Modern young people will tell that the pilgrim is the name of rock group, and someone to the place will remember the well-known poem by Iosif Brodsky. However, that who is interested, who such pilgrims, it is necessary to remind Middle Ages history briefly.
What does the word pilgrim mean?
There was it from Latin peregrinus that is translated as wandering. That is it is about pilgrims, wanderers, deeply believing people traveling around the holy sites. Modern people were reached by the information about the first pilgrims living in Europe in the Middle Ages. They made a trip to the Holy Land – to Jerusalem. But there is one more way of the pilgrim – Saint James Road. An ultimate goal wandering is the tomb of this apostle located in Santiago de Compostela that in Spain.
Road to the patron of Spain
Thousands of pilgrims both then, and go to bow today to relics of the Saint who died martyrdom in the 44th year A.D. On a legend its remains lowered in the boat in water of the Mediterranean Sea, and 769 years later they drifted ashore Spain again – the countries where Jacob lived and professed. 50 years later on this place constructed church and began to call Kopostela – the place designated by a star. Today one of 12 apostles is a shrine of all Catholic world. On a legend, the road to a shrine – the Milky Way lying through territories of France and Spain was specified to Charles the Great by the Lord, having been to it in out of.
Then these lands were occupied by Moors, but the emperor cleaned them and even enjoined to protect wanderers during their way. Today pilgrims have an opportunity to set foot on land on which the bishop Godeskalk once went and on the way towards an ultimate goal to be put to Saint Vera's relics, María Magdalena, etc. To the invention of compasses the pilgrims were guided only on the Milky Way, it was drawn in the sky by the Saint, specifying the direction to Charles the Great. Therefore this congestion of stars in the sky and nicknamed Way of St. James.
Fathers pilgrims
Now it is clear that the pilgrim means, and here called fathers pilgrims the natives of Britain who lodged in the territory of the present USA. They were pursued by the English church for dissent and were forced to look for other place for housing. Taking care of freedom of religion and made for this purpose long and difficult a way, the venerable father preaching a sermon during the holiday in honor of the first immigrants christened fathers pilgrims. Therefore people the believers who are looking for the way and going to it are also called pilgrims.