30 April 2024

Medieval saints, pilgrims, souvenirs

In the Christian tradition, journeying was associated with conversion: all pil­g­rim roads potentially led to Damas­cus. All Christians were stained with sin in his life, but individuals’ motives for going on pilgrimage differed from person to person: to seek health care; ful­fil pil­grim­age vows made during crises; do penance for sins; give thanks for blessings received; as a court punishment for a crime; or for pleasure.

Apostle arm reliquary, German, c1190, silver gilt & enamel, 51cm, 
Cleveland Museum Art

The risks were great: infections, rugged climates, pirates and rape. Mus­lim pirates lurk­ed on the sea routes; other nat­ions’ war­s flared up; ocean storms and epid­emics threat­ened; pil­g­rims had to ob­tain food/shelter en route; and leaving one’s affairs at home was risky. Brigands meant pilgrims tr­a­velled in convoy; pro­tect­ion was needed along the roads and safe places for shel­t­er. Where mon­as­t­eries could not accom­m­odate the crowds, large guest halls were set up by the holy orders. Or hostels at the end of every day’s journey. There they would rec­eive beds of straw, food and alms, a chapel, minstrels and story tellers.

So every temptation that could fascinate the med­ieval mind was linked to pilgrim­age. A general in­dulgence was made by Pope Urban II in 1095 to pilgrims to Jerus­alem, and later to all pilgrims. The ceremony for bless­ing departing pil­grims was held in the local parish church; in his hab­it he lay pr­ostrate before the altar. Each pil­grim re­c­eived a staff and leather satch­el, and wore a grey tun­ic, scarf and large broad-rimmed hat. A red cross was sewn on his garment.

The natural world was seen by medievals as a chaos in which the perp­et­ual int­er­vent­ion of God was the only guiding law; the only rem­edies were prayer and the performance of pious acts. The sexually unchaste were shown as deformed, dis­torted human be­ings. Detailed de­sc­rip­tions of Hell, in­vol­ving fire, brimstone and venomous worms, were on the west fronts of Bour­g­es, Con­ques, Lourdes and Rocamadour. Ex­cep­t for the upper mobil­ity, clergy and wealthy merch­ants, the vast maj­ority could not read. So the church chose sculptural themes that were most likely to capture citizens’ att­ent­ion, elicit their em­otions and improve their morals.

The greatest relics were those associated with Christ, especially once the holy cross was ex­cav­ated in Jerusalem. Relics of the Passion were sent westwards, the crown of thorns going to St Louis of France in Ste Chapelle 1239.

In French pil­gr­images to the Virgin were the pr­inc­i­p­al means by which de­v­otion of uneduc­ated people was ex­press­ed. Virgin statues were placed on al­t­ars, carv­ed images, on shrines, column cap­itals and walls. Relics included: her empty tomb out­side Jer­us­alem; her cloak in the church of Const­an­t­in­­op­le; and her silk tunic in Chartres’ crypt.

If chur­ch­­es could not have relics from Christ or the Virgin, oth­er holy people were next best eg the head of St John the Baptist was preserv­ed at St Hilaire in Poitiers. This cult of saints led to an unpreced­ented demand for relics, given that relics were nec­essary for the consecration of chu­rch­es. There was a great demand for saints’ literature. Saints’ lives were read in the les­s­ons on their feast days; stories were repeated in sermons; and the themes were often ill­ustrated in wall art or stained glass. Teaching the lives and mir­acles of the saints greatly simplified doctrinal issues and encouraged un­educated people with the faith.

The relics were not venerated in them­selves; they were a link to holy martyrs whose lives were a model to humanity. So the more beautiful, the better. Soon precious re­l­iquar­ies were be­ing created to honour those divine persons to whom the relics had once belonged. Where possible, reliquaries were shaped as the cont­ents had app­eared in life.

