Sæwulf

Sæwulf (fl. 1102-1103) was probably the first English pilgrim to Jerusalem following its conquest in the First Crusade.[1] His Latin written account of his pilgrimage tells of an arduous and dangerous journey; and Sæwulf's descriptive narrative provides scholars brief but significant insight into sea travel across the Mediterranean to the new Kingdom of Jerusalem that was established soon after the end of the First Crusade.[2][3] In 1839 Sæwulf's report was edited into French[4] by Armand d'Avezac and from that translated into English by Thomas Wright who included it as the section "The Travels of Sæwulf"[5] in his 1848 anthology "Early Travels in Palestine".[6][7] Though details of Sæwulf's life after his pilgrimage are uncertain, he is generally thought[8] to be the Sæwulf (or Seuulfus) of Worcester mentioned by distinguished English historian William of Malmesbury in his "Gesta Pontificum Anglorum" as a merchant who in his old age became a monk in Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England.[3][9]

Journey and Pilgrimage

Jerusalem fell to the forces of the First Crusade in 1099 after a successful siege of the city. Sæwulf's telling of his travels on pilgrimage to the Holy Land start in Apulia on 13 July 1102 with his boarding ship at Monopoli. Via many ports, he made landfall at Jaffa and began a tour of Palestine, including Jericho and Hebron.[3]

The narrative of his journey to Jerusalem described the prevailing lawlessness of the Judean hills at the time. He noted the road between Jaffa and Jerusalem "was very dangerous...because the Saracens are continually plotting an ambush...day and night always keeping a lookout for someone to attack".[10] For Jerusalem, Sæwulf related guidebook-like details highlighting important sites for pilgrims,[11] including the famous Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[12]

For his return journey Sæwulf took a dromund from Jaffa in May 1103. The galley was attacked near Acre by Saracen ships, but soldiers onboard defended the vessel allowing it to escape. They were attacked again on the voyage from Cyprus to Constantinople by pirates. Sæwulf's account abruptly ends after recounting passage through the Dardanelles.[3]

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See also

Notes
  1. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Early Travels in Palestine, by Thomas Wright". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  2. "Pilgrim Libraries: books & reading on the medieval routes to Rome & Jerusalem". Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. Damian-Grint, Peter. "Sæwulf (fl. 1102–1103), traveller". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24468. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  4. Armand d'Avezac (1839). Relation des voyages de Seawulf à Jérusalem et en TerreSainte pendant les années 1102 et 1103, publiés pour la première fois d'après un manuscrit de Cambridge (in French). unknown library. Imp. Bourgogne et Martinet.
  5. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Early Travels in Palestine, by Thomas Wright". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  6. "Early Travels in Palestine: Comprising the Narratives of Arculf, Willibald, Bernard, S?wulf ... : Thomas Wright , Arculfus : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  7. Beazley, Raymond, "Sæwulf", Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 50, retrieved 2020-08-14
  8. This assumption is argued against by Margaret Elizabeth Garnett in her dissertation, "'The Longed-for Place': Saewulf and Twelfth-Century Pilgrimage to the Holy Land", pp. 4-16.
  9. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40131/40131-h/40131-h.htm#Page_xx
  10. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge
  11. Garnett, Margaret Elizabeth. ""The longed-for place" : Saewulf and twelfth-century pilgrimage to the Holy Land (2000)". Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 749.
  12. Hays, Jeffrey. "CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE | Facts and Details". factsanddetails.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.

Work
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