Preparations for a Journey to the Crusading East According to the Letters of Jacques de Vitry (Existential Aspects).

The letters of Bishop Jacques de Vitry of Acre, preacher of the Fifth Crusade, are a valuable historical source. With these sources it is possible to reconstruct not only the historical processes of the 13th century, but also its everyday life. During the years of 1216-1221 Vitry sent seven letters to different addressees. As we know, Jacques de Vitry was the third preacher of the Fifth Crusade. Pope Honorius had sent him to Syria to preach the new crusader campaign. The latter had been assigned a rather difficult task, since the situation in the cosmopolitan cities of Acre, Tire and Sidon were extremely difficult. We are interested in all of the existential issues that people of that era faced during distant travels, namely: planning, time, food and safety. The purpose of our research is to show the nature and difficulties of traveling in the Crusader era, based on the first and second letters of the aforementioned bishop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]