Early Travels in Palestine: Comprising the Narratives of Arculf, Willibald, Bernard, Sæwulf, Sigurd, Benjamin of Tudela, Sir John Maundeville, de la Brocquière, and Maundrell
History
Early Travels in Palestine: Comprising the Narratives of Arculf, Willibald, Bernard, Sæwulf, Sigurd, Benjamin of Tudela, Sir John Maundeville, de la Brocquière, and Maundrell
Middle East -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Palestine -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
And thence they went
round the sea, and by the village of Magdalum to the village of
Capernaum, where our Lord raised the prince's daughter. Here was a house
and a great wall, which the people of the place told them was the
residence of Zebedæus with his sons John and James. And thence they went
to Bethsaida, the residence of Peter and Andrew, where there is now a
church on the site of their house. They remained there that night, and
next morning went to Chorazin, where our Lord healed the demoniacs, and
sent the devil into a herd of swine. Here was a church of the
Christians.
Having performed their devotions there, they went to the place where the
two fountains, Jor and Dan, issue from the earth, and flowing down from
the mountain are collected into one, and form the Jordan. And there they
passed the night between the two fountains, and the shepherds gave them
sour ewes' milk to drink. The sheep are of an extraordinary kind, with a
long back, short legs, large upright horns, and all of one colour. There
are deep marshes in the neighbourhood, and when the heat of the sun, in
summer, is oppressive, the sheep go to the marsh, and immerse themselves
in the water all but the head. Thence they proceeded to Cæsarea, where
there was a church and a multitude of Christians. They next went to the
monastery of St. John the Baptist[33], where there were about twenty
monks, and remained one night there, and next day went the distance of a
mile to the spot in the river Jordan where our Lord was baptized. Here
is now a church raised upon stone columns, and under the church it is
now dry land where our Lord was baptized. They still continue to baptize
in this place; and a wooden cross stands in the middle of the river,
where there is small depth of water, and a rope is extended to it over
the Jordan. At the feast of the Epiphany, the infirm and sick come
thither, and, holding by the rope, dip in the water. And women who are
barren come thither also, and thus obtain God's grace. Willibald here
bathed in the Jordan, and they remained at this place one day.
Thence they went to Galgala, a journey of five miles, where is a
moderate-sized wooden church, in which are the twelve stones which the
children of Israel carried out of the Jordan to Galgala, and placed
there as a memorial of their passage. Here also they performed their
devotions, and then proceeded to Jericho, above seven miles from the
Jordan, and saw there the fountain which was blessed by the prophet
Elisha, and hence to the monastery of St. Eustochium, which stands in
the middle of the plain between Jericho and Jerusalem.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account