' tenent christiani sarracenis subiu ales$$$ &unt ta'en 9uida' sarraceni custodes ad li'ina 'onasterii deputati 9uod a pere rinis et introeuntibus peda iu' accipientes% 9ui ta'en residencia' ibi non faciunt"$

K13 : "$ +incent : F$:!$ ,bel% Bethl2em% )aris 1113% 150J "Hne preuve 9ue les rites orientau- Etaient alors tolErEs dans la basili9ue est fournie par le tE'oi na e de saint &awa% archevQ9ue de &erbiaJ "(Aai cElEbrE% Ecrit:il F propos de son pGlerina e en 1//2% la sainte 'esse avec les prQtres officiant dans la 'aison *the basilica6 de la trGs sainte !Gre$$$ ;Aai donnE beaucoup dAor au cler E officiant au lieu de la .ativitE du Christ% et ;Aai fait inscrire les no's de 'on pGre et de 'on frGre% le roi &tEphan% pour 9uAon dise des priGres pour le repos de leurs V'esA "$ K13 : For the ,r'enian and ,rabic inscriptions% seeJ +incent : ,bel% Bethl2em% 153:1504 R$ W$ "a'ilton% 7 Guide to Bethlehem% (erusale' 1131% 3=4 >$ >a atti% Gli antichi edifici sacri di Betlemme% ?erusale''e 110/% @5$

I : 1 &econd Crusader )eriod *1//1:1/316 With the si nin of the 8reaty of (affa *February 15% 1//16% the &ultan of E ypt% El: <a'el% conceded the "oly )laces of (erusale' and its surroundin territory to Frederic7 II for a period of ten years$ 8he #atin cler y% refu ees in ,cre in 1152% returned to (erusale' to care for the &anctuaries and to officiate in the'% ;ust as they had done in the previous century$ 8here is no doubt that at this sa'e ti'e the cler y of the various Eastern Rites recovered their previous posts$ This is the first return of the crusader clerg# to the "ol# Places& a return o4tained 4# means of negotiations 4et@een t@o high authoritiesA In these two years% 1//1:1/3=% the Franciscan Friars obtained a residency in (erusale' in the area of the 8hird &tation of the Way of the Cross$ ,t that ti'e this &tation was na'ed "of the Rest" or "of the Cyrenean"$*K106

K10 : &$ De &andoli% Il primo con!ento francescano in Gerusalemme )*+,-.*+//0% &upple'ento a La Terra Santa% ?iu no: , osto% 1153$

I : 1= 8rans;ordan:,rab )eriod *1/31:1/316 In 1/31 *Dece'ber 26 the &ultan of 8rans;ordan% En:.aser Daud% who resided at <era7% occupied (erusale'$ Once a ain the #atin cler y were refu ees in ,cre$ 8he fate of the "oly )laces was uncertain$ I : 11 8hird Crusader )eriod *1/31:1/336

,s a result of an accord si ned between )rince Richard of Cornwall *brother of the <in of En land6 and the &ultan of E ypt% Es:&aleh ,yyub *,pril /3% 1/316 the Fran7ish cler y returned to (erusale' in 1/31$ This is the second return of the crusader clerg# to the "ol# Places 4# means of negotiations 4et@een t@o high authoritiesA It is hi hly unli7ely that the Oriental cler y also returned to their posts in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ In order to defend hi'self a ainst a stron lea ue for'ed by the &ultans of Da'ascus% "o's% <era7% and the Crusaders of ,cre% the &ultan ,s:&aleh ,yyub called upon ten thousand <hawaris'ian 8ur7s who were stationed on the Euphrates River to co'e to his assistance$ When these new barbarians arrived in the "oly #and they 7illed the defenseless Christians$ 8hey burned and ruined churches and 'onasteries$ On (uly 11% 1/33 they besie ed (erusale' itself$ 8he s'all Crusader arrison defended itself well$ .onetheless% the <hawaris'ians succeeded in penetratin the city$ 8hey 'assacred the Christian population$ 8he Crusaders withdrew on ,u ust /3th$ 8he <hawaris'ians 7illed the Christians in the streets and in their houses$ 8hey finally entered the Church of the "oly &epulchre% where the old people% children% and 'on7s had ta7en refu e$ 8he invaders slit the throats of the Western and Eastern cler y ali7e$ 8hey profaned and destroyed all that was sacred and Christian$ *K1@6 8his third loss of (erusale' apparently was the cause of despair for the Fran7ish Cler y who resided in ,cre and for the s'all #atin <in do' of the !editerranean Coast$ "owever it was not to last$ 8he ar'ies of the lea ue prepared the'selves for battle$ 8he confrontation too7 place on October 12% 1/33 at a site between ?aBa and ,sh7elon$ Despite the resistance of the Crusaders% the bloody battle was a disaster for the ar'ies of the lea ue$ For the Crusaders in particular it proved to be a second "orns of "attin$ In this 'iserable situation it was ri htly feared that the end of the #atin <in do' was at hand$ ,fter the victory at ?aBa was reported to the &ultan of E ypt% ,s:&aleh ,yyub% he went to (erusale' to receive an account of the da'a es and 'assacres perpetrated by the <hawaris'ians$ "e i''ediately co''anded the restoration of the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ "e also ordered that the front of the Church be closed$ "e placed ei ht responsible custodians at the entrance$ 8hese uardians were 'e'bers of the hi hest authority in (erusale'W 8o ether they were to open and close the door for those pil ri's who had paid the established ta-$ *K126 It was their custo' to enter the Church at about 3 oAcloc7 in the afternoon and to re'ain there all ni ht% finally leavin the followin 'ornin % between @ oAcloc7 and 1 oAcloc7$ 8he pil ri's were able to visit any place inside the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey could pray and hold processions in the 'iddle section of the church$ ,t ni ht% those who wished could ta7e lod in s in the roo' ad;oinin the Chapel of the ,pparition$ .o cler y lived in the interior of the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8his desolation lasted another si-ty years$ ,fter the devastatin te'pest of the <hawaris'ians had abated% the #atin and Oriental cler y in >ethlehe' were once a ain able to return to their previous posts$ 8his situation would last only a short ti'e$

K1@ : ,noni'us% Continuation de Guillaume de T#r )*++B.*+<*0% dit du 'anuscrit de Rothelin% dans le 1ecueil des "istoriens des Croisades% II% )aris 1501% 0@3J "#i Cora'in$$$ DedenB les lyse du &epulchre trouverent CrestienB 9ui ne sAen voudrent 'ie aler ovec les autres$ Ce- esbouelerent devant revestuB ou il chantoient 'esses aus autie-$ ,preB il bouterent ;us lAentable'ent de 'arbre 9ui estoit entor le &epulchre .ostre &ei neur% et les envoierent a !aho''et a !e9ues en si ne de victoire$ Et pour reprouche des CrestienB% il effondrerent les sepoltureB des roiB et pristrent les oB% et les espandirent dAune part et dAautre$ Et plusseurB 'ainereB ordierent et laidirent les &anB #euB"$ !atthieu$ )aris *1115:1/016% Grand Croni;ue% +% )aris 153=% 3/3% anno 1/33J "#F% ils 'assacrGrent co''e des brebis% destinEes au sacrifice% les reli ieuses% les vieillards et les infir'es 9ui% ne pouvant supporter les fati ues de la route et de la fuite% sAEtaient refu iEs dans lAE lise du &aint &Epulchre et dans le Calvaire% lieu consacrE par le san du Christ% et ils se souillErent ansi dans le sanctuaire du &ei neur dAune i no'inie e-Ecrable" *p$ 3@26J "Enfin% les infidGles susdits entrGrent dans la ville de (erusale' pres9ue abandonnEe de tous ses habitants4 et co''e le peu des chrEtiens 9ui y Etaient retirEs dans lAE lise du &aint &Epulchre% ils les EventrGrent tous devant 'Q'e le sepulchre du &ei neur4 et en coupant la tQte au- prQtres 9ui cElEbraient alors les saints 'ystGres"$ Ch$ <ohler% "Hn Rituel et un >rEviare du &aint:&Epulchre de (Erusale' *DIII:DIII siGcle6"% 1e!ue de l83rient Latin% 5 *11==: 11=16 331:30=J ".ous savons au surplus 9ue% lors de la prise de (Erusale' par les <varis'iens% plusieurs chanoines furent 'assacrEs dans lE lise du &aint &Epulchre oO la foule des chrEtiens sAEtait rEfu iEe" *#ettre du patriarche Robert et dAautres au )ape Innocent I+% /1 &ept$ 1/336$ K12 : For the story of the 7eys% doors% and door7eepers of the Church of the "oly &epulchre% cf$ &$ De &andoli% Church of the "oly &epulchreJ <eys% Doors% and Door7eepers% (erusale' 115@% /1$

I : 1/ 8hird E yptian:,rab )eriod *1/33:1/116J the Rei n of the !a'elu7e &ultans *1/0=:10126

8his period of history was an era of reat pain for the Christian faithful and cler y of the "oly #and$ In each episode unfolded the people viewed the future with a spirit of hope% but then they would confront the reality of the situation% a reality 'ar7ed by e'ptiness and hopeless delusion$ Hnfortunately the liberation of the "oly )laces was entrusted to a sin ular a'e of fortune:that of 'ilitary 'i ht$ For the weary and destitute Crusaders of the #evant% the result of their efforts was always Bero$ In order to obtain a sense of these unhappy ti'es% we record briefly the 'ost relevant events of the second half of the thirteenth century$ In order to ive confidence and coura e to the Christians of the "oly #and after the disaster at ?aBa *October 12% 1/336% )ope Innocent I+ *1/33:1/036 spo7e out about the situation$ "e wrote a letter of protest to the &ultan ,s:&aleh ,yyub concernin the 'assacre of innocent Christians and the destruction wrou ht by the <hawaris'ians in the "oly )laces$ *K156 ,t the Council of #yons *(une /3% 1/306 Innocent I+ called for another Crusade$ #ouis ID% <in of France% responded$ On (une 1/% 1/35 #ouis departed fro' )aris with a lar e ar'y% e'bar7in fro' ,i ues !ortes on ,u ust /0th$ >y &epte'ber 12th he landed with his troops at #i'assol on the island of Cyprus$ ,t this news the Christians of the #evant be an to daydrea'% recallin the lory of the First CrusadeW ,fter ei ht 'onths of preparation and the arrival of nu'erous reinforce'ents% the <in left Cyprus on !ay 3=% 1/3=$ &uch a sad delusionW Instead of sailin for the "oly #and% the navy turned toward Da'ietta in E ypt$ 8he two precedin diversions of 1/=/ and 1/15 to E ypt had tau ht nothin $ *K116 !eanwhile% after 'onths of inaction% so'e ood news arrived$ "owever% al'ost i''ediately afterwards% a series of unhappy reports be an to arriveJ the retreat fro' !ansura% and% with it% news of a terrible epide'ic% as well as infor'ation about the betrayal which resulted in the i'prison'ent of the <in and the ar'y$ It was a total catastropheW )anic and dis'ay struc7 the Christian population$ ,ll their hopes were shattered$ ,ll their drea's vanished$ ,t last the 7ind of 'iracle that so'eti'es occurs when everythin see's lost actually happened to the Christians and the Crusaders$ 8he <in of France and a part of the ar'y were set free% but under very difficult conditions$ #ouis ID was able to e'bar7 fro' Da'ietta on !ay 5% 1/0=$ "e sailed to ,cre$ For al'ost four years he was practically the 7in of (erusale'% althou h without actually possessin the city or the title$ "e brou ht peace% or aniBation% and security to the disordered #atin <in do'$ In the ene'y ca'p% 8uranshah% the &ultan of Da'ascus% went to Cairo and there proclai'ed hi'self &ultan of E ypt$ "e was 7illed by the !a'elu7es who were led by the coarse% bold >aybars$ 8his >aybars had distin uished hi'self at ?aBa in battle a ainst the ar'ies of the lea ue$ I''ediately the !a'elu7es elected ,yba7% one of their E'irs% as their leader$ *K/=6 ,yba7 was the first !a'elu7e &ultan$ "e was the founder of two dynasties *the >ahri% 1/0=:131= and the >ur i% 135/:10126 which would endure until the arrival of the Otto'an 8ur7s in 1012$ *K/16 >efore returnin to France #ouis ID 'ade an accord with the ,yyubite &ultan of

Da'ascus for a truce of two years% si- 'onths% and forty days$ *K//6 "e also 'ade an accord with the !a'elu7e ,yba7 for a truce of ten years$ !oreover he left a personal representative at ,cre alon with a arrison of soldiers to be 'aintained by France throu hout his lifeti'e$ On ,pril /3% 1/03 #ouis returned to )aris$ 8wo years had not yet elapsed when both the &ultans renewed the truce with the #atin <in do' for another ten years$ 8hey were 'otivated by their fear of an alliance between the Christians and the !on ols of )ersia$ Durin the ti'e of the truce pil ri's fro' both the West and the East were allowed to visit the "oly )laces$ 8here were still occasions when the Christians of the #atin <in do' wa ed a 7ind of civil war for either private or political interests$ 8hese battles were fou ht under the eyes of their ene'ies% who were co'placent spectators$ 8he Christians of Europe viewed the !on ols as a providential force which could be used to hu'iliate the arro ance of the &aracens$ 8he alliance which was 'ade a'on the !on ols% the 7in of ,r'enia% the 7in of ?eor ia and with the )rince of ,ntioch ave rise to the hope that the day was not far off when (erusale' would be freed fro' the stron coalition$ "owever% in the land of the sun% 'ira es are co''on$ 8hey are 'arvelous to behold% but then easily disappear in the face of sad reality$ In 1/05 the !on ols captured >a hdad$ 8hen in 1/01 they captured "alep% and finally in 1/@=% Da'ascus$ <itbu9a% a Christian !on ol eneral% established his head9uarters in Da'ascus$ Within a short ti'e he sent so'e 'en into )alestine% but it see's that they never arrived in (erusale'$ On &epte'ber 3% 1/@=% the sa'e <itbu9a 'arched with an ar'y into the ?alilee$ 8here he was drawn into a trap at ,in:(alut and was ta7en prisoner$ CutuB% the !a'elu7e &ultan of E ypt% had hi' beheaded in Dece'ber of 1/01$ On October /3% 1/@= CutuB hi'self received a 'ortal blow at the hands of the 'erciless >aybars$ 8he !on ols retreated to >a hdad$ In 1/@1 a ray of hope was re7indled for the Christians of the #evant when the )atriarch of (erusale'% (a'es *(ac9ues6 )antalEon% a French'an fro' 8royes *1/@1:1/@36 was elected )ope$ "e was well infor'ed about the local situation and he 'ade use of his 7nowled e when he pro'oted a new Crusade$ "owever% the e otis' of the )rinces of Europe invalidated his efforts$ For the 'ost part% only a s'all nu'ber of the' understood the i'portance of the "oly #and$ Only a few 'o'ents after the fatal blow was iven to CutuB% >aybars was elected &ultan of E ypt$ "e was a treacherous% cruel &ultan$ "e was without scruples and was surely the 'ost anti:Christian &ultan of that century$ "e hi'self% or by 'eans of his deputies% invaded the territory of ,ntioch *1/@16 and the territory of ,r'enian Cilicia *1/@3:1/@@6 in order to punish the allies of the !on ols$ With conte'pt for both the truce and the Christians he destroyed the >asilica of .aBareth *1/@36$ In this sa'e year he went on the ra'pa e a ainst (erusale' and a ainst >ethlehe'$ 8here he ruined a reat part of the Crusader constructions which had stren thened the >asilica$ *K/36 It was probably this occasion which e'boldened hi' to ta7e away the colu'ns and the beautiful slabs of 'arble which covered the walls and the pave'ent of the >asilica for use in his palace and at the !os9ue of Cairo$ It see's that

at this ti'e there was no i'pedi'ent to such an action% althou h no one 7nows for sure what the 'otivation 'i ht have been$ *K/36 In the followin years he captured and destroyed 'any Crusader castles% the fortified city of Caesarea !ariti'a% ,rsuf *1/@06% and &afed *1/@@6$ It see's that he also drove the #atin cler y out of >ethlehe' at this sa'e ti'e$ *K/06 "e captured (affa and ,ntioch% alon with their territories$ In short% he too7 advanta e of the absence of the !on ols and the disinterest of the European )rinces$ For the Christians of the #evant these were years of reat 'isfortune *1/@56$ 8heir desperate cry for help was heard by )ope Cle'ent I+ *1/@0:1/@56 who Bealously ur ed the )rinces of Europe to underta7e another Crusade$ On &epte'ber 1% 1/@1% (a'es I% <in of ,ra on% departed with a lar e fleet fro' >arcelona for the "oly #and$ , reat te'pest forced it to return ho'e$ , few ships did arrive at ,cre$ <in #ouis ID decided to 'a7e a second ;ourney to the "oly #and$ On (une 1% 1/2= he set sail fro' ,i ues !ortes with a for'idable ar'y$ Hnfortunately his brother% Charles I of ,n;ou% <in of .aples and &icily% li7e a bad co- of the Crusade% diverted his fleet to 8unis$ !eanwhile in E ypt% due to the lac7 of hy iene% the e-cessive su''er heat% as well as other reasons% the pla ue spread li7e wild fire$ 8he <in died *,u ust /06 and so did 'uch of the ar'y$ Fro' the end of 1/@1% when >aybars learned about the Crusade of #ouis ID% he stopped his harass'ent of the Christians of the #evant$ "owever when he learned that <in #ouis had died% he went to the territory of 8ripoli in #ebanon and co''itted a reat deal of tyranny$ #ittle help arrived fro' Europe$ )rince Edward I of En land e'bar7ed for ,cre with a thousand soldiers$ 8a7in account of the desperate situation% he 'ade the 'ost of his advanta e and pressed for the very survival of the Christians of ,cre$ "e obtained a truce fro' >aybars *!ay //% 1/2/6 for ten years and ten 'onths$ ,fterwards he returned to En land *&epte'ber //6$ Hpon the death of his father he beca'e <in of En land$ 8he ,rchbishop of #ie e% 8edaldo +isconti% had been a 'e'ber of his retinue$ +isconti re'ained in ,cre$ While he was there he was elected )ope of Ro'e% ta7in the na'e ?re ory D$ "e wor7ed strenuously to et the )rinces of Europe to underta7e a universal crusade$ ,t the Council of #yons in 1/23 he insisted that one of the principal discussions be the liberation of the "oly )laces$ 8he council closed without one European prince departin for the "oly #and$ 8he )ope died on (anuary 1=% 1/2@$ For the later history of the "oly )laces it is necessary to return to Charles I% <in of .aples and &icily% who was 'entioned earlier in this account$ Charles was a friend of >aybars$ *K/@6 >ecause an elderly aunt had iven hi' all his dynastic ri hts% Charles too7 the title "<in of (erusale'"$ *K/26 Charles I sent a representative fro' .aples to ,cre with an escort of si- alleons *(une 2% 1/226$ 8he envoy 'ade everyone reco niBe the patrona e of his 7in over the baronies of the #evant$ ,fter about five years he was recalled to Italy as a conse9uence of the fa'ous &icilian +espers *!arch 3=% 1/5/6$ ,t ,cre everythin 9uic7ly fell apart% returnin to its previous state$ Charles I could have arbitrated the situation between his brother #ouis ID and >aybars% his occasional friend$ "e could have rescued the Crusade

of #ouis ID by 'a7in a treaty with >aybars for the "oly )laces as Frederic7 II had done before$ "owever% since he drea'ed of a !editerranean E'pire built by his own ar'ies% he abandoned this 'ore noble pro;ect$ In the end% he lost out on both counts$ >aybars sac7ed Cilicia and the 8ur7ish territories of ,natolia *1/20 and 1/226 and retired to Da'ascus$ Durin a feast he dran7 a poisoned bevera e prepared by hi' for the &ultan of 8rans;ordan% ,l:Caher% son of En:.aser Daud$ , few days later he died *(une 3=% 1/226$ .ews of his death brou ht a sense of relief to the Christians$ "e was succeeded by Calaun *Dece'ber 1% 1/216$ Calaun was also a !a'elu7e% that is% an e-: 8ur7ish slave$ 8he hour of hope was once a ain short:lived$ 8he history of disasters continued$ ,t the end of &epte'ber% 1/5=% the !on ols 'ade a new alliance with the ,r'enians and the "ospitallers$ 8o ether they invaded &yria as far as "o's and then retired$ 8he &ultan Calaun was aware of the dan er$ &ince the truce concluded with Edward I% <in of En land% was about to run out% he renewed it for another ten years *!ay 3% 1/516$ In &epte'ber of that sa'e year% the !on olian ar'y% reinforced by thirty thousand ,r'enian Christians% ?eor ians% ?ree7s% and Fran7s% invaded &yria$ 8hey 'et the E yptian ar'y at "a'a$ ,t first the !on ols resisted bravely% but after sufferin an upset they sou ht safety and fled to the other side of the Euphrates RiverW Calaun won the battle but was not to en;oy the fruits of his success$ ,lways fearin the alliance of the Christians at ,cre% and thus another Crusade with the troops of Europe united with the !on ols% he renewed the truce a ain for another ten years *(une 3% 1/536$ "e did not for et to punish the !on ols$ In 1/50 he assaulted the fortresses of the "ospitallers which were in the County of 8ripoli$ 8he new <han of the !on ols of )ersia% ,r un *1/53:1/116% proposed a co''on 'ilitary action$ "e 'ade the offer four ti'es *1/50%1/52%1/51:1/1=6$ "is intention was to free ,cre and to liberate the "oly #and fro' the E yptians$ 8he &overei ns of Europe% involved in their own internal affairs% especially in &icily and ,ra on% did not respond to the offer% even thou h they were earnestly e-horted to do so by first by the )ortu uese )ope% (ohn DDI *1/2/:1/226 and then by the Franciscan )ope% .icholas + *1/55:1/1/6$ !a7in 'atters worse was the ceaseless disorder of the heads of the >aronies$ #ocated on the )alestinian and )hoenician coasts% these factions were constantly stru lin a'on st the'selves% chan in their alle iances between the +enetians and the ?enovese$ 8he whole affair ended dis racefully when they as7ed for the intervention of Calaun to settle their disputes$ 8he &ultan paid no attention to the'$ "e had recently occupied #atta7ia *,pril 1/526$ In 1/51 he besie ed and occupied 8ripoli% a city contested by the Christian roups$ "is custo'ary pilla in and 'urder 'ar7ed the si ns of his presence$ 8he s'all #atin <in do' of ,cre re'ained free$ "enry II% <in of Cyprus and (erusale'% hurried to ,cre and sent an e'bassy to Da'ascus to obtain a truce for ten years and ten 'onths fro' the &ultan *,u ust 1/516$ Despite this situation% 'any Italian pil ri's% discontent at not bein able to battle a ainst the &aracens% be an to plunder and 'urder the ,rabs in the nei hborin

countryside% villa es% and in ,cre itself$ 8here was no restrainin the'$ 8he authorities in ,cre sent e-cuses to Calaun% but he would not hear the'$ "e declared war$ "is death *.ove'ber 1/1=6 did not prevent his son% ,l:,shraf <halil% fro' continuin the war preparations$ 8he followin year the new &ultan arrived with ar'ies fro' E ypt and &yria$ "e positioned hi'self beneath the walls of ,cre$ 8he sie e of the city ended on !ay 15% 1/11% with the final resistance ta7in place on !ay 15% 1/11$ It was a ti'e of reat destruction$ ,lthou h 'any Christians died% a ood nu'ber were able to flee to refu e in Cyprus$ In the succeedin 'onths the other 'ariti'e cities were also easily overrunJ 8yre% which had already fallen on !ay 114 &idon was occupied on (uly 134 "aifa% (uly 3=4 >eirut on (uly 314 8ortosa on ,u ust 34 and ,tlit on the 13th$ 8he loss of ,cre and these cities was as reat as the loss of (erusale' a century before$ 8hus% after forty years of incessant war% both e-ternal and civil% the #atin <in do' of the "oly #and and the )rincipalities of &yria ceased to e-ist$ 8he 'ain cause was the eneral indifference of the European princes$ 8he hope of the Fran7ish cler y to return to the "oly )laces by 'ilitary 'eans was over$ 8hey had seen the land disappear fro' beneath their feet$ ,n epoch history that would never be repeated was closed$ For the &aracens% the capture of ,cre and the fall of the 'ariti'e cities was the end of a lon "holy war" fou ht a ainst the infidels$ It was the "will of ?od" and "the superiority of the Isla'ic reli ion over Christianity" which brou ht about their victory$ In their eyes% the Church of the "Ciya'e" *,rabic for the Resurrection of (esus Christ% as the Church of the "oly &epulchre was called by the Eastern Christians6 beca'e the church of the "Ca'a'e"% that is% the Church of the filthy$ 8he Christians of E ypt and &yria% durin and after these wars% were held in conte'pt$ 8hey were always considered suspect% uilty of connivin with the Fran7s$ ,ccordin ly% they beca'e easy victi's of persecution whenever so'e action was ta7en a ainst the &aracens% whether by land or by sea$ .ot bein privy to the policies of war% they were innocent victi's$ ,fter 'any failures the European Christians beca'e aware that the raisin of ar'ies was not the best 'ethod to obtain the liberation of the "oly )laces$ 8hey needed to search for another solution for this international proble'$ ,bove all those who should have sou ht this route were the reli ious and lay people who wasted their ti'e writin tracts *"paper crusades"6 in their atte'pts to elicit support fro' )opes and &overei ns for other false drea's$ *K/56 >oth the &aracens and the Christians needed a 'ore practical and peaceful solution$ *K/16 If such a oal could be realiBed% its authors would be considered true benefactors for the "oly )laces and for all hu'anity$ )eace and prosperity for the "oly )laces% honor% and Christian worship should have been their concern$

