Guillaume Caoursin the Vice-chancellor of the Order of the Hospital wrote the Obsidionis Rhodiae urbis descriptio (Description of the Siege of Rhodes) as the official record of the Ottoman siege of the Knights in Rhodes in 1480. The Descriptio was the first authorized account of the Orderâs activities to appear in printed form and it became one of the best sellers of the 15th century. The publication of the Descriptio not only fed Western Europeâs hunger for news about an important Christian victory in the ongoing war with the Turks it also served to shape public perceptions of the Hospitallers. Caoursin wrote in a humanistic style sacrificing military terminology to appeal to an educated audience; within a few years however his Latin text became the basis for vernacular versions which also circulated widely. Modern historians recognize the contributions that the Ottoman siege of Rhodes in 1480 made in the development of military technology particularly the science of fortifications. This book is the first complete modern Latin edition with an English translation of the Descriptio obsidionis Rhodiae. Two other published eyewitness accounts Pierre DâAubussonâs Relatio obsidionis Rhodie and Jacomo Curteâs De urbis Rhodiae obsidione a. 1480 a Turcis tentata also appear in modern Latin edition and English translation. This book also includes John Kayâs Description of the Siege of Rhodes and an English translation of Ademar Dupuisâ Le siÃge de Rhodes. The lengthy introductory chapters by Theresa Vann place the Ottoman siege of Rhodes in 1480 within the context of Mehmed IIâs expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean after he captured Constantinople in 1453. They then examine the development of an official message or propaganda as an essential tool for the Hospitallers to raise money in Europe to defend Rhodes a process that is traced through the chanceryâs official communications describing the aftermath of Constantinople and the Ottoman. Language: English