Egeria (pilgrim)

2025-10-14T21:51:36Z

62.18.109.252: /* See also */

{{Short description|4th century Roman writer}}
{{Other uses|Egeria (disambiguation){{!}}Egeria}}

'''Egeria''',<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Chronicle of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: The Adventures, The Events, The Holy Sites |publisher=RMC Publishing |editor=Deborah Camiel |year=2008 |isbn=978-965-7240-00-7 |location=Raʼana, Israel |pages=35 |oclc=187417880}}</ref> '''Etheria''', or '''Aetheria''' was a [[Romanization of Hispania|Hispano-Roman]] Christian woman, widely regarded to be the author of a detailed account of a [[pilgrimage]] to the [[Holy Land]] about 381/2–384. The long letter, dubbed '''Peregrinatio''' or '''Itinerarium Egeriae''', is addressed to a circle of women at home. The 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]] 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]].<ref name=proj/> In 2005, Jesús Alturo identified two new fragments from one manuscript ''circa'' 900 in [[Carolingian minuscule]].<ref>Alturo, Jesús. "Deux nouveaux fragments de l{{'}}''Itinerarium Egeriae'' du IXe-Xe siècle". ''Revue Bénédictine'', vol. 115, fasc. 2 (December 2005), pp. 241–250. [[doi:10.1484/J.RB.5.100596]]</ref>

Gamurrini published the Latin text and theorised the author was [[Sylvia of Aquitaine]].<ref>{{Cite book| publisher =B. Herder| author=Otto Bardenhewer |author-link=Otto Bardenhewer | others= trans. Thomas Joseph Shahan | title = Patrology; the lives and works of the fathers of the church| date = 1908| url = https://archive.org/details/patrologyliveswo00bardrich |page=[https://archive.org/details/patrologyliveswo00bardrich/page/n445 424]}}</ref> In 1903, Marius Férotin claimed the author is one Aetheria or Egeria, known from a letter written by the seventh century [[Gallaecia|Galician]] monk [[Valerio of Bierzo]]. He dated her pilgrimage to about 381–384, during the reign of [[Theodosius I]].<ref name=feltoe>{{cite book |author1= M. L. McClure |author2= C. L. Feltoe |title= The Pilgrimage of Etheria |publisher= Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |date=1919 |chapter=Introduction |url= https://archive.org/details/pilgrimageofethe00mccliala}}</ref>{{rp|vii f.}} 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 languages|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]] (''r.'' 527–565).<ref name=feltoe/>{{rp|viii f.}} [[John Bernard (bishop)|John Bernard]] noted 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.<ref name=feltoe/>{{rp|xiv}} Most scholars favor the 4th century date.<ref name=gingras>{{Cite book| publisher = New Catholic Encyclopedia| last = Gingras| first = G. E.| title = Egeria, Itinerarium of| access-date = 2017-05-30| date = 2003-01-01| url = https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3407703567.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180110114710/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3407703567.html| archive-date = 2018-01-10|via=[[HighBeam]]}}</ref>

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.<ref name=proj>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080828020155/http://www.egeriaproject.net/about_egeria.aspx "About Egeria"]}}, on the website ''The Egeria Project''.</ref> 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]]. 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.<ref name=feltoe/>{{rp|xi}}<ref name=proj/> 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.<ref name=feltoe/>{{rp|viii f.}}

==''Travels of Egeria''==
[[Image:EtheriaCover.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of a translation into English of ''The Journey of Egeria'' type published in 1919]]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]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6| editor-last = Kazhdan| editor-first = A. P| title = The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium| location = New York| date = 1991 |contribution= Egeria |page= 679 |author-first= Gary |author-last= Vikan}}</ref> The text has numerous [[Lacuna (manuscripts)|lacunae]].<ref name=gingras/>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laato |first=Anni Maria |date=2021-08-01 |title=Egeria's and the Development of Sacred Spaces and Edifices in Jerusalem |journal=Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=175–184 |doi=10.2478/ress-2021-0020|s2cid=238206020 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In the first extant part of the text, she describes the journey from her approach to [[Mount Sinai]] until her stop in [[Constantinople]]. Staying for three years in [[Jerusalem]], she made excursions to [[Mount Nebo]] and to the [[Job (biblical figure)#Local traditions regarding Job|tomb of Job]] in ancient Carneas or Karnaia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/678227 |title=Places: 678227 (Karnaia/Astaroth?) |author1=Brown, J. |author2=E. Meyers |author3=R. Talbert |author4=T. Elliott |author5=S. Gillies |date=31 July 2020 |access-date=August 20, 2015  |publisher=Pleiades}}</ref> (modern [[Al-Shaykh Saad]], Syria). She wrote extensively on her observations of [[Holy Week]] proceedings and an [[Easter]] vigil, both at Jerusalem in immediate succession of each other.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Chronicle of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: The Adventures, The Events, The Holy Sites |publisher=RMC Publishing |editor=Deborah Camiel |year=2008 |isbn=978-965-7240-00-7 |location=Raʼana, Israel |pages=38–40 |oclc=187417880}}</ref>

