Chapter V: Introduction (4)

Without the gate of the Holy Sepulchre, to the south, is the church of St. Mary, called the Latin, because the monks there perform divine service in the Latin tongue; and the Assyrians say that the blessed Mother of our Lord, at the crucifixion of her Son, stood on the spot now occupied by the altar of this church. Adjoining to this church is another church of St. Mary, called the Little, occupied by nuns who serve devoutly the Virgin and her Son. Near which is the Hospital, where is a celebrated monastery founded in honour of St. John the Baptist.

We descend from our Lord's sepulchre, about the distance of two arbalist-shots, to the Temple of the Lord, which is to the east of the Holy Sepulchre, the court of which is of great length and breadth, having many gates; but the principal gate, which is in front of the Temple, is called the Beautiful, on account of its elaborate workmanship and variety of colours, and is the spot where Peter healed Claudius, when he and John went up into the Temple at the ninth hour of prayer, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. The place where Solomon built the Temple was called anciently Bethel; whither Jacob repaired by God's command, and where he dwelt, and saw the ladder whose summit touched heaven, and the angels ascending and descending, and said, "Truly this place is holy," as we read in Genesis. There he raised a stone as a memorial, and constructed an altar, and poured oil upon it; and in the same place afterwards, by God's will, Solomon built a temple to the Lord of magnificent and incomparable work, and decorated it wonderfully with every ornament, as we read in the Book of Kings. It exceeded all the mountains around in height, and all walls and buildings in brilliancy and glory. In the middle of which temple is seen a high and large rock, hollowed beneath, in which was the Holy of Holies. In this place Solomon placed the Ark of the Covenant, having the Manna and the Rod of Aaron, which flourished and budded there and produced almonds, and the two Tables of the Testament; here our Lord Jesus Christ, wearied with the insolence of the Jews, was accustomed to repose; here was the place of confession, where his disciples confessed themselves to him; here the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, saying, "Thou shalt receive a child in thy old age;" here Zacharias, the son of Barachias, was slain between the temple and the altar; here the child Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, and named Jesus, which is interpreted Saviour; here the Lord Jesus was offered by his parents, with the Virgin Mary, on the day of her purification, and received by the aged Simeon; here, also, when Jesus was twelve years of age, he was found sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing and interrogating them, as we read in the Gospel; here afterwards he cast out the oxen, and sheep, and pigeons, saying, "My house shall be a house of prayer;" and here he said to the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." There still are seen in the rock the footsteps of our Lord, when he concealed himself, and went out from the Temple, as we read in the Gospel, lest the Jews should throw at him the stones they carried. Thither the woman taken in adultery was brought before Jesus by the Jews, that they might find some accusation against him[80]. There is the gate of the city on the eastern side of the Temple, which is called the Golden, where Joachim, the father of the Blessed Mary, by order of the Angel of the Lord, met his wife Anne. By the same gate the Lord Jesus, coming from Bethany on the day of olives, sitting on an ass, entered the city of Jerusalem, while the children sang, "Hosanna to the son of David." By this gate the emperor Heraclius entered Jerusalem, when he returned victorious from Persia, with the cross of our Lord; but the stones first fell down and closed up the passage, so that the gate became one mass, until humbling himself at the admonition of an angel, he descended from his horse, and so the entrance was opened to him. In the court of the Temple of the Lord, to the south, is the Temple of Solomon, of wonderful magnitude, on the east side of which is an oratory containing the cradle of Christ, and his bath, and the bed of the Virgin Mary, according to the testimony of the Assyrians[81].

From the Temple of the Lord you go to the church of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Mary, towards the north, where she lived with her husband, and she was there delivered of her daughter Mary. Near it is the pool called in Hebrew Bethsaida, having five porticoes, of which the Gospel speaks. A little above is the place where the woman was healed by our Lord, by touching the hem of his garment, while he was surrounded by a crowd in the street[82].

From St. Anne we pass through the gate which leads to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, to the church of St. Mary in the same valley, where she was honourably buried by the Apostles after her death; her sepulchre, as is just and proper, is revered with the greatest honours by the faithful, and monks perform service there day and night. Here is the brook Cedron; here also is Gethsemane, where our Lord came with his disciples from Mount Sion, over the brook Cedron, before the hour of his betrayal; there is a certain oratory where he dismissed Peter, James, and John, saying, "Tarry ye here, and watch with me;"[83] and going forward, he fell on his face and prayed, and came to his disciples, and found them sleeping: the places are still visible where the disciples slept, apart from each other. Gethsemane is at the foot of Mount Olivet, and the brook Cedron below, between Mount Sion and Mount Olivet, as it were the division of the mountains; and the low ground between the mountains is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. A little above, in Mount Olivet, is an oratory in the place where our Lord prayed, as we read in the Passion, "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground."[84] Next we come to Aceldama, the field bought with the price of the Lord, also at the foot of Mount Olivet, near a valley about three or four arbalist-shots to the south of Gethsemane, where are seen innumerable monuments. That field is near the sepulchres of the holy fathers Simeon the Just and Joseph the foster-father of our Lord. These two sepulchres are ancient structures, in the manner of towers, cut into the foot of the mountain itself. We next descend, by Aceldama, to the fountain which is called the Pool of Siloah, where, by our Lord's command, the man born blind washed his eyes, after the Lord had anointed them with clay and spittle.

