Early Travels in Palestine Part 2

[17] Matth. xvii. 4.

[18] Damascus was taken by the Arabs in 634. By the capitulation, the Christians were to have seven churches; but one of the Arabian leaders having broken into the city before the capitulation was completed, it was only very partially observed.

[19] Alexandria fell into the power of the Arabs in 640. The account given of the city by Arculf would lead us to believe that its prosperity and importance were not so suddenly reduced by that event as is generally believed.

[20] _Urbs Elephantorum._ The town of Elephantina, famous for its interesting monuments, situate on the Nile, just below the cataracts. It is to be presumed that Arculf had visited this place; and perhaps he had here seen the crocodiles subsequently described, as those animals are said not to be found in Lower Egypt. It must, however, be observed, that St. Antoninus, who visited Egypt in the seventh century, appears to have seen crocodiles in Lower Egypt. See his Life, in the Act. Sanct. of the Bollandists.

[21] The subsequent history of the supposed real cross, or rather the supposed fragments of it, which were scattered as relics over Christian Europe, would fill a volume. It was pretended that it was brought to France by Charlemagne.

THE TRAVELS OF WILLIBALD.

A.D. 721-727.

WRITTEN FROM HIS OWN RECITAL BY A NUN OF HEIDENHEIM.

After the ceremonies of Easter were ended, the active champion (of Christ) prepared for his voyage with his two companions, and left Rome.

They first went eastward to the town of Daterina[22], where they remained two days; and thence to Cajeta, on the coast, where they went on board a s.h.i.+p and sailed over to Nebule[23]. They here left the s.h.i.+p, and remained a fortnight. These are cities belonging to the Romans; they are in the territory of Beneventum, but subject to Rome. There, after waiting anxiously, in constant prayer that their desires might be agreeable to heaven, they found a s.h.i.+p bound for Egypt, in which they took their pa.s.sage, and sailed to the land of Calabria, to the town which is called Rhegia[24], and there remained two days; and then proceeded to the island of Sicily, in which is the town of Catania, where the body of St. Agatha, the virgin, reposes. And there is Mount Etna; in case of an eruption of which, the inhabitants of Catania take the veil of St. Agatha, and hold it up towards the fire, which immediately ceases. They made a stay of three weeks at this place, and then sailed to the isle of Samos, and thence to the town of Ephesus, in Asia, which is one mile from the sea. They walked thence to the place where the seven sleepers repose; and onward thence to John the Evangelist, in a beautiful locality by Ephesus. They next walked two miles along the sea-side to a large village which is called Figila[25], where they remained one day, and, having begged bread, they went to a fountain in the middle of the town, and, sitting on the edge, they dipped their bread in the water, and so made their meal. They next walked along the sea-sh.o.r.e to the town of Strobole[26], seated on a lofty hill, and thence to the place called Patera, where they remained till the rigour of winter was past.

After this, going on s.h.i.+p-board, they came to the town which is called Melitena[27], which had been nearly destroyed by an inundation; and two hermits lived there on a rock, secured by walls, so that the water could not reach them. And there they suffered much from hunger, from which they were only relieved by G.o.d's providential mercy[28]. They sailed thence to the isle of Cyprus, which is between the Greeks and the Saracens, to the town of Papho, where they pa.s.sed the first week in the year. And thence they went to the town of Constantia, where St.

Epiphanius reposes, and there they remained till after the Nativity of St. John the Baptist[29]. They then put to sea again and came into the region of the Saracens to the town of Tharratas[30], by the sea; and thence they walked a distance of nine to twelve miles to a castle called Archae[31], where there was a Greek bishop; and there they had divine service according to the Greek custom. Thence they walked twelve miles to the town which is called Emessa, where there is a large church built by St. Helena, in honour of John the Baptist, whose head was long preserved there. This is in Syria.

Willibald's party had now increased to eight in number, and they became an object of suspicion to the Saracens, who, seeing that they were strangers, seized them and threw them into prison, because they knew not of what country they were, and supposed them to be spies. They carried them as prisoners before a certain rich old man, that he might examine them; and he inquired whence they came and the object of their mission; whereupon they related to him the true cause of their journey.

