Medieval Pilgrimages: It’s All About the Journey
An integral part of this tangible form of faith was the pilgrimage: a spiritual journey to visit a holy site.
Tips for Travelling to Medieval Jerusalem
During medieval times, Christian pilgrims embarked on journeys across Europe and the Middle East to visit churches, holy sites, and shrines. The pinnacle of these pilgrimages was a visit to Jerusalem, necessitating thorough preparation. Hopefully, pilgrims could benefit from the travel advice provided by William Wey, a writer from the 15th century.
Holidaying in the Middle Ages
Have you wanted to escape into the medieval past?
Pilgrimages, Pandemics and the Past
Tom Holland will draw on experiences of reading Chaucer and undertaking pilgrimages during and after the pandemic.
New open-access journal for medieval studies
The inaugural issue of Eventum: A Journal of Medieval Arts and Rituals has been released. Based out of the Centre for Medieval Arts and Rituals (CeMAR) of the University of Cyprus it will be an open-access journal. pilgri
What were 12th-century Maps of the Holy Land meant to express?
My argument is that the earliest Western type of Holy Land map was formulated in a purely religious context — not in relation to the Crusader enterprise and ideology — and that this type of map was a pure devotional image.
New Medieval Books: Three Pilgrimages to The Holy Land
Translations of three texts from the twelfth century which relate pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Saewulf was English, while John of Wurzburg and Theoderic were both Germans. They offer interesting insights into how Jerusalem and the Near East region changed in the aftermath of the First Crusade.
Essential Hiking Gear for a Medieval Chinese Monk
Pilgrimage, alms begging, and journeys to obtain scriptures or relics: life on the road was a reality for many monks in medieval China. So what kind of things did they take with them, according to popular depictions?
Earning Your Badge: Mementos of Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages
The interesting thing about wearing your pilgrim’s badge on your hat is that you can’t see it yourself: it won’t be a visual reminder for you of your spiritual journey, but it will be a visual reminder for everyone else.
Camino de Santiago: The Medieval Route from Oviedo
‘He who visits Santiago but not San Salvador visits the servant but not the Lord’
Hospitality in historical perspective
Catrien Santing explores the concept of hospitality business within the context of sincere charity one side and the earning of money on the other.
Bartered Bodies: Medieval Pilgrims and the Tissue of Faith
The journey disciplined and dirtied the body, exposed the travellers to danger and death, and denied their normal comforts.
Discovery of Earliest Known Image of Pilgrims on the Road to Canterbury
Researchers have made a remarkable discovery of a stained glass panel picturing pilgrims travelling by horse and on foot to visit the tomb of archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The newly discovered stained glass panel dates to the mid 1180s, less than twenty years after Becket’s death.
NEW! The Medieval Magazine, No. 109: PILGRIMAGE
We look at medieval and modern pilgrimage in this issue, from the perils of travel, to the popular destinations, to souvenirs and salvation.
Warriors and Civilians in the Crusade Movement: Military Identities and Status in the Liberation and Defence of the Holy Land (1096-1204)
The canonical definition of crusades as penitential pilgrimages meant that most expeditions during the first century of the movement included large numbers of non-combatants, which caused significant problems with regard to discipline and logistics.
A Provençal Holy Land. Re-reading the Legend and the Sites of Mary Magdalene in Southern France
From the twelfth century onwards, various sites in Provence became associated with Mary Magdalene and her family, creating a pilgrimage “land” for those who wanted to see and experience their post-biblical lives.
Remembrance of things past: recreating the lost world of medieval pilgrimage to St Thomas Becket in Canterbury
This paper discusses the Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture’s recently completed a three-year AHRC funded research project, ‘Pilgrimage and England’s Cathedrals, past and present’.
Pilgrimage, Cartography, and Devotion: William Wey’s Map of the Holy Land
This article offers a reconstruction of a chapel, set up in England in the 1470s to commemorate a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The reconstruction follows information drawn from the founder’s will.
BOOK REVIEW: Pilgrim Routes of the British Isles by Emma J. Wells
What was pilgrimage like in the Middle Ages? Do modern day routes faithfully retrace the steps of long ago pilgrims? How has pilgrimage changed over the course of hundreds of years? Tourist? Pilgrim? Or both? What is the meaning of pilgrimage today?
Travel Tips for the Medieval Pilgrim
William Wey, a 15th century pilgrim, gives his travel tips for those going to medieval Jerusalem.
Crusaders, Pilgrims, and Relics – Bearers of the Cross: Material Religion in the Crusading World 1095-1300
The Museum of the Order of St. John is hosting a series of events and talks to promote their project: Bearers of the Cross: Material Religion in the Crusading World 1095-1300.
The Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago): The Temple of the Stars
A documentary about the famous pilgrimage route from the Middle Ages
Walk this Way: Two Journeys to Jerusalem in the Fifteenth Century
This paper appraises place pilgrimage to Jerusalem in two late-medieval English texts: The Itineraries of William Wey and The Book of Margery Kempe.
Medieval Lisbon: Jerónimos Monastery
Of the four medieval #placestosee in Lisbon, Jerónimos Monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, was my favourite. The monastery is located in Belém, a suburb of Lisbon, that is famous for the 16th century monastery, as well as for its world famous pastry shop, Pastéis de Belém…