The tomb of Christ at Jerusalem was a vital influence in the making of Western Europe. Pilgrimage there influenced the development of society and its structures. The desire to 'bring the Sepulchre to the West' in copies or memorials shaped art and religion, while the ambition to control Christ's tomb was a central objective of the crusades. Western Europe responded to the loss of Jerusalem by creating a new pilgrimage to the East, by making kingdoms 'holy lands' for their subjects, and by creating new pilgrim centres at home. This book brings together social, political, and religious themes often considered in isolation.
Colin Morris was formerly Professor of Medieval History at Southampton University.
1. Beginnings, to 325 ; 2. Consequences of Constantine, 325-350 ; 3. Dissemination: The Spread of Interest in Western Europe, 350-600 ; 4. The Frankish Kingdoms and the Carolingians, 600-1000 ; 5. Towards the First Crusade ; 6. Latin Jerusalem, 1099-1187 ; 7. Christendom Refashioned ; 8. Failure and Endeavour ; 9. The Great Pilgrimage in the Late Middle Ages, 1291-1530 ; 10. Sepulchres and Calvaries in the West, 1291-1530 ; 11. The End of the Pilgrimage, 1530-1630
It is difficult to do justice to the scope of the book, and the huge range of scholarship on which it is based, in several languages and in several disciplines...a study worthy of its troubled and complex history.