WE now departed from the birthplace of St. John, and, leaving the valley by which we had come to that place, climbed up the high ground on the side towards Jerusalem, and came into a delightful and fertile valley wherein once stood the priestly city of Nob, where David ate the shew- bread, and received the sword of Goliath, [b] as is written in I Sam. xxi. and Matt. xii. Saul the king destroyed this city, and put every man therein to death, even the sucking babes, and slew eighty-five priests thereof with the edge of the sword;'for it was a city of priests, as we read in I Sam. xxii. This did he because they had given David the bread and the sword. From thence we came to a fair church, adjoining which is a small monastery, wherein dwell a Georgian monks with their wives. When we entered into the church, we were led up to the high altar, which altar is said to stand on the very spot where grew the tree of the holy cross wherefore also the church is consecrated in honour of the holy cross, and is called the Church of the Holy Cross. Be neath the altar is a pit, into which we bowed ourselves down, kissed the earth, and received plenary indulgences.

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We received refreshment from this pit, for from it there breathes forth an odour, which tempted us to linger long over our kissing the place. They also brought to us an arm of St. Barbara, which we kissed. This is the sweet spot whence grew that sweet wood, worthy of divine honour, which, though they knew it not, the ancient idolaters prefigured by a type; for when they determined to make an image of God, they carefully decided that it must not be made of gold, silver, or stone, but of wood, as being the most fitting material. This we read in Eusebius, De Evangel. Praeparat., Book III., ch. iii.

After we had prayed, we sat down in the churchyard to rest for awhile, for we were still fasting, and the heat began to be great. Some of the pilgrims went into the hovels of those monks and asked if they had anything cooked. But we saw neither kitchens nor cooking-pots in those hovels, for the men are exceeding poor. Meanwhile there came a Saracen carrying a basket full of grapes, which we bought and ate together with the bread which we had brought with us in our scrips, and we drew water from the monks' cistern. Near this place stand many olive trees, and there is a little wood of olive and fig trees. They say that Solomon had a garden in this place also, and that sometimes he would drive hither from Jerusalem in his golden chariot to enjoy it. So when we had regained our breath, we mounted our asses and went up to the top of the hill, over a rough and rocky road, and when on the high parts of it we beheld the Holy City at a distance from us, and we passed by the house of Simeon, by roads lead ing between the dry stone walls of gardens. On our way, as we drew near to Jerusalem, we entered a village among these stone walls, which offered us a wide road; but for what cause I know not, a black and half-naked Saracen placed himself in the middle of the way, piled stones

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 3

into a heap, and, holding them up, threatened to cast them at the company of pilgrims should any one of them go along that road. At his shouts and threats the whole host halted for about half an hour, and our guides strove with him and shouted in answer to him; but he took no notice whatever of them, and with the greatest fury boldly flung stones against all who offered to go forward. 'Oh,' thought I, `if you were thus to stand in the road unarmed in our part of the world, and stop the way of one of the least of these nobles, how quickly would you have a sword or an arrow in your side!' But in these Eastern parts it is not so; for the Easterns are men of a different kind to us, or, rather, our rules of life are not like theirs; they have other passions, other ways of thinking, other ideas; their bodies are of a different complexion; they are influenced by other stars and a different climate. So it was that this poor, unarmed, naked man forced a whole host to retreat, and we went back a long way, turning our backs to Mount Sion, until we came to another road, whereat we turned round and went towards Jerusalem, having a valley between us and the Holy City. We circled round this valley and came into Jerusalem across the Fuller's Field, reaching Mount Sion in time for the service of Mass. Howbeit, the brethren had delayed their service on our account, that we might take part with them in divine service on this day. After service was over every man betook himself to his own place to dine.

After dinner, the pilgrims heard that the captains of the galleys had it in their minds to take the pilgrims back to sea in their galleys, as though the pilgrimage were now over. I straightway divined the secret, for it is the

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practice of captains of galleys not to take one to the Jordan; so they always devise many difficulties and stumbling-blocks to turn away pilgrims from this pilgrimage to Jordan. When all the pilgrims were met together on Mount Sion, we addressed the captains, begging them not to refuse to lead us to the Jordan, especially because the contract which we had made with them expressly contained this, in article `ten,' that they should be bound to lead us to the Jordan without raising any objections, as is shown on page 34 a. In answer to this the captains said that they were unable to deny that this agreement had been made at Venice, but that if they had known at Venice the dangers which threatened, they never would have agreed to that article. They then began to describe three dangers: (i) that they were certain that the Arabs were lying in wait for us on the road to the Jordan, and were ambushed in the wilderness of Jordan to attack us there. (2) They said that in these places there was no church, no place of prayer, no indulgences. (3) They said that on that road we should find neither water, nor bread, nor any place fit to rest in, and that it was a very hot time of year, and that labour during such great heat was dangerous and hazardous to men's lives. (4) They raised difficulties on the ground that they would thereby incur great additional expense, seeing that the captains are bound to pay daily wages to the guides and ass-drivers as long as we remain in the Holy Land; and these men demand especially high pay for their labour when they go with us to the Jordan. Howbeit they did not openly put forward this fourth reason, but we suspected that they had invented the others because of this. The first, second, and fourth objections we cared little for, but the third objection is reasonable and true; for this pilgrimage is hard because of the want of necessaries and the greatness of the heat, and noble knights

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 5

who are weakly lose their health, and are brought back to Jerusalem sickly, and thence return sickly on board of the galleys; [b] so that when they put to sea they die, being unable to endure the tossing of the sea. when weakened by these toils. This, indeed, is certainly true, that the pilgrimage to the Jordan kills many pilgrims, who do not, indeed, die near the Jordan, but return from it sickly, and perish on board of their galley, whereas they never would have perished had they remained in Jerusalem. I never should advise any pilgrim, whose life hath any value in his own eyes, to visit the Jordan, no matter how strong he may be, because in both my pilgrimages I have seen many nobles and strong men fall sick and perish.

In my first pilgrimage we passed one entire day in wrangling with the captain of our galley and our drago man, because they would not lead us to the Jordan, and the pilgrims and the captain became so bitterly enraged one with another, that they ground their teeth, insulted one another with most evil words, and bandied to and fro reproaches and foul and outrageous imputations, to the great scandal of the Saracens who stood by listening to them. There were some Frenchmen, exceeding passionate men, who threatened to slay the captain, and to stir up the King of France to make war upon the Venetians. Where fore the captain, yielding to their importunities, sent them away, and would not come with us, but let us go alone with the Saracens. Herein he acted most traitorously, not like our defender, but like our betrayer. Nevertheless, by the protection of God, we returned to Jerusalem without losing any of our number; albeit many were rendered sickly, the greater number of whom died at sea. Even so in my second pilgrimage they.raised difficulties for the space of two hours, but when they saw that we were obstinate and unmoved by their dissuasion, they agreed, saying that they

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would furnish us with food and drink, and were willing to set out on the morrow, if we were ready. Wherefore we deposited all our money in the cell of Brother John of Prussia, and made ready for our journey.

Early in the morning, on the nineteenth day, before it was light, we rose and went over to the church of the blessed Virgin in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and there, as it was the Sabbath day, we took part in the service of the blessed Virgin, and afterwards went up to Mount Sion for the convent service. In the afternoon, after dinner, we received our scrips in the courtyard of the church of Sion, and awaited our guides and our asses with their drivers. At last, after a tedious time of waiting, when the time of vespers was come, they came with their beasts to lead us to the. Jordan. When they were come, the pilgrims ran to the beasts to provide for themselves. Now, there arose a quarrel between a knight and a priest about an ass, which each one said that he, had got first. The knight struck the priest many blows with his fist, and had he had a sword, he would have wounded him. The knight drove him away from his ass, and incurred excommunication, from which, however, he was released by the Father Guardian [194 a] immediately before our departure. When all was finished, we went down from Mount Sion into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, crossed the brook, and climbed up the other side by.the valley which parts the Mount of Olives from the Mount of Offence. On our way they pointed out to us an ancient house built of vaulted work, in ruins, which they said was. the house of the traitor Judas. We viewed and scorned this house, as though it were the house of him that

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 7

hath his shoe loosed, who was despised in Israel; for in Deut. xxv. it is appointed that if the brother of him that is dead without children will not raise up seed unto him, then let his brother's wife loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and thereupon his house was called the house of him that hath his shoe loosed. This law was fulfilled by the Apostles, seeing that every one of them undertook the unwonted office of raising up children in the Church, not unto themselves, but unto Christ, and to be called after His name. This did the Apostles after Christ but Judas, because he would not raise up seed unto his brother, is deprived of all his good; and the Church, which is the wife of Christ, spits in his face, casting him aside, and choosing Matthias in his room; wherefore he hath left behind him nothing save the house of him that hath his shoe loosed, ruinous and despised. Wherefore, blessed be the saying in Prov. xvii.: `He that seeketh after avarice confoundeth his house.' With displeasure we passed by this accursed house, 'for it is a rebellious house' (Ezek. ii.).

Leaving the aforesaid house behind us in the valley, we went on between the dry stone walls of gardens and orchards, and at the bottom of the valley, where, if you go further on, you ascend, we came to a delightful orchard, wherein stood a multitude of fig-trees, and the boughs of the fig-trees hung over the stone walls into the road. This is the garden where Jesus saw the fig-tree from afar, when He was going along this road on His way from Bethany to Jerusalem, and was an hungered. He entered into the garden and came to the tree, seeking fruit; but as He found only leaves, He cursed the tree, and straightway it withered away, as we read in Matt. xxi. When His

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disciples wondered at this, He said unto,them, `Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and cast into the sea, it shall be done.' When the Lord said this, He pointed with His finger to the Mount of Olives, at whose foot these things were done. Wherefore in this place we knelt in prayer, and after having worshipped God, we received indulgences, and were edified by spiritual discipline, reflecting how perilous it is to have the name of a Christian or of religion without the fruit, seeing that the curse of God will fall heavily upon such, for they are dry branches prepared to be burned in everlasting fire. Going forward from hence, we came to Bethany, the village of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, through which we passed at a quick pace. This place is described on page 20 a. From this village we went down into the desert of Monstat, down rough roads and dangerous hills. Night was now coming on, for the sun had set, and we wished [b] to rest somewhere until the moon rose, because of the roughness of the road. When we came lower down it was dark, and we came to a great vaulted house, having round about it within a cloister like a monastery, deserted and empty. Near this house we dismounted from our asses, that we might rest therein for a little while, and we entered therein, carrying lights to seek for a place wherein to rest, but found none, for that the house was ruinous and full of filth and vermin; so we came out again and lay down upon the earth in front of . the house, separated into our several companies, while our Saracen guides also separated themselves from us and rested a little higher up. These guides were followed by some ill-conditioned youths who hated us, as will appear hereafter. Now, after we had all eaten our supper together, we put out the lights, laid our heads upon our scrips, and

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began to sleep. Meanwhile a young Saracen secretly and thievishly came down in the darkness into the host of the pilgrims, snatched away the scrip of a pilgrim whom he believed to be asleep, and ran away with it to his own people; but that pilgrim and his fellows ran after him shouting, and he got his bag back again. Some time after another came secretly down and stole a scrip, wherein was bread, cheese, smoked meat, and hard-boiled eggs. When the pilgrim found this out, he began to cry aloud and call upon the other pilgrims to help him. Hereupon the pilgrims arose, and many of them ran furiously towards the Saracens, and so much noise and riot began that the Saracens were forced to keep off the pilgrims from them selves with staves and swords, and both sides picked up stones; but as yet no one began to throw them, because, had one stone been thrown, beyond all doubt a most dangerous fight would have taken place, for there were endless numbers of stones there, exceeding smooth and fit for throwing. So each stood over against the other and shouted. The captains of the galleys and the dragoman with great toil restored peace, and had now to quiet a disturbance in one place, and row in another, because the Saracens had begun to annoy many people. When this riot was appeased and all were silent, a Saracen began to throw stones into the host of the pilgrims from a hiding- place. Hereupon we all started up again, ran to get stones, and called with loud shouts upon the dragoman and the captains to defend us from these robbers. Some of us threw stones among the Saracens, whereat they were enraged, and came down with drawn swords and forced us to drop the stones which we had picked up. Howbeit the dragoman Sabothytanco, the chief Calinus, seeing that both sides [195 a] were exceeding wroth one with another, and were grinding their teeth, ordered the whole host to