From the church of St. Mary before mentioned, we go up by a very steep path nearly to the summit of Mount Olivet, towards the east, to the place whence our Lord ascended to heaven in the sight of his disciples. The place is surrounded by a little tower, and honourably adorned, with an altar raised on the spot within, and also surrounded on all sides with a wall. On the spot where the Apostles stood with his mother, wondering at his ascension, is an altar of St. Mary; there the two men in white garments stood by them, saying, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven?" About a stone's throw from that place is the spot where, according to the Assyrians, our Lord wrote the Lord's Prayer in Hebrew, with his own fingers, on marble; and there a very beautiful church was built, but it has since been entirely destroyed by the Pagans, as are all the churches outside the walls, except the church of the Holy Ghost on Mount Sion, about an arrow-shot from the wall to the north, where the Apostles received the promise of the Father, namely, the Paraclete Spirit, on the day of Pentecost; there they made the Creed. In that church is a chapel in the place where the Blessed Mary died. On the other side of the church is the chapel where our Lord Jesus Christ first appeared to the Apostles after his resurrection, and it is called Galilee, as he said to the Apostles, "After I am risen again, I will go before you unto Galilee."[85] That place was called Galilee, because the Apostles, who were called Galileans, frequently rested there.

The great city of Galilee is by Mount Tabor, a journey of three days from Jerusalem. On the other side of Mount Tabor is the city called Tiberias, and after it Capernaum and Nazareth, on the sea of Galilee or sea of Tiberias, whither Peter and the other Apostles, after the resurrection, returned to their fishing, and where the Lord afterwards showed himself to them on the sea. Near the city of Tiberias is the field where the Lord Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fishes, and afterwards fed four thousand men with them, as we read in the Gospel. But I will return to my immediate subject.

In the Galilee of Mount Sion, where the Apostles were concealed in an inner chamber, with closed doors, for fear of the Jews, Jesus stood in the middle of them and said, "Peace be unto you;"[86] and he again appeared there when Thomas put his finger into his side and into the place of the nails. There he supped with his disciples before the Passion, and washed their feet; and the marble table is still preserved there on which he supped. There the relics of St. Stephen, Nicodemus, Gamaliel, and Abido, were honourably deposited by St. John the Patriarch after they were found. The stoning of St. Stephen took place about two or three arbalist-shots without the wall, to the north, where a very handsome church was built, which has been entirely destroyed by the Pagans. The church of the Holy Cross, about a mile to the west of Jerusalem, in the place where the holy cross was cut out, and which was also a very handsome one, has been similarly laid waste by the Pagans; but the destruction here fell chiefly on the surrounding buildings and the cells of the monks, the church itself not having suffered so much. Under the wall of the city, outside, on the declivity of Mount Sion, is the church of St. Peter, which is called the Gallican, where, after having denied his Lord, he hid himself in a very deep crypt, as may still be seen there, and there wept bitterly for his offence. About three miles to the west of the church of the Holy Cross is a very fine and large monastery in honour of St. Saba, who was one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. There were above three hundred Greek monks living there, in the service of the Lord and of the Saint, of whom the greater part have been slain by the Saracens, and the few who remain have taken up their abode in another monastery of the same Saint, within the walls of the city, near the tower of David, their other monastery being left entirely desolate.

The city of Bethlehem in Judea is six miles to the north of Jerusalem. The Saracens have left nothing there habitable, but every thing is destroyed (as in the other holy places without the walls of the city of Jerusalem) except the monastery of the blessed Virgin Mary, which is a large and noble building. In the church there is a crypt under the choir, about the middle, in which is seen the place of our Lord's nativity, as it were to the left. A little lower, to the right, near the place of the nativity, is the manger where the ox and ass stood when the child was placed before them in it; and the stone which supported the head of our Saviour in the sepulchre, which was brought hither from Jerusalem by St. Jerome the Presbyter, may be seen in the manger. St. Jerome himself rests in the same church, under the altar, to the north-east; and the innocents who were slain for the infant Christ, by Herod, lie under the altar on the north part of the church, as well as the two most holy women, Paula and her daughter Eustochium, the virgin. There is the marble table on which the blessed Virgin Mary eat with the three Magians, after they had given their offerings. There is a cistern in the church, near the crypt of our Lord's nativity, into which the star is said to have fallen. There, also, is said to be the bath of the blessed Virgin Mary.

