To give a full discussion of the sources from which the Dublin MS. was compiled would be thus impossible in the absence of exact knowledge as to the varying texts of Philippus. But in any case from such an investigation for our present purposes little would be gained, for we can approximately determine from internal evidence the date at which the compilation was made. As a guide-book, it goes more into detail and is more systematic than any of the other Crusading accounts as far as I know. A few simple notes have been added, mainly with the object of comparing the account given by our author with that of the other Crusading pilgrims.³

J.H.B.

TRANSLATION.

(I) Those who desire to know the pilgrimages of the glorious and holy city of Jerusalem, as of the rest of the Holy Land, should, as it seems to me, proceed to Nazareth first; for it is fitting that we should commence our pilgrimage thence, where the beginnings of our redemption were.

(2) The city of Nazareth is situated fourteen⁴ miles east of Acon.⁵ It is properly called the City of the Saviour, for in it was He conceived and nurtured. There did the Virgin Mary dwell after that she was espoused to Joseph; to whom the angel Gabriel was sent from the Lord to bring the first tidings of our salvation.

This is that city , holy and dear to God, in which ‘the Word was made flesh,’ and that flower which is better than all spices budded in the Virgin’s womb, whence ‘Nazareth’ is fitly interpreted ‘flower.’⁶ It rejoices in this special privilege over all other cities, that in it the Lord provided the beginning of our salvation, and in it He deigned to be nurtured and to be subject to His parents, to whom the Father subjected all things which are in heaven and earth. (3) And there is a little marble pillar, which the Virgin embraced for fear of the sudden vision of the angel; and hard by the pillar is the place where the angel Gabriel stood and said, ‘Hail, thou that art full of grace: the Lord be with thee,’ etc. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(4) In Nazareth there flows a little fountain from which the boy Jesus used to draw water, and thence supply His mother and Himself.

(5) One mile south from Nazareth is the place called The Precipice,⁷ where the Jews wished to fling Jesus down, envying His parents for His prudence, when He disappeared from their sight in a moment.

(6) Four miles from Nazareth is the city called Sophirus,⁸ whence came Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ. Between it and Nazareth is a perpetual spring, supplying abundant streams of water, which is called the Fountain of Sophirus, etc.

(7) Two miles from Sophirus is Cana of Galilee, where the Lord Jesus turned the water into wine; whence were Simon the Cananite and Nathanael.

(8) One mile south of Nazareth is Sasron,⁹ a village where were born James and john the sons of Zebedee.

(9) Six miles east from Nazareth is Mount Tabor, an exceeding high mountain, where the Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elias being preseent, before Peter, James, and John, showing the glory of His future resurrection.

(10) There the voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.’

(11) For the honour and veneration due to the place,

the Christians of former times built a monastery there,

(12) which lately was completely destroyed by the Saracens. There is absolution from pain and guilt.

(13) At the foot of this mountain Melchizedek met Abraham returning from the slaughter of Amalek,¹⁰ and presented him with bread and wine, which signifies the altar of Christ under the dispensation of grace.

(14) Two miles from Tabor is the city of Nain, situated at the foot of Mount Endor¹¹ southwards, at the gate of which Jesus restored to life the son of the widow woman.

(15) Thirty-eight miles due south from Nazareth is Sebaste, formerly called Smaria, where the body of St. John the Baptist was buried between the prophets Elisha and Obadiah, having been translated from the town of Macheron¹² beyond Jordan, where he lay headless.

(16) Ten miles from Sebaste is the city of Neapolis, formerly called Sichem, from Sichem the son of Emor, or Sychar, as it is called in the Gospel, where were buried the bones of Joseph the son of Jacob, when they were brought up from Egypt. There, too, one mile southward outside the city is Jacob’s Well, by which Jesus sat, wearied with His journey, when He asked water from the woman of Samaria. There also are the two hills or hillocks, viz., Dan and Bethel, where King Jeroboam placed the golden calves and commanded to worship them, saying, ‘These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of Egypt.’

(17) From Neapolis to Jerusalem it is thirty-five miles.

(18) Jerusalem is the holy city of holy cities, the mistress of nations, the chief of provinces, called the City of the Great King, and placed in the midst of the earth, being as it were the centre of the universe, so that ‘all nations might flow unto it.’ The possession of patriarchs, the nurse of prophets, the teacher of apostles, the cradle of our salvation, the country of the Lord, the mother of faith, even as Rome is the mother of the faithful, chosen of God and sanctified, where stood the feet of the Lord, honoured by angels, frequented by every nation under heaven.¹³

It is built on a high mountain, with hills on every side, in that part of Syria which is called Judaea and Palestine, flowing with milk and honey, abounding in corn, wine, and oil, and all temporal goods; but it is lacking in rivers, for it has no fountains except one, which is named Sion,¹⁴ flowing under Mount Sion through the middle of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which sometimes supplies abundant water, but more generally little or none. There are both inside and outside the city many cisterns for rain-water, which suffice both men and beasts for drinking and for other necessary purposes. (19) There is also one great and very wonderful aqueduct, coming from the city called St. Abraham, which is situated in the vale of Hebron, distant from Jerusalem twenty-four miles to the south.

(20) The city had many and diverse names from various events in its history, and given by different nations in different languages. First it was called Jebus, then Salem; from which two names it has its third name Jerusalem. It is also called Hierosolima, and Solima, and Luz, and Bethel. It was also called Aelia, from Aelius the Roman quaestor, who rebuilt it in the place where it is now after its destruction by Titus and Vespasian.

(21) But the city of Jerusalem, in which the Lord exhibited in bodily form the mysteries of our redemption, even as it exceeds all other places and cities in the privilege of its sanctity and the excellence of its dignity, so did it draw very many religious persons to itself ‘by the smell of a full field which the Lord hath blessed.’¹⁵ It has Sion on the south where it had the citadel, which was called the City of David. It has Mount Olivet on the east.

