Travel and Cross-Cultural Encounters - "Saracens"

Question 1

“The whole people of Jerusalem bear witness to the truth of the narrative we now write. For on the testimony of several faithful citizens of Jerusalem, the sainted Arculf learned this statement which they very often repeated to him as he listened attentively : A certain trustworthy believing Jew […]”

Answer 1

Adamnan, De locis sanctis

Question 2

On the fifteenth day of the month of September yearly, an almost countless multitude of various nations is in the habit of gathering from all sides to Jerusalem for the purposes of commerce by mutual sale and purchase. Whence it necessarily happens that crowds of various nations stay in that hospitable city for some days, while the very great number of their camels and horses and asses, not to speak of mules and oxen, for their varied(3) baggage, strews the streets of the city here and there with the abominations of their excrements. the smell of which brings no ordinary nuisance to the citizens and even makes walking difficult. Wonderful to say, on the night after the above-mentioned day of departure ;with the various beasts of burden of the crowds, an immense abundance of rain falls from the clouds on that city,

Answer 2

Adamnan, De locis sanctis

Question 3

Hence therefore we must in no negligent manner note in what honour this chosen and glorious city is held in the sight of the Eternal Sire,(5) Who does not permit it to remain longer filthy, but because of the .honour of His Only Begotten cleanses it so quickly, since it has within the circuit of its walls the honoured sites of His sacred Cross and Resurrection

Answer 3

Adamnan, De locis sanctis

Question 4

But in that renowned(6) place where once the Temple had been magnificently constructed, placed in the neighbourhood of the wall from the east, the Saracens now frequent a four-sided house of prayer, which they have built rudely, constructing it by raising boards and great beams on some remains of ruins: this house can, it is said, hold three thousand men at once.

Answer 4

Adamnan, De locis sanctis

Question 5

Upon this, Mavias,(34) the King of the Saracens, was appealed to by both parties to adjudicate between them, and he said to the unbelieving Jews who were persistently retaining the Lord’s napkin;(35) `Give the sacred linen cloth which you have into my hand.’ In obedience to the king’s command, they bring it from its casket and place it in his bosom. Receiving it with great reverence, the king ordered a great fire to be made in the square

Answer 5

Adamnan, De locis sanctis

Question 6

What are some giveaway for Adamnan (De locis sanctis)?

Answer 6

Mention of Arculf -> who the account is told through
Saracen king story, “rudely built” only mentions of Saracens
rain washing streets of Jerusalem
Mentions of architecture, etc

Question 7

At this time, by the grace of God, the greater part of the Irish in Ireland and some of the Britons in Britain* adopted the reasonable and canonical date for keeping Easter. The priest Adamnan,* abbot of the monks on the island of Iona, was sent by his people on a mission to Aldfrith, king of the Angles, and stayed for some time in his kingdom to see the canonical rites of the church.

Answer 7

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 8

it happened that before the year was over he had departed from the world. Thus by the interposition of divine grace, it came about that a man who greatly loved unity and peace was called to life eternal so that he was not compelled, when Eastertime returned, to have a still graver controversy with those who would not follow him in the truth.

Answer 8

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 9

This man wrote a book on the holy places which has proved useful to many readers; his work was based upon information dictated to him by Arculf,* a bishop of Gaul who had visited Jerusalem to see the holy places. He had wandered all over the promised land and had been to Damascus, Constantinople, Alexandria, and many islands of the sea. But as he was returning to his native land by sea, he was cast by the violence of the tempest on to the west coasts of Britain. After

Answer 9

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 10

Bethlehem, the city of David, is situated on a narrow ridge, surrounded on all sides by valleys; it is a mile long from west to east, and has a low wall without towers, built around the edge of the plateau. In its eastern comer is a kind of natural half-cave, of which the outer part is said to have been the place of the Lord’s birth. (stands Church of Saint Mary)

Answer 10

Adamnan, De locis sanctis (via Bede)

Question 11

honoured dead, while their bodies meanwhile remain outside in the street. To the west of the church is the church of the Anastasis, that is, the Resurrection of the Lord, a round building surrounded by three walls and supported by twelve columns. Between each pair of walls is a broad passage containing three altars fixed in three places in the central wall, namely to the south and north and west.

