Robert of St. Albans

Robert of St. Albans
Born1150s/60s
Died1187
Near Jerusalem, Ayyubid Sultanate
Allegiance Knights Templar (before 1185)
Ayyubid dynasty (1185–1187)
BranchSaladin's Army
Conflicts

Robert of St Albansα (Latin: Robertus de Saneto Albano; died 1187) was an English templar knight who converted to Islam from Christianity in 1185.[1][2][3]

In 1187, Robert fought for Saladin against the Crusaders during the Battle of Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem.[2][4][5][6] Robert died the same year outside of Jerusalem.[2]

According to Roger of Howden, Robert promised to deliver Saladin the city of Jerusalem, married his niece, became a Prince and was made a leader of Saladin's army.[1][7][8] Helen J. Nicholson calls into question the validity of Howden's account, stating that it "reads like a fairy tale".[9]

Notes

Also known as Ralph of Dunstable and Robert of Dunstable.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Roger of Hoveden (1869). Stubbs, William (ed.). Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene: 2 (in Latin). London: Longmans, Green, and Co. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Richard, Jean (2003). "The adventure of John Gale, Knight of Tyre". In Edbury, Peter; Phillips, Jonathan (eds.). The Experience of Crusading Volume 2. Defining the Crusader Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521781515. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  3. ^ Siedschlag, Beatrice Nina. English Participation in the Crusades, 1150-1220. p. 49.
  4. ^ Freeman, Edward Augustus. The Reign of William Rufus and the Accession of Henry the First. Vol. 2. p. 123.
  5. ^ Childress, David Hatcher. Pirates and the Lost Templar Fleet. p. 94.
  6. ^ Daraul, Arkon. A History of Secret Societies. p. 46.
  7. ^ Röhricht, Reinhold (1898). Geschichte Des Königreichs Jerusalem (1100-1291) (in German). Innsbruck: Universitätsverlag Wagner. p. 411. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  8. ^ Keightley, Thomas (1848). "The Templars". Secret societies of the Middle Ages with Illustrations. New Edition. London: C. Cox. p. 201. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  9. ^ Nicholson, Helen J. (1993). "The representation of the military orders in literary sources and legand". Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights: Images of the Military Orders, 1128-1291. Leicester: Leicester University Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0718514114. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  10. ^ Baxter, James Houston; Johnson, Charles; Willard, James Field (1932). An index of British and Irish Latin writers, A.D. 400-1520. p. 134. 200. RALPH or Robert of ST. ALBANS or of Dunstable (c. 1180?) Passio S. Albani [excerpts], ed. J. Ussher, Britannicarum Insularum Antiquitates, 158-9, 987. Dublin, 1639. Metrical lives of saints. MSS.