Pilgrimage in Medieval English Literature, 700-1500

290 Pages·27.768 MB·English

by  Dee Dyas

PILGRIMAGE IN
MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE
700-1500
Dee Dyas
D. S. BREWER
© Dee Dyas 2001
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
CONTENTS
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval
system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
Acknowledgements vii
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
Introduction \
The right of Dee Dyas to be identified as
the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with Part I: The Origins and Early Development of Christian Pilgrimage
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 Introduction: The Evolution of Pilgrimage 10
1 . The Theology and Practice of Pilgrimage in the Bible
First published 2001 2. Concepts of Pilgrimage in the Early Church
D. S. Brewer, Cambridge 3. The Development of Christian Holy Places 12
4. The Influence of the Cult of the Saints
Conclusion: The Meanings of Pilgrimage ^
Transferred to digital printing 7
2
Part II: The Exile and the Heavenly Home: Pilgrimage in Old
English Literature 67
ISBN 978-0-85991-623-3 7
3
Introduction: The Importance of Pilgrimage in Old English
Literature
5. From Exile to Eternal Home: the Pilgrimage Motif in Old 6
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd English Poetry and Prose 5
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
6. Place Pilgrimage in the Anglo-Saxon Church
^
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 7. The Wanderer and the Seafarer Reconsidered 4J
68
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA Conclusion 4
weosite: www.boydellandbrewer.com
Part III: ‘Parfit Pilgrimage’ or Merely ‘Wanderyng by the Weye
’？
Literal and Metaphorical Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 125
A CiP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library Introduction: Continuity and Controversy 126
8. 'Place* Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 128
71
9. Piers Plowman 145
10. The Canterbury Tales 171
5
—r 1 1 .Inner Journeys 2059
12. Journeying to Jerusalem: An Overview of Literal and
SITE
Metaphorical Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 232
0
sur Conclusion 247
Bibliography 2512
Index 281
This publication li printed on add-free paper
© Dee Dyas 2001
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
CONTENTS
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval
system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
Acknowledgements vii
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
Introduction \
The right of Dee Dyas to be identified as
the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with Part I: The Origins and Early Development of Christian Pilgrimage
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 Introduction: The Evolution of Pilgrimage 10
1 . The Theology and Practice of Pilgrimage in the Bible
First published 2001 2. Concepts of Pilgrimage in the Early Church
D. S. Brewer, Cambridge 3. The Development of Christian Holy Places 12
4. The Influence of the Cult of the Saints
Conclusion: The Meanings of Pilgrimage ^
Transferred to digital printing 7
2
Part II: The Exile and the Heavenly Home: Pilgrimage in Old
English Literature 6
ISBN 978-0-85991-623-3 7
3
Introduction: The Importance of Pilgrimage in Old English
Literature 6

5. From Exile to Eternal Home: the Pilgrimage Motif in Old 6
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd English Poetry and Prose 57
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
6. Place Pilgrimage in the Anglo-Saxon Church
^
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 7. The Wanderer and the Seafarer Reconsidered 4J
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA Conclusion 94
weosite: www.boydellandbrewer.com

Part III: ‘Parfit Pilgrimage’ or Merely ‘Wanderyng by the Weye
’？ 0
Literal and Metaphorical Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 125
A CiP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library Introduction: Continuity and Controversy 126
8. 'Place* Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 1228
9. Piers Plowman 145
10. The Canterbury Tales 171
1 1 .Inner Journeys 205
—r
7
12. Journeying to Jerusalem: An Overview of Literal and
SITE
Metaphorical Pilgrimage in Middle English Literature 232

sur Conclusion 247
Bibliography 251
Index 281
8
This publication li printed on add-free paper

1
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
And Jhesu, for his grace, wit me sende
To shewe yow the wey， in this viage
Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrymage
That highte Jerusalem celestial.