Additionally, she visited the burial places of [[Haran]], the brother of [[Abraham]], as well as the site where [[Eliezer]] met with [[Rebecca (biblical figure)|Rebecca]].<ref name=Codex>{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Agnes Smith| author-link=Agnes and Margaret Smith |title=How the codex was found. A narrative of two visits to Sinai, from Mrs. Lewis's journals 1892-1893| url= https://archive.org/details/howcodexwasfoun00gibsgoog |year=1893|publisher=Macmillan and Bowes|location=Cambridge [Mass.]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/howcodexwasfoun00gibsgoog/page/n122 108]–121}}</ref> She spent time at the [[Sea of Galilee]] and comments on the traditions, which include that of [[Feeding the multitude|Christ feeding the multitude]] and the place where he performed his miracles.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XckxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 |pages=26–46 |title=Bethsaida in Archaeology, History and Ancient Culture: A Festschrift in Honor of John T. Greene |editor-first=J. Harold |editor-last=Ellens |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=9781443861601 |first=Richard |last=Freund |chapter=The Two Bethsaidas}}</ref> On her way back to [[Europe]] she stopped at [[Aya Tekla Church|Hagia Thekla]]—i. e. the shrine of [[Saint Thecla]]'s near Seleucia Isauriae (modern [[Silifke]], Turkey), particularly venerated by women. Upon her return to Constantinople, she planned to make a further trip to [[John the Apostle|St. John]]'s at [[Ephesus]].

The second portion of the text is a detailed account of the liturgical services and observances of the [[Liturgical year|church calendar]] in [[Jerusalem]] (most likely, under [[Cyril of Jerusalem|Cyril]]),<ref name=Codex/><ref name="Jeff George">{{cite book|last=Jeffery|first=George|title=A brief description of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, and other Christian churches in the Holy City, with some account of the mediæval copies of the Holy Sepulchre surviving in Europe|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924015406063|year=1919|publisher=University Press|location=Cambridge [Eng.]|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924015406063/page/n24 5]}}</ref> 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]], [[Palm Sunday|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laato |first=Anni Maria |date=2021-08-01 |title=Egeria's and the Development of Sacred Spaces and Edifices in Jerusalem |journal=Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=175–184 |doi=10.2478/ress-2021-0020|s2cid=238206020 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This snapshot is before universal acceptance of a December 25 celebration of the [[nativity of Jesus]]; this is very early and very helpful in cataloguing the development of annual liturgical worship.<ref>{{cite book| last = Connell| first = Martin| title = Eternity Today: On the Liturgical Year| publisher = Continuum Publishing| year = 2007| location = New York| pages = 16–18| isbn = 978-0-8264-1871-5}}</ref>

[[Philology|Philologists]] have studied Egeria's letter, which contains a wealth of information about the evolution of Latin in late antiquity into the "[[Vulgar Latin|Proto-Romance]]" language, from which the [[medieval]] and modern family of [[Romance languages]] later emerged.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Löfstedt |first1=Einar |title=Philologischer Kommentar zur Peregrinatio Aetheriae: Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der lateinischen Sprache |date=1911 |location=Uppsala |url=https://archive.org/details/philologischerko00lfuoft/}}</ref><ref name=gingras/> 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 [[Vulgar Latin#Romance articles|definite article]] now used in the [[Romance languages]] (except for [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] and certain dialects of [[Catalan language|Catalan]])—cf. [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ("las santas guías") or [[Italian language|Italian]] ("le sante guide"). Similarly, the use of ''ipsam'' in a phrase such as "per mediam vallem ipsam" (classical Latin "through [the] middle of [the] valley itself") anticipates the definite article ("péri su mesu de sa bàdde") found in Sardinian and in some dialects of [[Catalan language|Catalan]], namely [[Balearic Catalan]], along the [[Costa Brava]] ([[Catalonia]]), and in the [[Valencian Community|Valencian]] municipalities of [[Tàrbena]] and [[La Vall de Gallinera]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Francesc |last1=de Borja Moll i Casasnovas |title=Gramàtica catalana referida especialment a les Illes Balears |edition=14 |editor=Editorial Moll |location=Palma de Mallorca |date=2008 |isbn=978-84-273-2072-7 }}</ref>

