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Authors: Steven Runciman
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from the scene of his crime. The discomforts and
expense of his journey would be a punishment to him, while the achievement of
his task and the emotional atmosphere of his goal would give him a feeling of
spiritual cleansing and strength. He returned a better man.
The Great Age of
Pilgrimage
Casual references in the chroniclers tell us of
frequent pilgrimages though the names of the actual pilgrims that we now
possess are inevitably only those of the greater personages. From amongst the
great lords and ladies of the West there came Hilda, Countess of Swabia, who
died on her journey in 969, and Judith, Duchess of Bavaria, sister-in-law of
the Emperor Otto I, whose tour took place in 970. The Counts of Ardeche, of
Vienne, of Verdun, of Arcy, of Anhalt and of Gorizia, all were pilgrims.
Leading ecclesiastics were even more assiduous. Saint Conrad, Bishop of
Constance, made three separate journeys to Jerusalem, and Saint John, Bishop of
Parma, no less than six. The Bishop of Olivola was there in 920. Pilgrim abbots
included those of Saint-Cybar, of Flavigny, of Aurillac, of Saint-Aubin d’Angers
and of Montier-en-Der. All these eminent travellers brought with them groups of
humble men and women whose names were of no interest to the writers of the
time.
This activity was mainly the result of private
enterprise. But a new force was appearing in European politics, which amongst
its other work set about the organization of the pilgrim traffic. In 910 Count
William I of Aquitaine founded the Abbey of Cluny. By the end of the century
Cluny, ruled by a series of remarkable abbots, was the centre of a vast
ecclesiastical nexus, well ordered, closely knit and intimately connected with
the Papacy. The Cluniacs regarded themselves as the keepers of the conscience
of western Christendom. Their doctrine approved of pilgrimage. They wished to
give it practical assistance. By the beginning of the next century the
pilgrimages to the great Spanish shrines were almost entirely under their
control. At the same time they began to arrange and to popularize journeys to
Jerusalem. It was owing to their persuasion that the Abbot of Stavelot set out
for the Holy Land in 990 and the Count of Verdun in 997. Their influence is
shown by the great increase in the eleventh century of pilgrims from France and
Lorraine, from districts that were near to Cluny and her daughter houses.
Though there were still many Germans amongst the pilgrims of the eleventh
century, such as the Archbishops of Trier and Mainz and the Bishop of Bamberg,
and many pilgrims from England, French and Lorraine pilgrims now by far
outnumbered them. The two great dynasties of northern France, the Counts of
Anjou and the Dukes of Normandy, were both, despite their mutual rivalry, the
close friends of Cluny; and both patronized the eastern journey. The terrible
Fulk Nerra of Anjou went to Jerusalem in 1002 and twice returned there later.
Duke Richard III of Normandy sent alms there, and Duke Robert led a huge
company there in 1035. All these pilgrimages were faithfully recorded by the
Cluniac historian, the monk Glaber.
Scandinavian
Pilgrims
The Normans followed their Dukes’ example. They
had a particular veneration for Saint Michael; and great numbers of them made
the journey to Monte Gargano. From there the more enterprising would go on to
Palestine. In the middle of the century they formed so large and so fervent a
proportion of the Palestine pilgrims that the government at Constantinople,
angry with the Normans for their raids on Byzantine Italy, began to show some
ill will towards the pilgrim traffic. Their cousins from Scandinavia showed an
almost equal enthusiasm. Scandinavians had long been used to visit
Constantinople; and its wealth and wonders greatly impressed them. They talked
in their northern homes of Micklegarth, as they called the great city; which
they even at times identified with Asgard, the home of the gods. Already by 930
there were Norsemen in the
expense of his journey would be a punishment to him, while the achievement of
his task and the emotional atmosphere of his goal would give him a feeling of
spiritual cleansing and strength. He returned a better man.
The Great Age of
Pilgrimage
Casual references in the chroniclers tell us of
frequent pilgrimages though the names of the actual pilgrims that we now
possess are inevitably only those of the greater personages. From amongst the
great lords and ladies of the West there came Hilda, Countess of Swabia, who
died on her journey in 969, and Judith, Duchess of Bavaria, sister-in-law of
the Emperor Otto I, whose tour took place in 970. The Counts of Ardeche, of
Vienne, of Verdun, of Arcy, of Anhalt and of Gorizia, all were pilgrims.
Leading ecclesiastics were even more assiduous. Saint Conrad, Bishop of
Constance, made three separate journeys to Jerusalem, and Saint John, Bishop of
Parma, no less than six. The Bishop of Olivola was there in 920. Pilgrim abbots
included those of Saint-Cybar, of Flavigny, of Aurillac, of Saint-Aubin d’Angers
and of Montier-en-Der. All these eminent travellers brought with them groups of
humble men and women whose names were of no interest to the writers of the
time.
This activity was mainly the result of private
enterprise. But a new force was appearing in European politics, which amongst
its other work set about the organization of the pilgrim traffic. In 910 Count
William I of Aquitaine founded the Abbey of Cluny. By the end of the century
Cluny, ruled by a series of remarkable abbots, was the centre of a vast
ecclesiastical nexus, well ordered, closely knit and intimately connected with
the Papacy. The Cluniacs regarded themselves as the keepers of the conscience
of western Christendom. Their doctrine approved of pilgrimage. They wished to
give it practical assistance. By the beginning of the next century the
pilgrimages to the great Spanish shrines were almost entirely under their
control. At the same time they began to arrange and to popularize journeys to
Jerusalem. It was owing to their persuasion that the Abbot of Stavelot set out
for the Holy Land in 990 and the Count of Verdun in 997. Their influence is
shown by the great increase in the eleventh century of pilgrims from France and
Lorraine, from districts that were near to Cluny and her daughter houses.
Though there were still many Germans amongst the pilgrims of the eleventh
century, such as the Archbishops of Trier and Mainz and the Bishop of Bamberg,
and many pilgrims from England, French and Lorraine pilgrims now by far
outnumbered them. The two great dynasties of northern France, the Counts of
Anjou and the Dukes of Normandy, were both, despite their mutual rivalry, the
close friends of Cluny; and both patronized the eastern journey. The terrible
Fulk Nerra of Anjou went to Jerusalem in 1002 and twice returned there later.
Duke Richard III of Normandy sent alms there, and Duke Robert led a huge
company there in 1035. All these pilgrimages were faithfully recorded by the
Cluniac historian, the monk Glaber.
Scandinavian
Pilgrims
The Normans followed their Dukes’ example. They
had a particular veneration for Saint Michael; and great numbers of them made
the journey to Monte Gargano. From there the more enterprising would go on to
Palestine. In the middle of the century they formed so large and so fervent a
proportion of the Palestine pilgrims that the government at Constantinople,
angry with the Normans for their raids on Byzantine Italy, began to show some
ill will towards the pilgrim traffic. Their cousins from Scandinavia showed an
almost equal enthusiasm. Scandinavians had long been used to visit
Constantinople; and its wealth and wonders greatly impressed them. They talked
in their northern homes of Micklegarth, as they called the great city; which
they even at times identified with Asgard, the home of the gods. Already by 930
there were Norsemen in the
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