Anthony Bale: "Organized tourism already existed in Europe in the 15th century."
The British medievalist publishes a guide that transports the reader to the roads, inns and cities of the Middle Ages and reminds us that seven centuries ago, traveling was also an exercise in curiosity and discovery.
BarcelonaWhen Anthony Bale sits down to talk, you immediately sense his enthusiasm for the past, and above all, for recounting it. He is a professor of medieval literature at Cambridge University, but instead of confining himself to university lecture halls, he wanted to unleash his passion for travel in medieval times, breaking stereotypes and educating about what he describes as "tourism" of the Middle Ages. "Medieval travelers weren't so different from us," he says during the conversation with the ARA, "they also sought experiences, knowledge, and even entertainment. They wanted to see the world." He talks about it in the book. Travel guide to the Middle Ages, published in Spanish by Ático de los Libros
Bale's book is an invitation to explore the dirt roads that connected monasteries, cities, and ports. Using diaries and guidebooks, the author has followed in the footsteps of pilgrims and merchants and reconstructed their mental geography. The historian explains that one of his goals is to combat the idea that medieval men and women lived confined to their villages and were unaware of the world. On the contrary, he asserts, "almost everyone made some significant journey throughout their lives." "These could be short trips to a nearby cathedral, markets, or fairs, but also long pilgrimages to Rome, Santiago, or Jerusalem," he explains.
Most journeys, says Bale, were linked to religion. Pilgrimages were common as a form of devotion, folk medicine, or even legal punishment. "Some judges condemned people to make a pilgrimage to Rome as penance," he explains. But not everything was religion, there were also merchants, missionaries, diplomats, spies and even some adventurers driven by a desire to see the world, even if they were exceptional.
One of the theses of the book is that there was already an embryo of what we call today tourismBale points out that by 1400, there was an entire infrastructure designed to accommodate travelers, with inns, taverns, monasteries with lodging, currency exchange points, and written travel guides. "The English word itself holiday comes from holy day, the holy day on which another sanctuary was visited. Over time, it became a day of celebration and leisure," he explains. Cities like Santiago and Venice prospered economically thanks to these flows of pilgrims and visitors.
The economic dimension
The economic dimension of medieval travel was vast, and voyages also left a material mark: pilgrims returned with inexpensive metal badges certifying their stay at a sanctuary, symbols as coveted as photographs or tourist souvenirs are today. In Venice, the Republic controlled all the ports on the route to the Holy Land and profited from it. In Santiago, the monastery owned the entire city center and obtained income from every service offered to pilgrims. Even activities considered immoral, such as prostitution, were regulated by ecclesiastical authorities because they generated profits and, at the same time, prevented money from escaping into parallel economies. In this economic view, travel lays "the foundations of an early globalization." The Silk Road and the trade of luxury goods like cinnamon and silk created global structures that connected continents.
The Middle Ages are often presented as a dark age of regression and ignorance. Bale forcefully refutes this stereotype: "It's a simplification inherited from the Enlightenment, which sought to emphasize its own modernity. But if we look at the facts, we see a vibrant era in constant transformation." The book shows how travel contributed to this dynamism. Pilgrimages generated networks of contacts and cultural exchanges. Trade routes drove innovations in techniques, languages, and gastronomy. Medieval cities were spaces of diversity. "It wasn't an isolated world; it was an interconnected world. The difference is that connections were slower and more costly, but no less real," he adds.
Despite the widespread use of travel, the routes were also fraught with difficulties and dangers: bandits, robberies, losses, and violence were all part of the journey. Women were particularly exposed to sexual assault. There was also hostility from local populations, especially in the Middle East, where Christians were not welcome. According to Bale, the tourist centers weren't asking for tourism to decline, despite these negative consequences. "There was no tourismophobia," he says, but at the same time they were clamoring for regulation and control.
Sitting in Barcelona but already immersed in a journey to medieval Santiago de Compostela, Bale proposes a reflection on what it means to travel, yesterday and today. "When we move, we learn. We confront difference and discover things about ourselves. This was true seven centuries ago and it's still true now." He also admits that, in a globalized world, readers can easily recognize themselves in these stories. "Today we board a plane and in a few hours we're on the other side of the continent. It took them weeks or months to make a similar journey. But the desire to move and discover is the same," he says.
