Penitential pilgrimage - punishment or pilgrimage?

Penitential pilgrimage was a form of punishment in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Sentencing someone to a penitential pilgrimage was not uncommon in Switzerland at that time and could be used as punishment for many different offences. The exhibition also shows how closely ecclesiastical and secular authorities worked together in the late Middle Ages and how the Church shaped people’s world views. In addition, the image of the ’dark Middle Ages’ is to be brightened somewhat by presenting an alternative form of punishment to the well-known instruments of torture.