K15 : ?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% II% Cuaracchi 1113% 333:330$ K11 : 8he Fourth Crusade was diverted to Constantinople$ 8he Fifth Crusade% intendin to defeat the &aracens in E ypt% dise'bar7ed at Da'ietta% but was not successful$ K/= : 8his ,rabic word *'a'lu7 in the sin ular% 'a'ali7 in the plural for'6 si nifies a thin or person possessed by so'ebody or belon in to so'ebody% therefore Xa slaveU$ 8he 'a'elu7s were CaucasiansJ 8ur7s% <urds% Circassians% ,r'enians% ?eor ians$ 8hey were nu'erous in E ypt and for'ed the best part of the ar'y$ 8hey obeyed their "e'irs" *princes or enerals6% who were of the sa'e social class$ ,s a conse9uence of this% they rew so powerful that they enthroned or deposed !a'elu7 &ultans at will$ K/1 : &trictly spea7in % the ,rabic word "bahr" 'eans "sea or ocean"% however% in both ancient and 'odern oriental lan ua es the ter' also si nifies any 9uantity of water% and therefore could 'ean la7e% river% swa'p% or puddle$ ,ll these were also called "bahr"$ 8he !a'elu7e soldiers were called the ">ahri" or ">ahrites"$ 8he ori in of this no'enclature can be found in the area of their barrac7s which was on an island of the .ile called "Er:Rawda"$ It was in the sa'e area as Cairo$ In 1/21:1/5= the &ultan CalawRn sent other soldiers to live at the Citadel of Cairo$ 8hese newco'ers were called ">ur;i" or ">ur ites"$ 8heir na'e has its ori ins in the ,rabic word "bur;" which 'eans tower% castle% fortress% or citadel$ 8he >ur;i were 'ainly Circassians% people of the Caucasus$ 8wenty:four >ahri and twenty three >ur;i sultans ruled in E ypt$ !any of the' were very youn when they suffered violent deaths$ K// : 8he ,yyubid sultans rei ned in E ypt before the !a'elu7e Era *1/0=:10126$ 8he founder of the ,yyub dynasty called hi'self ,yyub *(ob6$ "e was a <urdish 'ilitary chief$ 8he ,yyubid &ultans were nu'erousJ 5 in E ypt *1121:1/0=64 @ in Da'ascus *115@:1/3164 3 in ,leppo *115@:1/@=64 0 in !esopota'ia or Ira9$ 8here were also other collateral dynasties *cf$ ?$ #evi Della +ida% ",yyubidi"% Enciclopedia Italiana% v$ 0% !ilano : Ro'a 113=% @5@:@526$ 8he <urds are an ancient people who have never had their own national overn'ent$ 8oday they can be found in the confines of Iran% Ira9% &yria% and 8ur7ey$ 8o this day% they aspire to an independent national unity$ K/3 : +incent : ,bel% Bethl2em% 11=$ K/3 : >a atti% Gli antichi edifici sacri di Betlemme% 05J "Connesso a 9ueste lastre 'ar'oree G il ricordo di un le endario serpente che poteva essere 9ualche bruciatura di 'ar'i ovvero 9ualche venatura un poA 'arcata$ Riferisce la nota le enda per il pri'o il )$ >urcardo nel 1/53U$ Cf$ also &$ De &andoli% Itinera "ierosol#mitana Crucesignatorum% I+% (erusale' 1153% 112$ K/0 : +incent : ,bel% Bethl2em% 112$ K/@ : R$ ?rousset% "istoire des Croisades% III% )aris% 113@% @@3% @@@% @2/% @23$ K/2 : Charles of ,n;ou followed his brother #ouis ID in the Crusade of 1/31:1/034 in E ypt he en a ed in a counterattac7$ ?rousset says *t$ III% 3006 that "le frGre de #ouis ID fut% ce ;our:lF% di ne des fleurs de lys et 'Erita lAad'iration de lAar'Ee"$ K/5 : 8his ironic phrase was written by Franco Cardini in the fifth chapter of his boo7 Le Crociate *Ro'a 11216J Canonists% pole'icists% theorists$ 8he Crusade of In7$ K/1 : 8he idea of the Franciscan 8ertiary Ray'ond #ull% to learn the ,rabic lan ua e in order to convert the &aracens% was accepted at the Council of +ienne *France6 on .ove'ber 13% 131/$

II 8he .e otiations of the <in of .aples with the &ultan of Cairo *1/11:133/6 II : 1 8he &eeds of "ope

Cyprus and ,r'enia re'ained the only nations in the van uard a ainst the !a'elu7e E'pire$ Without the help of Europe or the !on ols they could not attain any lastin results$ ,ccordin ly% these two nations had to act with tact and prudence$ "owever% <in "enry of Cyprus interpreted prudence in a 'ilitary sense$ "8he best defense was a powerful offense$" In 1/1/ he 'ade an assault a ainst ,le-andria with twenty:five alleons$ It was an inesti'able blunder% both 'ilitarily and politically$ 8he &ultan of E ypt replied to this useless and dan erous bravado by orderin a fleet of one hundred alleons to attac7 Cyprus$ ,s a result of its alle iance with the !on ols% ,r'enia once a ain suffered devastation% 'assacres% and loss of lands *1/13%1/136$ On the other hand% Cyprus was saved by a series of luc7y circu'stances$ , continual chan e of &ultans% enthroned and deposed at the pleasure of the E'irs *heads of the ar'ies6% accounted for an unstable internal political situation in E ypt$*K3=6 ,l:,shraf <halilAs drea's of randeur were drowned in his own blood *1/136$ "is successor was his brother% ,n:.aser !uha''ed% a boy nine years old$ ,fter only one year he was replaced by ,l:,del <itbu ha% who rei ned for only two years *1/13:1/1@6$ "e was replaced by ,l:!ansur #a in% who fou ht a ainst the ,r'enians$ 8hree years and two 'onths later he too was assassinated *(anuary 1@% 1/116$ For the second ti'e ,n:.aser !uha''ed% now 13 years old% beca'e &ultan of E ypt$ !eanwhile the !on ols% at peace after internal and e-ternal affairs were solved% thou ht a ain about possessin &yria and E ypt$ 8he &ultan <haBan% alon with his perennial allies the ,r'enians and the ?eor ians% invaded &yria with a powerful ar'y *Dece'ber /3% 1/116$ "e defeated the E yptians near "o's$ In (anuary of 13== he also occupied Da'ascus$ Hpon hearin this news there was eneral re;oicin in Europe$ &'all Crusades were or aniBed with the intention of uaranteein the liberation of (erusale'$ &o'e considered (erusale' already liberated$ It was the co''on belief in Europe that the Christian allies were bein sent by <haBan to occupy (erusale'% which had already been in his hands for a yearW*K316 8he truth was that in February he had retired peacefully to )ersia and that the !a'elu7es had easily reoccupied &yria$ <haBan had pro'ised that he would return after a short while$ "e 7ept his word$ In 13=3 he advanced with his custo'ary allies$ "e al'ost 'ade it to Da'ascus without incident% however% throu h an error of the allyAs ar'y he was une-pectedly routed by the !a'elu7es of En:.aser$ "e returned to )ersia with a deci'ated force$*K3/6 ,t the loss of ,cre *1/116 'any Christians continued to hold onto a seed of hope that so'e ar'y fro' Europe or )ersia 'i ht be able to liberate the "oly #and$ With this last defeat of the !on ols they finally had to ad'it that their last hopes had been in vain$ In conclusion% they now needed to chan e their plans of action$ 8hey had to ive up their passion of con9uerin the territories with ar'ies$ Instead they had to save the "oly )laces by sincere reli ious devotionJ no lon er with warfare% but with peace$ !eanwhile in E ypt% the present situation rese'bled the recent past$ 8here was no stable overn'ent$ En:.aser was deposed for a second ti'e and ,l:!udaffar >aybars II *13=5:13=16 was proclai'ed &ultan$ ,fter only eleven 'onths he was assassinated and

for the third and last ti'e En:.aser !uha''ed was enthroned$ 8his ti'e he would rei n for thirty years% dyin in Cairo on Dece'ber /1% 133=$ 8his &ultan% who e-perienced hu'iliation fro' his own citiBens and fellow:believers durin his youth% proved to be a wise leader and an observant and ood !osle'$ "e went to !ecca three ti'es$ "e transferred the 'ost beautiful and artistic 'aterials fro' the Crusader cathedral in ,cre to Cairo in order to adorn the 'os9ue built on the Citadel$ "e was rather tolerant toward the Eastern and Western Christians$ "e pro'oted the study of the sciences and the arts$ "e ordered 'any public wor7s% re:activated the econo'y of the country and initiated forei n trade$ "e en;oyed one of the lon est rei ns as &ultan and was certainly the only one who rei ned three ti'esW En:.aser also distin uished hi'self by receivin the a'bassadors of the Christian 7in s with ood will$ "e ave consent to their ;ust re9uests of hi'$ ,bove all he allowed Christian Reli ious to enter the "oly )laces$ "e also entered into le al a ree'ents with the Fran7ish &overei ns of .aples which allowed the official and historical entrance of the Fran7ish Cler y to the "oly )laces$ #i7ewise he 'ade arran e'ents for the Eastern Cler y to have a place in the three principal &anctuaries of the "oly #and$

K3= : 8he Christian principalities of the #evant suffered continually fro' these ceaseless wars$ "owever the situation in E ypt was not 'uch better$ Despite a certain satisfaction fro' the booty ta7en fro' the Christian ar'ies and the euphoria of victory% there were proble's$ 8he 7illin s of the sultans and their followers% the epide'ics% and the lon three year fa'ine *1/13:1/1@6 caused by the low waters of the .ile% seriously affected the E yptian people *cf$ F$ 8ournabiBe% "istoire politi;ue et religieuse de l87rm2nie% )aris 11==% //@6$ K31 : &o'e authors say that "etun II% the Franciscan <in of ,r'enia *1/136% ca'e to (erusale' on this occasion with his troops and with the ?eor ians and that he lived there for about one year$ Other% li7e Runci'an% spea7 of <haBan co'in for a third ti'e to &yria and 'entionin that he pushed on the (erusale' in 13=5 with his Christian allies *Runci'an% 7 "istor# of Crusades% III% 3316$ For further infor'ation on the European response at the reported victory of <haBan and preparations for another Crusade% cf$ ?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% Cuaracchi 1111% 3=:31$ K3/ : 8ournabiBe% "istoire politi;ue et religieuse de l87rm2nie% //@J ",prGs avoir tenu fer'e pendant un ;our% un corps i'portant de lAar'Ee alliEe% pressE par la soif% se prYcipita vers la riviGre 9ui coulait au bas de la 'onta ne sur la9uelle il ca'pait$ Ce 'ouve'ent fut la cause dAun dEsastre$ #a pluspart des ,r'Eniens et des 8artares furent tuEs sur le cha'p de bataille ou pErirent% soit en fuyent F travers les plaines inondEes% soit en traversant lAEuphrate onflE par les pluies"$

II : / 8he Ri ht to >rin >ac7 Christian Worship to the "oly )laces 8he history of the early post:Crusader years proves that only those Christian overn'ents that de'onstrated friendship with the &ultan of E ypt dared to hope for so'e success in their diplo'atic endeavors$ 8hese petitions were usually concerned with the followin 'attersJ the renewin and intensifyin of 'utually beneficial co''erce4 the liberation of Christian prisoners4 the freedo' of worship for native Christians4 the openin and restoration of Christian churches4 the liberty and security of Christian pil ri's fro' all nations and their visits to the "oly #and$*K336 8he Western overn'ents did not dare to spea7 about restitution or the possibility of cult in the "oly )laces i''ediately after the fall of ,cre$ ,s has already been stressed% this was due to either the instability of the E yptian overn'ent or because these 9uestions were still burnin issues$ 8hey could be discussed only after 'any years of ood will$ ,t the be innin of the Fourteenth Century !u;ir Ed:Din wrote in his Chronicle that an e'bassy of the <in of ?eor ia arrived in (erusale' *(uly /0% 13=06$ 8he envoys included representatives of ,ndronicus II )aleolo us% the E'peror of Constantinople$ 8he purpose was to as7 the deputy of the &ultan% who had certain le al ri hts to act in the &ultanAs na'e% for possession of the church and convent of the "oly Cross% two 7ilo'eters fro' (erusale'$ It had been occupied by the ,rabs *1/136 after the fall of ,cre *1/116$ ,fter 'uch perseverance% they were successful and it was restored to the ?eor ian 'on7s$*K336 8his first successful atte'pt encoura ed the sa'e ?eor ian 'on7s to appeal a ain to the &ultan$ 8hrou h the intervention of the E'peror of Constantinople they as7ed for the ri hts to ?ol otha *13=56$*K306 It was probably in these circu'stances that they were able to return to Calvary and that they received per'ission for two 'on7s to be allowed to stay enclosed in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8heir presence at that site would be confir'ed by western pil ri's twenty years later$ It is not 7nown for sure when the ?eor ians obtained possession of the 7eys to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey held the' fro' 133=:1330$ We can say that with these concessions of the &ultan of E ypt the Christians a ain be an to worship in the &anctuaries% even thou h it was in a si'plified and private for'$ It is not so re'ar7able that the ?eor ians recovered the convent and church of the "oly Cross$ 8here was no doubt of their ownership$ 8he buildin s had been lost only a few years previous to all these events$ What is noteworthy is the &ultanAs e-traordinary benevolence% provisional as it was% in allowin the 'on7s to occupy Calvary and to per'it the' to stay within the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ Without doubt there were reasons and events of the day which influenced the &ultanAs decision$ )erhaps if we turn to certain pa es in the history of this sub;ect we will be able to understand this event better$

K33 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 'entioned throu hout 20% 2@% 22% 25% and 150$ K33 : !oud;ir ed:Dyn% "istoire de 92rusalem et "e4ron& traduite par "enr# Sau!aire& Fragments de la Chroni;ue % )aris 152@% 123:120J "#AE lise de &ainte Croi- fut enlevEe au- chrEtiens% sous le rZea rave4 ne dAEl !ale7 En:.aser !oha''ed% fils de CElaoun% et on y fit un !asd;ed$ 8outefois% en lAannEe 2=0 *Co''$ /3 ;uillet 13=06% une a'bassade du roi de ?Eor ie et des envoyEs du sei neur de Constantinople Etant arrivEs auprGs du #ieutenant *.a[b6 du dit El:!ale7 En: .aser% de'andGrent 9uAon leur rendTt lAE lise$ , force dAinstances et de supplications% elle fut restituEe et re'ise F leurs a'bassadeurs"$ K30 : R$ (anin% "#es ?Eor iens F (Erusale'"% Echos d83rient% 1113% 33$ (anin does not report an historic te-t but 9uotes the ,rchi'andrite )apadopoulos <era'eus *1511:15156$ One should also consider what ?$ ?olubovich says in the Bi4lioteca Bio.Bi4liografica% I+% Cuaracchi 11/3% 5@$

II : 3 8he ?eor ians

8he ?eor ians are the inhabitants of a re ion southwest of the Caucasus 7nown as ?eor ia$ It is an area of seventy thousand s9uare 7ilo'eters with a population of about five 'illion people$ &ince 15=3 it has been part of Russia$ In ti'es past it was also 7nown as Colchidan% Iberia% and ,lbania$ 8he ?eor ians were converted to Christianity very early$ 8hey were represented at the Council of .icea *3/06$ Ecclesiastically they were dependant upon the )atriarchate of ,ntioch$ )olitically they were under the protection of the >yBantine E'peror$ ,ll this e-plains why their cler y had adopted the ?ree7 Rite and lan ua e in their litur y$ 8he ?eor ians were victi's to the invasions of the ,rabs% the 8ur7s% the )ersians% and the !on ols% all of who' atte'pted to i'pose Isla' upon the'$ >esides bein brave in co'bat% the ?eor ians were also steadfast in adherin to their Christian faith$ Despite these 'any cala'ities% ?eor ia was a constant source of ecclesiastical vocations$ ,lready at the end of the Fourth Century the area had provided 'any 'on7s found throu hout the >yBantine E'pireJ ,ntioch% Cyprus% >itinia% on !t$ ,thos% as well as in Constantinople$ 8hey founded nu'erous 'onasteries in )alestine$ ,'on those in the area of (erusale' was &t$ &aba in the (udean wilderness$ Other noted 'onasteries were the convent near the place of the 'artyrdo' of &t$ (a'es the ?reat *sold to the ,r'enians in the &eventeenth Century6 and the !onastery of the "oly Cross% 'entioned previously% which was built or restored around 1=3=$ 8here were also 'any others of lesser i'portance$ 8he ?eor ians were a lar e and powerful presence in the "oly #and$ >y the end of 1=0= they succeeded in enterin into the service of the "oly )laces$ In that sa'e year their <in % >a rat% as7ed the E'peror of Constantinople *Constantine ID !ono'achus6 for half of Calvary$ It was probably the southern half$ 8hey also as7ed for a ?eor ian bishop for (erusale'$ 8here was a ?eor ian bishop present in (erusale' until the arrival of the 8ur7s *1=216$ .o pil ri' of the Crusader era *1=11:1/116 has noted the presence of the ?eor ians in the Church of the "oly &epulchre% probably because they were included in the litur y of the ,rab cler y of the ?ree7 Rite for certain feasts of the year$ In the 8hirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries the ?eor ians en;oyed a privile ed condition above the other Christians$ 8his was especially so fro' the year 1/0= onward% that is% durin the dynasty of the !a'elu7e &ultans$ (a'es de +itry *1//@6 wrote that while 'ost Christians entered (erusale' with difficulty and lived a 'ost tenuous e-istence% the ?eor ians were able to 'ove about freely$ In fact% when ?eor ian pil ri's arrived they entered the city with fla s unfurled and held hi h$ 8hey were not re9uired to pay the tawhich was i'posed upon other Christians$*K3@6 !any ?eor ians served in the E yptian ar'y% protectin both E ypt and its dependant territories$ 8hey for'ed a corps of faithful and brave soldiers$ For that reason they had a certain influence in the overn'ent at Cairo and their hu'ble fellow:country'en were able to en;oy their protection and a privile ed position$ 8he &ultan En:.aser 7new well that there were also thousands of ?eor ian cavalry and infantry in the !on ol ar'y of <haBan$ 8his did not displease hi'$ "e also 7new that there were other brave and loyal

?eor ians devoted to his !a'elu7e re i'e in his own 'ilitary force$ For these reasons it is easily understood how the ?eor ian reli ious had the faith and coura e to as7 the &ultan of E ypt for the Church of the "oly Cross in (erusale'% for Calvary% for the presence of two reli ious in the Church of the "oly &epulchre% and how they obtained possession of the 7eys to the Edicule of the 8o'b of the #ord$*K326

K3@ : Iacobus de +itriaco% "istoria Ierosol#mitana seu 3rientalis% c$ #DDID *De &andoli% Itinera% III% 30/:3036$ K32 : (anin% "#es ?Eor iens F (Erusale'"% 3/ and /11$

II : 3 ,tte'pts of the Western Christians or the Fran7s

(a'es II% <in of ,ra on *1/@3:13/26 had ood access to the E yptian Court% probably because he was respected as havin the 'ost powerful fleet in the !editerranean durin those years$ Durin his lon rei n he sent several a'bassadors to Cairo *in 1/134 13=34 13=04 13134 13156$ In 13// he sent a si-th a'bassador$ ,'on other re9uests presented to the &ultan% this one as7ed per'ission for twelve Do'inican Friars of ,ra on to have the custody and service of the "oly &epulchre and to live in the place where the #atin )atriarch of (erusale' had previously lived$ 8he &ultan a reed to the proposal$ In 13/3 twelve Do'inican Friars left &pain for ,le-andria and Cairo$ Fro' there they went to (erusale' via ?aBa$*K356 It see's that they lived in the present s'all convent of the Franciscans which they found in rundown condition$ )il ri's to (erusale' lod ed in that house after havin entered the "oly &epulchre in the afternoon$ 8hey paid the entrance ta- and then rested durin the ni ht when the church was closed to visitors and prayer$ ,fterwards% whoever wished was able to rest in the aforesaid place until the church was reopened in the 'ornin of the followin day$ Either the da'pness of the ancient constructions caused by the lac7 of sunli ht because of the surroundin buildin s or the fact that the overn'ent door7eepers% appointed to 7eep the only entrance door of the Church closed at all ti'es% not allowin anyone to enter or to leave% 'ade life for the Do'inicans very difficult$*K316 8hus it is understandable that these priests who were dedicated to study and to preachin were not able to live as prisoners$ ,fter one year they were thorou hly displeased with their e-perience and the Do'inicans abandoned the place and returned for ood to their own country$ 8he two ?eor ian 'on7s who had been seen in the Church of the "oly &epulchre by the Irish Franciscan pil ri' Friar &i'on de &i'eonis *FitBsi''ons6 and his co'panion Friar "u h *13//:13/36 re'ained in the Church$ 8he ?eor ians had a house ;ust a few 'eters away fro' the door of the Church$ 8hey also possessed other 'onasteries in the city$ 8heir confreres in these 'onasteries provided their necessities% even thou h the two 'on7s re'ained closed with the Church itself$ 8hey could also be replaced by two other 'on7s whenever the doors of the Church were opened to allow pil ri's to enter or to leave$ 8his e-plains how the ?eor ians could re'ain there even under such stressful circu'stances$ Despite the discoura in e-perience of the Do'inicans% the Franciscan Friars of ,ra on felt a stron desire to live and pray in the "oly )laces$ 8hey be ed <in (a'es II to intercede on their behalf with the &ultan of E ypt in order to obtain the sa'e concessions that had previously been iven to the Do'inicansJ to rant a place of devotion within the Church of the "oly &epulchre and% as a place to live% the ad;oinin pil ri' hospice$*K3=6 <in (a'es% out of his love for the "oly )laces and his respect for the Franciscan Order *of which he was a 8ertiary6 a reed to this second proposal$ "e 9uic7ly dispatched an a'bassador to Cairo who arrived there on ,u ust /=% 13/2$ &ultan En:.aser raciously ranted the re9uest of the <in of ,ra on$ )leased with his success% the a'bassador returned to >arcelona after si- 'onths$ Hnfortunately the practical results of his 'ission hun suspendedJ <in (a'es II had died on .ove'ber /%

13/2$*K316 Charles I+ the "andso'e *1/13:13/5% the <in of France since 13//6 also sent an a'bassador to the &ultan of Cairo in ,u ust of 13/2$ "is re9uests were the sa'e as the a'bassador of &pain$ Hnfortunately both a'bassadors had e'bar7ed upon the sa'e ship$ Instead of unitin their efforts in order to uarantee the co'plete success of their 'issions% they opposed each other ferociously% even in the presence of the &ultan$ .otwithstandin this rave scandal and discord% the two a'bassadors returned to Europe aboard the sa'e ship where they continued to fi ht unceasin ly$ ,rrivin in &ardinia% both received notice of their deaths of their respective soverei ns$*K3/6 .ot only did their inco'prehensible vindictiveness not cease% but it led to the destruction of the friendship between their two <in do's$ 8his was only healed on !arch 1=% 133/% fifteen years later$ &ince the French overn'ent had not obtained a satisfactory response to its various diplo'atic 'issions% it assu'ed a belli erent attitude$ Finally the French ended up callin for a Crusade% pro'otin an alliance of Catholic .ations *>avaria% +enice% Cyprus% ,r'enia% and others6% and ave chase to the 8ur7ish and &aracen navies with a flotilla based in the !editerranean *133/:13306$*K336 Fortunately the &ultan of E ypt always distin uished between those Christian overn'ents which were sincere friends and those who had declared the'selves ene'ies$ "owever it is not difficult to perceive how the attitude of the French would have had so'e da'a in influence on the decisions of the &ultan$

