Pilgrimages of Princes in the 15th Century – Two Holy Land journeys of German Princes via Rome. A Distinction to the Lower Nobility Class Journeys

Abstract

Throughout that work the differences and similarities of princely and non-princely, but noble, pilgrimages in the German-speaking part of the late medieval times should be outlined with the aid of two concrete examples. The main focus will be on the distinction of princely pilgrimages to pilgrimages of the lower nobility class. In this connection especially the fact is important that a more precise distinction between the two groups of persons rarely takes place in the widely-used German-speaking literature and both groups are used equivalent. To illustrate a more precise distinction throughout the analysis with the two chosen princely pilgrimages there will be used direct quotes at suitable text passages to enable a singularization of the similarities as well as the differences to the pilgrimages of the lower nobility class. Concrete examples constitute the pilgrimages of the dukes Eberhard I. of Württemberg and Bogislaw X. of Pomerania. As the analysis progresses there will be highlighted that princely pilgrimages differ in the intention, the effort of planning as well as the enactment in comparison to non-princely pilgrimages. For future scientific investigations with late medieval pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome therefore it will be necessary to defer to a concrete distinction between princely pilgrimages and non-princely, but noble, pilgrimages.