English from Ambraseys (2009) and Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)
[1202 June]
[Phillip du Plessis, master of the Knights Templar, reports to the abbot of
Citeaux
[
Arnold I] on the calamities which befell the Holy Land,
especially the earthquake which struck on the 20th of May.]
To his venerable father and beloved friend, by the grace of God, the abbot general of the Order of Cistercians: Philip de Plessis,
humble master of the Knights Templar, sends greeting trusting more in the Lord than in man, Amen. Believing in you heartfelt
concern for the good and well-being of the Eastern Lands, it behoves me to relate to you the terrible misfortunes, unheard-of
calamities, unspeakable plagues and punishment as of God, which has come upon us in punishment for our sins. [First two disasters:
Christian population of County of Tripoli threatened, farmers take refuge in castles and cities; "fog" comes down and ruins three quarters of crops.]
To the venerable father and dearest friend by the grace of God abbot of Citeaux and of the whole Order [...]. The third scourge proved more catastrophic
and terrible than the others; for on the twentieth day of May, at dawn, a terrifying voice was heard from heaven and dreadful rumblings rose from the earth,
and
there were earthquakes such as had not been seen since the creation of the world; and they razed most of the walls and houses at Acre to the ground,
crushing a great many people to death in the ruins. But divine mercy willed that our houses should remain undamaged. At the city of Tyre, all but three
of its towers were destroyed, and all the city walls except for the outer barbicans, and all the houses with their inhabitants, except for a few survivors.
Most of the city of Tripoli was destroyed, along with a large proportion of the townspeople. The castle of Archis has been reduced to ruins, including all
its houses, walls and towers, and the castle of Arsum [Arima] has been razed to the ground. At Chastel Blanc, most of the walls collapsed, and the main tower,
which we thought to have been built with outstanding strength and solidity, was so badly cracked and damaged that it would have been better for us if it had
completely collapsed instead of being left standing in such state. Divine mercy spared the town of Tortosa and its castle, the walls, the inhabitants, and
everything else. The fourth scourge with which we are afflicted is that, in addition to the disasters we have mentioned, the corruption of the air has
caused such high mortality that almost a third of those who survived the earthquake have died, and those who were able to rise from their beds after such
prolonged enfeeblement were barely alive. And since we are weighed down by all these disasters and calamities, we need your prayers to overcome them, and
we firmly trust in God that we shall obtain them.
