The History of the Expedition of Richard Coeur de Lion to the Holy Land, once attributed to Geoffrey de Vinsauf, totaling around 275 pages, is one of the lengthier surviving accounts of the Third Crusade. Relatively little is known about the poet/chronicler. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Geoffrey was educated at St. Frideswide's, Oxford and widely traveled throughout France and Italy.
The peculiarity of his name has led some to assume he may have been in charge of the wine in his monastary. His writings are numerous and mostly poetry. His account of the Third Crusade is of partcular value as it claims to offer a first hand account of various battles between Saladin and Christian armies. He depicts Richard the Lionheart as brave and resourceful in repelling the attacks of Saladin. He breaks off his account of the crusade in 1192, just as the crusaders were preparing to leave the Holy Land.
While the work has traditionally been ascribed to Geoffrey, there exists considerable doubt over his authorship. Most scholars have now come to accept that the work should more properly be attributed to the Norman poet Ambroise.