In 1461 great excitement was caused in Rome by the arrival of Thomas Palæologus, brother of the last Byzantine emperor, who had been driven from Greece, and brought with him from Patras, the supposed place of St. Andrew’s martyrdom, a head of that saint. The Pope (Pius II.), on hearing of this venerable relic, eagerly entered into a treaty and secured it, notwithstanding that many princes were his competitors. The head was brought, with much ceremony, from Ancona, and was met at Narni by Bessarion and other cardinals, and on its arrival in Rome it was received with extraordinary reverence. Invitations were at once sent out by the Pope on the same terms as for a jubilee, and great crowds flocked from all parts. The head was carried to St. Peter’s by a procession attended by thirty thousand torches, while the palaces and houses along the route were hung with tapestry and filled with altars. The weather was exceptionally fine, and the procession filed from the Flaminian gate. The Vatican basilica was splendidly illuminated, and the Pope addressed the holy relic in an eloquent and impressive speech, the delivery of which was interrupted by frequent tears, sobs, and beating of breasts. When the ceremony was concluded, the head of St. Andrew was deposited beside that of St. Peter.
PILGRIMAGE TO WALSINGHAM (A.D. 1061).
In 1061 an obscure widow, inhabiting a small village on the wild and tempestuous coast of Norfolk, by erecting a little chapel resembling that at Nazareth, where the Virgin was saluted by the angel Gabriel, was able to impart a renown to that village which extended to all England. Erasmus thus described it in his time: “Not far from the sea, about four miles, there standeth a town living almost on nothing else but upon the resort of pilgrims. There is a college of canons there, supported by their offerings. In the church is a small chapel, but all of wood, whereunto, on either side, at a narrow and little door, are such admitted as come with their devotions and offerings. Small light there is in it, and none other than by wax tapers, yielding a most dainty and pleasant smell; nay, if you look into it, you would say it is the habitation of heavenly saints, so bright and shining all over with precious stones, with gold and silver.” Camden also mentions that princes have repaired to this chapel, walking thither barefoot.
A WINTER PILGRIMAGE IN SWITZERLAND (A.D. 1110).
Abbot Rodolph, about 1110, describes his pilgrimage across the Alps: “We were detained at the foot of Mount Jove (Great St. Bernard), in a village called Restopolis, from which we could neither advance nor retreat, in consequence of the heavy snow. At length the guides conducted us as far as St. Remi, which is on the same mountain, where we found a vast multitude of travellers, and where we were in danger of death from the repeated falls of snow from the rocks. We were detained there till at length the guides said they would lead us, but demanded a heavy price. Their heads and hands were guarded with skins and fur, and their shoes armed with iron nails, to prevent them from slipping on the ice, and they carried long spears in their hands, to feel their way over the snow. It was very early in the morning, and with great fear and trembling the travellers celebrated and received the holy mysteries, as if preparing themselves for death. They contended with each other who should first make his confession; and since one priest did not suffice, they went about the church confessing their sins to each other. While these things were passing within the church with great devotion, there was a lamentable shout heard in the street; for the guides, who had left the town to clear the way, were suddenly buried under a great fall of snow, as if under a mountain. The people ran to save them, and pulled them out—some dead, some but half alive, others with broken limbs. Upon this we all returned to Restopolis, where we passed the Epiphany. Upon the weather clearing, we again set out, and succeeded, happily, in passing the profane Mount of Jove.” St. Aderal of Troyes made twelve pilgrimages to Rome on foot. He passed the Apennines in a season of intense cold barefooted, that he might suffer something for Jesus Christ, and he used to beat the rocks with bare feet.
PILGRIMS TO CANTERBURY (A.D. 1179).
In 1179 Louis VII., King of France, in the disguise of a common pilgrim visited Canterbury as a humble supplicant at the tomb of À Becket, for the restoration of sanity to the Dauphin, a prayer that was instantly complied with. Louis proved his sincerity by offering a rich cup of gold and the famous stone called Regal of France, which Henry VIII. appropriated to his own use for a thumb ring. The great St. Thomas not only attended to the prayers of mankind and restored eyes, limbs, and even life to hundreds; but, to evince his power and exhibit his tenderness to all animated nature, frequently, at the intercession of the monks, restored to life dead birds and beasts. The Pope naturally encouraged these enthusiastic feelings, though it is rather surprising that his holiness Pope Alexander should cause a liturgy to be composed and read, in which our Saviour is supplicated to redeem mankind, not by His holy blood, but by that of the saint. Indeed, to such an extent was the adoration of Becket carried that it nearly absorbed all other devotion. In one year the offerings at the altar of the Deity at Canterbury amounted to £3 2s. 6d.; at the Virgin’s, £63 5s. 6d.; and at Becket’s, £832 12s. 3d. And in another year £954 6s. 3d. was received at Becket’s altar, only £4 1s. 8d. at the Virgin’s, while at that of the Deity the oblation did not amount to one farthing!