In this last installment of the journals from Image and
Pilgrimage in Christian Culture I found an interesting snippet of text in the conclusion
in which the authors revisit the idea of polycentrism and the role pilgrimages
played in its rise. Polycentrism is best
defined as the term given to describe when a place has multiple political,
social, or even religious centers. Now in
the case of pilgrimages they were routes to a goal. The goal or finish line if you will had
routes spider webbing out from it that multitudes of people came in through and
with the need of so many travelers arose the need for support systems along the
way. It is extremely interesting then to
see the way that churches and hostels as well as markets and taverns have
popped up along these routes at specific points that might not otherwise have
been settled if not for the pilgrimage running through. My thought on them is that they seem to be
still living mimics of the ghost towns that popped up in and around gold digs
in the old west. If there was need of
some sort of support through water, shelter, food, medicine, or the like people
would flock to provide, albeit for a small fee.
That seems to me to be the idea behind these pilgrimage support routes
as well except that they one still exist and two see slightly more benevolent
given the nature of the journey and its travelers.
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