(22) First, when you have entered the church, you shall find a black marble stone upon which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus washed the body of Christ, and sprinkled it with spices, when they took it down from the cross. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(23) Thence you shall come to Mount Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, where the blood issuing from His side penetrated through that dense and hard rock, and left the colour of blood there to this day. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(24) For the blood sank in under Mount Calvary, in that part which is called Golgotha, where was found the head of Adam the first man; even up to the mouth of the aforesaid head did it penetrate through the rock. There is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.¹⁶

(25) Thence you shall come to the glorious sepulchre of the Lord, which up to the time of the Emperor Aelius Hadrian was without the gate. This emperor enlarged the city so much that he enclosed the place of the Lord’s sepulchre within the circuit of the walls, in which place afterwards the Christians, for the reverence they had to the Lord’s sepulchre, built the glorious church of the Lord’s Resurrection within the city, with elaborate workmanship, of suitable shape, and round in form, with one window opened in the roof. This not undeservedly holds the chief place among the holy and memorable sites. In this place the precious body of the Lord was honourably buried with spices, and here He rested until the third day; but on the third day He rose again as He had said, ‘On the third day I shall rise again.’ And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(26) Thence you shall come to the place where our Lord rising from the dead appeared first to Mary Magdalene when she thought that He was the gardener, and said, ‘Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him,’ etc.¹⁷ In which place is a holy altar in honour of that appearance, which is before the door of the chapel of the blessed Virgin. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(27) Thence you shall enter the chapel of blessed Mary, and there you shall find a portion, four feet long, of the pillar to which Jesus was bound, and where He was scourged; it is placed as it were in the partition wall on the right-hand side as you go into the chapel. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(28) Also in the same chapel is the place in front of the altar where a certain dead man was revived by virtue of the holy cross immediately after its glorious discovery in the presence of Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. And there is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(29) There is also the place near the altar where the holy cross stood for a long time, aand was most devoutly adored by faithful Christians. And there is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(30) Thence you shall come to the place where Christ was for us imprisoned, bound, beaten; there is now a small chapel there. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(31) Thence when you have gone out of the door of that chapel in front of a certain altar, you shall find a certain to which Jesus was chained while His cross was being erected. And there is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(32) Thence you shall go to the place where soldiers cast lots for the garments of Christ, as it is written, ‘And for My vesture did they cast lots.’ And there is absolution fro seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(33) Thence you shall go to a place where you descend to a certain chapel built at a depth of twenty-eight steps; there are buried the bodies of Mary the mother of James, and Mary Salome, under a certain altar. And there is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(34) Near the altar on the south side is a stone chair on which St. Helena sat when she caused search to be made for the holy cross of the Lord. And there is absolution for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(35) Also there is a certain window in the wall at the north side, through which it is said are heard the shrieks of the souls in purgatory.

(36) Also in the same chapel are four stone pillars, which, it is said, sweat water night and day on account of Christ’s passion.

(37) Thence you shall descend twelve steps to another yet lower chapel, in which was found in a very deep place the holy cross. The place is still visible where the cross of the Lord lay. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(38) Thence you shall go up to the first gate by which you entered, and on the left side you shall find a marble pillar under a certain altar, near which it is said that Jesus was crowned with the crown of thorns before He was placed upon the cross. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(39) Thence you come to Golgotha, which is called The Pavement, where Pilate sat before the tribunal when he led Jesus outside the city. ‘It was the passover about the sixth hour,’ according to John. Golgotha is a place under Mount Calvary, as it were concave; and there the blood is visible as above related.

(40) Thence you come to the doors, and in the midst of the choir is the place called the Centre of the World, where our Lord Jesus Christ laid His finger, saying, ‘This is the centre of the of the world.’¹⁸ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

It should also be known that at the great altar is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons, and at all the altars constructed within the church.

(41) Thence you come to a pillar near the chamber of the holy sepulchre, above which is painted the image of St. Pantaleon,¹⁹ at which it is said that the following miracle once took place. A certain Saracen entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and looking round saw the aforesaid image painted above the pillar. Then he tore out the eyes of the image, and straightway his own eyes fell out on the ground.

(42) Thence you come to the gate by which blessed Mary of Egypt was not able to enter, although the other Christians did, until she promised that she would do penance; where she heard a voice, ‘If thou crossest the Jordan, thou shalt be whole.’²⁰ And that gate is placed on the north side of the holy sepulchre in a secret place, and there is the chapel of the aforesaid St. Mary of Egypt. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(43) Thence you shall go out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and on the left hand you shall find a little chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under Mount Calvary, where she stood gazing upon her Son hanging on the cross. And there the Nubians²¹ minister. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(44) Thence you shall come to the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, joined on to the chapel of blessed Mary, where our Saviour commended the Virgin Mother to him, who was a virgin. And there the Jacobites minister. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(45) Thence you come to a chapel hard by, built in honour of St. John the Baptist. Indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(46) Then you shall have opposite you a chapel built in honour of St. Mary Magdalene, where along with the other women she wept and bewailed the Lord as He hung on the cross. And there the cinctured Christians²² minister. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(47) Thence you come to a rock in front of the gates of the church, upon which our Lord rested when He came bearing His cross to Mount Calvary. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(48) All the aforesaid most holy places are within or hard by the sacred and holy church of the Passion and Sepulchre of the Lord.

(49) Thence you shall come to Mount Sion, and on the way you shall find the church of blessed James the son of Zebedee, in which is the place where once was placed the head of this James when brought by the hands of angels from Joppa. There he was beheaded, as some say; but others say that he was beheaded in Jerusalem, where his church is, which I believe to be more true. (50) And there are shown a bone of this most blessed James, and a bone of blessed George the Martyr. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons. And there are the Armenian monks.²³

(51) Thence you shall go to the church of St. Saviour

in Mount Sion, which was formerly the house of Caiaphas, to which Jesus was first brought after His arrest, and severely scourged. And there in the wall outside the gate of the church is a part of the pillar to which He was bound. Also in the same place Peter for the first time denied Christ ‘before the cock crew’; and sitting there in the hall with the servants he warmed himself at the ‘fire of coals, for it was cold.’²⁴ There, too, is the prison where the Jews laid Jesus, and kept Him until the morning; but when morning was come they sent Him bound to Pilate. There, too, is a great stone above the altar, said to have been the stone which was first laid upon the tomb of the Lord, according to Mark’s ‘Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?’ etc. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(52) Thence you come to the place where once was the cell where blessed Mary lodged for fourteen years after the Lord’s ascension to heaven; and there she departed to the Lord from this wicked world. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(53) Thence you come hard by to the place where was the church in which blessed John the Evangelist celebrated Mass, in presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as long as blessed Mary lived in this world.²⁵ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(54) Thence you come to the place where the Apostles chose blessed Matthias as an Apostle in the room of Judas the traitor. And there is an indulgence fro seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(55) There, too, is the place where the Apostles chose the seven deacons, Stephen, Philip, Nicanor, and their fellows, to preach the Word of God. (56) And there is another place there where the Apostles chose blessed James to be first Bishop of Jerusalem, who afterwards, martyred by the stroke of a fuller’s club, departed to Christ.

