The Annual of the British School at Athens the First English Traveller's Account of Athos
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The Annual of the British School at Athens http://journals.cambridge.org/ATH Additional services for The Annual of the British School at Athens: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here The First English Traveller's Account of Athos F. W. Hasluck The Annual of the British School at Athens / Volume 17 / November 1911, pp 103 - 131 DOI: 10.1017/S0068245400008522, Published online: 18 October 2013 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0068245400008522 How to cite this article: F. W. Hasluck (1911). The First English Traveller's Account of Athos. The Annual of the British School at Athens, 17, pp 103-131 doi:10.1017/S0068245400008522 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/ATH, IP address: 128.122.253.228 on 12 May 2015 THE FIRST ENGLISH TRAVELLER'S ACCOUNT OF ATHOS. 1 JOHN COVEL, afterwards Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, visited Athos from Lemnos on his way from Constantinople to England in the spring of 1677. His letter of recommendation from Nointel (which he hoped might be of use if he fell amongst French ' privateers')2 and his circular letter to the monasteries from Manolaki Petrovitzes3 are preserved in his correspondence.4 The Athos notes are bound partly in the Folio MS. (Add. 22, 912) and partly in the Quarto {Add. 22, 914). They are very hastily written and ill arranged. I have therefore taken considerable liberties with the text, revising punctuation, resolving contractions, and (for the convenience of the reader) often transcribing words written wholly or partly in the Greek character ; such words are indicated by italics. I have further attempted 1 See B.S.A. xii. 211 : note below the Cambridge use of ' court,' ' chapel,' and ' hall.' 2 § I, below. 3 Manolaki of Castoria, a retired furrier of great wealth, was at this time one of the most prominent figures at the Patriarchate, and notable as an early benefactor of Greek education (Gedeon, Xpov. i"ijs IlaTpiopxiKiis 'AKa8i)p.Cos, 124-131 ; cf. Journal d'Antoine Gal/and, i. 170, ii. 63). Covel mentions him by name in Add. 22,912, f. 158 : in the printed Journals, p. 158, the name is for some (or no) reason omitted. Manolaki is here spoken of as a creditor of the hospodars and treasurer (MrpoTrot TOV Trayxapiov) of the Patriarchate : in this capacity he presented a chest (wayyapi) inlaid with ivory to the Patriarchate in 1669 (Gedeon, Xpov. TOV HdTp. O'ftcou, 109). An inscription on this chest mentions the name of his wife Roxandra, whose maiden-name appears not to be known. Covel speaks of Manolaki as 'brother-in-law of Drakos,' which may give a hint to those better informed than myself. A bey of Moldavia named Drakos is mentioned by Rycaut, s.a. 1679, p. 3. 4 Brit. Mas. Add. 22,910, ff. 130, 143 respectively : the latter is addressed t iravoo-ioiTaToi KOX alSevi/iwraToi Ka9i)yov/xci>oi re Hal irpoiyoifievoi Trdvres TTJS hpas <rvva£eus TOV aytov opovs, dated March 28 (o.s.) and signed Mai^Ai). Covel had further a letter from a TTpoijyov/j.evos of Lavra whom he had met at Gallipoli on his journey (Add. 22,914, f. 36). 104 F- W. HASLUCK to group together scattered notes on identical subjects, and to arrange the vvhole as far as possible in its natural order.1 The notes of ,(A) the Quarto (ff. 36 VS0.-46 vso.) form an integral part of the homeward voyage, and contain mostly information on the Lavra, including the author's arrival there (April 19) and departure thence (about April 25),2 and remarks on the monasteries in-general. The pages of the Athos journal in (B) the Folio (ff. 348-351) are grouped with scattered notes on the same subject, including excerpta from the Proskynetarion of 1701, 'notes out of Sir George Wheler's MS.,'3 a broadsheet reprinted from Georgirenes' account, and various rough sketches and plans of the Mountain not worth reproducing. The journal proper relates to Iveron, Stavroniketa, Pantokratoros, Koutloumousi, Kary^s, Vatopedi, Caracallou, and Philotheou. From the times given at the last two, Covel seems to have visited these in the order given,4 i.e. on his way from Lavra to Iveron, which is proved by other indications 5 to have been made by land. The order of the other monasteries seems arbitrary, but is retained in the list of monasteries: most travellers would now pass through Karyes on the way to Iveron, and proceed from Pantokratoros to Vatopedi. It is possible that the journals are not complete and that Covel visited other monasteries : this seems to be implied by the notes on Esphigmenou and Docheian'ou,6 but it is hardly possible that he made the complete tour of the twenty in so short a time. Athos, vaguely known already to Buondelmonti (i42o),7was discovered to westerns by Pierre Belon, who published an engraved plate and a general description8 with a list of the monasteries. In the seventeenth century a 1 The headings of the sections are not in the original. 