E00506: The Piacenza Pilgrim, in his account of his visit to Gaza (Palestine), mentions the tomb close by of *Hilarion (anchorite in Palestine and Cyprus, ob. 371, S00099). Account of an anonymous pilgrim, written in Latin, probably in Placentia (northern Italy), c. 570.
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posted on 2015-05-15, 00:00authored byrobert
Pilgrim of Piacenza, Itinerarium 33
First recension Gaza autem ciuitas splendida deliciosa, homines honestissimi omni liberalitate decori, amatores peregrinorum. Ad secundum miliarium Gazae requiescit sanctus pater Hilario.
'Gaza is a lovely and renowned city, with most noble people distinguished by every kind of liberal accomplishments. They are welcoming to strangers. Two miles from Gaza is the resting-place of the saint father Hilarion.
The second recension follows the text of the first without important modifications.
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
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Pilgrimage
Cult Activities - Relics
Bodily relic - entire body
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 story of the theft of Hilarion's body from Cyprus and its burial at Maiuma (which is close to Gaza) is told in Jerome's Life of Hilarion (E06769). The tomb is probably recorded on the mosaic map of Madaba (E02524: this section of the mosaic is heavily damaged).
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).
Further reading:
Elter, R., and Hassoune, A., "Le monastère de saint Hilarion: les vestiges archéologiques du site de Umm el-`Amr," in: C. Saliou (ed.), Gaza dans l'Antiquité Tardive: Archéologie, rhétorique et histoire (Salerno: Helios, 2005), 13-40.
Maraval, P., Lieux saints et Pèlerinages d'Orient: Histoire et géographie, des origines à la conquête arabe (Paris: Cerf, 1985), 303-304.