(57) Then you come, near the church doors, to the oratory of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where she used to pray after the Lord’s ascension to heaven. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(58) Also, on the side of the church doors, is a certain red stone, which was used for an altar. On it blessed John the Evangelist ceelebrated Mass, in presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was transported from Mount Sion by the hands of angels at the prayers of blessed Thomas the Apostle when returning to India. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(59) Thence you shall enter the church, and near the great altar on the south side is the place where the Lord Jesus supped with His disciples, and communicated them, saying, ‘Take, eat, this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ And there is absolution from pain and guilt. And in the same place He washed His disciples’ feet.

(60) Then you go out of the church, and you come to a barrier, and near there is the place where the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples, ‘the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you; and saith to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and thrust thy hand into my side, and be not faithless, but believing.’²⁶ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(61) Then you ascend above the church by steps, and there is the place where the Apostles, after the Lord’s ascension, abode until the Day of Pentecost, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit with fasting and prayers. But on the Day of Pentecost they received, for strengthening, the Holy Spirit, in the form of fire, with knowledge of all tongues. And a sudden sound from heaven having come over the place, a multitude of Jews flowed in, to whom blessed Peter expounded Joel’s prophecy, and converted many to faith. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(62) Thence you go down to the cemetery; and there, near the church on the north side, is a stone on which Jesus stood when He preached to the multitude. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(63) Thence you go under the church, and there is the sepulchre of King David and Solomon his son, where were laid all the kings of Jerusalem. And near there David composed seven psalms. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(64) Then you come to the place where the water was warmed for washing the disciples’ feet at the Lord’s Supper.

(65) Then you come to the sepulchre of blessed Stephen, the first martyr. There his body was laid after its discovery, but now it is at Rome, in the same sarcophagus with the body of blessed Laurence.²⁷ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(66) As you go down Mount Sion is the place where the Apostles, as they bore the body of the Blessed Virgin to burial in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, laid down the bier. And the Jews who lived in the village hard by collected at the spot, that they might carry off the body to burn it.

Then the chief priest of the Jews, more bold and imprudent than the rest, laid his hand on the bier, whereupon his hands were withered. Then he besought blessed Peter to pray for him, and to restore his hands to him. To whom blessed Peter said, ‘If thou believest that this is the mother of Christ, and art willing to be baptized, thou shalt be made whole.’ And he believed, and was restored to his former health.²⁸ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(67) Then you come to a place where once was a church, commonly called the church of the Cockcrowing, in which was a deep cavern, where Peter repented when he denied Christ, and ‘wept bitterly.’

(68) Then three long furlongs southward is that field which was bought for the thirty pieces of silver for which our Lord was sold; which is called in Hebrew Aceldama, that is, ‘the field of blood,’ unto this day.

(69) Then you come to a holy field where ofttimes the Apostles lodged before Christ’s Passion, and their dwellings are yet visible. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(70) Then you come to the pool of Siloam, where the Lord gave sight to the man born blind.

(71) Then you come to a place hard by where Isaiah, the prophet, was sawn asunder with a saw of wood by Manasseh,²⁹ King of Jerusalem, and there he rests, buried under the Oak of Rogel.

(72) Then you come to the fountain of blessed Mary, where she washed the little clothes of her blessed Son. There both Saracens and Christians now bathe, and are often relieved from their infirmities. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(73) Then you come to the place where blessed James the Less used to live, and where he was buried after he was flung down from the temple by the Jews. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(74) Mount Olivet is one mile east of Jerusalem—the fruitful mountain, the Mount of Olives— worthy of all veneration. On this holy and most worthy mountain the Lord used to sit, opposite the temple, when His disciples sought from Him the signs of His coming to judgement, and of the end of the age. On this mountain ofttimes He used to go with His disciples for prayer, and especially when His Passion was coming on. And there is shown the place in the church where our Lord, in the presence of His disciples, ascended gloriously to heaven; and the stone which He had under His feet still retains their impression, and it is visible to this day. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(75) Then you come to a certain chapel on the aforesaid mountain in which blessed Pelagia of Antioch did penance; there, too, she was buried. There is a stone over her tomb which no one can pass by or go round unless he first have made a full confession. Here it is said that blessed Mary of Egypt was buried up to the time that the Latins took the Holy Land.³⁰ After that they transported her body beyond the sea to a town called Bleisis,³¹ in the kingdom of France. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(76) Then you come to the place where the Apostles composed the Symbol of the Faith. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(77) Then you come to a certain church in which the Lord Jesus taught his Apostles to pray, saying, ‘Thus ye shall pray,’ and saying, ‘Our Father which art in heaven,’ etc. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(78) Then you come to a declivity of Mount Olivet, two furlongs eastward, to Bethphage, which is, being interpreted, the House of Figs. There our Lord sent two of His disciples, viz., Peter and Philip, for the ass and her colt on Palm Sunday, saying, ‘Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; and they, having gone, brought the ass and the colt, and they set Him thereon.’³² And He was led upon the ass from that place to Jerusalem with hymns and praises, and was received with honour by the children of the Hebrews bearing palm branches. And there is an indulgence seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(79) Then you come to a place where blessed Mary received a palm from the angel, in token of her departure from this world to her longed-for home. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(80) The neighbouring mountain to Mount Olivet, on the north side, is the Mount of Offence; they are divided by the road which leads from the Valley of Jehoshaphat to Bethany. It was called the Mount of Offence because king Solomon set up there the idol Moloch, and worshipped it.³³ The place is called Galilee, where our Lord appeared to the disciples when He had risen from the dead, according to the word of the angel, which said, ‘Go, tell his disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee.’³⁴ There was formerly a church here, but it was destroyed by the Saracens. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(81) Then you come by the slope of the mountain to the stone upon which Jesus stood and preached to the multitiude; where He pointed out the city of Jerusalem, and wept over it, saying, ‘If thou hadst known, even thou, that the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and shall lay thee even with the ground,’³⁵ etc., which was fulfilled, under Titus and Vespasian, Emperors of the Romans. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(82) Then you come to the place where blessed Mary threw her girdle to blessed Thomas the Apostle. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(83) Then you come to the Garden of Gethsemane, under the foot of Mount Olivet, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where our Lord is to judge the quick and dead. (84) And there is the place where the Lord Jesus was taken captive by the Jews, where Judas Iscariot kissed Him, saying, ‘Hail, Master’; and there the Jews before Him ‘went backwards and fell to the ground’ at the voice of Christ, when He said ‘I am He,’ according to John.³⁶ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(85) Then you come to the place where the Lord Jesus, being withdrawn from His disciples ‘about a stone’s cast,’³⁷prayed to the Father, saying, `Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done.’ And in the same place ‘appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And His sweat was as it were drops of blood falling down to the ground.’