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rise and depart: so we mounted our asses and left that accursed spot. The Lord Jesus mentions the dangers of this place in the tenth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, where He speaks of him who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves. Of this more will be found hereafter, on page 211 a. Yet, we were in some respects in even greater danger, because we brought our thieves with us at our own charges. We could have endured strange thieves, for it is said `the worst enemies are those who are of a man's own household.' Now, that house beside which we had wished to rest had once been an inn of the Eastern fashion, for they build great houses beside the highways, with many stables below and chambers above, for man and beast to rest in, and the house stands with its gate open, without any inhabitant or any furniture; and when strangers are passing by, they can enter therein, and rest in the shade, and eat whatever food.they bring with them: for there is neither man nor woman cook therein. Indeed, the camels who bear burdens have certain stages, beyond which they will not go, but rest at the end of them, and at these places there usually stand such inns as these for man and beast to rest in. In the East a man will find no inns beside these empty rest- houses, wherein is nothing save what a man brings into them; and it seems as though the Eastern inns had always been rest-houses of this sort, wherefore we read in Gen. xlii. about the brethren of Joseph, that when they were in.the inn, one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender; also in Exod. iv. the Lord sought to kill Moses in an inn. Moreover it was in an inn of this sort that the Lord. was born (Luke ii.). So we set out from that inn, and. were glad that we had left the place, because we should have passed the night there in jeopardy because of the attacks of the Saracens. Meanwhile the moon had

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arisen, and at a great pace we went down the dangerous road, down glades and steep rocks. On roads like this asses know how to travel easily and without falling, and how to let themselves down rocks with their fore-feet with wondrous cleverness, in a way which is impossible for a horse. The roads in this desert are stony, generally high and narrow, with deep valleys on either hand, so that, should the beast fall down the steep stones he would fall into some deep abyss, and man and beast perish together. I wondered at the women who accompanied us, that they should ride so boldly, seeing that a woman is timid by nature. There was a Saracen woman who rode with us as far as Jericho, young and well dressed after their fashion; but no one could see her face, because her face was covered with a black cloth, which was transparent, so that nevertheless she could see us. At last, at the end of the descent, we came into the plain country of Jericho, which begins at the foot of the mountains of Israel, passed through Jericho at a run, and went down through Gilgal for about three hours, [b] riding through the plain country, till we came to the wilderness of Jordan, through which we went down to the channel of the river Jordan. Here we gave up our asses to their drivers; and withdrew from the Saracens, who established themselves among the bushes to take their rest, while we went down into the bed of the holy river as far as the water, wherein we cooled our hands, and then laid us down to rest on the sand, where we rested in peace for a little while, for the day was not far off.

On the twentieth, which was the eighth Sunday after the feast of the Holy Trinity, as soon as it was clear daylight, we priests rose first and read our office on the bank of the

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holy river. When we had read the service for matins and prime, we clergy went down as far as the holy water, and the precentor began to sing in a loud voice the hymn, Lavacra puri gurgitis.coelestis agnus attigit, etc. After this we sang, Christum hodie in Jordane baptizatum, etc., but we did not sing the word hodie, but in place thereof, hoc loco in jordane baptizato Domino, etc., for it is believed that in this place the Lord was baptized by John. At the sound of our singing the pilgrims, who were sleeping among the reeds, were aroused, and came running to us: the Saracens also were aroused, and stood on the higher ground looking down upon us. After we had sung the hymns appointed in the processional, we fell down on the earth, kissed the moist and sacred ground, and received plenary indul gences (tt). We remained some time in prayer, because it was Sunday, and we were not going to hear any Mass, and. this not through our negligence, but through its impossibility, which also excuses us from the sin of trans- gression.

When we had finished our prayers we took off our clothes, that we might bathe in the sacred river. When our guides saw this they permitted us to wash ourselves therein, but forbade us to do three things: (I) No one was to swim across to the other bank. (2) No one was to dive beneath the water. (3) No one was to take any of the water in a bottle to carry it home with him over the sea to his own country. The reason of the first of these prohibitions was that generally those who swim across, or, at any rate, one of them, gets into danger of his life, and it never comes to pass that all those who swim across come back again with out some disturbance. The reason of the second is that

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 13

the bottom of the Jordan is clayey, find one who dives into it may stick there and perish. The reason of the third prohibition is.that the sailing of those ships on board of which Jordan water is carried is always unlucky, as sailors have often found by experience. The truth of what I have said will appear hereafter. [196 a] So when we were stripped we went into the holy river, and in the name of God immersed ourselves in its waves. Some knights did not lay aside any of their garments, but plunged into the water in the same garb wherein they rode upon their asses, saying that they would always be lucky in those clothes hereafter. Wherefore, when they each home, they keep those clothes like treasures, and put them on when going forth to battle, believing that no harm will there befall them. Some had bought sheets of linen or of wool, which they dipped in that water, to the end that they might take . them home and cause clothes to be made therefrom at their pleasure, thinking that when they wore them Fortune would smile more kindly upon them than at other times. Some had bought little bells at Venice, which they had brought to the Jordan with them, and baptized them in the river in the name of the Trinity, which bells they afterwards took home with them to their own country. They say that in time of tempests, lightning and thunder, if bells baptized in the Jordan be rung, neither lightning nor hail can do any hurt throughout the whole space through which their sound can be heard. Howbeit, what amount of truth these tales about bells and clothes baptized in the Jordan con tain, and whether the vulgar opinion, which affirms the truth of these aforesaid tales, be true or superstitious, a sensible man must decide for himself.

So we stood in the water with great delight, and jestingly baptized one another. Though it was still early in the morning, the water was not cold, but lukewarm, and fit for

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bathing in. We also drank some of it, fasting as we were, out of devotion; albeit, it was not very. pleasant to drink, being .warm, and as muddy as a swamp.

Now, the pilgrims disobeyed the first of the prohibitions of the Saracens, and many of them swam across to the other bank of the river. During my first pilgrimage I also swam across, but in my second I stayed behind and sat down on sand in the water up to my neck, wearing my shirt and scapular; for on my second pilgrimage I would not swim across, because on my first I had been horribly frightened when on the other bank of the river by so doing, for we swam across with many other knights, and were sporting merrily in the water on the other side, when all of a sudden there were loud shouts and a great and terrible disturbance began, and.they who were on the other bank uttered piteous cries. Moreover, the Saracens, both our guides and others, ran along the top of the bank and shouted to us with horrible angry cries, cursing and threatening us. At this we stood astounded, and by reason of the number of people shouting we could not make out what had happened, until a pilgrim swam over to us from the other bank, and when he was near us shouted: `Ho! one of our brethren the pilgrims has sunk in the midst of the waters, and cannot be seen. Straight- way, when we heard this, we swam to the place where he had sunk, and, swimming round about it, waited for him to appear. At last, after a pretty long while he was seen, and we forthwith dragged him up by his hair and brought him to the further bank to which we had swum across, because that was the nearer of the two. He was like one dead-heavy, and unable to [b] speak to us, until he had vomited up the water which he had swallowed. When he had brought it up we reproached him, asking him how he could be so foolish as to have gone into the water

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without understanding the art of swimming. He answered: `From my youth up I have always known this art, seeing that I was brought up at the waterside; but when I was come to the middle of the Jordan something beneath the water touched me, and I was so much frightened by its touch that I lost all the strength of my limbs, and could not help myself either with my legs or my arms. While he was saying this he trembled so that he could not stand. Now, the Saracens were standing on the other bank, and crying out to us to make an end of this, and swim back again; so we encouraged that pilgrim, and went into the water with him, but after he had swum a little way he again began to sink, and we held him by the hair, and had some trouble to drag him out, the Saracens, meanwhile, standing over against us very impatiently and shouting to us. Howbeit, two strong pilgrims, who well knew how to swim, took him between them, in such sort that he held one of them with one arm, and one with the other, hanging on their necks, that they might so swim across with him, and bring him back. But when they began to swim all three sunk, and those two pilgrims when under water could hardly tear themselves away from his grasp; howbeit, they did so tear themselves away, and came up, but he remained for. a long while under water, and then came up again, and as before we; dragged him to the bank almost dead, and having lost all his strength. Hereupon our guides ordered us all to swim across to where our clothes were, and let that pilgrim stay where he was, and they would see after him. So all the pilgrims swam across. Now, when I would have swum across, fear came upon me, because of the danger which I had seen; I began to tremble, and mused thus: `Lo! out of levity I have swum across, and am separated from the habit of my order, and have come hither contrary to the orders of my masters our guides.

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Should I be drawn under, I shall sink from the depths of this water into the pit of hell, because of my dissolute levity and my irreligious nakedness, by reason whereof I have perchance incurred excommunication and have dis obeyed my orders. Oh, how well it is with those pilgrims who are on the other bank, and how safely do they stand. O Lord God, I prithee let not the storm of water bear me down, nor the deep swallow me up, neither let the pit open his mouth over me.' Having said this, I fortified myself with the sign of the cross, and leaped exceeding lustily into the water, forced myself along with my feet and hands over the middle of the river, and reached the other bank without hindrance. Straightway, after I had put on the scapular of my order, I made a special vow that never again while I lived among men would I go away to such a distance from the habit of my order, for being so far away from it was very grievous to me, and it seemed to me unbearable that I should sink in the water without my.dress, but with my dress I should not have minded it so much. If I had considered and thought about the act before swimming across, I would not have swum across for anything in the world. I know well that doctors, both of law and of divinity, affirm that a religious person is bound to wear the habit of his order, whether he be resting in his bed or whatever he may be, unless there be so pressing need or serious illness which will not suffer him to wear it, otherwise. he commits a mortal sin. Moreover, if a religious person heedlessly appears without his habit in the sight of laymen, by [197 a] that very act he incurs excommunication, and into this great peril I fell through heedlessness. Now, by this time the aforesaid pilgrim was standing alone, naked, full of fear, disturbed, and with a pale face; but a Saracen, mounted on a strong horse, rode a long way up to a ford of the Jordan, and brought

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him to us. The pilgrim gave him much gold for the price of his life. This pilgrim, before this mischance befell him, was a handsome man-lusty, overbearing, and quarrelsome, and was disliked by many of his fellows; but after he was brought back to us he was an entirely altered man-pale- faced, timorous, humble, and slavish; he ever after re mained sorrowful. and, as it were, cast down. I do not think that he lived many years.

I will relate another mischance, at which, indeed, I was not present, but heard of it from one who is worthy of belief. In the year between my first pilgrimage and my second many German nobles set sail for the Holy Land; now, one of the greater men among them brought with him his cook, who, though he knew it not, had a presenti ment of his danger, for throughout all the journey he was wont to say that he had no fear of anything in that pilgrimage, save only the Jordan. When he came to the Jordan he would not swim across it with the rest; howbeit, he stripped, and went into the water to cool and wash himself; but when the water was hardly up to his navel he began to sink, was drawn under water, and never was seen again. Also in this my second pilgrimage which I am now describing many swam across and heeded.not the orders of the Saracens, who forbid it, and predict that some danger will come of it, and shout reproaches at those who swim across. Among these was a priest, who swam across even as I had done, and when on the further bank lost all his bodily strength, and was no more able to swim, neither did he know how, but stood shaking with fear, and was brought back by his comrades with great difficulty, a weakly and broken man, whereas he had before this been exceeding lusty and strong. He was a great friend of mine, and I often asked him what it was that happened to him, to which he answered that he of a sudden lost his

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strength. I have inquired of pilgrims who have been to the Jordan before me and after me, and have found that some trouble always befell somebody.

