Jerozolima – święte miasto w średniowiecznych przewodnikach dla pielgrzymów

Abstract

Jerusalem – a holy city in medieval guidebooks for pilgrims A literary genre, typical for the high and late Middle Ages, connected with pilgrimages to the Holy Land, were lists of holy places. The tradition of making such brief, impersonal, and often anonymous catalogues of places worth visiting dates from the 12th century. Such registers were prepared for people guiding pilgrims or even pilgrims themselves who travelled from Europe to the East. That is why, the literature tends to treat works of that type as “guidebooks”. Comparison of three medieval guidebooks i.e. Descriptio de locis sanctis by Rorgo Fretellus (ca. 1137), and two anonymous textes: Les sains pelerinages que l’en doit reqquerre el la Terre Sainte (ca. 1229–1239) and Peregrinationes totius Terrae Sanctae (1491) allows us to analyse changes of pilgrims’ needs and expectations. Creation and collapse of crusaders’ states, as well as development of Ayyubid and Mamluk empires changed political situation in the Holy Land and had a serious impact on pilgrimage movement. Forced modification of pilgrims’ routes took place during decades of important changes of piety of Latin Christians, so pilgrims needed updated guidebooks.