(86) There, too, is the stone which our Lord, when He was praying, grasped for the bitterness of His Passion, and the imprint of His fingers is still plain. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(87) Then you come to the place where ‘He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy,’ saying, ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death’: and returning, He found the other disciples sleeping, and said to them, ‘Could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.’³⁸ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(88) Then you come to a church in the Valley of Jehoshaphat where is the tomb of the glorious Virgin very deep down, forty-eight steps leading to it. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

It should be observed that the Valley of Jehoshaphat is so called after a certain King of Jerusalem, by name Jehoshaphat, who was buried there: his tomb, very elaborately built, is still visible.

(89) Thence you shall cross the brook Kedron, where for many years the sign of the Lord’s cross lay. The Sibyl, when she was coming to Jerusalem to hear the wisdom of Solomon, refused to cross over it.

(90) And you shall come to the place where blessed Stephen was bound when he was stoned by the Jews, who, kneeling down on the ground, prayed for them who were stoning him, saying, ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,’³⁹ etc. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(91) Then you come to the golden gates⁴⁰ through which the Lord Jesus entered on Palm Sunday, sitting on an ass, as it said in the Gospel. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(92) Then a bow-shot off is the Temple of the Lord, which has four entrances and twelve gatesThe holy temple of the Lord, which was built by Solomon on Mount Moriah at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, is not to be passed by among the holy places worthy of veneration.⁴¹ It was, indeed, first destroyed by the Babylonians, and afterwards by the Romans; but it was rebuilt in the same place in a round form, suitably and magnificently, with wonderful and subtle workmanship, by faithful and godly men. In this temple is the rock above which it is said that the destroying angel stood and appeared to David, who, for the sin of numbering the people which was done at David’s command, slew countless thousands of them. Indeed, the Saracens to this day call the Lord’s temple The Rock: it is held in so great veneration that none dare defile it with any filth, as they defile the other holy places; but from remote and far-distant regions they come to adore it from the days of Solomon to the present time. Whenever the Saracens have possession of the holy city, Jerusalem, they allow no Christian to enter the temple. It is believed by some that to this day the ark of the Lord is shut up in the aforesaid rock, and that Josiah, King of Israel, foreseeing the impending destruction of the city, ordered it to be placed in the sanctuary of the temple, and hidden there. (93) And in this holy and venerable place, when Solomon had finished the work and was offering sacrifice to the Lord, a cloud filled the house, and the glory of the Lord appeared, and ‘the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices,’ and the majesty of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and ‘all the children of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord upon the house.’ And when Solomon, ‘kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven,’⁴² had prayed that the supplications of him who should enter the temple to seek benefits from the Lord should be heard, The Lord appeared to him, saying, ‘I have heard thy prayer that thou hadst made before Me: I have hallowed this house which thou hast built for Me;’⁴³ ‘Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place: I have chosen and sanctified this house for Myself.’⁴⁴ (94) In this temple the Blessed Virgin Mary, until she was espoused to Joseph, is said to have ministered with the other virgins, making ready the vessels of the temple and the priestly vestments, learning the sacred letters, prudently and humbly living, in fastings, watchings, and prayers, and study of the Divine Scriptures. And in her infant years, being bought by her parents to the temple that they might present her before the Lord, she is said to have ascended by herself without any difficulty all the steps leading up to the temple; which thing seemed a marvel in the eyes of all, and was unheard of before for a little child.⁴⁵ In this temple, while holy Zacharias was offering incense to the Lord, the angel Gabriel appeared to him, announcing that his prayer was heard by God.

(95) Also in this temple was it that the boy Jesus was presented, being taken up in the arms of the righteous Simeon, when Simeon by the Holy Spirit recognised his Saviour, and said, ‘Now lettest thou Thy servant depart,’⁴⁶ etc. (96) Also in the same temple Jesus rescued the adulterous woman from the hands of the Jews;⁴⁷ and there, too, Jesus having ‘made a scourge of small cords, began to cast out them that sold and bought, and overthrew the seats and tables of the money-changers,’⁴⁸ saying, ‘It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.’⁴⁹ (97) Also Solomon’s temple is near; but Christians do not enter it for fear of the Saracens. (98) Also between the temple of the Lord and the Golden Gate were the trees from which the children plucked the branches when the Lord came to Jerusalem sitting upon an ass. And close by, near Solomon’s temple, in a corner of the city are said to be Christ’s bedchamber, His bath, and the bed of His mother. And there is the sepulchre of St. Simeon.

(99) Thence you go to the church of blessed Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, which is near the gate through which you would go to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the northside. Here is the crypt in which the Virgin Mary was born, formerly the house of Joachim and blessed Anna his wife. (100) Into this Christians do not enter, because the Saracens have there built their mosque; that is, their church.

