Revisiting Female Pilgrimage in Medieval Oxford: Evidence from the Miracula Sancte Frideswide
The most common form of female pilgrimage in medieval England was local pilgrimage to a saint's shrine. One English pilgrimage destination which is especially associated with women is St Frideswide's shrine in Oxford, owing to a collection of miracle stories compiled in the 1180s in which...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
Published: |
2023
|
In: |
Journal of religious history
Year: 2023, Volume: 47, Issue: 4, Pages: 604-625 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | The most common form of female pilgrimage in medieval England was local pilgrimage to a saint's shrine. One English pilgrimage destination which is especially associated with women is St Frideswide's shrine in Oxford, owing to a collection of miracle stories compiled in the 1180s in which women are particularly prevalent. Drawing on a new edition and translation of the Miracula sancte Frideswide, this article revisits the cult of Frideswide in the late twelfth century and takes a fresh look at the experiences of women visiting Oxford on pilgrimage. The article reassesses previous speculations about women's attraction to the cult, brings to light some little-appreciated aspects of female pilgrimage, and finds that many of the accounts challenge assumptions made about female behaviour and expectations in the Middle Ages. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1467-9809 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious history
|
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1467-9809.13015 |