K35 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 23:50% /3/:/33$ "!oreover% at the re9uest of the <in of ,ra on% the &ultan% who had been rendered a noteworthy honor and been shown a special love% was pleased to concede and to decree that the custody and the service of the "oly &epulchre was iven in perpetuity to the Order of the Friars )reachers% which Order was hi hly estee'ed in Christianity$$$ ,nd that the friars be iven as their place of livin the houses which had been the )atriarchAs since they were ne-t to the place of the "oly &epulchre"$ In the sa'e volu'e of ?olubovich *p$ //06 we read in the itinerary written by so'e Catalanian pil ri's about a pil ri' of Cervera *&pain6 by the na'e of ?$ De 8re'ps% who arrived in ,le-andria and obtained a letter in Cairo fro' the &ultan% an order to be able to o safely and securely throu h his land in the co'pany of twelve )reachers who' the 7in of ,ra on had sent to the &ultan for service in the "oly &epulchre$ Cf$ alsoJ ,$ ,rce% Miscelanea de Tierra Santa% III% (erusale' 1120% 1=0:131$ K31 : For the housin of pil ri's in the church of the "oly &epulchre% cf$ note 12$ K3= : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 3=1:310$ Fro' the letter to the &ultanJ "What is 'ore% o &ire% since we also have% as you 7now% a reat devotion for the "oly 8o'b of (esus Christ% and since we have heard fro' certain Christians% Friars !inor% who a short ti'e a o have co'e fro' (erusale'% that the sa'e Church of the "oly &epulchre does not have any decent or sufficient services as it should have$ 8herefore% we as7 \our "i hness% with all the affection that you% for our sa7e% be willin to concede that the reli ious Friars !inor of our 7in do'% have so'e devout place in the church of the sa'e "$ &epulchre% and a place near to that church4 where they will be able to serve ?od and confir' the Christian pil ri's in the faithJ and that these Friars !inor be able to travel freely in your 7in do' and that you will not de'and tribute% tolls% nor any duty% and that sa'e Friars !inor especially% and all other Christians% we reco''end to your protection and that of your 'inisters$ ,nd with this intention *we be you6 to concede and to issue those fir'ans that will be necessary$ !ay this brin us% o &ire% reat ;oy and reat honor% and we will be i''ensely rateful to your "i hness$ ?iven at >arcelona% the /=th day of the 'onth of ,u ust% in the year of Our #ord 13/2"$ K31 : ,fter the concession of the &ultan we have two docu'ents that relate to the reli ious history of the "oly #and and which ou ht to have had unbiased 'otives$ 8he first is a letter fro' )ope (ohn DDII *,u ust 1% 13/56 sent to the )rovincial !inister of the "oly #and who resided at Cyprus$ In this letter he ave the faculty of sendin two reli ious and one do'estic every year to the "oly #and *?olubovich% "Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 333:330$ 8he second docu'ent is a re9uest presented to the &ultan *February /5% 133=6 by <in ,lfonse I+ */ .ove'ber 13/2 : /3 (anuary 1336$ "e as7ed per'ission for )eter of #apalu to occupy the #atin )atriarchal &ee of (erusale'$ 8his Do'inican was the titular )atriarch of (erusale'$ ,lthou h the reply of the &ultan see's to have been favorable to this arran e'ent% it was never acted upon *,rce% Miscelanea de Tierra Santa% III% 1106$ K3/ : ?olubovich% >iblioteca >io:biblio rafica% III% 110$ K33 : ?olubovich% >iblioteca >io:biblio rafica% III% 301:3@0$

II : 0 8he Official >ilateral .e otiations between the <in do' of .aples and the &ultan of Cairo

Durin those years% despite the political and 'ilitary fiasco of the <in of France% two Franciscan Friars% Father Ro er ?uGrin * or ?arin6 and Father ?Grard Odon *Eudes6% !inister ?eneral of the Friars !inor% both of the Reli ious )rovince of ,9uitaine% perceived that a 'ilitary solution to the proble' was not oin to restore the "oly &ites to Christians$ Instead% they saw that the possibility of a ;uridical bilateral accord% that is% a peaceful 'eans% was preferred$ 8here was precedent for thisJ the accord of Frederic7 II *1//16 and that of <in Richard of Cornwall *1/316$ 8his was a peaceful 'eans for the cler y to have secure and continual worship in the &anctuaries$ !oreover% there was a reater possibility of concrete success in this fashion than throu h the custo'ary "benevolent concessions" of the &ultans$ &everal favorable circu'stances at the ti'e 'ade this approach even 'ore possible$ 8he first favorable circu'stance was the reli ious Beal of Donna &ancha of !aiorca% the Cueen of .aples$ &ince she was not able to have children throu h her 'arria e with Robert dA,n;ou% she consecrated her life to benevolent wor7s and to buildin churches and 'onasteries in the <in do' of .aples$*K336 8he second favorable circu'stance consisted in the ood disposition of the &ultan En:.aser !uha''ed in rantin Christians use of their "oly )laces$ "e had already de'onstrated his willin ness in this re ard by his interactions with the <in of ?eor ia% the E'peror of Constantinople% and the <in of ,ra on$ 8he third propitious circu'stance was the ood political and co''ercial relationship that had e-isted for about a century between the <in do' of .aples and E ypt$ In accord with his !inister ?eneral% Father Ro er succeeded in convincin the soverei ns of .aples% especially Cueen &ancha% to ne otiate a bilateral accord with the &ultan En:.aser on the restitution of the "oly )laces to the Fran7ish cler y as had been done twice before durin the previous century by other E yptian &ultans$ On a previous occasion such a treaty had been arran ed 9uic7ly with &ultan !ale7 El:<a'el because of the presence of a Crusader force in the "oly #and$ In order to arran e the sa'e treaty and to liberate the "oly &ites fro' the &aracens and to repair the'% it was necessary to offer a lar e a'ount of 'oney beyond the e-penses needed for the restorations and reconstructions of the &anctuaries$ 8he threat of the French Crusade and the presence of the lar e Christian fleet in the !editerranean convinced the &ultan to pay attention to the petition of the royal couple of .aples$ 8he whole notion of enterin into and successfully co'pletin such ne otiations 'ust have been very pleasin to Robert and &ancha$ While the rest of the Christian world was tal7in about another Crusade% another 'ilitary venture to liberate the "oly )laces% they would acco'plish the sa'e oal by peaceful 'eans : the liberation of the 8o'b of Christ% a oal which had eluded EuropeAs 7in s and 7ni hts for one hundred fifty years$ In an era of widespread selfishness and political disinterest which could ill:afford another 'ilitary confrontation with E ypt% they would display before the whole world their own deep reli ious faith and their un9uestioned devotion toward the "oly #and$ ,ccordin to the Franciscan Chronicles of the ti'e% Ro er ?arin left .aples in 133/: 1333 with a roup of Franciscan 'issionaries who were headin for ,r'enia$*K306

,lthou h the Chronicles do not 'ention this% it is 9uite possible that at Cairo Ro er was not able to ranso' the "oly )laces fro' the E yptian overn'ent on his own authority $ In order to acco'plish his 'ission he was acco'panied by so'e e-pert co'panions *civil representatives of the <in of .aples and counselors of the a'bassador6 who were e-perienced in these diplo'atic affairs$ &uch e-perts were necessary in view of the e-traordinary nature of the ne otiations and to ensure positive results$ E-actly what did the &overei ns of .aples as7 of the &ultan of Cairo] 8he a'bassador sou ht to establish historical precedent$ ,t the outset of the ne otiations he would have 'entioned the very ood political and co''ercial relationship which had e-isted between the two overn'ents without interruption since the ti'e of Frederic7 II% friend of !ale7 El:<a'el% and the ti'e of Charles I% <in of .aples% who was also a friend of the &ultan >aybars$ For al'ost three centuries the sy'bol of that unfailin friendship was the ,'alfi Cuarter of (erusale'$ It had been founded with the benevolent concession of the &ultan of E ypt El:!ostanBer *1=30:1=136 by the city of ,'alfi *near .aples6$ ,lthou h used for different purposes% the hospital:hospice was a center of ood will for all people$ It was 'ana ed by the noblewo'an #ady !ar aret of &icily who was 7nown to all for her charitable wor7s$ 8he &overei ns of .aples did not as7 for the territory of the "oly #and% but rather for the peaceful return of the "oly )laces to Christians so that they 'i ht worship at those sites$ 8his was the sa'e concession iven to Frederic7 II in 1//1 and to Richard Cornwall in 1/31$ It was their wish that there would be no need in the future for 'ore Christian Crusades which would disturb the peace of the &ultanAs 7in do'$ 8hey also hoped that such a concession would be a source of divine blessin upon E ypt and bestow a splendid title of eternal lory upon the au ust brow of the &ultan$ En:.aser 'ust have been very pleased with such words$ 8hese ideas coincided perfectly with his own$ In fact% in 1331 he had sent a 'essa e to the )ope and to the <in of France throu h the papal le ate Friar )eter of )alud% the titular )atriarch of (erusale'J "that he declared to the' his willin ness to concede the 'ost a'ple e-e'ptions to the 'erchants% the full liberty of worship to the priests% to the Christians% and to the pil ri's who ca'e to the places of the "oly #and% and even the possession of the "oly )laces% on condition that the )ope re'ove all prohibitions of trade between Europe and E ypt$ ,s for the clai' to the restitution of the "oly #and% the &ultan declared that neither prayers nor threats would ever 'a7e hi' cede one inch of land to the Christians *nec passu' pedis6"$*K3@6 8he &ultan was fully satisfied with these arran e'ents and ordered his )ri'e !inister *the ?rand +iBir6 and his subordinates to be in the ne otiations in a favorable at'osphere$ .aturally% with such ood be innin s% Father Ro er and all the persons of the e'bassy had reason to believe that within a few wee7s and with so'e racious ift they would receive the &anctuaries of the "oly &epulchre% the Cenacle% the .ativity% the 8o'b of the !adonna% ?ethse'ane% the ,scension% 8abor% .aBareth% and others in (udea and ?alilee$ "owever% the contrary proved true$ 8he ?rand +iBir and a " ood roup" of rene ade e-:Coptic Christians showed e-cessive Beal and "patriotic love for the

country"$*K326 8hey restrained the enerous hand of the &ultan so that he would not be cheated by those "do s of Fran7ish infidels" and have the' occupyin the whole "oly #and% the #and of Isla'W For the' it was a 'atter of treason$ 8hus% instead of ta7in only a few wee7s% the a ree'ent too7 'any years to ne otiate% a delay which was both costly and which offered no certain outco'e$ 8he ne otiations see' to have been li'ited to the four sites considered as the 'ost i'portantJ the >asilica of the .ativity at >ethlehe'% the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna% the Cenacle% and the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ Fro' the be innin of the ne otiations they had to consider the first two sites$ 8hey offered the reatest chance of success$ 8he Fran7ish Cler y had been established in >ethlehe' ever since the ti'e of the visit of >aybars *1/@@6$ +ery soon a new difficulty aroseJ the le al concession would not be the sa'e as in the years 1//1 and 1/31% but would be 'ade only on the conditions that the Oriental cler y would have a presence at the &ites and that overn'ent door7eepers would be posted at the 'ain doors of the shrines in order to collect the entrance ta- fro' the pil ri's$ In theory everythin was ranted% but in reality very little had been ranted% and that had ta7en a lon ti'e to ne otiate$ 8he physical condition of the churches and convents was a sha'bles due to the indifference of the !osle' overn'ents$ 8he ri ht to repair the' was not totally refused% but it was delayed until a 'ore opportune ti'e$ Despite the beautiful words of friendship which passed between the two overn'ents% the political cli'ate and the 'entality of the !a'elu7e &ultans and their overn'ents were very different fro' the noble attitude in the last days of the ,yyubid &ultans who in their ti'e did not want to i'itate the liberal attitude of the Caliph O'ar *@356$ ,fter ei ht centuries of ,rab control the "oly )laces had fallen into incredible disrepair$ 8he wars between 1/33 and 13=3 had caused a certain distrust a'on st the !a'elu7e &ultans% as well as had the recent clai's of the French overn'ent that they would obtain the territory of )alestine by peace or by the sword$ 8he ne otiations for the Cenacle followed$ It appeared to be a &anctuary buried a'on st reat ruins$ In the 'inds of the &aracens it was not considered as a "oly )lace of the first order$ !any difficulties had to be overco'e$ In the end% however% the &ultan ranted the ri ht of e-clusive possession% alon with per'ission to 'a7e restorations and the possibility to purchase ad;oinin land% whether it was privately owned or owned by the 'unicipality of (erusale'$ 8he additional land was desired in order to build a s'all convent and a future hospice for wo'en% as well as to provide space for a arden and ce'etery for the Friars$ Finally they had to discuss the 'ost difficult &ite of allJ the "oly &epulchre$ .e otiations for the "oly &epulchre were 'ade 'ore difficult because of the presence of the ?eor ians$ It too7 a lon ti'e to conclude an a ree'ent$ Even when finished% it was not particularly satisfactory because of the 'any restrictions i'posed by the overn'ent$ 8he entire Christian world considered the Church of the "oly &epulchre *which included the site of Calvary6 as the 'ost i'portant Christian &anctuary$ 8he reat drea' of the

Crusaders for over two hundred years% and now the drea' of the &overei ns of .aples% was to possess this "oly )lace$ 8his reat estee' for the 8o'b of Christ was well 7nown to the &aracens% the 8ur7s% and the !on ols$ It was precisely for the liberation of this &anctuary that Crusaders had left their ho'elands and ventured into far:away places and wa ed dan erous wars$ ,lthou h the #atin <in do' of (erusale' and the )rincipalities of &yria had been van9uished% the hope of liberatin the "oly &epulchre never died$ 8he &ultan ri htly ascertained that by rantin ri hts within the "oly &epulchre to the &overei ns of .aples he would divert the Western Christians% especially those who were ene'ies of E ypt% fro' their thou hts of new crusades$ In this way he could preserve the peace of the !a'elu7e E'pire$ Fro' a purely political point of view the &ultan 7new that it would be to his advanta e to rant the concessions% not only to benefit the Fran7s% but to his own benefit as well$ Despite these si ns of ood will% the overn'ent at Cairo was faced with a truly e'barrassin situation$ 8he &ultan hi'self% as we have already seen% had iven the use of Calvary and the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre to the ?eor ian 'on7s$ "ow could he save face in this situation] Could he suddenly ta7e away these two "oly )laces fro' the ?eor ian 'on7s who were also his loyal sub;ects] 8hey held these sites only by virtue of a "benevolent concession"$ .ow he was ne otiatin for a ;uridically bindin contract which would return the sites to the Fran7s who had le ally possessed the' two hundred years before$ In the current situation it was preferable for the E yptians not to disturb an arran e'ent which could lead to unpredictable political and 'ilitary conse9uences% both for the E yptians and for the Fran7s$ It was preferable to have patience with the situation% even if it too7 'any years$ In future years a 'ore opportune 'o'ent for action 'i ht arise for the Fran7s to ta7e possession of the Edicule in the "oly &epulchre$ In short% theoretically% the ri ht of the Fran7s over the 'ost holy part of the &anctuary was reco niBed% as it had been in re ard to the &anctuaries of the 8o'b of the !adonna and the .ativity$ In fact% before the end of the Fourteenth Century all the ri hts which had been suspended at the ti'e of the ne otiations would be reco niBed$ .aturally% the Fran7ish Reli ious *the Franciscans6 were not able to pursue all these ne otiations on their own$ It was not always easy% but in order to uarantee the validity of the a ree'ents they enlisted the aid of other European soverei ns$

K33 : 8his was not the first ti'e that Cueen &ancha had contact with the Eastern world$ 8he first occasion was in 13/= when she sent four Franciscan reli ious "to the city of ,le-andria% in the warehouse of the !arseilles 'erchants to assist spiritually the Christians who 'ade the voya e overseas" *?$ ?olubovich% Serie cronologica dei primi superiori di Terra Santa% ?erusale''e 1515% 3/2% and note 1$ ?$ D^,ndrea% I Frati Minori apoletani nel loro s!iluppo storico% .apoli 11@2% 25% 3@3% 3@3 and passi'6$ K30 : Chronicon DDI+ ?eneraliu' *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 1:1=6J ",nno Do'ini !CCCDDDIII ide' ?eneralis *?eraldus Odonis6$$$ 'isit 'ultos fratres de )rovincia ,9uitaniae et de aliis partibus Ordinis ad convertendu'$$$ ,r'enos ,r'eniae et alios infideles$$$ De 9uibus frater Ro erius ?arini dictae )rovinciae ad 8erra' &ancta' per ens% obtinuit a &oldano ,e ypti locu' sacru' !ontis &ion% ubi fuit illud coenaculu' 'a nu' stratu'$$$ In 9uo locu' fratru' conventu' aedificavit4 et e- tunc ibi et in &ancto &epulcro fratres nostri habitaverunt us9ue in hodieru' die'"$ 8he chronicler wrote this in 13@= *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 13:/=% 01:@3% //0://@6$ K3@ : 8he &ultan e-pressed these ideas to the Do'inican >rother )eter of #a)alu% the )apal #e ate *13316% accordin to the Franciscan chronicler of the "Chronicon de #anercost" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 301:3@2% especially 3@3:3@36$ Hpon reflection on the co'ple- history of the ranso' of the "oly )laces fro' the hands of the !osle's% we have co'e to believe that the nation which had the reatest interest in the transactions was actually the Republic of +enice$ In past centuries and in the be innin of the Fourteenth Century% +enice was in a stron er position econo'ically and politically than the other European nations$ 8hus% +enice could act 'ore boldly with the E yptian overn'ent$ 8he &ultans of Cairo% both the ,yyubids and the !a'elu7es% were well aware of the fact that +enice had 'any ti'es ris7ed papal e-co''unication in order to continue trade with E ypt$ It was clear that the "&erenissi'a" on the one hand had sent its ships to E ypt loaded with iron% wood% ar's% 'ilitary and industrial technicians and e'ployees% all of which were lac7in in the ,rab lands$ On the other hand% +enice stopped the Christian ,llies because their cause would have da'a ed the co''ercial and diplo'atic relations between +enice and E ypt$ We hold that the reatest service rendered by +enice to E ypt was the detourin of the Fourth Crusade *1/=/:1/=36 fro' the "oly #and to Constantinople$ +enice participated in the Crusades only when they were not directed a ainst E ypt$ In fact% two other Crusades% the Fifth *1/156 and the &i-th *1/316% were disastrous failures on E yptian territory$ 8he Fourteenth Century repeats the history of the Fourth Crusade$ )hilip +I% 7in of France% pro'oted a Crusade a ainst E ypt in 1331$ "e re9uested an alliance with +enice$ +enice a reed to the Crusade% but only because it was certain that the Christian #ea ue would never e-ecute it$ On the contrary% +enice a ain decided at this ti'e to divert the Crusader ships a ainst the 8ur7s% their own constant and obstinate ene'y *cf$ ?olubovich% >iblioteca >io:biblio rafica% II% 11/:1136$ In e-chan e for favorable trade status and for this constant 'ilitary policy the &ultans of E ypt ranted +enice so'e privile es that were not even iven to their own sub;ectsJ freedo' of cult% free co''erce% reat personal re ard% and respect for their personal property$ In one of the si- letters sent by the &ultan El:,del to the Do e )ietro _iani *1/=0:1//16 we readJ "Et o'nes 9ui vadunt in pere rinatione' ad &anctu' &epulchru' cu' +eneticis% sint salvi et securi% in personis et in rebus" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% /516$ In 1/02 the !a'elu7e &ultan ,yba7 ave the Republic of +enice the )rotectorate of the &yrian Christians *?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I% Cuaracchi 11=@% /306$ 8his lasted until the occupation of &yria by the 8ur7s *101@:10126$ In 13=3 the E'ir of ,cre and &afed wrote to the +enetian Do e in the na'e of &ultan En:.aser !oha''edJ "Et tale est praeceptu' do'ini 'ei% 9uod e o debea' salvare et custodire et honorare ho'ines +enetie super o'nes ho'ines 'undi$ Et si ali9ui de vestris vellent ire ad sanctu' &epulchru' pere re% nos facie'us eis dare scorta' eundo et redeundo sine ali9uo ti'ore de 'undo$$$ Et si ali9ui vellent habitare in nostris partibus% salvabuntur et celebrabuntur per nostros sicut nos ipsi$ Et fiet eis honor plus9ua' ipsi petere sciantU *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio. 4i4liografica% III% /556$ 8herefore the Republic of +enice had the power to easily persuade the E yptian overn'ent to consi n the Christian "oly )laces to the' *naturally without the territory of )alestine6 as a pled e of the solid peace and sincere ood will which endured between E ypt and the West$ Hnfortunately the stron voice of propa anda continued to spread the notion of a 'ilitary solution throu hout the European nations$ Hnfortunately no one su ested to the leaders of +enice the idea of a peaceful solution for the proble'% the idea which had been iven to Robert and &ancha of .aples$ If +enice had followed a peaceful course of action it would have added to the lory of the +enetian Republic$ "owever% ;ust as no one at that ti'e thou ht of venturin past the &traits of ?ibraltar% an adventure which would have stretched the lory of +enice to the .ew World% no one thou ht of a peaceful solution$ Instead +enice spent its ener ies in the narrow world of the Eastern !editerranean% a'on the s'all ,rab% 8ur7ish% and ?ree7 ban7ers$ In the end +enice would be absorbed into the .apoleonic and ,ustrian E'pires$ K32 : For this particular infor'ation% see also ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% 3@@:3@2 and the footnote$

II : @ 8he Results of the .e otiations at Cairo

,fter all these lon and difficult ne otiations what did the &overei ns of .aples actually obtain] a$ 8he ri ht to occupy the 'ost sacred part of the three &anctuaries4*K356 ,t >ethlehe'% all the ?rotto of the .ativity% with the two lateral stairways% and at the top the bronBe doors with the 7eys to open and close the'4 in the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna% the Edicule which contained the 8o'b% with an altar to the north of the Edicule4 in the Church of the "oly &epulchre they obtained the southern half of Calvary% the ?rotto of the Findin of the Cross% the Chapel of the ,pparition of the Risen (esus to "is !other with the ad;oinin Chapel of the !a dalen% and all the intervenin space% and finally% and at that ti'e only theoretically% the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8o all this they also obtained e-clusive ri hts over the whole of the Cenacle$ b$ 8he ri ht to care for and repair the three ChurchesJ of the .ativity% of the 8o'b of the !adonna% and of the "oly &epulchre$ ,t this ti'e these ri hts were only theoretical$ In 1332 the ri ht of possession of the >asilica at >ethlehe' was reco niBed$ 8hrou h the help of Cueen ?iovanna of .aples the ri ht to the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna was obtained in 13@/ alon with the private use of the 7eys to the Church$ 8he ri ht to the possession of this &anctuary was publicly confir'ed in 131/ by ?Erard Chauvet *Calveti6% the Custos of the "oly #and$ 8he ri ht of possession of the Church of the "oly &epulchre was first iven near the end of the Fourteenth Century because in 1312 the Franciscans received per'ission fro' the &ultan to repair parts of that Church$ c$ 8he ri ht of constructin and repairin convents$ ,t the Cenacle% per'ission was iven to be in i''ediate construction$ ,t the other three &anctuaries% per'ission for construction was deferred until a later% 'ore opportune ti'e$ In >ethlehe' the Franciscans were iven the old !onastery of the ,u ustinians which had been ruined by >aybars in 1/@@$ It was restored by the Franciscans$ 8he Russian pil ri' I natius of &'olens7 reports findin Franciscan Friars in the convent there in 1351$ )er'ission to build a convent near the 8o'b of the !adonna was never iven despite the repeated re9uests of )eter I+ of ,ra on and Cueen ?iovanna of .aples *13@/:13@36$ 8he s'all convent of the "oly &epulchre was conceded so'eti'e after 1322$ In 131@ the ,rab Cler y of the ?ree7 Rite occupied a part of that convent% but they were re'oved by order of the &ultan$*K316 d$ 8he ri ht of pree'inence and precedence over all the Oriental Rites in reli ious functions was iven$ 8hese two ri hts were reco niBed as incontestable$ 8here were two reasons for this4 1$ the sacred places were retained as the property of the overn'ent of the Fran7s4 and /$ the Churches were open for certain reli ious sole'nities accordin to the Ro'an #itur ical Calendar which the Fran7s followed$ On these feasts the cler y and the faithful of the Eastern Rites were able to have their own cere'onies$*K0=6 e$ 8hey received the faculty to sin a sole'n !ass at the 'ain altars on certain festivals of the year$ In each &anctuary the 'ain altar was found in the central apse% facin east$ 8hese altars were iven to the ,rab cler y of the ?ree7 Rite durin the ne otiations at Cairo$*K016 8his ri ht was reserved in view of the reat nu'bers of pil ri's who were not able to be contained in the ?rotto of the .ativity and the two s'all Edicules *Church

of the "oly &epulchre and Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna6$ "owever% since it was rarely used% and because of other circu'stances% this ri ht is no lon er e-ercised$ 8he Choir area% east of the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre% re'ains to this day as a #atin possession$ Its location corresponds al'ost e-actly to that which was east of the ,nastasis *as it was before 11316$ 8oday% on that spot% the reli ious choir assists and sin s at the !ass sun at the "oly &epulchre every day% e-cept when the !ass is sun at one of the two #atin altars at Calvary$ When the ne otiations in Cairo be an between the &overei ns of .aples and the &ultan of Cairo the various Eastern Reli ious had the official ri hts to these three &anctuaries$ 8he ,rab Cler y of the ?ree7 Rite had% as was 'entioned% the three 'ain altars which are found in the central apses of the &anctuaries$ 8hey had possession of the ad;oinin )resbyteries$ 8his privile e was probably iven to the' because this Eastern Rite was 'ore represented in the territory and because they had e-ercised custody of the "oly )laces which they held fro' @35 until 1=21$ 8he other Rites% not havin an established precedent% received a place where they could have their own altars$ In short% we can say that the &overei ns of .aples received the four &anctuaries but with these 9ualificationsJ 1$ in three of the' so'e space was iven to the cler y of various Eastern Rites4 /$ the 7eys were entrusted to overn'ent door7eepers$