Bethany, where Lazarus was raised by our Lord from the dead, is distant from the city about two miles to the east, on the other side of Mount Olivet, and contains the church of St. Lazarus, in which is seen his sepulchre, as well as those of many bishops of Jerusalem. Under the altar is the place where Mary Magdalene washed the feet of our Lord Jesus with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment. Bethphage, where our Lord sent forward his disciples to the city, is on Mount Olivet, but nearly all traces of it have disappeared. Jericho, where is the garden of Abraham, is ten leagues from Jerusalem, in a land covered with trees, and producing all kinds of palms and other fruits. There is the well of the prophet Elisha, the water of which was most bitter to drink and productive of sterility, until he blessed it and threw salt into it, when it became sweet. This place is surrounded on every side by a beautiful plain. From thence we ascend a lofty mountain, to the spot where our Lord fasted forty days, and where he was afterwards tempted by Satan, about three miles from Jericho.

The river Jordan is four leagues to the east of Jericho. On this side Jordan is the region called Judea, as far as the Adriatic Sea, that is, to the port which is called Joppa; on the other side Jordan is Arabia, most hostile to Christians, and hateful to all who worship God, in which is the mountain whence Elijah was carried into heaven in a fiery chariot. It is eighteen days' journey from Jordan to Mount Sinai, where the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and where, afterwards, Moses ascended by God's command, and was there fasting forty days and as many nights, and there received from the Lord the two stone tables, written by the finger of God, to teach the Children of Israel the law and the commandments, which were contained in the same tables.

Hebron, where the holy patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob repose, each with his wife, and where Adam, the first of mankind, is also buried, is distant from Bethlehem four leagues to the south. Here king David reigned seven years, before he obtained possession of the city of Jerusalem from the family of king Saul. The city of Hebron, which was large and very handsome, is destroyed by the Saracens. On the eastern side of it the monuments of the holy patriarchs, of ancient workmanship, are surrounded by a very strong castle, each of the three monuments being like a great church, with two sarcophagi placed in a very honourable manner within, that is, one for the man and one for the woman; and, even at the present day, the smell of the balsam and precious aromatics with which the bodies were anointed, rising sweetly from the sepulchre, fills the nostrils of those who stand round them. But the bones of Joseph, which the Children of Israel, as he had charged them, brought with them out of Egypt, are buried, more humbly than the rest, as it were, at the extremity of the castle. The holm-oak, under the shade of which Abraham stood when he saw the three youths descending by the road, still flourishes and bears leaves, according to the statement of the inhabitants of the place, not far distant from the aforesaid castle.

The city of Nazareth of Galilee, where the blessed Virgin Mary received the salutation of our Lord's nativity from the angel, is about four days' journey from Jerusalem, the road lying through Sichem, a city of Samaria, which is now called Neapolis, where St. John the Baptist received sentence of decollation from Herod. There, also, is the well of Jacob, where Jesus, weary with his journey, thirsty, and sitting upon the well, condescended to ask water of the Samaritan woman who came thither to draw it, as we read in the Gospel. From Sichem we come to Cæsarea of Palestine, from Cæsarea to Cayphas[87], and from Cayphas to Accaron[88]. Nazareth is about eight miles to the east of Accaron. The city of Nazareth is entirely laid waste and overthrown by the Saracens; but the place of the annunciation of our Lord is indicated by a very noble monastery. A most limpid fountain bubbles out near the city, still surrounded, as formerly, with marble columns and blocks, from which the child Jesus, with other children, often drew water for the use of his mother.

From Nazareth we proceed about four miles to the east, to Mount Tabor, the scene of our Lord's transfiguration, which is covered in an extraordinary manner with grass and flowers, and rises in the middle of the green plain of Galilee so as to exceed in altitude all the mountains which, though at a distance, surround it. On the summit still remain three ancient monasteries; one in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ; another in honour of Moses; and a third, at some distance from the others, in honour of Elias, according to the words of Peter, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."[89]

The sea of Galilee is about six miles from Mount Tabor to the east and north-east, and is about ten miles long by five in breadth. The city of Tiberias stands on the sea-shore on one side, and on the other side are Corozaim and Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. About four miles to the north-east of the city of Tiberias is the castle of Gennesareth, where the Lord appeared to the disciples when fishing, as we learn from the Gospel. About two miles to the east of Gennesareth is the mount on which our Lord Jesus fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes. This mount is called by the inhabitants our Lord's table; and at its foot stands a very beautiful church of St. Peter, but deserted. Six miles to the north-east of Nazareth, on a hill, is Cana of Galilee, where our Lord converted water into wine at the marriage feast. There nothing is left standing except the monastery called that of Architriclinius[90]. About half way between Nazareth and Galilee is a castle which is called Roma, where all travellers from Accaron to Tiberias are lodged, having Nazareth on the right, and Galilee to the left.

