Travelogues of Palestine

Itinerarium Egeriae
Biblical Researches in Palestine
Two notable examples of Travelogues of Palestine, almost 1,500 years apart.

Travelogues of Palestine are the written descriptions of the region of Palestine by travellers, particularly prior to the 20th century. The works are important sources in the study of the history of Palestine and of Israel. Surveys of the geographical literature on Palestine were published by Edward Robinson in 1841,[1] Titus Tobler in 1867[2] and subsequently by Reinhold Röhricht in 1890.[3] Röhricht catalogued 177 works between 333 – 1300 CE, 19 works in the 14th century, 279 works in the 15th century, 333 works in the 16th century, 390 works in the 17th century, 318 works in the 18th century and 1,915 works in the 19th century.[4]

In total, there are more than 3,000 books and other materials detailing accounts of the journeys of primarily European and North American travelers to Ottoman Palestine.[5] The number of published travelogues proliferated during the 19th century, and these travelers' impressions of 19th-century Palestine have been often quoted in the history and historiography of the region, although their accuracy and impartiality has been called into question in modern times.[6][5]

List of travelogues

Chronological list by years of travel, also indicating first publication, and/or edition available online.

Until the 18th century

Date Author Title (with link) Language Editions
333 Anonymous Itinerarium Burdigalense Latin
380s Egeria Itinerarium Latin
414–449 Eucherius of Lyon Letter to Faustus Latin
c. 500 Anonymous Breviary of Jerusalem Latin
518–530 Theodosius De Situ Terrae Sanctae Latin
c. 530 Hierocles Synecdemus Greek
570s Anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza Latin
698 Arculf (with Adomnán) De locis sanctis Latin
778 Willibald (with Hygeburg) Hodoeporicon Latin Vita Willibaldi episcopi Eichstetensis, Hannover, 1887[7]
800s Bernard the Pilgrim Itinerarium Latin
1003–1077 Nasir Khusraw Safarnama Persian Nāṣer-e Khosraw's book of travels (Safarnāma), 1986. ISBN 0887060676
1108 Daniel the Traveller Puteshestive igumena Daniila Russian
1138 Rorgo Fretellus Descriptio de locis sanctis Latin
1147 John Phokas Ekphrasis Greek
1157 Níkulás Bergsson Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan Icelandic
1160s John of Würzburg Description of the Holy Land Latin
1172 Theoderich Libellus de locis sanctis Latin
1173 Benjamin of Tudela Travels or Itinerary Hebrew
1187? Ernoul Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer Ernoul, Bernard le Trésorier; Mas Latrie, Louis (1871). Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier / publiée, pour la première ... (in French). Mme Ve J. Renouard.Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. Vol. 6. Translated by Conder. Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. 1896.
1192 Historia de profectione Danorum in Hierosolymam Latin
1170s–1180s Petachiah of Regensburg Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon Hebrew
1210 Menachem ben Peretz of Hebron Hebrew
1211–1212 Wilbrand of Oldenburg Itinerarium terrae sanctae Latin Pringle, Denys (2011). Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291. Ashgate Pub. ISBN 978-1-4094-3607-2. OCLC 785151012.

Laurent, J.C.M. (1859). Wilbrands von Oldenburg Reise nach Palaestina und Kleinasien: lateinisch und deutsch mit erklärenden Anmerkungen und einer Biographie des Verfassers. Harvard College Library preservation microfilm program (in German). T.G. Meissner.

1217–18 Thietmar Iter ad sanctam terram Latin Laurent, J.C.M. (1857). Mag. Thietmari Peregrinatio. Jahresbericht Johanneum Hamburg. Nolte & Köhler.

Tobler, T. (1851). Iter ad sanctam terram anno 1217. Huber.

1249 Máel Muire Ó Lachtáin account lost
1274–1284 Burchard of Mount Sion Descriptio Terrae Sanctae Latin Laurent, J. C. M., ed. (1864). Peregrinatores Medii Aevi Quatuor (in Latin). Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs.

Laurent, J. C. M., ed. (1873). Peregrinatores Medii Aevi Quatuor (in Latin) (2 ed.). Leipzig.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

The library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. 12. Translated by Aubrey Stewart. Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society. 1896.

