Symon Semeonis (''fl.'' 1322–24; also Simon FitzSimon or Simon FitzSimmons) was a 14th-century Irish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar and author.

Biography

Of Hiberno-Norman origin, Semeonis was the author of ''Itinerarium fratrum Symonis Semeonis et Hugonis illuminatoris'' (''The Itinerary of Brother Symon Semeonis and Hugo Illuminator'').''Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis''
22. In 1323 he and his companion friar, Hugo Illuminator (Hugh the Illuminator), undertook a pilgrimage from

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

in Ireland to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In his manuscript account, he described his experiences and encounters during that journey. His encounter with a migrant group he called ‘the descendants of

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

’ outside the town of

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

(Candia) in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

is probably the earliest surviving description by a Western chronicler of the

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

in Europe. The account of his experiences in what is now

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

is also one of the earliest written reports of that land to reach Britain. He received a special passport for mendicants from Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad at a reduced fee. This passport was apparently authenticated by the application of the Sultan's fingerprints. The original manuscript is currently held as MS 407 in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

is now rendered FitzSimon, FitzSimmonds, or Simmonds, and still found in Ireland.

Journey

Fitzsimons described a detailed itinerary. Starting from

, he did not say how he left

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, but the fact that he entered

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

makes his departure via

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

a near-certainty; even today, Dublin–Holyhead is an active ferry route. From Clonmel, the road went north to Roscrea, and then Fitzsimons could follow the Slighe Dála ("Way of the Assembly") east to Abbeyleix, and then northeastwards through

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

, Tallaght and

. From Holyhead, his party continued eastwards across

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. They then followed

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

down through England to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, leaving via

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

— not to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, but to Wissant. They continued south across

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then down the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

to Châtillon, crossing overland to

Beaune Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...

and then down the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

and

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

to Marseilles. During his journey through Eastern Europe, Symon Semeonis started to pay more attention to inhabitants and local customs, which led him to mention and briefly describe

who he encountered in

. This is the first known mention of the Romani people in Europe.

References

Sources

''Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis Ab Hybernia Ad Terrum Sanctam''
ed. and translated by Mario Esposito,

, 1960.
''A New History of Ireland'', volume one
pp. 453, 460.

by Conn Murphy, UCC, a
Classics Ireland

The itineraries of Fr. Simon Fitzsimons-1322-23
and others. Thomas Brygg. (Scroll to last PDF entry)
Two Irish Travellers in Albania in 1322
*M. Esposito, ''Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis ab Hybernia ad Terram Sanctam,'' Dublin, The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1960 *G.Golubovich, ''Biblioteca Bio-bibliografica della Terra Santa e dell’Oriente Francescano'', III, Florence, Collegio di S. Bonaventura, 1919 *Agustí Justicia Lara (2020).
The Corpus Islamolatinum as Auctoritas in the Polemical Discourse of Symon Semeonis
in ''Propaganda and (un)covered identities in treatises and sermons: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the premodern Mediterranean'' (ed. Cándida Ferrero). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Servei de Publicacions, Bellaterra. pp. 41-54 *Agustí Justicia Lara (2020).
The ''mirabilia'' of the Mediterranean Basin in the ''Itinerarium Symonis Semeonis''
in ''The mirabilia of the Mediterranean Basin'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Semeonis, Symon 14th-century Irish writers 14th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 14th-century travel writers Irish travel writers Irish explorers Pilgrimage accounts Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Clonmel Irish Franciscans Christian clergy from County Tipperary Writers from County Tipperary

Biography

Journey

See also

References

Sources