Felix Fabri and the Decline of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Introduction
‘Christians, like the adherents of other religions, sought in particular places the visual and tactile embodiment of a reality other and higher than themselves, […].’[1] As the quote above indicates, the term pilgrimage cannot be restricted to just one space nor to one historical period in particular. When did the practice of going on pilgrimage take off? When did it end? In this brief article I will be turning to the second question. This question is wrong in itself as I will demonstrate below. As a result of thinking in big blocks or timeframes called ‘periods’, there has been a tendency in historiography to describe pilgrimage as a phenomenon that is characteristic to merely one period: the Middle Ages. Historians have placed the end of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Nowadays historians do not speak of a clear cut ‘end’ to a concept so integral to the religious life, but of a ‘decline’. Historians agree about the occurrence of a decline, but do not agree about the causes that set this decline in motion. Historiography has a strong lack of cohesion in this matter. Here, I am aspiring to contribute to a more ordered image of Late Medieval pilgrimage by answering the question what could possibly have caused the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I will do this by providing an overview of the causes mentioned by historians. Furthermore, I have searched for possible causes in a pilgrimage narrative written by Felix Fabri. Network analysis will be used to determine the credibility of some of the causes mentioned, but first I will briefly consider pilgrims’ motives for going to the Holy Land and Fabri’s life and work. [1] Diana Webb, Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700-c.1500 (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002), ix. |
This is a depiction of two pilgrims. The image is taken from Le Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine, written by Guillaume de Digulleville. The image has been made by the Master of the Book of Hours of Johannette Ravenelle in the beginning of the fifteenth century.
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View of Jerusalem in 1487. The image is taken from a German manuscript called 'Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem', written by Konrad Grünenberg in c. 1487 (at the same time as Felix Fabri wrote his Evagatorium). The manuscript has been digitized by the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe. You can access the manuscript at the following link: http://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/id/7061
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
In this text I focus on one specific branch of pilgrimage: the one bound for the Holy Land. This branch of pilgrimage is actually quite medieval. In the medieval universe the Holy Land held a very special position as can be seen on medieval maps: Jerusalem was depicted as the centre of the world encircled by everyone and everything. Already in the fourth century A.D., pilgrims travelled to the Holy Land and over the years it remained one of the most popular pilgrims’ destinations. This could be explained by pointing at the special relation it has with Jesus Christ, as he is supposed to have lived there. Pilgrims hit the road for all kinds of reasons: to search for remedies to sicknesses, to obtain indulgences, to escape from everyday life, to ask God for his assistance in difficult situations, to try to get out of a punishment (as pilgrims were protected by the Church) or to do penance. West European pilgrims did not travel all the way to Jerusalem for a recipe on how to heal foot fungus. The main reason for going to the Holy Land must have been ‘devotion’. People were expecting to be closer to God in the Holy Land or to get divine insight into the Bible. The idea of a decline may seem a little odd in the context of the fifteenth century. After all, several historians talk about how pilgrimage changed in the course of this century: it became much more organized. The passage from Venice to Jaffa, in the Holy Land, was regularized. Moreover the captain of the ship prepared guides and accommodation for the pilgrims once they arrived in the Holy Land. It could quite easily be compared to an all-inclusive package holiday: the pilgrim paid the ship-owner for the passage, for the guides and accommodation at once. The Franciscans of Mount Sion played an important part in this organization as well. For a while they held guardianship over the holy sites and they accommodated the pilgrims. Most of the pilgrims followed the regularized plan of these Franciscans for visiting the Holy Land. Some pilgrims, on the other hand, remained critical of their guides and sometimes took off on their own, like Felix Fabri. Do the aforementioned facts suggest that the networks guiding the pilgrims to the Holy Land were strong? What where then the reasons for the decline of pilgrimage to the holy sites? |
This is a reproduction of the Hereford Mappa Mundi, This map from c. 1300 is kept by the Hereford Cathedral in England. Jerusalem is depicted in the centre of the Medieval map (number 4).
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Ulm in 1572. Ulm is the German town where Felix Fabri spent most of his life. The image has been made by Frans Hogenberg and is part of the city atlas of the world called Civitates Orbis Terrarum. The first volume of this atlas was published in Cologne in 1572.