Extended text:

Pringle, Denys (2011). Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291. Ashgate Pub. ISBN 978-1-4094-3607-2. OCLC 785151012.

1285–1289 Philip of Savona Pringle, Denys (2011). Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291. Ashgate Pub. ISBN 978-1-4094-3607-2. OCLC 785151012.
1289 Riccoldo da Monte di Croce Liber Peregrinationis Latin Laurent, J.C.M. (1864). Peregrinatores medii aevi quatuor: Burchardus de Monte Sion, Ricoldus de Monte Crucis, Odoricus ... (in Latin). J.C. Hinrichs. pp. 102ff.

Pringle, Denys (2011). Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291. Ashgate Pub. ISBN 978-1-4094-3607-2. OCLC 785151012.

1320s Symon Semeonis Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis ab Hybernia ad Terram Sanctam Latin
1370s Agrefeny Khozhdenie arkhimandrita Agrefen'ia obiteli preosviatye Bogoroditsy Russian
1384–85 Leonardo Frescobaldi Viaggio di Lionardo di Niccolo Frescobaldi in Egitto e in Terra Santa Italian published in 1821 by Guglielmo Manzi
1420 Nompar of Caumont Voyaige d'oultremer en Jhérusalem French first published 1858
1433 Bertrandon de La Brocquière Travels of Bertrandon de La Brocq́uière French Bertrandon de La Brocquière, Thomas Johnes, Legrand, Translated by Thomas Johnes, (1807): The Travels of Bertrandon de La Brocq́uière, to Palestine: And His Return from Jerusalem Overland to France, During the Years 1432 & 1433. Extracted and Put Into Modern French from a Manuscript in the National Library at Paris, 336 pages
1458 Accounts of the 1458 pilgrimage: Giovanni Matteo Bottigella, Latin; Gabriele Capodilista, Italian Anton Pelchinger, German; Roberto Sanseverino d'Aragona, Italian; William Wey, Latin; an anonymous Dutch account various R. J. Mitchell, The Spring Voyage: The Jerusalem Pilgrimage in 1458 (London: Readers Union, 1965).
1480 Santo Brasca Italian
1483 Felix Fabri Latin Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 1893–1896.[8]
1483 Bernhard von Breidenbach Peregrinatio in terram sanctam (1486) Latin
1483 Paul Walter von Guglingen[9] Latin Sollweck, M. Fratris Pauli Waltheri Guglingensis Itinerarium in Terram Sanctam et ad Sanctam Catharinam, 1892.
1486 Georges Lengherand Travel description of Venice, Rome, Jerusalem, Mount Sinai and Cairo French
1486 Conrad Grünenberg Description of a pilgrimage from Konstanz to Jerusalem Alemannic German **Conrad Grünenberg, Pilgrimage to the Holy Land (1486), ed. J. Goldfriedrich, W. Fränzel (1912, new facsimile edition 2009); ed. K. Aercke (2005); ed. A. Denke (2010)
1486 Girolamo da Castiglione Description of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land Italian
1486 Anonymous pilgrim from Rennes, possibly Guy de Tourestes of Saintes Description of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Mount Sinai French
1480s Joos van Ghistele Tvoyage van Mher Joos van Ghistele (1577) Dutch
1586 Giovanni Zuallardo Description of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem Latin Giovanni Zuallardo (fr:Jean Zuallart), Dominique Danesi, Jac Demius, Philippe de Mérode (1595): Il devotissimo viaggio di Gierusalemme: fatto, e descritto in sei libri Published by Appresso Domenico Basa, 351 pages
1598 Johannes Cotovicus Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum et Syriacum Latin, 1617; Dutch, 1619.
1608 Kryštof Harant Journey from Bohemia to the Holy Land, by way of Venice and the Sea Czech
1615 George Sandys A Relation of a Journey Begun an Dom. 1610 English
1630s Franciscus Quaresmius Historica, theologica et moralis terræ sanctæ elucidatio..., 1639. Latin Italian: "Itinerario di Caldea del Rev. P. Francesco Quaresmio e di Fr. Tomaso da Milano suo compagno... l'anno 1629", ed. Marcellino da Civezza, (1895), 597-608.

