Pilgrimage and its enduring Power

Inspired by the exhibition Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint, this event considers the enduring power of pilgrimage across cultures and time, from the medieval period to the present day.
Through a series of short presentations and conversations, the speakers will discuss pilgrimage sites and routes including Canterbury, Santiago de Compostela, St Olav's Ways across Scandinavia, Mecca, Medina and the Tantric Shakti Pithas of Bengal.

The talks include:

Introduction and Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome in Becket's lifetime (Professor Anthony Bale, Birkbeck, University of London)

Pilgrimage to Canterbury: then and now (Reverend Richard Carter, St Martin's-in-the-Fields)

In the footsteps of pilgrims: Caminoisation and the refocusing of contemporary pilgrimage (Dr Marion Bowman, The Open University)

The Hajj: pilgrimage to the house of God (Qaisra Khan, Curator, Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage)

Pilgrimage and politics in colonial Bengal: the myth of the goddess Sati (Dr Imma Ramos, Curator of Asian Collections, British Museum)

This event is presented in collaboration with The Open University.

More information about the exhibition can be found here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/thomas-becket-murder-and-making-saint

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