From what hath been said the question arises, How comes it to pass that danger and trouble so often occur in this bathing, seeing that the river is not wide, and has not a rapid current, but a fairly slow one? To this some answer that certain treacherous beasts lurk in that water, which, when they see the movement of a man swimming, come up from the bottom and try to seize him as he swims. Others say that because the bathing-place is near the mouths by which the Jordan empties itself into the Dead Sea; therefore, there takes place there a certain mixture of the water of the Dead Sea with those of the river, and that, owing to the venom of these waters, men who swim across lose their strength. Others say that nothing lives in the Dead Sea, save certain unnatural and hellish beasts, who swim up from the Dead Sea to bring men to their death. Others say that the peril arises from strong imagination, for the pilgrims hear stories about these dangers, and [b] every one of them trembles at them and is on his guard, lest some evil should befall him, and in this state of terror they all swim across, and some of them out of the strength of. their imagination believe themselves to be touched or drawn under. Other men say, perchance with more reason, that because swimming across is a sign of wantonness and dissoluteness, which ought not to be shown in so holy a place, God suffers trouble to come upon one man, to the end that thereby the others may be rendered serious, quiet, and disciplined. For the place, by reason of the marvellous things that have been wrought there, is a place for seriousness, not for rejoicing; for weeping, not for laughing; for prayer, not for shouting; for kneeling, not for struggling; for repentance, not for

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 19

wantonness. But the pilgrims take all this in the contrary part, and in so terrible a place as this relax the bonds of due gravity, wherefore some of them are punished for an example to the rest. But nothing is wont to befall those who gravely and devoutly baptize themselves, as we see in the case of women pilgrims, who bathed among the reeds above us with modesty, silence, and devotion, and far more sedately than we. I could have wished, in the case of these old women, that the common report might prove true; for the people say that whosoever bathes in Jordan does not grow any older, but that the longer he . remains in the water the younger he grows; for instance, if he bathes for one hour, he grows younger by one hour; if for two, he grows younger by two; if three, by three; and if for a year, he grows younger by a year. But our women comrades would have needed a bath of sixty years to restore their youth, for they were women of eighty years of age and upwards. If they who bathe in Jordan did not grow old it would be an evil bath, for the Lord saith by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah (lxv. 20): `The child shall die an hundred years old, and shall be accursed.' This bath would be above all things desirable if it would take away ill-health, deformity, and old age from the body, and would bring age to the mind.

Moreover, many laymen are so silly or so simple as to believe that if they are baptized in Jordan they will never thereafter grow old; and this is why they make such efforts to get to the Jordan and baptize one another there, being those who dive into the deep water contrary to the orders of the Saracens.

Now, when we had finished our bathing, some of the pilgrims took water from the Jordan in jars, flasks, and. glass bottles, contrary to the third commandment of the Saracens, who forbade this at the instance of the captains,

20 THE B0OK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

for the pilots of ships will not suffer this water on board, because they firmly believe that ships on board of which is water from the Jordan are unlucky, and do not make quick voyages, but are in danger as long as the smallest drop of Jordan water remains on board. This I have often seen, that when there is danger at sea, from contrary winds or want of wind, [198 a] the pilots run about the galley, rummage through all the pilgrims' chests and lockers, and search every nook and corner looking for Jordan water, to which they ascribe all their misfortune; and if they do not find it at one search they search again, and as long as the difficulty in sailing continues, they pry about exceeding sharply, and threaten that whosoever is found with any of this water belonging to him, they will throw him and all his baggage into the sea.

In my first pilgrimage we endured much, and were often insolently searched by the sailors looking for this water. It may well be debated, therefore, what truth there is in this idea, namely, that the water of the Jordan, put into a bottle and brought on board a sea-going ship, has any power to hinder its sailing and to make the sea rough, or to restrain fair winds from blowing, or to alter the condi tion of the air or the sea in any way whatever, as the masters of ships declare that it does. Here it should be noted that I have heard from a truthful and learned man that he saw at Rome a Bull of the Pope with a leaden seal, wherein it was forbidden, on pain of the curse of the Pope, that anyone should bring water from the Jordan into parts beyond sea. They say, too, that the Lords of Venice have orders not to bring anyone back from over sea with the aforesaid water, and that they often come and search the ships and pour away the water which they find in them. He, therefore, who says that the sailing of the ships is hindered through the censure of the Pope, declares that it

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 21

is not the water, but the censure of the Pope, which hinders it. Now, if the censures of the Pope hinder the sailing of ships, it must be done by a miracle, and by reason of the presence of excommunicated persons, and not because of the water, just as we read about excommunicated persons being subject to many miseries; for example, that the corpses of such persons are not buried within the precincts of the church, but are cast out by night and left to be devoured by wild beasts. So, also, the prophet Jonah was disobedient: a fierce storm arose, and when he was cast out of the ship the storm ceased, as we read in the first chapter of the Book of Jonah. This, however, does not happen to all excommunicated persons, but only to those upon whom God wishes to show a miracle. That it does not happen to all is clear from the case of those pilgrims who embark without a license from the Pope, and reach Jerusalem in peace, albeit they are in a state of excom munication. From this there arises a new question, namely, wherefore the Pope should forbid the bringing over of Jordan water. The answer seems to be, that he hath done this in order to do away with the superstitions to which the use of that water gave rise: for some simple-minded priests did not believe themselves to be possessed of the true power of baptism unless they mixed the water with some water from the Jordan, or else they thought that baptism with that water was more holy and efficacious than without it. Superstitious women likewise would not , have their children baptized unless the water had some of the water from the Jordan mixed with it, and even if they believed that other water would suffice, nevertheless they esteemed that wherewith some of the water of the Jordan was mixed to be more holy. All these opinions are mistaken.

Moreover, warlocks and witches used to make especial 22 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

use of this water, and use it at the present when they can come by it, in their superstitious practices, for the abolition of which the Pope forbade it to be brought over. [b] But if, therefore, the sailing of ships is hindered, then God hath wrought a new miracle. Others say that water from the Jordan, albeit when running it be living water, nevertheless when enclosed in a bottle dies and becomes putrid, and whereas the sea cannot endure that which is dead and putrid, as they say, therefore ships are hindered in their sailing. But this is nought, for I have seen. great jars in which the water had become putrid, which were carried for great distances over the sea, that there might be some fresh water in the ship, although it were stinking. I have like- wise seen the corpse of a man lately dead carried on ship- board from the Cyclades Isles as far as Venice, as will be described on page 165, Part II.

Others assign another reason, and say that the Dead Sea is imbued with marvellous qualities, and that, seeing that its water mingles with those of the Jordan in this place, therefore the Great Sea cannot endure them because of the enmity which the two seas have for one another. But I do not believe this, either, because we drank of the water of the Jordan, and perceived no bitterness therein, whereas the water of the Dead Sea is exceeding bitter, wherefore it is called in Scripture `the saltest sea.' There is, therefore, in that place no mixture between the two waters. Others better and more truly say that it is super stitious to believe that the water of the Jordan has power to hinder sailing, or to change the winds or interfere with the motion of the air and the sea; nevertheless, because of the unfaithfulness of Christian men it is suffered by God to do so; and were there not water from Jordan on board the ship, that would not come to pass, not, indeed, because of the, water itself, but because of want of faith: even as

BROTHER FELIX FABRI 23

we see that through bad faith some things work cures of certain diseases, which things have no reason for curing those diseases, nor are they adapted by art so to do; for example, if my horse falls lame in his right foot, I straight- way bandage up the right foot of my cow, who is not lame, and my horse is cured, not because of the cow's bandage, but because of my bad faith in believing this. So it is in the question before us. As soon as the pilot of a ship believes that a few drops of the water of the Jordan can alter the whole air and water of the Great Sea, and change the winds, then to punish him for his sin God suffers his sailing to be hindered, to increase his bad faith. That this belief is superstitious is evident also from the fact that many people are to be found who have brought this water over, albeit they did wrong therein, since it was forbidden by the Pope. Let it suffice that I have wandered away from our bathing in Jordan as far as the Great Sea. So when the Saracens called us we came out of the holy Jordan, put on our clothes, came up out of the river-bed, and stood viewing the place. We then sat down among the shrubs, and ate our bread and the other things which we had brought with us from Jerusalem, taking no heed of the Saracens, who were on foot, and kept calling us to leave the place.

I shall divide what I am about to say touching the river Jordan into three parts; to wit: (I) its source; (a) it {sic} quality; (3) its commendation.

In describing the Jordan. I must needs make mention of places which I have not seen with my eyes, because our pilgrimage did indeed reach as far as the Jordan, but not to its beginning. Now, as for the source of the Jordan,

24 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

it is commonly and truly reported that it rises beneath Mount Lebanon, from the confluence of two springs, Jor and Dan, from both of which it takes its name, and is called the Jordan. Some, however, have traced its source further back, and say, that Euphrates, the river of Paradise, sends forth a little rill through a secret under- ground channel, which gathers together its waters in a fountain named Phyala, which is deep and always full, but not overflowing. The Saracens call it Maydan; in Matt. xv. it is called Megedan; and in Mark viii. it is called Dalmanucka. This fountain, as I have said, does not overflow above, but it passes through the country of Trachonitis by a secret underground channel, and makes the spring running out of the foot of Mount Lebanon, which is called Dan. That Dan's source is the fountain Megedan they prove by the fact of the chaff which they throw into the fountain Megedan flowing out of the foun tain Dan; and these two fountains are six thousand stadia distant one from the other. They say that the spring Jor from the beginning received its waters through an under- ground passage from the other river of Paradise, which is called the Tigris. These two springs, Jor and Dan, flow out of the foot of Mount Lebanon at a distance from one another, flow together into one river before the gate of the city which by its ancient name was called Lachis, and these become one Jordan. We read of this city Lachis in John x., and in Judg. xviii. we are told that the children of Dan found it a rich and peaceful city, and took it and burned it, after which they rebuilt it and gave it the name of Dan, their father. It was the last city in the Holy Land towards the north. In this place was set up the idol of Micah, whereof we read throughout the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Judges. Moreover, Jeroboam, King of Israel, set up therein one of his golden calves, and

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 25

bade the people worship it, as we find in I Kings xii. 32. After a long period of time Philip, the Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis; named it Caesarea, out of respect for Caesar; wherefore in Matt. xvi. it is called Caesarea Philippi. The Greeks afterwards named it Paneas. But at the present day it is called neither Lachis, nor Dan, nor Caesarea, nor Paneas, but Belinas.

So, then, Jor and Dan meet before the gate of this city, and by their meeting form the river Jordan, which, flowing away from thence in a long and crooked circuit, divides the country of Ituraea from that of Trachonitis, and afterwards falls into a valley, wherein its waters are gathered into a pool, which pool is called `the waters of Merom,' whereof we read in Josh. xi. This pool waxes great in winter time, but in summer the water dries up, and bushes and thick shrubs grow there, among which lions and other wild beasts make their lairs.

