A Companion to Medieval Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage to shrines and places of particular holiness was a feature of all three major religious traditions in medieval Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Pilgrims exposed themselves to risk and loss in order to experience the spiritual benefits of devotion to the shrine of a saint or a holy place. This authoritative and comprehensive Companion offers a thematic approach to the experience of the medieval pilgrim, from departure to return. The central focus is on how pilgrims prepared for and negotiated their journeys; what they saw and did at shrines; and how they understood their journeys. The Holy Land stands at the centre of the book, because it was the main site of pilgrimage for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrims, but pilgrimages to other sites across Europe and the Near East, and to the shrines of local saints, are also explored.