Answer 11

Adamnan. De locis sanctis

Question 12

In the year of our Lord 729 two comets* appeared around the sun, striking great terror into all beholders. One of them preceded the sun as it rose in the morning and the other followed it as it set at night, seeming to portend dire disaster to east and west alike. One comet was the forerunner of the day and the other of the night, to indicate that mankind was threatened by calamities both by day and by night. They had fiery torch-like trains which faced northwards as if poised to start a fire.

Answer 12

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 13

fortnight. At this time* a terrible plague of Saracens ravaged Gaul with cruel bloodshed and not long afterwards* they received the due reward of their treachery* in the same kingdom.

Answer 13

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 14

The Piets now have a treaty of peace with the English and rejoice to share in the catholic peace and truth of .the Church universal. The Irish who live in Britain are content with their

own territories and devise no plots or treachery against the English. Though, for the most part, the Britons oppose the English through their inbred hatred, and the whole state of the catholic Church by their incorrect Easter and their evil customs, yet being opposed by the power of

Answer 14

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 15

4649 Justinian the second, the son of Constantine, [ruled for] ten years.
He made a ten-year peace on land and at sea with the Arabs, but the province of Africa that was subject to the Roman empire was assaulted by the Arabs, and Carthage itself was also captured by them and destroyed.
This

Answer 15

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Greater Chronicle)

Question 16

Leo [mied for] eight years.
The Arabs, coming with an immense army, besieged the city of Constantinople for three years; during which time many of the citizens, calling on God on numerous occasions, died of starvation, cold, and disease; until wearied of the siege the Arabs* withdrew. After

Answer 16

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People (The Greater Chronicle)

Question 17

Liutprand,* hearing that the Arabs had depopulated Sardinia and had dug up the place whither the bones of the holy bishop Augustine had once been moved (on account of the ravaging of the barbarians) and

Answer 17

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Question 18

Be it known to you, dear sister, that in regard to the matter on which you have sought my advice I cannot presume, on my own responsibility, either to forbid your pilgrimage or to encourage it. I

Answer 18

Boniface, Correspondences (15 Boniface Gives Advice to Abbess Bugga about Her Pilgrimage to Rome (Before 738 (725?))

Question 19

It appears to me that if, through the interference of seculars, you cannot find freedom and peace of mind in your native land, you should try (provided you have the will and the power to do so) to find freedom for contemplation by making a pilgrimage abroad. This is what our sister Wilthburga did. She has told me by letter that she has found at the shrine of St. Peter the kind of quiet life which she had long sought for in vain. Since I had written to her about your intentions, she sent me word that you would do better to wait until the attacks and the threats of the Saracens against Rome had died down and until she herself could send you an invitation.

Answer 19

Boniface, Correspondences (Boniface gives advice to Abbess Bugga about her pilgrimage to Rome15)

Question 20

We confess before God and His holy angels that whenever reliable messengers have brought us news of your prosperity, your faith and good deeds in the sight of God and men, we have been glad and given thanks to God in our prayers. We have also prayed and entreated the Saviour of the world to keep you for many years to come firm in faith, constant in good works and just in your government of a Christian people. But whenever it has come to our ears that you have suffered a setback either in the state of your realm, the outcome of war or, what is more dangerous, in the salvation of your soul, then we have been cast down with grief and sadness, because we share in your joys and suffer with you in your troubles.

Answer 20

Boniface, Correspondences: 32 Boniface Writes A Letter of Admonition to King Aethelbald of Mercia (746-7)

Question 21

But with these good tidings one grave accusation against your otherwise good conduct, and one which we would prefer to think was false, ha

Answer 21

Boniface, Correspondences: 32 Boniface writes a letter of admonition to King Aethelbald of Mercia

Question 22

And what is much worse, those who told us add that you have committed these sins, to your greater shame, in various monasteries with holy nuns and virgins vowed to God. Let us put the matter this way. If a slave is guilty of a heinous crime against his master, if he commits adultery with his lord’s wife, how much greater is the crime of the man who besmirches with his lust the spouse of Christ, Creator of heaven and earth?