At last it runs along between the two cities of Caper naum and Chorazin, and there forms a great lake, which is the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias, even as the Rhine forms the Lake of Constance. It flows out of the lower end of this sea, and passes between the mountains of Israel and the mountains of Arabia the Less; it reaches the plain of Jericho, and there runs into the jaws of the Dead Sea and is swallowed up thereby. Now, from the place where it starts from the Sea of Galilee to the place where.it enters the Dead Sea is twelve days' journey. The Dead Sea is five days' journey in length, and this sea is connected with the waters which in Exod. xv. are called `the waters of Marah,' and the waters of Marah are, con nected with the Red Sea. Now, the Red Sea joins the Indian Sea, which flows out of Ocean. And this is the course of the Jordan, a very long one, from his source to his end.

26 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

Let us now see what sort of river the Jordan is. This holy river is not very broad, for it is scarce sixty paces in width; but albeit small in breadth, it is very deep; yet especially in the place where we bathed it has a sandy bottom and clayey banks; it waxes and wanes according to the season of the year, and is especially swollen in the time of wheat harvest; that is, in spring time, because corn is wont to ripen at that time in the country of Palestine, as we read in Josh. iii. Indeed, it so overflows that it runs beyond its bed over the fields, because many rivers and streams run into it, as, for instance, the river Jaboth, beyond which Jacob wrestled with the angel. It has, then, a fairly deep bed and lofty banks. Its waters are sweet and fit for drinking, more especially in the cold season, in winter, for in summer they are too warm; its water is muddy, but I know not whether it be always so, and it abounds with good and sweet fish. It has not a swift course, but flows along silently; nevertheless, one swimming across it feels the current of the water moving against him in mid-stream.

From its source there at Caesarea Philippi to the end of the Dead Sea, for almost a hundred miles, it has on either side of it wide plains, which end in high mountains. Beside the Jordan are wildernesses, whereof we also read in Isa. xii., wherein in former times were many monas teries and dwellings of religious persons, whose ruins may be seen at this day. In the wildernesses and plains of the Jordan roam many wild beasts, and at eventide they come down to the water to drink like flocks of sheep, but during the heat of the day they lie in caves in the rocks. There are lions, bears, foxes, roebucks, deer, hares, wild asses, and the like, who walk about there like

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. '27

domestic animals and. do not flee from men, except when they try to get too near them. Some years ago a huge lion used to dwell there, who injured neither men nor beasts, but would watch a man as he passed by, and show his tameness by the motion of his tail; howbeit a certain Christian who had a bow with him shot an arrow at the lion; the lion ran up to the arrow, and smelt it; he shot a second arrow at him, and as it flew the lion raised himself up as though about to snatch at it; hereafter he was never seen in his wonted spot, but used to roam through the plains and woodlands of Jordan, going about roaring, seeking whom he might devour, and he wrought much evil thenceforth both to men and beasts.

THE DIGNITY AND PRAISE OF THE HOLY JORDAN.

The dignity of the holy Jordan is inestimable, for it divides the land of the faithful from the land of unbelievers, because beyond Jordan. were the Ammonites, the Moabites, Edom, and the Arabians; while on this side dwelt the children of Israel. It made a way for the children of Israel, and wondrously piled itself up, as we read in Josh. iii. It healed Naaman the leper, the chief of the host of the Assyrians, as we read in Kings v. 14. It obeyed the commandment of Elijah and Elisha, and made a way for them through the midst of it (2 Kings ii. 8). The iron of an axe miraculously swam on the top of its water (2 Kings vi. 6). [200a] The most holy John the Baptist baptized the people in this river, as we read in Luke ii., John i., Mark i. But what is more notable than all these is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was pleased to be baptized in this river, that by the touch of His most pure flesh He might confer regenerative power upon the waters thereof, wherefore this water is the mother of all who are made regenerate in Christ. Wherefore Bernard saith The Jordan receives with joy into its bosom Christians

28 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

who boast that they are hallowed by the baptism of Christ. And the same saith: 'What river is more notable than this, which the Holy Trinity itself hath consecrated to itself by its visible presence?-the Father being heard, the Holy Ghost seen, and the Son baptized, as we read in Matt. iii., John i., Luke iii.' ' From all this we clearly understand,' saith Bernhard, `that that leprous Syrian lied who preferred I know not what waters of Damascus to the waters of Israel, when there was our Jordan, which so often hath been proved to have devoutly served God.'

But here arises the question, seeing that the Jordan is thus holy and dignified, wherefore its blessed, pure, holy, sweet, and wholesome water should flow into water which is accursed, unclean, devilish, exceeding salt and poisonous, to wit, into the Dead Sea, into the Lake of Sodom? In answer to this some say that the Jordan doth indeed flow towards the Dead Sea, but that when it reaches its shore it pierces the earth and enters therein, before reaching the sea. But this is not true, because it can be seen running into the sea a long way, distinct from the water of the sea, which is thick and black-looking, whereas the water of the Jordan is white and clear. Others say that this happens in order that the accursedness of the one may be tempered by the blessedness of the other. Others take a loftier view of it, and say that herein lies hid a great mystery; for that albeit the Jordan be holy, yet, since it doth not exalt itself, but ranneth down towards the Dead Sea, its holiness availeth not to save it from falling into the Dead Sea and sharing its curses, even so man, albeit sanctified by Christ's baptism, yet if he doth not raise himself up, but pursueth the downward course of fleshly frailty, notwithstanding his holiness he falleth into damnation and is made partaker of its curses, like as do other men who have not been baptized; for as other rivers, and streams which are not

29 BROTHER FELIX FABRI:

blessed fall into the Dead Sea and share its cursedness, even so he who is a sinner albeit baptized, and he who hath not been sanctified, are alike; and so forth.

In the place where we bathed the children of Israel are believed to have passed over dryshod, and Elijah, Elisha, and Christ were baptized there; wherefore I have read in an exceeding ancient pilgrim's book that in that part of the Jordan where the Lord was baptized there used to stand a tall cross, beside which the pilgrims used to strip themselves, and go into the water; while on the bank, at the place where the Lord laid His clothes, was built a great church, with a vaulted roof, supported by nine marble, columns. All these have long ago been swept away, and swallowed up by the floods of the Jordan, so that at the present day no trace of them is to be seen. St. Bernhard speaks in commendation of the Jordan in the ninth chapter of his sermon to the Knights Templars.

After we had done our bathing, we presently remounted our asses, and departed from the holy river by the road along which we had come. Those pilgrims who did not mean to visit Mount Sinai turned back with great joy, because they had at last reached the end of their pilgrim age, for Jordan is the end of the pilgrimage of Jerusalem: So we went hurriedly up through the wilderness of Jordan into the desert of John the Baptist, who began to dwell in these solitary places beside the Jordan as soon as the Word, of the Lord came upon him in the wilderness near his father's house; wherefore we are told in Luke iii. that he came into all the country about Jordan preaching and

30 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

baptizing. He likewise dwelt for a time in Bethania (Bethabara), beyond Jordan, as we read in John i., and he passed throughout the whole country of Jordan from place to place that he might preach. It was in this wilderness, through which we were going up, that the Lord Jesus once came to him, asking for baptism. Above the banks of the Jordan there are rough wildernesses, wherein dwelt John the Baptist, and after him many holy fathers, who, after the example of the Baptist, were girded with leather girdles, and ate locusts and wild honey, as we read in Matt. iii. and John. But let us see what these locusts and wild honey were. Some say that locusts are tiny animals, which fly in a jumping fashion, and have saws in their legs, wherefore they are also called serratae; they have a thin and short body, like one of the fingers of a man's hand, and are easily caught in the grass. After their heads are pulled off, they are fried in oil and eaten, and are the food of poor men; and so at this day these locusts are found in the desert of Judaea. On these they say St. John the Baptist fed. Others, who take a loftier view of St. John the Baptist, say: "It is not likely that the most blessed John the Baptist should have eaten the flesh of locusts in the desert, when he even refused to eat bread in his former house," and these say that there is a certain herb which grows in that wilderness, which is called longusta, which word the vulgar Latins have corrupted into locusta. Poor, men gather this herb, and eat thereof, and it was the food of St. John; wherefore the monks, of old, who dwelt beside the Jordan, used it daily in their refectory.. Wild honey, some say, is that which is found in the trunks of trees, having been carried thither by bees. Others say that there are certain reeds wherein a sweet juice grows, which reeds we call sugar-canes. These grow near the Jordan, and from them is pressed out not honey, but a

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more precious liquor-sugar; and they say that John fed upon these sugar-canes. But others, musing upon the words of the Lord (Matt. xi. t8), who said, `John came neither eating nor drinking,' say that doctors declare as touching this passage that he is said neither to eat nor to drink who doth not use the common food and drink of mankind, who eats and drinks exceeding sparingly of what he doth eat and drink, and who dwelleth in the wilderness. Now, the honey aforesaid, whether it cometh from hollow trees, or be pressed forth out of reeds and canes, doth not come among the food of common men, but of nobles [201 a] and delicately nurtured epicures; moreover, other food is flavoured with honey and sugar to make it delicate and savoury; wherefore it is not right to say that St. John ate such food, for if in his father's house he would not eat cooked food, fruits, or vegetables, how could he have eaten sugar, honey, and honeycomb in the wilderness? They say, therefore, that there are certain roots of herbs which are called wild honey. Others say that wild honey is the leaves of certain shrubs, which are white, tender, and round, and which, when rubbed together in the hands, have some what of the taste of honey. Others say that pods grow there on certain bushes, wherein are grains of seed like beans, whereof St. John is said to have eaten. The whole plain, was covered with these when I was in this wilderness but the beans in these pods were hard, like stones, and I could not split any of them with my teeth. Others say that there are trees in this wilderness whose fruit are called carobs, as has been said before, page 66 b, which are oblong black pods, and when taken out of the pod are good to eat. This fruit is everywhere called St. John's bread, and they that deal in spices sell them in their shops. In the East they are thought to be worth nothing, and poor men gather them, tear off the skin with their teeth,

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and dress and eat the sweet juice with the substance between it. I have often eaten these for pastime, but could never satiate myself with them. It is possible that St. John also sucked the juice of these beans.

We went through this wilderness of St. John in haste, and when we had gone about one mile, lo! there arose crying and shrieking among our comrades the women pilgrims, and all the host was thrown into confusion, for they had been wont to go very quietly, devoutly, and silently, with much long-suffering, and a disturbance among them astounded everyone. So we all ran hastily to them as they wept, asking the cause of their lamentation. They answered that one of their companions had been sought for throughout the host, and could not be found, and that they were lamenting over her loss. They begged us to halt, and not to follow after the Saracens, who had gone on before very hastily, until their companion should be found. So we remained with those ladies, and would not go forward-albeit the Saracens called upon us to proceed with many shouts and menaces. But when they saw that we would not follow them, they came back to us, and after hearing manifold complaints, they straightway sent off some of their number; mounted on exceeding swift horses, and together, with them some of the strongest of the pilgrims, to seek for the old woman. These men went swiftly down to Jordan by the road through the wilderness, for we feared that she might perhaps have been drowned in the water of the Jordan, or be lying fainting for want of food in the wilderness, or perhaps be stuck fast in the mud by the river-side, and unable to get out, or perchance seized, robbed, and outraged by some Saracen, and the bowels of the pilgrims yearned for their sister-albeit, some rough and hard-hearted knights grumbled at the whole host being thrown into confusion for the sake of one old

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woman, and, had their advice been followed, we should have quite given the old woman up for lost. Herein they were more cruel than the Saracens, who, in their anxiety at the loss of the woman, feared that she might have been carried off by some Arab or Midianite shepherd, or devoured by some lion or other wild beast, and they patiently waited with us in the exceeding great heat of the sun. But the leader of those murmurs, who thought so little of the loss of the old woman, and who perhaps wished for it, afterwards fell into the hands of the old women (when sick), and with tears begged for help from those whom he had scorned before. About this see pages 12 b, 16 ca, 55 b; and 211. Indeed, he was brought down to a more pitiful state than the most wretched beggars. So those who had been sent to seek the devout matron our comrade roamed shouting along the road through the wilderness, and went down even to the bank of the Jordan, to the place where the woman had bathed, and there they found her lying asleep in a bed of reeds. They awakened her, took her up, placed her upon a horse, and came up to us with glad cries, as though they had taken a wild beast.

