Eros and Pilgrimage in Chaucer’s and Shakespeare’s Poetry

The paper discusses erotic desire and the motif of going on pilgrimage in the opening of Geoffrey Chaucer’s General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales and in William Shakespeare’s sonnets. What connects most of the texts chosen for consideration in the paper is their diptych-like composition, corresponding to the dual theme of eros and pilgrimage. At the outset, I read the first eighteen lines of Chaucer’s Prologue and demonstrate how the passage attempts to balance and reconcile the eroticism underlying the description of nature at springtime with Christian devotion and the spirit of compunction. I support the view that the passage is the first wing of a diptych-like construction opening the General Prologue. The second part of the paper focuses on the motif of pilgrimage, particularly erotic pilgrimage, in Shakespeare’s sonnets. I observe that most of the sonnets that exploit the conceit of travel to the beloved form lyrical diptychs. Shakespeare reverses the medieval hierarchy of pilgrimage and desire espoused by Chaucer. Both poets explore and use to their own ends the tensions inherent in the juxtaposition of sacred and profane love. Their compositions encode deeper emotional patterns of desire: Chaucer’s narrator channels sexual drives into the route of communal national penance, whereas the Shakespearean persona employs religious sentiments in the service of private erotic infatuations

Ngalap Berkah to the Sacred Tomb in Surakarta: An Ethnographic Study at the Tomb of Ki Ageng Henis

The objective of this study is to describe the pattern of pilgrimage practices and to reveal the primary purpose of pilgrims at Ki Ageng Henis' tomb. This is a qualitative study with an ethnographic approach. Data collection were technically done through field method covering observation and interviews. The results of this study are as follows: 1) there are three patterns of pilgrimage practices at the tomb of Ki Ageng Henis, namely the pattern of Javanese traditional pilgrimage practice, Islamic pilgrimage practice pattern, and tourist pilgrimage practice pattern; 2) the primary aim of pilgrims visiting the tomb of Ki Ageng Henis is seeking for blessings ngalap berkah due to the presence of the figure of Ki Ageng Henis. the tomb of Ki Ageng Henis can serve as a symbol of community harmony due to the diversity of pilgrims who visit it

Contemporary Christian Travel: Pilgrimage, Practice and Place

Contemporary Christian Travel – Pilgrimage, practice and Place is a well-organised, structured and comprehensive text that examines the complex relationship between pilgrimage, travel and tourism. Aimed at students, researchers and the wider academic community of tourism and religious studies, the book is among the first titles to provide an in-depth analysis of the scope, complexity and uniqueness of Christian pilgrimage and more specifically, the contemporary patterns of religious tourism development. The volume draws on substantial theoretical base and includes case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North Americ

Astronomy and power: the case of the island of Cozumel

The Island of Cozumel plays a quite singular and distinguished role in the historical horizon of the Maya post-classic and the history of late Maya settlements patterns, trade and social dynamics. It was indeed – as attested by the Spanish chronicles – one of the most renewed pilgrimage centres of the Maya world and by far the most important centre of cult of the Goddess Ixchel. Many aspects of the peculiar role of Cozumel, however, still remain to be understood; in particular, the ideology, the patterns and the real extension of the pilgrimage phenomenon. To this end, a comparison is proposed here with a better known pre-Columbian pilgrimage site, the state sanctuary of the Incas on the Island of the Sun, focussing on impressive similarities – which include astronomical hierophanies in the management of religious power - but also, on likely differences connected to characteristics peculiar to Cozumel. Proposals for further research are highlighted

Mapping Women\u27s Movement in Medieval England

This thesis investigates women’s geographical movement in medieval England from the perspective of mobility and freedom. It uses pilgrimage accounts from medieval miracle story collections and to gather information about individual travel patterns. The study uses GIS to analyze gendered mobility patterns, and to investigate whether there were noticeable differences in the distance which men and women traveled and the geographical area of the country they originated. It also analyzes the nearness of men’s and women’s respective origin towns to alternative pilgrimage locations, as a means of examining the factors determining gendered travel mobility. The study finds that women’s travel distances were less than men’s, especially in the later medieval period, but that they were in fact more likely than men to come from areas proximate to alternative pilgrimage sites. This suggests the existence of higher mobility capacity for women living in areas with greater contact with other travelers

Pilgrimage in Leadership

Humans are universally drawn to the act of pilgrimage and current research informs us that the call to pilgrimage is increasing globally. In many cases pilgrimage is associated with religious ritual or a healing process. However, when pilgrimage is understood as archetypal behaviour, it becomes clear that an inner or outer pilgrimage can serve as a powerful metaphor for the development of transformational leaders. Exploring the works of important writers and researchers in pilgrimage, mythology, religion, history, psychology, philosophy, art and leadership development, this paper will demonstrate how the act of pilgrimage is a foundational symbol for leadership development. When leaders consciously engage with the archetype of pilgrimage from this perspective they activate the flow of creative images necessary for psychological development in ways necessary to their individual growth. Additionally, when viewed through this lens, pilgrimage can help advance our understanding of the unique pathways leaders must take in order to increase self-awareness through the rich resources of the psyche. Through both actual and metaphorical pilgrimage, leaders can attain increased understanding of their own personal patterns and opportunities for growth. We know that the most motivational and successful leaders are those who not only have clear ethical boundaries, but also have the courage and creativity to lead the way into the wilderness of the unknown. In an increasingly fast-paced, complex, technological and global world, this capability to find the courage to lead the way forward and to facilitate the new is more critical than ever before. The creative use of images, such as that of the pilgrim, contributes toward developing the qualities essential to becoming a sustaining and transformational leader

