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The idea of pilgrimage, a journey
to a holy place, was hugely important in medieval England with very
few people not undertaking a pilgrimage at some point in their lives.
Motivation for pilgrimage was varied, some people went in hope of a cure, perhaps even more in thanks for an earlier cure or for being saved from a shipwreck. Some people may have gone to pay respects to a patron saint of a trade or to gain their protection, whilst others went just to escape from their everyday life. Arguably the most common reason for going on pilgrimage was to help speed a soul’s way through Purgatory and into Heaven. In preparation for their journeys, potential pilgrims would need to seek permission from their local abbot and sometimes a lord. This was issued in the form of a letter of commendation or testimoniales which was the pilgrim’s most important possession as it also entitled them to alms and hostelry, and proved their identity as a genuine pilgrim. This manuscript letter was kept in a scrip bag along with other basic equipment for a journey such as sewing kits and perhaps a tinderbox. The pilgrim’s other essential piece of kit was the staff, used to help walk on the poor roads, climb hills, ford rivers and push away wild animals.
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Pilgrims would often gather into groups for safety and companionship and would learn new ideas, share stories, sing and play music as they travelled. The bagpipes were a very popular pilgrim instrument of the time, but were not so appreciated by the villages the pilgrims passed through! The most popular shrines in medieval England were at Walsingham and Canterbury, but shrines were located across the country and every church and abbey had a relic of some sort to be visited and help channel the pilgrims' prayers to God. Shrines in medieval Cheshire included the Holy Rood of Chester, a crucifix containing a piece of the True Cross, which was kept in the church of St John the Baptist at Chester, along with the girdle of Thomas Becket. Norton Priory at Runcorn also had a piece of Christ's cross along with a huge statue of St Christopher which would have great relevance to the pilgrims on their journeys.
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| In Chester the Abbey Church of St Werburgh, (now the Cathedral), had an elaborate shrine containing the miracle working relics of the Saxon abbess Werburgh who is also patron saint of the city. After visiting a shrine, a pilgrim would look for some sort of token of their visit to return home with. The richer pilgrims could sometimes buy woodcut prints of the saints, or even perhaps a small relic. But the most common purchase would be a cheap badge, or pilgrim sign, cast in pewter and depicting a symbol of the saint or a story from their life. These were cast in their thousands and blessed before being sold to the pilgrims who would take home a little of the holiness of the place, fixed to their clothing or wide brimmed pilgrim's hat |
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