Images and Pilgrimage: Medival Pilgrimage

Lizzie Nelson

In the reading for this week the authors focus mainly on famous medieval pilgrimages across most of main land Europe and some areas of the United Kingdom. The author goes into detail about the history of many of these walks, who walked them before, who made them famous, and why they are walked today. They then began to talk about the intense Christian spirituality within these walks and how modern sciences have attempted to explain the “supernatural phenomena” that occurs while traveling along this trail. They criticized the “cult of every technical excellence” as they say those who try rationalizing these pilgrimages are only trying in vain to dissect something that cannot be such. I took great offense to this reading as they seem to completely dismiss all scientific explanation like it did not have a place in spirituality at all. In my opinion, this is completely wrong, I think the science behind why we feel connection with others or why are brains are active the way they are on such trips is part of the spirituality and mysticism that occur on the trail. It is something so unique that the fact that we can see it at all, in my opinion, is a sort of supernatural magic.

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