So the matron was received with joy, and good men congratulated her, like the lost sheep in Luke xv., and we went on our way, and came out of the bushes and thorns into a bare land, whereon grew neither grass nor trees, and which was made uneven by sandy hills and swellings of the ground. As we went on we came to a pretty large church, which is the Church of St. John the Baptist, and there we dismounted from our asses, entered the church, bowed ourselves to the earth in prayer, went through the service appointed in the pilgrims' processional, and re ceived plenary indulgences (tt). We sat here or a

34 THE BOOK OF THE WANDERINGS OF

while in the shade and rested ourselves. I related to the pilgrims the annoyance which we underwent in my first pilgrimage at this spot, which I have been at pains to insert here also. For, when we had come up out of the wilder ness, but before we came to the church, our guides pushed us off our asses, forced us to lead them by our hands, and forbade anyone to go up to the church which stands above the road, but ordered us to pass by the church hurriedly. and in silence. This passing by was grievous to us, because we were unwilling to miss, seeing the church, and unwilling to lose the indulgences; moreover, the way was sandy, and at every step we sank into deep sand almost up to our knees; the day, too, was exceeding warm, and the heat of the sun most glowing, and we were terribly tormented and sickened by that grievous journey past the church. The :reason of it was this: [202 a] A certain accursed Arab, a fierce son of Belial, had taken that church and made it into his house, and there he lived as a robber, sallying forth from thence and plundering passers-by; and he had declared an especial hatred towards all Christians. Now, it is the custom in the East, if two men meet in the field, and one fears the other, that he who is without hope of victory dismounts from his beast, and walks on foot to meet the other, in sign of respect, in order that he may in this fashion show him reverence. So likewise when one host wishes to show respect to another, all the men dis mount from their beasts. So, too, when any king or prince, or Saracen or Mameluke nobles ride along the road, all those who meet them leap off their asses and stand until they have passed by. If they do not dismount from their beasts on the aforesaid occasions, the others thrust them off by force, with much insult and annoyance. Now, our guides feared this Arab, lest perchance he and his fellows might be lying in wait in that church, and might burst

BROTHER FELIX FABRI. 35

forth from thence and fall upon us, especially if we had passed by his house without showing respect: wherefore. they bade us dismount from our asses and pass by that house in humble guise, which we did, albeit the knights were exceeding impatient at it, and cursed the dog. with the most frightful imprecations. Howbeit we so passed by that we saw no one in the place, and this was in our favour, because both we and our guides greatly feared that Arab, lest perchance he might follow after us.

The aforesaid Church of St. John is fairly large, but has now been desecrated by the dwelling therein of Arabs, who live the life of robbers therein and inhabit it as a fortress. Its altars are destroyed, and it has in some sort lost the form of a church. They say that on this spot St. John the Baptist preached to the people, and gave to all rules by which they should live, as we read in Luke iii; 'and here also he bore witness to the Lord Jesus,' as we read in Matt. i. Moreover, John was standing in this place when the Lord Jesus came to him, and he seeing Him, pointed to Him with his finger, saying, `Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world!' (John i.). Some say that it was from this place that Elijah was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire; but this doth not well agree with 2 Kings ii, for Elijah was taken up beyond Jordan. A monastery once adjoined this church, wherein St. Zozima was abbot, over many monks, and near the monastery was a hospice for pilgrims; wherein St. Mary of Egypt passed her first night, when she came down from Jerusalem to go into the. wilderness beyond Jordan. St. Mary of Egypt came into this church out of the wilderness on the Friday after Epiphany, and

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received therein the Sacrament of the Eucharist from St. Zozima, and both [b] in coming from the wilderness and in returning thither she passed over Jordan dryshod. In the days of old a great feast was held at this church on the day of Epiphany, while still the golden age endured; for the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Bishop of Bethlehem, with the abbots, monks, clergy, and people, used to come down hither, and after celebrating divine service all used to go down together, with banners and crosses, to the Jordan, and there sing psalms beside the holy river. The abbot of the monastery of St. John used to dip the cross which he carried into the water; upon the dipping whereof all infirm persons who were present used to cast themselves into the water and were healed; while they who were whole baptized themselves devoutly, and were rendered stronger. These miracles are believed to have been wrought there not because of the holiness of the river, but because of the due observance of religion, both among the Christian commonalty as among monks and religious persons. When the service was over they each went home to their own place. Next to this wilderness comes the vast desert of St. Jerome, beyond that is the Dead Sea, and above the Dead Sea are the mountains of Engaddi, all of which places will be described on the fourth day of August, page 242.

So, after we had well cooled ourselves in St. John's Church, we again mounted our asses, went humbly onwards, and came. to a high place among the sand-hills, where the king's highwayran between two little hills. One said to me that of these two hillocks the one was Garizim, and the other Hebal, the mounts of blessing and cursing, whereof we read in Deut. xxvii., but it is not so. Where those two mounts are will be shown on page 205 b. On our. way we

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came to the plain country of Jericho, which is burned up by the heat of the sun, to the place Gilgal, whereof mention is many times. made in Holy Scripture. In this place the children of Israel marked out their camp after they had crossed over Jordan, and here they had their first dwelling on the soil of the Holy Land; here they were circum cised for the second time; here they kept the Passover; and here they began to eat of the fruit's of the Holy Land, neither did manna come down from heaven upon them after they had eaten of the fruits of the Holy Land; as we read in Josh. iv. and v. Now I conceive that at the time when Joshua came to Gilgal with the children of Israel there was no building here, neither village nor city, but the host lay upon the bare ground in the plains of Jericho. But after the children of Israel had set up their tents there, they made some sort of building for the tabernacle of the Lord and the ark of the covenant, which remained there for a long time, and for the twelve stones, which Joshua bade the children of Israel take out of Jordan, when they passed through the midst of its bed dryshod, which stones he also set up in Gilgal, as we read in Josh. iv.

I have read in a very ancient pilgrim's book¹ that at Gilgal, in the place where the ark of the Lord once stood, and where those twelve stones once lay, the Christians, in olden times, built a stately church, wherein the aforesaid stones were laid. They were unpolished, and so great that two men could not easily lift one of them from the ground.

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One of them was broken in two by some mischance, and was artificially joined together again with ironwork. We were not, however, able to see the ruins of this church, but yet we were exceeding glad to see the place, and, falling down, kissed the holy [203 a] ground, which indeed is holy, for that there Joshua was bidden to loose his shoes from off his feet. For when that strong and holy man Joshua was there in the field, he beheld a man standing before him with a drawn sword, to whom Joshua fearlessly went up and said: `Art thou one of us, or an enemy?' He answered: `Nay, but I am Michael, the captain of the host of the Lord, and now I am come to help you'' (Josh. v.). This place hath been counted holy from of old, and because of its sanctity a school of prophets dwelt here, like a convent of monks, as we read in 2 Kings iv. This was the first place wherein devout men began to dwell together as religious persons do in convents, because of the holiness of the place, which the archangel Michael hath especially hallowed by his apparition there, even as he hath hallowed the Mount Garganus, as will be told on page 186, Part II, whither men run from distant parts of the world. Howbeit, the sanctification of this place by the angel is far more solemn, seeing that it is approved by the testimony of the canonical Scriptures, and that most truly and beyond all shadow of doubt the apparition of St. Michael did here take place. Men run on pilgrimage into the lands of the West, even to the British sea, to what is called St. Michael's Mount, to see forsooth some relics and arms, to speak as a child, of St., Michael, and say that upon this mount St. Michael laid down the arms wherewith he overcame the dragon and wherewith he defended Joshua in the country of Jericho. It is not only children who, in the year 1457, journeyed thither from all parts of Germany in exceeding great multitude, but even old men and men

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of sense who were unable to read. On this matter I should like to tell you an experience of my own. Once upon a time I went out of Ulm with one companion, that I might preach in the town of Guntsburg, and on our way we fell in with a pilgrim who was going down the same road. I purposely joined this man, and asked him from what pil grimage he was coming back, adding that I myself had been a pilgrim in foreign parts, and was therefore all the more inclined to the society of pilgrims. This pilgrim was a personable and respectable man, and eloquent withal -a Viennese-but he was an unlettered layman. He answered me: 'I come,' said he, `from distant lands, from the Ocean, from St. Michael's Mount.' I asked: `Pray, what did you seek there, and what did you see?' He answered: 'What I sought I found, and beheld with my eyes, for I saw in that place the shield and the sword of the glorious archangel Michael, wherewith he waged war in heaven with the dragon which is Satan, wherewith he drove Lucifer and all his fellows from heaven, wherewith he was armed when he appeared before Joshua, the son of Nun, in the field of Jericho.' To this I answered 'O brother, these are mighty matters. Who was it who showed you these things ?' He answered: 'Monks, dressed in albs, devout men, show these things to all men with much pomp, and gain fat profits thereby.' I said: 'Who placed these mighty relics in that spot?' He answered: 'St. Michael, after he had overcome the devil and had ceased to fight, came down by himself to this mount and made a storehouse there for his arms, and in the time of Anti christ he will come down thither a second time, and will take up those arms again, and with them [b] will overcome Antichrist and put his demons to flight.' After this I questioned him about the size and fashion of those arms. He answered me in well-chosen language on every point,

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and told me of many things which the monks of that place publicly preach, containing sufficiently erroneous doctrine. I was at great pains to explain to this man that in his victory over the dragon St. Michael had no need of a corporeal shield or sword, and that these things had been untruthfully invented by the avarice of those monks; and that the arms wherewith St. Michael fought he hath never laid down nor ever ceased to fight therewith. For as in heaven he waged war against the bad angels, even so in the Old Testament he was captain of the host of Israel, and fought for them, as is clear from Josh. v. Moreover; in the New Testament he ever fights on the side of the Christians, as is proved by Dan. X.; wherefore he doth not lay down his arms, seeing that they are not corporeal arms. When I had instructed that layman in these matters he gave me thanks.

Brother Michael Sicz, the cook of the convent at Ulm, often used to talk about these arms, because he had visited the place in the aforesaid year with the other children to see the arms. But these are childish fictions; whereas this apparition at Gilgal is a most true and holy fact: wherefore it is here that St. Michael should be sought for; since it is most certainly true that the holy angel here appeared to Joshua armed with an unsheathed sword. Not that he had an unreal sword, for neither was the body wherein he appeared his own by nature, but both the body and the arms were formed of air and unmeet for human uses, and after the apparition returned into their former state. Whosoever therefore would behold the places wherein angels have indeed been seen, let him make this pilgrimage, and he shall see these things, and greater things than these.

From Gilgal we went on our way towards Jericho, and came near to the Valley of Achan, wherein he and all his

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household and all that he had were buried beneath a heap of stones, because of the theft which he had committed when Jericho was destroyed, as we read in Josh.. vii. At this valley we wondered at the severity of the Divine justice, which punishes the whole nation for the transgres sion of one man, and visits the sin of one upon all, for the text saith (ch. vii.) that the children of Israel dissembled, yet no one of them had sinned, save only Achan, who had stolen a wedge of gold and a garment and some silver. This Achan is the type of a bad monk, who hath stolen the golden rule of St. Augustine, which rule is called golden because it is precious, splendid, and heavy, and is full of value. This is stolen by the sinner, who likewise unrighteously takes the habit, and abuses the alms which he receives by spending them on unnecessary luxuries. Moreover, when he perverts the talents which have been given to him to the pursuit of human praise, he is burying the silver in the earth. By his shortcomings also not he alone, but all his convent, is confounded.

