Adomnán, Holy Places 1.20
created: This entry is taken from Holy Places 1.20 written by Adomnán in 695-698 CE. This
edition published: 2022-10-19-05:00
language: la; la
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2022 by the contributors (Joseph L. Rife, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/307

Cesaream Palestinae

, and

Caesarea Palestinae

are directly attested at Adomnán, Holy Places 1.20. This passage was written ca. 695-698 CE possibly in Iona. Adomnán (Adamnanus) was a jurist and hagiographer who served as the abbot of the monastery on the island of Iona in 679-704 C.E. His writings provide important testimony for the culture and religion of Early Medieval Scotland. Among them is an account of the Holy Land based largely on the itinerary of Arculf, the Frankish bishop who purportedly told the story of his pilgrimage in ca. 680 to his host Adomnán after wrecking on Iona. This passage from the first book on Jerusalem and its environs describes the natural terrain from the Judaean hills west to the coast as far as Caesarea.

Ab Helia septemtrionem versus usque ad Samuhelis civitatem, quae Armathem nominatur, terra petrosa et aspera per quaedam monstratur intervalla; valles quoque spinosae usque ad Tamniticam regionem patentes. Aliter vero a supradicta Helia et monte Sion qualitas regionum monstratur usque ad Cesaream Palestinae occasum versus. Nam quamvis aliqua reperriantur angusta et brevia aspera loca interposita, praecipue tamen latiores plani monstrantur campi interpositis laetiores olivetis.

[Ed. Bieler 1965]

North from Helia up to the city of Samuel, which is called Armathes, the terrain proves to be rocky and rough in certain areas, and the valleys extending as far as the Tamnitic region are full of thorny vegetation. But from the aforementioned Helia and Mount Sion to the west as far as Caesarea Palestinae the regional character is different. For, although here and there can be found rough spots over narrow, short stretches, by and large the wide open, flat plains prove to be very pleasant, with olive trees spread about. [Trans. J. L. Rife]

Works Cited

[...] 1 20

[Bede, Holy Places 5.3-9

Jerome, Place Names 57

Peter the Deacon, Holy Places 5.1]

[Aelia (Jerusalem)

Armathes (Arimathea, Ramathaim-Zophim)

Sion, Mount (Zion)

Thamnia]

[Samuel the Prophet]

[Geography

Hebrew Bible

Medieval History

Natural Environment

Pilgrimage

Travel]