K35 : ,nother e-a'ple of this is the Edicule of the ,scension$ 8o this day there is still evidence of the arran e'ent$ >efore the end of the Fourteenth Century the Franciscans% in the spirit of the ne otiations of 1333% as7ed the ,uthorities in (erusale' and at Cairo to restore to the' *as Fran7s6 the other &anctuaries on the !ount of Olives$ 8hese had deteriorated considerably durin the !osle' period$ 8his re9uest had been denied$ It is probably% however% that on this occasion they were iven per'ission to celebrate the ,scension of the #ord$ 8he preparation for this feast be an on the 'ornin of the +i il$ 8hey cleaned and decorated the Edicule *which was the actual "oly )lace6$ 8hat ni ht the reli ious and the faithful who were present slept in the church *which was currently used as a 'os9ue by a few poor !osle' fa'ilies6$ 8he Feast of the ,scension was observed accordin to the #atin litur ical calendar$ 8he various co''unities of the Eastern cler y% either Catholic or Orthodo-% were not reco niBed here as owners of the &anctuary% as they were at the other "oly )laces$ 8hat is% they were not considered heirs% as were the Fran7s of the 1/th and 13th Centuries$ 8heir ri ht to celebrate the feast here depended upon the day of celebration accordin to the #atins *as it was at other &ites as well6$ 8hey prayed separately accordin to their own rites% outside the Edicule% near the wall that had surrounded the Crusader church$ 8his was also the arran e'ent which was practiced at the other three &anctuaries *the Church of the .ativity in >ethlehe'% the 8o'b of the !adonna% and the "oly &epulchre6$ 8he sole'n celebration of the ,scension has been noted in only a few rare docu'ents$ 8he accounts co'e fro' pil ri's who participated in the litur ical functions that were led by the Franciscan cler y of (erusale'$ One particular report is noteworthy$ 8hou h brief% it reports the anti9uity of the custo'$ 8he report co'es fro' the itinerary of the French >ishop #ouis de Rochechouart who visited (erusale' fro' (uly 3th to (uly 15th 13@1$ "ere are his e-act wordsJ "In loco hoc raro celebratur% sed% in die ,scensionis conveniunt o'nes Christiani ad hunc sacratissi'u' locu' pro sole'nibus celebrandisJ #atini% ,r'eni% ?raeci%` Iudi% etc$" *1e!ue de l83rient Latin% 1% 1513% /3@6$ , century later >oniface de &tefanis fro' Ra usa * 10516 na'ed only Catholic cler y and faithful *'e perenni cultu Terrae Sanctae% )$ Cyprianus de 8arvisio% +enetiis 1520% @2$6 In the afternoon of the +i il they went to the !ount of Olives for the Office of First +espers$ #ater they arose in the ni ht to sin !atins$ In the 'ornin they celebrated !ass and finished the Office$ >oniface noted that at that ti'e the church had been destroyed$ "e e-plained that the Friars slept in the Edicule itself% as is clearly 7nown fro' a very detailed description which is found in "Croniche o ,nnali di 8erra &anta" by )ietro +erniero% >oo7 II% Chapter 1/% of the year 1@3@ *Cf$ ?$ ?olubovich% ">iblioteca >io:biblio rafica"% .&$% ID% Cuaracchi 113@% 0=:01$6 8he 'anner of the litur ical functions was very si'ilar to those of today$ ,fter this date% and li7ewise respected for its anti9uity% the Franciscans erected 'ore tents in the sa'e area of the destroyed crusader church$ 8hese tents served as the sacristy% the refectory% and the dor'itory of the Friars$ In the followin century we find the old custo' ta7en so 'uch for ranted that it is included definitively in the Elenchus Caeremoniarum Terrae Sanctae *#isbon 1203% @3/% 16J *Fratres6 "hic sub tentoriis perseverant o'nes adus9ue se9uente' die'"$ In fact% when the Orthodo- celebrate the ,scension on the sa'e day as the #atins% the latter are the first to celebrate in the afternoon of the +i il$ ,t an established ti'e they 'a7e their sole'n entrance fro' the streets while sin in the X8e Deu'U$ 8hey process to the interior of the Edicule$ 8hen the entrances of the ?ree7s% ,r'enians% &yrians% and Copts ta7e place$ ,t the conclusion of these entrances% when the Edicule is free% it is decorated by the Franciscans with a paintin of the ,scension% with an altar% with a tapestry% with draperies on the walls% with an har'oniu'% and with chairs$ Everybody enters inside the chapel *wherever there is space6$ 8hey sin +espers and then the #itany of the &aints$ 8hey process around the outside of the Edicule three ti'es and return to the inside where they finish chantin +espers$ 8hen the four Eastern Rites *'entioned above6 be in to sin their +espers in the tent:chapels which were erected a ainst the eastern wall of the enclosure$ ,t a precise 'o'ent in their chantin they enter the Edicule ta7in turns incensin the space% ;ust as they do in si'ilar circu'stances in >ethlehe' and at the "oly &epulchre$ 8he custo' for the tents was thisJ durin this century the Franciscans have always put up two to the ri ht and two to the left% occupyin nearly half of the available space between the entrance and the Edicule$ 8he tent:chapels of the four Eastern Rites occupied the space between the Edicule and the eastern enclosure wall$ 8he appro-i'ate 'easure'ents of the tent: chapels areJ ,r'enians *north of the other three6% 13 'eters by 2 'eters% by 3 'eters hi h4 the Coptic% 3 'eters by /$0 'eters% by /$0 'eters hi h4 the &yrian% 3 'eters by 3 'eters by 3 'eters hi h4 and then the tent:chapel of the ?ree7s% fro' north to south% 13 'eters by 0 'eters by 3 to 3 'eters hi h$ >efore their own tent:chapels and near those of the #atins% the ,r'enians and ?ree7s erected a pyra'idal tent% about 3 'eters in dia'eter% which is used as a sacristy$ In conclusion% after 'ore than @== years !osle' custody of the &ite% the !osle's considered the Fran7s *#atins6 as the true e-:owners of this "oly )lace$ 8his was especially true for the Edicule% as it was at the Church of the .ativity at >ethlehe'% at the Edicule of the 8o'b of the !adonna% and at the 8o'b of the #ord at (erusale'$ 8his situation has re'ained unchan ed$ K31 : .$ Risciani% 'ocumenti e firmani% ?erusale''e 1131J fir'an of &ultan >ar9u9% 31:03$

K0= : +erniero narrates a typical eastern custo' practiced in the presence of the representatives of the 8ur7s in (erusale' in the 12th Century concernin the precedence of the #atin cler yJ "essendo che il )adre ?uardiano del !onte &ion tiene% co'e antico possesso e Co''issario ,postolico% il pri'o luo o$$$ fra tutti i prelati orientali% tanto nellAofficiar o far processioni nel &$ &epulchro% 9uanto nel ne otiar fra 8urchi% sedendo *benchG in terra alla turchesca6 appresso li >assF e Cadi% pri'o il nostro ?uardiano% poi il )atriarca dei ?reci% appresso il +escovo de li ,r'eni4 e con 9uesto si stabilisce in 9uei luo hi fra barbari et heretici la di nitF e precedenBa della Ro'ana Chiesa" *?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio. 4i4liografica% .&$% +I% Cuaracchi 11/1% 036$ K01 : 8he Franciscans of the Custody of the "oly #and did not for et to recall the ri ht of usin the !a;or ,ltar on certain occasions of the year in the "!E'orial" under the title Les Lieu> Saints which was presented at the )eace Conference in either the 1111 or 11// edition$ )ara raph 13% spea7in of the Church of >ethlehe'% saysJ "#es reli ieu- #atins$$$ 'aTtres de lAE lise% ils pouvait$$$ faire toutes les cErE'onies de leur culte sur le 'aTtre:autel de lAE lise"$

II : 2 !otives for the Delay and the Reasons of the Financial Costs

Fro' the two >ulls of )ope Cle'ent +I */1 .ove'ber 133/6 we 7now that the ne otiations were not easy to conduct and that the 'oney paid for the &anctuaries was no triflin a'ount$ #i7ewise% the ne otiations were not only for one &anctuary% but for the four i'portant ones$ 8he dealin s with the &ultan were not concerned with 'inor affairs of short duration as in previous years$ 8his ti'e they were ne otiations for a perpetual and fi-ed accord$ 8hey were definitive ne otiations for the e-clusive and le al possession of the Cenacle *where there were no overn'ent door7eepers or Eastern Cler y6 and for the le al% albeit conditional% possession of the other three &anctuaries$ 8he delay in arrivin at a solution was probably caused by a nu'ber of factorsJ 1$ the prudence of the E yptian overn'ent *the !a'elu7e overn'ent at Cairo6 in dealin for the first ti'e out of their own political and !osle' traditions with the sa'e Western Christians a ainst who' they had been wa in so 'any wars4 /$ they were in the process of creatin a new chapter of ;uridical history for the "oly )laces whose intentions were favorable to Christians% so'e of who' still professed to be direct ene'ies of E ypt4 3$ the )ope had not yet re'oved the prohibition *at least certain stron restrictions6 of free trade with E ypt4 and 3$ the <in of France was still pro'otin another Crusade$ Without doubt the ne otiations also involved the tric7y a'e of how 'uch 'oney to ive to the &ultan and his 'inisters for the various &anctuaries$ 8he &ultan and his 'inisters *and this would prove to be even 'ore of a proble' later at Constantinople6 de'onstrated a 7ind of native wea7ness : an insatiable appetite for 'oney% especially Christian 'oney$ 8hese 'en were s7illed at displayin their wea7ness on certain occasions when they wished to let their victi's 7now that the 'atters under discussion were not solvable with e'pty hands$ E-actly what were the financial intri ues of the ne otiations] "ow 'uch 'oney had the &overei ns of .aples been forced to pay in order to obtain these four &anctuaries] 8he only testi'ony available co'es fro' two pil ri's$ 8he first source was a ?er'an Franciscan Friar% "8he ,nony'ous One" of 13/2$ Either he had been able to see the docu'ent of the a ree'ents between the contractin parties in the archives of the Cenacle or he had heard about it fro' his confreres on !t$ &ion$ "e 'a7es reference to the pay'ent to the overn'ent of Cairo of twenty thousand ducats% certainly in old$ *K0/6 8he second source is a ?er'an Do'inican Friar% "Fabri" who is noted for his volu'inous travel diary written durin his second voya e to the "oly #and in 1353$ "e wrote that <in Robert had iven thirty:two thousand old ducats *"of the e-act wei ht"6 for the four &anctuaries$ 8he discrepancy between the two su's is e-plained by the fact that the Franciscan brother was spea7in only about the Church of the "oly &epulchre while the Do'inican spo7e about all of the four &anctuaries and their convents$*K036 We pause here to respond to certain ob;ections concernin these transactions$ 8here were so'e people who were scandaliBed by the conduct of the &overei ns of .aples$

8he su'% of course% was certainly enor'ous% indeed% fabulous for those ti'es$ "owever% it is actually a very s'all su' when one considers what the cost would be to 'aintain a Crusader ar'y of thousands of soldiers and 7ni hts who would have been fi htin a war whose outco'e was uncertain$ "ow can one calculate the inesti'able value of hu'an lives which would have been lost in warfare% not to 'ention the reat personal sacrifices and sufferin s of those who re'ained at ho'e or the difficulties of the 'ilitary travelin reat distances over land and seaW &econdly% the 'oney paid by the &overei ns of .aples was not iven% as so'e 'aliciously clai'ed% with the intention of corruptin the overn'ent authorities in order to har' a third party$ 8he historical fact is that for two hundred and si-ty:two years *1=21:13336 the "oly )laces were considered by various 8ur7ish% ,rab% and Christian overn'ents as ob;ects of con9uest$ 8he victors could do with the' as they pleased$ In practice the overn'ent of En:.aser considered any property within its territory% whether public or private% as belon in to the overn'ent$ In practice the &ultans have considered the Churches of the "oly )laces national 'onu'ents and the &ultans reserved the ri ht to entrust the' to definite Christian reli ious institutes% but not without co'pensation$ ,fter the &overei ns of .aples had obtained le al possession of the "oly )laces they ave the' over to the Franciscan Friars$ 8hese Friars had not ta7en anythin fro' the cler y of the Eastern Rites or fro' any Western Reli ious Order which 'i ht have had previous custody of the sa'e &anctuaries$ 8his can be confir'ed by the ;uridical sentence publicly iven in the Cathedral of !antova on (anuary 2% 13/1 by >ishop ?iovanni Delfin% the )atriarch of ?rado$ 8he decision was iven at the conclusion of the ;uridical process initiated by )ope !artin + on (uly 1% 13/=$ 8he process resolved the dispute re ardin the le ality of the possession *custody and litur y6 of the four &anctuaries by the Franciscan Friars$*K036 8he dispute had been raised by a certain Western Reli ious Order a lon ti'e before the Easterners *the ?eor ians6 had started to contest the Franciscan possession with their false accusations and acts of violence$*K006

K0/ : 8he ,nony'ous ?er'an Franciscan of 13/2 wrote about one hundred years after the transactions at Cairo$ "e 'entions so'e interestin details about the history of the "oly )lacesJ "*populata6 est Iherusale'% civitas sancta$$$ duobus consulibus% uno Ianuensi% altero +eneto% cu' suis liberis et u-oribus% ali9uibus pere rinis devotis% et pauperculis 'ulieribus diversaru' nationu'$$$ necnon viris reli iosis Ordinis &ancti Francisci nuncupatis !inoribus4 diversaru' nationu' et lin uarun%$$$ laudibus divinis in sacris locus vacantibus$$$ cu' pactis et conventionibus per sancte 'e'orie Christianissi'u' Re e' Robertu' cu' &oldano hactenus factis% necnon et &erenissi'a' )rincipissa' ,ra onu'% Re ina'% 9ui !onten &yon et Do'inicu' &epulcru' et Ecclesia' de >etlee'% suis propriis% su'ptibus et e-pensis a &oldano dictis Fratribus e'erunt% prout plenius in >ullis apostolicis et pactionibus eoru' contineturU *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 3/6$ ")ost canonicos re ulares habuerant ea' *capella' &ancti &epulchri6 ?eor iani% et eius claves tenebant4 'odo aute' tenent ea' Fratres !inores ad re9uestu' Re ine &an-e% ,ra onu'% 9uae a soldano suis e-pensis DDii 'ilibus rede'it% et Fratribus ubernandu' tradidit" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 336$ It is evident fro' this that the Franciscans as7ed the ?overn'en of Cairo for the Edicule and the 7eys of the "oly &epulchre accordin to the 8ransactions of Cairo in 1333$ K03 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 33$ K03 : Fortunately we have all the ,cts of an e-tensive process% done by a notary and published in the 'iarium Terrae Sanctae *111=% 1=:/36$ It is an indirect testi'ony to the ne otiations of 1333$ It is a very i'portant docu'ent for the civil authorities and the reli ious $ "ere are the principal words of the final sentenceJ ".os Ioannes )atriarcha ?radensis% necnon Co''issarius et Dele atus ac E-ecutor ,postolicus antedictus% sedentes pro tribunali in 'aiori Ecclesia cathedrali &ancti )etri loriosae civitatis !antuae$$$ definitive pronuncia'us in hunc 'odu'% videlicetJ Cuia co'peri'us ac .obis plenissi'e constat% per dicta et attestationes suprano'inatoru' testiu' le iti'oru' ac plenissi'a fide di noru'% 9uod Conventus et habitatio dictoru' locoru' !ontis &ion% et >ethlehe'% ac &epulchri Do'inici% necnon Ecclesiae >eatae !ariae +ir inis in +alle Iosaphat% a dictis Fratribus !inoribus Ordinis &ancti Francisci% nedu' per 9uin9ua inta% sed per se-a inta annoru' spatiu'% et ultra% et ab inde citra% et de praesenti% dicta loca$$$ ad ipsos fratres et eoru' Ordine' pleno iure spectare et pertinere$$$ .ihilo'inus Fratribus ipsis oblationes et elee'osynas 9uascu'9ue et proventus$$$ per eoru' procuratores seu co''issarios$$$ recipi et recolli i faciendi$$$ eade' ,uctoritate ,postolica% plenissi'a' licentia' elar i'ur$$$ ,nno Do'ini 'illesi'o 9uadri entesi'o vi esi'o pri'o$$$ die !artis septi'o 'ensis Ianuarii"$ ,propos of the sa'e process of !antova *Italy6 in 1225% (oseph ,nthony of !ilan 'ade the followin clarificationJ ",nno Christi 13/=% 'oventur lites% Episcopus *#atin 8itular of6 >ethlehe' praetendebat praesepiu' Do'ini4 Canonici Re ulares *of &t$ ,u ustine6 !onten &ion *that is% the Cenacle64 >enedictini +alle' Iosaphat *that is% the church of the 8o'b of the !adonna6 cu' o'nibus sanctuariis" *Le Missioni Francescane in Palestina ed in altre regioni della terra% 151@% @26$ K00 : 8he ?eor ians raised the 9uestion of the le ality of the Franciscan possession of the southern part of Calvary$ &uriano *130= and after 10/16 succeeded in re ainin the second part of Calvary in 1013 which the #atins had lost durin their i'prison'ent in Cairo fro' &epte'ber 101= to (une 101/$ 8his is his description of the ?eor ians of that periodJ "sono pessi'i heretici$$$ bella ente% 'a superbissi'a$$$ vivono in rande 'iseria4 sono randi bevitori di vino4 ente ruBa et villana$ &ono nostri randi e capitali ne'ici" * F$ &uriano% Treatise on the "ol# Land% (erusale' 1131% c$ /2% p$ 52 and note a4 for the Calvary% p$ 01% note a6$ For the docu'ents possessed by the Franciscans% cf$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% .&$% ID% 11=:11/$ 8he followin declaration fro' 1@=0 suffices to e-plain the proble' of CalvaryJ "lAinterprete dei ?eor iani ha dichiarato e confessato che la natione ior iana non aveva titoli% nE scritture autentiche% co'e il detto Calvario fusse di loro4 'a ben aveva lettere e scritture concesse li da li )rencipi e Re di ?ierusale''e di possedere il detto !onte Calvario" *?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% .&$% D% Cuaracchi 113@% 0@6$ On the other hand% the Franciscans could show the ;uridical title which proved that the "oly )laces were their possession$ 8his was a title which was reco niBed and upheld by the !osle' ?overn'ent$

II : 5 !otives which ?uided the &ultan in the 8ransaction

It is natural that the events of history lose their freshness with the passin of the centuries$ 8hey co'e down to us faded% scattered% or even for otten$ When we loo7 at the' a ain they appear new and incredible$ 8he transactions of 1333 were not concerned with the si'ple ac9uisition of a thin 'ade in a street or a baBaar$ 8hey were developed slowly over a period of ti'e accordin to a political and historical conviction that is difficult to understand$ It behooves us to unearth it and to evaluate what happened$ 8hose persons who have still not understood the natural and le al transfer of their &acred )laces to the Fran7s in the 8reaty of 1333 should consider certain political% historical% and senti'ental factors which uided the decision:'a7in policies of the overn'ent of Cairo$ 8he first factor could have been that the Crusader 'entality% which has been stressed throu hout this paper% continued to e-ist in the 'inds of Eastern and Western peoples even after the fall of ,cre *1/116$ 8hus% for the E yptian overn'ent% there were two 7inds of Western Christians::those who were friendly to the overn'ent at Cairo and those who were its ene'ies$ ,'on the friends% as was 'entioned above% were Frederic7 II% Charles I% and Charles II *1/35:13=16% all of who' were <in s of .aples and of &icily and who were also titular <in s of (erusale'W In the Fourteenth Century <in Robert bore all the sa'e titles$ "e was now one of the contractin parties in the ne otiations at Cairo$ 8hus when &ultan En:.aser a reed to the re9uests of the <in of .aples% he was adherin to a political policy which had beco'e part of the traditional policy of E ypt% na'ely to favor the friends of his nation$ "ad he hi'self ta7en the initiative to ive the &anctuaries of the "oly #and to a traditionally friendly soverei n% he could not have found a better Fran7ish 7in than the <in of .aples$ , second i'portant factor was the lar e 9uantity of buildin s left by the Crusaders$ 8he Crusaders left behind for'idable constructions of towers% walls% and castles% with the ever:present secondary wor7s of defense$ 8hey left behind the 'onu'ental churches and 'onasteries and the internal decorations of 'arble% 'osaic% and paintin s$ 8hese randiose ruins of the past could be found throu hout )alestine% &yria% and )hoenicia$ 8hey constituted an i'pressive historical le acy which was ad'ired by local people and tourists ali7e$ 8hey were 'onu'ents to the power of the Fran7s$ 8he overn'ent of Cairo was dealin with the descendants of those very sa'e Fran7sW*K0@6 8hey were re9uestin fro' the &ultan only a 'ini'al part of all that had been theirs ;ust a few decades before$ !oreover% this 'ini'al part was not even final or e-clusiveW , third factor% rather senti'ental in nature but still influential in the dealin s of 1333% was the reat estee' which the Eastern Christians and the !osle's had for the Fran7ish Crusaders$ In their opinion these were "the true and first Christians"$*K026 ,ll other Christians were fra 'ents separated fro' the reat 'a;ority% branches separated fro' the reat tree$ 8his conviction of the !osle's and Oriental Christians re ardin the Fran7s was for'ed in the 8welfth Century when the Crusaders occupied the "oly #and$ 8hey observed that the Crusaders liberated and rebuilt the "oly )laces% si'ilar to the Catholic Christians who had built and cared for the' fro' 330 to 1=03$

