Arculf (later 7th century) was a Frankish bishop who toured the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...
in around 680.
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...
claimed he was a bishop (). According to Bede's history of the Church in England (V, 15), Arculf was shipwrecked on the shore of
Iona
Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though the ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
on his return from a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...
. He was hospitably received by
Adomnán
Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of ...
, the
abbot of the island monastery from 679 to 704, to whom he gave a detailed narrative of his travels. Adomnán, with aid from some further sources, was able to produce ''
De Locis Sanctis'' ("Concerning the sacred places"), a descriptive work in three books dealing with
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...
, and other places in
Palestine, and briefly with
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
and
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. Bede learned of this and spoke about him in his ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
''. Many details about Arculf's journeys can be inferred from this text.
Modern references
Arculf appears briefly as a character in the novel ''
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...
'' by H. N. Turteltaub (
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...
).
See also
Chronological list of early Christian geographers and pilgrims to the Holy Land who wrote about their travels, and other related works
:Late Roman and Byzantine period
*
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christ ...
of Caesarea (260/65–339/40), Church historian and geographer of the Holy Land
*
Anonimous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", pilgrim to the Holy Land (333-4) who left travel descriptions
*
Egeria, pilgrim to the Holy Land (c. 381-384) who left a detailed travel account
*
St Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...
(Hieronymus; fl. 386-420), translator of the Bible, brought an important contribution to the topography of the Holy Land
*
Madaba Map, mosaic map of the Holy Land from the second half of the 6th century
*
Anonimous Pilgrim from Piacenza, pilgrim to the Holy Land (570s) who left travel descriptions
:Early Muslim period
*
Paschal Chronicle, 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world
:Medieval period
*
John of Würzburg, pilgrim to the Holy Land (1160s) who left travel descriptions
External links
''Catholic Encyclopedia'':Arculf
(English; J. R. Macpherson translation, 1895)
*
Further reading
* Meehan, D (ed.) ''Adomnan's 'De Locis Sanctis (Dublin, 1958).
* Woods, D. ‘Arculf's Luggage: The Sources for Adomnán's De Locis Sanctis’, ''Ériu'' 52 (2002), 25-52.
{{Authority control
7th-century Frankish bishops
7th-century Frankish writers
Roman Catholic monks
Holy Land during Byzantine rule
Holy Land travellers