The Practicalities of Pilgrimage

Abstract

The Canterbury Tales is one of the best-known and most accessible accounts of late medieval pilgrimage for modern English readers.1 Although Chaucer's poem is fictional, it alludes to some realistic aspects of travel during the period, such as the description of the characters’ equipment, their use of hostels, and the speed at which they travel.2 However, most of the poem dwells on the relationships between the fictional pilgrims and their storytelling contests. It provides little concrete information about the everyday aspects of medieval travel. This is representative of most medieval literature on pilgrimage, which is far more focused on the spiritual and literary representation of these journeys. This paper will describe an experimental archeology project that was undertaken with the goal of understanding the day-to-day aspects of medieval travel. This re-creation provided important viewpoints and data on the practicalities and difficulties of 14th-century travel and pilgrimage. Though the historical gear used during the re-creation proved effective, carrying food and supplies and camping outdoors added difficulty that made clear the need for a network of inns, hostels, and social customs to support these journeys.