Medieval Irish Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela

Bernadette Cunningham

• Publisher: Four Courts Press
• Year: 2018
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781846827822
• Subtopic: Irish History
• Index: History

There has been a tremendous resurgence of interest in pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In this book, the author reveals a story of a much longer connection between Ireland and the pilgrimage than previously thought. Stories of men and women who went from Ireland to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages tell of Irish involvement in one of the major pilgrimages of the medieval Christian world. The long and hazardous journey by land and sea to the shrine of St. James in Galicia was not undertaken lightly. 
This innovative book explores the varied influences on and motivations of the pilgrims, as well as the nature of medieval travel, in order to understand when, why and how pilgrims from Ireland went to Santiago in the heyday of the pilgrimage, between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. It draws on official documents, historical chronicles, literary texts, and archaeological finds to uncover stories of those Anglo-Norman and Gaelic pilgrims who ventured beyond the confines of their local communities in search of salvation and perhaps a little adventure.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Table of contents
• Illustrations
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• Introduction: the modern pilgrimage
• 1 Motives for medieval pilgrimage
• 2 Santiago de Compostela in context: the overseas pilgrimage traditionfrom Ireland
• 3 The image of Santiago de Compostela
• 4 The pilgrim experience: the Anglo-Norman phase
• 5 The pilgrim experience: the Gaelic Irish phase
• 6 Decline of the medieval pilgrimage and modern revival
• Appendix 1: Pilgrims to Santiago from medieval Ireland
• Appendix 2: Churches dedicated to St James the Great
• Appendix 3: Wells dedicated to St James the Great
• Appendix 4: Fairs on St James’s Day
• Bibliography
• Index