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Historical The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God by Jonathan Sumption $24.00 / HiddenSpring / 2003 Some readers may consider Jonathan Sumption's approach to the subject of the medieval pilgrimage unconventional, treating his subject with respect but not reverence. However, this scholarly study is unusually appealing in its objectivity. Sumption first explains that the bodily relics of saints, martyrs, and Christ were highly esteemed in the Middle Ages, and the churches which housed these revered relics soon became popular pilgrimage destinations. He then goes on to describe how the authentication of relics was almost always accomplished by a dream, a vision, or a strong conviction of legitimacy. Thus, two or more churches sometimes claimed to own the same relic, as occurred with the two heads of John the Baptist, the two bodies of St. Firmin, and the several foreskins of Christ. Interestingly, a rivalry existed between pilgrimage churches, as to which ones had the best relics, a rivalry that resulted in a "nefarious trade in relics." Even so, the financial donations made by pilgrims were important to the life of the shrines, so much so that one of the foremost pilgrimage sites-Rome-held a series of 50-year jubilees, in which pilgrims could accumulate special exemptions from purgatory for visiting sacred sites. For example, to see Judas' 30 pieces of silver in St. Peter's basilica alone was good for 1,400 years reprieve from purgatory. For every site visited, additional years were tallied, somewhat analogous to the modern acquisition of frequent-flyer miles. Showing how the medieval obsession of atonement for man's sinful nature drove pilgrims to endure incredible hardships to avoid frightful suffering in the afterlife, Sumption provides an impressive insigh into the age of pilgrimage. This is a historical work of exceptional quality that many readers will find stimulating, due to the author's encyclopedia research his discerning analysis of the material, and his nimble facility with the written word. —Ron Hunka

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