This study has much in common with its theme. Embarking upon a project
(Canterbury Tales,
of such magnitude has frequently evoked images of Bunyan's most famous
Parson s Prologue^ 48-51)
work and I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped and encouraged
this pilgrim on her way. Such a wide-ranging survey has necessitated
consultation with specialists in various areas. Helen Phillips has been an
endless source of encouragement and enthusiasm and I am also grateful to
Professor Thorlac Turville-Petre, Professor Tony Edwards, Michelle Wright
and Jill Seal for their comments and insights. Professor Robert Markus,
Professor Bernard Hamilton, Dr Julia Barrow and Dr Diana Webb have all
been generous with advice and guidance on historical perspectives. Professor
Anthony Thistleton, Dr Ed Ball and Dr Seth Kunin have given me valuable
assistance in the areas of theology and social anthropology. All of these
people have enriched this book; any remaining errors are, of course, my
responsibility.
I am indebted to Professor Brian Tate not only for information about the
medieval pilgrimage to Compostela but for an invitation to give a paper at
the III Congreso Internacional de Estudios Jacobeos and thus to have the
opportunity to visit the shrine of St James myself. A number of trusts made
it possible for me to visit the Holy Land in 1996 and I am grateful to the staff
of St George’s College，Jerusalem广 particularly Dr Stephen Need and the
Director of Studies, Henry Carse, for the insights which I gained there into
the theory and practice of pilgrimage. Ï have also received generous grants
from the St Luke's College Foundation and the British Federation of
Women Graduates.
Like Bunyan’s pilgrims, I have not had to travel alone. I have instead been
sustained by the love, prayers and practical support of my friends and
family. In particular I wish to acknowledge the many contributions made by
my mother, the patient (even cheerful) tolerance with which Luke and Ben
have borne their mother's preoccupation with the Middle Ages, and the
loving companionsmp and constant encouragement of my husband Stuart,
my fellow pilgrim through life.
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
And Jhesu, for his grace, wit me sende
To shewe yow the wey， in this viage
Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrymage
That highte Jerusalem celestial.
This study has much in common with its theme. Embarking upon a project
(Canterbury Tales,
of such magnitude has frequently evoked images of Bunyan's most famous
Parson s Prologue^ 48-51)
work and I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped and encouraged
this pilgrim on her way. Such a wide-ranging survey has necessitated
consultation with specialists in various areas. Helen Phillips has been an
endless source of encouragement and enthusiasm and I am also grateful to
Professor Thorlac Turville-Petre, Professor Tony Edwards, Michelle Wright
and Jill Seal for their comments and insights. Professor Robert Markus,
Professor Bernard Hamilton, Dr Julia Barrow and Dr Diana Webb have all
been generous with advice and guidance on historical perspectives. Professor
Anthony Thistleton, Dr Ed Ball and Dr Seth Kunin have given me valuable
assistance in the areas of theology and social anthropology. All of these
people have enriched this book; any remaining errors are, of course, my
responsibility.
I am indebted to Professor Brian Tate not only for information about the
medieval pilgrimage to Compostela but for an invitation to give a paper at
the III Congreso Internacional de Estudios Jacobeos and thus to have the
opportunity to visit the shrine of St James myself. A number of trusts made
it possible for me to visit the Holy Land in 1996 and I am grateful to the staff
of St George’s College，Jerusalem广 particularly Dr Stephen Need and the
Director of Studies, Henry Carse, for the insights which I gained there into
the theory and practice of pilgrimage. Ï have also received generous grants
from the St Luke's College Foundation and the British Federation of
Women Graduates.
Like Bunyan’s pilgrims, I have not had to travel alone. I have instead been
sustained by the love, prayers and practical support of my friends and
family. In particular I wish to acknowledge the many contributions made by
my mother, the patient (even cheerful) tolerance with which Luke and Ben
have borne their mother's preoccupation with the Middle Ages, and the
loving companionsmp and constant encouragement of my husband Stuart,
my fellow pilgrim through life.
vii
INTRODUCTION
At nyght was come into that hostelrye
Wei nyne and twenty in a compaignye
Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle
In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle.
