Early Pilgrimage Itineraries point of view, either by the pilgrim himself or by another person who heard the pilgrim’s (333–1099) story and took it down in writing; Second, Holy Land descriptions, written in the form of guides for pilgrims; Th ird, short tracts that As a rule, pilgrimage literature in Late Antiq- dryly list holy places and traditions attached uity and the Middle Ages is marked by a deep to them in condensed form. Most of these religious aura, a lack of interest in the present, were anonymous. and casualness about space and time (unless Texts of the fi rst type are the most interest- it is sacred space and sacred time). In the ing, as they tell not only about places but also majority of the descriptions – though not in about their impact on the viewer. In the all – human beings, fauna, and fl ora are virtu- period under discussion, they include Egeria’s ally absent. An exception is the narrative by account of her travels (381–84), written in the the Piacenza pilgrim. Otherwise, the texts form of a letter to a group of Christian women mention only churches, monasteries, chapels, who were nuns or who belonged to some kind priests and monks as though the land were of religious sisterhood, and who had remained solely populated by them. Th ere are a few behind in her homeland; Jerome’s description exceptions to this rule, but they do not change of Paula’s pilgrimage (385–86), included in the overall impression. the obituary letter he wrote to her daughter In late antiquity and the Middle Ages, Itin- Eustochium (letter 108); the pilgrimage of eraria were mainly (although not only) a Peter the Iberian (fi ft h century), included in Western and Latin genre. Although the his biography written by John Rufus; the itin- majority of pilgrims came to the Holy Land erary of the anonymous pilgrim from Pia- from Eastern countries, most of the itinerar- cenza known as Antoninus (c. 570); Adomnán ies and Holy Land descriptions were written of Iona’s, De locis sanctis, based on the pil- in Latin. Our knowledge of Eastern Christian grimage experience of the bishop Arculf; the pilgrimage is derived mainly from other itinerary of Willibald (c. 724–28), written by genres, such as hagiographic works (see also the nun Hugeburc and included in Willibald’s ¤ Hagiography, Local History, Th eology) vita; and the itinerary of the Frankish monk that include short accounts of the hero’s pil- Bernard (c. 870). Some of these texts are writ- grimage. Th is diff erence in literary traditions ten in the form of letters (Egeria, Jerome); between East and West has not yet been suf- others are parts of a fuller biography, in which fi ciently explained. the journey serves a hagiographic aim as an In setting down their travel experience in important chapter in saintly life, for example, writing, pilgrims drew their sacred maps in the travel accounts of Paula, Petrus the Ibe- words. Reading their descriptions chrono- rian, and Willibald. logically enables us to trace changes in these Th e second type of pilgrimage literature – “maps”, fi x dates of churches and monasteries, Holy Land descriptions – includes the account discover traditions that were erased, new ones of the Bordeaux Pilgrim (333); Eucherius’ De that were added, and to learn about the lit- situ Hierusolimae (c. 444–449); Th eodosius’ urgy of the holy places, pilgrimage rituals, De situ Terrae Sanctae (c. 530); Th e Armenian eulogiae and relics, as ways that pilgrims Guide (c. 625); the description of Epiphanius experienced the Holy Land. the Monk (c. 692); and Bede’s De locis sanctis Early pilgrimage literature can be divided (c. 702); while the third type includes the Bre- largely into three types: First, accounts writ- viarius de Hierosolyma (Th e Short Descrip- ten in the fi rst person and from a personal tion of Jerusalem), written c. 530, and the © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 EMP Also available online – www.brill.nl OOrara LLimor_Earlyimor_Early PilgrimagePilgrimage Itine1Itine1 1 99/26/2009/26/2009 10:13:2110:13:21 AMAM early pilgrimage itineraries (–) 2 Commemoratorium de casis dei, a report on Adomnán’s and Hugeburc’s works, the fi rst Christians and Christian institutions in Jeru- pilgrimage accounts that were written aft er salem and other places, probably written for the Arab conquest of the Holy Land, are Charlemagne in 808. exceptional within the itineraria genre since Th e description of the Bordeaux Pilgrim is they are not written in the fi rst person and do in fact the fi rst surviving Christian account of not report the events of the journey fi rsthand pilgrimage, and is considered the inaugura- but are written by a person who had not made tion of the genre. While