A day's journey to the north-east of Tiberias is Mount Libanus, at the foot of which the river Jordan boils out from two foundations, of which one is called Jor, and the other Dan; the streams of which, joining in one, become a very rapid river, and take the name of Jordan. Its origin is near Cæsarea, the city of Philip the Tetrarch, in the district where Jesus, as is related in the Gospel, interrogated his disciples, saying, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"[91] Now the river Jordan, flowing from its spring with a very rapid course, falls into the sea of Galilee on one side, and passing out of it on the opposite side, by the violence of its current, makes itself a bed, through which it runs a distance of eight days' journey, and then falls into the Dead Sea. The water of the Jordan is whiter and more of a milky colour than any other water, and it may be distinguished by its colour a long distance into the Dead Sea.

Having, to the best of our power, visited and paid our devotion at all the holy places in the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding country, we took ship at Joppa on the day of Pentecost[92], on our return; but, fearing to meet the fleet of the Saracens, we did not venture out into the open sea by the same course we came, but sailed along the coast by several cities, some of which have fallen into the hands of the Franks, while others still remain in the power of the Saracens. Their names are as follows:—First, after Joppa, is the town called popularly Atsuph, but in Latin, Azotum; next, Cæsarea of Palestine; and then Cayphas. Baldwin, the flower of kings, has possession of these cities. Next after these is the very strong city of Acre, which is called Accaron; then Sur and Sagete, which are Tyre and Sidon; then Jubelet; then Baruth; and then Tartusa, which is in possession of duke Raimund. Next Gibel, where are the mountains of Gilboa; and then Tripolis and Lice. We passed by all these cities[93].

On the Wednesday of Pentecost, as we were sailing between Cayphas and Accaron[94], twenty-six ships of the Saracens suddenly came in sight, the forces of the admiral of Tyre and Sidon, which were carrying an army to Babylonia to assist the Chaldeans in making war on the king of Jerusalem; upon which two of our ships, which had come with us from Joppa full of palmers, leaving our ship behind because they were lighter, fled in all haste to Cæsarea. The Saracens, encircling our ship on all sides, at the distance of about an arrow's shot, rejoiced in the prospect of such a rich prey; but our men, ready to meet death in the cause of Christ, took to their arms, and stationed themselves as quickly as possible on the castle of the ship; for our dromund carried about two hundred soldiers. After the space of about an hour, the commander of the hostile fleet held a council, and sent a sailor up the mast of his ship, which was the largest, that he might give information of our condition and preparations; and as soon as he understood from him the bold countenance we showed, they hoisted their sails and put out to sea, and so that day the Lord by his grace snatched us from our enemies. Some of our people from Joppa afterwards took three of the ships we had seen, and enriched themselves with their spoils.

Thus making our way as well as we could along the coast of Syria, in eight days we reached the port of St. Andrew, in the isle of Cyprus[95]; and thence, next day, we sailed towards Romania, passing the port of St. Simon, and the port of St. Mary, and after many days reached Little Antioch[96]. In this part of the voyage we were several times attacked by pirates; but, under the Divine protection, we escaped unhurt from the attacks of enemies and the shocks of tempests. Then directing our course along the coast of Romania, and passing the towns of Stamirra[97] and Patras of St. Nicholas, we with difficulty reached the island of Rhodes on the eve of St. John the Baptist[98], after a narrow escape from wreck in the bay of Satalia. At Rhodes we hired a smaller ship, that we might proceed more rapidly, and then returned to the coast of Romania. We then came to Stromlo[99], a very fair city, but entirely laid waste by the Turks, and there we were detained many days by a strong contrary wind. Then we came to the island of Samos, and having bought provisions there, as we did in all the islands, we arrived at length at the island of Scio, where we parted with our ship and company, and undertook the journey to Constantinople, to perform our devotions there. After leaving Scio, we passed by the great town of Smyrna, and came to the island of Meteline, and then to Tenit[100], near which, on the coast of Romania, was the very ancient and famous city of Troy, the ruins of the buildings of which, as the Greeks say, are still apparent over a space of many miles.

After leaving this place, we came to the narrow sea which is called the arm of St. George, which divides the two lands, Romania and Macedonia, through which we sailed to St. Phemius, having Greece to the right, and Macedonia to the left. The city of St. Phemius the bishop is on one side of the arm, in Macedonia, and another city, which is called Samthe, stands on the other side in Greece, so that two or three arbalist-shots would reach from one city to the other[101]. They are said to be the keys of Constantinople. Then we sailed by Callipolis, and Agios Georgios, and Paniados, and other notable castles of Macedonia, and came to the city of Rothostoca, after Michaelmas. We came next to the noble city of Raclea, whence, according to the Greeks, Helen was ravished by Paris Alexander[102].

FOOTNOTES:

[57] July 13, 1102.