The old man replied, "I have often seen men of the parts of the earth whence these come, travelling hither; they seek no harm, but desire to fulfil their law." And upon that they went to the palace, to obtain leave to proceed to Jerusalem.

While they were in prison it happened, by a manifest intervention of Divine Providence, that a merchant residing there was desirous, as an act of charity, and for the salvation of his soul, to purchase their deliverance, that they might pursue their way, but he was not allowed to carry his generous design into effect; nevertheless he sent them daily their meals, and on Wednesdays and Sat.u.r.days sent his son to them in prison, who took them out to the bath, and brought them back again. And on Sunday he took them to church through the market, that they might see the shops, and whatever they seemed to take a liking to he afterwards bought for them at his own expense. The townsmen used then to come there to look at them, because they were young and handsome, and clad in good garments.

Then, while they were still remaining in prison, a man, who was a native of Spain, came and spoke with them, and inquired earnestly who they were and from whence they came, and they told him the object of their pilgrimage. This Spaniard had a brother in the king's palace, who was chamberlain to the king of the Saracens; and when the governor who had thrown them into prison came to the palace, the captain in whose s.h.i.+p they had sailed from Cyprus, and the Spaniard who had spoken to them in prison, went together before the king of the Saracens, whose t.i.tle is Emir-al-Mumenin[32], and, when their cause came on, the Spaniard spoke to his brother, and begged him to intercede with the king for them.

After this, when all three came before the king, and told him the case, he asked whence the prisoners came. And they said, "These men come from the west country, where the sun sets; and we know of no land beyond them, but water only." And the king replied, "Why ought we to punish them? they have not sinned against us:-give them leave, and let them go." And even the fine of four deniers, which the other prisoners had to pay, was remitted to them. The Cyprians were then situated between the Greeks and the Saracens, and were not in arms: for there was great peace and friends.h.i.+p between the Greeks and Saracens. It was a great and extensive region, and had twelve bishops.

As soon as they had obtained leave, the travellers went direct to Damascus, a distance of a hundred miles. St. Ananias reposes there, and it is in the land of Syria. They remained there one week. And at two miles from the city was a church, on the spot where St. Paul was first converted, and the Lord said to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" &c. And after praying there, they went into Galilee, to the place where Gabriel first came to St. Mary, and said, "Hail, full of grace,"

&c. A church now stands there, and the village which contains the church is Nazareth. The Christians repeatedly bought that church of the pagans, when the latter were about to destroy it. And having there recommended themselves to the Lord, they proceeded to the town of Cana, where our Lord turned water into wine. A large church stands there, and near the altar is still preserved one of the six vessels which our Lord commanded to fill with water to be turned into wine; and the travellers drunk wine out of it. They remained there one day, and then continued their journey to Mount Tabor, the scene of our Lord's transfiguration, where there is now a monastery and a church consecrated to our Lord, and Moses, and Elijah. And those who dwell there call it Hagemon (the Holy Mount).

After praying there, they proceeded to the town of Tiberias, which stands on the sh.o.r.e of the sea on which our Lord walked with dry feet, and on which Peter tried to walk but sank. Here are many churches, and a synagogue of the Jews. They remained there some days, and observed where the Jordan pa.s.ses through the midst of the sea. And thence they went round the sea, and by the village of Magdalum to the village of Capernaum, where our Lord raised the prince's daughter. Here was a house and a great wall, which the people of the place told them was the residence of Zebedaeus with his sons John and James. And thence they went to Bethsaida, the residence of Peter and Andrew, where there is now a church on the site of their house. They remained there that night, and next morning went to Chorazin, where our Lord healed the demoniacs, and sent the devil into a herd of swine. Here was a church of the Christians.