8o this reli ious senti'ent we can add a co''ent of a 'ore 'ilitary nature$ 8he !a'elu7e &ultans 7new well that the Western Christian princes had fou ht for possession of )alestine and the "oly )laces and that they would do so a ain$ >y the'selves the Eastern Christians posed no 'ilitary threat$ .either had they enriched the E yptian treasury in ti'e of peace$ 8he &ultans of E ypt were not preoccupied with the E'peror of Constantinople and his s'all >yBantine E'pire$ 8hey 7new that it was poor and dyin % attac7ed continually in the north by the s'all but fastidious >al7an &tates% in the south by the threats of the 8ur7ish &ultans of ,natolia% and in the west by ?reece% which was itself divided and contested by a constellation of Western powers$ 8he real dan ers to E ypt were the people of ,r'enia% ?eor ia% .ubia and Ethiopia%*K056 especially if they allied the'selves with the !on ols and the Fran7s$ >ut this dan er was beco'in increasin ly re'ote$ 8he other s'all Christian sects certainly posed no serious political threat to the !a'elu7e E'pire% either internally or e-ternally$ "owever% on his part% the &ultan could not refuse to ta7e care of his own sub;ects% even thou h they were poor% few in nu'ber% or even forei ners in his territory$ 8hese sa'e reli ious people had lived peacefully for centuries in his territory$ "e had learned that the Western Christians were happy and content in their reli ious aspirations to have a place of prayer for their own use in the &anctuary of the .ativity% the 8o'b of the !adonna% and in the "oly &epulchre$ #i7ewise he 7new that the Crusader cler y had lived to ether in these "oly )laces in the 8welfth Century$ >ecause of these hu'an and historical considerations we 'ust suppose that the &ultan was pro'pted to le ally rant to the Eastern Cler y so'e fi-ed site in the "oly )laces$ In the absence of official docu'ents or of conventual chronicles we will turn to the testi'ony of pil ri's to observe what the situation was at that ti'e for the Oriental Rites in the three &anctuaries$ It see's that the pil ri's e-pressed no reat concern over the 'atter$ .othin out of the ordinary is 'entioned$

K0@ : &o'e people 'ay as7 the followin 9uestionsJ a6 Whether the &ultan of Cairo was convinced that the Rulers of .aples *and thus the Franciscans who were their protE Es6 represented the true le al successors of the Fran7s * overn'ent and cler y6 of the two precedin centuries *the 1/th and 13th6]4 b6 Whether these new parties to the ne otiations were consciously assu'in the political and reli ious role in the na'e of all the Fran7ish Christians] 8he reply can only be affir'ative$ In the Fourteenth Century the cli'ate of the Crusades continued to e-ist$ It was not the sa'e as the crusader ideal of the 8welfth Century% nor even the 8hirteenth$ 8he idea of Crusades was on its way to e-tinction% therefore their plans were 'ore in the real' of tal7 than actual 'ilitary e-peditions$ For this reason the Fran7s and the &aracens of the Fourteenth Century were not above reciprocal 'ilitary action *either by land or by sea6$ 8he Christian people and cler y of the "oly #and and nei hborin nations always paid the price for these s7ir'ishes$ 8he 9uestion of the le al succession was as deep a concern for the local people of the later periods as it was for the ne otiators of the treaty in 1333$ K02 : Iacobus de +erona% Li4er peregrinationis% in 1e!ue de L83rient Latin 3 *15106 112:115$ K05 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% t$ I+% 31:3/$

II : 1 Conte'porary docu'ents of the .e otiations of 1333

"If we 'ust la'ent *re retfully6 the loss of the official acts% that is to say% the written a ree'ents between the two courts of .aples and Cairo for the transfer of the "oly )laces% it is beyond doubt that si'ilar docu'ents had been issued and copies of these docu'ents 'ust have e-isted in the archives of the "ouse of ,n;ou as also in the archives of !t$ &ion in (erusale'$"*K016 &uch acts or a ree'ents still e-isted in 13/2 accordin to the testi'ony of the ,nony'ous ?er'an Franciscan whose 'anuscript is conserved in the +atican #ibrary$ It was published by Fathers !arcellino of CiveBBa and 8eofilo Do'enichelli in 1513$ 8he ?er'an Franciscan "e-pressly and repeatedly 'ade 'ention of pacts and a ree'ents between the &ultan and <in Robert4 he re'e'bered the' as docu'ents distinct fro' the Cle'entine >ulls$" Hnfortunately the sac7s of the city% the continual disturbances a ainst the Friars of the Cenacle *where the archives were preserved6% and the i'prison'ents of the Friars in Cairo and Da'ascus are all reasons which caused the loss of these precious docu'ents$*K@=6 <in Robert and Cueen &ancha of .aples 7new well the hu'an reed of so'e of their rivals$ ,fter receivin the official acts fro' Cairo and wishin to cal' the conscience of the Friars concernin their vow of poverty *which was a 'ost controversial topic in the Fourteenth Century6% the <in and Cueen had the fortunate idea of as7in the )ope to confir' their ri hts over the Four &anctuaries in the "oly #and$ )ope Cle'ent +I% on .ove'ber /1% 133/% scarcely nine years after the start of the ne otiations% ladly issued two >ulls in ,vi non$ 8hey were si'ilar in content$ 8hese two >ulls% in past centuries as well as today% "are the funda'ental basis of the ri hts of the Catholic Church for its clai' over the places of )alestine in eneral and over the Cenacle in particular$"*K@16 In these >ulls the )ope than7ed the #ord for the Beal of faith and devotion of the <in and Cueen of .aples who had been used for the lory of ?od and the honor the Church in the rede'ption of the "oly &epulchre% the Cenacle% and the other "oly )laces overseas$ ,nd this was "not without heavy e-penses and protracted transactions" with the &ultan of Cairo$ "e con ratulated Cueen &ancha on the construction of a convent for twelve Franciscan Friars who served in the Cenacle and in the "oly &epulchre$ 8hese two >ulls are docu'ents of bindin authenticity and value$ 8he two lar est &anctuaries% the Cenacle and the "oly &epulchre% are directly 'entioned in the'$ 8he other two &anctuaries are indirectly noted$ 8hey are two docu'ents of reat authority and are i'portant for history and for lawJ a new law% ac9uired on the foundation of the newly established "ri ht" of the do'inant &tate and subse9uently reco niBed by the Western Christian nations$*K@/6 Included in this law are the four "oly )laces which the "Fran7s or #atins" le iti'ately entered in 1333$ 8he Cenacle was purchased with a special ri ht of ac9uisition 'ade by a le al contract between the Rulers of .aples and the &ultan of E ypt$ It is an e-clusive possession and thus it is distinct fro' the other three &anctuaries$ In these other &anctuaries the #atins en;oy the privile e of pree'inence but their ri hts are li'ited by the participation of the Eastern Rites and by the presence of overn'ent door7eepers$ 8his le al% historical% and perpetual possession was ac9uired by the Fran7s$ It is the

result of the pacts a reed upon by the two contractin parties$ 8hey are pacts which constitute an indisputable ri ht and in which the rantin authority retained responsibility re ardin any violations at any ti'e that they 'i ht occur$ >ecause of this% later infractions have never been able to invalidate their value$ Even today every violation re9uires a restoration because each violation is an intolerable in;ustice and affront to the contractin Christian overn'ent$*K@36 Robert and &ancha of .aples did not redee' the four &anctuaries for the private use of their dynasty but for the public use of the Catholic Church% especially that roup of Catholic nations which had en;oyed% 'ore or less% the "ius patronatus" over the "oly )laces$ Hnfortunately in 1@3= irresponsible forces atte'pted to e-chan e ;ustice for tyranny and abuse$ , second docu'ent is a chronicle entitled Flores 8e'poru' by a ?er'an Franciscan na'ed !artinus$ "e wrote at the end of 1/1=$ "is wor7 was continued by a confrGre% Er'annus% at the end of 133@$ Er'annus only records the event of the entrance of the Franciscans into the Church of the "oly &epulchre$*K@36 8he third docu'ent is a chronicle co'piled around 1335 by (ohannes of Winterthur *#atiniBed as +itoduranus6$ "e 'entions the presence of twelve Franciscan Friars in the "oly &epulchre$ ,ccordin to another pil ri' friar% four at a ti'e resided in the "oly &epulchre while the others lived beside the Cenacle$*K@06 , fourth conte'porary docu'ent% s'all but nonetheless i'portant% is the above: 'entioned "Chronicle of the /3 !inister ?enerals"$ It was written around 13@=$ In it we read that a roup of Franciscan 'issionaries who were destined for ,r'enia *133/: 13336 departed to ether with Ro er ?arin$ ?arin stopped in E ypt to obtain the Cenacle and the residence of the Franciscan Friars in the Church of the "oly &epulchre fro' the &ultan$ 8his brief notice dwells 'ore on the conditions of the Franciscans in 13@= than on the ne otiations of 1333$*K@@6 ,t first these last three docu'ents appear as a distant echo% always brief and wea7$ In fact% they are an inco'plete% but discreet% allusion to an i'portant event$ Other docu'ents concernin these issues are the acts of the purchase of the lands ad;oinin the Cenacle$ 8he first of these was written on !ay 10% 1330$ 8his could very well indicate the end of the ne otiations at Cairo$ 8he second docu'ent was produced in that sa'e year$ 8he third% fourth% fifth and si-th docu'ents date fro' 1332$ 8he seventh docu'ent is fro' 133@ and the ei hth is fro' 1335$ 8he ninth and final docu'ent was written in 1302$ 8hese acts have a le al value which confir's the inalienable ri ht "to the Cenacle and ad;oinin places% declared by the local !osle' authority itself as a pious and perpetual le acy to ">rothers of the Cord""$*K@26

K01 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% t$ I+% 31:3/$ K@= : In the Cronache di Terra Santa *1@3@6 +erniero spea7s about the i'prison'ent of the Franciscan Friars *1032:103=6 which lasted 35 'onthsJ "!eanwhile there were i'prisoned the Franciscan >rothers% with the loss of 'any docu'ents% vest'ents% and ecclesiastical vessels% and their very lives" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% .&% +I% 111% 131% 133: 1336$ 8he Franciscan chronicler !ar7 of #isbon * 10116 J "who fi-ed in 1333 the ac9uisition of the "oly )laces% which is referred to in the >ulls of Cle'ent +I and of other )ontiffs and &overei ns% la'ents that there is not in the docu'ents or the 'e'oirs of the ,rchives of the "oly #and" so'ethin which could better clarify this historical point$ K@1 : 8he te-ts of the two >ulls are reported by ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 0/:0@$ K@/ : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 1:3% 11@:115$ K@3 : 8hese incredible violations were co''itted by the !a'elu7e ?overn'ent$8hese authorities acted a ainst the Cenacle after provocation by so'e rabbi and by the !osle' reli ious leader who lived near the convent of the Friars on !t$ &ion$ 8he ?eor ians acted a ainst the Franciscan interests at Calvary$ !any ti'es in later history other violations were co''itted by the 8ur7ish ?overn'ent who followed the e-a'ple of the !a'elu7es$ 8hey were corrupted by bribes and accepted false docu'ents presented by the ?ree7s% the ?eor ians% the ,r'enians% and other Orthodo-$ K@3 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 11:1/$ K@0 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 1/$ K@@ : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 1:1=4 note 30$ K@2 : ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 01 and followin $

:1= 8he 8esti'ony of Conte'porary )il ri's II : 1= 8he 8esti'ony of Conte'porary )il ri's ,6 >efore the .e otiations of 1333

,t the openin of the Fourteenth Century pil ri's arrived in the "oly #and in increasin nu'bers$ 8his was especially the case fro' 131=:13/=% but even afterward there were 'any pil ri's$ &o'e wrote reports about their voya es% includin 'any interestin annotations about the condition in which they found the "oly &ites and i'portant indications of the places occupied by the various Eastern Rites$ Hnfortunately their notes are not scholarly and lac7 useful and i'portant details$ Often the pil ri's did not have a sufficient understandin of the places or of the persons and so their writin s are often confused$ It is not always easy to deter'ine which cler y was absent or present in the various "oly )laces$ We do 7now that before 1333 no pil ri' 'entions the presence of the #atin or other Rites in the &anctuaries% either for the ordinary litur y of the day or for the 'ore e-traordinary litur ies of the &ole'nities$ 8he only e-ception to this is the 'ention of the ?eor ians at the "oly &epulchre whose presence was noted a doBen years before 1333$ In 13/= a Do'inican pil ri'% Francesco )ipino of >olo na% arrived in the "oly #and$ "is notes are interestin because he lists the "oly )laces where he celebrated !assJ near the "oly &epulchre:at the Chapel of the ,n el as well as on the "oly &epulchre4 in >ethlehe' he celebrated on the ,ltar of the !an er and in the &hepherdsA Fields4 at the Cenacle% on five different altars4 at the 8o'b of the !adonna4 at the Chapel of &t$ (ohn the Evan elist near Calvary4 and on !t$ &ion at the Church of &t$ (a'es$ >oth the Chapel of &t$ (ohn *outside of the Calvary6 and the Church of &t$ (a'es then belon ed to the ,r'enians who were still in union with Ro'e$*K@56 In 133/ an Irish Franciscan% &i'on de &i'eonis *FitBsi''ons6 and his co'panion "u o arrived in (erusale'$ 8hey were the first to observe that in the Church of the "oly &epulchre there were two reli ious "Cu'ani"% na'ely ?eor ians$ 8hey also 'ention the Church of &t$ (a'es of the ,r'enians$*K@16 In 13/2 another pil ri'% the Franciscan ,ntonio de Reboldis% arrived in (erusale'$ "e visited the "oly #and two ti'es% first in 13/2 and then a ain fro' 133=:1331$ "e observed that the Church of the Cenacle was al'ost totally destroyed$ "e celebrated !ass on the 8o'b of the !adonna% at the ,ltar of the !an er and of the .ativity% on Calvary at the ,ltar of the Crucifi-ion and in the Chapel of the !a dalen% as well as at the Cenacle$ 8his is practically the sa'e list of places which would be restored to the #atins in only two 'ore years$*K2=6 In 133/ the ?er'an pil ri' Willia' von >ondelsele visited the "oly )laces$ "e had a priest : co'panion with hi' who celebrated !ass at the ,ltar of the .ativity% on the "oly &epulchre% and on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e notes that the only Catholic church at that ti'e was &t$ (a'es of the ,r'enians$ Other than the "oly &epulchre the other churches belon ed to the ?ree7s% the &yrians% the .estorians% the (acobites% the Christians of the ?irdle% the .ubians% the Ethiopians% the Indians% the followers of the priest ?ianni% and to the ?eor ians$ "e added that the Church of the "oly Cross and the church of Cuarantine *near (ericho6 also belon ed to the ?eor ians$*K216

K@5 : 8he Vo#age of Pipino is a very rare wor7$ Only 0= copies of it were printed in 151@$ 8he Franciscan pil ri' Odorico of Forla arrived in 13/=% but he wrote nothin about the Christian cler y stationed at the "oly )laces$ K@1 : For the te-t and the critical apparatus% ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% III% /32:/5/$ K2= : ?olubovich% >iblioteca >io:biblio rafica% III% 3/@:33/$ K21 : For the te-t% see C$ #$ ?rotefend% "Die Edelherren von >oldensele"% 5eitschrift des "istorischen Vereines f6r iedersachsen% ( $ 150/% "annover 1500% /=1:/5@4 the cited te-t is found on pa e /@0$

II : 1= 8he 8esti'ony of Conte'porary )il ri's >6 ,fter the .e otiations of 1333

8he first pil ri' to record the new situation of the "oly )laces was the ,u ustinian ?iaco'o of +erona *13306$ Hnfortunately his record is inco'plete$ We learn fro' his account that two days before the Feast of the ,ssu'ption *on ,u ust 136 'any Christians of the "oly #and and of nearby re ions had the custo' of asse'blin in >ethlehe' to celebrate in honor of the !adonna$ 8here was an Eastern tradition that the !adonna went to >ethlehe' three days before her death$ ?iaco'o of +erona esti'ated that for this &ole'nity there was an asse'bly of five thousand Christian forei ners fro' various countriesW In the >asilica of the .ativity +espers were sun % !atins durin the ni ht% and in the 'ornin there were !asses$ !ore than one hundred #atins filled the ?rotto of the .ativity$ 8here were Europeans of various nationalities$ ,'on the cler y were two Do'inicans% two Franciscans and so'e diocesan cler y$ ?iaco'o of +erona san the !ass$ ,rab cler y of the ?ree7 Rite prayed their litur y at the !ain ,ltar in the Church of the .ativity$ In the area of the north apse there were three altars$ 8he Iabeni *,r'enians6% the .ubians% and the .estorians each officiated at their own$ In the area of the south apse the (acobites officiated at their own altar$ On another two altars% outside of the three in the apse% the ?eor ians and the !aronites prayed$ ?iaco'o of +erona said that each Rite used its own altar "sibi e- ordine deputatu'"% that is% where they had been established accordin to an orderly arran e'ent$ Fro' evidence such as this it see's that the altars had been distributed% once and for all ti'e$ 8his arran e'ent had already been in effect for one or two years$ It is 'ore interestin than one could thin7 at first readin $ It is i'portant to re'e'ber that the Eastern Rites ad;usted the'selves to celebrate this &ole'nity of !ary accordin to the #atin Calendar$ 8he sa'e ad;ust'ent was true for the Feast of the ,ssu'ption in the Church of the !adonna% as well as for Easter and the Feast of the "oly Cross *as celebrated in the Church of the "oly &epulchre6$ 8he reason for this was that the !osle's *and therefore the overn'ent6 reco niBed the &anctuaries as the property of the "first and true" Christians$ Only on these days did the overn'ent door7eepers open the doors of the churches without de'andin the entrance ta-$ Hnder these circu'stances% in order to sole'niBe the sa'e feasts accordin to their own rituals% the bishops and priests of the Oriental Rites entered the Church after the #atins$ ,t the ti'es when the various &ole'nities occurred on the sa'e day% the #atins still 'aintained their precedence over the other Rites$ ?iaco'o of +erona did not 'ention who lived or celebrated at the Church of the Cenacle and the "oly &epulchre$ 8his silence is thou ht to be because the ne otiations for these two churches were still in pro ress$ On the other hand% he did 'ention the chapels which covered the s'all plaBa in front of the "oly &epulchre% reportin which chapel belon ed to which Rite$ "is co''ents about the Feast of the ,ssu'ption at the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna rese'ble what he wrote about the celebration in >ethlehe' for the day before the +i il$ On the &ole'nity of the ,ssu'ption ?iaco'o of +erona san the !ass on the !ain

,ltar% which% as 'entioned above% belon ed to the ,rabs of the ?ree7 Rite$ #ater the priests of the various Oriental Rites san their !asses accordin to the order of precedence$ 8he first to sin were "the Fran7s% who were the "true and first Christians"$ .e-t ca'e the ?ree7s *or the ,rabs of the ?ree7 Rite6% third were the .ubians% fourth the ,byssinians% fifth the .estorians% si-th the !aronites% seventh were the (acobites% and ei hth the ?eor ians"$ ?iaco'o of +erona celebrated !ass on the followin day and on the octave day at the 8o'b of the !adonna$*K2/6 We now offer a brief reflection$ 8he pil ri's of the precedin years had never handed down such a clear and i'portant record concernin the participation of the Eastern Rites at the celebrations at the "oly )laces$ It is evident that this was possible only as a result of the ne otiations that had been co'pleted in Cairo in 1333 between the &overei ns of .aples and the &ultan of E ypt$ It was not up to ?iaco'o of +erona to chose any altar to his li7in for the celebration of !ass$ >y law he was obli ated to use an altar that belon ed to the #atins$ ,lthou h he hi'self does not say so% one can feel a sense of re ret that% instead of findin the return of the ,u ustinians and >enedictines who had been uardians of the "oly )laces durin the Crusader Era% he found only 'odest and poor Franciscans% and those in s'all nu'ber$ It is not i'probable that he was unable to overco'e the sa'e senti'ent when he visited the Cenacle% since he does not even 'ention the transactions which were in process$*K236 In 133@ the Canon #udolf of &udhei' arrived as a pil ri' in (erusale'$ "e observed that on the ni ht of Christ'as *#atin Calendar6 there was a atherin of all cler y of each RiteJ the &yrians% the ?ree7s% the #atins$$$ and in the Church there was an assi ned place for each roup% a place which had been assi ned in perpetuity$ 8he #atins had the site of the .ativity *na'ely% all of the ?rotto6$ ,t each !ass% perhaps even before be innin it% even in !asses for the Dead% they san "?loria in E-celsis Deo"$ 8he .ubians had also received a place in the >asilica fro' the &ultan of E ypt$*K236 8his is ;ust a s'all note but it is interestin iven its connection with the events that ulti'ately transpired between .ubia and E ypt and in relation to the transactions at Cairo$ .ubians were present in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8heir place was in the Chapel below Calvary$ 8he ?eor ians held the 7ey to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey would open it% even at ni ht% for pil ri's who paid a +enetian coin$ Canon #udolf of &udhei' also notes that the #atins always be an their cere'onies by sin in ",lleluia"$ 8he Canon #udolf also adds that the local Christians were allowed to enter into the Church of the "oly &epulchre twice a year without payin the ta-J fro' ?ood Friday *#atin Calendar6 until the !onday after Easter and on the +i il of the Feast of the "oly Cross$ On those feast days the #atins had the first service% followed by the ?ree7s% then the ,r'enians% then the &yrians% and finally the ?eor ians$ On the ni ht before Easter all prayed and san and 'ade processions throu h the Church in their own lan ua es and accordin to their own litur ical rites$ 8he #atins san a ?ospel in the place where Christ appeared to the !a dalen$ Each Rite had a special place in this Church$ 8his was

established so that each could always officiate at its own litur y$*K206 It is clear that by the early 'onths of 133@% the year of the visit of #udolf of &udhei'% that the ne otiations be un in 1333 had finally been co'pleted$ ,lthou h he did not lo all that we would li7e to 7now about these events% we 'ust also say that no other precedin pil ri' before these two dates had spo7en of si'ilar 'aterial$ Even if we posit the possibility that the &ultan of E ypt had iven the concession 'entioned above re ardin the Feasts of Easter and the "oly Cross% the fact re'ains that with the co'pletion of the ne otiations of 1333% this custo' beca'e le aliBed$ ,lon with the le aliBation of this custo' ca'e the possibility for even reater concessions% which in fact too7 place later in the sa'e century$ #udolf of &udhei' is even 'ore e-plicit in his state'ents about the Cenacle$ "e recalls that in the past the Canons Re ular *,u ustinians6 had lived on !t$ &ion$ >y this ti'e the site was occupied by the Friars !inor who lived there throu h the oodness of othersA contributions% especially the subsidy of <in Robert and Cueen &ancha of .aples$ 8here they celebrated the Divine Office freely and tried to do ood for all people$*K2@6 8his clear% e-act infor'ation should dissipate any doubts about the topic$ &ince the ne otiations of 1333 were finished before the arrival of #udolf% we can calculate that they had lasted over two years$ >ut% even thou h the dialo ue was finally finished and the official acts had been transcribed onto parch'ent% the final e-ecution of the ne otiations would only be co'pleted durin the ne-t si-ty years% not withstandin the persecution and i'prison'ent of the Franciscan Friars and the first contestation of ri hts over the "oly )laces co'in fro' both the Christian East and the Christian West for possession of the very sa'e placesW*K226 In !ay 1330 an En lish pil ri' ca'e to (erusale'$ &ince we do not 7now his true identity% he is referred to as "8he ,nony'ous En lish'an of 1330"$ "e was acco'panied to the "oly &epulchre by a certain .icola% the director of the ,'alfi *"ospice of the above:na'ed !ar aret of &icily6$ "e reports that when he entered the Church of the "oly &epulchre he was 'et by four Friars !inor and four ?ree7s *na'ely ?eor ians6 who also lived in the sa'e Church$ "e and the pil ri's were acco'panied with sin in to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre and then on a visit to the other "oly )laces$ ,fter they had attended !ass the followin 'ornin % they left the Church and went to the Cenacle$ ,t the Cenacle they found the Friars !inor$*K256 It was the understandin of this ,nony'ous En lish'an that the ?eor ians no lon er had the 7ey to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$*K216 What had happened] .o one 7nows$ 8he ti'es in which he lived were not those of &ultan En:.aser$ 8he followin year another Franciscan arrived in (erusale'% .iccolI of )o ibonsi$ "e re'ained in (erusale' for so'e ten 'onths and wrote one of the 'ost ori inal and reliable reports on the "oly )laces$*K5=6 "e observed the sa'e thin that Canon #udolf had seen on Christ'as .i ht in >ethlehe' and what ?iaco'o of +erona had recorded re ardin the Feast of the ,ssu'ption$*K516 "e related that in 1332 his confreres had received all of the >asilica of the .ativity fro' &ultan !odaffer *133@:13326$*K5/6 *8he >asilica had been the

ob;ect of the transactions of 1333$6 Durin the ten 'onths that he lived in (erusale' .iccolI of )o ibonsi stayed at the Convent of the Cenacle$ Fro' there he was able to substitute for one of the reli ious of the "oly &epulchre$ Durin his two so;ourns there he was able to beco'e well ac9uainted with these two "oly )laces and to describe the' in 'inute detail$ "e counted twenty altars in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ "e adds that on Easter &unday the ?ree7 )atriarch officiated at the !ain ,ltar% the ,r'enians officiated on the north side of Calvary%*K536 and the (acobites officiated below Calvary$ In addition to these the Indians and the Ethiopians celebrated at the altar behind the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8he .ubians were nearby$ 8he #atins *Friars !inor6 celebrated at the ,ltar of !ary !a dalen and the ?eor ians at a second altar 7nown as &t$ !ary !a dalen$ 8he "Christians of the ?irdle" celebrated at the chapel 7nown as the ")rison of Christ" and finally the .estorians observed their rituals on the altar which was behind the apse of the choir$ .iccolI of )o ibonsi o'its other pieces of infor'ation% perhaps because he considered the' uninterestin or co''on 7nowled e$ For e-a'ple% he o'its that the southern part of Calvary and the ?rotto of the Findin of the Cross belon ed to the #atins$ "e o'its 'entionin the pil ri's in relationship to the various particular places in the "oly &epulchre% perhaps because the overn'ent did not allow 'any reli ious of the #atin and Eastern Cler y to re'ain in the Church itself$ ,t the be innin there were only the #atins and the ?eor ians$ 8he other Rites% even thou h they had altars% 'ust have been ad'itted to the Church only for Feasts$ ,fter a short ti'e% however% si- reli ious persons representin si- different Rites were found in the Church$*K536 ,s a conse9uence of this% the #atin cler y too7 care of only the two 'ost i'portant "oly )laces% Calvary and the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey left the care of the other altars to a 'ore opportune occasion$ 8he testi'ony of these conte'porary pil ri's is sufficient to ive so'e idea of what occurred after 1333% especially in co'parison to the desolate condition of the &anctuaries before the ne otiations$ It is true that these pil ri's do not spea7 with 'uch enthusias'% but how could it be otherwise% iven that the use of the "oly )laces was li'ited to only four places and that in three the' the #atin presence was restricted% not by Eastern reli ious% but by the overn'ent door7eepers who restrained the reli ious liberty of both the local Christians and pil ri's ali7e$ For us Christians this slavery was a si n of those ti'es$

