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book. Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval from History Hit. I'm Matt Lewis.

Pilgrimage was a fixture of the medieval world. Men and women would travel sometimes over vast

distances to seek the help and support of saints or to offer them their thanks. We might consider

it something like a medieval tourist industry I guess if we're being a little bit cynical,

but with the added incentive of helping to reach heaven. My guest today is Dr Emma Wells,

who is a lecturer in ecclesiastical and architectural history at the University of York,

and the author of Pilgrim Roops of the British Isles. Thank you very much for joining us Emma.

Thank you very much for having me. Fantastic. So I guess if we dive in just at the very highest level,

what was a Pilgrimage and why would someone undertake one? Well, I suppose it's a very large question

in and of itself, but the concept of Pilgrimage is thought to have acquired different meanings

for different cultures, eras, society and even faith throughout history. So it's certainly not just

a Christian concept by any stretch of the imagination, but in Christianity,

Conan Law defined it as a mandatory journey imposed as penance usually for wrongdoing or even a

voluntary act which involved a preliminary vow and both had to be undertaken in an appropriate

manner. So that might be carrying the Pilgrim insignia of script and stuff. So essentially your

bag and your cane or if you well, you're walking stick, but it derives from the Latian

that Peregrinatio, Peregrinatio, which means wandering or traveling around. So they usually have

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