(Chaucer, Canterbury Tales,
General Prologue, 23-7)1
Her is non hoom, her nis but wildernesse:
Forth, pilgrim, forth! Forth beste, out of thy stal!
Know thy contree, look up, thank God of al;
Hold the heye wey and lat thy gost thee lede,
And trouthe thee shal delivere, it is no drede.
(Chaucer, Balade de Bon Conseyl, 17-21)
Pilgrims, historical and fictional, devout and fraudulent, are so frequently
encountered in the pages or Middle English literature that it is easy to take
their presence, and their significance, for granted. Moreover, the visiting of
holy places, whether local shrines or the distant sites of Europe and the Holy
Land, formed such an integral part of medieval religion2 that critics often
assume it to have constituted the primary meaning of pilgrimage in medieval
thought.3 Pilgrimage is consequently treated as a given fact of medieval life,
a straightforward, pious exercise which some writers, more creative than the
rest, chose to craft into an image of life and inward growth. On closer
examination, however, it becomes clear that the reality is more complex, and
more fascinating, by far.
The etymology of the terms pilgrim and pilgrimage indicates the breadth
of meaning which these words have acquired over the centuries. The Latin
peregrinus [per, through + ager, field, country, land) denoted a foreigner, an
alien, one who is on a journey, and peregrinatio the state of being or living
abroad. Peregrinus, however, was also used in the Vulgate translation of the
Bible to render the Hebrew gur (sojourner), and the Greek parepidemos
(temporary resident), both terms which carried an additional connotation
signifying the special relationship of the people of God to the world around
them. As Christian pilgrimage to holy places developed in the fourth
' All quotations are taken from the Riverside Chaucer.
2 See Hall (1965) and Sumption (1975).
' Howard (1980),11.Thus James Simpson commenting on Piers Plowman, VÏ.102-4, remarks:
'Departing for pilgrimage is constituted by staying at home, and continuing to work; Langland
has subverted the model of his narrative by creating a new meaning [my italics] for ^pilgrimage1',
directly opposed to the normal meaning of the word, which involves leaving home.' Simpson
(1990). 71.
INTRODUCTION
PILGRIMAGE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE
practice and authorial intent. Pilgrimage, as understood by the medieval
century, so the term took on a third sense within Christian thought,
Church, was not a monolithic concept but a mosaic of ideas which had
describing a traveller with a particular religious goal. In Old English,
evolved through the Christian centuries: the product of both syncretism and
peregrinus and peregrimtio were rendered by elpeodig and elpeodignes. The
heated debate. Pilgrimage to holy places was by no means universally
Toronto Concordance to Old English entry for elpeodig includes:1.foreign,
approved and was by some regarded as actually harmful to the spiritual
alien, l.a.i. exiled (voluntarily, usu. as a religious duty), l.a.vi. figurative, of
life.7 It offered to medieval writers, therefore, an image familiar to all, yet
man in the earthly world; alien, foreign. 2.a. foreigner, alien, one who is
capable of a wealth of differing interpretations. In order to assess the uses
abroad. 2,a.iii. of man on earth probably in sense of resident alien, foreign
wlïich they made of this image, it is necessary first to examine the spiritual
resident. Elpeodignes is defined as:1.travel or residence abroad; exile (from
inheritance which shaped their understanding. This approach, however, has
one's own country); especially voluntary exile or pilgrimage. 2. Figurative of
been strangely lacking in medieval literary criticism. Much criticism has been
life on earth as time of exile from heaven.4
based upon unquestioned assumptions about the medieval practice of
In the centuries following the Conquest, elpeodig was succeeded by pilgrim
pilgrimage to holy places,8 occasionally supplemented by insights from the
(from the Old French pelegrin).5 The Middle English Dictionary records a
discipline of social anthropology.9 There has been little or no attempt to
wide range of meanings for pilgrim including: l.a. A person who travels to a
examine the origins and development of the pilgrim motif or to understand
holy place;1.b. A traveller, a wayfarer; 2. An alien, a foreigner, a stranger, a
why there are tensions to be observed between exponents of different modes
•ojourner; an exile for the Christian faith; 3. Fig. A man or soul as an alien, a
of pilgrimage. Such theological and historical analysis is vital if literary
sojourner, traveller, or pilgrim; esp. one whose home or destination is
criticism of such texts as the Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman is to be
heaven, etc.6 This semantic range needs to be carefully borne in mind in
soundly based and distortion of the evidence avoided.
