Medieval Pilgrimage

Introduction

Penance: Ordered by a Priest
- Sin and confession: Required as penance for absolution.
- Example: Adultery could result in being sent on a pilgrimage.
Religious Devotion
- Visiting shrines of saints for personal devotion.
- Belief in mystical power of saints' remains.
- Seeking cures for afflictions by being near saint’s tombs.

An important site for Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Significance for Christians: Jesus' life events, Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Construction overseen by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine.
Hazards: Long journey, danger of robbery, and risk during the Seljuk rule.
Souvenirs: Pilgrimage badges like the palm frond, leading to surnames like Palmer.
Economic importance: Tours, taverns, and accommodations catered to pilgrims just like modern tourist destinations.
First Crusade connection: Seljuk conquests limited safe pilgrimage.

Made famous by Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Shrine of Saint Thomas Becket: Beckett became a martyr after dispute with King Henry II.
Easier access: 60 miles from London’s Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral.
Society range: Wide spectrum of pilgrims from knights to plowmen.
Souvenirs: Relics and pilgrimage badges, often false relics.
Issues: Selling indulgences and fake relics criticized in Canterbury Tales.

Namesake: Saint James, one of the twelve apostles, said to be buried there.
Very popular medieval site after Jerusalem and Rome.
Network of pilgrimage routes: The Way of Santiago.
Souvenirs: Scallop shell badge. Symbolic based on a legend involving St. James' body.

Accessibility: Jerusalem was for the wealthy; local shrines were accessible to common people.
Significance: Pilgrimages were acts of devotion or required penance.
Miracle Belief: Monumental spaces at saint’s tombs were believed to perform miracles, drawing the sick and afflicted.

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