21. The Untrue Belief That Medieval People Seldom Traveled
A widely held belief about the Middle Ages has it that people were sedentary and seldom ventured far from home or traveled any significant distance from where they were born. To an extent, that is true, especially in the case of peasants and those who lived in the countryside. However, that could be said for the majority of people throughout most of history, until relatively recently in the modern era. That should not be taken to mean that medieval people never traveled: many of them did.
Pilgrimages to holy sites were popular. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, for example, revolves around pilgrims who traveled from London to Saint Becket’s shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. That was a relatively short quest. Other pilgrimages took the pious to holy sites hundreds or even thousands of miles away from home. Traders also traveled far and wide to buy, sell, and transport high-value goods. The medieval long-distance trade economy featured among other things amber and furs from the Baltic, spices from India transported through the Middle East, silks from China.
Also Read: Myths About the Middle Ages Debunked.