Complete Works of Bede

by Bede

  THE BOOK OF THE HOLY PLACES

  Translated by J. A. Giles

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I.

  CHAPTER II.

  CHAPTER III.

  CHAPTER IV.

  CHAPTER V.

  CHAPTER VI.

  CHAPTER VII.

  CHAPTER VIII.

  CHAPTER IX.

  CHAPTER X.

  CHAPTER XI.

  CHAPTER XII.

  CHAPTER XIII.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  CHAPTER XV.

  CHAPTER XVI.

  CHAPTER XVII.

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  CHAPTER XIX.

  CHAPTER XX.

  CHAPTER XXI.

  THE BOOK OF THE HOLY PLACES.

  ABRIDGED FROM THE WORKS OF THE ANCIENTS.

  CHAPTER I.

  OF JERUSALEM.

  THE city of Jerusalem is almost circular in its form, and the compass of its walls is by no means inconsiderable, and formerly included Mount Sion, which is close by, towards the south, and looks like the citadel of the town. The greater part of the city is lower than the mountain, and lies on the plain summit of one of the lower hills in the neighbourhood. After our Lord’s passion it was destroyed by the Emperor Titus; but was restored and enlarged by Ælius Hadrianus Cæsar, from whom it received the name of Ælia. This is the reason why the place where our Lord suffered and was buried is now within the walls, whereas it was at that time without. In the circumference of its walls, which is extensive, there are eighty-four towers and six gates. The first is David’s gate, to the west of Mount Sion: the second is the gate of the Fuller’s Valley: the third is St. Stephen’s gate: the fourth, Benjamin’s: the fifth is the Postern or little gate, through which we go down by steps to the Valley of Jehoshaphat: the sixth gate is called Thecuitis. The most celebrated of these are the three gates of egress; the first towards the west, the second towards the north, and the third towards the east. On the north-west, the brow of Mount Sion appears above the city; and this part of the walls, with the interposing towers, is proved to have had no gates; namely, from David’s gate above-mentioned, to that front of Mount Sion which looks with a rugged precipice towards the east. For the position of the city itself is this: it begins from the northern brow of Mount Sion, and falls with a gentle slope towards the walls on the north-east, where it is lower, so that the rain which falls runs in streams through the eastern gates, and carries with it all the filth of the streets into the brook Cedron, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

  CHAPTER II.

  OF THE SEPULCHRE OF OUR LORD, OF THE CHURCHES OF CONSTANTINE AND GOLGOTHA, AND OF THE OTHER HOLY PLACES IN JERUSALEM.

  WHEN you have entered the city on the northern side, first of the Holy Places, as regards the order of the streets, you must turn out of the way to see the Church of Constantine, which is called: The Martyrdom. It was built in the most magnificent and princely style by the Emperor Constantine, to commemorate the finding of our Lord’s cross in this place by his mother Helena. To the west of this is seen the Church of Golgotha, where too may be seen the rock which formerly bore the very cross that was fastened to our Lord’s body; but which now bears a very large silver cross, and a great wheel of brass hangs from above with lamps. Under the place of our Lord’s cross, a vault is hewn out of the rock, in which sacrifice is offered on an altar for honourable persons deceased, their bodies remaining meanwhile in the street. To the westward of this is the Anastasis, that is, the round church of our Saviour’s resurrection, encompassed with three walls, and supported by twelve columns. Between each of the walls is a broad space, containing three altars at three different points of the middle wall, on the north, the south, and the west. It has eight doors or entrances through the three opposite walls; four whereof front to the north-east, and four to the south-east. In the midst of it is the round tomb of our Lord cut out of the rock, the top of which a man standing within can touch; the entrance is on the east; against it is laid that great stone, which to this day bears the marks of the iron tools within, but on the outside it is all covered with marble to the very top of the roof, which is adorned with gold, and bears a large golden cross. In the north part of the monument is the tomb of our Lord, hewn out of the same rock, seven feet in length, and three palms above the floor; the entrance being on the south side, where twelve lamps burn day and night, four within the sepulchre, and eight above on the right-hand side. The stone that was laid at the entrance to the monument, is now cleft in two; the lesser part of it stands as a square altar before the door of the monument; the greater part makes another square altar in the east part of the same church, and appears under the linen cloths. The colour of the said monument and sepulchre appears to be white and red. Attached to this church on the right sides is the square church of the blessed Mother of our Lord. In the street which unites the Martyrdom and the Golgotha is a seat, in which is the cup of our Lord concealed in a casket. It is touched and kissed through a hole in the covering. It is made of silver, has two handles, one on each side, and holds a French quart. In it also is the sponge which was used to minister drink to our Lord. But where Abraham built an altar whereon to sacrifice his son, there is a large wooden table on which the people lay alms for the poor. All these particulars, which I have here mentioned, I have endeavoured to render more intelligible by the following picture

  (The drawing is wanting in the Manuscripts.)

  The soldier’s lance also is kept inserted in a wooden cross, in the portico of the Martyrdom, and its shaft, which has been broken in two pieces, is an object of veneration to the whole city.

  CHAPTER III.

  OF MOUNT SION AND THE CHURCH BUILT THEREON, OF BETHSAIDA AND SILOAM.

  NOW all these Holy Places, which we have mentioned, are situated beyond Mount Sion, to which the elevated ground extends as it falls away towards the north. But in the lower part of the city, where there was a temple built in the neighbourhood of the wall, on the eastern side, and joined to the city itself by a bridge which formed a thoroughfare between, the Saracens have now erected there a square building, with upright planks and large beams placed, in the roughest manner, over some ruins of the walls, and they frequent the place for prayer. There is room for three thousand persons. There are a few cisterns there to supply water. In the neighbourhood of the temple is the pool of Bethsaida, marked by its two basins, one of which is generally filled by the rains of winter, the other is discoloured with red water. On that front of Mount Sion, which has a rugged precipice facing the east, the fountain of Siloa bursts forth between the walls at the bottom of the hill. According as it receives an increase of water from time to time, it flows towards the south; therefore, its waters are not sweet, but the day and hour of its springing up are uncertain, and it rushes with much noise amid the hollows in the ground and the hard rocks. Fountain of

  Siloa.On the level summit of mount Sion are numerous cells of monks surrounding a large church, built there, as they say, by the Apostles, because they received the Holy Spirit in that place, and Saint Maria died there. The place of our Lord’s holy supper is shown within; and a marble pillar stands in the middle of the church, to which our Lord was tied when he was scourged. The figure of the church is said to have been something like this: —

  (The drawing is wanting in the Manuscripts.)

  Here is also shown, on the outside of the city, the rock on which the first martyr, Stephen, was stoned: but in the middle of Jerusalem, where the dead man came to life when our Lord’s cross was placed above him, stands a lofty pillar, which at the summer solstice does not throw a shadow, wherefore it is thought that the centre of the earth is in this place; and it has been said in history, “God, ages ago, hath wrought our salvation in the middle of the earth.” According to which opinion Victorinus, Bishop of the church of Pictavia, writing of Golgotha, hath these words: —

  “Est locus, ex omni medium quem credimus orbe,

  Golgotha Judæi patrio cognomine dicunt.”

  “In the Earth’s cent
re, ’tis believed the place

  By Jews called Golgotha, we seek to trace.”

  CHAPTER IV.

  OF ACHELDEMACH, AND THE PLACE WHERE JUDAS HANGED HIMSELF.

  AFTER passing out through David’s gate, we come to a fountain which runs through the valley towards the south. Half-way down the stream on the western side, Judas is said to have hanged himself. For there is there a large and very ancient fig-tree, according as Juvencus writes: —

  “Informen rapuit ficus de vertice mortem.”

  “And met grim death from off the Fig-tree’s bough.”

  Moreover, Acheldemach, on the south side of Mount Sion, is still famed for the bodies of foreigners and ignoble people that are brought there, some to be buried in the ground, others to rot upon its surface.

  CHAPTER V.

  OF THE NAPKIN FROM OUR LORD’S HEAD, AND OF ANOTHER AND LARGER TOWEL MADE BY THE VIRGIN MARY.