Having performed their devotions there, they went to the place where the two fountains, Jor and Dan, issue from the earth, and flowing down from the mountain are collected into one, and form the Jordan. And there they pa.s.sed the night between the two fountains, and the shepherds gave them sour ewes' milk to drink. The sheep are of an extraordinary kind, with a long back, short legs, large upright horns, and all of one colour. There are deep marshes in the neighbourhood, and when the heat of the sun, in summer, is oppressive, the sheep go to the marsh, and immerse themselves in the water all but the head. Thence they proceeded to Caesarea, where there was a church and a mult.i.tude of Christians. They next went to the monastery of St. John the Baptist[33], where there were about twenty monks, and remained one night there, and next day went the distance of a mile to the spot in the river Jordan where our Lord was baptized. Here is now a church raised upon stone columns, and under the church it is now dry land where our Lord was baptized. They still continue to baptize in this place; and a wooden cross stands in the middle of the river, where there is small depth of water, and a rope is extended to it over the Jordan. At the feast of the Epiphany, the infirm and sick come thither, and, holding by the rope, dip in the water. And women who are barren come thither also, and thus obtain G.o.d's grace. Willibald here bathed in the Jordan, and they remained at this place one day.

Thence they went to Galgala, a journey of five miles, where is a moderate-sized wooden church, in which are the twelve stones which the children of Israel carried out of the Jordan to Galgala, and placed there as a memorial of their pa.s.sage. Here also they performed their devotions, and then proceeded to Jericho, above seven miles from the Jordan, and saw there the fountain which was blessed by the prophet Elisha, and hence to the monastery of St. Eustochium, which stands in the middle of the plain between Jericho and Jerusalem.

On their arrival at Jerusalem, they first visited the spot where the holy cross was found, where there is now a church which is called the Place of Calvary, and which was formerly outside of Jerusalem; but when St. Helena found the cross, the place was taken into the circuit of the city. Three wooden crosses stand in this place, on the outside of the wall of the church, in memory of our Lord's cross and of those of the other persons crucified at the same time. They are without the church, but under a roof. And near at hand is the garden in which was the sepulchre of our Saviour, which was cut in the rock. That rock is now above ground, square at the bottom, but tapering above, with a cross on the summit. And over it there is now built a wonderful edifice. And on the east side of the rock of the sepulchre there is a door, by which men enter the sepulchre to pray. And there is a bed within, on which our Lord's body lay; and on the bed stand fifteen golden cups with oil burning day and night. The bed on which our Lord's body rested stands within the rock of the sepulchre on the north side, to the right of a man entering the sepulchre to pray. And before the door of the sepulchre lies a great square stone, in the likeness of the former stone which the angel rolled from the mouth of the monument. Our bishop arrived here on the feast of St. Martin[34], and was suddenly seized with sickness, and lay sick until the week before the Nativity of our Lord. And then, being a little recovered, he rose and went to the church called St. Sion, which is in the middle of Jerusalem, and, after performing his devotions, he went to the porch of Solomon, where is the pool where the infirm wait for the motion of the water, when the angel comes to move it; and then he who first enters it is healed. Here our Lord said to the paralytic, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk!"[35] St. Mary expired in the middle of Jerusalem, in the place called St. Sion; and as the twelve apostles were carrying her body, the angels came and took her from their hands and carried her to paradise.

Bishop Willibald next descended to the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is close to the city of Jerusalem, on the east side. And in that valley is the church of St. Mary, which contains her sepulchre, not because her body rests there, but in memory of it. And having prayed there, he ascended Mount Olivet, which is on the east side of the valley, and where there is now a church, where our Lord prayed before his pa.s.sion, and said to his disciples, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation."[36] And thence he came to the church on the mountain itself, where our Lord ascended to heaven. In the middle of the church is a square receptacle, beautifully sculptured in bra.s.s, on the spot of the Ascension, and there is on it a small lamp in a gla.s.s case, closed on every side, that the lamp may burn always, in rain or in fair weather, for the church is open above, without a roof; and two columns stand within the church, against the north wall and the south wall, in memory of the two men who said, "Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?"[37] And the man who can creep between the wall and the columns will have remission of his sins.

