The Scholarly Pilgrim - History of the Camino de Santiago

Women now make up just over half of the pilgrims traveling into Santiago de Compostela. But in the Middle Ages, female pilgrims would have been in the minority, and their experiences would have been profoundly different than those traveling along the Camino de Santiago today. This episode explores the moral and social environment of medieval Europe and how it impacted women and their ability to embark on long-distance pilgrimages. It then discusses medieval women who traveled to the shrine of St James in Compostela as well as others who became important supporters of the pilgrimage.