(101) Then you come hard by to the pool by the sheep market to which an angel of the Lord ‘went down at a certain season and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.’⁵⁰ And it is said that in that pool for a long time lay the wood of the cross. Also in that pool our Lord cured the paralytic man who had lain on his bed for thirty-eight years, to whom He said, ‘Take up thy bed and walk.’⁵¹ And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(102) Then, close by, you come to the house of the rich man who refused the crumbs to Lazarus.

(103) Then you come to the house of Annas the high priest, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, to whom Jesus was first brought.

(104) Then you come to the house of Pilate, where Jesus was scourged and mocked by the soldiers, spitted on, beaten with rods, crowned with the crown of thorns, and finally condemned to death. And there is a road leading to the temple of the Lord, by which the Jews came and shouted, saying, ‘Crucify Him! crucify Him!’

(105) Then you come to the house where the Blessed Virgin Mary was at school, and near to it is the house in which the Jews took counsel to deliver up Jesus by treachery and to kill Him.

(106) Then you come, close by, to the church called St. Mary of the Swoon,⁵² where she swooned for the pain of her Son when she saw Him cross. And there are two great white stones in the arch there upon which our Lord rested when He bore His cross, and, turning to the people, said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but for yourselves and for your children.’⁵³ (107) Also near the church, it is said, was the palace of King Herod; and near there was the house of Judas the traitor, where he lived with his wife and children.

(108) Also there is the road which leads to the gate of St. Stephen, outside which he was stoned; by which road the Jews led Jesus, and ‘found one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country. Him they compelled to bear the cross’⁵⁴ of Jesus; and he bore it to Mount Calvary, where they crucified Jesus.

(109) Then you come to the Tower of David, which was destroyed, but is now in the same place, having been rebuilt as a fortress by the Sultan. (110) And there Joseph of Arimathea was imprisoned for forty-four years after the Passion of Christ, until the coming of Titus and Vespasian, Emperors of Rome. (111) And there is a gate called the Gate of David, outside which Judas hanged himself on a certain sycamore-tree.

(112) Then you come about a bow-shot off to the Lion’s Cave, where were buried eleven thousand martyrs, who were put to death for the name of Christ under Chosroes, King of the Persians.⁵⁵

(113) Then you come to the place where the wood of the holy cross was cut; a very beautiful church has been built there. The place is one mile distant from Jerusalem, and is called in Arabic Messalibe⁵⁶— that is, ‘the mother of the cross.’

(114) Then two miles on is the running stream where blessed Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch returning from Jerusalem. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(115) Then you come, one mile on, to the place where John the Baptist and Zacharias his father were born. A church is there, distant four miles from Jerusalem. And thither it was that Mary ‘went into the hill country with haste,’⁵⁷ and saluted Elizabeth, and Elizabeth ‘spake out with a loud voice, and said, ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.’ Then blessed Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord,’ etc. And there Zacharias prophesied, saying, ‘Blessed be the Lord God,’ etc. And there is an indulgence for seven years and seven Lenten seasons.

(116) Then to the Fountain of Zacharias,⁵⁸ which is distant about a bow-shot from the above-mentioned church.

CONCERNING THE PILGRIMAGES OF BETHLEHEM AND HEBRON.

(117) Two miles from Jerusalem, in the direction of Bethlehem, is a church⁵⁹ on the spot where Elijah repented.

(118) Then you come to a place on the road where the star appeared again to the wise men, it having disappeared while they were in the presence of Herod.

(119) Then you come to the pit where his brethren put Joseph.

(120) Then you come to the sepulchre of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, who died after giving birth to Benjamin. It is distant about a furlong from the king’s road.

(121) Then you come to a field of vetches of stone, one mile distant from Bethlehem. For when the Lord Jesus was crossing it, He saw a man sowing vetches, and when the Lord asked him what he was sowing, he answered, ‘Stones.’ ‘Let them then be stones,’ said the Lord, and forthwith those vetches were turned into stones, and to this day vetches are found there.⁶⁰

(122) Then you come to the city of Bethlehem, which is, being interpreted, the House of Bread, where was born the true Bread who came down from heaven. In this holy and venerable city a most beautiful church has been built in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which is a chapel where Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, was born. And there is absolution from pain and guilt. (123) And there is the place where was the manger in which the ass and the ox fed, where the Blessed Virgin Mary laid Him, ‘because there was no room in the inn.’ The manger with the hay in which the infant Jesus was laid is said to be at Rome in the church of S. Maria Maggiore. (124) To that chapel came the three kings from the East----Melchior, Balthasar, and Jaspar—to worship the Son of God, and they presented to Him ‘gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’ (125) Also in the above-mentioned church of St. Mary, on the left side, is the place where were laid certain relics of our Lord’s nativity and circumcision, which are said to be now at Rome in the church of St. John Lateran.⁶¹ (126) Also on the right side is the place where the Holy Innocents were buried, and there is an altar there. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(127) Then you come to a door, and there is the crypt in which blessed Jerome did penance, and there he composed his Bible and many other books.

(128) Then hard by you come to the church of that noble matron, blessed Paula, with Eustochium her virgin daughter, where they did penance.

(129) Then you come to the church of blessed Nicholas⁶² hard by, in which is a deep crypt. And in this is a chapel where it is said that the Blessed Virgin Mary once lived with her only Son. And it is said that there many a time she pressed out over the rock her breasts overflowing with milk, whence that rock has become white like milk, which is visible to this day.⁶³ It is reported that if a woman, who from any cause has lost her milk, shall take a small piece of that rock and mix it with water, and drink in honour of the blessed Virgin, straightway her milk is restored. And there is an indulgence for seven years, etc.

(130) Then you come to a chapel near Bethlehem, where the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds on the morning of the Lord’s nativity, saying, ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for there is born this day in Bethlehem, the city of David, the Saviour of the world.’

