Religious Pilgrimages in the Middle Ages

Pilgrimages are a method of showing religious devotion by visiting holy sites, often either the burial place of a saint, the place of death of a religious martyr, or the site of a holy relic. While several different religions utilized this practice, none was as popular or widespread as the religious pilgrimages of the Christians in the Middle Ages. Because of the fact that in the Middle Ages the church encouraged a theology of association, Pilgrims believed that the relics of the saints which were kept at the pilgrimage sites ensured the presence of the saint. …