Pilgrimages, Pandemics and the Past

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Between us and the medieval men and women who went on pilgrimage there stand many impediments to understanding: the Reformation, the Enlightenment, secularisation.

This lecture will explore how tracing ancient routes on foot, and experiencing travel as people did in an age before trains and cars, can offer insights into the past. But is the sense of being accompanied by ghosts a delusion?

Tom Holland will draw on experiences of reading Chaucer and undertaking pilgrimages during and after the pandemic.

This lecture was recorded by Tom Holland on 7 October 2023 at Barnard’s Inn Hall, London

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/pilgrimages-holland

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