the examination of Middle English texts. Pilgrimage is often described both
The first objective of this study has therefore been to establish the different
in terms of a literal journey and as a lifelong spiritual experience but it is by
elements which comprise the mosaic which is medieval pilgrimage, beginning
no means always immediately clear which is considered to be the metaphor
with an examination of the origins and early development of Christian
and which the reality. Writers such as Chaucer, Langland, the /Var/-poet
pilgrimage. There are four chief elements to be considered in such a survey:
and Hilton reveal a range of attitudes to pilgrimage, which contain many
the theology and practice of pilgrimage in the Old Testament, the emphasis
variations and even apparent contradictions.
on the pilgrimage of life revealed in the New Testament, the influence of
Pilgrimage is therefore a concept at once commonplace and curiously
pagan religion and the debates within the early Church prompted by the
elusive and its use in medieval literature raises many questions. Chaucer's
rapid growth of the cult of the saints and the development of holy places.
Parson and the Wife of Bath take the same road to Canterbury but are they
Not only can these elements be observed interacting with one another; they
in fact on the same journey? How does her experience of *wanderynge by the
can also be seen to exercise considerable influence on medieval writers. The
weye* (General Prologue, 467) relate to his vision of 4parfit pilgrymage*
creative force of Old Testament models of exile, wandering and sojourning
(Parson's Prologue, 50)? How radical is Langland's use of pilgrimage in Piers
can be clearly observed in Old and Middle English treatments of the stories
Plowman! What relationship does the pilgrimage of de Deguileville's
of Adam, Cain and Satan, Abraham and the people of Israel.10 The same
Dreamer bear to his monastic calling? Could anchorites and mystics,
themes were foundational to the concept of life as pilgrimage which features
physically confined but spiritually unfettered, be engaged in the most
strongly in the New Testament and patristic writings11 and is subsequently
authentic pilgrimage of ail?
explored in many medieval texts. What I term 4life pilgrimage' can be seen to
The idea of journey was exploited by many medieval writers, offering as it
comprise a detachment from worldly values,12 a commitment to moral
did a framework within which characters could encounter new people and
places, and explore not only new surroundings but also new levels of
understanding and self-knowledge. A geographical journey, therefore, was 7 Constable (1976) examines the practical and spiritual arguments against participation in
pilgrimage which were put forward in the Middle Ages, many of which reflect earlier
frequently understood to represent, or at least run in parallel with, moral or
debates.
spiritual progress. The use made of pilgrimage in particular, however, was s Critics have mainly depended on Sumption (1975) which though it contains much valuable
the result of a unique interplay between theological principles, popular information about place pilgrimage does not address the wider context of the multiple
understandings of pilgrimage current in medieval spirituality.
9 See Chapter 10 on the application of the work of Victor Turner to the Canterbury Tales.
10 See Chapter 5.
4 Healey and Vcnezslcy (1986-), See «lio Smilher» (1957), 151.
" See Chapter 2.
* See OED,
13 See Hebrew« 11.
Ä MED.