Leaving this place, we came to the spot, not far from the city of Jericho, where the blind man sat by the wayside begging when the Lord went up from Galilee to Jerusalem, and there the Lord lightened his eyes, as we read in Luke xviii. On this spot we said the service appointed in the processional, and falling [204a] down upon the earth, kissed the footprints of our Saviour and.received indul gences (t).

After this we came to the city of Jericho. Beside the gate of the city stands a vaulted house, exceeding ancient, which they say was once the house of Rahab the harlot,

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whereof we read a noble story in Josh. ii., and likewise this harlot is given a place in the pedigree of the Lord Jesus in St. Matthew's Gospel (ch. i.). For Salmon, a prince of the tribe of Judah, married Rahab, and from her begat Booz; and thus was this woman raised from the condition of an ignoble harlot and given a place in the glorious Gospel. Now, albeit this city hath oft times been destroyed, natheless, wonderful to relate, the house of. Rahab the harlot alone hath ever remained unharmed, and is shown at this day.

Going on further past the house of Rahab, we came to a great house in the midst of the town, whose walls are still thick and lofty, as though it had once been a castle. This is said to have been the house of Zacchaeus, which the Lord Jesus deigned to sanctify and hallow in a special manner when He said, `This day is salvation come to this house.' Herein He ate and converted many sinner together with Zacchaeus. We would willingly have en tered, but were not suffered to do so; howbeit we halted beside the wall, and one of the pilgrims said that he wished Zacchaeus was still the master of that house, that he might provide for us, for we were hungry and thirsty, and the things which we had brought from Jerusalem with us in our scrips were nearly all eaten. We had hoped that in Jericho we might find bread and water for our refresh ment, for with these we should have been amply content; but another sort of food was prepared for us, the bread of anguish and the water of tribulation. For, whilst we were standing there and talking with one another, our guides began hastily, and with horrible cries, to drive us onward and hurry our departure from Jericho, because the men of Jericho had gathered themselves together, and were pur posing to cut off our retreat, to the end that they might wring money from us. Seeing this, our leaders drove us

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out of the city all the faster, and the armed men of our company rode their horses into the mass of them, and broke them into two bands, making a way for us through the midst of them. Hereupon boys and women ran up and pelted our host with stones; and while they did this many were dragged from their asses, and robbed of their hats, and some were hurt with the stones. There was such a disturbance that by the running to and fro of men and beasts the dust was stirred up from the ground so thickly that it seemed as though Jericho were wrapped in a dark cloud. When the men of Jericho saw that they would get nothing out of us, and that we were slipping through their hands, they betook them to stones, and drove us and our guides out of their city, to our great peril, and we all fled as though they were pursuing us with swords. So we came forth from Jericho not only empty, but also beaten and disordered, whereat many of the knights were moved to wrath, and wished that fire might come down from heaven [b] and consume Jericho and all who dwelt therein, being moved by the same spirit as James and John in Luke ix., when they would not receive the Lord and His disciples in a village of the Samaritans, and these two wished fire to come down from heaven to consume it. But for so doing they were reproved, as we read in the same place.

The city of Jericho is otherwise called the city of palm- trees (2 Chron. xviii. 15), and lies in the heritage of the tribe of Benjamin. In the days of old it was a prosperous city on a good site, save only that it lacked sweet water until the days of the prophet Elisha, who sweetened an exceeding bitter fountain, as will be shown on page 7 A.

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This was the first city which the children of Israel took after they crossed over Jordan, and many miracles were wrought at its taking, as may be seen in Josh. vi. Joshua utterly destroyed it, and laid a curse upon the eldest and youngest son of him who should rebuild it, wherefore when, after many years had gone by, one Hiel the Bethelite began to rebuild it and lay the foundation thereof, his first-born; Abiram, died, and when he set up the gates thereof his youngest son, Segub, died, according to the curse of Joshua (iIKings xvi. 34). This city was first destroyed by Joshua, secondly by the Romans, thirdly by the Tartars, and last of all by other people, so that at this day it is a village, without walls or moats, and with but few inhabitants: The men of this village are dark-skinned and strong, and the women there are as strong as labouring men, so that one can scarce tell a woman from a man.

When we were come forth from Jericho, we looked with evil eyes upon our guides, because of the annoyance which we had suffered, because we suspected that it had befallen us through practice on their part, and we were impatient through fasting, for it was Sunday, and hitherto we had eaten nothing, and were toiling in the heat of the sun. They had, indeed, promised us that we should find bread and water at Jericho, and that we might rest ourselves there. Now, when they saw that we were moved to wrath, they quieted us, with soft words, saying that we should straightway come to a good fountain, and that bakers should follow after us from Jericho bringing bread. So we came forth from Jericho towards Mount Quarantana, and as we went along between the dry stone walls of the gardens of Jericho, we saw most beauteous orchards, which

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are watered by the streams which run from the Fountain of Elisha, whereof I shall tell you in its place. In these gardens we saw many sycamores-tall trees-the sight whereof reminded us of that sycamore into which Zacchaeus climbed that he might see Jesus (Luke xix.). Besides sycamores, other trees grow there-both fruit-trees, and scented grape-vines, and many fig-trees bearing exceeding sweet fruit, and likewise we saw there sundry kinds of flowers and roses of many different sorts, and we smelt delicious and fragrant scents, for the bushes and thorny shrubs bear especially fine roses and sweet fruits. Green herbs and pot-herbs also seem to grow there better than anywhere else, and all plants, and whatever grows in the soil there, flourish exceedingly. Wherefore even the Divine wisdom likens itself to a rose, and not to any rose, but to the rose of Jericho, where they are most lovely. We read in Ecclus. xxiv.. 14: 'I was exalted as a rose-plant in Jericho.' Also the blessed Virgin by the mouth of the Church every day declares herself to be like a rose in Jericho. Indeed, these roses are most beauteous, and feed the sight with their loveliness, rejoice the smell with their scent, delight the touch by their delicacy, cure the sick by their virtue, gladden the mournful by their colour, cause even serious men to admire them by their wondrous appearance, and prefigure the glories of paradise by their beauty. One of these roses has more, than a hundred petals. Josephus, when mentioning these gardens in his History of the Jewish War;' Book V., ch. viii., says that this country once used to produce opobalsamum, which ' is the dearest of all fruits, and the cypress tree, which gives forth myrobalsamum, besides the fruits of the palms, of various taste and names, which, when pressed beneath the heel; pour: forth much honey, very little worse than real honey. In other fruits, too, hardly any other country in

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the world could vie with this, so many times does it give back every seed that is sown therein. We were astonished at such great fertility, inasmuch as the country above and below it is barren. This richness of soil is caused by Elisha's fountain.

We went up by the watercourse which waters these gardens towards the hill-country from whence it flows, and that hill-county is lofty. We saw two mounts over against one another, one of which is named Garizim, and the other Gebal, or Hebal. But the Samarians say that these two mounts are near Neapolis, which is Sichem; and, indeed, some Catholics say so likewise, and I have found it so in many descriptions of the Holy Land. But the blessed Jerome, in his work `On the Distances of Places,' saith that they do greatly err who put forward any mountains as being the Mounts Garizim and Hebal, save only those near Jericho, forasmuch as the Scripture witnesseth that they are near to Gilgal. Moreover, those mountains near Sichem, which they call Garizim and Hebal, are a long way off one another, neither can the voices of blessing and cursing be heard from them both. Others say that they are two mounts, which are above St. John's Chapel, and below Gilgal. But I do not believe this either, because those mounts are only hillocks of sand piled up by the wind, and could not find room for so much people and so many princes; moreover, the sand could not support altars of unpolished stones, such as are enjoined. in Deut. xxvii.

Let us, therefore, hold with St. Jerome that these mounts, which we had on our right hand, are Mounts Garizim and Hebal, since upon them the princes of the

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twelve tribes could stand and build altars and shout forth curses and blessings from one mount to the other, and the people could stand in the plain below and hear them. At the sight of these mounts, we were terror-stricken, because of the frightful curses which there were laid upon those who neglect the law, which are to be found in Deut. xxvii. and xxviii. Nor let any Christian say that these curses and blessings belonged only to the Jews, for they belong to the Christians also. Read Matt. v. 20: `Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Hence it is clear that these curses and blessings fully touch us in those matters which, after the Lord's coming, we were commanded to observe. So we bent our knees before those mounts, and called upon the Lord of mounts.

After this, we turned away from the mounts of blessing and cursing, and came to the foot of Mount Quarantana, following the watercourse along the road which leads from Jericho to Bethel, along which also we read that Elisha the prophet went up (2 Kings ii. 23, 24). While he was going up, little children came out of Jericho behind the holy man, and mocked him, and said unto him: 'Go up, thou bald head!' When the prophet heard and saw them, he prayed, and cursed those children; and straightway two bears came forth from a wood, and devoured forty-two of those children. Hence it is clear that it is a perilous thing to mock at old and bald men, seeing that old gray- haired and bald men ought rather to be held in honour.¹

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Leaving the place where the holy bald head was mocked, we went on upwards, by the stream of running water, and came into a deep bog, which we had much ado to pass over. Some men with their asses stuck in the mud, and could hardly scramble out, with all their clothes befouled, and those who took solitary side-paths got in deeper, while those who strove to get across at places where bushes grew had double trouble, because they both sank deep in the mire and came among exceeding sharp thorns; for all the self sown bushes in that country bristle with sharp thorns, whose slightest scratch causes a grievous wound, as though the points of the thorns were poisoned. In crossing over that marsh, I, and my beast fell among these thorns, and I could not get out of them with a whole cope; but I struggled through it with labour and fear, scratched through many holes which were torn in my clothes:

After crossing the marsh, we went up by the side of the stream, and came to a kind of mill, where the water turns wheels, and where there was no path whereby we could ascend further, save through the mill itself. When we came thither, the miller and his servants stood at the door against us with clubs and spears, and forbade us to pass through; howbeit, after a long wrangle, our guides burst into the house by force, and made a way for us to pass through. On the other side of the mill; [b] we went still higher up, and came to a shady place full of trees and bushes, through the midst of which the water rushed at a great pace. Here we dismounted from our asses, and went down under the green leaves, each company by itself.

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We brought forth what was left in our scraps, and ate it; and we drank of the water, which fell down among the rocks, and was clear, bright, fresh, and wholesome. But when I brought forth the remains out of my scrip, I found everything-hard boiled eggs, bread, and cheese-all broken and mixed up together. This had befallen me while I was rolling about in the swamp with my ass, for there in my shaking about my scrip got under me, so that I sat upon it, and thus ground all my food into exceeding small pieces. Howbeit, forasmuch as I was hungry, I sat me down, and ate these mixed-up scraps with pleasure; for to the hungry soul even bitter things seem sweet, as saith Job (ch. vi. 7): 'The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.' I confess that now I touched and ate without disgust things which at home I would not have looked at, which I should even have shuddered at, and all that I grieved over was the small amount of those crumbs, and I lamented over their fewness. But I was relieved by some of the Minorite brethren, who know this pilgrimage by practice, and who make a suffi cient provision for themselves of bread, and also of wine. Meanwhile, as we sat here, men and women came to us from Jericho, bringing great baskets full of grapes and loaves of bread, whereof we bought, and made a good meal without any cooked food.

