Medieval Welsh Pilgrimage, c.1100–1500 examines one of the most popular expressions of religious belief in medieval Europe—from the promotion of particular sites for political, religious, and financial reasons to the experience of pilgrims and their impact on the Welsh landscape. Addressing a major gap in Welsh Studies, Kathryn Hurlock peels back the historical and religious layers of these holy pilgrimage sites to explore what motivated pilgrims to visit these particular sites, how family and locality drove the development of certain destinations, what pilgrims expected from their experience, how they engaged with pilgrimage in person or virtually, and what they saw, smelled, heard, and did when they reached their ultimate goal.

“Pilgrimage in and beyond Wales is the concern of this New Middle Ages study. Well-written and with an attractive subject, it is a first-class addition to the series. … Kathryn Hurlock has produced a book which really should be bought by libraries, put on reading lists, and used by everyone with an interest in pilgrimage and the medieval world.” (Andrew Breeze, Mediaevistik, Vol. 32 (1), 2019)

“The volume is an extremely well researched study of pilgrimage in medieval Wales that demonstrates how popular many of these sites remained in the early sixteenth century. It is packed with interesting insights relating to the pilgrim’s experience and deftly weaves together historical and literary sources to shed fresh light on a wide range of Welsh pilgrimage sites.” (Jane Cartwright, Speculum, Vol. 96 (2), April, 2021)

Kathryn Hurlock is Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.  She is the author of Wales and the Crusades, c.1095–1291 (2011), Britain, Ireland and the Crusades, 1000–1300 (2013), and several articles on aspects of Welsh, crusading, and pilgrimage history.