3
2
INTRODUCTION
PILGRIMAGE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE
practice and authorial intent. Pilgrimage, as understood by the medieval
century, so the term took on a third sense within Christian thought,
Church, was not a monolithic concept but a mosaic of ideas which had
describing a traveller with a particular religious goal. In Old English,
evolved through the Christian centuries: the product of both syncretism and
peregrinus and peregrimtio were rendered by elpeodig and elpeodignes. The
heated debate. Pilgrimage to holy places was by no means universally
Toronto Concordance to Old English entry for elpeodig includes:1.foreign,
approved and was by some regarded as actually harmful to the spiritual
alien, l.a.i. exiled (voluntarily, usu. as a religious duty), l.a.vi. figurative, of
life.7 It offered to medieval writers, therefore, an image familiar to all, yet
man in the earthly world; alien, foreign. 2.a. foreigner, alien, one who is
capable of a wealth of differing interpretations. In order to assess the uses
abroad. 2,a.iii. of man on earth probably in sense of resident alien, foreign
wlïich they made of this image, it is necessary first to examine the spiritual
resident. Elpeodignes is defined as:1.travel or residence abroad; exile (from
inheritance which shaped their understanding. This approach, however, has
one's own country); especially voluntary exile or pilgrimage. 2. Figurative of
been strangely lacking in medieval literary criticism. Much criticism has been
life on earth as time of exile from heaven.4
based upon unquestioned assumptions about the medieval practice of
In the centuries following the Conquest, elpeodig was succeeded by pilgrim
pilgrimage to holy places,8 occasionally supplemented by insights from the
(from the Old French pelegrin).5 The Middle English Dictionary records a
discipline of social anthropology.9 There has been little or no attempt to
wide range of meanings for pilgrim including: l.a. A person who travels to a
examine the origins and development of the pilgrim motif or to understand
holy place;1.b. A traveller, a wayfarer; 2. An alien, a foreigner, a stranger, a
why there are tensions to be observed between exponents of different modes
•ojourner; an exile for the Christian faith; 3. Fig. A man or soul as an alien, a
of pilgrimage. Such theological and historical analysis is vital if literary
sojourner, traveller, or pilgrim; esp. one whose home or destination is
criticism of such texts as the Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman is to be
heaven, etc.6 This semantic range needs to be carefully borne in mind in
soundly based and distortion of the evidence avoided.
the examination of Middle English texts. Pilgrimage is often described both
The first objective of this study has therefore been to establish the different
in terms of a literal journey and as a lifelong spiritual experience but it is by
elements which comprise the mosaic which is medieval pilgrimage, beginning
no means always immediately clear which is considered to be the metaphor
with an examination of the origins and early development of Christian
and which the reality. Writers such as Chaucer, Langland, the /Var/-poet
pilgrimage. There are four chief elements to be considered in such a survey:
and Hilton reveal a range of attitudes to pilgrimage, which contain many
the theology and practice of pilgrimage in the Old Testament, the emphasis
variations and even apparent contradictions.
on the pilgrimage of life revealed in the New Testament, the influence of
Pilgrimage is therefore a concept at once commonplace and curiously
pagan religion and the debates within the early Church prompted by the
elusive and its use in medieval literature raises many questions. Chaucer's
rapid growth of the cult of the saints and the development of holy places.
Parson and the Wife of Bath take the same road to Canterbury but are they
Not only can these elements be observed interacting with one another; they
in fact on the same journey? How does her experience of *wanderynge by the
can also be seen to exercise considerable influence on medieval writers. The
weye* (General Prologue, 467) relate to his vision of 4parfit pilgrymage*
creative force of Old Testament models of exile, wandering and sojourning
(Parson's Prologue, 50)? How radical is Langland's use of pilgrimage in Piers
can be clearly observed in Old and Middle English treatments of the stories
Plowman! What relationship does the pilgrimage of de Deguileville's
of Adam, Cain and Satan, Abraham and the people of Israel.10 The same
Dreamer bear to his monastic calling? Could anchorites and mystics,
themes were foundational to the concept of life as pilgrimage which features
physically confined but spiritually unfettered, be engaged in the most
strongly in the New Testament and patristic writings11 and is subsequently
authentic pilgrimage of ail?
