Introduction (with Ian Rutherford) to Pilgrimage in Greco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity (original) (raw)
Related papers
Pilgrimage: christian practices in late antiquity
In his text «Holy Places and their Relics», Bruno Reudenback argues that the notion and existence of a holy place was almost an ‘alien’ concept to early Christians. However, other specialists such as Bruria Bitton-Ashkelony speak of the complexity of early pilgrimage and even differentiates between two very different types of visits to holy places in late antiquity. My essay explores the negative attitude and denunciation that surround this notion of loca sancta.
Renaissance and Reformation Journal
We are seeking contributions to a volume exploring pilgrimage in a global context from the mid-ifteenth to the mid-eighteenth century. This volume is under consideration for publication in the book series Re lections on Early Modernity / Ré lexions sur la première modernité published by the journal Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Réforme. Whether discussing visitations of local shrines or the great trans-regional events like the Hajj and pilgrimages to faraway lands, the rite of pilgrimage kept believers on the move, making pilgrims one of the most visible manifestations of mobility and religious devotion.
2019
Mobility and travel have always been key characteristics of human societies, having various cultural, social and religious aims and purposes. Travels shaped religions and societies and were a way for people to understand themselves, this world, and the transcendent. This book analyses travelling in its social context in ancient and medieval societies. Why did people travel, how did they travel, and what kind of communal networks and negotiations were inherent in their travels? Travel was not only the privilege of the wealthy or the male, but people from all social groups, genders, and physical abilities travelled. Their reasons to travel varied from profane to sacred, but often these two were intermingled in the reasons for travelling. The chapters cover a long chronology from Antiquity to the continuities of travel and pilgrimage as a phenomenon of vital importance. Jenni Kuuliala is a university researcher at Tampere University, Finland. Her research interests include hagiography, pilgrimage, and the social history of medicine in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Jussi Rantala is a postdoctoral researcher at Tampere University, Finland. His research concentrates on historiography, identity, and power in Classical Antiquity, particularly in the Roman Empire.