Pilgrims and Politics

Rediscovering the Power of the Pilgrimage

Antón M. Pazos

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317080763
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

The objective of this book is to analyse the historical relationships between the phenomenon of Christian pilgrimage and political power within Europe, from the Middle Ages up to the present day. It establishes a discussion in which the twelve contributors to the volume can compare very different situations, such as the medieval pilgrimages and politics in the Latin East as part of warfare and conflict resolution, the significance and reality of pilgrimages in late medieval England or in Rome during the papacy of Innocent III, the 'two-way traffic' pilgrimages in the Tuscan city of Lucca, or the pilgrimages in Eastern European countries as an aspect of opposition to communist power. A major focus is on the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, an important Christian sanctuary from the time of the discovery of the tomb of the apostle St James in the 9th century. Topics covered include the Way of St James as seen through medieval Muslim sources, the political reading of the apostolic cult as an ideological instrument of the propaganda of the Asturian monarchy, Santa Maria de Roncesvalles as an example of political involvement in the assistance of the Jacobean pilgrims, the Order of St John as protector of the medieval pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, or the nationalist use of the pilgrimages as an element of national unification and internal cohesion during the Spanish Civil War. The final chapter provides a broader, global perspective on pilgrimages up to present times.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Maps and Tables
• List of Contributors
• Introduction
• 1 The Pilgrims’ Way of St James and Islam: Pilgrimage, Politics and Militias
• 2 Political Pilgrims and Political Saints in Medieval England
• 3 The Ordeal of Bishop Adaulfo: An Insight into the Relationship between Religion and Politics in the Beginnings of the Cult of Saint James
• 4 Between Warfare and Conflict Resolution: Pilgrimage and Politics in the Holy Land
• 5 The Role of the Order of St John in Pilgrimage and Politics: The Case of the North of Portugal
• 6 Pilgrimage with Added Benefits: Pilgrims and Politics in the Rome of Innocent III
• 7 Lucca and Pilgrimage in the Later Middle Ages: A Two-Way Traffic
• 8 The Politics of Pilgrim Care: A Study in Roncesvalles
• 9 Old and New Pilgrimages in the Context of the Spanish Civil War
• 10 Pilgrimages in Slovenia and their Political Significance
• 11 Pilgrimages to Taizé from Estonia
• 12 New Forms of Pilgrimage
• Index