The Turks and Turkey in the sources of the French crusades titled Geste de Louis VII

The French and the Turks have encountered at Anatolian geography for several reasons. The French who were among the first Crusaders arrived at this territory twenty-five years after the Turks settled in Anatolia following the Malazgirt yfrom Middle Asia were Muslim and typically Asian whereas the French coming from the west were originally Latins and Christians. The two people's contact initiated by the conquest of Anatolia by the Turks and followed by the Crusades which are considered to be the turning points in the world history, started in the mids of the 15th century and continued steadily towards the end of the Middle Ages. These encounters are naturally dealt by the historians of the two cultures and the works were mainly engaged in the military side of the issue. One of the French writers recording these encounters was Odon de Deuil who served French King Louis VII as his crown priest and clerk. Odon de Deuil kept a diary of the French Crusades who tried to cross Anatolia but were defeated by the Seljuk Turks at the end of 1147 and the beginning of 1148. On the onset of this study, we set out with a hypothesis that Odon de Deuil will furnish us with different and vast information about the Turks and Turkey and aimed to find out how the Turks and Turkey were perceived by the French. Since de Deuil was the first to use the term Turkey for Anatolia, we thought that he would furnish us with valuable information. However, as we deepened our studies, we realized that our expectations will be limited. Within the framework of this work it became inevitable and a responsibility to translate and do the editorial criticism of the chapters of the book which Odon de Deuil called Book V, VI, and VII. These books include the itinerary the French army followed, how they fought against the Turks, and their encounters with the Turks. At the beginning of the study, brief information on France and the French follows the bibliography of the work and short biography of the writer. Then, King Louis VII and the Second Crusades are explained in detail. In the third chapter observations on the Turks and Turkey inspired by the source books are evaluated. The last chapter is devoted to the translation of the so called Books V, VI, and VII.