AA MMedieval edieval PPilgrimageilgrimage

Your Task

• You will first be going on a virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

• Take notes on your handout as you find out what a pilgrimage is and what it was like to go on one.

• You will then be writing the diary of a pilgrim.

The Motives Of Pilgrims• We will be following Count Fulk, a French

Knight. We will also meet Mestre, the Count’s cleric on this pilgrimage.

• What do you think were Fulk’s and Mestre’s motives for going on this pilgrimage?

• Count Fulk thinks he is in his late forties, though he is not exactly sure and he doesn’t really care. Like any Knight he has fought in several wars and committed various sins.

• Mestre is pious and looks forward to seeing the Holy Land but is fearful of the journey. He too has committed various sins.

Count Fulk

What Is A Pilgrimage?• A pilgrimage was a special journey to a holy place for the

purpose of penance. • Penance was the key idea behind pilgrimages. The pilgrim

had to be genuinely sorry, confess his sins and then make a positive act to ‘pay’ for the sin.

• Penance could just be saying prayers or giving alms, but for more serious sins it would involve a pilgrimage to a holy place or even as far away as the Holy Land.

• Because a pilgrimage was a penance, pilgrims could not just simply set out. Their journey had to be recognised by a priest.

• Going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was the greatest of all pilgrimages for Western Christians.

The Pilgrim’s Vow

• To mark the formal beginning of a pilgrimage, the pilgrim had to take a public vow in front of the Bishop.

• Upon the pilgrim’s return the Bishop would declare the vow fulfilled.

Preparations For A Pilgrimage

• The decision to go on a pilgrimage was not undertaken lightly.

• What kinds of things do you think you needed to do to arrange before you went on a pilgrimage?

• Peasants did not often go on pilgrimages, but if they wanted to they had to get the permission of their Lord.

• If the pilgrim was a landowner he had to make arrangements for his estate.

• You had to settle outstanding grievances or the penance would be pointless.

• You had to settle your debts and old arguments.• You had to make confession.

Departure From Pau• An important man like Fulk

does not leave town quickly or quietly.

• What do you think your departure would be like?

• He would say goodbye to his family privately.

• Then he would say goodbye to a larger audience in the town square.

• Fulk left Pau on foot, with hundreds joining him for the first few miles.

The Count’s castle at Pau

Bearne

• Fulk, of course, had no intention of walking all the way to Jerusalem on foot. For a few miles, he and his companions would walk in silent contemplation. Then he would meet up with the pre-arranged pack animals and horses. Pilgrim or not, a nobleman had to travel as suited his station.

A farmhouse in Bearne

Toulouse• People in the Middle Ages

did not venture outside their villages often. If they had not been on a pilgrimage, many people might never have left their village.

• Even for a Knight like Fulk the Holy Land was very far away.

• How do you think the pilgrims would have felt as they set out on their pilgrimage?

Pont Neuf in Toulouse

Carcassone

• As they travelled, pilgrims relied on the hospitality of others.

• When thinking about lodgings, pilgrims must choose between quality and frugality.

Nimes• Pilgrims visited Holy shrines

but they also went sightseeing.• Humans have a need for

memorabilia and all pilgrims collected souvenirs.

• What kinds of things do you think pilgrims collected as souvenirs?

• Water from the River Jordan, cockleshells, pieces of the rock of Calvary, earth.

The Roman Amphitheatre in Nimes

Arles

• Going on a pilgrimage was very dangerous.

• Robbers were the biggest problem because pilgrims carried money for their journey.

Grenoble

La Grande Chartreuse. The liqueur of the same name was made by the monks at this monastery.

The Alps

• The Alps presented a real danger to pilgrims on the road.

• Mountain passes, weather, robbers, winter.

Yes, that’s the road!

Turin

• Once pilgrims left their own country they encountered language problems.

Milan

• At this point in the journey you are joined by some other pilgrims. This is a good thing; safety in numbers!

• What do you think are these people’s reasons for going on a pilgrimage?

The Cathedral at Milan

Verona

• The journey to the Holy Land was very long, so pilgrims told each other stories for entertainment.

Padua

• St Anthony’s Basilica was an important shrine for pilgrims. It contained the bones of St Anthony.

