This thought-provoking book explores medieval perceptions of pilgrimage, gender and space. It examines real life evidence for the widespread presence of women pilgrims, as well as secular and literary texts concerning pilgrimage and women pilgrims represented in the visual arts. Women pilgrims were inextricably linked with sexuality and their presence on the pilgrimage trails was viewed as tainting sacred space.
Introduction 1 The Milky Way: Women pilgrims and visual art 2 Legal documentation and restriction: Disruption and control 3 Gender, pilgrimage and medieval perceptions of space 4 Secular and religious literary depictions of women pilgrims 5 Performing Margery Kempe 6 Contextualizing female, male and child pilgrims
Biography
Susan Signe Morrison (Author)
'Women Pilgrims in Late Medieval England will be a valuable aid to the study of late-medieval religious studies.' - Medium Aevum
'This is an exhaustively researched and necessary study in the wider field of pilgrimage, providing new insights into the place of women pilgrims in medieval society.' - Journeys
