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Historiens des Croisades (c. 1100?-c. 1400?)

The Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, or RHC, [Collection of the Historians of the Crusades] is a major collection of medieval documents written during the Crusades. The documents were collected and published in Paris in the late 19th century, and include documents in Latin, Greek, Arabic, Old French, and Armenian.

The RHC is divided into five series: Lois (the Assizes of Jerusalem); Historiens Occidentaux (Western European texts in Latin and Old French); Historiens Orientaux (Arabic texts); Historiens Grecs (Greek texts); and, Historiens Arméniens (Armenian texts).  For the most part they are edited in the original languages and have a modern French translation underneath.   All of these works were edited in the mid- to late-19th century by Auguste Arthur, comte de Beugnot, and published in the Recueil des Historiens des Croisades by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. The Library editions are later reproductions (1967-2000) of the original publications.

The Library holds the two volumes of the Lois series, which includes works such as Livre de Jean d’Ibelin, Livre de Goeffrey le Tort andLivre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois. Also held are the five volumes of Historiens Orientaux and volumes 2 and 5 of the Historiens Occidentaux. Two volumes of the Historiens Arméniens are included in the collection; Volume One contains French translations of Armenian histories and chronicles relating to the Crusades, preceded by an extensive historical study of the kingdom of Cilician Armenia, which includes commerce, customs tariffs, and genealogical and dynastic tables.