ITINERARY OF THE PILGRIM OF BORDEAUX
in the year 333 C.E., with a description
of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount
ITINERARIUM BURDIGALENSE, CORPUS SCRIPTORUM ECCLES.LATINORUM,
XXXVIIII, ITINERA HIEROSOLYMITANA, SAECULI IIII – VIII, ed. Paul Geyer, 1898
translated by Arnold vander Nat, 2001
[549] Itinerarium a burdigala hierusalem usque et ab heraclea per avlonam et per urbem romam mediolanum usque sic . . . .
An itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem, and from Hera-clea through Avlon, and through the city of Rome to Milan, thus . . . .
[589] Inde hierusalem milia xii. Fit a caesarea palestina hierusalem usque milia cxvi, mansiones iiii, mutationes iiii.
From there to Jerusalem it is 12 miles. There are from Caesarea Palaestina to Jerusalem 116 miles, 4 stations, 4 changes.
Sunt in hierusalem piscinae magnae duae ad latus templi, id est una ad dextera, alia ad sinistra, quas salomon fecit. Interius vero civitati sunt piscinae gemellares, quinque porticus habentes, quae appellantur bethsaida. Ibi aegri multorum annorum sanabantur. Aquam autem habent hae piscinae in modum coccini turbatam.
There are in Jerusalem two large pools at the side of the temple, that is, one on the right hand, the other on the left, which two Solomon made. There are even in the city twin pools, having five porticoes, which are called Bethsaida. There people who were sick for many years were cured. These pools, moreover, have water which is like scarlet when it is disturbed.
Est ibi et cripta, ubi salomon daemones torquebat.
There is there a crypt, in which Solomon used to torture demons.
[590] Ibi est anglus turris excelsissimae, ubi dominus ascendit, et dixit ei his, qui temptabat eum, et ait ei dominus: non temptabis dominum deum tuum, sed illi soli servies.
There is there the corner of a most high tower, where the Lord ascended, and he spoke to him who was tempting him, and the Lord stated to him: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, but him only shalt thou serve.
Ibi est et lapis angularis magnus, de quo dictum est: lapidem, quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est ad caput anguli.
And a great corner stone is there, of which it is said: The stone which the builders rejected, this is become the head of the corner.
Et sub pinna turris ipsius sunt cubicula plurima, ubi salomon palatium habebat. Ibi etiam constat cubiculus, in quo sedit et sapientiam descripsit. Ipse vero cubiculus uno lapide est tectus. Sunt ibi et excepturia magna aquae subterraneae et piscinae magno opere aedificatae.
And under the pinnacle of the tower itself are very many chambers, where Solomon had the palace. There is even the chamber in which he sat and wrote the book of Wisdom. This chamber is actually covered with a single stone. And there are there large cisterns for subterranean water and pools constructed with great labor.
[591] Et in aede ipsa, ubi templum fuit quem salomon aedificavit, in marmore ante aram sanguinem zachariae ibi dicas hodie fusum. Etiam parent vestigia clavorum militum, qui eum occiderunt, per totam aream, ut putes in cera fixum esse.
And on the temple mount itself, where the temple was which Solomon built, the blood of Zacharias on the marble pavement before the altar, is poured there, you would say, even today. There are also visible the marks of the shoe nails of the soldiers who slew him, throughout the whole area, so that you would think they were made in wax.
Sunt ibi et statuae duae hadriani, est et non longe de statuas lapis pertusus, ad quem veniunt iudaei singulis annis et unguent eum et lamentant se cum gemitu et vestimenta sua scindunt et sic recedunt.
There are here two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues there is a bored-through stone, to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, and lament themselves with moans and tear their clothes, and thus depart.
Est ibi et domus ezechiae regis iudae.
There is there the house of Hezekiah, King of Judah.
[592] Item exeuntibus hierusalem, ut ascendas sion, in parte sinistra et deorsum in valle iuxta murum est piscina, quae dicitur siloa; habet quadriporticum; et alia piscina grandis foras. Haec fons sex diebus atque noctibus currit, septima vero die est sabbatum, in totum nec nocte nec die currit.