Reliquary bust, Auvergne, c1160, copper-gilt, ivory & horn, 73cm, 
Mairie de Saint-Nectaire

Medieval people were vul­nera­ble to illness. Phys­ical dis­ease had to have spir­itual causes, brought on by sin; in­fect­ion was the phys­ical tran­s­fer of devils; and barren­ness was a sign of God’s displeasure. The clergy upheld the invocat­ion of the saints as the ONLY sure remedy for sick­ness. Epidemics led to mass pil­grimage to each of the Blessed Virgin’s sanctu­aries. When sick pil­grims came for the Virgin’s inter­vention, they were nur­sed in the crypt hos­pit­al. They slept IN the cath­edral: the nave was sloped for easy sluic­­ing. On saints' feast days, crowds of the sick fil­led the great basilicas. ­[The medical prof­ession did not inspire as much con­fid­ence as the inter­cession of St Thomas or St James]. Many of the great healing shrines cul­tiv­ated their own med­ical special­ities, and the cures were advertised in the saints’ books.

By the late C12th, four shrines vied with Rome & Jerus­alem in import­ance: Compos­tela, Cant­er­bury (imm­ed­ia­t­ely following the 1170 martyrdom of St Thomas Beck­et), Col­ogne and Chartres. Com­post­ela’s popularity reached its peak in the mid C12th, with c500,000 pil­g­rims a year. The best prot­ec­t­­ion for pilgrims in those decades was provided by military monkish orders.

Pilgrimage provided a wealth of memorable experiences: new friends, tourism in new lands, soar­ing gothic spires, physical pains, dazzling shrines and reliquaries, and ultimate relief at the end. Without photos, medieval pilgrim souvenir badges were the best and most evocat­ive memories available to returning pilgrims.

The badges were made to boost revenues at pilgrim sites and to limit damage to shrines that were nicked. Cheap lead alloys allowed thin casting and detailed low-relief imagery, allowing for the production of delicate, silver-bright objects, affordable for the majority of medieval pilgrims.

 St Thomas Becket badge, Canterbury

St Michael's Pilgrim brass badge
England 15th century

Between the C12th and the C16ths they were sold in their thous­ands at famous sites, as well more local sites. Smart badge makers would try and re­f­lect the relics relevant to each pilgrimage sites.

The souvenirs were bought for different reasons. 1] For religiously focused pilgrims, badges could serve an important devotional purp­ose. 2] Medieval artefacts were sparkling, colourful objects, att­ractive to wear. 3] They advertised the particular shrine that had been most important to that group of pilgrims. 4] They could protect the health of the pilgrims on the long trip home. And 5] for the rest of their lives, the souvenirs would remind the pilgrim of the best time in his entire life. Family and friends would be in awe of the one person in the village who had fulfilled his dream.

Most major pilgrim­age sites had at least one easily recognisable image that could be reprod­uced on a badge. Santiago de Compostela badges were shell-shaped; Amiens’ was John the Bap­tist's head on a plate; St Albans’ showed the saint's martyr­dom. The badge of Thomas Becket at Canterbury was his jewel-encrusted reliquary that housed a holy skull fragment.




22 comments:

  1. Dangerous times to live and to travel and really one had to be careful who they confided in about religious believes, I am glad I don't live in those times

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  2. Such a wealth of information in this post. I am astounded by the fact that all forms of physical illness need to have a spiritual explanation. Sins create guilt and fear for people to react to.

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  3. Hello Hels, I immediately recognized the iconic arm reliquary from the Cleveland Museum of Art--thank you for including it. Many of the badges and souvenirs of pilgrims from London ended up in the Thames River, and the finding of some of these sparked the infamous Billy and Charlie fakes:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadwell_forgeries

    --Jim

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  4. I think all the crowds of ill people sleeping within a cathedral probably spread more disease than was cured. I'm glad we no longer live in those times, though there probably are still some who see illness and infection as punishment for sins.

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  5. Religion never ceases to astound me. I guess it all started with people not understanding their environment and bodies and they needed answers.They sure had some strange ideas, beliefs and behaviours in the Middle Ages and like other commenters i'm glad I didn't live in those times.

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  6. What a fascinating post, and sheds so much light on the recent Augustine Camino walk I joined. I have to admit that I seriously doubt the authenticity of all the relics, especially the cross

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  7. Very interesting post Hels. Always learning.

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  8. Really interesting post, Hels. People still undertake pilgrimages for many of the same reasons as long ago.

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  9. Jo-Anne

    They were indeed very dangerous times in the 18th century. But the medieval pilgrims took every precaution possible before they left home e.g the departing pil­grims were blessed in their local parish church and pilgrims tr­a­velled in convoy with armed guards to pro­tect­ themselves against robbers along the roads.