[58] The modern Brindisi (_Brundusium_ of the ancients).

[59] _Die Ægyptiaca, hora Ægyptiaca._ The superstitious belief in unlucky, or, as they were commonly termed, Egyptian days, was universally prevalent in the middle ages; and the days of the month believed to have this character, and on which it was unpropitious to begin or undertake any thing, are often marked in the early calendars and other manuscripts.

[60] July 24.

[61] See our Introduction.

[62] M. D'Avezac conjectures this to be merely some _palæopolis_, or ancient site. No such name as Polipolis can be traced in the maps.

[63] Aug. 9.

[64] This appears to be the place formerly called Liva d'Osta, now corrupted into Livadostro.

[65] Aug. 23.

[66] The modern Spili.

[67] Stancho, the ancient Cos; Hippocrates, and not Galen, was born there.

[68] M. D'Avezac is probably right in his conjecture that the Lido of Sæwulf represents the ruins of Cnidus, near Cape Crio; and that Asus, which immediately follows, is the little island of Syme (Συμὴ), which lies off Cnidus. It is likely enough that the local pronunciation of Cnido may have been taken by the monkish traveller for something like Lido. No detailed legend of St. Titus is preserved. What is known of him will be found in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists, vol. i. p. 163.

[69] This is a remarkable blunder, arising from a strange confusion of words and ideas. The Colossians were the inhabitants of Colossus, in Phrygia. The _Persians_ of Sæwulf were the Saracens, who captured Rhodes in A.D. 651. It had been taken by the Persians in 616.

[70] Mogronissi, or Macronisi, is supposed by M. D'Avezac to be the island of Kakava, on the western point of which are still traced the ruins of a town and church. The Alexandria here alluded to is of course Alexandretta, or Iskenderoon.

[71] This is evidently Khelidonia.

[72] This term was then applied to all the eastern part of the Mediterranean.

[73] Sunday, Oct. 12, 1102.

[74] These were the names of ships in the middle ages, of large dimensions, but for which it would be difficult to assign any thing like equivalents from our modern naval nomenclature. The title of palmer (_palmarius_) was given, from an early period, to the pilgrims to the Holy Land; it is said, on account of the palm branches or leaves which they usually brought back with them as signs that they had performed the pilgrimage.

[75] Luke, xix. 42-44.

[76] By the Assyrians, who are subsequently mentioned more than once, we are to understand the Syrian Christians, as distinguished from the Greeks.

[77] Matth. xxvii. 51.

[78] Ib. 52.

[79] Psal. lxxiv. 12.

[80] John, ii. 19.

[81] It may be necessary to remind the reader that the building of which Sæwulf is here talking was the Mosque of Omar, which, during the long period that Jerusalem had remained in the hands of the Saracens, had been entirely closed from the examination of Christians. Now that the Holy City had fallen under the power of the Crusaders, it was thrown open to public inspection, and the monks appear to have laboured industriously to identify every part of the Saracenic edifice with the events of Scripture. Probably some portions of the ancient building were worked up into the Mohammedan mosque; but Sæwulf's description will show us how cautious we ought to be in receiving these traditionary identifications of the localities of Scripture history.

[82] Matth. ix. 20.

[83] Matth. xxvi. 38.

[84] Luke, xxii. 41-44.

[85] Matth. xxvi. 32. It is hardly necessary to state that the giving the name of Galilee to this church was a mere legendary blunder, originating in the desire to crowd several holy places in one spot.

[86] John, xx. 19.

[87] Kaiffa.

[88] Acre.

[89] Matth. xvii. 4.

[90] The medieval theologians made a proper name of Architriclinius, or, as they called him popularly, St. Architriclin, whom they looked upon as the lord of the feast on the occasion alluded to, and the person in whose especial favour Christ performed the miracle. It is hardly necessary to say that _architriclinus_ is the Latin word which, in the Vulgate, translates what the English text terms "the ruler of the feast."

[91] Matth. xvi. 13.

[92] May 17, 1103.

[93] The names of these cities, in the modern nomenclature, are Arsouph, Kaisariyah, Kaiffa, Akre, Sour, Sayd, Gjobayl, Beyrout, Tortus, Gebely, Tripoli, and Laodicea, the latter of which was the place named by Sæwulf Lice. Jacobus de Vitriaco (Hist. Hierosol., cap. 44) says, "Laodicia Syriæ nuncupata, vulgariter autem Liche nominatur." Our traveller, however, perhaps by a confusion of his memory, having no map before him, has given these places out of their right order. Perhaps, as M. D'Avezac suggests, the fear of the Saracen cruisers drove him sometimes out of his right course.

Baldwin had been made king of Jerusalem on Christmas-day, in the year 1100. Tortosa was captured by Raymond, duke of Toulouse, on the 12th of March, 1102.

