Arculf (later 7th century) was a Frankish bishop who toured the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

in around 680.

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

claimed he was a bishop (). According to Bede's history of the Church in England (V, 15), Arculf was shipwrecked on the shore of

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on his return from a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

. He was hospitably received by

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...

, the abbot of the island monastery from 679 to 704, to whom he gave a detailed narrative of his travels. Adomnán, with aid from some further sources, was able to produce '' De Locis Sanctis'' ("Concerning the sacred places"), a descriptive work in three books dealing with

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, and other places in Palestine, and briefly with

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Bede learned of this and spoke about him in his ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict b ...

''. Many details about Arculf's journeys can be inferred from this text.

Modern references

Arculf appears briefly as a character in the novel ''

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

'' by H. N. Turteltaub (

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...

of Caesarea (260/65–339/40), Church historian and geographer of the Holy Land * Anonimous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", pilgrim to the Holy Land (333-4) who left travel descriptions * Egeria, pilgrim to the Holy Land (c. 381-384) who left a detailed travel account * St Jerome (Hieronymus; fl. 386-420), translator of the Bible, brought an important contribution to the topography of the Holy Land * Madaba Map, mosaic map of the Holy Land from the second half of the 6th century * Anonimous Pilgrim from Piacenza, pilgrim to the Holy Land (570s) who left travel descriptions :Early Muslim period *

Paschal Chronicle ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name co ...

, 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world :Medieval period *

John of Würzburg John of Würzburg (Latin ''Johannes Herbipolensis'') was a German priest who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the 1160s and wrote a book describing the Christian holy places, the ''Descriptio terrae sanctae'' (Description of the Holy Land). ...

, pilgrim to the Holy Land (1160s) who left travel descriptions

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'':
Arculf

(English; J. R. Macpherson translation, 1895) *

Modern references

See also

External links

Further reading