These are the first two pages of the autograph of Fabri’s Evagatorium. The autograph is kept in the Stadtbibliothek of Ulm (Cod. 19555.1-2 (olim 6718)).
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Frater Felix Fabri
Felix Fabri (1434/5-1502) was a Dominican Friar of noble birth who served in the Dominican convent of Ulm, in Swabia (Germany). Felix is his Christian name, meaning ‘blessed’, while ‘Fabri’ is the genitive form of ‘faber’, which is a Latinization of his family name ‘Schmidt’. Two times has he visited the Holy Land, from 14 April until 16 November 1480 and from 13 April 1483 till 30 January 1484. On both his pilgrimages Fabri has written several accounts, from which three in the vernacular and one in Latin. The last one is called Fratris Felicis Fabri Evagatorium in Terræ Sanctæ, Arabiæ et Egypti peregrinationem. Of his Latin account, which he wrote after his return to Ulm, I studied the part which deals with his first pilgrimage. Fabri’s Evagatorium (meaning ‘wanderings’) is a very suitable source for answering my research question because, besides the fact that his pilgrimages fall into the timeframe of the question, the account is very detailed. In an introductory letter he stated that his aim was to describe the holy sites to his Brethren in Ulm. He warns his readers not to take the account seriously because he often mixes hilarious accidents with very serious matter. For example, he describes how a Dalmatian priest whom he knew well, fell down on the lower deck because he had enjoyed the Cretan wine a little too much. ‘[H]is fall shook the whole galley, for he was a big fat man.’[2] Fabri’s main objective seems to be to transmit the travel experience to his readers. While this actually could help us gain new insights on the subject, it is also problematic. In trying to attain his goals, he dramatized his narrative by emphasizing the danger inherent to pilgrimage and the accidents which befell him or the people he travelled with. He even calls into being the accidents that could have taken place. This clearly compromises the trustworthiness of his account. Nonetheless, I think his account contains useful indications of the things that might have caused a decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. [2] Felix Fabri, The Book of the Wanderings of Brother Felix Fabri, vert. Aubrey Stewart vol. 1 (Londen: Palestine Pilgrim’s Text Society, 1896), 34-35. |
Causes mentioned by historians
Before I will show the results of my analysis of Fabri’s pilgrimage account, I will enumerate the arguments put forward by historians to account for the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. For more information on each argument, push on the button to download the file.
Before I will show the results of my analysis of Fabri’s pilgrimage account, I will enumerate the arguments put forward by historians to account for the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. For more information on each argument, push on the button to download the file.
By drawing lines between the stops and the ports of call that Felix Fabri explicitly mentions, I have tried to give an impression of the outward journey of his first pilgrimage in 1480. Fabri does not give much information about the ports of call on his return-journey. In the way Fabri describes the ports, these all seem to take their own place in a very broad mercantile and communicative network that stretched at least the eastern part of the Mediterranean.
Causes in Felix Fabri’s Evagatorium
The account of his first pilgrimage only covers a small portion of his Evagatorium, but it is still very informative. Below the causes that I was able to detect are summed up. Please note that Fabri lived before the Protestant Reformation and the discovery of America, which explains why these possible causes for the decline of pilgrimage are not present in his work. For more information on each cause, push on the button to download the file.
The account of his first pilgrimage only covers a small portion of his Evagatorium, but it is still very informative. Below the causes that I was able to detect are summed up. Please note that Fabri lived before the Protestant Reformation and the discovery of America, which explains why these possible causes for the decline of pilgrimage are not present in his work. For more information on each cause, push on the button to download the file.
Conclusion
I asked myself the question ‘what has caused the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?’ I would like to stress that this question does not have a single answer. Historians have enriched us with a lot of possibilities. Even in the short account on Fabri’s first pilgrimage it is possible to perceive three different causes for the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I began by searching in the account for answers to the question, but I conclude this section by stating that the account itself might be one of the answers.
M.J.M.
I asked myself the question ‘what has caused the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?’ I would like to stress that this question does not have a single answer. Historians have enriched us with a lot of possibilities. Even in the short account on Fabri’s first pilgrimage it is possible to perceive three different causes for the decline of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I began by searching in the account for answers to the question, but I conclude this section by stating that the account itself might be one of the answers.
