Part 18 (1/2)
Further on the street is arched over, and in the side-walls are remains of ancientJew! This tradition however (or rather legend) is not accepted by the Christians of Jerusalem The number of stones of ancient Jeorkmanshi+p in the lower parts of the wall and inside the buildings on each side, and the position in the line of the second wall, in its course from the Antonia across the Tyropoeon, lead me to think that the Gate of Ephraim formerly stood exactly on this spot The pointed arches in the doors half buried in the accu occupied this site in the time of the Crusades
Tradition asserts that the sentence of death was affixed to the Judgement Gate, by which the condemned criminal went out on his way to execution, and that as our Lord passed by here He fell the second time
Adricho the place where the Sanhedriives no reason for theirthere rather than in any other place I consider that probably it was called the Gate of Ephrai of Herod's wall, and that the naelists make no mention either of it or of the second fall of Christ
Our Lord's hters of Jerusale to the circumstance that titus attacked the second line of walls from this side, it is obvious that, even if the event happened in this neighbourhood, all traces of the exact spot es that the place has undergone; so that the tradition is valueless
The station of the Third Fall needs no coard to the Calvary and Sepulchre I have already expressed my opinion in the fourth chapter I believe the other stations to be in the neighbourhood of them, so that while I cannot undertake to fix their exact position, I do not absolutely refuse to give any credence to them
I hold, therefore, that the present Via Dolorosa is only a representation of the true one; and regard it in the same way as I do the Stations in Churches; that is, as a useful agent in arousing religious feelings, and bringing to remembrance the soleht in the city at its destruction by titus and rebuilding by Hadrian, and the numerous alterations at other times, the accumulation of rubbish, and, above all, the i, as it would do, in the north ditch of the Antonia, seem tothe identity of this with the road trodden by our Saviour That I believe to have commenced on the west side of the Antonia, and to have followed the line of the present street of S Helena's Hospital up to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Along this, in ht more reasonably be placed; for, whatever theory be adopted about the tower Antonia, the difficulty of the valley cannot be explained away
I now pass on to consider the other buildings, religious and civil, in the city; and with this view conduct in our exa to France When I first saw it in 1854 it was used as a shelter for the Governor's horse-soldiers, while the courtyard, all streith ruins, was frequented by camel-drivers, who tethered their beasts there, so that it had become covered with filth: and as the Mohammedans took no care of the fabric, it beca it, even so far as was necessary to keep it in use for a stable Since the year 1761 it had been abandoned by the Mohammedans, because (as they said) shrieks and hoere heard every time that they went there; and in 1767 they were so fully persuaded of this, that the Santon hie of the place, offered the keys to the Franciscans, by who them) they were refused
It was then entirely deserted, except that the monks, by permission of the Pasha, continued to celebrate mass in it on the Festival of the Conception, and on that of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, who (according to them) was born there So matters went on until in 1856 M
de Barrere happily thought of endeavouring to obtain it for the Roovernment at Constantinople, that his hopes were realized; for on October 19, 1856, the Sultan granted it to France, and on Nove with all for the keys froo, and soon Jerusalem will possess a new church, one of the finest in Palestine Having given this preliminary account, let us examine into the history of its foundation and its vicissitudes
Some think that it was founded (as usual) by S Helena; but of this we cannot be certain, as it is notthe churches built by the E to Nicephorus, exceeded thirty in number
”Moreover this woht, founded more than thirty churches in these Holy Places[485]” In the seventh century the pilgriin near the pool 'Probatica' S John of Daht forth in the house of 'the Probatica,' of Joachiain, in the First Oration on the Nativity of the Virgin[487]: ”Happy be thou in all respects, O Probatica, ancient temple of the seed of Joachim, but now a church!” Phocas mentions it in his description of the remarkable places of Antioch and Jerusalem Other authors, froree in placing it on the saive us any certain clue to the history of its foundation As every one expresses his own opinion on this point, I will follow the general example[488] That the church was in existence before the Crusaders entered Jerusalem is evident from the Arabian historians; for Abulfeda tells us that under the rule of the Khalifs, before the Franks gained possession of Jerusalee for public instruction[489] Again, Saewulf visited it AD 1103, that is, in the first four years of the Latin kingdo churches William of Tyre[490] relates that three or four nuns inhabited the adjoining convent; which is also a proof of its existence previous to the Crusades; because so small a nu such a church Now the re the whole period of the Latin kingdom are recorded by several writers; and e have co the importance of this Sanctuary (the supposed birthplace of the Virgin), and the station in life of those who there dedicated themselves to the monastic life under the rule of S Benedict, we can draw but one conclusion fro is older than the Crusades But further, Arda, wife of Baldwin I, being repudiated by her husband, entered the convent AD 1104, and liberally endowed it
