In the Middle Ages, pilgrimage gained an ever-increasing religious and socio-economic significance. Visits made initially to biblical sites provided a way of directly experiencing the process of salvation, thereby cementing the beliefs of the individual visitors/pilgrims. A whole range of local and supra-regional centres of pilgrimage gradually evolved, which attracted visitors from afar by cleverly staging saintly individuals or their relics as well as various miracles. Special memorabilia (eulogia) spread the reputation of these centres. The search for salvation and happiness as a religious motive, however, is rooted in the pre-Christian era.
The international conference to conclude the project will take place in December 2015 and will deal with the topic on an interdisciplinary level including the fields of archaeology, Byzantine studies, art history, history, religious history, epigraphy, historical geography and social psychology.
The general aim of the conference is to provide a synopsis of archaeological investigations and research in the field together with analyses of textual sources as well as new approaches from the fields of sociology and psychology.
Publication
D. Ariantzi / I. Eichner (eds.), Für Seelenheil und Lebensglück. Das byzantinische Pilgerwesen und seine Wurzeln (Mainz 2018).
