Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on social and cultural approaches to travelling, mobility, and pilgrimages from Classical Antiquity to early Christian centuries and the Late Middle Ages in Western Europe. It demonstrates, the story, which describes various events and experiences during a journey, takes place in a mythical past and reveals the Roman religious mentality, emphasizing especially certain liminality, ambiguity, or disorientation. The book also focuses on cultural and social interaction before, during, and after periods of travel. It considers precisely the ritualistic activities that occur at the site of a visit as the crucial factor that makes a journey ‘sacred’, emphasizing especially the arrival to a destination considered sacred. The book shows that Imperial children had an important role in the interaction between the ruling family and local people honouring their visit.