William of Tyre[491] speaks of her munificence, and also of the unseemly manner in which she quitted the place Why then does not he hter of Baldwin II, in 1130, dedicated herself to the monastic life, and lived in the convent until that of S
Lazarus at Bethany was finished, which was built for her by her sister Milisendis On this occasion also Willias, but not the church
M de Vogue[493] writes as follows: ”Towards theexpresses wonder at the number of the nuns (who followed the rule of S Benedict), and at their devotion; and , I think, on this occasion, the church now reree with this opinion, for the reason that, had the church been rebuilt, the author would not have omitted to s erected under the Latin kingdom If the plates be examined[494], I need not enter into details, as they will be found sufficiently clear; but will only call attention to the shape of the church (a trapeziu it to the time of the Crusaders I ainally a Byzantine building, which was restored by them From Plate LXIII we see that the Church of S Cross has the pointed arch like that of S Ann, and is still plainer[496] Now the for when the Persians under Chosroes II invaded the country; as is stated by Georgian manuscripts in the Greek convent of S Constantine at Jerusalem Hence the presence of pointed arches does not forbid us to suppose that S Ann's Church was also built before the Crusades M de Vogue[497] says ”that the last testern piers (inside the church) are much more massive than the rest, and were intended to sustain bell-towers” With this I do not agree, because the difference in size is imperceptible; indeed, perhaps they are even smaller than the rest: and further, I do not find the walls at the north-west and south-west corners sufficiently strong to support towers; on the contrary, through their weakness they have fallen greatly to ruin; and lastly, I find no traces of theht forward than have hitherto been, I retain the opinion expressed above; which is, I believe, sustained by history and the place itself
In the church weto a date posterior to the original building, but a little prior to the e part of which is still standing
When Saladin took Jerusalem, AD 1187, he established various institutions for the Moha others founded a school, AD 1192, in the Church of S Ann, after repairing the injuries caused by the destruction of the neighbouring convent The Arabic inscription on the entrance-gate on the west records this event It runs as follows: ”In the nas ye enjoy come from God! This sacred _Medresse_ (School) has been founded by the victorious King, our Master, Salah-ed-Din, Sultan of Islam, and of the Mohaiven life to the empire of the Head of the Faithful May God bless his victories, and pour out His bounty upon him, in this world and in the next This institution has been founded for the doctors of the rite of Irant hiht[498]” This school was deserted in the fifteenth century, owing to the want of means to carry it on, caused by ers We have seen what its condition was in 1767 In 1842 Tayar Pasha entertained the design of re-opening the school, and with that view ordered the interior to be repaired, and the minaret to be built The latter however was never finished, because the builders and stone-masons of Bethleheot on sloith the work, and even threwinto the cisterns; acting thus because they were unwilling to see a place sacred to Christians profaned by the Moha the spot, I proved the truth of the workmen's story; for I found a quantity of prepared materials in a cistern on the west, and also in another on the south of the church
Into these I descended before the place was examined by the three French architects ere sent, one after the other, to Jerusale well under the superintendence of M
Mauss, a young reat promise Within the church, under the choir, is a crypt in which the rock is exposed There, according to an old tradition, was the abode of S Joachiin Mary was born It was already known in the seventh century, and the first who mentions it is S John Damascenus[499] It is difficult to see what authority can be found to establish the truth of the tradition It is doubtful whether the Virgin was born at Jerusale she was born at the former place, why did S Ann live in a crypt? Surely there were houses in Jerusalem! I think that the church was simply dedicated to S Ann We find in a manuscript, preserved in the Latin Convent of S Saviour, that a passage formerly ran from this church to the Tomb of Mary in the Kidron Valley; but allinto the interior of the church were unavailing; perhaps it may be buried under the ruins