Erica Gamester: Image and Pilgrimage of Christian Culture #2

Image and Pilgrimage of Christian Culture #2

In class lecture, we discussed that a sacred place is also known as a “storied place” through context of the novel, Landscapes of the Sacred. This means that myths and tales hallow the grounds and make this a place of tribute and spiritual enrichment. It offers the pilgrim a sense of connectedness with the location’s past and the other travelers present.

The novel, Image and Pilgrimage of Christian Culture, reciprocates this idea of a “storied place”. However, it proposes that without the pilgrims the stories and myths would cease to exist. Consequentially, the place would be nothing more than ordinary.

“Like all sustained mass movements, pilgrimages tend to accrete rich superstructures of legend, myth, folklore and literature. Legend may be defined as the corpus of written accounts of the marvels and miracles connected with the genesis and development of a pilgrimage system;” (Page 23)*

However, the power lies within the pilgrim to choose his/her journey. Connecting back to the novel, Landscapes of the Sacred, a sacred place can be tread upon without being entered. Therefore, the pilgrim follows his own intuition in order based on his/her purpose of travel, which may or may not always result in a newfound connectedness with a sacred place.

“…It must not be forgotten that each pilgrimage has its own entelechy [the realization of potential], its own impermanent force controlling and directing development… A pilgrimage’s foundation is typically marked by visions, miracles or martyrdoms.” (Page 25)

There are layers of rich history that occur within a place. Pilgrimages recover resonances of these past historic events, both local and regional. In even greater and vaster pilgrimages, the journey can be “shaped and colored by international, even world history” (Page 23).

When read in succession, the two novels, Landscapes of the Sacred and Image and Pilgrimage of Christian Culture explain a relationship between the pilgrim and the environment. Again, a sacred place is a “storied place”.  However, the land can only be considered sacred or storied with due to pilgrimages or other hallowed events. Pilgrimage naturally acquires myths and legends as they recover and create history, which is then indefinitely connected with the location. In conclusion, the pilgrim is naturally involved in a reciprocating relationship with his/her surroundings.

*All quotes are from Image and Pilgrimage of Christian Culture