Abbot Daniel

Daniel the Traveller (or Daniel the Pilgrim or Daniel of Kiev, Russian: Даниил Паломник), was the first travel writer from Kievan Rus. Some have identified him as the Daniel, who was Bishop of Suriev, from 1115 CE to 1122 CE.

The Archimandrite Daniel journeyed to the West from the Rus monastery where he lived as an igumen in the twelfth century. This monastery was probably near Chernihiv in Ukraine, in the Land of Chernihivshchyna. He began his travels in the early 12th century and was likely in Constantinople around 1106 CE to 1108 CE. While Daniel was not the first traveler to leave Rus, his travels were the first which there are written records of. There were warriors, merchants, and earlier pilgrims who had traveled from Kievan Rus to the outside world before the twelfth century — however none left written records that have come down to the present day. Daniel was one of the first European travelers to travel long distances on foot and keep a written account of his travels ("travelog").

Daniel's journeys took him to Constantinople, then by way of Cyprus to the Holy Land. Daniel stayed in the Jerusalem area for over a year and took various trips around Palestine. During this time he explored the Dead Sea, Hebron, and Damascus. He learned much of the regions from his three major excursions to the Dead Sea and Lower Jordan (which he compares to the Snov River), Bethlehem and Hebron, and Damascus. Daniel wrote his journeys in narratives he titled Puteshestive igumena Daniila and also known as Zhytiye I khodinnya Danyla, Ruskoyi zemli ihumena — Life and Pilgrimage of Danylo, Hegumen from the Land of the Rus.

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