“Let people long to go on pilgrimage,” said Gregory Chaucer in his book, The Canterbury Tales, meaning that people long to make religious pilgrimages. The act of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages was a very popular and traditional practice in Christian society. This visit to shrines or holy places was an act of religious devotion and played a role in the lives of many Europeans, especially those in the western regions of medieval Europe. In order to understand the importance of pilgrimages, we will highlight the purpose of the pilgrimages, the diversity of pilgrims who participated in them and the different shrines visited by the pilgrims. The motive for pilgrimage in Western Europe in medieval times consisted of several purposes. Pilgrims usually went there because of a description of religious pilgrimage in the Bible. Christian pilgrims followed a passage from the Bible that emphasized the activity of pilgrimage in life. This scripture was the word of Saint Paul and Christ (Housley 654). He describes how a follower of the Christian religion was a "wanderer of this world", which is an indication of a pilgrim (654). The Scriptures also emphasize that life on earth is preparation for true life in heaven. These biblical teachings were the motivation for pilgrims who drew closer to God in the Middle Ages. Another reason why Christians participated in pilgrimages was for the relics of worship (654). Cult relics were physical remains of dead saints. Items ranged from sculptures to antiques with spiritual powers like curing illness and answering prayers. Although the Church hierarchy generally ignored the idea of ​​Cult Relics, Cult Relics had been shown to perform miracles and provide healing powers according to...... middle of paper . ..... as sometimes full of difficulties. Sometimes there may be obstacles, including poor road conditions. On the other hand, bandits, especially barbarians, usually had a habit of interrupting the pilgrimage process. Even though there were difficulties, Christians still enjoyed participating in this sacred journey to praise their leader. Work Cited Bunyan, John. The pilgrim's progress. New York: Signet Classic, 1981. Print. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Eds. A. Kent and Constance Hieatt. New York: Bantam, 1981. Print. Housley, Norman. “Pilgrimage, Western Europe.” Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol.9. Ed. Joseph R, Strayer. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982. Print. Knight, Judson. Almanac of the Middle Ages. Ed. Judy Galens. Detroit: UXL, 2001. Print. Sumpton, Jonathan. The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God. Mahwah, NJ: HiddenSpring, 2003. Print.