Gunther of Pairis (c. 1150 – c. 1220) was a German Cistercian monk and author, writing in Latin. His best-known work is his Historia Constantinopolitana about the Fourth Crusade, in a mixture of prose and verse. It was based on the account of Martin of Pairis, abbot of Pairis Abbey, and includes the siege and looting of Constantinople. His is the only western account to state explicitly that the crusaders pillaged Greek churches, as the other accounts were written by the pillagers themselves, such as Geoffrey of Villehardouin, who wrote The Conquest of Constantinople. Gunther also wrote Solimarius, about the First Crusade, and Ligurinus, an epic about Frederick Barbarossa. References Andrea, Alfred (ed.), 1997: The Capture of Constantinople: The ‘Historia Constantinopolitana’ of Gunther of Pairis Notes External links Crusades Encyclopedia Bibliography Documenta Catholica Omnia: Guntheri Cisterciensis Opera Omnia 13th-century German poets German Cistercians German chroniclers 13th-century German historians 1150s births 1220s deaths Fourth Crusade German male poets Medieval writers about the Crusades 13th-century Latin writers 12th-century German historians