Egeria, Journey to the Holy Land

Book excerpt: The Itinerarium Egeriae is the travel diary of a late-fourth-century visit to Egypt and Palestine by a Christian woman from Western Europe. As well as stopping at many sites of biblical significance, she spent three years in Jerusalem and recorded in detail its liturgical practices throughout the yearly cycle. This is the first ever edition of the Latin text to be accompanied by an English translation in parallel. The volume includes an introduction, notes, and a substantial bibliography. There are also appendices containing recent fragmentary textual discoveries and the text and translation of the seventh-century letter of the Spanish monk Valerius which first identified the author.