Medieval Christian pilgrimage had deep pre-Christian roots in the cultures of the Mediterranean and ancient Near East. Indeed, most cultures have developed traditions of sacred travel centered on numinous landscapes, objects, and bodies. Christian pilgrimage grew in prominence following the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century. Drawing inspiration and justification from Jewish and Christian texts, pilgrims flocked to the graves of the patriarchs and prophets, traversed the sites of Biblical battles, and reveled in sacred landscapes marked by the life and passion of Christ.
Rome too, with its claim to the bodies Peter and Paul (both doubly sacred as apostles and martyrs), emerged as a key center of pilgrimage. The conversion of large portions of the former Roman Empire between the fifth and tenth centuries further augmented Christendom’s holy geography. Through both popular acclamation and official declaration, new sacred landscapes emerged in Gaul, Germania, the British Isles, and the Iberian Peninsula. In some cases powerful local sentiment drafted pre-Christian holy sites into the service of Christendom. At the same time, long venerated bodies of the earliest disciples and martyrs were translated to the West. Among these were said to be the bodies of St. Dionysius, St. Mark, St. Andrew and, most important for our purposes, Saint James. Elaborate translatio narratives described the miraculous final pilgrimages of these saintly bodies and provided textual verification of their legitimacy and efficacy. Through pilgrimage narratives, literature, poetry, music, and direct participation in the Camino de Santiago, this course will explore the importance of pilgrimage within medieval society. We will also consider the contemporary importance of pilgrimage and the Camino from historical, cultural, and religious perspectives.
When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,
Quickened again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun
Into the Ram one half his course has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage) —
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage.— Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
Students who successfully complete this course will fulfill three primary learning outcomes central to the mission of the University of North Florida. First, this course is designed around the development and application of critical thinking skills. Students will read and analyze primary and secondary sources, critique historical arguments, and articulate their own arguments in response to historical evidence. Second, this course is designed to provide a transformational learning opportunity. During three weeks of travel, students will engage with unfamiliar cultures and languages while traveling through five culturally distinct regions of Spain: Aragon, the Basque Country, Castile, León, and Galicia. Students will also stay for five days at the University of Burgos, where they will have the opportunity to participate in Spanish university life and familiarize themselves with the pace and contours of one Spanish city. The final week of the trip will involve real pilgrimage. Students will walk 118 km to the shrine of St. James. During this portion of the journey, students will interact with pilgrims from across the globe as they confront many of the same joys and hardships that faced medieval travelers. On the successful completion of the journey, students will receive the Compostela, an official document issued by the pilgrimage office in Santiago marking their accomplishment. Through participation in a centuries-old pilgrimage tradition that connects the ancient and modern worlds, students will emerge with a more sophisticated understanding of both medieval and modern cultural landscapes. Finally, students will demonstrate specific subject area knowledge by identifying and analyzing key developments related to the history of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and connecting these to their own pilgrimage experiences.
In what specific ways has pilgrimage shaped the cultural and physical landscape of northern Spain? How does its continued practice shape contemporary cultural landscapes? How do the landscapes, both built and natural, shape the pilgrimage experience? Why did medieval men and women invest in pilgrimage? What did they hope to gain? How was the investment understood? Justified? Criticized? What social, political, economic and religious functions did it serve? What explains the continued appeal of pilgrimage?