(131) Twelve miles from Bethlehem is Hebron, a very ancient city, the metropolis of the Philistines, the dwelling place of the giants, in the tribe of Judah. Hebron is situated in the Plain of Damascus, in that field where the Great Creator first fashioned our father Adam ‘after His own image.’ In this city is a temple of wondrous beauty, in which is that Double Cave where were buried those four venerated men, viz., Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,⁶⁴ with their wives, Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. (132) Christians do not enter that temple for fear of the Saracens. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(133) Then near the city, about a bow-shot off, you arrive at a cave or crypt, in which Adam and his wife did penance for a hundred years after the death of their son Abel.⁶⁵ Then, being warned by an angel, he knew his wife, and she bare Seth, of whose tribe was born Jesus Christ the Son of God.

(134) Also near Hebron is the mountain of Mamre, at the foot of which is a terebinth, and it is called either by the name of ‘oak’ and ‘ilex.’ It was sitting under this that Abraham saw the three angels coming to him, and worshipped one of them. (135) And this oak, although it is now dried up, yet is proved to be of medicinal efficacy. For it is said that if anyone riding by takes up a piece of it, his animal will not stumble.⁶⁶

(136) Then you come to the place where blessed John the Baptist repented.

(137) Also it was at Hebron that the twelve spies, Caleb, and Joshua, and their companions, came first into the Land of Promise.

(138) Also in Hebron David reigned seven and a half years before he reigned in Jerusalem.

(139) Two miles from Hebron, in the direction of Bethlehem, there is a little hut where the prophet Jonah dwelt after he came from the city of Nineveh. And there he died, and was laid in a tomb.⁶⁷

(140) Also, opposite Mount Sion, is a mountain on which now is the church of St. Cyprian.

(141) Bethany, the town of Mary, aand Martha, and their brother Lazarus, is distant fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, beyond the Mount of Olives; and there formerly was the house of Simon the leper, in which the Lord Jesus sat at meat with His disciples; where, also, the Magdalene came, hearing that Jesus had come thither, and standing behind ‘began to wash His feet with tears, and to wipe them with her hair,’⁶⁸ where, too, she deservedly heard that sweet and glorious word, ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee; go in peace.’ (142) A great church used to be there, but it has been destroyed by the Saracens.

(143) There, too, is the cave in which blessed Lazarus was buried when the Lord raised him from the dead; a chapel is now there. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(144) Then, two bow-shots off, you come to the place where Martha’s house was, where afterwards a church was built. In this house our Lord sat at meat with His disciples, when Martha said to Him, ‘Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me,’ etc.⁶⁹

(145) Then you come, two bow-shots off, to the stone at which Jesus rested when Mary and Martha met Him, weeping and saying, ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, our brother had not died,’ etc.⁷⁰

(146) Thence you shall go eighteen miles along a straight road to the river Jordan.

(147) The river Jordan is formed under the mountains of Gilboa from two streams, the Jor and the Dan, which rise at the foot of Mount Lebanon, near Caesarea Philippi.⁷¹ Deriving its name and origin from these, it descends to the Lake of Gennesaret, and thence emerging in full stream it waters the adjacent region for nearly a hundred miles, and through the famous valley, called the Valley of Salt, it gets to the Dead Sea; it does not appear again, but is swallowed up in the abyss. (148) Pilgrims and natives alike are accustomed to wash their persons and their clothes in the waters of Jordan with great devoutness, because it was in the river Jordan that our Redeemer was baptized by blessed John. (149) There the heavens were opened; there the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove; there the Father’s voice was heard, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’

(150) In this river Naaman the Syrian was cleansed from his leprosy, and ‘his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child.’

(151) Elijah and his disciple Elisha divided the waters of Jordan, struck with Elijah’s mantle, into two parts, and crossed over dry-shod. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(152) Then you come, one mile on, to an abbey,⁷² built in honour of blessed John the Baptist, and there is shown the left hand of the same St. John. (153) And there was the blessed abbot Zosimas, and there he lived out his life in great penitence. He found blessed Mary of Egypt beyond the Jordan, who abode there for thirty-eight years, unknown by all.

(154) Then you come to Jericho, which is distant four miles from the Jordan, formerly a great city, which was taken by Joshua, the leader of the people of Israel, when he entered the Land of Promise, at whose prayers the walls of the city fell down. A native of it was Rahab, the harlot, who received the spies of Israel into her house, for which she and her whole house were saved. Another native was Zacchaeus, ‘the chief among the publicans,’ who desired to see Jesus as He came into Jericho, and ‘could not for the press, because he was little in stature.’⁷³

(155) Two miles from Jericho is Quarentana, an exceeding lofty and wondrous mountain, half-way up which is a very beautiful chapel on a rock which a certain Greek owns. And there is absolution from pain and guilt.

(156) On that mountain Christ ‘fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards was an hungered.’ And there the devil tempted Him, first in His appetite, saying, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.’ The second time he tempted Him on another mountain not far from this one, with avarice, when he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, saying, ‘All these I will give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. The third time he tempted Him with vain-glory, when he ‘set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,’ and said to Him, ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down.’ (157) And under Quarentena is the spring which the prophet Elisha turned from being bitter into sweet and drinkable water.⁷⁴

(158) Two miles from Jericho, on the north-east side, is the Lake of Asphalt, which is also called the Dead Sea. And fitly is it called the Dead Sea, because it neither receives nor nourishes any living thing. Here those four cities of ill fame, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, and Admah, persisting in their abominations, were burnt up with fire and brimstone, and submerged in the lake.

(159) Above the Dead Sea is Zoar, also called Belcorosata, the fifth of the cities, which was saved by Lot’s prayers from being overwhelmed. It is now called by the people of the country the Town of the Palm.

(160) Also above this Lake or Dead Sea, as you go down to Arabia, is Carnaiim,⁷⁵ a cave in the mountain of the Moabites, to which Balaam was led to curse the people of Israel, when he rode upon the ass which spoke to him.

(161) This Dead Sea divides Judaea and Arabia.

(162) Arabia, in the time of the children of Israel, was the desert in which God kept them forty years, raining down manna upon them for to eat.

(163) Also in Arabia is the Valley of Moses, in which Moses twice struck the rock, which thereupon supplied two streams of water for the people of God, by which streams the whole country is now watered.