M.J.M.
Sources
Primary sources
Fabri, Felix. The Book of the Wanderings of Brother Felix Fabri, vert. Aubrey Stewart vol. 1. London: Palestine Pilgrim’s Text Society, 1896.
Hassler, Cunradus Dietericus (Konrad Dietrich) ed. Fratris Felicis Fabri Evagatorium in Terræ Sanctæ, Arabiæ et Egypti peregrinationem vol. 1. Stuttgart: Societatis litterariae Stuttgardiensis, 1848.
Secundary literature
Articles
Chareyron, Nicole and Michel Tarayre. “Le monde marin de Félix Fabri.” In Mondes marins du Moyen Âge: Actes du 30e colloque du CUER MA, 3, 4 et 5 mars 2005, ed. Chantal Connochie-Bourgne, 95-104. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence, 2006.
Meyers, Jean. “L’Evagatorium de Frère Félix Fabri: de l’errance du voyage à l’errance du récit.” Le Moyen Age: Revue d’histoire et de philologie 114, no. 1 (2008): 9-36.
Pastré, Jean-Marc. “La circulation des nouvelles entre l’Allemagne et l’Orient. Ce que nous apprennent les récits de voyage allemands de la fin du XVe siècle.” Publications de l’École française de Rome 190, no. 1 (1994): 117-127.
Schnitker, Harry. “Margaret of York on Pilgrimage: The Exercise of Devotion and the Religious Traditions of the House of York.” In Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth-Century Europe, eds. Douglas L. Biggs, Sharon D. Michalove and A. Compton Reeves, 81-122. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2004.
Books
Akerman, James R. Cartographies of Travel and Navigation. London & Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Atiya, Aziz S. The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages. New York: Kraus Reprint, 1965.
Beebe, Kathryne. Pilgrim & Preacher: The Audiences and Observant Spirituality of Friar Felix Fabri (1437/8-1502). New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Brefeld, Josephie. A Guidebook for the Jerusalem Pilgrimage in the Late Middle Ages: A Case for Computer-Aided Textual Criticism. Hilversum: Verloren, 1994.
Graboïs, Aryeh. Le pèlerin occidental en Terre sainte au Moyen Âge. Brussels: De Boeck Université, 1998.
Hopper, Sarah. To Be a Pilggrim: The Medieval Pilgrimage Experience. Stroud: Sutton, 2002.
Howard, Donald R. Writers and Pilgrims: Medieval Pilgrimage Narratives and Their Posterity. Berkely, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press, 1980.
Masson, Jacques. Voyage en Égypte de Félix Fabri 1483. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie du Caire, 1975.
Morris, Colin. The Sepulchre of Christ and the Medieval West: From the Beginning to 1600. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Noonan, F. Thomas. The Road to Jerusalem: Pilgrimage and Travel in the Age of Discovery. Philadephia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
Webb, Diana. Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700-c.1500. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002.
Whalen, Brett Edward ed. Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: A Reader. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.
Dissertation
Clark, Sean Eric. Protestants in Palestine: Reformation of Holy Land Pilgrimage in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Tucson: University of Arizona, 2013.
Images (in order of appearance)
Header image: http://www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk/2013/23-pilgrims-way.htm (accessed June 3, 2016).
https://www.pinterest.com/gbertholet/pilgrim-stuff/ (accessed June 2, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Konrad_von_Gr%C3%BCnenberg_-_Beschreibung_der_Reise_von_Konstanz_nach_Jerusalem_-_Blatt_35v-36r.jpg (accessed June 3, 2016).
http://centrici.hypotheses.org/584 (accessed June 2, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Braun_Ulm_UBHD.jpg (accessed June 3, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fabri_-_Evagatorium_in_Terrae_Sanctae.jpg (accessed June 1, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mediterranee_02_EN.jpg (accessed June 2, 2016). (In adapted form.)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1283_Descriptio_Terrae_Sanctae.jpg (accessed May 19, 2016).
Webpage
Dikken, Charlotte, and Bart Holterman. “Jeruzalemvaarders in beeld: Medieval Memoria Online project.” http://memo.hum.uu.nl/jerusalem/pages/pilgrimage-nl.html#prestige (accessed May 17, 2016).
