Itinerarium Egeriae

1958

Special Collections BR167 I7 IW4

[Turnout, Antwerp]: Brepols

‘Auctor….femina fuit’ – ‘The author…was a woman’ – so says the preface to this reprint of Itinerarium Egeriae – ‘The Travels of Egeria’. The text is a detailed account of Egeria’s three-year journey from Western Europe, probably France or Spain, to the Middle East. It is the earliest written example of a Christian pilgrimage. Egeria wrote for a female audience, and described her stay in Jerusalem, from where she visited many Holy Places, like Mount Sinai. She also recorded detailed descriptions of religious practices in the Holy Land. It is uncertain whether Egeria was a nun, but she was certainly educated, and a pious Christian, with the means and strength to travel – a difficult task for anyone in the 4th century.