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Welcome to the Pilgrim Wiki, the pilgrim guide written by pilgrims
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[edit] General
Pilgrimage is a term widely used among the world's religions, generally meaning a journey of spiritual significance, and generally to a place regarded as holy. Such journeys can be long or short, ritualised or informal, literal or metaphorical. See Wikipedia pages for more on pilgrimage in the world's religions.
In Christian Europe, pilgrimage reached a peak in the medieval period, declined, and then revived in the 19th century. Pilgrims journey to the holy place using available transport, which in modern times means air, road or rail. But towards the end of the 20th century, the cathedral authorities in Santiago de Compostela, thinking that the spiritual side of pilgrimage would be emphasised if the journey involved some physical effort, introduced a certificate called a compostela which would be granted to all those who had walked, cycled or rode a horse for a minimum distance. This idea proved enormously popular, and today many thousands of people do just that every year. Walking and cycling routes to Santiago have been and continue to be created around Europe, and other religious centres have copied Santiago's example by creating their own routes.
All contributions to any aspect of pilgrimage are welcome to this wiki, but the emphasis is on this walking/cycling/riding type of journey rather than on pilgrimages by air, road or rail.
- A brief history of pilgrimage
[edit] Medieval pilgrimage
- Medieval shrines
- Pilgrimage by sea
- Medieval infrastructure: roads, accommodation
- Medieval itineraries and pilgrim accounts
[edit] Modern pilgrimage
[edit] General
See 'shrines' section below for comments specific to a particular destination/shrine. This section is for general advice relating to all shrines, though as the pilgrimage to Santiago is by far the most popular, most of the comments are based on that experience.
- Infrastructure
- Public transport - all journeys start from and return to the pilgrim's home. Traditionally, pilgrims would walk or ride the whole way. Some pilgrims still do this, but today most make at least part of the journey by public transport
- Getting to the shrine
- Routes - general
- Walking - general advice for walkers
- Biking/Cycling - general advice for cyclists
- Other means - horseback, mule, donkey, wheelchair, handcart . . .
- Budget
- Phoning home
- Some tips on getting back to your normal life once back home
[edit] Specific shrines
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