K2/ : 1e!ue de l83rient Latin% 3 *15106 112:1154 D$ >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% Ierusale' 1100% 2@1:22=$ K23 : On the silence of ?iaco'o of +erona about the presence of the Franciscans in the "oly )laces% especially at the Cenacle% cf$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% /1:/3$ K23 : 7rchi!es de l83rient Latin% / *15536 3314 >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% 1/@:1/2$ K20 : 7rchi!es de l83rient Latin% / *15536 30/4 >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% @51$ K2@ : 7rchi!es de l83rient Latin% / *15536 30/4 >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% 0=24 ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio. 4i4liografica% I+% /3:31$ K22 : 8he first persecution after the treaty of 1333 too7 place fro' 133=:1331$ Christians of E ypt% )alestine% and &yria were 'assacred$ 8he convent of !ount &ion was assaulted and destroyed$ One of the witnesses was the ,nony'us ?er'anus$ In his wor7 'e gestis trium regum *about 13@36% he writes in chapter 00J ",nno Do'ini !CCCD#I du' in Da'asco et E ypto oriretur e- opinato ac e- vul o% et co'uni populo% persecutio et interfectio Christianoru'$$$ 9uod per tres 'enses duravit" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% II% 103$6 , second persecution occurred in 1333$ It is 'entioned in a letter of Cle'ent +I to <in )eter I+ of ,ra onJ "blasfe'us Christi &oldanus >abiloniae% seu officiales eiusde'% dilectos filios fratres Ordinis !inoru' ad &epulchri Do'inici et !ontis &yon in Ierusale' custodia' deputatos contu'eliis diversis afficiunt% oppri'unt% incarcerant ac etia' perse9uuntur% sancta9ue aedificia destruunt% ac fratres eosde' prefata custodia spoliare nituntur" *,vi non% /3 !arch 13306$ Cf$ ?olubovich%Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 3=@:3=1$ One report about a Franciscan 'artyr in Cairo of that year *13336 is found in the review Le Missioni Francescane in Palestina e in altre regioni della terra% 1513% 2=5:211J ")assio Fratris #ivini de Francia"$ 8he lon est i'prison'ent endured by the Franciscans of the "oly #and was fro' 13@0:132=$ It was caused by the sac7 of ,le-andria by )eter I% <in of Cyprus% on October 1=% 13@0$ , second i'prison'ent too7 place fro' &epte'ber of 101= to (une of 101/$ Its prete-t was that the flotilla of the <ni hts of Rhodes defeated the E yptian flotilla in the waters off the coast of (affa$ (ean ?er'ain% 'iscours du !o#age d8oultremer au tr:s !ictorieu> roi Charles VII& prononc2 en */=+% refers to an episode which too7 place in 1301J "En outre% lAannEe passEe% les &arraBins de (herusale' prindrent les frGres du 'ont de &yon% 9ui servent Dieu au &aint &epulchre% les firent prisonniers du &ouldan% et% acoupleB et lieB de chaynes co''e chiens% les 'enoient batans par'y la citE de (herusale'$ Et les aucuns dAeul- ainsi lieB 'enerent ;us9ues au Cayre% fourra erent tous leurs biens 9uAilB avoient en leur:dit couvent% espancherent leur vin dont ilB chanteht leurs 'esses ou &aint:&epulcre% et les tirerent par les cheveu- F terre et les traynerent hors de lAe lise% oO ilB les batirent inhu'aine'ent$ Et 9ui pis est% en despit de la chrestientE% espancherent par terre le saint sacrifice% foulanB des pieB sur la saincte hostie sacrEe" *Revue de lAOrient #atin$ 3% 1510% 3/@6$ K25 : "Eode' die sabbati% circa hora' vesperaru'% du-it nos .icholaus% custos hospitalis% ad ecclesia' &$ &epulchri eopposito$$$ Receperunt nos cu' cantu iiii fratres !inores et alii iiii raeci% viri reli iosi% 9ui in ecclesia 'anent% et non e-eunt" *7rchi!esA de l83rient Latin% /% 1553% 303:3034 ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% p$ /=% 3$6 K21 : "&araceni aperto ostio do'us &epulcri% e-ivit a &epulcro odor suavissi'usS et sic nos introdu-erunt ad venerandu' &epulchru'$$$ ,dorato &epulcro cu' precibus% et tributo saracenis soluto duoru' rossoru'% pro capite% venetoru'% e-pulerunt nos ab ecclesia" *?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 303J Itinerarium cuiusdam 7nglici% 1333:13306$ K5= : Fra .iccolI of )o ibonsi wrote in his Li4ro d83ltramare that he left +enice on ,pril 1@% 133@$ "e re'ained in Cyprus fro' (une 1 until February of 1332$ ,fterwards he e'bar7ed for (affa and before the /0th of February he arrived in (erusale'$ ,bout the end of !arch he entered the church of the "oly &epulchre and stayed there for three 'onths$ "e left it in (une and visited the different "oly )laces$ In (anuary 1335 he departed for Da'ascus% >eirut% E ypt% and &inai$ 8hen he arrived in ?aBa and returned to Da'ietta *E ypt6$ Fro' there he went to Cyprus$ On ,u ust 2 he e'bar7ed for +enice% where he arrived at Christ'as *Fra .iccolI da )o ibonsi% 7 Vo#age Be#ond the Seas *,/<.*,=- MLi4ro d3ltramareN% (erusale' 1130$

K51 : "E un da% 9uandAio dissi sopra la sepoltura la 'essa% e io ci vidi &aracini venire adorare% nonne alla 'essa% che non ci hanno fede% 'a alla sepoltura facevano rande reverenBia$ #a chiesa sa G rande e divota% e scura 'olto% e con assai altari% chG o ni eneraBione di Cristiani ci Fnno il suo altare% al 'odo suo$" *c$ #DDDII6$ K5/ : Others held that this &ultan was !oudhaffar >aybars II *13=5:13=16$ "owever% the !a'elu7e &ultan of that ti'e was ,l:!oudhaffar *or !ouBaffar6 "a;;i *133@:13326% one of the nine sons who followed their fa'ous father En:.aser !oha''ed over a period of years$ We 'ust believe that the Franciscans received the >asilica of the .ativity as a result of the treaty of 1333$ It would be i'possible to thin7 that such a fa'ous land'ar7 and 'onu'ental sacred buildin would be so easily iven to forei ners and persecuted reli ious% *as was the situation in 133=:13336$ We have no 7nowled e of any other treaty or re9uest before or after the fa'ous treaty of 1333$ We could sub'it the hypothesis that a petition for the return of the >asilica of the .ativity was 'ade by )eter I+ of ,ra on *133@:13526$ 8his 'ay be indirectly ascertained by his letter of 13@3 to the &ultan ,l:,shraf &haaban$ In that letter he reco''ends the Friars !inor *who had arrived at >ethlehe' and (erusale'6 to hi'$ "e e'ploys these words in reference to the'J "the special favor iven to us by your illustrious predecessors"$ ,$ ,rce% in the third volu'e of Miscelanea de Tierra Santa *p$ 133 and 13@6 reports two unpublished letters of )eter I+% <in of ,ra on$ 8he first was sent to the &ultan of E ypt En:.aser "assan *1303:13@16% and the second was sent to )ope Innocent +I *130/:13@/6$ >oth letters are dated (anuary /3rd% 13@1$ In those letters we read so'e e'phatic *and therefore e-a erated6 phrases$ 8a7en by the'selves% they contradict the previous history$ If they are considered in the conte-t of their historical develop'ent *the transfer of the &anctuaries arran ed by the &ultan En:.aser !uha''ed in 13336% they can be interpreted in a different sense$ &ince these letters did not receive any conte'poraneous or later reference% we be in to thin7 that they never left the Royal Chancellery of ,ra on$ In the letter destined for )ope Innocent +I% he wroteJ "cu' se opportunitas e-hibuerit% nostra' ut citius poteri'us sole'ne' a'ba-iata' proposui'us soldano >abiloniae destinare% 9ua' alias novi'us annuisse favorabiliter votis nostris% preserti' in concedendo nobis loca ipsa sacratissi'a% ubi est sepulcru' Do'ini in Ierusale' et locus nativitatis Christi in >ethlee'% 9uae nullus alius catholicoru' 'undi principu' potuerat obtinere"$ ,fter the deaths of <in Robert of .aples *13336 and his consort Cueen &ancha *13306% two Franciscans of the "oly #and% ,nthony of ,le-andria *Italy6 and ,da' of Roynac *)rovince of ,9uitaine6 presented the'selves to <in )eter I+ in >arcellona *133@6 and as7ed for his protection and aidJ *,rce% Miscelanea de Tierra Santa% III% 1/@6$ >y considerin the events of 1333:13@=% we can better understand what )eter I+ wrote in his letters of 13@1$ In conclusion we have this very interestin piece of infor'ation fro' .iccolI of )o ibonsi concernin the >asilica of >ethlehe'J "Essendo tornati alla chiesa di >ethle'% la 9uale ten ono o i i fratri 'inori di santo Francesco% che ce la donI !edephar% soldano di >abilonia% e i frati cAentrarono% 9uando io era in ?erusale'U *c$ CID6$ K53 : .iccolI of )o ibonsi says clearly that the ,r'enians had litur ies on the northern part of Calvary because they were considered Catholic at that ti'e *8hey were still in union with Ro'e then$6 8he ?eor ians succeeded in reta7in it about 1321:135=% as affir'ed by the two pil ri's 8ucher *13216 and Fabri *135364 see note 52$ K53 : ?rethEnios% Le p:lerinage% ,$D$ 13==% >$ de <hitrowo% Itin2raires 1usses en 3rient% ?enGve 1551% 1/34 >aldi% Enchiridion Locorum Sanctorum% @13$

II : 11 8he Cler y of the Eastern Rites at the "oly )laces since 1333

For the newly arrived Fran7s or #atins *the Franciscans6 the i'position *or the offer6 of fraternal har'ony with the Eastern cler y in the Church of the .ativity in >ethlehe'% at the 8o'b of the !adonna% and at the "oly &epulchre 'ust have been accepted cal'ly$ *K506 8hey 7new that this har'ony was a sy'bol to the whole world% to Christians% as well as to (ews and !osle's$ It was a si n of Christian unity to honor the #ord and "is >lessed !other in such fa'ous &anctuaries as the !an er and the 8o'b of the !adonna$ In fact% !osle's even ca'e to the 8o'b of the !adonna to pray and to burn candles and la'ps$*K5@6 "owever% iven the circu'stances% there was the possibility for future proble's$ (ust as the unity of Christians under one )ope disinte rated% so too would the har'ony of Eastern and Western cler y livin to ether in the sa'e place$ #i7ewise the day would co'e when there would be a less conscientious overn'ent protectin the #atins$ ,t that ti'e the "oly )laces would beco'e the settin for unpleasant episodes and the peace and ri hts so carefully reac9uired in the ne otiations of 1333 would be har'ed$ &uch proble's did not arise in the 8welfth and 8hirteenth Centuries because at that ti'e the overn'ent and the Cler y had the sa'e faith in co''on$ .ow all sorts of situations were possible since there was a !osle' overn'ent which could easily cause proble's while dealin with the political situations of Christian overn'ents$ #i7ewise concern for 'oney could lead to corruption and i norin the ri hts of the wea7$ In the followin centuries the history of the "oly )laces would contain 'any sad chan es for the ri hts of the #atins$ !any 'ista7en ideas developed a'on certain local inhabitants in the "oly #and as well as a'on so'e forei ners$ Whether wittin ly or unwittin ly% by naivetE or by 'alice% the notion arose that the Franciscans had entered the "oly )laces by forcin the'selves in the 'idst of the cler y of the various Eastern Rites$ 8hey were accused of usin the protection of European soverei ns and the )ope to ain their way into the "oly &ites$ ,nyone who is fa'iliar with the history of the "oly )laces 7nows that this cannot be true$ In fact% the very opposite happened% especially under the 8ur7ish overn'ent *1012:11126$*K526 We 7now fro' history that in the first 'illeniu' there were 'any houses of Eastern Rite reli ious in (erusale'$ "owever there is no record that so'e of the Rites or all of the Rites lived to ether in one &anctuary of )alestine as they did at the ti'e of the Fran7s$ It was precisely these Fran7s who allowed the cler y of the Eastern Rites to use certain altars in the "oly &epulchre$ Was this done because the Fran7s reco niBed the ancient custodians of the &anctuaries *the ?ree7s and the &yrians6% or as a tan ible e-pression of an ecu'enical spirit toward all the other Rites$ 8he &ultan &aladin% an ,yyubid% and the &ultan En:.aser% a !a'elu7e% allowed the ad'ission of &yrians and ?eor ians into the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey did not ta7e the initiative to call the re'ainder of the Eastern Cler y to ta7e a place% at least at one &anctuary$ It was only throu h the ood results of the transactions of 1333 which occasioned the ad'ission of one representative of the cler y of the various Eastern Rites$ Whereas in the ti'e of the Crusaders the cler y of the Eastern Rites were found only in the >asilica of the .ativity and in the

"oly &epulchre% now they were also found in the Church of the !adonna$ 8he &yrians were able to enter and officiate at the three &anctuaries only after they had paid a lar e su' of 'oney to &aladin$ In fact their presence at the end of the 8welfth Century and at the be innin of the 8hirteenth Century is attested to in the docu'ents of western pil ri's$ It is also clear that the transaction and concession had a private and provisional character$ Other Eastern Rites did not enter with the &yrians$ 8heir privile e was only for a few years$ &aladin 7new well that the "oly )laces and the nu'erous other churches of )alestine had been ta7en fro' the Fran7ish Cler y% not fro' the Eastern Cler y$ 8he Eastern Rites were able to re:enter the "oly )laces only after the treaty of 1//1 between Frederic7 II of .aples and the &ultan of Cairo *!ale7 El:<a'el% nephew of &aladin6$ 8his was an arran e'ent of ri ht% not concession$ It was the first 'ade after 1152% notwithstandin the re9uest of the E'peror of Constantinople to &aladin in 1151 and notwithstandin the "rent" paid by the &yrians to &aladin$*K556 8he Eastern Cler y was able to enter% even without ri ht% only to ether with the Fran7ish Cler y who represented the Hniversal Church$ 8he ?eor ians were able to state the fact that their 7in had as7ed per'ission fro' the &ultan of E ypt% En:.aser% to re'ain in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8his re9uest was 'ade in 13=5% lon before the re9uest of the &overei ns of .aples$ #i7ewise% western pil ri's had noted their presence in the "oly )laces$ ,ll this is true$ "owever% their presence in the "oly &epulchre was always a "benevolent concession" of the &ultan$ "e could revo7e it at his pleasure$ ,s a concession it was both private and provisional in character$ It was a concession iven to a roup who were not the owners of the &anctuary$ &ince entrance was not the result of a ;uridical treaty% the &ultan did not violate any of their ri hts because these ri hts did not e-ist$ It was for this sa'e reason that the &ultan did not ta7e upon hi'self the tas7 of officially establishin either the Eastern or Western Cler y in the &anctuaries$ In 13/3 the Do'inicans entered into the service of the "oly &epulchre throu h another benevolent concession of the &ultan$ ,lthou h they were also Fran7ish cler y they did not have any official custody of the &anctuaries$ 8he concession did not allow any ri hts for the Eastern cler y nor for any of the other &anctuaries$ 8he sa'e sort of thin happened in 13/2 when the Franciscans of ,ra on entered the "oly &epulchre$ ,fter these events neither the Do'inicans nor the Franciscans pretended that they had any ri hts over the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ &uch a le al ri ht did not e-ist$ It had been arran ed only throu h the benevolent concession of the &ultan$ 8he difference is that in 1333 the Fran7s ac9uired ri hts to the "oly )laces for the third ti'e throu h official and le ally bindin ne otiations$ ,lthou h the treaties of 1//1 and 1/31 between the Fran7s and the E yptian overn'ent were also bindin % there was a reat difference$ In the earlier century the Fran7s had absolute ownership$ .ow% in the Fourteenth Century% they entered in a relative 'anner% and althou h at reat cost% there was also considerable allowance 'ade for the Eastern Rites$ .onetheless% overn'ent door7eepers were posted and the ri hts to the churches and convents was delayed$ 8he treaty and the date of 1333 are very i'portant for the history of the "oly )laces for

both the Fran7s and for the Eastern cler y$ Fro' that year on% a new historic period be an$ ,lthou h different fro' those which preceded it% it was also closely connected to the'$ &o'e scholars of the history of the "oly #and be an to ter' this period after 1333 as "the Franciscan )eriod" because the &overei ns of .aples consi ned the custody of the "oly )laces to the Franciscan Order$ 8he Franciscans of that period and of succeedin centuries were 7nown as the "Fran7s" or the "#atins"% in order to distin uish the' fro' the Oriental cler y$*K516 Fro' the very be innin of this era the Franciscans be an their 'inistry of carin for the &anctuaries$ Over the years they also dealt with the E yptian authorities in order to fulfill all the stipulations of the treaty of 1333 with the <in of .aples$ ,s a result it is really no surprise that in subse9uent arran e'ents with the E yptian authorities the Franciscans were able to obtain the Custody of the >asilica in >ethlehe' *13326*K1=6 and the Church of !aryAs 8o'b with the private use of the 7eys *132@6$ 8hey also obtained the convent of the "oly &epulchre and the convent of >ethlehe'$ )ope Hrban + authoriBed the' to build a convent near the Church of the 8o'b of !ary$ 8his per'ission had always been denied to the' by the (erusale' authorities$ &o'e years before the end of the Fourteenth Century they had also obtained the 7eys to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre fro' the !osle' custodians$*K116 8he various reli ious roups were able to live in har'ony in the three "oly )laces which they held in co''on$ ,lways re'e'berin the treaty of 1333% they were able to live to ether in peace and to respect the ri hts and privile es of each respective Rite$ 8hey li7ewise suffered to ether the fre9uent persecutions of the &aracens and the intri ues of certain (ews$*K1/6 Without doubt this initial peaceful co:e-istence could have continued as a si n of the unity and love which the #ord co''anded us to live$ "owever% the hu'an situation bein what it is% difficulties arose when certain roups pressed for 'ore ri hts than the treaty had outlined$ 8his is true for only the two centuries of !a'elu7e do'ination in the "oly #and$ Hnder the four hundred years of Otto'an do'ination which would follow% the history of the "oly #and and the "oly )laces would under o incredible and unfortunate chan e$

K50 : In order for the treaty of 1333 to be successful% the Franciscans had to in ratiate the'selves with the ,uthorities at Cairo$ 8his was true especially in view of the events of the 8welfth and 8hirteenth Centuries$ 8hey 7new that in order to uarantee the transfer of the "oly )laces to their care they would need to propose the involve'ent of the Eastern Rites in so'e way$ , si'ilar su estion had been 'ade 'ore than once in a 8ur7ish &ultanAs decree of 1@/1 *I$ De 8esta% 1ecueil des Trait2s de la Porte 3ttomane% III% )aris 15@@% 31@6J "#es reli ieu- francs% anciens possesseurs de la rande E lise de >ethlEe' et de lAE lise du 8o'beau de la +ier e% ont% de leur plein rE% accordE F chacune des autres co''unions chrEtiennes des sanctuaires *bautels6 dans lAE lise supErieure4 'ais la partie infErieure% lAendroit oO est nE (Esus Christ : 9ue sur lui soit le salutW : est le sanctuaire des reli ieu- francsJ aucune autre nation nAy a aucun droit$ #es ,r'Eniens et les autres nations chrEtiennes ont% chacun% dans lAE lise du 8o'beau de la +ier e% des sanctuaires *bautels6 9ui leur ont EtE assi nEs par lAentre'ise et la per'ission des reli ieu- francs4 et ceu-:ci ont des preuves re'ontant ausultans arabes% 9ui 'ontrent 9ue les autres nations nAont aucun droit sur ce lieu- et ne peuvent y suspendre les la'pes"$ K5@ : #eonardo Frescobaldi% Viaggio in Terra Santa% ,$D$ 1353% FirenBe 15@/% 1=/J "#a chiesa che fece fare santa Elena% 'adre di Costantino i'peradore% la 9uale sAufficia per Cristiani Franchi% cioG di nostra fede4 i 9uali sono sotto il uardiano di !onte &ion dellAOrdine di &an Francesco$ "a nella detta chiesa certe cappelle dAaltri Cristiani% cioG Cristiani di cintura% Cristiani iacopini e Cristiani reci$ ,ncora vAha una ran 9uantitF di la'pade il da e la notte% e danno sussidio alla vita deA detti frati% e allAacconci'e della chiesa"$

