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A review by maneatsbooks
Pilgrims by Matthew Kneale
3.0
Were it not for the religion thing, I’d quite like to go on pilgrimage. After all, spiritual epiphanies are not exclusive to the religious.
In fact, if this book were to be believed, spiritual epiphanies have very little to do with the transactional nature of the medieval church which was (and remains) obsessed with sex and raising money from the gullible for roof repairs.
It is 1289. A rich farmer fears he’ll go to hell for cheating his neighbours. His wife wants pilgrim badges to sew into her hat and show off at church. A poor, ragged villager is convinced he has to save the sould of his deceasd cat from the fires of purgatory. A mother believes her son’s dangerous illness is punishment for her own adultery and seeks forgiveness so he may be cured. A landlord is in trouble with the church after he punched an abbot on the nose. A sexually voracious noblewoman seeks a divorce so she can marry her new young love.
This rag-tag band of pilgrims sets off on a journey from England to Rome where they hope their prayers will be answered, if they can restrain themselves from sins of the flesh.
There’s a lot of sex in this book, in and out of wedlock, across class divides, and within the farcical confines of convent walls with some very accommodating nuns.
The scenes when our merry band arrive in Rome are lovely, proving he adage that its better to travel hopefully than arrive. There are some lovely bits where they compare St Peter's to their local church (which is longer and has a proper spire).
Still, it’s an enjoyable romp, but not quite as good as To Calais, In Ordinary Time by James Meek which took the trouble to be creative with Chaucerian language.
In fact, if this book were to be believed, spiritual epiphanies have very little to do with the transactional nature of the medieval church which was (and remains) obsessed with sex and raising money from the gullible for roof repairs.
It is 1289. A rich farmer fears he’ll go to hell for cheating his neighbours. His wife wants pilgrim badges to sew into her hat and show off at church. A poor, ragged villager is convinced he has to save the sould of his deceasd cat from the fires of purgatory. A mother believes her son’s dangerous illness is punishment for her own adultery and seeks forgiveness so he may be cured. A landlord is in trouble with the church after he punched an abbot on the nose. A sexually voracious noblewoman seeks a divorce so she can marry her new young love.
This rag-tag band of pilgrims sets off on a journey from England to Rome where they hope their prayers will be answered, if they can restrain themselves from sins of the flesh.
There’s a lot of sex in this book, in and out of wedlock, across class divides, and within the farcical confines of convent walls with some very accommodating nuns.
The scenes when our merry band arrive in Rome are lovely, proving he adage that its better to travel hopefully than arrive. There are some lovely bits where they compare St Peter's to their local church (which is longer and has a proper spire).
Still, it’s an enjoyable romp, but not quite as good as To Calais, In Ordinary Time by James Meek which took the trouble to be creative with Chaucerian language.