Paper short abstract:

‘Caminoisation’ refers to the process of introducing aspects of the Camino pilgrimage to other pilgrimage sites. In the light of my previous fieldwork on the Camino, I look into pilgrims’ experiences in English cathedrals and try to answer the question of why pilgrimage still matters today.

Paper long abstract:

'Caminoisation' (a term coined by Marion Bowman) refers to the process of introducing various aspects of the Camino pilgrimage to other pilgrimage sites. The main features of Caminoisation seem to be the ideas that real pilgrimage is done on foot and that journey is more important than arrival. This has led to the revival of ancient pilgrimage routes as well as developing new ones (predominantly) by people who have either walked the Camino or are planning to do it. This paper is based on my fieldwork carried out in the cathedrals of Canterbury, Durham, Westminster and York, that are sites of case study for a 3-year project 'Pilgrimage and England's Cathedrals, Past and Present'. The project's aim is to get greater understanding of the experience of pilgrims in the past and compare this with the experience of contemporary pilgrims at Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals. In the light of my previous fieldwork on the Camino de Santiago, I will look into pilgrims' experiences in four English cathedrals and try to answer the question of why pilgrimage still matters today.