K52 : In the !a'elu7e era the stron est opposition to the ri hts of the #atins ca'e fro' the ?eor ians$ ,lthou h they had been absent fro' )alestine for 'ore than three centuries% even in this century they had support$ R$ (anin wrote a lon article on their history which was published in Echos d83rient% 111/:1113 *cited in notes 30 and 326$ "e wroteJ "#es ?Eor iens possEdZea rave4rent tran9uille'ent le Calvaire pendant un siZea rave4cle et de'i$ Ce nAest 9ue vers la fin du D+ siZea rave4cle 9ue les #atins rEussirent F leur enlever la 'oitiE" *p$ 306$ In these few words (anin reports a reat historical errorJ havin obtained infor'ation fro' an ineffective historical source% and not havin ta7en any account of the witness of conte'porary pil ri's% he i'puted the rave accusation of stealin the "oly )laces to the FranciscansW 8he truth of the history is thisJ 8here were three altars on Calvary$ 8wo of the' were near each side of the spot where the Cross of the #ord had stood$ 8his was considered the 'ost sacred part of Calvary$ , third altar was found south of these two altars$ It was considered 'ar inal% secondary$ When Western pil ri' priests arrived at the "oly &epulchre the ?eor ians or !osle' door7eepers indicated the this third altar as the place where they could offer !ass$ If no representatives of the Eastern cler y were present% the #atin pil ri' priests celebrated on any altar$ ,nthony de Reboldis *13/2 and 13316 wrote thisJ ".ullus intravit nobiscu' ecclesia' &epulcri nisi soli #atini% ita 9uod potui cantare alta voce in 'onte Calvariae et &epulcro% ne'ine prohibente" *>ut where were the ?eor ians]6$ >e innin in the year of the treaty% 1333% the Fran7s or #atins had to occupy the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre and Calvary% the 'ost sacred parts of the Church$ 8his was also true for the ?rotto of the .ativity% the Edicule of the 8o'b of the !adonna% and the Edicule of the ,scension% as was observed in note 35$ In order to avoid a show of force with the ?eor ians% they preferred to wait patiently for a 'ore opportune ti'e$ In fact% in the years of persecution *1333:306% the ?eor ians lost Calvary and the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ What is stran e is that while the 7eys of the Edicule passed into the hands of the !osle' door7eepers *that is% of the overn'ent6% Calvary was occupied by the ,r'enians and not by the #atins% who were its ri htful owners$ Forty:five years later the #atins once a ain received the 7eys to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre% not fro' the ?eor ians% but fro' the !osle' door7eepers$ Calvary was occupied on the north by the ,r'enians and always by the #atins in the south$ 8his is attested to by pil ri'sJ .iccolI of )o ibonsi *13326% Frescobaldi *13536% !arthono *13136% dA,n lure *13106% ?rethenios *13==6$ ,nother contest over the possession of Calvary too7 place in 13/@ between the #atins and the ,r'enians$ For thirty years the ?eor ians contested the ri hts of the ,r'enians to the northern part of Calvary$ 8hey fou ht a ainst the ,r'enians because they could not prevail over the #atins$ 8hey finally succeeded definitively in 1320 *"intlian% "istor# of the 7rmenians in the "ol# Land% 3/6$ 8he #atins always defended the'selves with the docu'ents of the &ultans of 13@2% 1321% and 1313$ In order to stop the continual disturbances of the ?eor ians they finally reclai'ed the northern part of Calvary in 1311 accordin to the treaty of 1333$ .o chan e too7 place% but the contestations of the ?eor ians did not stop until 1013% the year each of the contestors re'ained in the part which they had previously occupied$ It is evident% then% that the ?eor ians had not held Calvary for over a century and a half *since 13=56 but for less than forty years$ 8hey held it a second ti'e% for 13= 'ore years% fro' 1310 until 1@30% when they were finally forced to ive it to the "ellenic:?ree7s$ 8hus% it was not the #atins who had violated the ri hts of others% but% on the contrary% it was the ?eor ians$ In the Fifteenth Century the #atins had to thin7 of 'any other thin s$ In that century the !a'elu7e ?overn'ent see'ed to ta7e special deli ht in tor'entin the Franciscans on !ount &ion$ ,t first they would ive per'ission to build and restore buildin s connected with the convent and the Cenacle% then they would order their destruction or partial occupation of the buildin s and lands$ In the 'idst of these proble's% the Franciscans too7 special refu e in their friendships with the Eastern cler y% especially with the !aronites% the ,r'enians% and even the ?eor ians of (erusale'$ In order to defend the'selves% their property% and their ri hts a ainst the overn'ent% they *the Eastern Rites6 needed recourse to the 'ediation and protection of the Father Custos of the "oly #and$ \et% favor was often returned with hostility a ainst the #atins in the "oly )laces$ Even in this present 8wentieth Century I hear errors when tour uides spea7$ &o'e are ;ust errors of i norance% but others are hate:conditioned% anti:#atin pre;udice$ 8he Franciscans are accused of stealin the &anctuaries fro' the Orthodo-% throu h bribery% tric7s% and even violence$ 8hose who do not have recourse to the true historical situation are often tric7ed into believin this$

K55 : ?$ ?olubovichAs historical principle is helpful on this 'atter *Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% I+% 1106J "?li eterodossi possono obiettare% che i #atini sono entrati nel possesso dei #uo hi &ancti politica'ente% col diritto cioG dei piO forti% col diritto dei trattati% e con la proteBione delle )otenBe dAEuropa$ E ciI G vero% verissi'o$ !a la storia so iun e% che i #atini non hanno potuto ledere alcun diritto de li eterodossi% dal 'o'ento che 9uesti% non odettero 'ai un diritto le ale% iurdico% assoluto% esclusivo% sopra i #uo hi &anti% deA9uali lo &tato 'usul'ano si G creduto se'pre assoluto padrone e libero di conferirli in possesso o in uso a chi piO li conveniva per 9ualsiasi ra ione politica o convenBionale$ ?li eterodossi% co'e sudditi dello &tato 'usul'ano% non ebbero 'ai altro diritto fuorchE 9uello% effi'ero e li'itato% di uffiBiare in un dato luo o% in un prefisso sanctuario% con certi li'iti i'posti loro dallAautoritF dello &tato% se'pre libero a scindere i patti coi suoi sudditi% 9uando ciI li conveniva$ I patti che li eterodossi possono aver conchiuso coi loro padroni% non eccedono 'ai i diritti di unAenfiteusi a scadenBa% o di una concessione ratuita% senBa vincoli di sortaJ patti% che non potranno 'ai valere un titolo pari ai solenni trattati stipulati dallo &tato 'usul'ano con le potenBe dAEuropa"$ K51 : 8he overn'ent docu'ents of (erusale' and Cairo ive the Franciscans the followin titlesJ the Reli ious% the Fran7s% the Fran7ish Reli ious% the >rothers of the Cord *13326% the Reli ious of the Cord% the Reli ious of !ount &ion$ ,fterwards the title "#atins" was added to indicate their #itur ical Rite$ 8his distin uished the' fro' the various Eastern Rites$ 8he Eastern Rites referred to the Franciscans as the #atins% the #atin Reli ious% and the #atin Fran7s$ )il ri's fro' Western Europe called the Franciscans "Franciscans" or "Reli ious of &t$ Francis" in order to distin uish the' fro' the >enedictines% the Do'inicans% the Car'elites% etc$ accordin to the custo' of the ti'e in Europe$ , re'e'brance of the title "Fran7s" re'ains to this day at the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8here is a s'all chapel at the top of a stairway a ainst the Crusader faPade of the Church$ 8his is called the "Chapel of the Fran7s"$ It does not refer to a chapel of the Crusader era$ In the 8welfth Century there was not chapel here% but only an e-ternal entrance to Calvary *11316$ 8he na'e si nifies si'ply the "Chapel of the Franciscans"% who were considered the new Fran7s% that is% successors and heirs of those Fran7s of the 8welfth and 8hirteenth Centuries$ ,ll these stairs were purchased throu h the +enetian a'bassador to Constantinople in 1@3@ *?$ ?olubovich% Bi4lioteca Bio.4i4liografica% .&% +III% Cuaracchi 11/1% /106$ 8he ,rabs used the word Fran(s *El:Fran;i6 to indicate the inhabitants of the E'pire of Charle'a ne$ Fro' the Fourteenth to the .ineteenth Centuries the Franciscans were practically the only "Fran7ish residents" of the "oly #and$ >ecause of their co''on ori in% all the Christians *Catholic and )rotestant6 were called "Fran7s" when they 'ade a pil ri'a e to the "oly #and$ K1= : !oscopoulos writes in his boo7 La Terre Sainte *p$ 1016 that in 1330 ,le-is I+ Co'nenus% E'peror of the tiny E'pire of 8rebiBond% a city on the >lac7 &ea near ,r'enia% "fit rEparer F ses frais% le toit de la basili9ue de >ethlGe'"W It is an affir'ation that is not supported by any docu'entation$ We 7now fro' history that fro' 1330 until 13@3 8rebiBond was assaulted 'any ti'es by the Otto'an 8ur7s$ 8his was in addition to sufferin fro' a series of scandals and cri'es$ Fro' these facts we conclude that it was reasonably i'possible that ,le-is I+ was able to repair the roof of the >asilica at >ethlehe' due not only to the reat costs% but also because this >asilica was the responsibility of the #atins$ 8he #atins would certainly have protested this violation of their ri hts to the &ultan at Cairo$ On the contrary% we 7now that ?Erard Chauvet% Custos of the "oly #and% be an to collect 'oney in 1313 for the restoration of the >asilica at >ethlehe'$ , variety of factors prevented hi' fro' acco'plishin his wor7$ It was delayed fro' year to year until 1335$ 8he restorations were finally 'ade at the e-pense of the Du7e of >ur undy$ , new repair was carried out by Custos ?iovanni 8o'acelli in 135/:1353$ "e used wood fro' +enice and lead fro' En land *?$ ?olubovich% >iblioteca >io:biblio rafica% +% Cuaracchi 11/2% /@1% /21% 3=/4 and in the .&$% ID% 113:1104 >ull of )ope .icholas +% 1335% ibide' 1036 K11 : 8he treaty of 1333 helps us to understand how the #atins went about receivin all that had been pro'ised to the'$ It too7 another @= years to acco'plish this$ 8here were no other official treaties and no other ";uridical entrances" of the #atins or of any of the Eastern Rites$ K1/ : It is difficult to understand the interest of the Orthodo- (ews in this site$

III Franciscan Chronolo y of the Four &hrines durin the ?overn'ent of the !a'elu7e &ultans *1333:10126 III : Franciscan Chronolo y of the Four &hrines *1333 : 10126 1 : 8he ?rotto and >asilica of .ativity

1333J Ro er ?arin% in the na'e of the &overei ns of .aples% Robert of ,n;ou and &ancha of !aiorca% be an transactions for the rede'ption of the "oly )laces with En: .aser !uha''ad% &ultan of E ypt$ 1333J )robable date of the entrance of the Franciscans *Fran7s% #atins6 into the two &anctuaries of the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna at (erusale' and of the .ativity at >ethlehe'$ 8he Franciscans% who were the first and principal contractin party with the &ultan% received the Edicule of the 8o'b of the !adonna and all the ?rotto of the .ativity at >ethlehe'$ 8he Eastern Rites entered with the Franciscans$8he ?ree7s *natives6 obtained the 'ain altars of the two churches4 the other Eastern Rites chose or received places where each could erect their own altar by allot'ent$ 1330J 8he ,u ustinian pil ri' ?iaco'o of +erona celebrated the ante:vi il of the ,ssu'ption at >ethlehe'% sin in the !ass in the ?rotto of the .ativity% on the altar of the !an er$ 8he ?ree7s *natives6 officiated at the 'ain altar of the >asilica$ 8he other Eastern Rites officiated at their own altars in the apses and lateral naves of the basilica$ 133@J 8he pil ri' Canon #udolf of &udhei' wrote that on the ni ht of the .ativity the various rites asse'bled there and everyone prepared their own altar$ 8he #atins celebrated in the ?rotto of the .ativity$ 1332J 8he Franciscan pil ri' .iccolI of )o ibonsi said in his report that when he resided in (erusale' the Franciscans 7ept the >asilica of the .ativity in their Custody$ 8his had been iven to the' by the &ultan !uBaffar$ In addition to the 7eys of the ?rotto% they also had those of the >asilica% which were shared with the overn'ent door:7eepers% to who' they paid an entrance ta- to visit the &anctuary$ .iccolI of )o ibonsi indicated the places where the Eastern Rites officiated% addin that in the apse of the ?rotto there was an altar upon which he said !ass$ >elow the altar was a star en raved in the 'arble floor$ 13@0:132=J In reaction to the raid of )eter I of #usi nan% <in of Cyprus% on the city of ,le-andria% the &ultan ,l:,shraf &haaban persecuted all the Christians of )alestine and &yria$ "e i'prisoned si-teen "oly #and Franciscans in Da'ascus$ 8hey died durin the five years of their incarceration$ 1353J 8he Italian pil ri' Frescobaldi noted that the Church of the .ativity was in the control of the Franciscans$ 8here were Eastern Rite chapels in the sa'e church$ 1351J 8he Russian pil ri' I natius of &'olens7 confir'ed that the Fran7s officiated at the !an er% the ?ree7s *natives6 over the ?rotto of the .ativity *)resbytery6% and that the Franciscans had control of the Church of the .ativity$ 8hese sa'e Franciscans lived in the convent to the left of the >asilica which was where he found the "ouse *Chapel6 of &t$ (oseph$ 1313J ?Erard Chauvet as7ed the )rinces of Europe to help hi' in the restoration of the >asilica of the .ativity$ 1312:1315J 8he sa'e ?erard Chauvet obtained per'ission fro' &ultan En:.aser Ed: Din Fara; to repair the >asilica of the .ativity$ 1311:13/1J 8he Russian Deacon _osi'us said that the ?rotto of the .ativity was in the custody of a Fran7ish priest$

13//J 8he pil ri' (ohn )oloner observed that the slabs of 'arble of the pave'ent and the walls of the >asilica had been carried away by the &aracens$ 1332:130/J Restoration of the >asilica of >ethlehe' was carried out at the e-pense of )hilip% Du7e of >ur undy$ 13@1J 8he French pil ri' #ouis de Rochechouart confir'ed that the picture *in 'osaic6 in the apse of the ?rotto is still co'plete% althou h dar7ened$ "e added that the Franciscans were the custodians of the >asilica of the .ativity$ 135=:1353J 8he Do'inican pil ri'% Feli- Fabri% wrote that the #atins had possession of the ?rotto% the ?ree7s *natives6 the choir of the Hpper Church% and the ,r'enians had possession of the altar of the !a i *in the north apse6$ "e observed that the church see'ed profanedJ in the choir% in the chapels and in the naves% there were no la'ps$ .o sacred si n was to be seen$ Only the ?rotto was lit by la'ps$ "e was the first to write that the veins of the 'arble which orna'ented the west of the !an er had the i'a e of a bearded 'an with a turban% clad in a lon tunic4 therefore% it was called the i'a e of &t$ (ero'e$ 135=:1350J 8he Franciscan Francis &uriano confir'ed that the Franciscans lived in the convent at >ethlehe' and that ?iovanni 8o'acelli was able to brin wood fro' +enice and lead fro' En land% sent by <in Edward I+% all done with the per'ission of &ultan ,l:,shraf &ayf Ed:Din Cayetbay$ 8he )ope conceded to )hilip% Du7e of >ur undy% the per'ission to send wor7'en to (erusale' and also iron% ti'ber and other thin s necessary for the repairs of the >asilica$ 10=2J 8he )olish Franciscan pil ri' ,nsel'us wrote that the choir of the >asilica was the property of the ?ree7 *natives6% while the place of the .ativity belon ed to the Franciscans$ 101@J 8he pil ri' ,$ Contarini said that in the veins of the 'arble of the ,ltar of .ativity in the apse of the ?rotto it was possible to see the i'a e of &t$ &i'eon the Old !an% with the >aby (esus in his ar's$ 1012J 8he 8ur7s occupied )alestine and E ypt$ 8his be an a new and very sad chapter of history for the "oly )laces and for the Franciscans% a period which lasted until 1112 III : Franciscan Chronolo y of the Four &hrines *1333 : 10126 / : 8he Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna

1333J .e otiations for the rede'ption of the &anctuaries of the "oly #and be an in Cairo$ 8he participants were the &overei ns of .aples% Robert of ,n;ou and &ancha of !aiorca% and the &ultan En:.aser !uha''ed$ Ro er ?arin led the Christian dele ation$ 8he accord had to overco'e relative difficulties$ 8he overn'ent% which was the absolute owner of the sites% retained for itself the 7eys to the church$ #ater% private use of the 7eys% the Edicule containin the "oly 8o'b of the !adonna% and another altar in the church% to the north of the Edicule% were conceded to the Franciscans$ 8hese were called the Fran7s or the #atins in (erusale'$ 8hey also received pre:e'inence and precedence in the churchAs litur ical functions$ 8he Eastern Cler y% therefore% entered with the #atins% and each rite had its own altar established by the sa'e overn'ent4 the ,rabs and the ?ree7 rite received the 'ain altar placed in the east apse4 althou h the #atins where able to celebrate a sole'n !ass on this altar on the reatest feasts$ 8he other altars where iven to the .ubians *.orth &udan6% to the ,byssinians% to the .estorians% to the !aronites% to the ?iacobites and to the ?eor ians 1330J 8he ,u ustinian pil ri' ?iaco'o of +erona said that he san the !ass on the 'ain altar on the Feast of the ,ssu'ption$ On the followin day he celebrated !ass on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ ,t this ti'e he 'ade the point that the Fran7s or #atins were considered "8he first and true Christians"$ On the ei hth day after the ,ssu'ption he a ain celebrated !ass on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ 1332J 8he Franciscan pil ri' .iccolI of )o ibonsi celebrated !ass on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e observed 'any !usli's enterin to visit and pray% 'a7in a profound reverence to the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e saw 'any altars and on the day of the ,ssu'ption observed each Eastern Rite officiatin on its own altar$ 13@1J 8hrou h the intercession of )eter I+ of ,ra on% )ope Innocent +I% with the >ull ",d ea 9uae in laude'" ave per'ission to the Franciscans to build a convent ne-t to the church$ 13@/J With the >ull "Rationi con ruit" )ope Hrban + allowed the Franciscans to transfer fro' Europe the wor7'en% the iron and wood necessary to construct the convent$ 13@3J On !arch //nd of this sa'e year Cueen ?iovanna of .aples *133/:135/6 wrote to &ultan ,l:,shraf &haaban *13@3:132@6 concernin the sa'e construction$ &he as7ed per'ission for the Franciscans to en;oy their ri hts in that church$ 8he local &aracens% avaricious for 'oney% harassed the Franciscans$ In order to relieve the tension% they had recourse to the intercession of Cueen ?iovanna of .aples% <in )eter of ,ra on% and to the Republic of +enice$ 8hese princes wrote to the &ultan ,l:,shraf &haaban% re9uestin that he protect the Franciscans$ 8he Franciscans were their sub;ects$ 8hey as7ed that the Franciscans not be 'altreated and that they be allowed to celebrate in the Churches of the .ativity% !aryAs 8o'b% and the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey also as7ed that the Franciscans be allowed to construct a convent ne-t to the church of the 8o'b of the !adonna$ 1322J 8he first statutes of the Custody of the "oly #and prescribe that every &aturday a !ass of the !adonna was to be celebrated on her "oly 8o'b *,rticle DI+6$

1353J 8he Italian pil ri' ?ucci wrote in his report of his voya e that he assisted the Friars !inor 'any ti'es at the celebration of !ass$ .icola Corner went to Cairo *.ov$ /6 to as7 the &ultan for per'ission to build a convent ne-t to the Church of the "oly 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e was refused$ Francis &uriano *13506 said that the Friars also wished to build on the ruins of other "oly )laces on the !ount of Olives *?ethse'ane% ,scension% etc$6$ 8he overn'ent responded that the residence at the Cenacle was sufficient$ 131/J ?Erard Chauvet opened and closed publicly% before a notary and 'any witnesses% the door of the church% of the Edicule% and of the ?rotto of the , ony% to indicate sy'bolically the real and free possession of these "oly )laces by the #atins$ In this way he re'oved any doubt and accusation$ 1311J <in !artin I of ,ra on *died 131=6 sent @== ,ra on florins to the Franciscans of the "oly #and for the restoration of the church and to build a convent ne-t to the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e also sent a 9uantity of cloth to the Friars for clothin $ 13==J ?rethenios% the Russian ,rchi'andrite% counted nine la'ps on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e observed that the ?ree7 )atriarch *na'ely an ,rab of the ?ree7 Rite6 officiated on the altar in the east apse$ 8o the ri ht of the "oly 8o'b he found an altar of the Iberi *na'ely% of the ?eor ians6$ 8he ,r'enians% the (acobites and ,byssinians officiated on the other altars$ 13/=J 8he Western Reli ious Orders who had cared for the &anctuaries at the ti'e of the Crusaders reclai'ed their ancient possessions$ ,'on the' was the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna$ )ope !artin + entrusted the process to the )atriarch of ?rado *near 8rieste6$ ,fter havin listened to the witnesses% he declared that the Franciscans were the le iti'ate custodians of the "oly )laces of )alestine *February 13/16$ 13//J 8he pil ri' (ohn )oloner wrote that ei ht la'ps burned on the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e added that the first altar to the side of the 8o'b belon ed to the ,r'enians4 the second% under a dar7 do'e% belon ed to the ?eor ians4 the third% under the window% was that of the ?ree7s4 the fourth% towards the north% belon ed to the Friars !inor4 the fifth% near the first step of the stairway to the left% belon ed to the Indians$ 1300J In the introduction to a ")ontifical >rief" of )ope Callistus III% we read these wordsJ ">eloved sons% ?uardians and >rothers of the Order of >lessed Francis of the Observance% na'ely of the )laces of !t$ &ion% the "oly &epulchre% >ethlehe'% and the +alley of (osaphat$" 1350J 8he Franciscan Francis &uriano wrote that the 7ey of the church was 7ept by our Friars and recounts this episodeJ because of the oppression of the overn'ent door7eepers% the friars could not have free access to the &anctuary$ #ater% in 13@0% it happened that the !adonna appeared to the porter in a drea'$ &he reproached hi' for preventin the Franciscan reli ious fro' the celebration of the !ass on her 8o'b$ &he threatened that he and his children would die$ 8he followin 'ornin he told this drea' to the Friars of the Cenacle and ave the' the 7eys so that they could celebrate !ass whenever they wished$ ,s a si n of devotion to the !ost >lessed !ary% he paid honor to the friars and brou ht the first fruits of his field which was near the church$ 8he friars

placed two la'ps over the 8o'b which burned day and ni ht in than7s ivin for the protection of the !adonna$ 8hey restored the custo' of celebratin !ass every &aturday on the "oly 8o'b$ 1313J 8he &ultan of E ypt% ,l:,shraf &ayf ed:Din Caytbay *13@5 : 13106 decreed that the 7eys of the church belon ed to the Franciscans and that they had the ri ht of restorin the church$ 10=2J 8he Franciscan ,nsel'us said that only the Franciscans had the 7eys of the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna$ Only they had free access$ "e added that the friars celebrated !ass there every &aturday$ 1012J In Dece'ber 101@ the 8ur7s of Constantinople% with the &ultan &eli' I hi'self at their head% occupied )alestine$ In (anuary of 1012 they passed into E ypt and thus the rule of the !a'elu7e sultans ended$ For the Franciscans this 'ar7ed the be innin of a chapter of history which would prove even sadder than the previous one$ 8he 'ost basic ele'ents of ;ustice were tra'pled when% in 1202% they were driven away fro' the sanctuary alto ether *For the history of this &anctuary% see ,$ ,raccl% Il Sepolcro della Vergine e i Francescani% (erusale' 113=6$ III : Franciscan Chronolo y of the Four &hrines *1333 : 10126 3 : 8he Church of the "oly &epulchre