He next came to the place where the angel appeared to the shepherds, and thence to Bethlehem, where our Lord was born, distant seven miles from Jerusalem. The place where Christ was born was once a cave under the earth, but it is now a square house cut in the rock, and the earth is dug up and thrown from it all round, and a church is now built above it, and an altar is placed over the site of the birth. There is another smaller altar, in order that when they desire to celebrate ma.s.s in the cave, they may carry in the smaller altar for the occasion. This church is a glorious building, in the form of a cross. After prayers here, Willibald came to a large town called Thecua, where the children were slain by Herod, and where there is now a church; here rests one of the prophets. And then he came to the valley of Laura, where there is a large monastery; here the abbot resides in the monastery, and he is porter of the church, with many other monks who belong to the monastery, and have their cells round the valley on the slope of the mountain. The mountain is in a circle round the valley, in which the monastery is built. Here rests St. Saba. He next arrived at the place where Philip baptized the eunuch, where there is a small church, in an extensive valley between Bethlehem and Gaza, where the travellers prayed. Thence they went to St. Matthew, where there is great glory on the Sunday. And while our bishop Willibald was standing at ma.s.s in this church, he suddenly lost his sight, and was blind for two months. And thence they went to St. Zacharias, the prophet, not the father of John, but another prophet. They next went to the castle of Aframia, where the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, repose, with their wives, and thence he returned to Jerusalem, and there, entering the church where the holy cross of our Lord was found, he recovered his sight.

After remaining some time at Jerusalem, Willibald set out on another journey, and came first to St. George, at Diospolis, which is ten miles from Jerusalem, and then to a town where there is a church of St. Peter the apostle, who here restored to life the widow named Dorcas. He went thence to the coast, far away from Jerusalem, to Tyre and Sidon, which stand on the sea-sh.o.r.e six miles from each other; after which he pa.s.sed over Mount Liba.n.u.s, to Damascus, and so again to Caesarea, and a third time to Jerusalem, where he pa.s.sed the following winter. And then he went to the town of Ptolemais, on the extreme bounds of Syria, and was obliged by sickness to remain there all Lent. His companions went forward to the king of the Saracens, named Emir-al-Mumenin, with the hope of obtaining letters of safe conduct; but they could not find the king, because he had fled out of his kingdom. Upon this, they came back, and remained together at Ptolemais until the week before Easter.

Then they went again to Emessa, and asked the governor there to give them letters, and he gave them a letter for each two, because they could not travel in a company, but only two and two, on account of the difficulty of obtaining food. And then they went to Damascus, and returned a fourth time to Jerusalem, where they remained a short period.

They now left Jerusalem by another route, and came to the town of Sebaste, which was formerly called Samaria, and they call the castle Sebastia. Here repose St. John the Baptist, and the prophets Abdiah and Elisha; and near the castle is the well at which our Lord asked for water of the Samaritan woman, and over which well there is now a church.

And near is the mountain on which the Samaritans wors.h.i.+pped; for the woman said to our Lord, "Our fathers wors.h.i.+pped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to wors.h.i.+p."[38]

Here the travellers performed their devotions, and then they proceeded to a large town on the farthest borders of Samaria, where they reposed that night. And thence they continued their journey over an extensive plain covered with olive trees, and they were accompanied by a black with two camels and a mule, who was conducting a woman through the wood.

And on their way they were met by a lion[39], which threatened them much with fearful roaring; but the black encouraged them, and told them to go forwards; and when they approached it, the lion, as G.o.d willed, hurried off in another direction, and they soon heard his roaring in the distance. They supposed he came there to devour people who went into the wood to gather olives. At length they arrived at a town called Thalamartha, on the sea-coast; and they proceeded onwards to the head of Mount Liba.n.u.s, where it forms a promontory in the sea, and where stands the tower of Liba.n.u.s. n.o.body is allowed to pa.s.s this place without letters of safe conduct, for there is a guard in it; those who are without such letters, are seized and sent to Tyre. That mountain is between Tyre and Thalamartha. And so the bishop arrived again at Tyre.

Willibald had formerly, when at Jerusalem, bought balsam, and filled a gourd with it; and he took a gourd that was hollow, and had flax, and filled it with rock oil[40]; and poured some in the other gourd, and cut the small stalk, so that it fitted exactly and closed up the mouth of the gourd. So, when they came to Tyre, the citizens stopped them, and examined their burthens to see if they had any thing concealed; for if they had found any thing, they would immediately have put them to death.

