Cannon balls from the 1544 siege lie alongside offerings from the site's many medieval pilgrims.

Then, at 36, he decided to follow the medieval pilgrims' road to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.

I feel as grateful as a medieval pilgrim coming to shelter amid its mingled scents of human sweat and baking sweets.

It is a mistake to assume that medieval pilgrims were only focussed on one goal.

As any Montois will tell you, there is nothing fanciful about comparing medieval pilgrims and late-20th-century tourists.

"is that of the saint as a medieval pilgrim, shown with a wide-brimmed hat, staff"

Of course, relic collecting long predates the romantic period; medieval pilgrims sought out fragments of the True Cross.

The main draw for medieval pilgrims at Conques were the remains of St. Foy, a martyred young woman from the fourth century.

Immediately, a fountain of holy blood gushed from the site; the relic attracted many medieval pilgrims, enhancing the reputation of the city.

The impact on a medieval pilgrim who had been wandering across the remote hills must have been stupendous.