Ramon Muntaner (1265-1336), Catalan historian, was born at Peralada (Catalonia) in 1265. The chief events of his career are recorded in his chronicle. He accompanied Roger de Fior to Sicily in 1300, was present at the siege of Messina, served in the expedition of the Almogavares against Asia Minor, and became the first governor of Gallipoli. Later he was appointed governor of Jerba or Zerbi, an island in the Gulf of Gabes, and finally entered the service of the infante of Majorca.
On 15 May 1325 he began his Chronica, o descripcio dels fets, e hazanas del inclyt rey Don Ioume Primer, in obedience, as he says, to the express command of God who appeared to him in a vision. Muntaner’s book, which was the first printed at Valencia in 1558, is the chief authority for the events of his period, and his narrative, though occasionally prolix, uncritical, and egotistical, is faithful and vivid. He is said to have died in 1336.
From the eleventh edition of The Encyclopedia, 1911. Public domain. Some spellings have been changed to reflect the times (and link better) and some editing has been done, for the sake of clarity.