Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/202
Context
Burchard of Mt. Sion was a Dominican friar from Magdeburg in Lower
Saxony who wrote the the most important description of the Holy Land from the 13th
century. The earliest and longest account of his pilgrimage, which grew particularly
popular during the 14th-18th centuries, described his journey from northern Germany to
the Levant, where he stayed from 1274 to 1284, shortly before the fall of Acre, the last
Crusader stronghold in the Holy Land, in 1291. The content of his description is based
upon personal experience, research into ancient writings and earlier itineraries, and
close study of scripture. In this passage near the beginning of his work, Burchard
outlines the regional designations of Palestine, amalgamating Biblical, Roman, and
contemporary conceptions of space.
Text
Post istam quartam
Syriam, scilicet Syriam Phenicis, sequitur Palestina, que Philistiim proprie
nιιncupatur, quia tres sunt, ut sequitur, Palestine, que tamen omnes sunt Syrie magne
partes. Prima Palestina est, cuius metropolis est Jerusalem, cum omnibus montanis suis
usque ad mare mortuum et usque ad desertum et Cades Barne; secunda, cuius metropolis est
Cesarea Palestine sive Cesarea
maritima, cum tota terra Philistiim, incipiens a predicta Petra Incisa sive
Castro Peregrinorum, et se extendens usque Basan contra austrum. Tercia est, cuius
metropolis est Bethsan, sita sub monte Gelboe iuxta Iordanem. Hec quondam Scythopolis
dicebatur. Ista Palestina dicitur proprie Galilea sive campus magnus Esdraelon.1
Textual Note
Laurent 1873Translation
After this fourth Syria, i.e., Syria of Phoenicia, comes Palestine,
which should properly be called Philistim, because there are three Palestines as
follows, but all three are parts of Greater Syria. Palestine I is that province whose
capital is Jerusalem, together with all its mountainous country, as far as the Dead Sea
and the desert and Kadesh Barnea. Palestine II is the one whose capital is Caesarea
Palestinae or Caesarea Maritima, together with all the land of the Philistines,
beginning at the aforementioned Petra Incisa or Pilgrim’s Castle, and reaching eastward
to Bashan. Palestine III is the one whose capital is Beth Shan, located below Mount
Gilboa next to the Jordan. This city was formerly called Scythopolis. This Palestine is
properly called Galilee, or the great Plain of Esdraelon.2
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Pringle 2018Works Cited
- 1 Burchard of Mt. Sion, Burchardi de Monte Sion descriptio terrae sanctae, in Peregrinatores Medii Aevi Quatuor: Burchardus de Monte Sion, Ricoldus de Monte Crucis, Odoricus de Foro Julii, Wilbrandus de Oldenborg… Editio Secunda accessit Mag. Thietmari Peregrinatio, ed. J. M. C. Laurent, 2nd ed. (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1873), 1–100, ch: 1.3, p: 22.
- 2 Burchard of Mt. Sion, Burchard of Mt. Sion OP: Description of the Holy Land (1274-85), in Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291, trans. Denys Pringle, Crusade Texts in Translation 23 (London: Routledge, 2018), 241–320, ch: 1.3, p: 244.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published October 19, 2022, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/202.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2022. Entry published October 19, 2022. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/202.About this Entry
Entry Title: Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Burchard of Mt. Sion, Description of the Holy Land 1.3”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife