De Locis Sanctis - Book 1
Introduction
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I am about to write a book concerning the Holy Places.
Arculf, a holy bishop, a Gaul by nation, well acquainted with many far distant lands, a truthful and right worthy witness, who dwelt in the city of Jerusalem for a space of nine months and examined the Holy Places by daily visits, told me, Adamnan, all that is hereafter to be written, as I sedulously asked him to tell me his experiences, which at first I wrote down on tablets as he dictated in a faithful and unimpeachable narrative, and now briefly inscribe upon parchment.
I - The situation of Jerusalem, the gates of the city, the yearly market, the site of the temple, the oratory of the Saracens, the great houses.
As to the situation of Jerusalem, we shall now write a few of the details that the sainted Arculf dictated to me, Adamnan; but what is found in the books of others as to the position of that city, we shall pass over. In the great circuit of its walls, Arculf counted eighty-four towers and twice three gates, which are placed in the following order in the circuit of the city: The Gate of David, on the west side of Mount Sion, is reckoned first; second, the Gate of the Place of the Fuller; third, the Gate of St Stephen; fourth, the Gate of Benjamin; fifth, a portlet, that is a little gate, by which is the descent by steps to the Valley of Josaphat; sixth, the Gate Thecuitis.
This then is the order round the intervals between those gates and towers: from the above-mentioned gate of David it turns towards the northern part of the circuit, and thence towards the eaSt But although six gates are counted in the walls, yet of those the entries of three gates are more commonly frequented; one to the west, another to the north, a third to the east; while that part of the walls with its interposed towers, which extends from the above-mentioned Gate of David across the northern brow of Mount Sion (which overhangs the city from the south), as far as the face of that mountain which looks eastwards, where the rock is precipitous, is proved to have no gates.
But this too, it seems to me, should not be passed over, which the sainted Arculf, formerly spoken of, told us as to the honour of that city in Christ: on the fifteenth day of the month of September yearly, an almost countless multitude of various nations is in the habit of gathering from all sides to Jerusalem for the purposes of commerce by mutual sale and purchase. Whence it necessarily happens that crowds of various nations stay in that hospitable city for some days, while the very great number of their camels and horses and asses, not to speak of mules and oxen, for their varied baggage, strews the streets of the city here and there with the abominations of their excrements. the smell of which brings no ordinary nuisance to the citizens and even makes walking difficult. Wonderful to say, on the night after the above-mentioned day of departure with the various beasts of burden of the crowds, an immense abundance of rain falls from the clouds on that city, which washes all the abominable filths from the streets, and cleanses it from the uncleannesses. For the very situation of Jerusalem, beginning from the northern brow of Mount Sion, has been so disposed by its Founder, God, on a lofty declivity, sloping down to the lower ground of the northern and eastern walls that over abundance of rain cannot settle at all in the streets, like stagnant water, but rushes down, like rivers, from the higher to the lower ground : and further this inundation of the waters of heaven, flowing through the eastern gates, and bearing with it all the filthy abominations, enters the Valley of Josaphat and swells the torrent of Cedron and after having thus baptised Jerusalem, this over abundance of rain, always ceases. Hence therefore we must in no negligent manner note in what honour this chosen and glorious city is held in the sight of the Eternal Sire, Who does not permit it to remain longer filthy, but because of the honour of His Only Begotten cleanses it so quickly, since it has within the circuit of its walls the honoured sites of His sacred Cross and Resurrection.
But in that renowned place where once the Temple had been magnificently constructed, placed in the neighbourhood of the wall from the east, the Saracens now frequent a four-sided house of prayer, which they have built rudely, constructing it by raising boards and great beams on some remains of ruins: this house can, it is said, hold three thousand men at once.
Arculf, when we asked him about the dwellings of that city, answered: "I remember that I both saw and visited many buildings of that city, and that I very often observed a good many great houses of stone through the whole of the large city, surrounded by walls, formed with marvellous skill." But all these we must now, I think, pass over, with the exception of the structure of those buildings which have been marvellously built in the Holy Places, those namely of the Cross and the Resurrection. As to these we asked Arculf very carefully, especially as to the Sepulchre of the Lord and the Church constructed over it, the form of which Arculf himself depicted for me on a tablet covered with wax.
II - The round church built above the Sepulchre of the Lord
And certainly this very great Church, the whole of which is of stone, was formed of marvellous roundness in every part, rising up from the foundations in three walls, which have one roof at a lofty elevation, having a broad pathway between each wall and the next; there are also three altars in three dexterously formed places of the middle wall. This round and very large church, with the above-mentioned altars, looking one to the south, another to the north, a third towards the west, is supported by twelve stone columns of marvellous size. It has twice four gates, that is four entrances, through three firmly built walls which break upon the pathways in a straight line, of which four means of exit look to the north-east (which is also called the cecias wind), while the other four look to the south-eaSt
III - The form of the Sepulchre itself and its little cabin
In the middle of the interior of this round house is a round cabin cut out in one and the same rock, in which thrice three men can pray standing; and from the head of a man of ordinary stature as he stands, up to the arch of that small house, a foot and a half is measured upwards. The entrance of this little cabin looks to the east, and the whole outside is covered with choice marble, while its highest point is adorned with gold, and supports a golden cross of no small size. In the northern part of this cabin is the Sepulchre of the Lord, cut out in the same rock in the inside, but the pavement of the cabin is lower than the place of the Sepulchre; for from its pavement up to the edge of the side of the Sepulchre a measure of about three palms is reckoned. So Arculf, who used often to visit the Sepulchre of the Lord and measured it most accurately, told me.
Here we must refer to the difference of names between the Tomb and the Sepulchre; for that round cabin which we have often mentioned, the Evangelists called by another name - the Tomb. They speak of the stone rolled to its mouth, and rolled back from its mouth, when the Lord rose. That place in the cabin is properly called the Sepulchre, which is on the northern side of the Tomb, in which the body of the Lord, when buried, rested, rolled in the linen cloths: the length of which Arculf measured with his own hand and found to be seven feet. Now this Sepulchre is not, as some think, double, having a projection left from the solid rock, parting and separating the two legs and the two thighs, but is wholly single, affording a bed capable of holding a man lying on his back from his head even to his soles. It is in the manner of a cave, having its opening at the side, and opposite the south part of the sepulchral chamber. The low roof is artificially wrought above it. In the Sepulchre there are further twelve lamps according to the numbers of the twelve Apostles, always burning day and night, four of which are placed down below in the lowest part of the sepulchral bed, while the other twice four are placed higher above its edge on the right hand; they shine brightly, being nourished with oil.
But it seems that this also should be noted, that the Mausoleum or Sepulchre of the Saviour (that is, the often mentioned cabin), may rightly be called a Grotto or Cave, concerning which, that is to say, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ being buried in it, the prophet prophesied: "He shall dwell in a most lofty cave of a most strong rock." And a little after, to gladden the Apostles, there is inserted about the Resurrection of the Lord: "Ye shall see the King with glory."
The frontispiece shows, accordingly, the form of the above-named church with the round little cabin placed in its centre, in the northern side of which is the Sepulchre of the Lord, and also the forms of the other three churches about which we shall speak below.
We have drawn these figures of the four churches according to the model which, as has been said above, the sainted Arculf drew on a waxed tablet, not that a likeness of them can be given in a drawing, but in order that the Tomb of the Lord, be it in however poor a representation, may be shown placed in the middle of the round church, and that the church more properly belonging to this, or the one placed further off, may be made clear.
IV - The stone that was rolled to the mouth of the Tomb, which the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven after His resurrection, rolled back; the chapel and the Sepulchre.
But among these things, it seems that one ought to tell briefly about the stone, mentioned above, which was rolled to the mouth of the Tomb of the Lord, after the burial of the crucified Lord slain by many men: which, Arculf relates, was broken and divided into two parts, the smaller of which, rough hewn with toils, is seen placed as a square altar in the round church, described above, before the mouth of that often-mentioned cabin, that is, the Lord's Tomb; while the larger part of that stone, equally hewn around, stands fixed in the eastern part of that church as another four-sided altar under linen cloths.
As to the colours of that rock, in which that often mentioned chapel was hollowed out by the tools of hewers, which has, in its northern side, the Sepulchre of the Lord cut out of one and the same rock in which is also the Tomb, that is, the cabin, Arculf when questioned by me, said: "That cabin of the Lord's Tomb is in no way ornamented on the inside, and shows even to this day over all its surface the traces of the tools, which the hewers or excavators used in their work: the colour of that rock both of the Tomb and of the Sepulchre is not one, but two colours seem to have been intermingled, namely red and white, whence also that rock appears two-coloured." But as to these points let what has been said suffice.
V - The church of St Mary, which adjoins the Round church
As to the buildings of the holy places, some few details must be added. The four-sided Church of St Mary, the mother of the Lord, is adjoined on the right side by that round church which has been so often mentioned above, and which is also called the Anastasis, that is the Resurrection, because it was built on the spot of the Lord's Resurrection.
VI - The church that is built on the site of Calvary
Another very large church, looking eastwards, has been built on that place which, in Hebrew, is called Golgotha, high up in which a great circular chandelier of brass with lamps is hung by ropes, below which has been set up a great cross of silver, fixed in the same spot where once stood fixed the wooden Cross, on which suffered the Saviour of the human race.
In the same church a cave has been cut out in the rock below the site of the Cross of the Lord, where sacrifice is offered on an altar for the souls of certain specially honoured persons whose bodies are meanwhile placed lying in a court before the gate of that Church of Golgotha, until the holy mysteries on their behalf are finished.
VII - The basilica which Constantine built close to the above-named church on the spot where the cross of the Lord, which had been buried in ruins, was found, when after many centuries the earth was dug up.
This four-sided church, built on the site of Calvary, is adjoined on the east by the neighbouring stone Basilica, constructed with great reverence by King Constantine which is also called the Martyrium, built, as is said, on that spot where the Cross of the Lord, which had been hidden away under the earth, was found with the other two crosses of the robbers, after a period of two hundred and thirty-three years, by the permission of the Lord Himself.
VIII - The site of the Altar of Abraham
Here stands the altar built by Abraham, who laid on it the pile of wood, and seized the drawn sword to offer in sacrifice his own son, Isaac: where is now a wooden table of considerable size on which the alms of the poor are offered by the people. This also the sainted Arculf added, as I enquired of him more diligently: "Between the Anastasis, that is the round church we have often mentioned above, and the Basilica of Constantine, lies a small square extending to the Church of Golgotha, where lamps burn always by day and night".
IX - The recess situated between the Church of Calvary and the Basilica of Constantine, in which are kept the cup of the Lord and the sponge from which, as He hung on the tree, He drank vinegar and wine.
Between that Basilica of Golgotha and the Martyrium there is a recess in which is the Cup of the Lord, which He blessed and gave with His own hand to the Apostles in the supper on the day before He suffered, as He and they sat at meat with one another; the cup is of silver, holding the measure of a French quart, and has two little handles placed on it, one on each side. In this cup also is the sponge which those who were crucifying the Lord filled with vinegar and, putting it on hyssop, offered to His mouth. From the same cup, as is said, the Lord drank after His Resurrection, as He sat at meat with the apostles. The sainted Arculf saw it and touched it with his own hand, and kissed it through the opening of the perforated cover of the case within which it is concealed indeed, the whole people of the city resort greatly to this cup with immense veneration.
X - The spear of the soldier with which he pierced the side of the Lord
Arculf also saw that spear of the soldier with which he smote through the side of the Lord as He hung on the Cross. The spear is fixed in a wooden cross in the portico of the Basilica of Constantine, its shaft being broken into two parts: and this also the whole city of Jerusalem resorts to, kisses, and venerates.
XI - The napkin with which the head of the Lord was covered in the Sepulchre
As to the sacred napkin which was placed upon the head of the Lord in the Sepulchre, we learn from the narrative of the sainted Arculf, who inspected it with his own eyes.
The whole people of Jerusalem bear witness to the truth of the narrative we now write. For on the testimony of several faithful citizens of Jerusalem, the sainted Arculf learned this statement which they very often repeated to him as he listened attentively : A certain trustworthy believing Jew, immediately after the Resurrection of the Lord, stole from His Sepulchre the sacred linen cloth and hid it in his house for many days; but, by the favour of the Lord Himself, it was found after the lapse of many years, and was brought to the notice of the whole people about three years before Arculf was told these things. That happy, faithful thief, when at the point of death, sent for his two sons, and, showing them the Lord's napkin, which he had at first abstracted furtively, offered it to them, saying: "My boys, the choice is now given to you. Therefore let each of you say which he rather wishes to choose, so that I may know without doubt to which of you, according to his own choice, I shall bequeathe all the substance I have, and to which only this sacred napkin of the Lord."
On hearing this, the one who wished to obtain all his sire's wealth, received it from his father, according to a promise made to him under the will. Marvellous to say, from that day all his riches and all his patrimony, on account of which he sold the Lord's napkin, began to decrease, and all that he had was lost by various misfortunes and came to nothing. While the other blessed son of the above-named blessed thief, who chose the Lord's napkin in preference to all his patrimony, from the day when he received it from the hand of his dying sire, became, by the gift of God, more and more rich in earthly substance, and was by no means deprived of heavenly treasure. And thus this napkin of the Lord was faithfully handed down as an heirloom by the successive heirs of this thrice blessed man to their believing sons in regular succession, even to the fifth generation. But many years having now passed, believing heirs of that kindred failed, after the fifth generation, and the sacred linen cloth came into the hands of unbelieving Jews, who, while unworthy of such an office, yet embraced it honourably and, by the gift of the Divine bounty, were greatly enriched with very diverse riches. But an accurate narrative about the Lord's napkin having spread among the people, the believing Jews began to contend bravely with the unbelieving Jews about the sacred linen cloth, desiring with all their might to obtain possession of it, and the strife that arose divided the common people of Jerusalem into two parties, the faithful believers and the faithless unbelievers.
Upon this, Mavias, the King of the Saracens, was appealed to by both parties to adjudicate between them, and he said to the unbelieving Jews who were persistently retaining the Lord's napkin; "Give the sacred linen cloth which you have into my hand." In obedience to the king's command, they bring it from its casket and place it in his bosom. Receiving it with great reverence, the king ordered a great fire to be made in the square before all the people, and while it was burning fiercely, he rose, and going up to the fire, addressed both contending parties in a loud voice: "Now let Christ, the Saviour of the world, who suffered for the human race, upon whose head this napkin, which I now hold in my bosom, and as to which you are now contending, was placed in the Sepulchre, judge between you by the flame of fire, so that you may know to which of these two contending hosts this great gift may most worthily be entrusted."
Saying this, he threw the sacred napkin of the Lord into the flames, but the fire could in no way touch it, for, rising whole and untouched from the fire, it began to fly on high, like a bird with out-spread wings, and looking down from a great height on the two contending parties, placed opposite one another as if they were two armies in battle array, it flew round in mid air for some moments; then slowly descending, under the guidance of God, it inclined towards the party of the Christians, who meanwhile prayed earnestly to Christ the Judge, and finally it settled in their bosom. Raising their hands to heaven, and bending the knee with great gladness, they give thanks to God and receive the Lord's napkin with great honour, a gift to be venerated as sent to them from heaven; they render praises in their hymns to Christ, who gave it, and they cover it up in another linen cloth and put it away in a casket of the church.
Our brother Arculf saw it one day taken out of the casket, and amid the multitude of the people that kissed it, he himself kissed it in an assembly of the church; it measures about eight feet in length. As to it let what has been said suffice.
XII - Another sacred linen cloth which, as is said, St Mary the Virgin, the Mother of the Lord, wove
Arculf saw also in that city of Jerusalem another linen cloth of larger size, which, as is said, St Mary wove, and which, on that account, is held in great reverence in the Church and by all the people. In this linen cloth the forms of the twelve Apostles are woven, and the likeness of the Lord Himself is figured; one side of the linen cloth is of red colour, while the opposite side is green.
XIII - The lofty column situated on the spot where a dead young man came to life again when the cross of the Lord was placed on him; the middle of the world
We must speak briefly about a very lofty column, standing in the middle of the city, which meets one coming from the sacred places northwards. This column is set up on that spot where a dead young man came to life again when the Cross of the Lord was placed on him, and, marvellously, in the summer solstice at mid-day, when the sun comes to the centre of the heaven, it casts no shadow; for when the solstice is passed, which is the 24th of June, after three days, as the day gradually lessens, it first casts a short shadow, then a longer one as the days pass. Thus this column, which the brightness of the sun in the summer solstice at mid-day, as it stands in the centre of the heaven, shining straight down from above, shines upon all round from every quarter, proves that the city of Jerusalem is situated in the middle of the earth. Whence also the Psalmist, prophesying on account of the sacred sites of the Passion and the Resurrection which are contained within that Aelia, sings: "But God, our King, before the ages has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth", that is, in Jerusalem, which, being in the middle, is also called the navel of the earth.
XIV - The Church of St Mary, built in the Valley of Josaphat, in which is her tomb
That sedulous visitor of the Holy Places, the sainted Arculf, visited the Church of St Mary, in the Valley of Josaphat, which is built in two stories, the lower of these being a round structure under a marvellous stone roof, with an altar in its eastern part, while on the right side of it is the empty stone sepulchre of St Mary, in which for a time she rested after her burial. But how or when or by whom her sacred body was raised from that sepulchre, or where it awaits the Resurrection, it is said that no one knows certainly. Those who enter this lower round Church of St Mary see inserted, on the right of the wall, that stone above which, on the night when He was betrayed by Judas into the hands of sinful men, the Lord prayed in the field of Gethsemane, on bended knees, before the hour of His betrayal: and in this rock are seen the marks of His two knees, as if they had been very deeply impressed in the softest wax. Thus we were informed by our brother, the sainted Arculf, the visitor of the holy places, who with his own eyes saw what we describe. In the upper Church of St Mary, which is also round, there are shown to be four altars.
XV - The Tower of Josaphat built in the same valley
In the same valley that has been mentioned above, not far from the Church of St Mary, is shown the Tower of Josaphat, in which his sepulchre is seen.
XVI - The tombs of Simeon and Joseph
This little tower is joined on the right hand by a stone house, cut out of the rock and separated from the Mount of Olivet, within which are shown two sepulchres cut out with iron tools, destitute of ornament. One of these is that of Simeon, the just man, who, having embraced the little Infant, the Lord Jesus, in the Temple in both his hands, prophesied about Him. The other is that of Joseph, the spouse of St Mary, and the upbringer of the Lord Jesus.
XVII - The cave in the rock of the Mount of Olivet, across the Valley of Josaphat, in which are four tables and two wells
In the side of the Mount of Olivet is a cave, not far from the Church of St Mary, placed on the higher ground across the Valley of Josaphat, having in it two very deep wells, one of which descends to a great depth under the mountain, while the other is in the pavement of the cave, its immense cavity being, as is said, directed in a straight course, descending into the depth; these two wells are always closed. In the same cave are four stone tables, of which the one nearest the entrance of the cave on the inside is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, His seat beyond doubt adjoining His little table; here He was in the habit sometimes of sitting at meat with His twelve Apostles, who at the same time sat at the other tables in the same place. The closed mouth of the well, referred to above as being in the pavement of the cave, is shown to belong especially to the tables of the Apostles. The little doorway of this cave is closed by a wooden gate, as the sainted Arculf, who so often visited that cave of the Lord, relates.
XVIII - The gate of David and the place where Judas Iscarioth hanged himself by a rope
The Gate of David adjoins a slight rising of Mount Sion on the west. Those going out of the city through it, leaving the Gate and Mount Sion next their left hand, come to a stone bridge, directed for some distance in a straight line across the valley to the south, raised on arches, close to the middle of which, on the west side, is the spot where Judas of Iscarioth, driven by despair, hanged himself by a rope. There is still shown here to this day a fig-tree of large size, from the top of which, as is said, Judas hung in a halter, as Juvencus, a versifying presbyter, has sung:
"From fig-tree top he snatched a shapeless death."
XIX - The form of the Great Basilica built on Mt Sion and the situation of that mountain
Mention was made of Mount Sion a little above, and here a short and succinct notice must be inserted of a great Basilica constructed there, a drawing of which is given here. Here is shown the rock upon which Stephen, being stoned without the city, fell asleep. Beyond the great church described above, which embraces within its walls such holy places, there stands another memorable rock, on the west side of that on which, as is said, Stephen was stoned. This Apostolical Church, as is said above, was built of stone on a level surface in the higher ground of Mount Sion.
After this the sainted Arculf writes of that place where the Lord supped with His disciples, and where the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles on the holy day of Pentecost, where he says that a great church has been constructed on the top of Mount Sion, which is called the Apostles' Church. There is seen there the column where the Lord was scourged, and there is also shown there the rock on which St. Stephen was stoned; to the west there is another church, where the Lord was tried in the Pretorium of Pilate, Now we shall speak of the Mount of Olivet.
XX - The little field called in Hebrew aceldemac
This small field, which is situated towards the southern quarter of Mount Sion, was often visited by our Arculf; it has a stone boundary-wall, and in it a considerable number of pilgrims are very carefully interred, while others are left unburied very carelessly, merely covered with rags or skins, and so, lying on the ground, putrefy.
XXI - The rough and rocky ground that extends far and wide, from Jerusalem to the City of Samuel and to Cesarea of Palestine towards the west
From Aelia northwards to the City of Samuel, which is called Armathem, the ground is rocky and rough, in which, however, there are intervening spaces, thorny valleys also lying up to the Tanitic region. Another description of the country is seen from the above-named Aelia and Mount Sion westwards extending to Cesarea of Palestine; for though there maybe at intervals some narrow, small, rough places, yet for the most part wider downs are met with, enlivened by olive groves scattered over them.
XXII - The Mount of Olivet, its height and the character of its soil
Other kinds of trees than the vine and the olive can, as Arculf relates, rarely be found on the Mount of Olivet, while very fine crops of corn and barley are raised on it. For the character of that soil is shown not to be adapted for trees, but for grass and flowers. Its height, moreover, seems to be equal to that of Mount Sion, although Mount Sion seems small and narrow when compared to the Mount of Olivet as regards its geometrical dimensions - namely, breadth and length. In the middle, between these two mountains, lies the Valley of Josaphat, of which we spoke above, stretching from north to south.
XXIII - The place of the ascension of the Lord and the church built on it
On the whole Mount of Olivet there seems to be no spot higher than that from which the Lord is said to have ascended into the heavens, where there stands a great round church, having in its circuit three vaulted porticoes covered over above. The interior of the church, without roof or vault, lies open to heaven under the open air, having in its eastern side an altar protected under a narrow covering. So that in this way the interior has no vault, in order that from the place where the Divine footprints are last seen, when the Lord was carried up into heaven in a cloud, the way may be always open and free to the eyes of those who pray towards heaven.
For when this basilica, of which I have now made slight mention, was building, that place of the footprints of the Lord, as we find written elsewhere, could not be enclosed under the covering with the rest of the buildings. Whatever was applied, the unaccustomed earth, refusing to receive anything human, cast back into the face of those who brought it. And, moreover, the mark of the dust that was trodden by the Lord is so lasting that the impression of the footsteps may be perceived; and although the faith of such as gather daily at the spot snatches away some of what was trodden by the Lord, yet the area perceives no loss, and the ground still retains that same appearance of being marked by the impress of footsteps.
Further, as the sainted Arculf, who carefully visited this spot, relates, a brass hollow cylinder of large circumference, flattened on the top, has been placed here, its height being shown by measurement to reach one's neck. In the centre of it is an opening of some size, through which the uncovered marks of the feet of the Lord are plainly and clearly seen from above, impressed in the dust. In that cylinder there is, in the western side, as it were, a door; so that any entering by it can easily approach the place of the sacred dust, and through the open hole in the wheel may take up in their outstretched hands some particles of the sacred dust.
