One of the favourite accounts of the Holy City and of Palestine at the time of its conquest by Saladin was written by an unknown author, and was reproduced in the thirteenth century in the Chronicle of Ernoul.[21] There are many manuscripts of this, as of earlier works, which were preserved in the monasteries of Europe, and recopied by students who seem to have had little idea of the importance of preserving the original purity of their text. Some of the versions are mere abstracts, some are supplemented by paraphrases from Scripture. The original work known as the _Citez de Jherusalem_ was evidently penned by one who had long lived in the Holy City, and knew every street, church, and monastery. He gives us the Frankish names for the streets, and the topography is easily traced in the modern city. There are perhaps few towns which are better known than Jerusalem in the latter part of the twelfth century A.D., and the varying manuscripts throw an interesting light on the way in which errors and variations crept into a popular work before the invention of printing. The vivid and spirited chronicle of the campaigns of Richard Lion-Heart by Geoffrey de Vinsauf (1189-1192 A.D.) informs us of the condition of the maritime region, and describes a part of Palestine which few have visited, between Haifa and Jaffa, as well as the region east of Ascalon and as far south as the border of Egypt. The topography of this chronicle I studied on the ground with great care in 1873-75. The charming pages of Joinville, though of great interest as describing the unfortunate Crusade of St. Louis in 1256 A.D., contain much less of geographical value than the preceding.[22] [Illustration: MAP OF MARIN SANUTO.] In the fourteenth century men’s minds were often occupied with schemes for the recovery of the Holy Places. Marino Sanuto, a Venetian noble, who is said to have travelled in the East, wrote an elaborate work on the subject, which he presented to Pope John in 1321. The greater part is taken up with his views as to the military steps necessary for an expedition against the Saracens, but a very full gazetteer of Palestine, with a map, is also introduced into the work. Some have doubted whether Marino Sanuto ever visited Palestine. His information is, however, very correct on the whole, and his account of roads, springs, and other features appears to be founded on reliable observation.