Welsh Journals

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This biography deserves comparison with other seventeenth biographies but for all its interest it is far too parti-pris and far too piecemeal. These lacks only serve to underline the need for a full modem biography of Sir John explaining his local Welsh activities, his Irish campaigns and policies and his involvement in Court politics. Pilgrimage: a Welsh Perspective by Terry John and Nona Rees. Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2002. 236 pp. f 14.95. By Anne Eastham, Secretary of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society. This book, researched over a number of years by its authors, takes the reader away on a journey. It is not just concerned with the concept and the records of pilgrimage but is in itself a pilgrimage in time, space and spirit. Beautifully illustrated in full colour, the book is accessible to the general reader and yet contains a formidable depth of academic research into textual and literary sources, which are presented in a lively and enjoy- able way. Divided into sections, each stage takes the reader deeper into the Welsh experience of the religious progress during the Middle ages. The first section explores the motivations and intentions of the pilgrim and the com- plex administrative, practical and ritual preparations which were essential before he or she could set forth on the journey. Whether that was to make a tour of the parish or along well marked trails within Wales or further afield to shrines in England, Canterbury or Walsingham, or to the con- tinent, Rome, Santiago de Compostella or to the Holy city of Jerusalem a lot of hard work was involved. Support for a pilgrim either at home or along the way involved whole communities and, in spite of the hardship and expense, the number of people, rich and poor, who went on pilgrimage was huge. The hazards to be faced were many. The unwary traveller might be robbed, shipwrecked, cheated or even fall into sexual temptation but hospitality was offered and there grew up a well organised network of hospices across Europe for the succour of pilgrims. Some were attached to the monastic religious houses, others under the military orders of the Knights Templar and of St John of Jerusalem.