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Ill** -oalr-r:Sr_itlIV11'■1-i.;e*rdiixi-lOesyisyl;ehvittrddedfllscI,oatvi-o1-* yLkreittteitendi-cnntcdetbdyt-them alms and pmin'lii/i. At Marseilles, skip captains, whose vessels were hound for eastern ports, made it a practice to receive on hoard, without pecuniary reward, a certain number of these men, wlio.se intention of visiting Jerusalem was both passport and pay.Among the various classes of these pilgrims, mention may be made of a certain body who were commonly known by the name of palmers, and whose character and peculiarities obtained for them a wide celebrity. It would appear, from all the information that can be obtained concerning them, that their designation was derived from the palm, the well known symbol of Palestine, branches of which were often brought back by them as evidences of their journey. The distinction between them and ordinary pilgrims has been defined as consisting in the following circumstances: “The pilgrim had some home ordwelling place, but the palmer had none: the pilgrim travelled to some certain designed place, hut the palmer to all; thepilgrim usually went at his own charges, but the palmer usually professed voluntary poverty, and went upon alms; the pilgrim might give over his profession and return homo, but the palmer must be consistent till he had obtained his palm by death. ” These distinctions, however, were not invariably preserved, and it would bo perhaps difficult to determine any that were so.It may here be remarked, that, if Ma-homined’s first intentions had been earned out, Jerusalem might have become the“holy city*’of the Mussulmans; and thus the professors of three religions—the Jew, the ('hristian and the Mnhommedun would have united m regarding that celebrated city as the type and centre of their respective* faiths. But though Mecca and Medina, iu the peninsula of Arabia, are regarded as the fountain-heads of Maliommedisiy, and a pilgrimage to Mecca, especially, toworship at the tomb of the prophet, is the great meritorious deed of Malioumiedism, still Jerusalem is regarded with great veneration. As is well known, it early fell into the hands of the Saracens; and, at fust thought, it might appear nat ural to expect that the occupation of Palestine by the warlike professors of a new and rival religion would have stopped all Christian pilgrimages to 1 he Holy Land; but it proved otherwise. The enlightened caliphs immediately perceived the policy of toleration; they saw the direct advantages which llow-ed into Syria through the superstition andcommerce of the West; they may even have learned from their own practice to respect the motives of the travellers, and tin* kindred passion which occasioned a visit to the Christian’s Mecca. The celebrated caliph, ITaroun al Kaschid—wiiose name is familiar to all who have read the “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments”'—is stated by Gibbon to have sent- to Charlemagne the keys of the holy sepulchre ; a piece of re lined courtesy indeed. When, however, at a later period, Palestine came under the rule of t lie Turks, many outrages were perpetrated upon thepilgrims who visited the sepulchre; and upon the Christian natives and sojournersin Syria—outrages which finally led to the preachings of Peter the Hermit and the Crusades of Europe, at which the very heart sickens.n- cign shrines, or tours to medical or charmed!n* spots and objects, or vicarious pilgrimagesy for the good of the soul of the devotee, and ■ ■,(j which was supposed to be unattainable ! otherwise. fThe points of agreement, whether in np- i pearanet* or purpose, between the self-re-i •’ noiint ing pilgrim of the mcdianal age, and ' I_ i our happv tourist of the. present time, it ! ul would be difficult to discover. The eos- | le | tunic, for example, of the first named,11 usually consisted of a long, coarse, russet ,l gown, with llowing sleeves, and sometimes ! patched with cross -s; a leather heir worn* *roumi tin* shoulders or loins, with a bowl or bag suspended from i; : a round bat, ! turned up in front and stuck wirh scallop \ shells—to help himself to water—or with leaden images of saints: a rosary of large beads hanging from the neck or arm, and a long walking staIV, hooked like a crozier, . or furnished near the top wiili two hollow f balls, which were occasionally used as a musical instrument. His appearance, therefore, it must be admitted, scarcely suggests much resemblance to that of his American successors.Then, too, before setting out on his tour, our ancient pilgrim received consecration, this rite being extended also to the several articles of his attire—without which service he would have deemed himself unfitted for Ins holy task, and every stop a mockery.The practice of making pilgrimages ofrliis kind began in England us early as tin*seventh century and did not pass into desuetude until about the middle of the fifteenth; and it may he saidtli.it few persons of any station or wealth failed during thatperiod to engage m such religions travels, and, in course of time, such was the popular enthusiasm and weakness, few of anv class could be found willing tlt; forego wiiat was regarded as both asaered privilege and duty. Those who went from England usually passed to the south of France, and proceeded to Home either by I ami or sea, and from thence to Loretto, and down the Adriatic, and, having touched at Cyprus orCandia, lauded at Alexandria ; sometimes they went to Venice, without proceeding to Koine. Those from Constantinople sailed to Rhodes, and from thence to a more eastern part of Egypt; but tin* greater uuinher crossed the desert from Cairo and entered Palestine from the south. They usually travelled through European countries on foot, and their peculiar habit insured fore-l-rseiseeddatillsVII)-ISkr
Newspaper Details
St Louis Republican
St Louis, Missouri, US
Sun, Jun 07, 1874
Page 7
Full Page
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Anonymous
GB 14 Jun 2021
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