  THE napkin from our Lord’s head was stolen after his resurrection by a most good and Christian Jew, who kept it till his death, and left no end of riches. On his death-bed he asked his sons which of them would have the napkin, and which his other treasures. The elder chose the worldly money: the younger took the napkin. In process of time the wealth of the former diminished until he was reduced to poverty; but the riches of the younger increased with his faith, and the napkin continued for five generations in the possession of the faithful. After this, it fell into unholy hands, and increased their wealth as much as it had done in the case of the Jews, and for a very long time; until after long quarrels, the Christian Jews saying they were the heirs of Christ, and the unbelieving ones saying that they ought to inherit what had belonged to their fathers, Majuizas, king of the Saracens, who lived in our own times, was made umpire. He immediately kindled a large fire, and prayed Christ, who had deigned to wear this on his head for our salvation, to decide the question. The napkin was thrown into the fire, but rose out of it again most rapidly, and floated along, as if in sport, through the air; and at last, whilst both parties were looking on, it gently lowered itself into the bosom of one of the Christians, and was the next morning kissed and venerated by all the people. The length of it was eight feet. There is another rather larger in the same church, made by Saint Mary, having figures of the twelve Apostles, and of our Lord himself. One side of it is red, and the other green.

  CHAPTER VI.

  OF THE PLACES NEAR JERUSALEM, AND THE CHURCH IN THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT, WHERE SAINT MARY WAS BURIED.

  THE country round Jerusalem is rocky and mountainous. The ground on the north, from that city to Arimathæa, is, at intervals, rough and stony. There are open valleys covered with thorns extending all the way to the region of Thanitis; but from Ælia to Cæsarea of Palestine, though some narrow and craggy places are found for a short distance, yet the principle part of the way is a level plain, interspersed with olive-yards: the distance is seventy-five miles. The length of the Land of Promise from Dan over to Beersheba is a hundred and sixty miles, and from Joppa to Bethlehem forty-six miles. Near Jerusalem and the wall of the Temple is Gehennon, which is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, extending from north to south, and through it flows the brook Cedron, when it is swelled by a fall of rain. This valley, forming a small level plain, is well watered and woody, and full of delightful things: formerly there was in it a place dedicated to Baal. Here was the tower of King Jehoshaphat, containing his tomb; on the right side of it was a separate chamber, cut out of the rock of Mount Olivet, containing two hollow sepulchres, one of the old Simeon, the other of Joseph the husband of Saint Mary. In the same valley is the round church of Saint Mary, divided by slabs of stone; in the upper part are four altars; on the eastern side below there is another, and to the right of it an empty tomb, in which Saint Mary is said to have reposed for a time: but who removed her, or when this took place, no one can say. On entering this chamber, you see on the right hand side a stone inserted in the wall, on which Christ knelt when he prayed on the night in which he was betrayed; and the marks of his knees are still seen in the stone, as if it had been as soft as wax.

  CHAPTER VII.

  MOUNT OLIVET, AND THE CHURCH FOUNDED UPON IT, WHERE OUR LORD ASCENDED TO HEAVEN.

  THE Mount of Olives is five miles distant from Jerusalem, and is equal in height to Mount Sion, but exceeds it in breadth and length; it bears few trees except vines and olive-trees, and is fruitful in wheat and barley, for the nature of that soil is not calculated for bearing things of large or heavy growth, but grass and flowers. On the very top of it, where our Lord ascended into heaven, is a large round church, having about it three vaulted porches. For the inner house could not be vaulted and covered, because of the passage of our Lord’s body; but it has an altar on the east side, covered with a narrow roof. In the midst of it are to be seen the last prints of our Lord’s feet, and the sky appears open above where he ascended; and though the earth is daily carried away by believers, yet still it remains as before, and retains the same impression of the feet. Near this lies a brazen wheel, as high as a man’s neck, having an entrance towards the west, with a great lamp hanging above it on a pulley, and burning night and day. In the western part of the same church are eight windows; and eight lamps, hanging opposite to them by cords, cast their light through the glass as far as Jerusalem; this light is said to strike the hearts of the beholders with a sort of joy and humility. Every year, on the day of the Ascension, when mass is ended, a strong blast of wind is said to come down, and to cast to the ground all that are in the church. The whole of that night lanterns are kept burning there, so that the mountain and the country beneath appear not only lighted up, but actually to be on fire. Of this church, also, I have thought proper to add below a resemblance.

