Symon Semeonis

Symon Semeonis (fl. 1322–24; also Simon FitzSimon or Simon FitzSimmons) was a 14th-century Irish Franciscan friar and author.

Biography
Of Hiberno-Norman origin, Semeonis was the author of Itinerarium fratrum Symonis Semeonis et Hugonis illuminatoris (The Itinerary of Brother Symon Semeonis and Hugo Illuminator). In 1323 he and his companion friar, Hugo Illuminator (Hugh the Illuminator), undertook a pilgrimage from Clonmel in Ireland to Jerusalem. In his manuscript account, he described his experiences and encounters during that journey.

His encounter with a migrant group he called ‘the descendants of Cain’ outside the town of Heraklion (Candia) in Crete is probably the earliest surviving description by a Western chronicler of the Romani people in Europe. The account of his experiences in what is now Greece is also one of the earliest written reports of that land to reach Britain.

He received a special passport for mendicants from Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad at a reduced fee. This passport was apparently authenticated by the application of the Sultan's fingerprints. The original manuscript is currently held as MS 407 in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

His surname is now rendered FitzSimon, FitzSimmonds, or Simmonds, and still found in Ireland.

Journey
Fitzsimons described a detailed itinerary. Starting from Clonmel, he did not say how he left Ireland, but the fact that he entered Wales at Holyhead makes his departure via Dublin a near-certainty; even today, Dublin–Holyhead is an active ferry route. From Clonmel, the road went north to Roscrea, and then Fitzsimons could follow the Slighe Dála ("Way of the Assembly") east to Abbeyleix, and then northeastwards through Naas, Tallaght and Dublin.

From Holyhead, his party continued eastwards across North Wales. They then followed Watling Street down through England to Canterbury, leaving via Dover — not to Calais, but to Wissant. They continued south across France to Paris, then down the Seine to Châtillon, crossing overland to Beaune and then down the Saône and Rhône to Marseilles.

During his journey through Eastern Europe, Symon Semeonis started to pay more attention to inhabitants and local customs, which led him to mention and briefly describe Romani people who he encountered in Crete. This is the first known mention of the Romani people in Europe.