When we were refreshed according rather to measure of our food than that of our desires, we settled ourselves for rest, every man in the place where he sat, and we moved away those stones which hindered our lying down, for the whole ground was full of exceeding sharp stones, between which we lay, and though this couch was hard, yet it was meet for rest, both on our part, and on that of the place; for we were weary and sober, and had passed the previous night almost without sleep, having been toiling and bathing

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in the Jordan; moreover, the noonday time was come when men are wont to be overcome by sleep. The place was shady and sheltered from the heat, and also the water, as it coursed eagerly along over the stones, made a noise which invited a weary man to sleep; moreover, the leaves of the trees and bushes rustled against one another as the wind blew upon them, and the sound sweetened our slumbers; for there a brook of exceeding clear water makes its way with a gentle murmur between green bushes and sweet-scented shrubs, and the wind, as it stirred the boughs with a low whistling noise, urged the weary to rest. During this time some of the pilgrims, after they had rested for a little while, rose up and went up the stream, meaning to reach the place where it flows out of the mountain; but a Saracen met them and put them to flight with stones, and forced them to go back into their own place. `

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From this fountain to the Dead Sea is a distance of three German miles. Before Elisha this water was in no wise drinkable, neither for men nor beasts, but whosoever was forced to drink thereof, his mouth, palate, tongue, and throat were presently steeped in abominable bitterness, and should he swallow any of it he straightway fell sick of the plague or some of the like deadly diseases, which were followed by death, even as doth the water of the Dead Sea at this day. Moreover, every woman who used this water was thereby rendered utterly barren, and she who had already conceived a child in the womb perished at the taste of this water. So also happened with beasts. Land watered with this water could not bring forth any green thing, but was rendered useless, wherefore the city of Jericho was much prejudiced by the course of this most abominable water. But once upon a time the prophet Elisha tarried at Jericho, and was received with joy and honour by the people of Jericho, who, when he asked them about the state of their city, answered: 'Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, but the water thereof is naught, and the ground barren: When the prophet heard this he took a cruse full of salt, went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there and then, while he raised his right hand of righteousness towards heaven, and poured a soothing libation into the fountain, prayed of it that it would temper the bitterness of its stream; and open forth veins of sweet water, and withal begged of God that He would blow upon the river with more fruitful breezes, and grant to the dwellers in the city both plenteousness of fruits of the earth, and increase of children to succeed them. By these prayers the waters were made wholesome and sweeter than all other waters and springs, and the fountain, which hitherto had been the cause of barrenness and famine, now became the

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maker of food and plenty. The power of its water is so great that if it doth but moisten the earth it makes it more fertile than other ground whereon water hath stood for a long while. They who use it plenteously reap little, but they who use it sparingly reap abundantly. Moreover, it waters a greater space of ground than other fountains, supplying a plain of seventy-five stadia in length and twenty in width, and making exceeding lovely gardens where it passes by, as hath been told above. In summer it is cool; in winter, warm. Women who are childless, and barren animals, conceive after drinking of this water and bathing therein. So healthful and fruitful is the course of this water that a man would not err in calling that tract of land divine, and therein all the fruits that men chiefly prize grow large and exceeding good. Thus says Josephus, in the second book of his "History of the Jewish War,' ch. viii.

This fountain is distant one hundred and fifty stadia from Jerusalem, and sixty from the Jordan. All the country from Jerusalem thither is a stony wilderness; that reaching down to the Jordan and the Dead Sea is lower, and like a sea beach, but as barren and untilled as the other, save only the parts watered by that blessed fountain, [b] which bloom as green as paradise. We drank of this water like cows, without stint, forasmuch as when we reached it we were spent with drought and exceeding thirsty, yet no man was hurt thereby. This water and its healing powers are mentioned by the Church in the service for the consecration of holy water.

So we rested beside the stream running from the aforesaid fountain for an hour and more, waiting for the

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sun's heat to grow less; but in the meantime, in spite of the heat, we underwent much toil-that is to say, not all of us, but those who would and who could do so; howbeit, the greater part of the pilgrims shared in this labour, and the peril which followed it. We arose, left the cool refreshing shade, came out from among the goodly trees into the excessive glowing heat of the sun, and without any path essayed to climb up a high mountain, crawling up over the rocks and stones. In this ascent many who were sickly and overpowered by the heat stayed behind, and were unable to go on any further, but rested till they recovered their breath, and then went down into the shade again. As we went up we came to where some of the pilgrims, and the ladies our companions in pilgrimage, who had come up hither during the hour of rest, were sitting, not daring to go farther. When we asked them why they did not go forward, they answered that they would not go on for all the world, because of the danger of the path; for he who travels there must needs go to his left hand along the edge of an exceeding deep valley, along so narrow a path that no one could pass along it save by going sideways, because the path lies along the face of a wall of rock, in such sort that on one side of you there . is an exceeding deep valley, on the other side an uptight and lofty wall of rock, towards which he that passes must needs turn his face, lest he should be made dizzy with fear at the abyss below, and also that he may cling to the wall with both his hands, and having found places whereby to hold on, may look at his feet to see where he shall put one foot after the other, and one hand after the other. For, should his foot only once slip or move aside from the place where he puts it, he needs must fall headlong into the valley below, for the valley is at his back; before his face is a wall of rock rising high into the air, and beneath

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his feet is a narrow and uneven pathway, in some places broken through by rifts in the rock, through which rifts one has a glimpse of exceeding deep and dark abysses. If the traveller looks down into the valley, he soon begins to shudder at looking down so lofty a precipice; if he looks towards the wall to which he clings, he fears lest its overhanging masses should fall upon him. So we took to ourselves heart of grace and entered this narrow path, through which we made our way not without fear. There after we came to an exceeding dangerous ascent, at the foot whereof many knights stood still, afraid to climb up, because a slip or the slightest false step during that climb would be death: for there was no way of getting up save to seek with one's hands and feet for places wherein one could plant them. When we had reached to the top, we came upon the entrance to a cave. Here stood an infidel Arab with a club, [208 a] who would let no one go in unless he gave him a Venetian mark. We paid this money and entered the cave, wherein it is believed that the Lord Jesus fasted for forty days and nights, as we are told by the Evangelists (Matt. iv., Mark i., and Luke iv.). Here we sang,' Ductus est Jesus,' etc., with the other hymns appointed in the processional of the Holy Land. After this we bowed ourselves down in prayer, received plenary indul gences (tt), and remained awhile in this most holy cave in contemplation and devout conversation. Here, then, it was that our Saviour dwelt solitary, fasted, prayed, watched, lay and slept on the bare ground, lived humbly and in peace with the beasts of the field, fought with the devil, meditated on the Scriptures, and rejoiced when ministered to by angels. Oh, what a holy wilderness to which the Holy Spirit led the Son of God, which the Lord Jesus hath hallowed by His dwelling therein, which He hath ennobled by His most worthy fasting, and hath glorified by the

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wondrous examples of other virtues therein shown by Him, where He unmasked the deceits of the most furious enemy of the human race, and hath handed down to those who are tempted the means whereby they can overcome him. Wherefore this cave ought rather to be called a school of virtues than a cavern in the wilderness. After we had finished our meditation we proceeded to examine this holy place, scanning the cavern more curiously than before. It is a fairly large cave in the rock, not hewn out by human art, but opened by the Creator in the beginning, having on one side light coming down from above through an opening. In old times it was consecrated by the Christians as a chapel, and there were therein two altars and paintings on the walls, which may still be seen. Through the opening by which the cave is lighted there is a way up to the top of the mountain, over exceeding steep rocks, an ascent too perilous for anyone to make. It was by this way that the devil brought the Lord Jesus to the top of the mountain, and there showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, as will be shown. I climbed up into the window, but did not dare to adventure upon the ascent; indeed, I shuddered even at the sight of the deep abyss below and the height of the rock above. Many of the other pilgrims stood watching me; if I had gone out, many would have followed me. So after we had seen all that there was in the holy cave, we went out of it with the same caution and fear, and climbed over the rocks in another direction to some other caves for all round about the mountain there are caves in the rocks, and beneath the stones, and in the stony walls, which caves are partly natural and partly artificial. In them Christian saints used to dwell in the days of old, for then the whole mountain was full of religious persons who passed their time there with the Lord in penitential mortifications. During both my pilgrimages I wandered about this holy

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mountain, and found many cells cut out of the hardest rock, caves in the steepest precipices, and grottoes on dangerous slopes, wherein I saw the dread abodes of holy monks, and I could trace in those caves distinct places for prayer, for sleep, for the dressing of food, for the keeping of necessaries, and in the walls square recesses to place books in. On the opposite slopes I saw caves, to which no one could get save hunters of goats and wild beasts, wherein once monks dwelt, and used to go in and out by secret [b] passages, by a way which they hid from all men, that they might not be disturbed by the visits of people. But, alas! all these caverns and cells are now empty, and are the dens of wild beasts. Not many years have passed since a con vent of Eastern monks was still dwelling there, but they were driven out by a certain Saracen lord of Gazara, who destroyed the path up to the cave, so that no one could reach it. But the Soldan, when appealed to by the Chris tians, repaired the path in the fashion in which it now stands. It was to this mountain country that the two spies, whom Joshua had sent to Jericho, went up for refuge, and lay hid in these caves according to the counsel of Rahab the harlot, as we read in Josh. ii.

After we had thoroughly explored the dwellings and caves of the saints, we then wished that we were on the top of the mountain, up to which a long path led over steep rocks; and so steep and precipitous, did this way seem to us, that no one thought he should be able to climb up it. A man who was with us, and who had climbed it at another time, told us that we could not reach the top from that side, but that if we wanted to go up we must first go nearly all the way down again, and walk round the foot of the

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mountain towards, the north, for on that side we could go up without fear of precipices, though not without great toil and fatigue. So we went down again almost as far as the place where we had left the host, and there we stood still and debated whether we would walk round the moun tain and climb up it, for we had no guide to show us the right place to go up it. It chanced, however, that a tall Saracen stripling was passing by on the slope of the moun tain above us, so we called him to us and gave him a madinus to lead us to the top. The young man took the money and began to go towards the place of ascent, and we to follow after him. When our guides saw this, they came out of the shade and with loud cries forbade us to go up, saying that they were about to leave the place and go on their way. Moreover, the other pilgrims also, who had remained in the shade, stood endeavouring to call us back, and pretended to be getting ready to go away. Howbeit we followed the youth, and took no heed of their shouts; indeed, we were vexed that our own brother pilgrims should shout to us to come back. I heard one of the knights who were with us say, ' Were it not for the Saracens, whose wrath I fear, I would turn round and abuse the pilgrims who are crying out after me; and if they then still went on shouting, I would show my bare ass to them.' By saying this he made us all laugh heartily. Meanwhile we had got a long way from them, so that we could not hear their shouts; but we could see them mounting their horses and asses, as though they meant to go away without us, and we also saw several pilgrims running after us, who, when they saw our obstinacy, set at naught the shouts of the Saracens and joined us. So we went on our way, out of sight of the host, and came to the place where the ascent of the mountain began, where we waited for those who were following after us, that we might all go up together.

