ABSTRACT

This chapter examines several pilgrimage accounts that were written before and during the Crusades. The extended historical scope of the pilgrimages will give an idea about the cross-cultural interactions that took place before the Crusades began and anti-Muslim sentiments became widespread. According to Bernard, Muslims enjoy better peace than most Europeans. Early Christian pilgrimage accounts follow a similar narrative stratagem. The Pilgrimage of Arculfus in the Holy Land is one of the earliest accounts that demonstrate an interest in the landscape of the Holy Land and its people. The chapter examines the pilgrimage of Willibald, which survives in two versions. The first account, known as Itinerarium St. Willibaldi, is unfinished and written from memory by one of Willibald's companions. The second account is called Hodœporicon, written by Hugeburc who was a nun in the Abbey of Heidenheim, and who was related to Willibald.