explored in many medieval texts. What I term 4life pilgrimage' can be seen to
The idea of journey was exploited by many medieval writers, offering as it
comprise a detachment from worldly values,12 a commitment to moral
did a framework within which characters could encounter new people and
places, and explore not only new surroundings but also new levels of
understanding and self-knowledge. A geographical journey, therefore, was 7 Constable (1976) examines the practical and spiritual arguments against participation in
pilgrimage which were put forward in the Middle Ages, many of which reflect earlier
frequently understood to represent, or at least run in parallel with, moral or
debates.
spiritual progress. The use made of pilgrimage in particular, however, was s Critics have mainly depended on Sumption (1975) which though it contains much valuable
the result of a unique interplay between theological principles, popular information about place pilgrimage does not address the wider context of the multiple
understandings of pilgrimage current in medieval spirituality.
9 See Chapter 10 on the application of the work of Victor Turner to the Canterbury Tales.
10 See Chapter 5.
4 Healey and Vcnezslcy (1986-), See «lio Smilher» (1957), 151.
" See Chapter 2.
* See OED,
13 See Hebrew« 11.
Ä MED.
3
2
PILGRIMAGE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE INTRODUCTION
obedience11 12 * and a heartfelt desire to reach the heavenly homeland, char- movement, such as the desire to withdraw from this world in order to seek
ACterUUc■ 羹pproprlftte to those who know themselves to be strangers and the next, the literal migration to the desert, which later became the spiritual
pilgrimi in the world. The city of Jerusalem, portrayed in the Psalms as the inspiration for Celtic peregrini and the anchorites of medieval England, the
place where God dwelt and in the New Testament as the location of Christas emphasis on inner growth which characterised the solitaries and early
death and resurrection, is seen to be the antetype of the heavenly city of the coenobites of the Egyptian desert and Judaean wilderness and later devel­
Book of Revelation, where all those engaged in the pilgrimage of life will oped into fully fledged mysticism - all these can be seen to undergird the
eventually find their true home.14 spirituality of the English Church from the seventh century onwards. Yet, as
This emphasis on life as pilgrimage which dominated the teaching of the with place pilgrimage， these forms of what I have designated ‘interior
Church during the first three centuries of its existence was challenged in the pilgrimage5 were not immune to controversy. Not only do Langland and
fourth century, as the newly converted Emperor Constantine and his mother Chaucer satirise the outworking of the monastic ideal in their own times but
Helena set about establishing Palestine as a Holy Land, with Jerusalem, the the development of lay piety in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries also
city formerly scorned by Christians,15 at its heart. The development of calls into question the whole necessity of complete withdrawal from the
Christian holy places, together with the parallel (and closely related)16 * world. Hilton^ Mixed Life (written c .1370) seeks to combine attributes of
growth of the cult of relics, aroused considerable resistance as profound the active and contemplative lives, and Margery Kempe, a would-be
theological questions were raised. If some places were considered especially contemplative determined to stay on the move, exemplifies the tensions
holy, then other places must be less so. Could it really be claimed that an involvea in seeking to combine interior and place-pilgrimage.