Thus the narrative of our Arculf as to the footprints of the Lord quite accords with the writings of others - to the effect that they could not be covered in any way, whether by the roof of the house or by any special lower and closer covering; so that they can always be seen by all that enter, and the marks of the feet of the Lord can be clearly seen depicted in the dust of that place. For these footprints of the Lord are lighted by the brightness of an immense lamp hanging on pulleys above that cylinder in the church, and burning day and night. Further in the western side of the round church we have mentioned above, twice four windows have been formed high up with glazed shutters, and in these windows there burn as many lamps placed opposite them, within and close to them. These lamps hang in chains, and are so placed that each lamp may hang neither higher nor lower, but may be seen, as it were, fixed to its own window, opposite and close to which it is specially seen. The brightness of these lamps is so great that, as their light is copiously poured through the glass from the summit of the Mountain of Olivet, not only is the part of the mountain nearest the round basilica to the west illuminated, but also the lofty path which rises by steps up to the city of Jerusalem from the Valley of Josaphat, is clearly illuminated in a wonderful manner, even on dark nights; while the greater part of the city that lies nearest at hand on the opposite side is similarly illuminated by the same brightness. The effect of this brilliant and admirable coruscation of the eight great lamps shining by night from the holy mountain and from the site of the Lord's ascension, as Arculf related, is to pour into the hearts of the believing onlookers a greater eagerness of the Divine love, and to strike the mind with a certain fear along with vast inward compunction.
This also Arculf related to me about the same round church: That on the anniversary of the Lord's Ascension, at mid-day, after the solemnities of the Mass have been celebrated in that basilica, a most violent tempest of wind comes on regularly every year, so that no one can stand or sit in that church or in the neighbouring places, but all lie prostrate in prayer with their faces in the ground until that terrible tempest has passed.
The result of this terrific blast is that that part of the house cannot be vaulted over; so that above the spot where the footsteps of the Lord are impressed and are clearly shown, within the opening in the centre of the above-named cylinder, the way always appears open to heaven. For the blast of the above-mentioned wind destroyed, in accordance with the Divine will, whatever materials had been gathered for preparing a vault above it, if any human art made the attempt.
This account of this dreadful storm was given to us by the sainted Arculf, who was himself present in that Church of Mount Olivet at the very hour of the day of the Lord's Ascension when that fierce storm arose. A drawing of this round church is shown below, however unworthily it may have been drawn; while the form of the brass cylinder is also shown placed in the middle of the church.
This also we learned from the narrative of the sainted Arculf: That in that round church, besides the usual light of the eight lamps mentioned above as shining within the church by night, there are usually added on the night of the Lord's Ascension almost innumerable other lamps, which by their terrible and admirable brightness, poured abundantly through the glass of the windows, not only illuminate the Mount of Olivet, but make it seem to be wholly on fire; while the whole city and the places in the neighbourhood are also lit up.
XXIV - The sepulchre of Lazarus and the church built above it and the adjoining monastery
Arculf, the visitor of the above-mentioned holy places, visited a little plain at Bethany, surrounded by a great wood of olives, where there are a great monastery and a great basilica built over the cave from which the Lord recalled Lazarus to life after he had been dead four days.
XXV - Another church built to the right of Bethany
As to another more celebrated church built towards the southern side of Bethany, on that spot of the Mount of Olivet where the Lord is said to have addressed the disciples, I think that we must write briefly.
Hence we must carefully inquire what address and at what time or to what special individuals of His disciples the Lord spoke. These three questions, if we will open the writings of the three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, will be clearly answered, for the Evangelists speak of the character of the address in complete harmony with one another. As to the place of that meeting, no one can have any doubt, or as to the address and the place, who will read Matthew speaking about the Lord: "And as He sat upon the Mount of Olivet, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the consummation of the age?" (St Matthew xxiv. 3). As to the persons who asked Him, Matthew has kept silence; but Mark has not, and he tells us: "Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately", (St Mark xiii. 3) - in reply to whose question He delivered the address referred to by the three Evangelists we have mentioned above, of which the character is shown in His words: "Take heed lest any man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ" (St Mark xiii. 5, 6) and the rest that follows as to the last times and the consummation of the age, which Matthew records at great length, down to the place where the same Evangelist clearly shows the time of this lengthened address, as he mentions the words of the Lord: "And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 'Ye know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed to be crucified,'" etc. (St Matthew xxvi. 1, 2). It is thus shown distinctly that it was on the fourth day of the week, when two days remained to the first day of the Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, that the Lord delivered the lengthened address mentioned above, in answer to the question of the four above-named disciples. On the place where the address was given, a church was founded in its memory, which is held in great honour.
Let it suffice to have thus far described the holy places of the city of Jerusalem, and Mount Sion, and the Mount of Olivet, and the Valley of Josaphat, which lies between these mountains, in accordance with the accurate narrative of the sainted Arculf, the visitor of those places.
