Read this section of the Medieval Pilgrimage website
and make a copy of the text on your laptop and then answer the
following questions:
How might a potential medieval pilgrim chose which
pilgrimage site to visit?
What methods did churches use to attract potential pilgrims?
What practical things would a pilgrim have to do before
leaving on a pilgrimage?
Make a labelled drawing of a medieval pilgrim uniform. What
did the staff, scrip and sclavein symbolize? Why was wearing a
uniform important to a pilgrim?
Make a list of the potential difficulties faced by pilgrims
who travelled (a) overland (b) by sea.
Read the following description of Basques, taken from the
medieval book, 'Guide for Pilgrims to Santiago'
Not only are they badly
dressed, but they eat and drink in the most disgusting way...
Far from using spoons, they eat with their hands, slobbering
over their food like any pig or dog. To hear them speaking,
you would think they were a pack of hounds barking, for their
language is absolutely barbarous... They have dark, evil, ugly
faces...They are like fierce savages, dishonest and
untrustworthy, impious, common, cruel and quarrelsome
people... They will kill you for a penny. Men and women alike
warm themselves by the fire, revealing those parts which are
better hidden.
Do you think
this is a reliable source about people who lived in the Basque
country in the middle ages? Explain your answer carefully.
Why were so many
hospices built on the major pilgrimage routes? What was the
quality of accomodation like for those who did a medieval
pilgrimage?
