{"product_id":"pilgrimages-9780851154718","title":"Pilgrimages","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first book to give an account of the major pilgrimage traditions of all the great religions of the world.\u003c\/b\u003ePilgrimage, the journey to a distant sacred goal, is found in all the great religions of the world. It is a journey both outwards to hallowed places and inwards to spiritual improvement; it can express penance for past evils, or the search for future good; the pilgrim may pursue spiritual ecstasy in the sacred sites of a particular faith, or seek a miracle through the medium of god or saint. Throughout the world, pilgrims move invisibly in huge numbers among the tourists of today, indistinguishable from them except in purpose. In England each year 000 pilgrims make the journey to Canterbury cathedral and the shrine of Thomas Becket; the great festival at Prayaga on the Ganges attracts over fifteen million men and women.  This is the first book to offer a survey of the great pilgrimage traditions. It outlines the history of different customs and brings together some of the common themes, revealing in the process surprising similarities in practice among pilgrims of widely differing beliefs and times.              RICHARD BARBER's interests range widely over the middle ages. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Knight and Chivalry\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003ePenguin Guide to Medieval Europe;\u003c\/i\u003ehe has also written biographies of the Henry II and the Black Prince, and a history, \u003ci\u003eThe Pastons: A Family in the Wars of the Roses,\u003c\/i\u003e as well as two classic Arthurian books, \u003ci\u003eArthurian Legends\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKing Arthur: Hero and Legend\u003c\/i\u003e.Cover illustration: The scallop shell symbol of pilgrims to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela. This scallop shell, still showing simple colouring, was found inthe grave of a young man buried in Keynsham Abbey in the 12th century; the holes in the beak, for attaching the shell to the pilgrim's scrip, are clearly visible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJerusalem - pilgrimage as devotion; Mecca; Rome and the shrines of Europe - pilgrimage and miracles; Benares and the shrines of India - pilgrimage as ritual; Buddhist pilgrimage - pilgrimage as quest; common ground.","brand":"Boydell \u0026 Brewer Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51618775531863,"sku":"9780851154718","price":23.82,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780851154718.jpg?v=1756903326","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/pilgrimages-9780851154718","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}