Franciscan Compilations, Miscellaneous Manuscripts and Composite Volumes on the Holy Land

Abstract

This chapter discusses how the history of the Holy Land and accounts of its different religious groups were brought together in compilations of historical and geographical texts and deliberate assemblages produced in the Convent of Mount Zion. The dynamics of medieval compilation and creation of miscellanies allowed for the remediation of these texts within such assemblages; however, these miscellanies also display a strong continuity in the transmission of texts on the Holy Land connected to the Convent of Mount Zion, which reflects a continuity of the themes propagated by the Franciscans. The preservation of these texts in the Franciscan library at Mount Zion guarantees the survival of the memory of the same historical events and figures across decades and centuries, and their association with the experience of visiting the holy places. The historical texts of the compilation focus on the moments in which the holy places were threatened or destroyed and were subsequently repaired or recovered by the Christians. They emphasize the struggle of the Christians to conquer, defend and then attempt to reconquer Jerusalem after its loss. The copying of these texts or fragments of texts in the compilations and assemblages guaranteed the recursivity of the stories they told, allowing the construction of a shared memory across centuries.