==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
*[[Itinerarium Burdigalense|Anonymous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux"]], pilgrim to the Holy Land (333-4) who left travel descriptions
*[[Jerome|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 Post-classical period===
*[[Chronicon Paschale|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==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
===Latin text===
* {{cite journal |author= Gamurrini, C. P. |title= S. Silvae Aquitaine; Peregrinatio ad Loca Sancta |journal=Studi e documenti di Storia e Diretto |volume=9 |date=1888 |pages=97–147}}
* {{Cite book| publisher = F. Tempsky| last = Geyer| first = Paul| title = Itinera hierosolymitana saeculi IIII-VIII| location = Vindobonae| access-date = 2015-08-15| date = 1898| url = https://archive.org/stream/itinerahierosoly00geye#page/34/mode/2up |series=[[Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum]] |volume= 39 |oclc= 797991022 |pages= 35ff}}
* {{cite book | title= Silviae vel potius Aetheriae peregrinatio ad loca sancta | url= https://archive.org/details/silviaevelpotiu00heragoog |author-link=:de:Wilhelm Carl Heraeus (Philologe) |first= Wilhelm |last= Heraeus |date=1908 |language= la |publisher= Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung}} ([https://archive.org/details/silviaevelpotiu00heragoog archive.org]; [http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost04/Egeria/ege_it00 html])
* [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/egeria.html Egeria: ''Itinerarium peregrinatio''] in [[The Latin Library]]

===Translations===
* {{cite book |title= The Pilgrimage of S. Silvia of Aquitania to the Holy Places (circa 385 A.D.) |author-link=John Bernard (bishop) |author= John H. Bernard |location= London |date= 1891 |publisher= [[Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society]] |others= With an appendix by Sir [[Charles William Wilson]]}} ([https://archive.org/details/cu31924091167860 1891 edition];[https://archive.org/stream/libraryofpalesti01paleuoft#page/n162/mode/1up 1896 edition]; [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/egeria/pilgrimage/pilgrimage.html html])
*{{cite book |author1= M. L. McClure |author2= C. L. Feltoe |title= The Pilgrimage of Etheria |url= https://archive.org/details/pilgrimageofethe00mccliala |publisher= Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |date=1919}} ([https://archive.org/details/pilgrimageofethe00mccliala archive.org]; [http://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm html])
* {{cite book| last = Gingras| first = George E.| title = Egeria: Diary of a Pilgrimage| publisher = The Newman Press| series=[[Ancient Christian Writers]], 38| year = 1970| isbn = 978-0-8091-0029-3}} (This is a slightly older English translation than Wilkinson.)
* {{Cite book|last=Wilkinson|first=John|title=Egeria's Travels |location=Oxford |publisher=Aris & Phillips |year=2006|isbn=0-85668-710-3}} (This translation includes supporting documents and notes. Previous editions were published in 1971 and 1981; the third revised edition was published in 1999.)
* {{Cite book|author=Juan Monteverde| title=Eteria Itinerario |others= prólogo, traducción y notas de Juan Monteverde, S.D.B. |orig-date= 1955 |location=Valladolid, Spain|publisher=Maxtor|year=2010|isbn=978-84-9761-788-8}}
* {{Cite book|author=Kai Brodersen|author-link=Kai Brodersen| title=Aetheria/Egeria: Reise ins Heilige Land |others= Latin and German |location=Berlin and Boston|publisher=De Gruyter|year=2016|isbn=978-3-11-051811-5}}
* {{Cite book|author=Anne McGowan, Paul F. Bradshaw| title=The Pilgrimage of Egeria |location=Collegeville, Minnesota|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-81-468421-4}}

==External links==
* [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mikef/durham/egebib.html ''The Pilgrim Egeria: A Select Bibliography''], by Michael Fraser, c. 1994
* Excerpts from the ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041205093555/http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Latin_Vulgar/Texts/Peregrinatio_Aetheriae.html Peregrinatio Ætheriae]}}'' (Latin)
* {{librivox author | id= 13392}}
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08254a.htm "Itineraria"], article from ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120811003740/http://www.egeriaproject.net/about_egeria.aspx ''The Egeria Project'']}}, with maps and images

{{Authority control}}
{{Medieval travelogues of Palestine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egeria}}
[[Category:4th-century Christian nuns]]
[[Category:4th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:4th-century women writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman women writers]]
[[Category:Christian pilgrimages]]
[[Category:Christian writers]]
[[Category:Holy Land travellers]]
[[Category:Pilgrimage accounts]]
[[Category:Roman itineraries]]
[[Category:Romans from Hispania]]
[[Category:4th-century travelers]]

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Egeria (pilgrim)