Brief Biography Little is known about the author of The Pilgrimage of Egeria. She made her pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the late fourth century, and may have been from Galicia in western Spain or from the area around Marseilles and Arles, or from any place along the Atlantic seaboard in Roman Europe. It is unclear whether Egeria was a nun, an abbess, or simply a devote Christian. Her class background is also hotly disputed, but it is clear that she did not lack money or contacts as she travelled.
Text Only about a quarter of the original manuscript remains. The text was written in Latin, but a Latin as spoken regionally rather than scholarly Latin. A copy of the manuscript was made in the Eleventh Century, but it was not until 1887 that the manuscript was published. An English translation by J. H. Bernard appeared in1891. Two recent translations in English are:
Gingras, G. E. Egeria: Diary of a Pilgrimage. Ancient Christian Writers 38. New York: 1970.
Wilkinson, J. Egeria's Travels to the Holy Land. Revised ed. Jerusalem: Ariel Publishing House, 1981.
For an on-line traslation based on M.L. McClure and C. L. Feltoe, ed. and trans. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1919, see The Pilgrimage of Etheria, a site maintained by A. K. M. Adam.
General Bibliography
Links
Egeria and The Fourth Century Liturgy of Jerusalem--Hypertext version developed by Michael Fraser, Department of Theology,
University of Durham. June 1994
The Liturgy of Jerusalem according to Egeria (IV cent.)
Sources for Medieval Christian Liturgy--Egeria, Travelogue, excerpt. translated by M.L. McClure, The Pilgrimage of Etheria, (New York, 1915).
Egeria - some background information (adapted from the book Egeria's Travels by John Wilkinson)
Travelling to Jerusalem Homepage