The Chronicle of Amadi, tr. Nicholas Coureas and Peter Edbury

The anonymous Chronicle of Amadi bears the name of its sixteenth-century Venetian owner, who died in 1566. It is an Italian-language compilation of narrative sources, the text of which exceeds 200,000 words. Its chronological span extends from the rule of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in the seventh century to the beginning of 1442. The chronicle provides an account of the crusades and events in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem from the late eleventh century onwards. Cyprus is not mentioned at all until 1191, when it was conquered by the English king, Richard the Lionheart, yet from then on the chronicle increasingly focuses on the island’s history. Some periods are dealt with in detail, especially the political crisis in Cyprus in the years 1306–10, while some others are hardly covered at all. The volume’s introduction offers arguments for an approximate dating of the chronicle and deals with the way in which the anonymous author proceeded. The present English translation of the chronicle (the first in any modern language) is accompanied by annotations. It is followed by four annexes. The first contains a translation of two documents written in French, one of 1304 and the other of 1306, relating to the beginning of the governorship of Amaury lord of Tyre. Annexe Two provides information on the nobles and knights mentioned in the chronicle’s section on the 1306–10 crisis and its aftermath, and considers the structure of the higher nobility at that time. Annexe Three lists the types of ships mentioned in the chronicle. Annexe Four presents a synopsis of Amadi’s narrative sources, some extant, yet others in versions significantly differing from those preserved, which in some sections of the chronicle provide information not found elsewhere. Two of the author’s sources are no longer extant. The volume also contains a bibliography and an index. Nicholas Coureas prepared the initial translation, improved with the help of Peter Edbury, who is largely responsible for the introduction, annotations to the text, Annexes Two and Four, and the index

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