[94] Acre was not taken by the crusaders till the 15th of May, 1104, the year after our traveller's return.

[95] Cape St. Andrea is the north-eastern point of the island of Cyprus.

[96] _i. e._ Antiochetta.

[97] Stamirra is the same place which Sæwulf has before called Myra. M. D'Avezac points out documents of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in which it is named Astamirle, Stamire, and Stamir.

[98] June 23.

[99] Stromlo, as M. D'Avezac observes, is evidently the ancient Astypalæa, now called Stampali.

[100] Tenit is the island of Tenedos.

[101] M. D'Avezac suggests that perhaps St. Euphemius and Samthe represent the ancient Eleonta on one coast, and the ancient Æantium, near the mouth of the Xanthus, on the other.

[102] Sæwulf's relation seems to break off abruptly here, probably by the fault of the scribe; but, unfortunately, we know of no other manuscript that might furnish us with an account of his adventures at Constantinople on his return home.

THE SAGA OF SIGURD THE CRUSADER.

A.D. 1107-1111.

(FROM THE HEIMSKRINGLA, OR CHRONICLE OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY, BY SAMUEL LAING, ESQ.)

After king Magnus Barefoot's fall, his sons, Eystein, Sigurd, and Olaf[103], took the kingdom of Norway. Eystein got the northern, and Sigurd the southern parts of the country. King Olaf was then four or five years old, and the third part of the country which he had was under the management of his two brothers. King Sigurd was chosen king when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and Eystein was a year older. When king Magnus's sons were chosen kings, the men who had followed Skopte Ogmundsson returned home. Some had been to Jerusalem, some to Constantinople; and there they had made themselves renowned, and they had many kinds of novelties to talk about. By these extraordinary tidings many men in Norway were incited to the same expedition; and it was also told that the Northmen who liked to go into the military service at Constantinople found many opportunities of getting property. Then these Northmen desired much that one of the two kings, either Eystein or Sigurd, should go as commander of the troop which was preparing for this expedition. The kings agreed to this, and carried on the equipment at their common expense. Many great men, both of the lendermen and bonders, took part in this enterprize; and when all was ready for the journey, it was determined that Sigurd should go, and Eystein, in the mean time, should rule the kingdom upon their joint account.

A year or two after king Magnus's fall, Hakon, a son of earl Paul, came from Orkney. The kings gave him the earldom and government of the Orkney Islands, as the earls before him, his father Paul or his uncle Erlend, had possessed it; and earl Hakon then sailed back immediately to Orkney.

Four years after the fall of king Magnus, king Sigurd sailed with his fleet of sixty ships from Norway. So says Thorarin Stutfeld:—

"A young king just and kind,
People of loyal mind:
Such brave men soon agree,—
To distant lands they sail with glee.
To the distant Holy Land
A brave and pious band,
Magnificent and gay,
In sixty long ships glide away."

King Sigurd sailed in autumn to England, where Henry, son of William the Bastard, was then king, and Sigurd remained with him all winter. So says Einar Skuleson:—

"The king is on the waves!
The storm he boldly braves.
His ocean steed,
With winged speed,
O'er the white-flashing surges,
To England's coast he urges;
And there he stays the winter o'er:
More gallant king ne'er trod that shore."

In spring[104] king Sigurd and his fleet sailed westward to Valland[105], and in autumn came to Galicia[106], where he staid the second winter. So says Einar Skuleson:—

"Our king, whose land so wide
No kingdom stands beside,
In Jacob's land[107] next winter spent,
On holy things intent;
And I have heard the royal youth
Cut off an earl who swerved from truth.
Our brave king will endure no ill,—
The hawks with him will get their fill."

It went thus:—The earl who ruled over the land made an agreement with king Sigurd, that he should provide king Sigurd and his men a market at which they could purchase victuals all the winter; but this he did not fulfil longer than to about Yule. It began then to be difficult to get food and necessaries, for it is a poor barren land. Then king Sigurd with a great body of men went against a castle which belonged to the earl; and the earl fled from it, having but few people. King Sigurd took there a great deal of victuals and of other booty, which he put on board of his ships, and then made ready and proceeded westward to Spain. It so fell out, as the king was sailing past Spain, that some pirates who were cruising for plunder met him with a fleet of galleys, and king Sigurd attacked them. This was his first battle with heathen men; and he won it, and took eight galleys from them. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"Bold vikings, not slow
To the death-fray to go,
Meet our Norse king by chance,
And their galleys advance.
The bold vikings lost
Many a man of their host,
And eight galleys too,
With cargo and crew."

Thereafter king Sigurd sailed against a castle called Sintre[108], and fought another battle. This castle is in Spain, and was occupied by many heathens, who from thence plundered Christian people. King Sigurd took the castle, and killed every man in it, because they refused to be baptized; and he got there an immense booty. So sings Halldor Skualldre:—

"From Spain I have much news to tell
Of what our generous king befell.
And first he routs the viking crew,
At Cintra next the heathens slew;
The men he treated as God's foes,
Who dared the true faith to oppose.
No man he spared who would not take
The Christian faith for Jesus' sake."

