Searching for salvation or glory: the journey of the knight James Douglas for his king

Abstract

In the 13th and 14th centuries, an idea that was not new was that the ascetic practices diverted the desire of the flesh, drew a special attention to the penitential potential of the pilgrimage. The main goal of the pilgrimage, which then began to have a place, was the remission of the sins and the hope of having a direct contact with places where Christ or saints stepped in, and, therefore, were blessed. Nevertheless, this goal wasn't enough to forget another one which, from the 9th to the 11th century was the travel's booster, the search for the sacred relics, which was presented as a way of protection against demons and other vile who threatened the Earthly life. Even the ones who left to armed expeditions since the end of the 11th century, the crusaders, did not minimize the roll of these ways of protection, even though, their evident target was the combat against the enemies of the Catholic faith. The central focus of this present study is, specifically, Sir James Douglas' expedition of 1330, he, a Scotland knight, who is encouraged by his king to leave to fight the Christians enemies, taking the monarch's heart to the sacred land, once that he could not peregrinate in his lifetime. On this mission he does not leave in a search for relics or for remission of his own sins, as it was common on his time, but to take with himself something precious, the heart of his monarch. What is the meaning of this journey, in a broader context of the travels of the 14th century, is what this research intends to interrogate. (AU)