While introducing the idea of pilgrimage in his book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, Turner classifies the different types of pilgrimage that exist. One of the classifications he describes within christian culture reminded me of what I was also learning at the time in art history. Turner writes:
"Many of the pilgrimages best known in the popular and literary traditions of the Christian world originated in the European middle ages and take their tone from the theological and philosophical emphases of that epoch;" (Turner, 18)
He names some of the examples of this type of pilgrimage, such as the Compostela in Spain and the Chartres in France. I learned about both of these places in art history while discussing Christendom and that is why my attention was drawn to this particular passage. During this time, the middle ages as Turner calls it, people in Europe were making long pilgrimages to places that held significant meaning with the Christians. Often times, people would make the journey to see relics, which they believed had special powers. This is the type of pilgrimage Turner is referring to; a pilgrimage that is completely based around the Christian beliefs of this time. He then goes on to explain that present pilgrimages are based on their historical meaning, but are subject to some change. This is definitely true for this type of pilgrimage because many people still do travel to these religious "hot-spots" on pilgrimage, but some changes have been made as time progressed.
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