The art of medieval pilgrimage in England and beyond, 1100-1500

Aims

This course aims to: 

• survey and explore the range of surviving art and architecture associated with places of pilgrimage in medieval England and beyond
   
• consider the ways in which visual imagery was used to frame holy places and to present the place or saint and to narrate their story and power to intervene
   
• identify and evaluate both art historical approaches and interpretations of the art of pilgrimage and contemporary reconstructions and presentations of places of pilgrimage 

Content

Whether your interest in medieval pilgrims comes from the experience of visiting shrines in cathedrals or from literary works such as the Canterbury Tales, this course will deepen your appreciation of the way in which art and architecture were used in promotion of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. In this course you will learn how patterns of ritual and forms of religious structure derived from the early Christian origins of the cult of saints and the late antique reverence of the holy places are developed into a way of presenting and understanding the saints and shrines of Christendom. You will learn about the common features of many cults and also the ways in which cults developed their own unique character. The approaches and framework shared in this course will offer you ways through the large but fragmented body of medieval visual evidence to mentally reconstruct and understand the culture of medieval pilgrimage.

You will gain a sense of the wide variety of types and forms of saints’ cults and places of pilgrimage found in medieval England and beyond. The course will offer a framework for you to understand the hierarchy of these, from local saints associated with wells and landscape features, to major shrines which enjoyed royal and elite ecclesiastical patronage and promotion. You will also see how the visual imagery of sanctity was deployed to give legitimacy as contemporary cults arose and glimpse the complex and at times unease relationship between popular enthusiasm and official promotion. You will learn about how the cults of Saints were deployed politically and financially through images and investment. 

You will focus on two important types of pilgrimage art: souvenirs such as badges and bottles and extended visual narratives describing the life and the miracles of a saint. Through both of these you will develop your thinking about the unique contribution of art and architecture, material and visual evidence to our understanding of saints’ cults. You will also see in art how the stories of saints and their powers of rescue and healing reveal something of the life of otherwise undocumented people.

Reformation iconoclasm and the passage of centuries mean that many saints’ shrines and pilgrimage centres preserve only a shadow of their original medieval appearance. You will learn how visual evidence such as pilgrim badges and masonry fragments and murals help us to reconstruct these lost holy places. Such imaginative reconstruction will give you insight into the ways in which individual pilgrims encountered Saints and how dispersed interiors and landscapes often offered multiple places for devotion commemoration and contact with the healing potential of a saint. This course will encourage you to think holistically about such settings and to engage reflectively and critically with contemporary reconstructions and representations of historic shrines of saints. You will have the opportunity to address critically the idea that medieval places of pilgrimage were early tourist attractions. This course will equip you to imaginatively engage with the experience of medieval pilgrims and to reflect on the impulses which motivated them in the presence of evidence which is often fragmentary and unpromising.

Presentation of the course 

You will be learning in a class, interacting with the tutor and your fellow students. Projected images of medieval art works will be our focus and you will have the opportunity to study these in detail and discuss them in small groups. We will use focussed extracts and readings to develop an understanding of context and historiography and you will be asked to read short extracts and come ready to discuss your ideas and interpretation. You will learn by looking, listening to your fellow students and reflecting on different images and texts.

Course sessions

1. Seeking the Saint. In this session you will learn about the variety of local cults and pilgrimages in medieval England and develop the knowledge to understand these in the context of the origins of devotion to holy places and the cult of saints and the wider context of medieval Europe. You will ponder the sorts of experiences and expectations involved in pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. By examining surviving art and architecture and visual as well as literary documents it is possible to gain a clearer picture of what it meant for medieval people to seek 
   a saint.
    
2. Meeting the Saint. In this session you will survey the striking and complex ways in which visual art and material culture were used to enable pilgrims to get close to the saint or holy site which was the focus of their pilgrimage. You will consider how architecture shaped and framed this experience and how many holy sites presented not a single object of devotion but rather a landscape of different locations and moments whether spread across a hillside or distributed inside the body of a church. Physical settings, material objects and visual representations curated and supported encounters with the spiritual and intangible.
    
3. Telling the tale. You will learn about the development of narrative art within the context of pilgrimage. Places of pilgrimage recorded and preserved the life or legend of their saint and also accounts of those healed or sometimes punished by the saint themselves. Many of these stories were local and particular and showed the whole range of medieval people and their lives. Places of pilgrimage required clear and complex visual storytelling and often deployed the combination of words and pictures to show a power and potential of the place and the saint.
    
4. Selling the Souvenirs. You will learn about the development of souvenirs in the Middle Ages. From the early Christian period, material objects and works of art served contain mementoes of pilgrimage particularly pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the later Middle Ages basic forms of artistic reproduction such as the casting of metal badges and printing enabled the mass-manufacture of tokens. The imagery of these tells us much about the focus and visual presentation of later medieval pilgrimage sites particularly in England where Protestant iconoclasm was so severe. The subsequent display and ritual use of these tokens by pilgrims shows us something about the meaning of pilgrimage to individuals and their communities.
    
5. Holy attractions. You will have the opportunity to think about the contribution of art and architecture to the medieval pilgrimage experience in a more holistic way. While some shrines have become ‘folk’ locations, since the 19th century, others have been the subject of archaeological and devotional reinstatement. Modern visual technology also enables the reconstruction of sites and shrines which are known only through archaeological fragments and early visual representations. It is also possible to animate these reconstructions through knowledge of liturgy and religious practises. The comparison between the medieval practise of pilgrimage and modern tourism is frequently made. This is an opportunity to reflect on how these medieval attractions worked and the range of types of art and architecture which were used to shape and enhance the experience of visitors.

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to understand the range of art and architecture associated with pilgrimage in medieval England and beyond
   
• to identify the variety of ways in which visual imagery was used to frame, promote and interpret saints and places of pilgrimage
   
• to evaluate the contribution of visual and architectural evidence to our understanding of the practice and experience of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages

Required reading

Rosewell, Roger, Saints, Shrines and Pilgrims: 797 Shire Library (Oxford and New York: Shire Publications 2017) ISBN 9780747814023 

This readily available book/eBook is a field guide with introductory text and copious illustrations. We will look at some of these examples together and you will have a ‘souvenir’ of our study to resource your own explorations.

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.