Rome was one of the major pilgrim destinations in the middle ages. The belief that certain objects and places were a focus of holiness where pilgrims could come closer to God had a long history in Christian tradition; in the case of Rome, the tradition developed around two of the city's most important martyrs, Christ's apostles Peter and Paul. So strong were the city's associations with these apostles that pilgrimage to Rome was often referred to as pilgrimage t̀o the threshold of the apostles'. Debra Birch conveys a vivid picture of the world of the medieval pilgrim to Rome - the Romipetae, or R̀ome-seekers' - covering all aspects of their journey, and their life in the city itself. --Back cover.

On this Jubilee year, the authors take readers back to the first Holy Year, 1300, when Pope Boniface VII promised eternal peace for the souls of all Christians who trekked to the Eternal City. 225 illustrations, 60 in color.

Pilgrimage inspired and shaped the distinct experiences of commoners and nobles, men and women, clergy and laity for over a thousand years. Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: A Reader is a rich collection of primary sources for the history of Christian pilgrimage in Europe and the Mediterranean world from the fourth through the sixteenth centuries. The collection illustrates the far-reaching significance and consequences of pilgrimage for the culture, society, economics, politics, and spirituality of the Middle Ages. Brett Edward Whalen focuses on sites within Europe and beyond its borders, including the holy places of Jerusalem, and provides documents that shed light upon Eastern Christian, Jewish, and Islamic pilgrimages. The result is an innovative sourcebook that offers a window into broader trends, shifts, and transformations in the Middle Ages.

A 200-page introduction to pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and its study, is followed by a thoroughly annotated bibliography of over 1000 primary and secondary, scholarly and popular, works on such aspects of the subject as the medieval concept of pilgrimage, specific sites, and its manifestation in literature, music, art, architecture, and political and religious history. Each topical section notes important primary sources and key scholarly works that provide an opening for research. Focuses on the period from the 4th century to the Renaissance, but also notes works describing pre-Christian and 20th-century pilgrimages. Includes an outline for beginning scholars. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book introduces the reader to the history of European Christian pilgrimage in the twelve hundred years between the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. It sheds light on the varied reasons for which men and women of all classes undertook journeys, which might be long (to Rome, Jerusalem and Compostela) or short (to innumerable local shrines). It also considers the geography of pilgrimage and its cultural legacy.

We are apt to forget how much people traveled in the Middle Ages. Not only merchants, friars, soldiers and official messengers, but crowds of pilgrims were a familiar sight on the roads of Western Europe. In this engaging work of history, Jonathan Sumption brings alive the traditions of pilgrimage prevalent in Europe from the beginning of Christianity to the end of the fifteenth century. Vividly describing such major destinations as Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, he examines both major figures -- popes, kings, queens, scholars, villains -- and the common people of their day.

This volume explores the special connection that linked England and Rome between the seventh and the eleventh centuries, a topic which in spite of its relevance and attraction has never before been dealt with in a publication of this scale and depth. By bringing together scholars from different countries and disciplines and by relying on important recent archaeological findings that have led to a firmer knowledge of early medieval Rome, the volume provides a detailed and integrated investigation of the ways in which contacts between England and the Eternal City developed across the early Middle Ages. With special attention to major themes such as pilgrimage, artistic exchange, and ecclesiastical politics, the essays in this volume show the continuity of the Anglo-Saxons' relations with Rome as well as the ways in which, over time, these adapted to different circumstances. They also show that Anglo-Saxon England should not be thought of as just a passive recipient of influential cultural trends, but rather as an important player in the multi-faceted world of early medieval Europe in which Rome, by now the city of the popes, kept its centrality as a source of spiritual and political power.