But they found nothing but Willibald's gourd, which they opened, and, smelling the rock oil in the stalk, they did not discover the balsam that was within. So they let them go. They remained here many days waiting for a s.h.i.+p, and when they had obtained one they were at sea all the winter, from the day of St. Andrew the apostle[41] till a week before Easter, when they reached Constantinople. Here repose in one altar the three saints, Andrew, Timothy, and Luke the evangelist; and the sepulchre of John Chrysostom is before the altar where the priest stands when he performs ma.s.s. Willibald remained there two years, and was lodged in the church, so that he might behold daily where the saints reposed. And then he came to the town of Nice, where the emperor Constantine held a synod, at which three hundred and eighteen bishops were present. The church here resembles the church on Mount Olivet, where our Lord ascended to heaven, and in it are the pictures of the bishops who were at the synod. Willibald went thither from Constantinople, that he might see how that church was built, and then returned to Constantinople.

At the end of the two years they sailed, in company with the envoys of the pope and the emperor, to the isle of Sicily, to the town of Syracuse, and thence to Catania, and so to the city of Regia, in Calabria; and thence to the isle of Vulcano, where is Theodoric's h.e.l.l[42]. And when they arrived there, they went on sh.o.r.e to see what sort of a h.e.l.l it was; and Willibald especially, who was curious to see the interior, was wishful to ascend to the summit of the mountain where the opening was; but he was unable to accomplish his wish, on account of the cinders which were thrown up from the gulf, and settled in heaps round the brim, as snow settles on the ground when it falls from heaven.

But though Willibald was defeated in his attempt to reach the summit, he had a near view of the column of flame and smoke which was projected upwards from the pit with a noise like thunder. And he saw how the pumice-stone, which writers use[43], was thrown with the flame from the h.e.l.l, and fell into the sea, and was thence cast on the sh.o.r.e, where men gathered it and carried it away. After having witnessed this spectacle, they sailed to the church of St. Bartholomew the apostle, which stands on the sea-sh.o.r.e, and came to the mountains which are called Didymi.

Thence they went by sea to Naples.

FOOTNOTES:

[22] Probably Terracina.

[23] Probably this is a corruption of Neapolis, or Naples.

[24] Now Reggio.

[25] This evidently corresponds to the ???e?a (or Pygela) of Strabo, which he calls p????????, a little town. Stepha.n.u.s and Pomponius Mela also write Pygela, but Pliny has it _Phygala_. The site is now, according to Hamilton, (Trav. vol. ii. p. 22,) covered with fragments of Roman tiles and pottery; and near the road is the foundation of a large marble building, apparently a temple.

[26] Mr. Ainsworth, with whom I have consulted on this name, observes, "I can only suppose that we must read Trogilium for Strobolem, or that the latter was the native corruption of Trogilium, the name, according to Ptolemy, of the promontory which lies between Ephesus and the Meander, and which is opposite the island of Samos." In the Acts of the Apostles, xx. 15, it is written, "And we sailed thence, (Mitylena,) and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus."

[27] _i. e._ Miletus.

[28] The pa.s.sage in the original is rather obscure. The later anonymous life of St. Willibald says that they came to the mount of the Galani, which having been ravaged by war, they were distressed for want of provisions. "Navim demum ingressi, ad montem Galanorum transfretarunt; quo bellorum tempestate tunc temporis depilato saevam pa.s.si sunt inediam."

[29] June 24, 722.

[30] Tortosa, now called Tartus.

[31] The Arca of Ptolemy, placed in the Antonine Itinerary, 18 M.P. from Tripolis, and 32 M.P. from Antaradon. Josephus (De Bel. Jud., lib. vii.

c. 13) says the Gentiles called this Phnician town Arcaea or Arcena. It is now called Tele Arka.

[32] _i. e._ Emir, or commander of the faithful. Willibald, not understanding the language, translated the t.i.tle of the khalif into the name of a king, whom the biographer calls _Mirmumni_. In a similar manner the old Spanish and English historians frequently turned the same t.i.tle into the name Miramomelin. The khalif here alluded to was Yezid II.

[33] In the desert of Quarantania.

[34] Nov. 11, 722.

[35] John, v. 8.

[36] Matth., xxvi. 41.

[37] Acts, i. 11.