Through Pilgrims' Eyes: Mt Sinai in Pilgrim Narratives of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

Abstract

The Sinai monastery has always been a place luring the devotees with its numerous holy sites, hence it is frequently mentioned in the pilgrim narratives of the middle ages. Through a selection of narratives that date to the 13^th and 14^th centuries, it is attempted to explore the cult objects or the chapels of the monastery that could contribute to the mapping of its unknown history. Special mention is made to two narrations, the 13^th century one by Thiemar a German who speaks of an unknown medal cult object whose iconography hints indirectly to relationships with Constantinople; and to the 14^th century one by Poggibonsi who cites several icons among which some can be identified with certain works of art that are still housed in the monastery.