full of very important the trip but heard of it from the returned pil- information on the transition of Jerusalem to grim. Th e itinerary as we have it today is the a Christian city, the text is dry and is devoid outcome of cooperation between the traveler of any real voice, unlike the letter Egeria wrote and the writer to whom the story was told. to her “beloved sisters”, which is an itinerary Adomnán describes how he wrote De locis per se. Egeria’s letter contains an accurate sanctis: Arculf “diligently” described his expe- description of her travels as well as a detailed riences for Adomnán, who recorded them on account of the Jerusalem liturgy. She describes tablets and later wrote up his notes as a brief her travels in precise language that repro- work on parchment. For the learned abbot duced the experience of traveling through Adomnán, who read extensively about the writing. holy places in books, Arculf’s main impor- Jerome’s letter to Eustochium describes a tance was that he saw the places “with his own pilgrimage that he made together with Paula, eyes.” Indeed, the text is a treasure of infor- and in spite of the spiritual and intellectual mation about sacred traditions and sacred emphasis of his tour, this part of the letter, buildings. together with Letter 46 to Marcella (attrib- As for Willibald, the story of his pilgrimage uted to Paula and Eustochium), remains among is part of his biography, written by his relative, the most important examples of early pil- the young nun Hugeburc. Th e chapters that grimage narrative. Pilgrimage is described in describe the pilgrimage stand out within the these letters as both an emotional experience framework of the biography. While all the and a means for gaining a deeper understand- other chapters are phrased in fl orid, convo- ing of the Scriptures. Th e texts written by luted language, the travel story is written in Egeria and Jerome describe journeys that use simple, direct Latin, and it is clear that this the Bible as a guide. Egeria read the Bible in a part was left almost untouched and unedited, historical, literal sense, while Jerome looked Hugeburc leaving everything as Willibald for allegorical interpretations and for etymo- told it. According to Hugeburc, the account logical meanings, but for both, the pilgrimage of Willibald’s pilgrimage was committed to to the Holy Land was a “textual pilgrimage,” a writing in June 778, some fi ft y years aft er it pilgrimage to the Land of the Text. took place and told in the presence of wit- As against the biblical-textual interest of nesses, a unique testimony to the transition Egeria and Jerome, the Piacenza pilgrim took from oral transmission to written text. special interest in the exotic and the excep- Pilgrimage literature served as ¤ guide- tional, and listed many marvels and miracles books for travelers. Several texts note dis- he saw in the Holy Land, especially plants and tances and information about the location of objects with curative powers. He returned to stations (mansiones), post-stables (mutatio- his hometown Piacenza with a bag fi lled with nes), guards, and other details. A few also eulogiae – relics and souvenirs. All of them include graphic maps. At the beginning of the were said to have wondrous virtues, and are fourth century, Eusebius of Caesarea wrote recorded in his text, which itself becomes a his Onomasticon, a small book that included catalogue of miracle-working items and of Hebrew place names translated into Greek local pilgrimage customs, a faithful descrip- and arranged according to the books of the tion of the pilgrim’s experience. Bible, a map of Judaea, a plan of Jerusalem OOrara LLimor_Earlyimor_Early PilgrimagePilgrimage Itine2Itine2 2 99/26/2009/26/2009 10:13:2110:13:21 AMAM 3 early pilgrimage itineraries (–) and the Temple, and the distances between women who made their way to the biblical the various places (only the book of place holy places. Th e birth of the genre is con- names has survived). Travelers used such nected to women, either as authors, like Ege- maps and the information on stations and ria, or as protagonists, like Paula. Letter 46, hospices on the road. A list of this sort com- probably written in 386 and addressed to a prises the main part of Th e Bordeaux Pilgrim’s Roman lady, Marcella, a friend who had account. Egeria tells us about the security stayed behind in Rome, has been ascribed to arrangements in the Roman Empire, while Paula and Eustochium, yet most scholars Th eodosius specifi es exact distances from today believe that it was written by Jerome one place to another, and his text seems to himself. Th e gender of the Bordeaux pilgrim refl ect maps that he had in his possession.