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Egeria, Etheria, or Aetheria was a Hispano-Roman Christian woman, widely regarded to be the author of a detailed account of a
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to the
Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
about 381/2–384. The long letter, dubbed Peregrinatio or Itinerarium Egeriae, is addressed to a circle of women at home. Historical details it contains set the journey in the early 380s, making it the earliest of its kind. It survives in fragmentary form in a later copy—lacking a title, date and attribution.


Discovery and identity

The middle part of Egeria's writing survived and was copied in the ''Codex Aretinus'', which was written at
Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...
in the 11th century, while the beginning and end are lost. This ''Codex Aretinus'' was discovered in 1884 by the Italian scholar Gian Francesco Gamurrini, in a monastic library in
Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
. In 2005, Jesús Alturo identified two new fragments from one manuscript ''circa'' 900 in Carolingian minuscule. Gamurrini published the Latin text and theorised the author was Sylvia of Aquitaine. In 1903, Marius Férotin claimed the author is one Aetheria or Egeria, known from a letter written by the seventh century Galician monk Valerio of Bierzo. He dated her pilgrimage to about 381–384, during the reign of
Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...
. Férotin believed she was from Gallaecia, but in 1909 Karl Meister disputed Férotin's theory about the date of Egeria's pilgrimage and her identity. Meister argues that her language shows no evidence of Iberian Romance but rather suggests that she may have been from one of the well-known religious houses of sixth century Gallia Narbonensis; according to this theory, her pilgrimage took place in the first half of the reign of
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
(''r.'' 527–565). John Bernard noted that certain details of Egeria's account that support the earlier dating — two churches mentioned in the ''Breviarium'' and ''Peregrinatio Theodosii'' (both ''circa'' 530)—are absent from Egeria's otherwise detailed description of Jerusalem and thus confirm the 4th century dating. Most scholars favor the 4th century date. It is through Valerio's letter that we first see the name Aetheria or Egeria, and have much of the biographical information. He praises Egeria and identifies her as a nun, perhaps because she addresses her account to her "sorores" (Latin for "sisters") at home. However, others (including Hagith Sivan, 1988) have pointed out that during Egeria's time it was common to address fellow lay Christians as "sisters" and "brothers". It is possible that Egeria used the term to address her Christian acquaintances., on the website ''The Egeria Project''. Valerio may also have believed her to be a nun because she went on such a pilgrimage, although lay women of the time are known to have engaged in such
religious tourism Religious tourism, spiritual tourism, sacred tourism, or faith tourism, is a type of tourism with two main subtypes: pilgrimage, meaning travel for religious or spiritual purposes, and the viewing of religious monuments and artefacts, a branch o ...
. Egeria's ability to make a long and expensive journey by herself, her numerous acquaintances and attentive guides in the places she visited, and her education indicate her middle or upper class wealthy background. In his letter to Egeria, Valerio mentioned the shores of the "Western sea" or "Ocean" from which Egeria was sprung, which suggests he was writing about a person travelling from the Roman Gallaecia, but Meister believes that her reference to the river Rhone supports his theory of Gaulish origin.


''Travels of Egeria''

Egeria set down her observations in a letter now called ''Itinerarium Egeriae'' ("Travels of Egeria"). It is sometimes also called ''Peregrinatio Aetheriae'' ("Pilgrimage of Aetheria") or ''Peregrinatio ad Loca Sancta'' ("Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands") or some other combination. It is the earliest extant graphic account of a Christian pilgrimage. The text has numerous lacunae. The text is a narrative apparently written at the end of Egeria's journey from notes she took en route, and addressed to her 'dear ladies': the women of her spiritual community back home. In the first extant part of the text, she describes the journey from her approach to
Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
until her stop in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. Staying for three years in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, she made excursions to Mount Nebo and to the tomb of Job in ancient Carneas or Karnaia (modern Al-Shaykh Saad, Syria). She wrote extensively on her observations of
Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...
proceedings and an
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
vigil, both at Jerusalem in immediate succession of each other. Additionally, she visited the burial places of
Haran Haran or Aran ( ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah. He died in Ur of the Chaldees. Through Lot, Haran was the ance ...
, the brother of
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
, as well as the site where
Eliezer Eliezer () was the name of at least three different individuals in the Hebrew Bible. Eliezer of Damascus Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to Targum Jonathan Bereishit, 14:14, the son of Nimrod. As mentioned in Lech-Lecha#Sixth_reading— ...
met with
Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...
. She spent time at the
Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...
and comments on the traditions, which include that of Christ feeding the multitude and the place where he performed his miracles. On her way back to
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
she stopped at Hagia Thekla—i. e. the shrine of Saint Thecla's near Seleucia Isauriae (modern
Silifke Silifke is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain. ...
, Turkey), particularly venerated by women. Upon her return to Constantinople, she planned to make a further trip to St. John's at
Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...
. The second portion of the text is a detailed account of the liturgical services and observances of the church calendar in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
(most likely, under
Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...
), The liturgical year was in its incipient stages at the time of her visit. This is invaluable because the development of liturgical worship (e. g.
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
, Palm or Passion Sunday) reached universal practice in the 4th century. Egeria provides a first-hand account of practices and implementation of liturgical seasons as they existed at the time of her visit. This snapshot is before universal acceptance of a December 25 celebration of the
nativity of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
; this is very early and very helpful in cataloguing the development of annual liturgical worship. Philologists have studied Egeria's letter, which contains a wealth of information about the evolution of Latin in late antiquity into the " Proto-Romance" language, from which the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
and modern family of
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
later emerged. For example, expressions such as "deductores sancti illi" (meaning "those holy guides" in classical Latin, but here rather simply "the holy guides") reveal the origins of the
definite article In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" ...
now used in the
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
(except for Sardinian and certain dialects of Catalan)—cf. Spanish ("las santas guías") or Italian ("le sante guide"). Similarly, the use of ''ipsam'' in a phrase such as "per mediam vallem ipsam" (classical Latin "through hemiddle of hevalley itself") anticipates the definite article ("péri su mesu de sa bàdde") found in Sardinian and in some dialects of Catalan, namely Balearic Catalan, along the Costa Brava (
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
), and in the
Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...
municipalities of Tàrbena and La Vall de Gallinera.


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 of Caesarea (260/65–339/40), Church historian and geographer of the Holy Land * Anonymous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", pilgrim to the Holy Land (333-4) who left travel descriptions * St Jerome (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 * Anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza, pilgrim to the Holy Land (570s) who left travel descriptions


Early Muslim period

* Paschal Chronicle, 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world * Arculf, pilgrim to the Holy Land (c. 680) who left a detailed narrative of his travels


Medieval period

* John of Würzburg, pilgrim to the Holy Land (1160s) who left travel descriptions


References


Further reading


Latin text

* * *
archive.orghtml


in The Latin Library


Translations

*
1891 edition1896 edition
*
archive.org
* (This is a slightly older English translation than Wilkinson.) * (This translation includes supporting documents and notes. Previous editions were published in 1971 and 1981; the third revised edition was published in 1999.) * * *


External links



by Michael Fraser, c. 1994 * Excerpts from the ' (Latin) *

article from ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' *, with maps and images {{DEFAULTSORT:Egeria 4th-century Christian nuns 4th-century writers in Latin 4th-century women writers Ancient Roman women writers Christian pilgrimages Christian writers Holy Land travellers Pilgrimage accounts Roman itineraries Romans from Hispania 4th-century travelers