of the Convent In the Tomb of Mary, at the extremity of the western arm of the cross, there is a doorway closed with masonry, which cannot be seen from the outside, because of the accu in a plot of land on the western bank of the Kidron Valley, at no great distance fro fro covered with a strong cement When I heard of this I went to exa the walls inferred the existence of two openings, one on the east, the other on the west Perhaps they coe; and the reason why they are in these positions, e which was already on the spot I trust that the architect in charge of the restoration at S Ann's Church es I do not describe the insignificant remains of the Convent of Benedictine nuns, because they possess nothing of interest Not a capital nor a shaft of a colu of their former splendour, nay, not so much as whether they could have been ever beautiful
The Church of the Magdalene (called _Mamonieh_ by the Arabs) is situated to the north-west of the Church of S Ann, and to the south-east of Herod's Gate According to tradition it stands on the site of the house of Simon the Pharisee, where the penitent sinner washed the Saviour's feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head S
Luke[500] does not mention the place at which this circuelists[501] state that it happened at Bethany, so that I cannot ad that of the Bible; consequently I consider the church as only dedicated to the dalene All that now re is the porch, part of the choir, and the side walls, which are left standing at irregular heights above the ground; everything else is a heap of ruins, overgroith creeping plants; and in thepipes, water-pots, and the like It is commonly said to be the property of the Greek Convent, but I am not certain whether this is true I removed the rubbish from the interior to search for the re able to ascertain the plan of the building; but my labours were fruitless, and I ue's work[502], only observing that the Church of the Magdalene does not (as he asserts) belong to the same class of churches as that of S Ann, for the forle in plan, the latter a trapeziuhly appreciate the labour he has bestowed upon the subject; but, as I have not been fortunate enough to verify his discoveries in my subsequent visits to the spot, I cannot say whether the church belongs to the era of the Crusades, or to an earlier period I cannot however admit that it can be called a French work[503], because the Crusaders were not French alone, but of many different nations The same author writes, ”The only contedalene Church are in the account of John of Wurtzburg, and in the Cartulary He tells us that it was served by the Jacobite monks 'Near the city-wall, not far frodalene, occupied by the Jacobite monks These assert that it stands on the site of the house of Simon the Leper A crossto the same monks) the spot where Mary knelt at the feet of Jesus[504]' The Cartulary contains the title of an agreement[505] between the Latin Canons of the Holy Sepulchre and the Jacobite dalene The docunatures it must have been written about AD
1160 After Jerusalem had been taken by the Saracens the church was converted into a school, and was called _Ma the Mohammedans 'The school of _Maiate of the city called Sahera, was formerly a Greek church (ie Christian): it was endowed in 593 (AD 1197) by the Emir Faris-ed-Din-Abu-Said-Mai Salah-ed-Din'” Let us now consider the testi undertook his journey after the middle of the twelfth century, and found the Jacobites already established in the Magdalene Church Now if the church had been built by the Crusaders, the pilgrim would have been sure to ive it up to the Jacobites I believe that the Canons allowed it to reinally belonged to them It also appears to me that the names of the Canons must be exactly known before it can be proved, on the evidence of the signatures alone, that the agreeain, why are the words of Mejir-ed-Din[506], 'a Greek church,' necessarily to be taken as equivalent to a Christian church? I maintain that Saladin and his folloere too well acquainted with the difference between the Latins and the Greeks to make this slip in a public document I am therefore inclined to believe that the church had been built before the arrival of the Crusaders, and that possibly it e, and repaired afterwards by the Jacobites, ere for that reason allowed to retain it I cannot adopt any other theory, because I a a church to the Jacobites, ere considered heretical after AD 541, because they maintained that there was but one (the divine) nature in Christ, and were therefore called Monophysites
On the east of the Chapel of the Flagellation is an ancient chapel, called _Der Addas_ by the Mohammedans, and by the Christians, the Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin It is now used as a warehouse
There is no mention of it in any ancient docu not more than 16 feet wide, with a donificance that there is no dispute about the founders Its masonry shews that it is older than the time of the Crusades