omnipresent God was more accessible in Jerusalem or Bethlehem than The second aim of this study has been to trace the manner in wmch these
anywhere else?け Was a journey to a holy place, what I term ‘place pilgrim­ multiple interpretations of pilgrimage were incorporated into the spirituality
age a deeply rewarding spiritual experience or a waste of time and money? of the Anglo-Saxon Church and to examine their influence upon Old English
’，
Was the cult of the saints an aid to piety or a dangerous distraction from the literature. It is broadly true to say that the two traditions of spirituality
worship of God? The questions were fundamental- and (a fact which is of which shaped the English Church, the Celtic and the Roman, also repres­
prime importance for this study)，they were in the final analysis incapable of ented two different modes of pilgrimage. Both were committed to moral and
resolution. There were, it seems, diHerent kinds of spiritual journeys and interior aspects of the pilgrimage of life; both practised forms of place
pBW, if any, could reconcile their differing demands. These tensions, dating pilgrimage. In the Celtic Church however, the practice of peregrinatio pro
from the earliest days of Christian pilgrimage to holy places, are identical to amore dei emphasised the leaving of one*s home and community, following
those which are to be observed in Middle English literature. Moreover, I the model of Abraham, who *went out, not knowing whither he went5
balieve that there are particular parallels between these two contexts. (Hebrews 11:8). Place pilgrimage in the Roman Church was also an
Although the difficulties inherent in reconciling different understandings expression of voluntary (if often temporary) exile20 but was more clearly
of pilgrimage never completely disappear during the intervening centuries, it linked with going to a particular place, often Rome itself, and included a
is nevertheless fair to say that they assume a fresh vigour and relevance in wider range of motives such as the acquisition of knowledge or relics.
Engl丨nd on the eve of tAe Reformation.18 Despite the readiness with which both interpretations of place pilgrimage
A related development, which raised equally pertinent questions for the were adopted by the Anglo-Saxon Church, it remains true that the dominant
later Middle Ages, was the emergence of monasticism as a specialised form theme in Ola English poetry and prose is that of life as pilgrimage. Working
of the pilgrimage of life: the abandonment of worldly pleasures in order to from the principle, derived from my study of biblical and patristic writings,
seek the presence of God on earth and citizenship of the Jerusalem on high. that life pilgrimage is not a single idea but a cluster of related concepts,21 Ï
The notion of the monastic calling as a form of voluntary exile is firmly have re-examined a number of Old English poems, setting them against the
stamped upon medieval literature.19 The early characteristics of the monastic understandings of pilgrimage displayed in homilies, hagiographies and other
texts producea in Anglo-Saxon England.
The third section of this study is devoted to examining the ways in which
11 As advocated in 1 Peter 2:11.
t4 See Chapter 12. selected medieval texts employ concepts of pilgrimage. As in Old English
Sec Chapter 3.
^ See Chapter 4.
tT See Chapter 3. 20 For example Benedict Biscop and Wilfrid. See Chapter 6.
11 See Chapter 8. 21 I am indebted to the work of Qardiner (1971) and Smithers ¢1957), in developing a clearer
19 See Chapter II. understanding of the pilgrimage concept. See Chapter 1.
PILGRIMAGE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE INTRODUCTION
obedience11 12 * and a heartfelt desire to reach the heavenly homeland, char- movement, such as the desire to withdraw from this world in order to seek
ACterUUc■ 羹pproprlftte to those who know themselves to be strangers and the next, the literal migration to the desert, which later became the spiritual
pilgrimi in the world. The city of Jerusalem, portrayed in the Psalms as the inspiration for Celtic peregrini and the anchorites of medieval England, the
place where God dwelt and in the New Testament as the location of Christas emphasis on inner growth which characterised the solitaries and early
death and resurrection, is seen to be the antetype of the heavenly city of the coenobites of the Egyptian desert and Judaean wilderness and later devel­
Book of Revelation, where all those engaged in the pilgrimage of life will oped into fully fledged mysticism - all these can be seen to undergird the
eventually find their true home.14 spirituality of the English Church from the seventh century onwards. Yet, as
This emphasis on life as pilgrimage which dominated the teaching of the with place pilgrimage， these forms of what I have designated ‘interior
Church during the first three centuries of its existence was challenged in the pilgrimage5 were not immune to controversy. Not only do Langland and
fourth century, as the newly converted Emperor Constantine and his mother Chaucer satirise the outworking of the monastic ideal in their own times but
Helena set about establishing Palestine as a Holy Land, with Jerusalem, the the development of lay piety in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries also
city formerly scorned by Christians,15 at its heart. The development of calls into question the whole necessity of complete withdrawal from the
Christian holy places, together with the parallel (and closely related)16 * world. Hilton^ Mixed Life (written c .1370) seeks to combine attributes of
growth of the cult of relics, aroused considerable resistance as profound the active and contemplative lives, and Margery Kempe, a would-be
theological questions were raised. If some places were considered especially contemplative determined to stay on the move, exemplifies the tensions
holy, then other places must be less so. Could it really be claimed that an involvea in seeking to combine interior and place-pilgrimage.
