Editing Ambroise (section)

== Commentary on his work ==
Ambroise is surprisingly accurate in his [[chronology]]; though he did not complete his work before 1195, it is evidently founded upon notes which he had taken in the course of his [[pilgrimage]].  He shows no greater political insight than we should expect from his position; but relates what he had seen and heard with a naïve vivacity which compels attention. He is by no means an impartial source: he is prejudiced against the [[Saracens]], against the French, and against all the rivals or enemies of his master, including the ''Polein'' party which supported [[Conrad of Montferrat]] against [[Guy of Lusignan]]. He is rather to be treated as a [[biographer]] than as a historian of the Crusade in its broader aspects. Nonetheless, he is an interesting primary source for the events of the years 1190–1192 in the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

Books 2–6 of the ''[[Itinerarium Regis Ricardi]]'', a Latin prose narrative of the same events apparently compiled by Richard, a canon of Holy Trinity, London, are closely related to Ambroise's poem. They were formerly sometimes regarded as the first-hand narrative on which Ambroise based his work, but that can no longer be maintained.<ref name="EB1911"/>

=== History of the poem ===
The poem is known to us only through one [[Vatican Library|Vatican]] [[manuscript]], and long escaped the notice of historians.<ref name="EB1911" />