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Odo of Deuil
The crusades chronicler Odo of Deuil (d.1162) served as chaplain to the King Louis VII of France during the Second Crusade. He was later elected Abbot of St. Denis in 1151. Among Odo's surviving works De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem is perhaps the most valuable source for the Second Crusade. Odo was not only an eyewitness to the events of the Second Crusade, but by virtue of his position he was well placed to know the inner-thinking of the crusade leadership. Among the more curious aspects of Odo's work is his account of the conversion of several crusaders to Islam. According to Odo they had been abandoned by the main crusading army and when they were treated well by the Muslims, they were moved by their former enemies compassion. As a result, over three thousand crusaders reportedly embraced Islam, without compulsion. Odo complained that these men effectively traded bread for their faith. Additionally, the crusades scholar Marc Carrier has cited Odo's record of Byzantine ceremonial as one of the best sources for such a study, along with William of Tyre. Dr. Carrier cites Odo as one of the most detailed western accounts of Byzantine ceremonial of the twelfth-century. Also, in the mid twelfth-century, one of Odo's monks, William of St. Denis, wrote a well known defense of Odo's administrative abilities. Odo of Deuil [Partial Text] Odo of Deuil: The Crusade of Louis VII Internet History Sourcebooks Marc Carrier- Crusades-Encyclopedia Second Crusade- Crusades-Encyclopedia Primary Sources for the Second Crusade- Crusades-Encyclopedia William of Tyre- Crusades-Encyclopedia William of St. Denis- Crusades-Encyclopedia (c) Andrew Holt, June 2005- Permission is granted for electronic copying and distribution in print for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.