Lorenz Egen aus Augsburg (1360/70-1418, esp. 1385)

by Zhao Luyang 赵鲁阳 (See Chinese translation)

Lorenz Egen aus Augsburg (alternative names) was from Augsburg in Bavaria, Germany. He was a merchant who was the master builder of Augsburg in 1387 and the mayor of Augsburg in 1409. He was married twice, his first wife being Magaretha Dächsin and his second being Dorothe Waldstromer.

He travelled to the Holy Land in 1385, and wrote a travel account of his pilgrimage.

In 1410, he founded the chapel of St. Anton in Augsburg for charitable aims. It is part of St. Antonspfründe. He died on the 7th of January 1418.

Lorenz's travel account, Beschreibung einer Reise zum Katharinenkloster am Sinai, concerns his journey to the Holy Land and Egypt in 1385. Two manuscripts, written in German, have survived. He used the indulgence register as a guide for his book which he enriched by adding personal information. His book is quite short and objective in tone.

He started his journey in Venice on 19 August 1385, whence he sailed on a small ship with a group of seven to Alexandria in Egypt. Among the other travellers was Peter Sparnau, who also wrote a travel account. Lorenz recounts how the group had to pay customs duty.

They travelled from Alexandria in Egypt to the coastal city of Rosette where they boarded a ship to Cairo. In Cairo, a guide was provided by the public authorities. After they visited the Christian sights, they travelled, with the help of an Arab guide, via the city of Suez in Egypt through the desert on camels to the Saint Catherine’s Monastery. They carried water and food for a 26-day-journey.

It took them 11 days to travel from Cairo to the Red Sea. During this journey they passed the fountain of Moses and stayed one night in Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Then they proceededfor 12 days through the desert in the Sinai Peninsula to Gaza, and from there travelled to Hebron, Bethlehem and Nazareth. On the way back, the group passed Sidon in Lebanon and boarded a ship in Beirut. They passed Rhodes in Greece, Thrace (a historic region now split among Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey) and Padua (Italy).

Lorenz’s account focuses on Christian topics. It does not mention Pharaonic or oriental Egypt. He reported drinking at the fountain of Moses, and using its water to wash himself. During his stay at St. Catherine’s Monastery, he wrote about the footprints of Moses preserved in stone and the biblical Ten Commandments. In the Valley of Josaphat, Lorenz remembered the Last Judgement, which according to the Bible will take place in this valley.