  (The drawing is missing.)

  The monument of Lazarus is indicated by a church built on the same spot, and a large monastery in a field at Bethany, in the midst of a large grove of olives. Bethany is fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem. There is also a third church on the same mountain, towards the northern side of Bethany, where our Lord spoke to his disciples, before he suffered, concerning the day of judgment.

  CHAPTER VIII.

  OF THE SITUATION OF BETHLEHEM, AND THE CHURCH WHERE OUR LORD WAS BORN; AND OF THE TOMBS OF DAVID AND HIERONYMUS, AND THE THREE SHEPHERDS.

  BETHLEHEM is six miles distant from Jerusalem, towards the south. It is situated on a narrow ridge, surrounded on every side by valleys: it is a mile long from west to east, and has a low wall built along the edge of the brow of the hill. At its eastern angle there is a sort of natural cave, the outer part of which is said to have been the place of our Lord’s birth; the inside is called “Our Lord’s Manger.” The whole of this cave is covered within with beautiful marble, over the place where especially our Lord is said to have been born. It has above it the great church of St. Mary. Near the wall is a hollow stone, which received back from the wall the first water in which our Lord’s body was washed, when it was thrown away, and still retains the same. If by any accident or service it has been emptied, it nevertheless becomes again, in a short time, as full as before. To the north of Bethlehem, in a neighbouring valley, is the tomb of David, in the middle of the church, covered with a low stone, and with a lamp placed above it. In a church which stands in an adjoining valley, to the south, is the tomb of Jerome. Moreover, on the eastern side, in the tower of Ader, that is, of the Flock, at the distance of a thousand paces from the city, is a church, containing monuments of the three shepherds who were present at our Lord’s birth. I have stated these facts on the authority of Bishop Arculph. But Erras writes in plain terms, that David was buried in Jerusalem, in the King’s-way, which leads from Ælia to Cedron; that Bethlehem is to the east of it, and to the west is the tomb of Rachel, having her name inscribed upon it even to this day.

  CHAPTER IX.

  OF THE SITE OF HEBRON, AND OF THE MONUMENTS OF THE FATHERS AND OF ADAM.

  HEBRON, once a city, and the capital of David’s kingdom, shows only by its ruins what it
was formerly. It lies in a broad plain, twenty-two miles distant from Ælia. One furlong to the east of it is a double cave in the valley, where are the tombs of the patriarchs enclosed by a square wall, with their heads lying to the north. Each of the tombs is covered with a single stone, worked like the stones of a church, and of a white colour, for those of the patriarchs. Adam’s is of meaner and more common workmanship, and lies not far from them at the farthest northern extremity. There are also some poorer and smaller monuments of three women. The hill Mamre is a thousand paces from the monuments, and is full of grass and flowers, having a flat plain on the top. In the northern part of it is Abraham’s oak, a stump about twice the height of a man, enclosed in a church. Passing through Hebron towards the north, one sees to the left a mountain of no great size, covered with fir-trees, at a distance of three thousand paces from Hebron. Fir-wood is carried from this place to Jerusalem on camels, for carriages and waggons are seldom seen throughout the whole of Judæa.

  CHAPTER X.

  OF JERICHO AND THE HOLY PLACES IN THOSE PARTS.

  JERICHO lies to the East of Ælia, and is distant from it nineteen thousand paces. It has been three times levelled with the ground; and the house of Rahab, in reward for her faith, is the only one which remains; for its walls are still standing, though without a roof. The place where the city stood now contains corn-fields and vineyards. Between this and the Jordan, which is about five or six miles distant, are large groves of palm-trees, with small plains interspersed, and inhabitants of the race of the Canaanites. The twelve stones, which Joshua Jericho and