Answer 22

Boniface, Correspondences: 32, Boniface writes a letter of admonition to King Aethelbald of Mercia

Question 23

If the English race, as people in the provinces say and as the French, Italians and even the heathens insultingly proclaim, are despising lawful marriage and living in open adultery like the people of Sodom, then we must expect that from such intercourse with harlots, a people degenerate, degraded and mad with lust will be begotten. In the end the whole race, turning to base and ignoble ways, will cease to be strong in war, steadfast in faith, honoured by men or pleasing in the sight of God. So has it befallen other peoples of Spain, Provence and Burgundy. They turned away from God and yielded to lust until Almighty God allowed the penalties of such crimes to destroy them, first by letting them lose the knowledge of God and then by loosing the attacks of the Saracens upon them

Answer 23

Boniface, Correspondences: 32. Boniface writes a letter of admonition to King Aethelbald of Mercia

Question 24

I am but a weak woman, yet I would like, as far as lies in my power, to gather together a kind of nosegay of his virtues and give you something by which you may remember them. And here I repeat that I am not urged on through presumption to attempt a task for which I am so ill fitted. It is your authority and kindness and God’s grace which has prompted me to describe the scenes where the marvels of the Incarnate Word were enacted, for Willibald visited and saw these places with his own eyes and trod with his feet in the footsteps of Him who was born into this world, suffered and rose again for our sake

Answer 24

Huneberc of Heidenheim, The Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 25

When he was a baby in the cradle, a lovable little creature, he was cherished fondly by those who nursed him, especially by his parents, who lavished their affection on him and brought him up with great solicitude until he reached the age of three. At that age, when his limbs were still weak and delicate, he was suddenly attacked by a severe illness: the contraction of his limbs made it impossible for him to breathe and threatened to end his life. When his father and mother saw that he was at the doors of death they were full of fear and grief, and their suspense grew as they saw him, gripped by the disease, hovering between life and death.

Answer 25

Huneberc of Heidenheim, The Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 26

Next he began to inquire how he could put these ideas into effect so that he could despise and renounce the fleeting pleasures of this world and forsake not merely the temporal riches of his earthly inheritance but also his country, parents and relatives. He began also to devise means of setting out on pilgrimage and travelling to foreign countries that were unknown to him. After some time had elapsed, when he had outgrown the foolish pranks of childhood, the unsteadiness of youth and the disturbing period of adolescence, through the ineffable dispensation of divine grace he came to manhood.

Answer 26

Huneberc of Heidenheim, The Hodoeporicon of St Willibald

Question 27

The two brothers remained there from the feast of St. Martin until Easter of the following year. During that time, whilst the cold and bare winter was passing and spring with its flowers was beginning to appear and Eastertide was shedding its sunny [159] radiance over the whole earth, the two brothers had been leading a life of monastic discipline under the prescriptions of the Holy Rule.

Answer 27

Huneberc of Heidenheim, the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 28

hen he came to the place where the angel appeared to the shepherds and said: “I announce to you tidigs of great joy.” Thence he came to Bethlehem, where our Lord was born, about six miles distant from Jerusalem. The place where our Lord was born was formerly a cave underneath the glound and is now a square chamber cut out of the rock; the earth has been dug away on all sides and thrown aside, and now the church has been built above it.

Answer 28

Huneberc of Heidenheim, The Hoedoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 29

He then travelled over three hundred miles to the town of Emesa in Syria, and thence he came to Salamias[1] which is on the farther borders of Syria. He spent the whole season of Lent there because he was ill and unable to travel. His companions, who were in his party, went forward to the King of the Saracens, named Murmumni, to ask him to give them a leter of safe conduct, but they could not meet him because he himself had withdrawn from that region on account of the sickness and pestilence that infested the country.