• There is a lively trade in relics and souvenirs.

Venice

• Here you are going to have to find passage on a ship.

• Venice is an expensive city and passage on a ship will cost you, but it is safer than going overland.

• However, travelling by sea is incredibly dangerous, so you need to choose your captain well.

The Ship• Your berth on the ship is only

about 30inches wide, marked out in chalk.

• The smell was terrible. • Seasickness was common. Mass was

therefore dry; to vomit up the Host is sacrilege.

• Toilets were baskets hung over the side of the ship. Very dangerous!

• Life on board was very boring. • Meals were a welcome break from

the boredom but after a few weeks at sea were pretty unpalatable.

• Stopping at ports also relieved the boredom.

Zara

• The ship berths at the port of Zara as a pilgrim on board your ship has died.

• Dying en route was not all that unusual. This was because of the miserable conditions, risk of storm, poor food and lack of judgment.

• It was believed if you died on a pilgrimage you were guaranteed salvation, so it was not uncommon for people to set out to the Holy Land if they felt they were on their last legs.

Jaffa• Now that you are in the Middle

East, the term ‘old city’ means thousands of years old instead of hundreds.

• You are now under the authority of the Muslim governor.

• Pilgrim traffic (Muslim, Jewish and Christian) is so great that the authorities have an entire bureaucracy devoted to dealing with it.

• The authorities will tell you where you will be staying and you are not free to wander at will.

Jaffa Caves

• Pilgrims must stay in the caves, where they are guarded over night. Thousands upon thousands of pilgrims have stayed here over the centuries and the smell is so bad it makes you physically sick.

• In the morning you must buy a donkey. Be aware, your transaction will determine the comfort of your journey to the Holy Land. A good donkey with a conscientious donkey-boy is a blessing. A cantankerous donkey is an unending nightmare. As is the case in all countries and all times, the ignorant tourist will be at the mercy of traders and their scams.

Ramleh

• It was difficult for European nobility to learn not to be arrogant toward people they viewed as inferior, so make sure you don’t argue with your donkey-boy or your progress will be extremely slow.

The Abbot’s Instructions At Ramleh

• The Franciscan Abbott gives you instructions about how to continue on your journey to Jerusalem.

• Show Christian charity, avoid aggressive behaviour, do not enter Mosques, do not step in Muslim graveyards, travel in groups, do not carve your coat of arms into holy shrines, do not take away small pieces of holy sites.

Jerusalem• The sight of the walled city of

Jerusalem in the distance caused many pilgrims to break down in tears. This was the most sacred place in Christendom. You are walking where Jesus and the Apostles walked.

• Arrival at sunset was common as it took some hours to travel from Ramleh.

• You stay the night in the Hospital of St John in very humble conditions.

Via Dolorosa

• The Via Dolorosa (the Street of Sadness) was the road Jesus walked down on the day of the crucifixion.

• The scene is hardly reverential. Peddlars called out to tourists and the pilgrims themselves added to the noise and confusion. Don’t get lost in the crowd or you might meet with a nasty end down a dark alley.

The Holy Sepulchre• This is the ultimate goal for

every pilgrim. Within this complex are the sites where Jesus was crucified and buried.

• The scene outside, where you must wait to gain entry, is almost hopeless chaos. Peddlars work the crowd and people faint in the heat. You are worried about foreign doctors, but actually the Muslim doctors are far more knowledgeable than you.

• When the gates are opened everybody pushes and shoves to gain entry.

Inside The Holy Sepuchre

Inside The Holy Sepulchre

• The noise inside of people praying and crying out in so many different languages is echoed off the vaulted ceiling.

The Garden of Gethsemane

• This was the place where Jesus spent the night before he was betrayed and crucified.

• Pilgrims were sometimes disappointed with the Garden of Gethsemane, as it had grown unkempt.

Bethlehem

• Bethlehem was never more than a village. But as the place where Jesus was born it was a common site for pilgrims to visit.

Your Task

• You will be writing Fulk’s pilgrimage diary. Use the information on your sheet to describe the stages of the journey.

• Start by explaining why you are going on a pilgrimage and describing your preparations and departure. Then describe the places you stopped at and what the journey was like. Finish by explaining what it was like to finally arrive in Jerusalem and what you did there.