Abstract
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me," says Christ in Matthew 25:40 - and in theory, this sentence should encompass the whole of medieval hospitality. Based on this parable, Christians should compete to house and feed those in need, especially if those strangers are pilgrims, whose journey is not merely physical, but also spiritual.
In practice, as attested by many pilgrim's guides and personal accounts, pilgrimage was often an opportunity for dishonest innkeepers, guides, moneylenders, and fellow pilgrims - and the dangers multiplied when one ventured outside of Christendom, such as when travelling to the Holy Land. At a time when every stranger could be an angel in disguise, what are the consequences of providing (or refusing to provide) hospitality? This contribution will look at two Middle English accounts of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from the 15th century: The Itineraries of William Wey and The Book of Margery Kempe.
Both William Wey and Margery Kempe ventured on a pilgrimage long after the turmoil of the crusades, entering a land wholly foreign by both language and religion. They also travelled at a time when facilitating pilgrimages turned into an industry, and consequently could rely on certain forms of hospitality: acquaintances on the road, hospitals, or monasteries.
In spite of the institutionalisation of pilgrimages, there were often differences between hospitality expected and provided; this contribution intends to map out the ways in which hospitality (in all its forms) was described in these two accounts and the ways in which it was complicated by the differences in language, gender, and religion.