Rorgo Fretellus

Start of the Descriptio in the manuscript Paris, BnF, MS lat. 5129, copied in 1151–1157 Rorgo Fretellus, also spelled Fetellus (fl. 1119–1154), was a Frankish priest in the Kingdom of Jerusalem who wrote a widely circulated description in Latin of the Christian holy places in the Holy Land, the Descriptio de locis sanctis.

Life Fretellus was born in the County of Ponthieu and went to the Holy Land around 1110. In 1119 he was the chancellor of the Prince of Galilee and by 1121 he was a canon of the archdiocese of Nazareth. By about 1148 he had become the archdeacon of the patriarchate of Antioch, or perhaps of Nazareth.

The Descriptio is not a very original work. It incorporates much earlier material to which Fretellus had access in the library of the cathedral of Nazareth, including possibly Pseudo-Eugesippus' Tractatus de distantiis locorum Terrae Sanctae. Although "it does not tell us very much about the conditions in the towns and villages under Frankish rule", it is still a useful source on the learning to which a crusader cleric had access in the twelfth century. It is probable that in this famous passage Fretellus has simply combined his Biblical geography (Judaea) with the name of the former Arab province (Filasṭīn).

Editions Macpherson, James Rose, ed. Fetellus (circa 1130 A.D.). London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 1896. Boeren, Petrus Cornelis, ed. Rorgo Fretellus de Nazareth et sa description de la Terre Sainte: histoire et édition du texte. North-Holland Publishing, 1980.