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  10. roentare

    I am afraid there weren't many explanations for physical illness other than religious faith. Even if the sick person could have found a doctor in rural areas, would the doctor have known about the existence of infections etc? Absolutely not.

    Only Islamic doctors were beginning to understand proper health care.

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  11. Parnassus

    The German Arm Reliquary of the Apostles (c1190) was from Hildesheim, and gorgeous because it was of gilt-silver and champlevé enamel. But its most important role was holding the lower arm bone that belonged to one of Christ's apostles. We probably will never know if the reliquary was a fake or if the arm bone inside was really from an apostle. So I will read your fake and forgeries material carefully.

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  12. River

    imagine people sleeping on top of each other on a cathedral floor when one or more of those people had smallpox, leprosy or the Black Death. When closely exposed to the plague or syphilis, they often turned to superstitious/religious rites and magic.

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  13. diane

    when people are desperate and no real medicine is available, they will turn to anything else offering hope. Especially since devout Christians truly believed Jesus and his disciples (and no-one else) would cure whatever ailed them.

    This sounds a bit like devout Christians' response when Covid broke out. Didn't they oppose the COVID-19 vaccine because their faith told them that God would protect them?

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  14. Mandy

    if we didn't doubt the authenticity of all the relics, especially the cross, then we too might have joined the pilgrims en route to the holy sites. And we probably would have bought any symbol or herb that might have helped.

    Am I correct in assuming that Christian Scientists still avoid traditional medial treatment. Instead they treat their illnesses with spiritual healing, stressing the importance of prayer and communion with God.

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  15. Margaret

    I first wrote these notes when I was lecturing at TAFE back in the 1990s. And yet we are still learning more and more.

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  16. jabblog

    absolutely so! Camino de Santiago in northern Spain alone sees hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walking on the route each year, on average for 35 days. And I know it is true... I saw them, from inside my car :)

    For other important pilgrim destinations today, see Holy Blog https://www.holyart.com/blog/religious-items/5-places-of-pilgrimage-to-go-to-at-least-once-in-a-lifetime/.

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  17. It's interesting how many of these pilgrim journeys there were. I knew they were common, but not that common. I guess I should reread the Wife of Bath.

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  18. Walkers still follow many if the old pilgrim routes but not for the same reasons. A fascinating post.

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  19. Fun60

    I was never sure why walkers still go along the old routes to pilgrimage sites todays. But examine what the Centre for Christian Pilgrimage recorded:
    https://christian-pilgrimage.org.uk/what-is-pilgrimage/why-do-people-go-on-piligrimages/

    1. To echo the journey in the footsteps of Christ, and his short stay on earth.
    2. To arrive at the sacred destination.
    3. To ask a favour.
    4. To seek forgiveness.
    5. To escape the everyday.
    6. To heal.

    These reasons would have sounded familiar to medieval pilgrims.

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  20. Erika

    the Wife of Bath was an interesting character, going on pilgrimage for fewer religious reasons and more intellectual or social reasons. Perhaps she wanted to socialise with friends, to find a husband or to see a particularly appealing church.

    Most pilgrims only took the risks of distant travel once in their life. But the Wife of Bath visited Jerusalem, Rome, St James of Compostela and other sites. Clearly she enjoyed every experience, a born traveller.

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  21. Muslims are expected/encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Mecca which is supposed to be the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. It's interesting that Christianity doesn't have geographical ties to Holy Sites in the same way that Islam or Judaism does. E.g. Muslims pray towards Mecca etc.

    In part, I think it is because the objective historicity of Jesus is so thin & sparse. In Jerusalem, pilgrims visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, despite its location being little more than a guess by Constantine's mother as to where Jesus' tomb was located.

    I still want to visit it one day.

    Thanks for the interesting post.

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  22. Liam

    I half agree with you. The original Christian pilgrimages WERE created at sites specifically connected to Christ's birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection - whether these sites were exactly located or not.

    But later Christian pilgrimage sites may definitely have been added to boost the Church's economies or to increase their religious tourism. Nothing wrong with France, Spain or Britain having pilgrimage sites, as long as the pilgrims understood that those places had never been identified in the Bible.

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