出版社：International Society for the Study of Pilgrimage Art
摘要：Perched atop a volcanic outcrop on Mount Anis in the Auvergne region of central France, the stunning town of Le Puy-en-Velay has been considered a sacred place since the Roman era. (Figure 1) Despite its remote hilltop location, Le Puy-en-Velay played an important role in French ecclesiastical historyFigure 1 Le Puy-en-Velay Panorama. Photo: Licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons throughout the medieval and Early Modern periods. A Christian sanctuary has been present at the site since the fifth century, and pilgrimages to Le Puy have been documented from at least the late tenth century.1 Le Puy was also home to importantFrench bishops, such as Godescalc, who made the first recorded pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela from 950 – 951, and Adhémar du Monteil (1080 – 1087), who famously became the first to volunteer his service following Pope Urban II’s call to crusade at the Council of Claremont in 1095.2 The late eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the construction of the present Romanesque cathedral during which time Le Puy also became the southernmost starting point in France on the route to Santiago de Compostela (the via podenis).3 (Figure 2) Though it is now overshadowed by modern-day French pilgrimage sites such as Lourdes, Le Puy-en-Velay still remains an important site of Christian pilgrimage, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