omnipresent God was more accessible in Jerusalem or Bethlehem than The second aim of this study has been to trace the manner in wmch these
anywhere else?け Was a journey to a holy place, what I term ‘place pilgrim­ multiple interpretations of pilgrimage were incorporated into the spirituality
age a deeply rewarding spiritual experience or a waste of time and money? of the Anglo-Saxon Church and to examine their influence upon Old English
’，
Was the cult of the saints an aid to piety or a dangerous distraction from the literature. It is broadly true to say that the two traditions of spirituality
worship of God? The questions were fundamental- and (a fact which is of which shaped the English Church, the Celtic and the Roman, also repres­
prime importance for this study)，they were in the final analysis incapable of ented two different modes of pilgrimage. Both were committed to moral and
resolution. There were, it seems, diHerent kinds of spiritual journeys and interior aspects of the pilgrimage of life; both practised forms of place
pBW, if any, could reconcile their differing demands. These tensions, dating pilgrimage. In the Celtic Church however, the practice of peregrinatio pro
from the earliest days of Christian pilgrimage to holy places, are identical to amore dei emphasised the leaving of one*s home and community, following
those which are to be observed in Middle English literature. Moreover, I the model of Abraham, who *went out, not knowing whither he went5
balieve that there are particular parallels between these two contexts. (Hebrews 11:8). Place pilgrimage in the Roman Church was also an
Although the difficulties inherent in reconciling different understandings expression of voluntary (if often temporary) exile20 but was more clearly
of pilgrimage never completely disappear during the intervening centuries, it linked with going to a particular place, often Rome itself, and included a
is nevertheless fair to say that they assume a fresh vigour and relevance in wider range of motives such as the acquisition of knowledge or relics.
Engl丨nd on the eve of tAe Reformation.18 Despite the readiness with which both interpretations of place pilgrimage
A related development, which raised equally pertinent questions for the were adopted by the Anglo-Saxon Church, it remains true that the dominant
later Middle Ages, was the emergence of monasticism as a specialised form theme in Ola English poetry and prose is that of life as pilgrimage. Working
of the pilgrimage of life: the abandonment of worldly pleasures in order to from the principle, derived from my study of biblical and patristic writings,
seek the presence of God on earth and citizenship of the Jerusalem on high. that life pilgrimage is not a single idea but a cluster of related concepts,21 Ï
The notion of the monastic calling as a form of voluntary exile is firmly have re-examined a number of Old English poems, setting them against the
stamped upon medieval literature.19 The early characteristics of the monastic understandings of pilgrimage displayed in homilies, hagiographies and other
texts producea in Anglo-Saxon England.
The third section of this study is devoted to examining the ways in which
11 As advocated in 1 Peter 2:11.
t4 See Chapter 12. selected medieval texts employ concepts of pilgrimage. As in Old English
Sec Chapter 3.
^ See Chapter 4.
tT See Chapter 3. 20 For example Benedict Biscop and Wilfrid. See Chapter 6.
11 See Chapter 8. 21 I am indebted to the work of Qardiner (1971) and Smithers ¢1957), in developing a clearer
19 See Chapter II. understanding of the pilgrimage concept. See Chapter 1.