(164) Also in Arabia is Mount Sinai, where the law was given to Moses on tables of stone, written by the finger of God. To the top of it the body of the blessed virgin Catherine was conveyed by angelic hands, being translated from Alexandria, where she received the palm of martyrdom.⁷⁶

(165) Two miles from Jericho is Gilgal, where was born the prophet Elisha, the disciple of the prophet Elijah.

(166) Also between Jericho and Jerusalem is the place where ‘the blind man sat by the wayside begging,’ who, hearing that ‘Jesus of Nazareth passeth by, cried, saying, Jesus, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee.’⁷⁷

(167) Also from Jerusalem to Emmaus⁷⁸ it is sixty furlongs. There Jesus appeared to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and when He had opened the Scriptures, He said, ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe’; and ‘they knew Him in the breaking of bread.’ This town is near Modin, the city of the Maccabees⁷⁹ and the city of the Gibeonites.

(168) Thence you shall go forty miles to Gaza,⁸⁰ near the sea, one of the five cities of the Philistines, whose gates Samson ‘carried to the top of an hill.’⁸¹ The road goes on towards the west.

(169) Then you come, five miles, to the village of Caromus.⁸² They make very good wine there. And there the cinctured Christians live. There used to be here a great hostel of St. John of Jerusalem, but it has been utterly destroyed by the Saracens.

(170) Then six days’ journey on you come to a place where is a certain fountain, called the Fountain of Blessed Mary. For Joseph, being warned in a dream by the angel that he should take the boy and his mother and fly into Egypt, they came to this place. And the blessed Virgin was not able to proceed further for the intolerable thirst from which she suffered; and, having nothing to drink, for her grievous pain she laid the Infant down on the ground; and He striking the earth with a very gentle blow of His foot, forthwith delicious water bubbled forth. And she drank and was strenghtened. This fountain waters the balsam gardens to this day, and the place is called La Materye.⁸³ Saracens and Christians alike bathe there.

(171) Then five miles on you come to that illustrious, and noble, and wealthy city called La Kaer,⁸⁴ in which, being as it were his principal town, dwells the great Sultan, the king and lord of all Syria, Egypt, and Arabia. Near this flows the river which, coming from Paradise, waters all the land of Egypt.

(172) Then, a mile further, you come to the city called Babilonia,2 whence came that Daniel who was cast into the den of lions. And there in one place blessed Mary dwelt. In which place is now a church called St. Mary de la Scala. There is also there another secret place in which blessed Mary dwelt, and it is called St. Mary de la Cava. And there is a very beautiful church; there, too, rests the body of blessed Barbara the virgin.⁸⁵

(173) Opposite La Kaer, on the other side of the river westward, are the granaries of Pharoah, once King of Egypt, which were made by the advice of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt.

(174) Then after two hundred miles you come to Alexandria, where blessed Catherine was martyred, whose body was conveyed by the hands of holy angels to Mount Sinai for burial; and her palace is still to be seen in Alexandria, in which no Saracen can by any means dwell.

(175) Also two miles to the east of Alexandria is a church where St. Mark the Evangelist was martyred. When he was celebrating Mass one day, unbelievers came and put a rope round his neck, saying, ‘Lead away the stag to the place for stags’;⁸⁶ his body afterwards was secretly brought to Venice, where now, being translated thither, he rests gloriously.

(176) Then two days’ journey farther is Damiata, the city where blessed Jeremiah the prophet died by stoning.

(177) Then you come to Jaffa, the common harbour of Christians.

(178) Then two miles on is Rama,⁸⁷ of which it is said, ‘In Rama was there a voice heard, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not.’⁸⁸

(179) Then one mile on is Lydda, where blessed George was martyred.⁸⁹ In this Lydda blessed Peter healed a certain lame man by name Eneas.

(180) Then you come to the Palestinian Caesarea, whence came Cornelius the centurion, whom blessed Peter baptized. From this Caesarea came also blessed Philip, one of the seven deacons chosen by the Apostles.

(181) Then you come to Assur, formerly called Antipatris, which was once situated on the sea between Caesarea and Jaffa.⁹⁰

(182) Also seven miles from Caesarea is Pilgrim’s Fort, formerly called Petra Incisa,⁹¹ once a famous fort on the sea coast. The body of blessed Euphemia, virgin and martyr, of Chalcedon, a city of Greece, having been miraculously translated thither, is held in great veneration to this day.

(183) Then you come to Acre, once a famous city, formerly called Ptolemais, distant eight miles from Caiphas. Caiphas⁹² under Mount Carmel is the chief house of the Carmelites. As you go down the mountain you come to the place where once was the home of the prophet Elijah.

(184) Three miles from Mount Carmel is Mount Cain⁹³, at the foot of which Lamech slew Cain with an arrow, in the thicket mistaking him for a stag.⁹⁴

CONCERNING THE PILGRIMAGES OF TIBERIAS AND THE ADJACENT PLACES.

(185) The city of Tiberias, named after Tiberius Caesar, is situated on the Sea of Galilee. In His youth Jesus used to visit it. (186) It fell out there once that the boy Jesus was delaying, being with a Jew, who was related to Him. And the Jew, being angry, snatched up a burning torch and flung it at the boy Jesus, desiring to hit Him. But the torch stuck in the ground and grew into an immense tree, which to this day bears flowers and fruit.

(187) Also near that city are ever-flowing hot springs.

(188) Also a mile from Tiberias is the town of Magdala, from which Mary Magdalene receives her name.

(189) Four miles from Tiberias is Bethulia,⁹⁵ the city of Judith, who slew Holofernes.⁹⁶

(190) The Sea of Galilee is a lake on the borders of Galilee of very sweet and delicious water, of great extent in both length and breadth. Near it is the city of Peter and Andrew, Bethsaida by name, upon which the Lord shed lustre by His presence. (191) The lake is sometimes called Gennesaret, because it generates a breeze (generatauram) and gathers a strong wind, by which, the waters being disturbed and a storm arising, boats are often sunk. (192) It was on this lake that the Lord walked dryshod, when He said to Peter, wishing to come to Him and sinking as he cried, ‘Lord, save me,’ — ‘ O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ And another time also the disciples being in peril, He calmed the waters of this sea. At the left head of the sea, in the hollow of the mountain, is Gennesaret, the place that generates the breeze; it is still felt by those on the spot.

