Jerusalem: The Holy City in Literature

Through the centuries, Civitas Dei – the City of God – has shone as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for poets, mystics, and artists alike. This volume, despite its inevitable limits, stands as the first true Jerusalem anthology drawn from the vast treasury of world literature. Within its pages, the responses of travellers, poets, and visionaries to both the heavenly and earthly city – the eternal ‘rock of ages’ – come vividly to life.

Guided by an impartial hand, the editor gathers material from an extraordinary range of sources, many rarely encountered, to create a luminous literary portrait of the holiest city on earth. The result is a moving and multifaceted revelation of Jerusalem – the ‘city of the world’s tears’ – seen through the eyes of those who have sought and sung its spirit.