Cf: OCLC 82859339.

1634 Henry Blount A Voyage Into the Levant English
1652 Jean Doubdan Le voyage de la Terre-Sainte...[1657] French 1657; 1661; 1666...
1670s Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnâme ("book of travels") Ottoman Turkish
1665 Thevenot, J. de Relation d’un voyage fait au Levant French
c. 1653–1697 Laurent d'Arvieux Voyage dans la Palestine French French, 1717 etc; English, 1718 etc; English, 1962 (Lewis).
1703 Henry Maundrell A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem At Easter A. D. 1697 English
1700s Elzear Horn Ichnographiæ locorum et monumentorum vete-rum Terræ Sanctæ, accurate delineatæ et descriptæ Latin

Ottoman period, 18th century

Ottoman period, 19th century

20th century

Ottoman period

British period

  • Livingstone, William Pringle (1923): A Galilee Doctor: Being a Sketch of the Career of Dr. D.W. Torrance of Tiberias, Published by Hodder and Stoughton, 295 pages
  • Ludwig Preiss, Paul Rohrbach (1926): Palestine and Transjordania Published by Macmillan, 230 pages

See also

References

  1. ^ Biblical Researches in Palestine, volume 3, First Appendix, pages 3–28
  2. ^ Bibliographia Geographica Palaestinae. Zunächst Kristiche Übersicht Gedruckter und Ungedruckter Beschreibungen der Reisen ins Heilige Land ("Geographical Bibliography of Palestine. The First Critical Overview of Printed and Unprinted Descriptions of Travels to the Holy Land"), 1867; note an English version of a prior version of Tobler's list was published as an appendix to William Leonard Gage's 1866 translation of Carl Ritter's Erdkunde: Ritter, C. (1866). "Tobler's resume of works on Palestine". The comparative geographie of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula. T. & T. Clark. pp. 391–409.
  3. ^ Reinhold Röhricht Bibliotheca Geographica Palaestinae: Chronologisches Verzeichniss der auf die Geographie des Heiligen Landes bezüglichen Literatur ("Geographical Bibliography of Palestine: Chronological Index of Literature relating to the Geography of the Holy Land"), Berlin: Reuther und Reichard, 1890
  4. ^ Zur Shalev (14 October 2011). Sacred Words and Worlds: Geography, Religion, and Scholarship, 1550–1700. BRILL. p. 79. ISBN 978-90-04-20938-1.
  5. ^ a b Ilan Pappe (31 July 2006). A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples. Cambridge University Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-0-521-68315-9. The foreign visitors were prolific writers. More than three thousand books and travelogues on Palestine were written by Europeans throughout the nineteenth century, all painting a picture of a primitive Palestine waiting to be redeemed by Europeans... We cannot quantify misery or joy, but Palestinian biographies from a short time later, and subsequent anthropological research, tell us that this picture represents the distorted view of European colonists.
  6. ^ Johann Büssow (11 August 2011). Hamidian Palestine: Politics and Society in the District of Jerusalem 1872–1908. BRILL. pp. 30–. ISBN 978-90-04-20569-7.
  7. ^ Ritter, Carl (1866). "Appendix III. Tobler's Resumé of Works on Palestine". The comparative geographie of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula. T. & T. Clark. pp. 391–409.
  8. ^ Fabri, Felix (1896). Felix Fabri (circa 1480–1483 A.D.) vol I, part I.
    Fabri, Felix (1896). Felix Fabri (circa 1480–1483 A.D.) vol I, part II.
    Fabri, Felix (1893). Felix Fabri (circa 1480–1483 A.D.) vol II, part I.
    Fabri, Felix (1893). Felix Fabri (circa 1480–1483 A.D.) vol II, part II., with p. 677: Index
  9. ^ Ritsema van Eck, Marianne P. (2017-07-03). "Encounters with the Levant: the late medieval illustrated Jerusalem Travelogue by Paul Walter von Guglingen". Mediterranean Historical Review. 32 (2): 153–188. doi:10.1080/09518967.2017.1396769. hdl:1887/69486. ISSN 0951-8967. S2CID 220378469.

Sources