Primary sources
Fabri, Felix. The Book of the Wanderings of Brother Felix Fabri, vert. Aubrey Stewart vol. 1. London: Palestine Pilgrim’s Text Society, 1896.
Hassler, Cunradus Dietericus (Konrad Dietrich) ed. Fratris Felicis Fabri Evagatorium in Terræ Sanctæ, Arabiæ et Egypti peregrinationem vol. 1. Stuttgart: Societatis litterariae Stuttgardiensis, 1848.
Secundary literature
Articles
Chareyron, Nicole and Michel Tarayre. “Le monde marin de Félix Fabri.” In Mondes marins du Moyen Âge: Actes du 30e colloque du CUER MA, 3, 4 et 5 mars 2005, ed. Chantal Connochie-Bourgne, 95-104. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence, 2006.
Meyers, Jean. “L’Evagatorium de Frère Félix Fabri: de l’errance du voyage à l’errance du récit.” Le Moyen Age: Revue d’histoire et de philologie 114, no. 1 (2008): 9-36.
Pastré, Jean-Marc. “La circulation des nouvelles entre l’Allemagne et l’Orient. Ce que nous apprennent les récits de voyage allemands de la fin du XVe siècle.” Publications de l’École française de Rome 190, no. 1 (1994): 117-127.
Schnitker, Harry. “Margaret of York on Pilgrimage: The Exercise of Devotion and the Religious Traditions of the House of York.” In Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth-Century Europe, eds. Douglas L. Biggs, Sharon D. Michalove and A. Compton Reeves, 81-122. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2004.
Books
Akerman, James R. Cartographies of Travel and Navigation. London & Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Atiya, Aziz S. The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages. New York: Kraus Reprint, 1965.
Beebe, Kathryne. Pilgrim & Preacher: The Audiences and Observant Spirituality of Friar Felix Fabri (1437/8-1502). New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Brefeld, Josephie. A Guidebook for the Jerusalem Pilgrimage in the Late Middle Ages: A Case for Computer-Aided Textual Criticism. Hilversum: Verloren, 1994.
Graboïs, Aryeh. Le pèlerin occidental en Terre sainte au Moyen Âge. Brussels: De Boeck Université, 1998.
Hopper, Sarah. To Be a Pilggrim: The Medieval Pilgrimage Experience. Stroud: Sutton, 2002.
Howard, Donald R. Writers and Pilgrims: Medieval Pilgrimage Narratives and Their Posterity. Berkely, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press, 1980.
Masson, Jacques. Voyage en Égypte de Félix Fabri 1483. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie du Caire, 1975.
Morris, Colin. The Sepulchre of Christ and the Medieval West: From the Beginning to 1600. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Noonan, F. Thomas. The Road to Jerusalem: Pilgrimage and Travel in the Age of Discovery. Philadephia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
Webb, Diana. Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700-c.1500. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002.
Whalen, Brett Edward ed. Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: A Reader. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.
Dissertation
Clark, Sean Eric. Protestants in Palestine: Reformation of Holy Land Pilgrimage in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Tucson: University of Arizona, 2013.
Images (in order of appearance)
Header image: http://www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk/2013/23-pilgrims-way.htm (accessed June 3, 2016).
https://www.pinterest.com/gbertholet/pilgrim-stuff/ (accessed June 2, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Konrad_von_Gr%C3%BCnenberg_-_Beschreibung_der_Reise_von_Konstanz_nach_Jerusalem_-_Blatt_35v-36r.jpg (accessed June 3, 2016).
http://centrici.hypotheses.org/584 (accessed June 2, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Braun_Ulm_UBHD.jpg (accessed June 3, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fabri_-_Evagatorium_in_Terrae_Sanctae.jpg (accessed June 1, 2016).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mediterranee_02_EN.jpg (accessed June 2, 2016). (In adapted form.)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1283_Descriptio_Terrae_Sanctae.jpg (accessed May 19, 2016).
Webpage
Dikken, Charlotte, and Bart Holterman. “Jeruzalemvaarders in beeld: Medieval Memoria Online project.” http://memo.hum.uu.nl/jerusalem/pages/pilgrimage-nl.html#prestige (accessed May 17, 2016).