CALL FOR PAPERS: Sacred Spaces and Political Places: Fostering Regional Identities through Historical and Literary Medieval Pilgrimage I and II

The 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies Kalamazoo, Michigan May 12 - 15 2016 Among the many factors impelling medieval pilgrimage, these sessions seek to examine those elements which fostered regional identity. The dedication of pilgrims traveling varying distances to experience the divine at sacred destinations was simultaneously enhanced by patrons who promoted traffic to and maintained pilgrimage sites. Saints’ shrines, tombs, and holy relics reinforced cultural and social iden..