2 He arrived at Lemnos April 27. 3 'Concerning Mt. Athos, especially the monastery of the Iveron and the famous picture,' f- 345- 4 Caracallou and Philotheou are described on f. 351, which lacks the original consecutive pagination of the others. 5 Cf. § 7. 8 §§ 4, 14. The notes on the isthmus, § 15, are of course derived from the monks; the canal ot Xerxes has been seen by many recent travellers and lately surveyed by Struck (Ma/ced. Fahrten., i. 68). 7 Liber Insularum, § 70. The earliest English mention of the monasteries is that of W. Wey (1462, Itineraries, p. 78). Other early notices are those of Aless. Ariosto (1475-8, Viaggio, p. 11) and J. Thenaud (1512, Voyage, p. 137) ; but none of these visited the Mountain. The best early accounts are those of the Russian pilgrims published by Khitrovo. 8 Observations: the plate seems to have been engraved for Portraicts cTOiseaux, but is frequently lacking : it was adapted by Thevet for his Cosmog. Univ. (ii. 810). COVEL'S ACCOUNT OF ATHOS. 105 Cypriote monk, Pere Athanase, was sent by the French king to collect MSS.1 About Covel's time short accounts of the Mountain were published in English by Georgirenes of Samos (1678), by Rycaut, who availed himself of Covel's information,2 and in Greek by Komnenos in the Proskynetarion of 1701 ; the best general view of this period is the account of Braconnier,3 written in 1706, but not published till much later. For the later biblio- graphy V. Langlois' work should be consulted : since his time the most useful books on the subject are those of Brockhaus, Lambros (MSS.), Gedeon, P. Meyer (documents), Millet (inscriptions), Smyrnakes, and (for English readers) Athelstan Riley. § 1.—Of our coming to the port of Laura and civil entertainment. hy/v. Thursday 19th [April 1677] at Monte Santo, 'Ayia Aavpa. A 45 >•. The port onely for little barkes : coursaires' frigots cannot enter, yet their crue often come ashoar and pillage. Capt. Crevelle (french man)4 had just been there before us, had seased of a censer or two, but with intreaty restored them : took two brothers out of a small boat and conveyed them away. I had the F. Embassador's passe, yet liked better not to make use of it. A44». We were most civilly treated every where, and much the more for Manoulacky's letters.5 So soon as they had notice that we were arrived (for they expected us) the patriarch6 sent down Joseph the ecclesiarches to treat us there, at the Castle, which is a poor ruin'd tower ; there are two or three Iron guns in it but now are never used. Many such towers are round about upon the shore at the entrance to the monasteryes by. We had everyone his mule, furnisht out with carpets, to ride up to the monastery, which stands about a mile up the hill from the shore. The ecclesiarches accompanyed us to Ibero. All monasteryes trane mules or horses or both, and all strangers are furi sht with them from place to place. 1 Omont, Miss. Archiol. i. 6 (cf. below, § 16). A Russian agent is mentioned ibid. p. 7, cf. Smyrnakes, p. 371. 2 Greek Church, ch. xt. p. 216 : the debt is everywhere apparent. 3 In Omont's Missions Archiologiques, ii. 994 ff., and elsewhere. Tournefort's chapter on Greek monasticism is entertaining and (for the time) impartial. 4 Hugues Crevellier was one of the most celebrated pirates in the Aegean at this period ; he was killed the following year. The best account of him is in Sauger's Hist, des Dues, 310-319 ; see also Lucas, Voyage, 1704, 226 ; Randolph, Archipelago, 54; de Burgo, Viaggio, 342. 5 See above, p. 103. 6 The patriarch Dionysios Bardales was at this time living in retirement at the Lavra (Gedeon, IlarpiapxiKol IICvaKcs, No. 22, also in 'EKK\i}o-i,a<r"n.KT) 'AXif|8eta, ii. 608, "A8<os, 159 ; cf. Millet's Inscriptions, Nos. 161, 166). 106 F. W. HASLUCK The Hegonmenos met us at door, lead us to chappel, and as we crosse they sing X/0K7TO? avearrj and pray for us: this compliment was used in most places where we came. We stay'd there one day before we went forward. The Patriarch received us with extraordinary respect, each an elbow-chair fournisht with carpets. Afterwards din'd with him dayly, and the best monkish fare that could be gotten was provided, excellent fish (severall ways), oyl, salet, beanes, hortechockes, beets (aevrXop), chees, onions, garlick, oliues, caveor, Pyes of herbs, (pa/cals,1 Kranro&t.: pepper, salt, saffron in all.