The infrastructure and mechanics of pilgrimage to the Latin East in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

Haberlin, Aoife (2018) The infrastructure and mechanics of pilgrimage to the Latin East in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis explores the infrastructure and mechanics of Latin Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Jerusalem was an important religious site for Christians, though it did not gain large-scale popularity among pilgrims until the capture of the city by the crusaders in 1099. Despite the vast and ever expanding quantity of literature on the topic of medieval pilgrimage in Europe and to the Holy Land, the infrastructure and mechanisms for pilgrims has received little attention. This thesis addresses the following core questions: How did pilgrims maintain themselves en route to the Holy Land in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? How important were pilgrimage infrastructure and mechanisms for pilgrims? How did the infrastructure develop over the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? What impact did the changing political situation over the course of the crusades have on this network? Medieval pilgrim and travel narratives, canon law, cartularies, charters and other legal documents, chronicles, exemplars, hagiography, liturgical texts, and papal records are analysed to answer these questions. The thesis follows the pilgrim’s journey to the Holy Land, starting with mechanisms of protection associated with preparations for pilgrimage, continuing on to investigate those who provided infrastructure and mechanisms to pilgrims along the way, before focusing on infrastructure within the Holy Land itself. It demonstrates the scale of the infrastructure, showing the intertwining nature of real world mechanisms of protections with those of a spiritual kind, and how everyone from every level of society could participate and benefit from providing aid to pilgrims. This network is ultimately reflective of concepts such as poverty and charity associated with twelfth-century western Christian spirituality. Indeed, charity was at the heart of pilgrimage infrastructure.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Medieval pilgrimage, Holy Land, Crusades, twelfth century.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General); D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Supervisor's Name: Strickland, Prof. Matthew, Roach, Dr. Andrew and Schenk, Dr. Jochen
• Date of Award: 2018
• Depositing User: Miss Aoife Haberlin
• Unique ID: glathesis:2018-30916
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 18 Oct 2018 08:10
• Last Modified: 26 Oct 2021 14:32
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.30916
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/30916