Also, going out of Jerusalem, so that you may go up Mount Sion, on the left side, and below in the valley, next to the wall, is a pool which is called Siloe. It has four porticoes, and there is another large pool outside it. This spring runs for six days and nights, but on the seventh day it is the Sabbath, and it does not run at all, either by day or by night.
In eadem ascenditur sion et paret ubi fuit domus caifae sacerdotis, et columna adhuc ibi est, in qua christum flagellis ceciderunt.
In this way one goes up Sion, and one sees where the house of Caiaphas the priest was, and the column is still there against which they beat Christ with whips.
[593] Intus autem intra murum sion paret locus, ubi palatium habuit david. Et septem synagogae, quae illic fuerunt, una tantum remansit; reliquae autem arantur et seminantur, sicut isaias propheta dixit.
Within, moreover, inside the wall of Sion, one sees the place where David had the palace. And of seven synagogues which were there, only one remains. The rest indeed are ploughed over and sown upon, just as Isaiah the prophet said.
Inde ut eas foris murum de sion, euntibus ad portam neapolitanam ad partem dextram deorsum in valle sunt parietes, ubi domus fuit sive praetorium pontii pilati. Ibi dominus auditus est, antequam pateretur.
From there, so that you may go out of the wall of Sion, as you go towards the gate of Neapolis, to the right side, below in the valley, are some walls, where was the house, or praetorium, of Pontius Pilate. Here the Lord was tried before his suffering.
[594] A sinistra autem parte est monticulus golgotha, ubi dominus crucifixus est. Inde quasi ad lapidem missum est cripta, ubi corpus eius positum fuit et tertia die resurrexit; ibidem modo iussu constantini imperatoris basilica facta est, id est dominicum, mirae pulchritudinis, habens ad latus excepturia unde aqua levatur, et balneum a tergo ubi infantes lavantur.
On the left side, moreover, is the hill of Golgotha, where the Lord was crucified. About a stone's throw from there is a tomb wherein his body was laid, and he arose again on the third day. At that place, just now, by order of the Emperor Constantine, a basilica has been built, that is to say, a church, of wonderful beauty, having at the side cisterns from where water is raised, and a bath in the back where infants are washed.
[595] Item ad hierusalem euntibus ad portam, quae est contra orientem, ut ascendatur in monte oliveti, vallis quae dicitur iosafath; ad partem sinistram, ubi sunt vineae, est et petra ubi iudas scarioth christum tradidit, a parte vero dextra est arbor palmae, de qua infantes ramos tulerunt et veniente christo substraverunt.
Also, as one goes from Jerusalem to the gate which is facing the east, in order that one may go up in the Mount of Olives, is the valley called Josaphat. On the left side, where there are vineyards, is also a stone where Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ. On the right side is a palm tree, branches of which the children carried off and strewed in the way when Christ came.
Inde non longe quasi ad lapidis missum sunt monumenta duo monubiles mirae pulchritudinis facta. In unum positus est isaias propheta, qui est vere monolitus, et in alio ezechias rex iudaeorum.
Not far from there, about a stone's-throw, are two memorial monuments possessed of wonderful beauty. In the one was laid Isaiah the prophet, and it is a true monolith, and in the other one, Hezekiah, King of the Jews.
[596] Inde ascendis in montem oliveti, ubi dominus ante passionem apostolos docuit. Ibi facta est basilica iussu constantini. Inde non longe est monticulus, ubi dominus ascendit orare et apparuit illic moyses et helias, quando petrum et iohannem se cum duxit.
From there you ascend into the Mount of Olives, where before the Passion, the Lord taught the apostles. There a basilica has been built by the order of Constantine. Not far from there is the hill where the Lord ascended to pray, and where Moses and Elijah appeared, when he took Peter and John with Him.
Inde ad orientem passus mille quingentos est villa, quae appellatur bethania. Est ibi cripta, ubi lazarus positus fuit, quem dominus suscitavit.
From there to the east one and a half mile is the village which is called Bethany. There is a tomb there in which Lazarus was laid, whom the Lord raised from the dead.
Item ad hierusalem in hiericho milia xviii.
From Jerusalem to Jericho it is 18 miles . . . .