Lecture Two - Journeys

The medieval tradition of religious mobility was transformed and challenged by the Reformations. While Protestantism firmly repudiated that idea that arduous journeys could assist believers in the task of securing a place in paradise, the early modern period saw the revival and transformation of pilgrimage as a spiritual practice. This lecture considers the physical and virtual pathways to heaven that people of all confessions pursued, from the quotidian act of walking in the landscape and long-distance travel to other lands to mystical inner peregrinations that took place in the realm of the mind. The final part investigates the moral and social fears provoked by the restless itinerancy of poor, underprivileged, and marginal people who were perpetually on the move.

This article was published on 2025-07-09