Medieval Pilgrimage
Taught by Tiffany Vann Sprecher
Tiffany D. Vann Sprecher, Ph.D. is assistant professor of History at Kingsborough Community College. Her current research explores vigilante justice in late medieval France. She has written on priests, midwives, government regulation, crime and punishment in the late medieval and early modern period.
Human bones, blood, and breastmilk were some of the relics that compelled people in the middle ages to undertake pilgrimages – trips that could be expensive, dangerous, and sometimes deadly.
In this class, we'll learn about medieval pilgrimage, the theology of purgatory around which the practice was built, and the vibrant tourist industry it stimulated. Together we will analyze pictures of medieval and modern artifacts related to pilgrimage including relics, the bejeweled containers in which they were kept, common souvenirs sold at pilgrimage sites and, surprisingly, badges depicting anthropomorphic human genitalia.
