Expecting to come home again

[Tom Priestly]

In response to Galen's point, below:
True, but . . . "travelling locally" was for many Europeans, for most
of the centuries of Christianity (i.e., better-recorded history),
often very difficult.

The ancestors of the inhabitants of the Austrian village where I have
been doing fieldwork for three decades are a good example: they
certainly did not commute from their village to earn their daily
bread (even as late as the late 1930s there was only one 'commuter',
the village postman), but they *did* go on yearly pilgrimages to
shrines and/or 'sister churches' situated in what are now close
neighboring villages. They still uphold the tradition, but pile into
cars to make these trips. But from the early-ish middle ages till
within living memory they walked, every year, to at least three
places, respectively 6, 13 and 15 km (about 4, 8 and 10 miles) in
each direction, on communal pilgrimages. (The last two would have
taken nearly all day, of course).

Also, they tried to visit, more than once in their lives and
especially at times of  crisis, two further-flung shrines: one of
these is 40 km (about 26 miles), the other 90 km (about 60 miles)
away. Camino-walkers will know how long this will have taken them.
(Bear in mind that an Alpine ridge had to be crossed for the former
trip, an Alp had to walked up for the other).

My point? That the distant pilgrimages were for them an extension of
something they knew very well from personal experience. A very large
extension, of course; but much more often than not pilgrims **did**
come back. Friends and relations **did** expect to see you again. At
least, this is what I imagine - I am not a historian.

On which topic, perhaps someone who knows more about medieval history
can confirm what I suspect: that Sharan Newman's 12th-century
detective series provides a very good portrayal of life back then;
specifically, that her description of her heroine Catherine's
pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago is accurate. On that trip, only
the muderer and those whom (s)he murdered did not get home alive (I
think this is accurate; I read this particular book, *Strong as
Death*, 2 years ago, and my memory may be at fault. I recommend the
series, and this particular book, by the way).

Tom
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Oh, by the way, I'm sure lots of people did travel _locally_  in the
>middle ages, but almost no one would travel so far as we did, when it was
>hard enough just to survive digging a living out of the dirt, let alone
>walking (without our handy modern gore-tex, antibiotics, etc. etc. etc.
>etc) that far.  For most, I'm sure it was like a death-sentence or leaving
>for the americas.  No one expects to see you again.
>
>G