Path of Knowledge

By Nicole Zaza

After a semester spent studying medieval pilgrimage, a classroom of Rice students had just one assignment remaining — to live the pilgrimage experience by walking a section of the Way of St. James, one of the most important Christian pilgrimage trails during medieval times. One hundred and twenty-five miles later, class was dismissed.

On a misty Friday morning last May, 12 Rice students and two professors awoke in a dark monastery in Le Puy-en-Velay, a tiny village in France. The rain pelted the rocky terrain. A few had risen early to attend a special Mass for pilgrims. Afterward, everyone congregated around a cold wooden table for baguettes and a sip of strong coffee. A nervous excitement began to take hold, and, pulling 30-pound backpacks onto their shoulders, they headed out into the mist.

On a cold day, the students built a fire for warming feet and drying clothes at a gîte (pilgrim’s hostel) in Domaine du Sauvage.

Fog rose around them, but half an hour into their hike the sun began to warm the trail. The whole terrain took on a magical glow. Following the signs, they began a steeper climb. Once they ascended up and out of Le Puy-en-Velay, the sun was shining, the path was straight, and they could see for miles.

Following a centuries-old pilgrimage path, the travelers were setting out to hike nearly 125 miles across France. The trip was the capstone of their spring semester course titled the Visual Culture of Medieval Pilgrimage. Cross-listed in two departments, the course was co-taught by Linda Neagley, associate professor of art history, and Deborah Nelson-Campbell, professor of French studies.

In planning the venture, both teachers sensed that they were blazing a trail in experiential learning. Neither they, nor the students, had walked this route before. But by walking in the steps of the medieval pilgrim, Neagley hoped that her students’ experience of the “temporal, spatial and aesthetic world of pilgrimage” would bring home their lessons in a way they would not soon forget.

“We are in class talking about these places in theory,” said Nelson-Campbell. “It’s too abstract. We wanted students to experience the day-to-day feeling of the pilgrimage. We wanted them to see for themselves.”

To read the full article in the spring issue of Rice magazine, click here.