Pilgrimage Explored

The history and underlying ideology of pilgrimage examined, from prehistory to the middle ages.

The enduring importance of pilgrimage as an expression of human longing is explored in this volume through three major themes: the antiquity of pilgrimage in what became the Christian world; the mechanisms of Christian pilgrimage(particularly in relation to the practicalities of the journey and the workings of the shrine); and the fluidity and adaptability of pilgrimage ideology. In their examination of pilgrimage as part of western culture from neolithictimes onwards, the authors make use of a range of approaches, often combining evidence from a number of sources, including anthropology, archaeology, history, folklore, margin illustrations and wall paintings; they suggest that it is the fluidity of pilgrimage ideology, combined with an adherence to supposedly traditional physical observances, which has succeeded in maintaining its relevance and retaining its identity. They also look at the ways in whichpilgrimage spilled into, or rather was part of, secular life in the middle ages.

Dr JENNIE STOPFORD teaches in the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York.

Contributors: RICHARD BRADLEY, E.D. HUNT, JULIEANN SMITH, SIMON BARTON, WENDY R. CHILDS, BEN NILSON, KATHERINE J. LEWIS, DEBRA J. BIRCH, SIMON COLEMAN, JOHN ELSNER, A. M. KOLDEWEIJ.

Author: J. Stopford
Publisher: York Medieval Press
Published: 05/20/1999
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.49lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.66w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780952973430

About the Author
Lewis, Katherine J.: - KATHERINE J. LEWIS is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Huddersfield.