E00459: The Piacenza Pilgrim records his visit to the basilica of Holy Sion (Jerusalem), formerly the house of *James (almost certainly the 'brother of the Lord', S00058), in which he saw relics of the Passion, stones with which *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030) was stoned, the stone into which the cross of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036) was set, the chalice of the *Apostles (S00084), and the elaborately encased skull of the martyr *Theodota (possibly Theodote, martyr of Nicaea, S00257), from which he drank. Account of an anonymous pilgrim, written in Latin, probably in Placentia (northern Italy), c. 570.
online resource
posted on 2015-05-04, 00:00authored byrobert
Pilgrim of Piacenza, Itinerarium 22
First recension Deinde uenimus in basilica sancta Sion, ubi sunt multa mirabilia, inter quibus quod legitur de lapide angulare, qui reprobatus est ab aedificantibus. Ingresso Domino Iesu in ipsa ecclesia, quae fuit domus sancti Iacobi, inuenit lapidem istum deformem in medio iacentem, tenuit eum et posuit in angulum… Ibi sunt et lapides multae, cum quibus lapidatus est Stephanus. Ibi est et columnella, in qua crux posita est beati Petri, in qua crucifixus est Romae. Ibi est et calix apostolorum, in quo post resurrectionem Domini missas faciebant, et multa alia miracula, quae non recolo. Ibi est monasterium feminarum. Vidi testam de homine inclausam in locello aureo ornatam ex gemmis, quae dicunt quia de sancta martyra Theodote esset, in qua multi pro benedictione bibunt et ego bibi.
'From there we went to the basilica of Holy Sion, which contains many remarkable things, including the corner stone which, as the [Bible] says was rejected by the builders. The Lord Jesus entered this church, which used to be the house of saint James, and found this ugly stone lying somewhere, so he took it and placed it in the corner ... There are also many of the stones with which they stoned Stephen, and the small column in which they set the cross on which the blessed Peter was crucified at Rome. The cup of the Apostles is there, with which they celebrated mass after the Lord had risen again, and many other remarkable things which I cannot remember. A monastery for women is there. I saw a human head enclosed in a reliquary of gold adorned with gems, which they say is that of saint Theodota the martyr. Many drink out of it to gain blessing. And so did I.'
The second recension follows the text of the first without important modifications.
Apostles (unspecified) : S00084
Peter the Apostle : S00036
Stephen, the First Martyr : S00030
Theodota, martyr in Nicea, ob. c. 305 : S00257
James the Brother of the Lord, also known as James the Just, ob. 1st c. : S00058
Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
Palestine with Sinai
Place of Evidence - City, village, etc
Piacenza
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Piacenza
Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardegna
Sardinia
Caesarea Maritima
Καισάρεια
Kaisareia
Caesarea
Kayseri
Turris Stratonis
Major author/Major anonymous work
Pilgrim of Piacenza
Cult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Pilgrimage
Cult Activities - Relics
Bodily relic - head
Contact relic - instrument of saint’s martyrdom
Touching and kissing relics
Eating/drinking/inhaling relics
Contact relic - other object closely associated with saint
Cult Activities - Cult Related Objects
Chalices, censers and other liturgical vessels
Source
This Itinerary was written by an anonymous pilgrim to Palestine who started and finished his journey in Placentia. He visited the East probably not long after the earthquake in 551, since he presents the destruction of Berytus (modern Beirut) in this year as a relatively recent event. He certainly visited Palestine before the Persian invasion in 614, since in his account Jerusalem is under Roman administration.
The Itinerary is extant in two recensions. The first one is shorter and generally closer to the original, but sometimes it is the second recension which preserves the original text. Moreover, the additions that can be found in the second recension, unfortunately difficult to date, bear an interesting witness to the development of the cult of saints.
The Itinerary can be compared with an earlier pilgrim's diary written in the 380s by another western pilgrim, Egeria. The Piacenza Pilgrim's itinerary is less detailed than her account, but shows the development of the cultic practices and infrastructure which had taken place in the course of two hundred years: there are more places to visit, more objects to see, and more saints to venerate.
Discussion
The mention of drinking from Theodota's skull is a unique attestation of such a practice. The best attested martyr of this name is Theodote of Nicaea; but it is very possible that a local saint is here referred to. The other relics seen here are more predictable, though it is somewhat strange that Jerusalem laid claim to a relic associated with Peter's crucifixion in Rome.
Bibliography
Edition:
Geyer, P. (ed.), Antonini Placentini Itinerarium, in Itineraria et alia geographica (Corpus Chistianorum, series Latina 175; Turnholti: Typographi Brepols editores pontificii, 1965), 129-174. [Essentially a reprinting of Geyer's edition for the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 39, Wien 1898.]
English translations:
Stewart, A., Of the Holy Places Visited by Antoninus Martyr (London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, 1887).
Wilkinson, J., Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades (2nd ed.; Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 2002).