Primary Source XXXV: The Travels of Jacques Le Saige
Update: 2025-01-15
Description
Jacques Le Saige, a silk merchant from Douai, France, embarked on a journey to Jerusalem on March 19, 1518, visiting Cyprus from July to September of that year. In this episode, we hear of his visit to Saint Sophia in Nicosia, offering some of the earliest evidence of medieval "graffiti" -- in this case, marks left by visiting pilgrims. His own name, etched into the wall of the Church of St. Francis in Famagusta, was rediscovered in 1901.
Churches in Cyprus were, surprisingly, quite often riddled with graffiti. Most would assume those were marks of desecration. Was that always the case? Let this captivating primary source serve as a prelude to next month's episode, Medieval Graffiti with Mia Trentin!
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