Bernard the Pilgrim ( fl. 865), also called Bernard the Wise ( Latin : Bernardus Sapiens ) and Bernard the Monk , was a ninth-century Frankish monk . He is most recognisable for the composition of a travelogue , in which he details his journey around the Mediterranean, travelling through Italy, Egypt, the Holy Land , and France.
16-647: Little is known about Bernard's life outside of the Itinerarium. The Frankish monk originated from the Champagne territory of France, later residing in the Monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel , located in the region of Brittany . Bernard is believed to have travelled sometime between the years 865 and 871. The precise dates of Bernard's travels remain unclear, and is an issue which continues to be contested by historians. Some have claimed that Bernard travelled over
32-505: A letter from the leader of Alexandria, to deliver to the ruler of Babylon ( Old Cairo ). It is in Old Cairo that Bernard details his six-day long imprisonment as a result of the ruler's distrust, reflective of this age as one of "mutual suspicions". The main destinations visited by Bernard, in order, are as follows: Bernard makes explicit reference to his awareness of Bede 's Ecclesiastical History , justifying his scarce discussion of
48-446: A period of three years, from 867-870. The monk's acquirement of papal permission for his trip from Pope Nicholas I , who died in 867, has been deployed as evidence for the start year for Bernard's travels; the text's reference to the year 970 made by a tenth-century scribal editor, which has been deemed an error by exactly one hundred years, has been used to substantiate the claim for a three-year expedition. Leor Halevi suggests that there
64-628: A time when hardly a Christian ventured willingly to the other side of the Mediterranean Sea". Halevi notes how the "account illustrates a largely unknown chapter in the history of the Christian encounter with Islam". On his trip from Italy to Alexandria, Bernard claims to have witnessed the transportation of ships containing 9000 Beneventan Christian slaves. In actuality, this number is likely an exaggeration, denounced by Michael McCormick as "manifestly impossible", and it can be inferred that
80-571: Is no reason to believe that Bernard could not have travelled in the years preceding the Pope's death, however, positing the trip as having occurred anywhere between the years 865 and 871. Bernard's Itinerarium is a ten-page tract logging the monk's journey around the Mediterranean. The text explores Bernard's travels throughout Italy, Egypt, the Holy Land and France. Accompanied by two monks,
96-486: The Beneventan Theudemund and a Spaniard named Stephen (Esteban), Bernard documents his encounters with sacred sites and different people, recording his impressions. Covering a vast number of regions and a distance of over 6000 kilometres, Bernard's journey allows for insight into Christian-Muslim relations in the ninth-century Mediterranean. In this respect, the tract is noteworthy for its production "at
112-650: The High Middle Ages , the province was famous for the Champagne fairs , which were very important in the economy of the Western societies. The chivalric romance had its first beginnings in the county of Champagne with the famous writer Chrétien de Troyes who wrote stories of the Round Table from the Arthurian legends . A few counts of Champagne were French kings with the comital title merging with
128-544: The Holy Sepulchre as "Bede in his history says enough about it". The monk's description of Jerusalem is therefore notably brief, detailing a number of sacred sites and miracles which are afforded little more of a discussion than many of the other places Bernard visits. William of Malmesbury references Bernard in his early 12th century work Gesta Regum Anglorum (History of the Kings of England). Mabillon published
144-610: The Itinerarium in his Acta Sanctorum Ordinis Benedicti published in Paris in 1672. [REDACTED] Christianity portal [REDACTED] Middle Ages portal Champagne (province) Champagne ( French pronunciation: [ʃɑ̃paɲ] ) was a province in the northeast of the Kingdom of France , now best known as the Champagne wine region for the sparkling white wine that bears its name in modern-day France. The County of Champagne , descended from
160-599: The Deeds of the Kings of the English") and also anglicized as The Chronicles or The History of the Kings of England , is an early-12th-century history of the kings of England by William of Malmesbury . It is a companion work of his Gesta Pontificum Anglorum ( Deeds of the English Bishops ) and was followed by his Historia Novella , which continued its account for several more years. The portions of
176-560: The French crown in 1314 when Louis I, king of Navarre and count of Champagne , became king of France as Louis X. Counts of Champagne were highly considered by the French aristocracy . 49°00′N 4°00′E / 49.000°N 4.000°E / 49.000; 4.000 Gesta Regum Anglorum The Gesta Regum Anglorum ( Latin for "Deeds of the Kings of the English"), originally titled De Gestis Regum Anglorum ("On
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#1732776163773192-570: The adjoining regions of Alsace and Lorraine to form the new region of Grand Est . The name Champagne , formerly written Champaigne , comes from French meaning "open country" (suited to military maneuvers) and from Latin campanius meaning "level country" or "plain" which is also the derivation of the name of the Italian region of Campania . The toponym dates back to the Renaissance describing its vast chalk lined flat landscape. In
208-512: The early medieval kingdom of Austrasia , passed to the French crown in 1314. Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne , its western edge is about 160 km (100 miles) east of Paris. The cities of Troyes , Reims , and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. In 1956, most of Champagne became part of the French administrative region of Champagne-Ardenne , which comprised four departments: Ardennes , Aube , Haute-Marne , and Marne . From 1 January 2016, Champagne-Ardenne merged with
224-405: The majority of which are rooted in his attempts to gain access to different regions. Before beginning his journey, Bernard expresses his need to gain permission from Pope Nicholas I (a litterae formatae or commendaticiae ). While the monk achieves this with relative ease, he later notes having to gain letters from those such as the emir of Bari, Sawdan, to deliver to the leader of Alexandria , and
240-696: The number was probably closer to 900. Bernard further notes the Venetians' removal of Saint Mark's body from the monastery of Saint Mark in Alexandria. The relative ease with which Bernard travelled to Arab-ruled Bari is noteworthy, given the dating of his travels to the period following the Arab raid against Rome . Towards the end of the text, Bernard attests to the peace which existed between Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem and Egypt, contrasting this to
256-452: The volatile situation in Italy. To illustrate this point, Bernard claims that if, during his journey, his camel or donkey was to die, he would be able to leave his possessions unattended whilst visiting a different city to retrieve a new animal, and could return to find his belongings still there. Throughout the text, Bernard documents the challenges he faced while sojourning the Mediterranean,
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