ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΞΑΝΘΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ [Νicephori Callisti Filii Xanthopuli]: ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ΒΙΒΛΙΑ ΙΗ [Ecclesiasticae Historiare Libri XVIII. Lutetiae Parisiorum 1630. EDITIO PRINCEPS of the last important ecclesiastical history of Byzantine times and a unique source for early travel to the Levant. Impressive folio (37 × 25 cm), 2 volumes. Text in the original Greek with parallel Latin translation. Contemporary full vellum with fine stamped decoration on covers, in very good condition. Complete: half-title, title in red and black, [6], 809, [40] pp.; and half-title, title in red and black (for the second volume), 888, [38] pp. Text clean and bright, with only a few marginal stains in the opening pages of the introduction. Overall in fine condition. Nikephoros Xanthopoulos (1256–1325) composed an extensive history covering the Byzantine period up to the 7th century. For the first three centuries he follows earlier historians, but from the 4th century onward he draws on sources otherwise unknown, making his narrative unique. The most important feature of his work is its incorporation of all the early Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the very first recorded travels to the Levant. Beginning with Helena, mother of Constantine, who journeyed there in the early 4th century and established the tradition of pilgrimage, Xanthopoulos records in detail the travels of St. Basil across Asia Minor and of the Empress Eudocia, who went from Constantinople to Jerusalem in 438–439, returning with numerous relics. Her activities during this pilgrimage are described extensively (Historia Ecclesiastica, vol. I, pp. 40, 348, etc.). The chronicle also includes accounts of Pulcheria’s visit to Chalcedon, of St. Eucherius (440), St. Symeon, and many others during the 5th and 6th centuries. The Historia Ecclesiastica of Xanthopoulos is thus the first printed edition to preserve many of these early travel narratives, making it an invaluable source for the history of pilgrimage and travel in the Levant. A monumental work in its first edition.