Why were pilgrimages dangerous

Many of the pilgrims traveled on foot for more than 3, miles, never spending more than one night in a particular place. A pilgrimage meant that pilgrims had to be prepared to spend an enormous amount of money and several years of their lives. Many of the pilgrims were forced to sell their land to the church to start the journey that would bring them spiritual salvation.

Before leaving home, they had to pay all debts, make a will, apologize to everyone they offended in the past and make a vow in front of the priest to complete their journey. A pilgrimage entailed considerable danger, and many pilgrims never made it back.

However, poorly signposted paths were just a tiny part of the dangers during the pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. Robbers and bandits were one of the biggest threats and although attacking a pilgrim was considered a crime and the attackers faced harsh punishments, many pilgrims were attacked and robbed on their way to the holy place or shrine. Rome was particularly rich in relics , but as the Middle Ages progressed, other places acquired important relics and became centers of pilgrimage themselves.

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, huge numbers of pilgrims flocked to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, where the relics of the apostle Saint James the Greater were believed to have been discovered around Canterbury was a popular destination for English pilgrims, who traveled to witness the miracle-working relics of Thomas Becket, the sainted archbishop of Canterbury who was martyred at the hands of knights of King Henry II in and canonized shortly thereafter.

The relics of local saints drew visitors from closer range to sites like Saint Frideswide in Oxford, and San Nicola Peregrino in Trani. In addition to attracting religious travelers, the veneration of relics provided a springboard for the creation of works of art. Sculptors and goldsmiths made the reliquaries required to enshrine the holy objects The translation of relics from one place to another, either within a church or across a great distance, was cause for celebration and often depicted in art Artists made objects that allowed pilgrims to commemorate their journey, ranging from simple badges It was customary for pilgrims to bring offerings to the shrines they visited, and many of these, too, were works of art: costly liturgical vessels, elaborate priestly vestments, and other precious objects enriched the treasury of every pilgrimage church.

Before departing, the pilgrim normally received a blessing from the local bishop and made a full confession if the pilgrimage was to serve as a penance. To signal his special vocation, the pilgrim put on a long, coarse garment and carried a staff and small purse—Saint James is often depicted with this distinctive gear Serious-minded pilgrims engaged in constant devotions while en route, and some carried prayer books or portable altars Monasteries located along the pilgrimage roads Some monastic churches also housed relics of their own, and these often incorporated an interior passageway called an ambulatory, which allowed pilgrims to circulate and venerate the relics without interrupting the monks in their regular orders of prayer.

The need to accommodate larger numbers of pilgrims caused many churches to undertake major renovations, for example, Saint-Denis, which was dramatically altered under Abbott Suger in the early twelfth century. The concept and experience of pilgrimage was so strong in medieval Europe that it fired the imagination of the age and set the tone for travel of all kinds.

The Crusades , armed campaigns mounted to win control of the Holy Land, were understood as a particular kind of pilgrimage, and so were many of the quests pursued by knights in life and legend. The norms of medieval pilgrimage affected the visual arts as well. For example, an ivory carved around depicts the risen Christ with the two disciples who met him on the road to Emmaus; they are shown as contemporary pilgrims, with walking sticks, a vessel for water, and a purse marked with a cross The ivory reflects the popularity of Santiago de Compostela, then at the height of its fame, and it differs markedly from another depiction of the same subject in a ninth-century ivory, where the travelers wear modified classical garb and pursue their goal less emphatically A fragment of a painting by Sassetta represents another biblical journey, that of the Magi on the way to adore the infant Jesus; the kings are fashionably dressed, mounted on horseback, and surrounded by a lively entourage, like aristocratic pilgrims traveling in state It is important to point out that, title notwithstanding, this is a book about Jerusalem pilgrimages at the end of the Middle Ages—specifically the fourteenth, fifteenth, and early sixteenth centuries.

A pilgrim in the twelfth century, for example, would have had a dramatically different experience than what is described here.

Chareyron recognizes the diversity of late medieval pilgrimage routes, yet focuses on what she sees as the most common one and then follows it closely. It begins at home with a ceremony and tearful departure and then moves on to Venice, where ships' captains compete with one another to sell package tours that seem never to go as promised.

After experiencing the rich beauty of Venice, the pilgrims then board a cramped vessel where poor food, bad smells, nasty rats, cagey oarsmen, and disease are the norm for the next five weeks.

When the pilgrims finally do arrive at the ruins of crusader Jaffa they are packed into caves where they must wait until they have paid sufficient fees, bribed sufficient officials, and submitted to sufficient depredations.

Only then can they depart under the guidance of the approved Franciscan tour leaders. Along the way and throughout their visit to the Holy Land they will be beset by corrupt authorities and local Muslims who routinely lob insults or stones at them while all the while seeking to rob them blind.

The journey was a penance indeed. Once in Jerusalem, things do not get much better. Most pilgrims were given Spartan quarters and strictly limited in their ability to move about. Monastery land was seized and sold off cheaply to nobles and merchants. They in turn sold some of the lands to smaller farmers. This process meant that a large number of people had good reason to support the monasteries being closed. In Henry turned his attention to religious shrines in England.

For hundreds of years pilgrims had visited shrines that contained important religious relics. Wealthy pilgrims often gave expensive jewels and ornaments to the monks that looked after these shrines.

Henry decided that the shrines should be closed down and the wealth that they had created given to the crown. The Pope and the Catholic church in Rome were horrified when they heard the news that Henry had destroyed St.

Thomas Becket's Shrine. A piece of Our Lord's Cross Pieces of the Lord's tomb A piece of the Lord's cradle Some of the hairs of St. A piece of her robe Part of St Thomas of Canterbury's tunic. Part of his chair. Shavings from the top of his head. Part of the blanket that covered him, and part of his woollen shirt