On the north of the Austrian hospice is the ancient Church of S Peter, now converted into aDervishes Its plan consists of a nave with two side aisles of equal length, terminated by semicircular apses; they are divided by two perfectly plain piers on each side, sustaining a vaulted roof, with sharp groins, and supported by pointed arches The total length of the building (inside) is 40 feet 2 inches, the nave is 10 feet wide from pier to pier, while the north aisle is 5-1/2 feet, and that on the south, owing to an irregularity in the wall, is a little narrower, being about 5-1/4 feet It is difficult to assign a date to this church, because it is not mentioned by ancient authors, and is built in a ed to the order of the Knights of S Lazarus, whose mission was to succour and cure, if possible, the lepers From this order has arisen that of S Maurice and S Lazarus of the kingdo to the central valley we find, exactly at the vaulted passage under the house of Dives, a street rising ard (which I consider to have been the true way of the Cross,) and on the south side of it is a building (several centuries old), of Saracenic architecture, having doorways elegantly ornamented with arabesques and mosaics, and hite, red, and black stones found in Palestine[507] This is considered, by the Christians, to be the hospital built by the Empress Helena; and it is said by tradition to have been erected before the church of the Resurrection, in order to accoed upon it, and to have been afterwards devoted to the reception of poor pilgrims I admit the truth of the tradition, but not that the present building is of that date, for it is entirely Saracenic work
The Mohammedans call it Tekhiyeh el-Khasseki-Sultane (Convent of the favourite Sultana), and fro the registers of landed property, it is clear that it was built by the Sultana Rossellane, the favourite consort of Solynificent, who established there a hospice for the poor and the pilgrims It is shewn by the sae revenues fro of an annual tax paid by the villagers of Bethleheether with the fees paid by the Christians on entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre This fact is also confirmed by an Arabic inscription on a stone built into the wall near the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at a height of 8 or 9 feet above the ground This charitable foundation is still daily at work, but on a reduced scale, owing to its diminished income I think, then, that this charity may have been commenced by S Helena (whence its na the Crusades; and kept up by the Mohammedans after their conquest of Jerusaleed and enriched by Rossellane; who also built large rooms there, and resided in it herself to minister to the poor and destitute; as is stated in the Mohammedan traditions, and in the chronicles preserved in the mosque _Kubbet es-Sakharah_
We will now take a survey of its exterior and interior At the first glance the negligence of its , the finest in the city, which, if in good order, would be very useful to the Governor of the place, is beco made to repair it In 1859 Surraya Pasha was desirous of restoring it, and commissioned me to make a plan, which he afterwards forwarded to Constantinople; but he was not seconded by the higher authorities, and in course of time the place will fall down, unless (as is much to be desired) it be purchased by one of the wealthier Christian coations in the interior I found the rock, which in one part for ard, in which place steps are to be seen four feet wide, but not h These, I think, otha; because it is in the direction of the south-west corner of the tower Antonia (as placed by ht stones of different colours, skilfully laid with even joints, especially in the door-posts, where lead is eenerally conduct the visitor into the building On the ground-floor on the east are shewn several cha the poor, is prepared One, of great size, has a well constructed vaulted roof supported by piers: it is occupied by horse-rind the corn for the establishs broken, and the horses only are excellent, as they belong to the ers, and therefore work little, and feed well In another place the bread is made and baked, and is by no ranary; in this are two large brass caldrons 6 feet in diae The place which serves as a kitchen is remarkable for its architecture and its central doinally it was a bath-roorimed with dirt, the pavement is broken, and only one caldron (5 feet in diae furnace is in use; four others are seen as a reproach to the ers, who keep them unworked, and leave them to be destroyed by the damp, so that they may then sell them as worthless In the one in use a quantity of wheat is boiled, and after being seasoned with good oil, is distributed a the poor, each of whoiven to all who apply for it, without regard to their religion On the great Mohaiven to each, with plenty of rice and honey, which are furnished by the wealthy proprietors, who haveis assigned to S Helena by the Christians, so also are the caldrons What excellent brass they must be to have lasted in use from AD 326 to the present time! In order to mount to the upper story it is necessary to leave these roo into the street, more to the west Let the visitor nohere he sets his foot, for a heap of filth covers up several steps of the stairs, which are flooded in winter with rain-water from the ruined terrace-roofs, and infested by vero round by the central valley to the south gate, and so avoid the nuisance I speak from experience