Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/301

Context

Saewulf was a English pilgrim to the Holy Land after the conquest of Jerusalen by the First Crusade. This pilgrim may be the same person as Saewulf of Worcester, a merchant who later in life became a monk at Malmsbury Abbey in Wiltshire. His account of his journey in 1102-1103 records his voyage out from Apulia to Jaffa, his travels particularly in Jerusalem and up to Galilee, and his voyage back from Jaffa to Constantinople, where it ends abruptly. In this remarkable passage, Saewulf tells how the three ships transporting him and other pilgrims to Cyprus from Jaffa were threatened by an Arab flotilla in the waters off Haifa and Akko on May 20, 1103.

Text

Perscrutatis etenim singulis Ierosolimitane urbis finiumque suarum sanctuariis pro posse nostro atque adoratis, die Pentecostes repatriandi causa Ioppen navim ascendimus, sed Sarracenorum metu per altum pelagus Adriatici maris, ut venimus, classem illorum metuentes, tendere ausi non sumus, et ideo civitates maritimas pertranseuntes, quarum quasdam Franci optinent, quasdam vero Sarraceni adhuc possident, nomina quarum hec sunt: proxima Ioppen. Vocatur Atsuph vulgariter sed latine Azotum, deinde est Cesarea Palestina, postea Cayphas: has civitates Baldwinus flos regum possidet. Postea uero est Acras civitas fortissima, quae Accaron vocatur; deinde Sur et Saegete, quae sunt Tyrus et Sydon, et postea Iubelet, deinde Baruth et sic Tartusa, quam dux Remundus possidet, postea Gibel, ubi sunt montes Gelboe, deinde Tripolis et Lice. Has civitates pertransivimus. Sed quarta feria Pentecostes nobis inter Cayphas et Accaron velificantibus, ecce viginti sex naves Sarracenorum coram oculis nostris, amiraldi videlicet urbium Tyri et Sydonis, Babiloniam cum exercitu tendentes in adiutorium Chaldeis ad debellandum regem Ierosolimorum. Naves vero due nobiscum Ioppen venientes, palmariis oneratae, nostram navim derelinquentes solam, quia leviores erant Cesaream remis confugerunt. Sarraceni autem nostram navim circum quaque girando et quantum iactus est sagittae insidias alonge tendendo, de tanta preda gavisi sunt. Nostri vero, mori pro Christo parati, arma arripuerunt et secundum tempus castellum navis nostrae armatis munierunt: erant enim in nostro dromundo defendentium fere ducenti virorum. Post spacium autem quasi unius horae, inito consilio, princeps exercitus unum ex nautis malum navis suae, quia maxima erat, ascendere precepit, ut ab eo statum nostre actionis omnino edisceret. Dum vero constantiam nostrae defensionis ab illo intellexit, extensis in altum velis alta petierunt maris: sic illa die ab inimicis sui gratia eripuit nos dominus. Nostrates autem de Ioppen postea de eisdem navibus tres detinuerunt et spoliis illorum divites facti sunt. Nos etenim, iuxta Syriam Palestinam prout potuimus velificantes, post octo dies ad Portum Sancti Andreae in insula Cipros appulimus … 1

Textual Note

Ed. Huygens 1994

Translation

After we had thoroughly investigated every one of the sanctuaries of the city of Jerusalem and its confines as far as we could, and we had paid our devotions, we boarded a ship at Joppa on the day of Pentecost to return home. Out of fear of the Saracens, however, we did not dare to cross the open deep of the Adriatic Sea, as when we came, for we feared their fleet. And so we passed by the cities on the coast, some of which the Franks possess, while the Saracens still possess others. Their names are these: the nearest to Joppa is commonly called Atsuph but Azotus in Latin; then comes Caesarea Palestina, and after that Cayphas. These cities Baldwin the flower of kings possesses. After these is Acras, a very strong city, which is called Accaron; then Sur and Saegete, which are Tyre and Sidon; and next Jubelet; then Baruth and so Tartusa, which Duke Reymund holds. After these Gibel, where are the mountains of Gelboe; then Tripolis and Lice. We passed by these cities. On the Wednesday after Pentecost, when we were sailing between Cayphas and Accaron, behold, twenty six Saracen ships came into sight, namely those of the admiral of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, heading toward Babylonia with an army to assist the Chaldeans in making war on the King of Jerusalem. Two of the ships travelling with us from Joppa, loaded with pilgrims, left our ship alone and got away by rowing to Caesarea, for they were lighter craft. The Saracens sailed all round our ship, laying a trap for us at about the distance of a bow-shot, and congratulated themselves on such a prize. Our men, however, ready to die for Christ, grabbed their weapons and, as far as time permitted, fortified the ship’s turret with armed men; for in our dromund there were nearly two hundred men defending it. But, after a delay of about an hour, when he had held council, the chief of the (Saracen) force ordered one of his sailors to go up the highest mast of his ship in order to learn completely the state of our activity. And, when he understood from the sailor the stoutness of our defence, he opened the sails and made for the open sea. Thus did our Lord by His grace deliver us that day from our enemies. But our people from Joppa afterwards captured three of those same ships and enriched themselves with their spoil. We sailed as close as we could along the coast of Syria and Palestine, and after eight days they landed at the Port of St. Andrew on the island of Cyprus … 2

Translation Note

Rev. from Clifton 1896

Works Cited

1 Saewulf, John of Würzburg, and Dietrich, Peregrinationes Tres. Saewulf, John of Würzburg, Theodericus, ed. R. B. C. Huygens, Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis 139 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1994), p: 75-76, line: 551-587.
2 Saewulf, The Pilgrimage of Saewulf to Jerusalem, trans. The Lord Bishop of Clifton, repr. New York: AMS Press, 1971, The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims’ Society of Palestine 4 (London: Palestine Pilgrims’ Society of Palestine, 1896), p: 27-28.

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/301.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/301.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587

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, “Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587”
Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Saewulf, Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land 551-587”

Additional Credit:

TEI encoding by William L. Potter
Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife

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