After this king Sigurd sailed with his fleet to Lisbon, which is a great city in Spain, half Christian and half heathen; for there lies the division between Christian Spain and heathen Spain[109], and all the districts which lie west of the city are occupied by heathens. There king Sigurd had his third battle with the heathens, and gained the victory, and with it a great booty. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"The son of kings on Lisbon's plains
A third and bloody battle gains.
He and his Norsemen boldly land,
Running their stout ships on the strand."

Then king Sigurd sailed westwards along heathen Spain, and brought up at a town called Alkassi[110]; and here he had his fourth battle with the heathens, and took the town, and killed so many people that the town was left empty. They got there also immense booty. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"A fourth great battle, I am told,
Our Norse king and his people hold
At Alkassi; and here again
The victory fell to our Norsemen."

And also this verse:—

"I heard that through the town he went,
And heathen widows' wild lament
Resounded in the empty halls;
For every townsman flies or falls."

King Sigurd then proceeded on his voyage, and came to Nörfa Sound[111]; and in the Sound he was met by a large viking force, and the king gave them battle: and this was his fifth engagement with heathens since the time he left Norway. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"Ye moistened your dry swords with blood,
As through Niorfa Sound ye stood:
The screaming raven got a feast,
As ye sailed onward to the East."

King Sigurd then sailed eastward along the coast of Serkland[112], and came to an island there called Formentara. There a great many heathen Moors had taken up their dwelling in a cave, and had built a strong stone-wall before its mouth. It was high up to climb to the wall, so that whoever attempted to ascend was driven back with stones or missile weapons. They harried the country all round, and carried all their booty to their cave. King Sigurd landed on this island, and went to the cave; but it lay in a precipice, and there was a high winding path to the stone-wall, and the precipice above projected over it. The heathens defended the stone-wall, and were not afraid of the Northmen's arms; for they could throw stones, or shoot down upon the Northmen under their feet: neither did the Northmen, under such circumstances, dare to mount up. The heathens took their clothes and other valuable things, carried them out upon the wall, spread them out before the Northmen, shouted, and defied them, and upbraided them as cowards. Then Sigurd fell upon this plan: he had two ship's boats, such as we call barks, drawn up the precipice right above the mouth of the cave; and had thick ropes fastened round the stem, stern, and hull of each. In these boats as many men went as could find room, and then the boats were lowered by the ropes down in front of the mouth of the cave; and the men in the boats shot with stones and missiles into the cave, and the heathens were thus driven from the stone-wall. Then Sigurd with his troops climbed up the precipice to the foot of the stone-wall, which they succeeded in breaking down, so that they came into the cave. Now the heathens fled within the stone-wall that was built across the cave; on which the king ordered large trees to be brought to the cave, made a great pile in the mouth of it, and set fire to the wood. When the fire and smoke got the upper hand, some of the heathens lost their lives in it; some fled; some fell by the hands of the Northmen; and part were killed, part burned; and the Northmen made the greatest booty they had got on all their expeditions. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"Formentara lay
In the victor's way;
His ships' stems fly
To victory.
The bluemen there
Must fire bear,
And Norsemen's steel
At their hearts feel."

And also thus:—

"'Twas a feat of renown,—
The boat lowered down,
With a boat's crew brave,
In front of the cave;
While up the rock scaling,
And comrades up trailing,
The Norsemen gain,
And the bluemen are slain."

And also Thorarin Stuttfeld says:—

"The king's men up the mountain's side
Drag two boats from the ocean's tide:
The two boats lay,
Like hill-wolves gray.
Now o'er the rock in ropes they're swinging,
Well manned, and death to bluemen bringing:
They hang before
The robbers' door."

Thereafter king Sigurd proceeded on his expedition, and came to an island called Ivitsa (Ivica), and had there his seventh battle, and gained a victory. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"His ships at Ivica now ride,
The king's, whose fame spreads far and wide;
And here the bearers of the shield
Their arms again in battle wield."

Thereafter king Sigurd came to an island called Minorca, and held there his eighth battle with heathen men, and gained the victory. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"On green Minorca's plains
The eighth battle now he gains:
Again the heathen foe
Falls at the Norse king's blow."

In spring king Sigurd came to Sicily, and remained a long time there. There was then a duke Roger in Sicily, who received the king kindly, and invited him to a feast. King Sigurd came to it with a great retinue, and was splendidly entertained. Every day duke Roger stood at the company's table, doing service to the king; but the seventh day of the feast, when the people had come to table, and had wiped their hands, king Sigurd took the duke by the hand, led him up to the high seat, and saluted him with the title of king; and gave the right that there should be always a king over the dominion of Sicily, although before there had only been earls or dukes over that country[113].

