To be a pilgrim

23 April 2026, The Tablet

The basilica of St Michael, Gargano in Foggia, northern Apulia

ALAMY/REALY EASY STAR, TONI SPAGONE

Anyone who wants to know just why the medieval faithful made their arduous journeys to the holy places of Christendom should read this impressive book.

April, as Chaucer explains in the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, is the month of itchy feet. The soft breezes, birdsong and blossoming of nature were stimuli to leave home and embark on the peregrination to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, the greatest of all English medieval pilgrimage destinations.

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