Orderic Vitalis’s narrative of the First Crusade in the 1130s reveals how crusading narratives were shaped for monastic and regional audiences in medieval Europe, emphasizing the achievements of Norman figures.
The entry of Central Europe into history defies straightforward assumptions; some connections will probably remain forever hidden behind the abyss of time, while for others, conjecture will have to suffice.
A mysterious figure ruling at the fringes of the known world, Prester John might be the most famous person you've never heard of. Like a medieval Carmen Sandiego, Prester John was a man people searched the globe for, never quite catching up to him in the end.
The second reason for seeing the connection as a strategic pact between Pisa and Denia - and this is the circumstantial evidence - lies in the configuration of military actions across the eleventh century.
In all three scenarios, those annals were written some time after the alleged events they describe, and - in the case of /E and D - by chroniclers who were collaborating to create a narrative that had been purged of uncomfortable details.