The experience of pilgrimage in the Roman Empire: communitas, paideiā, and piety-signaling

Pilgrimage of various types is well attested in the pre-Christian religions of the Roman Empire, but there is comparatively little evidence for the personal experiences of pilgrims. Some recent studies have argued that typical pilgrims of this period were members of the intellectual elite highly versed in literary culture (paideia) who saw sacred places as museums of Greek culture. In this paper, I try to reconstruct what we can about the experience of pilgrimage in early Roman Empire, looking at three cases studies: a. Philo’s somewhat idealized account of Jewish pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which stresses intense common feeling (or communitas, to use Victor Turner’s term) between participants; b. Pilgrimage to the oracle of Apollo at Claros, to which cities of Asia Minor and elsewhere sent sacred delegations, largely made up choirs of children who performed hymns at the sanctuary. It may be suggested that the experience of the pilgrimage was in large part an educative one - learning about Greek culture and learning how to behave in public; itmight even be seen as a sort of rite of passage. c. The healing-pilgrimages of Aelius Aristides to Pergamum and elsewhere. Aristides’ experience at Pergamum is full of paideia, though that was not the primary motivation, and it sometimes approaches communitas, though in the end the presence of other people tends to serve the purpose of an audience and foil for his own brilliance. Key aspects of his experience seem to be: a) suffering and b) a feeling of closeness to the god, sometimes bordering on identification with him

How Long Does the Pilgrimage Tourism Experience to Santiago de Compostela Last?

Tourism and pilgrimage are different social phenomena (Cohen, 1992; Collins-Kreiner, 2010a); tourism is more secular than pilgrimage, which is mainly a sacred journey (Barber, 2001). In spite of this, both indicate a ‘movement’; so that tourists and pilgrims are ‘foreigners, travellers and strangers’ (Smith, 1992) who look for authentic experiences (Collins-Kreiner, 2010a). The question: ‘What kind of Experience Pilgrimage is?’ has many answers. From a social point of view, pilgrims are free from social obligations; they share the same destination and the same social status. Because of this, the anthropologists Turner and Turner (1978) defined pilgrimage as an anti-structural experience that subverts the established order of things. Furthermore, pilgrimages are both liminal and inclusive experiences, as the sense of communitas (Turner and Turner, 1978) facilitates social relations and produces social safety (Bauman, 2001). Finally, the emotional dimension of pilgrimage experiences changes according to behavioural patterns. Based on these assumptions, pilgrimages are unique experiences. Because of contemporary transformations and the increasing use of the term ‘pilgrimage’ in secular contexts (Collins-Kreiner, 2010a), the geography of pilgrimages must investigate how pilgrimage experiences change. This contribution analyses pilgrimage experiences according to a key aspect: human cognition; for this reason, the essay presents a phenomenological methodological approach (Lopez, 2013). The chief sources are records of pilgrims who went to one of the most representative sites for Christian religion: Santiago de Compostela. The examination regards the above-mentioned dimensions and the way in which pilgrims ‘live the space’. It aims to reveal that the ‘essence’ of pilgrimage tourism experiences does not disappear when the pilgrim returns to his or her everyday life. As a matter of fact, his or her everyday life is marked by the pilgrimage experience and, thus, by a different worldview (Frey, 1997, 1998; Coleman, 2004)

Makam Keramat Datuk Tongah: Pembacaan Etnografis Akademisi Pelaku Ziarah

Keramat Datuk Tongah is consisted of two ancient grave located in Masjid Al-Mukarramah, Martubung, Medan Labuhan, Medan, North Sumatra. “Datuk Tongah” is a renowned appellation that has been passed down. This article is an ethnography of my pilgrimage to Keramat Datuk Tongah. The data were obtained through pilgrimage, interviews, observations, and literature review. There are two findings and one recommendation in this article. First, pilgrimage to ancient grave which details are not yet known must to be done on the scientific work. Pilgrimage is a research work, not just a religious ritual. Second, there is a nuance of Aceh in the grave as seen from the headstone, tomb, and decorative patterns. Indeed, the identity of the grave could be found by seeing Aceh as a center of cultural analysis. An insight from irfani or sufistic view entangled for enriching the analysis. The attention needs to be paid by local government in order to preserve Keramat Datuk Tongah and registered it as a tangible cultural heritage