(193) The Sea of Galilee begins between Bethsaida and Capernaum.

(194) Four miles from Bethsaida is Chorazin, in which Antichrist, the world’s seducer, is to be nurtured. It was of these two cities that Jesus said, ‘Woe to thee, Bethsaida! Woe to thee, Chorazin!’

(195) Five miles from Chorazin is Kedar, a very excellent city, of which it is written in the psalm, ‘I dwelt in the tents of Kedar.’⁹⁷

(196) Capernaum, the city of the centurion, is situated on the right bank of the lake’s head; in this Jesus wrought many signs.

(197) Two miles from Capernaum as you go down the mountain is the place where the Lord preached to the multitude, and instructed His Apostles, teaching them; where also He cured the leper.

(198) Two miles from that descent is the place where Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, twelve baskets of fragments being left; wherein that place is called Mensa, that is, the Place of Refreshment. Also He did many miracles upon people with various infirmities.

(199) Near that place Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after His resurrection, eating ‘a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb,’ according to John.⁹⁸

(200) In the upper parts of this Galilee were the twenty cities which King Solomon gave to his friend Hiram, King of Tyre.⁹⁹

(201) This region, ‘Galilee of the Gentiles,’ is altogether in the tribes of Zabulon and Naphthali.

CONCERNING THE PILGRIMAGES OF DAMASCUS AND ITS BORDERS.

(202) The boundaries of Arabia and Idumaea meet at Bozrah. Idumaea is the land of Damascus. Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, built Damascus, as some say; but others say that it was built by a man called Damascus in the field¹⁰⁰ in which Cain slew his brother Abel. Esau inhabited Damascus. He is also called Seir and Edom: Seir, that is, hairy; and Edom, red, whence the land gets the name Idumaea. And part of that land is called Uz, whence was blessed Job, who was found constant and perfect amid his temptations. In Idumaea is Mount Seir, under which lies Damascus.

(203) Eight miles from Damascus, on the road leading to Sardinaya,¹⁰¹ is the place where the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul, saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’¹⁰²

(204) Also in Damascus there is a church where Ananias on a set day in the baptismal font made Saul into Paul, a wolf into a lamb. There the cinctured Christians minister.

(205) Also in the same city is a great cavern in which there is said to be infinite treasure; and if anyone puts forth his hand to take any part of this treasure, forthwith fire bursts forth and destroys whatever he has touched. And it is said that when the Greeks held this city, by the conquest of the Emperor Constantine, the son of St. Helena, and when they saw that they could no longer keep the city or country by reason of the multitude of Saracens coming upon them, they laid their treasures in this cave, and by the art of necromancy they made their treasures impossible to be removed to the end of time.

(206) Ten miles from Damascus is the city of Sardinaya, in which is the venerated image of the glorious Virgin Mary, which was brought from Jerusalem. This blessed image was entirely converted into a fleshly substance, so that it ceases not night and day to emit a sacred oil, which the pilgrims who come there from every quarter carry away in little glass jars. No Saracen can live in this city; they always die within a year.

(207) At the foot of Lebanon eastward there arise the two famous rivers. Abana¹⁰³ unites itself with the Great Sea in those coasts, whither Eustace, having lost his wife and being abandoned by his children, retired alone.

Pharpar¹⁰⁴ goes through Syria to Antioch, flowing past its walls; and ten miles from Antioch it enters the sea at the harbour of St. Symeon.

(208) At Antioch the precious virgin Margaret was crowned with a glorious martyrdom under the prefect Olibrius.¹⁰⁵ At Antioch blessed Peter had his seat for seven years, decorated with the pontifical robes.¹⁰⁶

(209) The origin of Tyre is buried in obscurity. Before Tyre is a marble stone of no small size, upon which Jesus stood when He said, ‘Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God,’¹⁰⁷ etc.

(210) Eight miles north of Tyre on the sea is Sarfe,¹⁰⁸ called Sarepta, of the Sidonians, where once Elijah the prophet dwelt where he raised from the dead the son of the widow woman.

(211) Six miles from Sarfe is the famous city of Sidon, outside the walls of which the Lord healed the girl that was vexed with a devil, whose mother said to Jesus, ‘Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table,’¹⁰⁹ etc. Of this city was Queen Dido, who founded Carthage in Africa.

(212) At the foot of Lebanon, two miles from Tyre, is a well of spring water. But the Fountain of the Gardens is six miles from the city of Tripolis, at the foot of Lebanon, towards the west. Tripolis is a very illustrious city of Syria, full of many delights, situated on the sea.

(213) Twenty-four miles from Tripolis is the city of Antiranda, commonly called Tortosa. In this city there is a chapel of a larger church, said to have been built by Peter and John, Apostles of God, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary; it is held in great veneration to this day. There many benefits are offered by the intercession of the glorious Virgin.

(214) Six miles from Sidon is Berytus, a very wealthy city, in which an image of our Saviour, not long after His Passion, was crucified by the Jews in imitation of Him. And it poured forth blood and water, whereupon those who had crucified it, when they saw the miracle, beleived. Whosoever had perfect devotion to this image was healed from any infirmity with which he was afflicted.¹¹⁰ It was afterwards carried to Rome, (215) and placed in the church of St. John Lateran, where it is most devoutly reverenced by all Christian people.

(216) One mile from Berytus is the place where St. George, by virtue of the holy cross, slew the dragon, and rescued a virgin from a shameful death, and restored her safe and well to her father, the king of that country.

END NOTES

 ¹ The work has been divided into sections for convenience of reference. Those which do not appear in the texts of Philippus, printed by Neumann, are: Nos. 3, 12, 19, 28-30, 32-40, 43-48, 50, 57, 62, 69, 72, 73, 76, 79, 82, 89, 90, 100, 102, 106, 110, 116, 118, 119, 124, 132, 136-139, 142, 149, 152, 155, 166-176, 178, 201, 204, 205, 215, 216.