Peter the Deacon, Holy Places 5.1
created: This entry is taken from Holy Places 5.1 written by Peter the Deacon in 1131-116
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: la; la
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 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/309

Caesaream vero Palestinae

, and

Caesarea Palestinae

are directly attested at Peter the Deacon, Holy Places 5.1. This passage was written ca. 1131-1160 C.E. possibly in Monte Cassino. Peter the Deacon, a native of Latium, served as librarian of the great archives at the Monastery of Monte Cassino from 1131 probably until his death around the 1160s. He wrote several works in Latin, many on the history of Monte Cassino and devotional life, including his short account of the Holy Land, which distills earlier sources. This passage, which describes the natural terrain from the Judaean Hills west to the coast as far as Caesarea, copies the account written by Bede the Venerable (Holy Places 5.3-5.9) roughly 450 years earlier.

Circa Ierosolimam aspera ac montuosa cernuntur loca. Hinc quoque septemtrionem versus usque Arimatheam terra petrosa et aspera per intervalla quaedam monstrantur, valles quoque spinosae usque ad Thamnycam regionem patentes. Ad Caesaream vero Palestinae ab Ierusalem quamvis aliqua reperriantur angusta et brevia aspera loca, precipue tamen planities camporum interpositis olivetis. Distant autem LXX milibus passuum.

[Ed. Fraipont 1965]

Around Jerusalem one sees that the land is rough and mountainous. From there to the north up to Arimathia the terrain proves to be rocky and rough in certain areas, and the valleys extending as far as the Thamnic region are full of thorny vegetation. But from Jerusalem to Caesarea Palestinae, although here and there can be found rough spots over narrow, short stretches, by and large the plains are flat, with olive trees spread about. The distance is 75 miles. [Trans. J. L. Rife]

Works Cited

[...] 5 1

[Admonán, Holy Places 1.20

Bede, Holy Places 5.3-9

Jerome, Place Names 57]

[Arimathea (Ramathaim-Zophim)

Jerusalem

Thamnia]

[Geography

Medieval History

Natural Environment

Pilgrimage

Travel]