Answer 29

Huneberc of Heidenheim, the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 30

hen they travelled across a wide plain covered with Olive trees, and with them travelled an Ethiopian and his two camels, who led a woman on a mule through the woods. And as they went on their way, a lion with gaping jaws came out upon them growling and roaring, ready to seize and devour them; it terrified them greatly. But the Ethiopian said: “Have no fear-let us go forward.” So without hesitation they proceeded on their way and as they approached the lion it turned aside and, through the help of Almighty God, left the way open for them to continue their journey. And they said that a short time after they had left that place they heard the same lion roaring, as if in his fury he would devour many of the men who went there to gather olives.

Answer 30

Huneberc of Heidenheim, The Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald

Question 31

Go next to Tarentum (port city) -> board ships filled with Christian slaves (2-3 thousand) -> make no comment on these necessarily (ie, no disparging of the evil here or whatever, no description of the actual slaves themselves other than their number -> therefore might be a quirk of the genre of CHRONICLE)

Answer 31

Bernard the Monk, A Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 32

(In Babylonia, city of Egypt) “Pharaoh once reigned here, and during his reign Joseph built seven granaries which remain standing to this day.” -> only describe biblical imagery again, Pharaoh (local custom/religion, etc) is only described in relation to Joseph / Christianity.

- Prince of Babylonia imprisons them, orders them to pay up yet again.

- There IS a Patriarch in this city tho -> Lord Michael. Rules over Bishops, monks, etc.

Answer 32

Bernard the Monk, a Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 33

This city also has a patriarch, the Lord Michael, ruUng by the grace of God over all the bishops, monks, and Christian people-of Egypt. And this is the poll-tax which pagan law obliges Christians to pay to this prince if they are to have the right to live in freedom and security: the payment demanded is three guineas, or two, or one, or (from poorer persons) thirteen dinars

Answer 33

Bernard the Monk, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 34

So we sailed back down the River Gihon for three days, and arrived at the city of Sitinuth. From Sitinuth we went on to Maalla, and from there we sailed across to Damias which has the sea to its north,
and, apart from one spit of land, the River Nile all round. From there we sailed to the city of Tanis, where the Christians are very conscientious, welcoming, and hospitable. Indeed there is nowhere in the district belonging to this city which lacks a church, and they also point out to you the Plain of Tanis where there are what look like three walls: they are the bodies of those who were killed there in the days of Moses

Answer 34

Bernard the Monk, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 35

Amongst the churches inside the city there are four of special importance, and their walls adjoin each other. One is on the east, and inside it are Mount Calvary and the place where the Lord’s Cross was found; this one is called “The Basilica of Constantine”. There is another one on the south and a third on
the west: this one has the Lord’s Sepulchre in the middle of it. R

Answer 35

Bernard the Monk, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 36

top of this mountain, and a mile away from the Valley of Jehoshaphat, is the place where
the Lord ascended to the Father. The church there is round and has no roof, and in the middle of it, at
317 the place of the Lord’s ascension, is an open-air altar at which they celebrate the rites of the Mass.

Answer 36

Bernard the Monk, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 37

more to the east of Jerusalem, at a distance of thirty miles, is the Jordan, and above it the
19 monastery of St. John Baptist. In that district there are also many other monasteries. And a mile west of
the city of Jerusalem is the Church of St. Mamilla, which contains the bodies of many people whom the
Saracens martyred and whom she buried.
20 Leaving Jerusalem, the Holy City, we went down to the sea, and after boarding a ship we sailed for
sixty days. It was extremely uncomfortable since we did not have a steady wind. After this longjourney
we went ashore and arrived at the Mount of Gold, where there is a cave with seven altars, and it has a large
wood above it. This is such a dark cave that any one who enters has to take a lighted lantern. The Abbot
there was the Lord Valentine.

Answer 37

Bernard the Monk, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon

Question 38

uing our journey, we called on the prince of Alexandria, and showed him the letter which
had been given us by Suldanus. But it did us no good, even though he told us that he understood what it
said. He made each one of us pay a fee of thirty dinars, and then wrote us letters to the prince ofBabylonia.

Answer 38

Bernard, Journey to the Holy Places and Babylon