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Then we began to climb up a steep hill. Now, one of the pilgrims went on his knees before the mountain, called upon God, [ a] and began to ascend the mountain in that posture on his bended knees, with his body upright and his arms stretched out in the fashion of a cross. Thus he went all the way up that exceeding rugged and uneven hill, without helping himself either with his hands or his feet; but when he was obliged, he rested on his elbows, in such sort that he did not use his hands to pull himself up by, save when he could not get on without doing so, as happened several times in steep places. What toil and torment this pilgrim suffered in that climb was proved by his violent swaying about from side to side as he stepped along upon his knees: for when he made a step with his left knee, he leaned altogether over to his left side; if with his right knee, to his right; and while doing this he often would fall on one side or the other, or flat upon his face. His shoes were broken, and on his knees the skin was burst, so that he marked each of his steps with blood. His sleeves were torn at the elbows, his arms were hurt, his face swelled, and the whole appearance of the man changed. Lo! where we with difficulty crawled up using our feet and hands, he climbed up on his knees and all fours, manfully setting at naught his tortures: for holy penance makes bitter things sweet, makes heavy things light, makes hard things soft. Who, I pray you, would not be roused to pity on seeing the arduous, difficult, and virtuous exercise of that pilgrim? Who would not repent him of sin on beholding such a great punishment of sinners? So we climbed up to the top of that hill and saw above us a peak a long way off, up to which we panted with deepdrawn, short, and hurried breath, thinking that there our climbing would be at an end. But when with toil we had reached this peak, there then appeared another lofty peak, which

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towered aloft above all that hill country, and though we were already higher than any of the mountains round about, yet from that height where we were there arose another round mountain, wide below and ever rising up sharper above; the higher it grows the steeper and rougher it is, forasmuch as it is clothed on every side with exceeding sharp rocks; for the mountain itself is of the smoothest stone, from which these rocks and sharp crags jut out. So we hastened one another, made trial of the holy mount itself, and got up to the top thereof, those who got up first reaching down their hands to those below and pulling them up the crags. We all together awaited the coming of the aforesaid pilgrim, and drew him up to us faint and half dead. We then, went to the middle part of the mountain- top, and there sat ourselves down under the wall of a chapel in the shade to get our breath before we said our prayers: for we were exceeding wearied and faint by reason of our toilsome ascent, and were glowing with the heat of the sun, wherefore some pilgrims while they sat getting their breath fell down on the ground in a fever fit; some were scarce able to breathe; while the rest sat fanningn their faces with their hats and clothes. We had much trouble and anxiety about one pilgrim, whose rank and position I do not choose to mention, out of pious respect. This pilgrim lay on the mountain like one dead, and had no sense or use of his reason, but was dragged about in our hands like a corpse. Howbeit, a certain Dominican monk from Florence revived and recovered him, for he carried cordials about him for that purpose. I verily believe that had that friar not been there, the pilgrim would have died on the mountain. With regard to the fainting of this pilgrim, I wish to disclose [b] this secret for our edification. This pilgrim came from over-sea parts, and was a priest and monk who strictly observed his rule. On his de-

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parture from home, when he undertook this holy pilgrimage, he dressed himself in an iron coat of mail upon his bare skin, and never took it off throughout the whole journey, but wore it hidden beneath his pilgrim's garments, by day and by night, on sea and on land, in heat and in cold. He tried many ways to hide it from us, but could not. These and other things, when known among pilgrims, render their pilgrimage more devout than any holy places, forasmuch as examples move men more than words, and words move them more than places. Good and simple Christians believe that if they were at the places where the Lord Jesus wrought the work of our redemption, they would derive much devotion from them; but I say to these men of a truth that meditation about these places, and listening to descriptions of them, is more efficacious than the actual seeing and kissing of them. Unless a pilgrim hath before, his eyes some living example of devotion, the place helps him little in the matter of true holiness. Those weepings and sobbings which are common at the holy places arise for the most part from the fact that when one pilgrim weeps another cannot refrain from tears, and so sometimes all of them lament together; or because some people have the art of working themselves up to weep even in matters unconnected with religion. Such people as these shed many futile tears at the holy places, and make a howling at almost all of them, not because of the power which the place exercises over them, albeit the places do certainly tend to devotion, but because of the ease with which they weep. But I have no doubt of this, that were there ten good Christians in my cell at Ulm, who had a desire to see the Holy Land and the places sacred to the Lord Jesus, I could rouse their devotion and stir up their souls more deeply by my talk about those places than if they were actually lying bowed to the earth in the holy places them-

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selves. I have been prompted to say this at this place because we were exceeding devout on this mountain, because we had accomplished a difficult work and had seen eyamples of great virtue. So when we were refreshed and had got back our breath, we all rose together, and chanted the service appointed in the processional, with the collects. We most devoutly bowed ourselves down to the ground; prayed to God, and paid our due service to the Lord Jesus to show our contempt for that over-weening Satan, who in this place dared to tempt the Creator of himself and of all things, and to lead Him by false promises to fall down and worship him, showing to Him in one moment of time, as we read in Luke iv., all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, saying, `All these are mine, and I will give them unto Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.' At this place we received plenary indulgences (tt).

When we had finished our prayers, lo! there came up another troop of the pilgrims to us, who said that had we not ascended they would long ago have left the place. We were cheered by their coming, for had they gone away without us, things would indeed have gone ill with us. We now lifted up our eyes, and looked round about us far and wide over the country, and saw with our eyes that what St. Matthew says in his fourth chapter is true, when he calls this an exceeding high mountain, for the Evan gelist would not say `exceeding' unless the mountain were extremely high. On every side we beheld places often mentioned in Scripture: [210a] for to the eastward we saw the very mountainous land of Arabia, reaching through a long tract from north to south. Among these moun tains rises Mount Nebo, Phasca, or Abarim, from whence

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Moses viewed the Holy Land, and which we saw standing up pre-eminent above all the rest. The mount and country of Gilead, which was given to the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, the land and plains of Moab and Ammon, even to the stony wilderness that is beyond Jordan, we also had before our eyes, albeit this was a long way off; Heshbon also and Bashan.. On our side of Jordan we saw the great plain of Jericho, the bed of the Jordan with its wildernesses, and the Dead Sea.

To the southward, beyond the Dead Sea, we saw the great wilderness of St. Jerome, the Mounts of Engaddi, the Mount of Lot, the wilderness of Tekoa, and the hill country of Idumaea.

To the north we saw the mountains of Israel, whereon we also had been. We were not able to descry the moun tains which stand round about Jerusalem, for that they were higher than we; for the mountains and the wilderness of Quarantana lie on the shoulder of the Mount of Olives. We saw all the aforesaid places more distinctly when we were on the Mount of Engaddi, about which mount and other matters see page 283 b.

Lastly, at the foot of the mountain whereon we stood is Jericho, to the southward of which is Haji.¹ Towards the west is the city named Bethel, where Jacob saw the ladder in his dreams, and where at this day the stone is shown which he had beneath his head when he saw the ladder, and upon which he poured oil when he awaked out of sleep. The Hebrews say that Jacob, wishing to sleep, piled up three stones and put them under his head, because the text says that he took of the stones of that

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place, and that when he awaked after the vision of the ladder, the three stones were made into one stone, where fore the text says that he set up a stone. It was in this place that Jeroboam, King of Israel, set up one of the golden calves, that the people might not go up to Jerusalem. We read of Jacob's ladder in Gen. xxviii., and of the golden calf in I Kings xii. 32. After this we betook our selves to viewing the mountain itself, which is exceeding lofty, but forasmuch as it rises out of the plain country, the mountains on the western side rest upon it and there fore are higher than it. The whole of the mountain is rocky, hard, barren, and steep. On the top of it stood a chapel, which now is destroyed, but whose walls and ruins are to be seen at this day, and it seems as though there had. been a monastery there. So much for this.

Now, after we had spent an hour on the top of the holy mount, we made ready to go down. Some young knights went on before us, running and leaping down, but we followed them sedately over the rocks and crags, the slopes and steep places. On our way down, when we were come to a pretty high precipice, we heard down at the foot of the mountain shouts and noises of men angrily wrangling in Arabic and German. Among this we could hear some one calling out.'Robbery!' in German words, [b] Mordjo! Mordjo On hearing this we straightway understood that those knights who had gone down before us were in trouble, and we hurriedly slipped down the hillside and let ourselves down the precipice till we came to the place of strife. Here five pilgrim noblemen were standing in. a hollow cave at the foot of the mountain, holding stones in their hands, ready to cast them; four Arabs stood in front

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of the cave, also with stones, and they were wrangling together, forasmuch as the Arabs demanded money of them by way of toll, which they refused to pay. We put ourselves between them as peacemakers, lest they should cast stones at one another, seeing that, had this come to pass, all the pilgrims would have been held to have broken their treaty of safe-conduct, and we should have come into great trouble. We had much ado to prevail upon our comrades to lay down their stones: the Arabs also asked us for money, but we told them that we would pay them nothing at that place, but only in the host in the presence of our guides. And so we brought forth our brethren from that cave, and rescued them from the hands of the Arabs. But had they been stronger than we, in no wise would they have let us depart in peace; howbeit as it was, those five pilgrims would have eaten up the four Arabs had they come to blows. While we were thus going on our way from those Arabs, they threatened us that they would be revenged upon us, and indeed they were, as will appear hereafter. So we came back to the host in the shady place by the water, bought bread and grapes, and made a meal. But the aforesaid Arabs called their fellows to them, and placed themselves over against us, armed with lances and other weapons, in the midst of the road over which we were about to go. Now, when the sun set, and his heat abated, we rose up from that spot, mounted our asses, and set forth over the plains. But the Arabs met us, and would not let us pass before we had paid them toll for our going up the mountain, and for the rash re sistance of the pilgrims. For the Arabs say that they are the lords of all wildernesses and waste places, and there fore they take no heed of safe-conducts, but extort toll from all who pass through the desert. So after a long dispute our Saracen guides forced the captains of the

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galleys to pay eight ducats to the Arabs for a toll for trespassing on the mountains and for the violence used towards them, forasmuch as, the pilgrims had taken up stones against them and had escaped from them by force. This money the captains paid with the most furious anger, and they cursed us, and wanted to know who the culprits were in this matter, but this no one would tell them, for had they known who those pilgrims were, they would have extorted some more money from them. So after this affair was over and the Arabs had let us go, we went down towards Jericho; but, leaving it on our left hand, went on towards the south along the foot of the mountain, that we might reach the king's highway, whereby we had come down thither from Jerusalem. On the public road above Jericho we came to a small vaulted house built in the shape of a chapel, which is the place where the Lord Jesus gave sight to the two blind men, as we read in Matt. xx., whereof one was known to many, and was called Bar Timaeus, the son of Timaeus, and who alone is mentioned in Mark x. At this place we dismounted from our asses, kissed the footprints of the Lord Jesus, and received in dulgences (t). On leaving that place we came to the way up into the hill country, which is the mountain wilderness of Adummim Here there once stood a town, whose ruins we saw, which was named Adummim-that is to say, the going up of the red-handed ones, because of the blood which was often shed here by robbers, and from this fort all that wilderness from Jericho even to Bethany is called Adummim, and for the succour of travellers through this cruel and bloody place a fort was built here-to wit, the aforesaid fort of Adummim. This place is mentioned Josh. xviii. Moreover, in the parable of the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, the Lord mentions this most dangerous road, where the man was robbed and

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wounded (Luke x.), wherefore at this day the Germans call the aforesaid fort and wilderness Rothbach-that is to say, `stream of blood.' For the Arabs come up and lurk in that wilderness by the roadside and rob passers-by, and the Saracens dare not pass up and down it save in large troops. So when we were come into the desert of Adummim, our guides never ceased to urge us and spur us on to march quickly, which thing in my second pilgrimage was no trouble to any of us. But I could hardly tell you what sufferings we went through on that road on my first pilgrimage. I make bold to say that on my first pilgrimage I myself and my companions underwent greater hardships and miseries on our pilgrimage to the Jordan alone, than in all the roads over which we travelled in my second pilgrimage. When it was dark we came to steep places and hills, and when we were climbing up heights they forced us to dismount from our asses and walk on foot, though we could scarce draw breath for want of food. I have seen many pilgrims sitting on their asses, unable even to hold the asses' bridles through weakness, wherefore some of them fell off, let their asses go, and lay on the ground; howbeit the Saracens angrily forced them to go on. The toils of that night were made unbearable by the darkness, the danger of precipices, the faintness of the pi