13=5J 8he &ultan En:.aser !uha''ad per'itted the ?eor ians to celebrate on Calvary and probably in that year allowed two of the' to stay closed in at the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 13//J 8he Franciscan pil ri'% &i'on de &i'eonis *FitBsi'ons6 and his confrGre "u h found two ?eor ian Reli ious in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ (a'es II of ,ra on obtained per'ission fro' the &ultan En:.aser for twelve Do'inican Reli ious to live in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey were to be uardians of this "oly )lace in which they were enclosed and to conduct litur ical services$ 13/3:13/3J 8welve Do'inican Friars arrived in (erusale'% but after one year of harsh e-perience they left the "oly #and and returned to their own country *13/36$ 13/2J In this year (a'es II% <in of ,ra on% as7ed the &ultan of E ypt that "the Reli ious Friars !inor of his 7in do' should have so'e devout place in the Church of the "oly &epulchre"$ 8he &ultan a reed a ain to this re9uest% but due to the death of the <in of ,ra on% the concession was not put into effect$ 1333J In the na'e of the Rulers of .aples% Ro er ?arin of the )rovince of ,9uitaine be an transactions for the return of the Fran7ish cler y to the "oly City to protect the "oly )laces and to officiate at litur ies conducted in the'$ 8he transactions were restricted to four &anctuariesJ 8he Church of the .ativity in >ethlehe'% the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna% the Cenacle% and the Church of the "oly &epulchre in (erusale'$ 1330J ",fter lon transactions and reat cost" the results were not e9ual to the restitutions of 1//1 and 1/31$ Only the Cenacle was conceded with e-clusive ri hts$ In the other three &anctuaries the handover was li'ited to the 'ost sacred partsJ na'ely% to the ?rotto of the .ativity and of the Church of the !adonna$ Re ardin the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre% held at that ti'e by the ?eor ians% a pro'ise was 'ade to hand it over at a 'ore opportune ti'e in the future$ 8he freedo' of the Fran7s in the &anctuaries was co'plicated by two factorsJ the presence of all the Eastern Rite churches and the presence of the overn'ent door7eepers% who always 7ept the doors closed$ 8hey were iven the ri ht of pre:e'inence and precedence over the Eastern Rites$ In the Church of the "oly &epulchre they were iven the southern part of Calvary% the ?rotto of the "oly Cross% and the Chapel of the !a dalen% with the space in front of it$ In this sa'e year the ,u ustinian pil ri' ?iaco'o of +erona arrived in (erusale'$ "e found three ?eor ian Reli ious in the Church of the "oly &epulchre who had 7eys to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hey 'ade the pil ri's pay X "one +enetian old coin" to enter and pray at the "oly &epulchre$ "e celebrated 'ass at the Cenacle% at the ?rotto of the .ativity% and at the 8o'b of the !adonna$ "e observed that the Eastern cler y had their own altars for litur ies$ 133@J 8he ?er'an pil ri' Canon #udolf of &udhei' ca'e to (erusale' and said that the #atin deacons san the ?ospel of &t$ !ar7 where (esus appeared to &t$ !ary !a dalen and that the Church of the "oly &epulchre was open free of char e to all% both cler y and faithful% fro' ?ood Friday until Easter !onday and on the +i il and Feast of

the Findin of the "oly Cross$ "e also noted that every Eastern Rite had its own altar$ 133/J 8wo >ulls of )ope Cle'ent +I ratified the a ree'ent stipulated between the Rulers of .aples and the &ultan of Cairo$ 8he )ope 'entions the two &anctuaries which were involved in the lon and costly transactions% the Church of the "oly &epulchre and the Cenacle$ 1330J ,ccordin to the ,nony'ous En lish pil ri'% four #atin Reli ious and four ?eor ians 'et the pil ri's at the door of the church% sin in as they went up to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ ,fterwards% they or aniBed a procession throu h the interior of the church% stoppin at each of the "oly )laces$ 1332J 8he Franciscan pil ri' .iccolI of )o ibonsi observed that the 7eys of the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre were in the hands of the !osle' custodians% that the Eastern Rites had different fi-ed altars% and that all the altars% includin those of the #atins% added up to twenty$ "e also observed that the ,r'enians and not the ?eor ians were now present in the north part of Calvary$ 13@0J 8he Franciscans of the "oly &epulchre% to ether with those of the Cenacle and of >ethlehe'% were ta7en prisoner to Da'ascus because )eter I% <in of Cyprus% had sac7ed ,le-andria in E ypt$ 8he persecution was directed a ainst all the Christians% both Western and Eastern$ 8he Church of the "oly &epulchre was reopened three 'onths after the si nin of peace% .ove'ber or Dece'ber of 132=$ 132=J .ew Franciscans arrived fro' Europe to replace their dead confrGres or those who were still alive but in prison$ 1320J )ope ?re ory DI *132=:13256% at the su estion of certain reli ious of so'e Reli ious Institute% assi ned the south part of Calvary% then under the Custody of the Franciscans% to <in Charles III of France$ "e ave hi' the privile e of stationin there four secular or re ular priests$ 8his disposition was not able to be carried out$ 1322J 8he first &tatutes of the Custody of the "oly #and record that the friars had as7ed the &ultan at Cairo for per'ission for so'e of the' to be allowed to live as sentinels beside the "oly &epulchre and that one of the' would be the &uperior *art$ 3$6$ It was also established that anybody% friar or pil ri'% who bro7e or too7 a piece of stone fro' the colu'ns of the &epulchre of the #ord or fro' any other "oly )lace% would be severely repri'anded *art$ /6$ 1353J 8he Italian pil ri' Frescobaldi found two Franciscans in the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hese two recited the Divine Office on 'arble seats at the entrance of the Edicule$ "e added that there were ,r'enians present below Calvary$ 131@J 8he &ultan _aher >ar9u9 approved with a fir'an the ri ht of the #atins to hold the half of Calvary that was contested by the ?eor ians$ With a second fir'an he ordered the ?ree7s to return the dwellin places belon in to the #atins$ 1312J &ince the Franciscans had obtained responsibility for all the Church of the "oly &epulchre in the past *previous to 131/6% they as7ed the &ultan of Cairo% _aher >ar9u9 for a decree per'ittin the' to repair certain fallen parts of the church *October 3% 13126$ 13==J ,ccordin to the testi'ony of the Russian pil ri' ?rethenios% the Franciscans

now had the 7eys to the Edicule of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hus% in the followin centuries% pil ri's were able to visit without payin $ ?rethenios found the #atins and ,r'enians on Calvary$ "e also indicated where the other Eastern Rites were situated there$ "e 'entioned that the overn'ent allowed only si- reli ious% one fro' each rite% to re'ain enclosed within the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 8hese wereJ one ?ree7 *native6% one Iberian *?eor ian6% one #atin% one ,r'enian% one (acobite% and one ,byssinian$ 13/2J 8he &ultan of Cairo% &ayf ed:Din >arsbay% confir'ed by decree that the Franciscans were in possession of the southern part of Calvary$ 1330J 8ho'as of !ontefalco replaced a 'ovable wooden altar with a new 'arble altar on the 8o'b of the #ord$ "e covered the interior or the sa'e 8o'b with 'arble$ 1332J )ope Eu ene I+% with the >ull "#icet"% ave so'e indul ences for the restoration pro;ect of the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 1320J 8he ?eor ians too7 bac7 the north part of Calvary fro' the ,r'enians$ For 'ore than a century they had also continually tried to ta7e the south part fro' the #atins$ )erhaps that action depended on the fact that they had not understood the difference between the benevolent concession iven to their 7in s and the ne otiated a ree'ents between the Rulers of .aples and the &ultan of Cairo$ 1325J (ohn 8o'acelli% ?uardian of !ount &ion% 'ade restorations to the tribune and the do'e of the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ 1313J 8he 8ribunal of (erusale' declared that Calvary was the property of the #atins$ ,fterwards a bilateral accord was 'ade between the #atins and the ?eor ians$ 10=/J 8he ?uardian of !ount &ion% !oor of &t$ >ernadine% opened and restored the interior of the "oly &epulchre$ 10=@J 8he overn'ent of (erusale' confir'ed anew that half of Calvary belon ed to the #atins$ 10=1J , 'o'entary peace was declared by the ?eor ians with the #atins on the 9uestion of Calvary$ 8hey allowed the #atins to use their stairway to ascend to Calvary and to have a 7ey to the roo' below$ 101=:101/J 8he ?eor ians% ivin little value to the a ree'ent% profited fro' the i'prison'ent of the #atins in Cairo and occupied the south part of Calvary$ 8hey also prevented the use of their stairway$ 1013J Francis &uriano obtained restitution of the south part of Calvary and the use of the stairs fro' the &ultan in Cairo$ 101@J )rivately and in dis uise% the 8ur7ish &ultan &eli' I% visited the two principal 'os9ues of (erusale' for devotions on Dece'ber 3=th$ !oved by curiosity% he also visited the Church of the "oly &epulchre% a ain inco nito$ #ater he left for ?aBa$ Fro' there he went to occupy E ypt$ 8hus ended the two hundred and si-ty:si- years of the rule of the !a'elu7e &ultans *1/0=:101@6% a period of relative tran9uillity$ Fro' 1012 until 1112 the history of the "oly )laces is a history of violence a ainst the #atins% of the usurpation of the "oly )laces% of the enor'ous su's of 'oney spent to satiate the reed of the 8ur7ish overn'ent which co''ercialiBed ;ustice accordin to

their own pleasure$ 8he ?eor ians and the ,rab Cler y of the ?ree7 Rite were replaced by "ellenic:?ree7 'on7s$ 8hese 'on7s used their 8ur7ish citiBenship% the &ultans and ?ree7 !inisters to ta7e away &anctuaries fro' the #atins by 'eans of accusations and violence$ III : Franciscan Chronolo y of the Four &hrines *1333 : 10126 3 : 8he "oly Cenacle

1333J 8he Franciscan Ro er ?arin% of the )rovince of ,9uitaine% in the na'e of the Rulers of .aples% Robert of ,n;ou and &ancha of !aiorca% be an ne otiations for the purchase of the "oly )laces fro' the &ultan En:.aser !uha''ed$ It see's that the accord for the purchase of the Cenacle presented so'e difficulty% 'ore than for arran e'ents to purchase the >asilica of >ethlehe' and for the Church of the 8o'b of the !adonna$ 8he Cenacle was surrounded by reat ruins$ 8he Rabbi of (erusale'% Isaac Chelo% said that the to'bs of the fa'ily of David% which were on !t$ &ion% were no lon er reco niBed either by the (ews or by the !osle's$ 1330J ,fter a lon period of transactions and at reat e-pense% the Cenacle beca'e the e-clusive property of the Rulers of .aples%who consi ned it to the care of the Franciscan Friars$ On !ay 10th of that sa'e year the #ady !ar aret of &icily% to ether with Ro er ?arin and his co'panions% bou ht so'e ad;oinin land for a convent fro' the )ublic 8reasury of (erusale'$ In ,u ust the ,u ustinian pil ri' ?iaco'o of +erona celebrated !ass at the Cenacle "with reat consolation"$ On the day of the +i il of the ,ssu'ption he celebrated another !ass at the place where the !ost "oly +ir in !ary lived and died$ 133@J 8he ?er'an pil ri' #udolf of &udhei' visited the Cenacle$ "e clearly states it is was "on !ount &ion% where for'erly there was a 'onastery of the Canons Re ular *of &t$ ,u ustine6$ ,t this ti'e the poor Friars !inor lived on the ifts of the faithful and were 'aintained especially by the provision sent by <in Robert and the Cueen *&ancha6$ 8hese sa'e friars recited the Divine Office"$ 1332J Ro er and two other Franciscan priests purchased fro' the )ublic 8reasury another four properties and certain ancient ruined buildin s which they found beside the Cenacle$ 133=J Followin the death of En:.aser !uha''ed% the &ultan favorable to the Christians% persecutions a ainst the Christians of Da'ascus and of E ypt be an to ta7e place$ 8here was also da'a e done to the holy edifice of the Cenacle and to other &anctuaries$ 133/J When the construction of the convent and the reat restoration to the &anctuary and the other connected buildin s were finished% the Rulers of .aples co''unicated the ;oyful news to the )ope that their peaceful Crusade had co'e to a successful end% despite the difficult ne otiations and heavy e-penses$ On .ove'ber /1st )ope Cle'ent +I issued two >ulls in which he praised the piety and enerosity of <in Robert of ,n;ou and Cueen &ancha of !aiorca$ "e con ratulated the' that the "8o'b of the #ord"% the "Cenacle"% and the other "&anctuaries beyond the sea" had been returned to the Christian cult$ "e also conceded that twelve Franciscans were able to live in the new convent on !ount &ion$ 8hey were to celebrate in the above:'entioned &anctuaries$ 8hey were also to render obedience to the &uperior of this convent as their ?uardian and to the !inister )rovincial who resided in Cyprus$ 1330J East of the Cenacle% a site with ancient Ro'an construction% was purchased$ 1332J 8he Franciscan pil ri' .iccolI of )o ibonsi arrived and lived for so'e 'onths at the Cenacle$ "e also spent 'any 'onths at the Church of the "oly &epulchre$ "e

recorded detailed descriptions of these two &anctuaries$ 1335J , piece of land which e-tended in front of the ate of the convent was purchased$ 130/J 8he noble #ady &ofia de ,rcan elis of Florence bou ht so'e abandoned houses near the Cenacle$ &he also purchased a lar e piece of land in order to found a hospice for wo'en pil ri's$ )ope Innocent +I placed the hospice under the ;urisdiction of the Franciscans livin at the Cenacle$ 1302J ,n ad;oinin piece of land% containin a Ro'an cistern% was purchased$ 13@3:13@@J 8he noble #ady &ofia de ,rcan elis% with the aid of benefactors% bou ht so'e fruit:bearin properties ad;oinin the reat wo'enAs hospice and obtained fro' )ope Hrban + five >ulls in favor of the hospice$ 13@0J )eter of #usi nan% <in of Cyprus% wishin to wa e a ood and profitable Crusade% departed with a reat fleet and sac7ed ,le-andria in E ypt$ 8he &ultan of Cairo% ,l:,shraf &haaban% as an act of reven e% persecuted all the Christians in his 7in do'$ "e i'prisoned si-teen Franciscans of the "oly #and$ 8hey re'ained in prison in Da'ascus for five years where they died of privations$ 13@1J Other Franciscans arrived fro' Europe to replace their confrGres who had died in prison in Da'ascus$ 132=J )eace was 'ade between the <in of Cyprus and the &ultan of Cairo$ 1322J 8he first &tatutes of the "oly #and e-horted the followin dispositions of )ope Cle'ent +I iven in the >ull "?ratias a i'us" of 133/ concernin the ;urisdiction of the ?uardian of !ount &ion *who is also Custos of the Custody of the "oly #and with autono'ous authority% but with a dependence upon the )rovincial residin in Cyprus6J Every !onday a !ass would be celebrated for the repose of the souls of deceased benefactors% especially for the Rulers of .aples% Robert and &ancha$ Further'ore% other wee7ly !asses were prescribed for the )ope% for pil ri's and for other benefactors$ 8hese events were to be co''e'orated everyday in the afternoon by readin the ?ospel$ 8his was the be innin of the processions which later too7 place at the principal &anctuaries$ ,t this ti'e a series of intri ues be an$ Certain rabbis tried to deprive the Franciscans of the chapel which was also the location of the false to'b of David$ 8hey wanted to build a syna o ue on the site$ 1325:1351J )ope Hrban +I wrote so'e letters about the wo'enAs hospice of !ount &ion$ In 1353 he issued the >ull ",d ea 9uae"$ 1311J ?Erard Chauvet% ?uardian of !ount &ion% purchased all the arden of the ,r'enians which was on !ount &ion$ ,t that ti'e the ,r'enians were still united with Ro'e$ On .ove'ber 11th% .iccolI 8avelich% and another three confrGres left the convent of !t$ &ion and went to the !os9ue of O'ar in order to convert the !osle's$ 8hey were 'artyred on .ov$ 13th$ 1310J 8he Father ?uardian .iccolI of Candia bou ht a house on !ount &ion$ )aolo of +enice% his +icar% obtained a letter of reco''endation fro' <in (ohn I of ,ra on to the &ultan of Cairo% ,s:&ayf Ed:Din >ar9u9 *135/:13156$ It concerned the repairs of the convent of !ount &ion and the >asilica of >ethlehe'$ 13==J , friar of !ount &ion% ea er for 'artyrdo'% too7 a cross and at the prayer hour of

the !osle's carried it on his shoulder and boldly entered the !os9ue of O'ar$ 8o the wonder'ent of the !osle's% he left peacefully$ 8hey had not har'ed hi'$ Fro' the be innin of the 10th Century the (ews be an to circulate the ru'or of the e-istence of a false to'b of David in a chapel of the Cenacle$ Christians and !osle's accepted the le end as truth$ , century of difficult reconstructions be an for the Franciscans who tried to 7eep in repair places da'a ed by the overn'ent and ordinary people$ 13=3:1313J 8he ?uardian of !ount &ion% with the per'ission of the overn'ent% 'ade so'e ur ent restorations on the site$ 13=2J 8he ?uardian of !ount &ion bou ht a piece of land near the convent in order to enlar e the arden of the friars$ 13/=J 8he western reli ious Orders who had custody of the &anctuaries at the ti'e of the Crusades wanted to reclai' their ancient possessions$ 8he Cenacle was a'on these$ )ope !artin + ave the process to the )atriarch of ?rado *near 8rieste6$ ,fter e-a'inin the testi'ony he decided in February of 13/1 that the Franciscans were the le iti'ate custodians of the "oly )laces in )alestine$ 13/1J 8hrou h the intri ues of certain rabbis% the authorities of (erusale' too7 fro' the Franciscans the round floor containin the false to'b of David$ 8he (ews% however% were not able to turn it into a syna o ue$ ,s a result there were reprisals a ainst the (ews in Europe$ 133=J 8hrou h the intervention of the Republic of +enice the chapel of the false to'b of David was restored to the Franciscans$ , hi h wall was built around it$ #udovic of >olo na% ?uardian of !ount &ion% ac9uired a piece of land near the convent$ 133@:1335J 8he Father ?uardian (a'es Delfin *1333:133@6 be an a rand restoration of all the buildin s on !ount &ion$ "e had received per'ission fro' &ultan >arsbay for this pro;ect$ 1335J &ultan >arsbay% the protector of the Franciscans% died and was succeeded by the fanatic (a9'a9 *1335:13036$ (a9'a9 ordered the closure of the Christian churches and the deportation of the friars on !ount &ion to Cairo$ 8he protests and threats of the .e us of ,byssinia forced the suspension of the &ultanAs order$ 1331J ?andolf of &icily and his successor >aldassar of &anta !aria obtained two fir'ans *or decrees6 for the repair of the Church of >ethlehe' and for the reconstruction of the Chapel of the "oly &pirit at the Cenacle$ Du7e )hilip of >ur undy assisted in this intercession$ 130/J ,n inspector was sent fro' Cairo$ "e destroyed all the restorations that had been 'ade$ "e also too7 bac7 the chapel of the so:called 8o'b of David fro' the Franciscans$ In the followin year the !osle's 'ade a prayer niche *'ihrab6 in the wall%indicatin the direction of !ecca% where they faced when they prayed$ 1302J 8he Chapel of the "oly &pirit was 7noc7ed down because of the incredible accusation that Christians% who wore shoes% wal7ed over the do'e of the to'b of David$ 13@1J 8he &ultan <hosh9ade' *13@1:13@26 per'itted the reconstruction of the Chapel of the "oly &pirit$ 8he wor7 was freshly co'pleted at the e-pense of the sa'e Du7e )hilip of >ur undy$

13@5J 8he !osle's% believin that it was a profanation for the Christians to pray in a place above the site where they the'selves prayed% once a ain ruined the Chapel of the "oly &pirit and all the roo's of the courtyard as well$ In order to o to this chapel under cover of ni ht% the friars 'ade a 'a7eshift staircase$ 8here was dan er that the courtyard could be invaded by the rushin % threatenin crowd$ 1351J 8he Franciscans reconstructed the Oratory of the !adonna$ &ultan Caytbay *13@5:13106 returned the Chapel of David to the Franciscans because of the raves of the friars which were located on that site$ ,ccordin to !osle' law% they were not allowed to have a 'os9ue in a Christian ce'etery$ 131=J On !ay //nd% the authorities and ;ud es of (erusale' arrived under the cupola of the Chapel of the !adonna *Church of the Dor'ition6 and% havin su''oned the superior of the convent% they ordered the cupola of the chapel to be de'olished$ On !ay /3rd the friars% with the help of the Christians% were forced to destroy the Oratory of the !adonna and the Chapel of the "oly &pirit$ 8hey had to abandon the' to the !osle's$ 8he friars were reduced to livin in the restricted convent and to officiate only in the Chapel of the Cenacle and the Chapel of &t$ Francis beneath it$ 1013J Francis &uriano% ?uardian of !ount &ion% bou ht a piece of land on !ount &ion *for other purchases% cf$ ?O#H>O+IC"%>ibl$ >io:>iblio $% .&$% t$ ID% pp$ 1=3:1=@6$ 1012J In (anuary the &ultan of Constantinople% &eli' I% overca'e the last resistance of the !a'elu7es in E ypt$ For the Franciscans an epoch% even worse than that before% be an$ For the "oly )laces in eneral and especially for the Cenacle% difficult ti'es lie ahead$

*,s an appendi- we add these brief notes on the first and the ravest violation of the ri hts of the Franciscans which had been ratified in Cairo in 1333$ Co''itted by the 8ur7ish overn'ent% it was a brutal and irresponsible violation$6 10//:10/3J , (ew of (erusale'% with diabolical su estions% persuaded the &anton !osle' of !ount &ion% !uha''ed ,l:,;a'y% to drive the Franciscans fro' the Cenacle$ 8he !osle'% findin a prete-t% went to Rhodes to &ultan &ulei'an II$ On !arch 15% 10/3 he received an order for the e-pulsion of the friars fro' the convent of the Cenacle% an e-pulsion which was to be e-ecuted by the ?overnor *or )asha6 of Da'ascus$ 8he Franciscans had recourse to the representative of the Republic of +enice$ "e obtained a revocation of the order% but it arrived late in (erusale'$ 8he Franciscans had already been e-pelled *(anuary 10/36$ 10/3J 8he Franciscans of !ount &ion carried their thin s to a nearby house called "the oven"$ 10/0J *!arch /@th6 8he &ultan &ulei'an restore so'e of the roo's of the convent to the friars% as well as the chapel below the Cenacle$ "owever% the Reli ious were always e-posed to the noise and disturbances of the local !osle's% who considered the'selves to be the absolute 'asters of the site$ 8hey did not follow the orders of the &ultan$ 10/5J &ulei'an% in a letter to Francis I% the <in of France% refused to restore the convent and the &anctuaries ta7en fro' the Franciscans$ In that sa'e year the Father ?uardian% seein the reat hardships on his friars% bou ht a house with a cistern near the Cenacle$ 1032J On &epte'ber 1@th% the Father ?uardian and all the Franciscans of the "oly #and were i'prisoned in the Citadel of (erusale'% the result of a war between the 8ur7s and the allied forces of +enice% )ope )aul III% and of E'peror Charles +$ Within thirty ei ht 'onths% the Father ?uardian% ei ht reli ious and their procurator died$ 8he other friars were released on .ove'ber 1@% 103= throu h the intercession of the <in of France% Francis I$ 103/J 8he friars of !ount &ion were ill:treated by the 8ur7s who lived on !ount &ion$ >eatin s and robbery were typical of the in;uries they endured$ In order to avoid these episodes% the Franciscans walled up the ate of the terrace fro' which the 8ur7s could descend at will$ 8he &anton of !ount &ion reacted by obtainin an order which prevented the friars fro' passin fro' the chapel on the round floor to the Cenacle above$ 103@J 8he &anton of !ount &ion% desirin to have the lower chapel of the Cenacle% offered the +icar of the convent an e-chan e of places$ >ecause the ?uardian did not accept the offer% the &anton and the Cadi wrote to &ultan &ulei'an who then ordered that the lower chapel be consi ned to the &anton$ 1032J 8he Christian ,'bassador to Constantinople obtained an order fro' the &ultan that the church of the Cenacle and the convent of the friars be e9ually divided between the friars and the &anton in order to prevent any further disputes$ In reven e for the loss of the chapel below the Cenacle% the &anton wrote to the ?overnor of Da'ascus and accused the friars of allowin wo'en into the church to pray and that the friars had

'ade the )al' &unday procession fro' the !ount of Olives without a license$ 8he ?overnor of Da'ascus prohibited both of these practices$ 1001:100/J 8he &anton% by 'eans of other devilish su estions% obtained an order fro' &ultan &ulei'an that the friars be driven away fro' the convent and fro' the Church of !ount &ion$ 8he friars retired to the house called "the oven"$ 8hey re'ained there for ei ht years$ 8he <in of France wrote to &ulei'an re9uestin that the Cenacle be restored to the friars$ 8he &ultan replied that the Cenacle had been converted into a 'os9ue and thus% accordin to their law% it could not be restored$ 1003J 8he &ultan ordered the authorities of (erusale' to find a convenient place in the city for the Franciscans as co'pensation for the loss of the convent on !ount &ion$ 1003J In a letter the Do e of +enice as7ed for the restitution of the Cenacle to the Christian cult$ 8he &ultan replied to the Do e in the sa'e way he had replied to the <in of France$ Others also tried% a'on the'% Italian and ?er'an princes and <in (ohn III of )ortu al$ ,ll received the sa'e response$ 8hus% after /15 years of le al possession% the Franciscan chronolo y at the Cenacle ca'e to an end$ 1001:10@1J >ecause of harass'ent fro' the ,rabs and the 8ur7s and other disturbances% the friars were forced to 'ove out of the little house called "the oven"$ 8hey 'oved to the "Convent of the Colu'n"% today 7nown as "&t$ &aviourAs"$ It was then the property of the ?eor ians$ 8he Franciscans paid 1/== se9uins *+enetian old coins6 for the site$ ,t that ti'e% ;ust as today%there are three altars in the ChurchJ one dedicated to the Descent of the "oly &pirit% one to the #ast &upper% and one to the apparition of the Risen Christ to &t$ 8ho'as$ )ope )ius I+ conceded that the indul ences of the Cenacle could be applied to the above:'entioned altars$ 8o this day the Franciscans have clai' to the restitution of the Cenacle and of the anne-ed parts "with the absolute e-clusion of any other reli ious co''unity% whether Catholic or Orthodo-"$