The statutes of the Italian brotherhood of the Holy Spirit in Acre. “Italian” interactions between East and West during the Fifth Crusade

We are aware of the existence of the statutes of the Italian brotherhood of the Holy Spiritbecause the renewal of their authorization (made by Alexander IV in 1255) was writtenon a register preserved until now in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano, in Rome (ArchivioSegreto Vaticano, Reg. Vat. 24, c. 42v). Their first papal authorization dated to 1220, byHonorius III, but his registers contain no trace of it, nor of the statutes themselves. Thestatutes are known since long time (among others, Hamilton, Richard, Setton, Riley-Smithhad written about them). Yet, the need of the aforementioned scholars to address broadercontexts has had a consequence. It is that so far the statutes have not been analyzed indetail. For example, the statutes tell us that the rectors came from Florence, Parma andBononia, and that two out of three were goldsmiths. Statutes tell us also that the demandto establish a brotherhood that brought together all Italian pilgrims occurred in 1216. The well-known subsequent political developments in Acre (I am referring to the San Saba war) suggest us a very different framework: that every single Italian community wasisolated, on bad terms with each other. What was the condition of the Italians in Acre, on1216? Where did those Italian come from? Is it possible to recognize, in the articles of thestatutes, elements that differentiate the brotherhood of Acre from others created in Italy? This essay aims to analyze the text of the statutes, with the help of Italian chronicles, papaldocuments, pilgrimage accounts, in order to better understanding the religious life ofItalian pilgrims in Acre at the beginning of the XIII century.