It is written in the chronicles, that earl Roger let himself first be called the king of Sicily in the year of our Lord 1102, having before contented himself with the title of earl only of Sicily, although he was duke of Calabria and Apulia, and was called Roger the Great; and when he afterwards made the king of Tunet or Tunis tributary to him, he had these words engraved on his sword,—

"Apulus et Calaber, Siculus mihi servit et Afer."

King Roger of Sicily was a very great king. He won and subdued all Apulia, and many large islands besides in the Greek sea; and therefore he was called Roger the Great. His son was William, king of Sicily, who for a long time had great hostility with the emperor of Constantinople. King William had three daughters, but no son. One of his daughters he married to the emperor Henry, a son of the emperor Frederic; and their son was Frederic, who for a short time after was emperor of Rome. His second daughter was married to the duke of Kypur[114]. The third daughter, Margaret, was married to the chief of the corsairs; but the emperor Henry killed both these brothers-in-law. The daughter of Roger the Great, king of Sicily, was married to the emperor Manuel of Constantinople; and their son was the emperor Kirialax[115].

In summer king Sigurd sailed across the Greek sea to Palestine[116], and came to Acre[117], where he landed, and went by land to Jerusalem[118]. Now when Baldwin, king of Palestine, heard that king Sigurd would visit the city, he let valuable clothes be brought and spread upon the road, and the nearer to the city the more valuable; and said, "Now ye must know that a celebrated king from the northern part of the earth is come to visit us; and many are the gallant deeds and celebrated actions told of him, therefore we shall receive him well; and in doing so we shall also know his magnificence and power. If he ride straight on to the city, taking little notice of these splendid preparations, I will conclude that he has enough of such things in his own kingdom; but, on the other hand, if he rides off the road, I shall not think so highly of his royal dignity at home." Now king Sigurd rides to the city with great state; and when he saw this magnificence, he rode straight forward over the clothes, and told all his men to do the same. King Baldwin received him particularly well, and rode with him all the way to the river Jordan, and then back to the city of Jerusalem. Einar Skuleson speaks thus of it:—

"Good reason has the scald to sing
The generous temper of the king,
Whose sea-cold keel from Northern waves
Ploughs the blue sea that green isles laves.
At Acre scarce were we made fast,
In holy ground our anchors cast,
When the king made a joyful morn
To all who toil with him had borne."

And again he sang:—

"To Jerusalem he came,
He who loves war's noble game,
(The scald no greater monarch finds
Beneath the heaven's wide hall of winds)
All sin and evil from him flings
In Jordan's wave: for all his sins
(Which all must praise) he pardon wins."

King Sigurd staid a long time in the land of Jerusalem in autumn, and in the beginning of winter.

King Baldwin made a magnificent feast for king Sigurd and many of his people, and gave him many holy relics. By the orders of king Baldwin and the patriarch, there was taken a splinter off the holy cross; and on this holy relic both made oath, that this wood was of the holy cross upon which God himself had been tortured. Then this holy relic was given to king Sigurd; with the condition that he, and twelve other men with him, should swear to promote Christianity with all his power, and erect an archbishop's seat in Norway if he could; and also that the cross should be kept where the holy king Olaf reposed, and that he should introduce tithes, and also pay them himself. After this king Sigurd returned to his ships at Acre; and then king Baldwin prepared to go to Syria, to a town called Saet, which some think had been Sidon. This castle, which belonged to the heathens, he wished to conquer, and lay under the Christians. On this expedition king Sigurd accompanied him with all his men, and sixty ships; and after the kings had besieged the town some time it surrendered[119], and they took possession of it, and of a great treasure of money; and their men found other booty. King Sigurd made a present of his share to king Baldwin. So says Halldor Skualldre:—

"He who for wolves provides the feast
Seized on the city in the east,
The heathen nest; and honour drew,
And gold to give, from those he slew."

Einar Skuleson also tells of it:—

"The Norsemen's king, the scalds relate,
Has ta'en the heathen town of Saet;
The slinging engine, with dread noise,
Gables and roofs with stones destroys.
The town wall totters too,—it falls;
The Norsemen mount the blackened walls.
He who stains red the raven's bill
Has won,—the town lies at his will."

Thereafter king Sigurd went to his ships, and made ready to leave Palestine. They sailed north to the island of Cyprus; and king Sigurd staid there awhile, and then went to the Greek country, and came to the land with all his fleet at Engilsness[120]. Here he lay still for a fortnight, although every day it blew a breeze for going before the wind to the north; but Sigurd would wait a side wind, so that the sails might stretch fore and aft in the ship; for in all his sails there was silk joined in, before and behind in the sail, and neither those before nor those behind the ships could see the slightest appearance of this, if the vessel was before the wind; so they would rather wait a side wind.