| Pilgrim's Guide |
PART I THE PILGRIM'S WAY IN TRIMARIS Be advised that the "Pilgrimage Tourney To Jerusalem" event emulates a Medieval Pilgrimage, and by definition has strong Christian religious content. If this offends you please do not participate. Event Staff will bear a red cross of Jerusalem.
Road must get their bag of 10 scallop shells and their Pilgrim's Passport from the Pilgrim Counselor (Small Hall), to be franked at each of the 6 Stations along the Pilgrim's Way. (It is best to register as a Pilgrim at the same time you go through event registration. Some pouches, at random, will contain a paired scallop. This may be used as a Safe Passage to get the Bandits to leave you alone, used as an ordinary scallop shell on the Pilgrimage Journey or turned in to the Enumeratrix at the end of the Pilgrimage to be counted as 3 scallop shells. The Pilgrim's Way will be marked by signs, which correspond to the towns listed in your Passport. At each of the 6 Stations you will be asked a question (multiple choice or True/False) on subjects relating to towns along the Pilgrim's Way, Medieval Pilgrimage in general, the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the history and miracles of local Saints, and religious or military architecture. All the questions will be taken from the Pilgrim's Guide. A correct answer earns you a scallop shell. If you answer incorrectly you must give up a scallop shell. Your Passport will be franked at each Hospyce regardless of your answer. At the end of the Pilgrimage your scallop shells will be tallied by the Enumeratrix. Indulgences (prizes) will be granted to the three pilgrims with the highest number of scallop shells. You must also have a stamp in your Passport for each of the 6 Stations along the Pilgrim's Way. If you do you will receive a Plenary Indulgence certifying your completion of the Pilgrimage. At Evening Court the Major Indulgences (prizes) will be bestowed. Pilgrimages Virtually every medieval person was obsessed with sinning and sought forgiveness and salvation. The existence and reality of Miracles was taken for granted and the authenticity of the vast majority of them was never questioned. The miracles, the relics, the tombs of the saints, and the holy ground where they stood held an allure beyond all deeds. Thence the popularity of Pilgrimages. Pilgrimages were made to special holy places called shrines. It was commonly believed that by praying at these shrines you might be forgiven for your sins and have more chance of going to heaven. At the time, the Church taught that upon death one went to Purgatory and remained in this "Limbo" until sufficient time had passed to expiate one's sins. Indulgences could be earned by making a pilgrimage and could thus be used to reduce the length of this sentence in Limbo. Secular authorities imposed pilgrimages as punishment. Pilgrimages were also used as a pretext for travel; pilgrims traveled recognized routes stopping off at shrines and cathedrals not only as worshipers but also as sight-seers. Beggars, forgers, thieves, and others took to the pilgrimage routes for financial gain. Pilgrims were representative of all social groups and classes, but came mainly from the middle class who rode on horseback. Poor pilgrims had to make the journey on foot. At other shrines people went to see the teeth, bones, shoes, combs etc. that were said to have once belonged to important Christian saints. The most common relics at these shrines were nails and pieces of wood that the keepers of the shrine claimed came from the cross used to crucify Jesus. The Holy Cross, among many other Relics was reportedly brought from Jerusalem by St. Helena, the mother of emperor Constantine. Relics were vitally important to medieval Christians, who believed that some of the aura of divinity associated with Christ or the saints remained in their bones, or objects associated with them. Venerating the relic, visiting it, adorning it with precious gems and metals was seen as a form of worship, and put the worshipper in direct contact with the divine. Kings preferred them to gold. Pious thieves stole them for their home churches. The power of relics drew pilgrims like magnets. They were to be found everywhere there were Christians, were jealously guarded and even fought over and stolen. When pilgrims arrived at the shrine they would pay to be allowed to look at these holy relics. In some cases pilgrims were even allowed to touch and kiss them. To prove they had visited a particular shrine, pilgrims bought lead or pewter souvenir badges stamped with the symbol of the shrine. These badges were then fixed to the pilgrim's hat or clothes. In Palestine, for example, it was possible to visit a cave that was supposed to contain the beds of Adam and Eve and a pillar of salt that had once been Lots wife. Traveling on long journeys in the Middle Ages was a dangerous activity. Pilgrims often went in groups to protect themselves against outlaws. Wealthy people sometimes preferred to pay others to go on a pilgrimage for them. The indulgences gained accrued, of course, to the sponsor. It was considered an act of Christian Charity to give alms to beggars and Lepers. Many Leper hospitals were located on Pilgrimage routes, perhaps to take advantage of the Pilgrims' generosity. The Pilgrimage Route to Jerusalem Bear in mind that the route we shall be traveling through the eastern countries has been a buffer area for hundreds of years serving as a bastion for the West against the incursions of invading Asiatic armies. Moreover, the native folke were just as militant between and amongst themselves. When taken with the inevitable propensity for conquering religious faiths to stamp out all traces of the "heretical" faith they replaced, it is little wonder that in this year of 1099 many of the venerated sites are rubble or in ruins. And in many cases the Holy Relics they once contained have been moved to other locations for "safekeeping." This constant back and forth wash of Religions and Cultures obscures and often totally eclipses the true history, not to speak of who and what was where and when. Also the languages of these areas' written scripts, and some that were only oral, encompassed Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Coptic, etc. such that transliteration and spelling is problematic. Further, the Western Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches often had differing Feast days for a particular Saint. A further complication for more recent times is the change from the Julian calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C to the Gregorian (Pope Gregory) in 1582 by which time the Julian was ten days behind the actual Seasons. As if that were not enough, the Gregorian year began on January 1, the Julian year began on December 25 until the Fourteenth Century when it was changed to March 25. Only five (European) countries changed over in 1582. The rest of the World gradually changed over, the last being China in 1949! N.b. the Eastern (Orthodox) region generated a great many "Military Martyrs". For instance: St. George, St. Demetrius, and St. Theodore Teron. They are commonly shown mounted, bearing a lance and killing some representation of the Devil, from dragons to crocodiles. The St. Michael the Archangel Iconography was pervasive. So, a grain of salt for the "facts" that follow, if you please. There are a great many dates in the material that follows. They are here to establish chronology, not for the Pilgrims to memorize. Remember, all Pilgrim Questions are True/False or Multiple Choice. Relax; there will be NO Pilgrimage questions about the above confusions. A note on "Crusades"
their participants. The original crusaders were known by various terms, including fideles Sancti Petri (the faithful of St. Peter) or milites Christi (knights of Christ). They saw themselves as undertaking a peregrinatio, a pilgrimage, though pilgrims were usually forbidden from carrying arms. Like pilgrims, each crusader swore an vow (a votus), to be fulfilled on successfully reaching Jerusalem, and they were granted a cloth cross (crux) to be sewn into their clothes. This "taking of the cross", the crux, eventually became associated with the entire journey; the word "crusade" (coming into English from the French croisade, the Italian crociata, or the Portuguese cruzado) developed from this. The English "croysede" dates to 1297, and "croyssyd" to 1325. |
| Crusade to Jerusalem Nov 3-5, 2007 |
| Hosted by the Canton of Mathom Trove |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
