Bohemond VI and the Enigmatic Inscription from Tripoli

Abstract

‘seste tor de la monee de la comunaute des gens de triple’ The inscription in Old French on a marble plaque from Tripoli of which Bohemond VI was the commissioner, remains enigmatic until the present day. The damaged state of the inscription, especially where the date of the text is given and the use of the term 'communauté de Tripoli', are the main obstacles for a definite interpretation of this inscription. The marble slab, discovered in 1928 in Tripoli, in or near the port, is now in the National Museum of Beirut. A mould of the inscription arrived in Paris as a gift from the National Museum in Beirut in 1936 and is part of the collection of the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine (Palais de Chaillot, Paris). The marble plate measures 60cm x 60cm x 9 cm.