Sacred Mountaineering and the Imagery of Ascent from Catalonia to Provence, c. 1370–c. 1520

Abstract

This article explores the history, imagery and function of stational cycles of wayside crosses and oratories deployed to structure the ascent of pilgrims to four mountain sanctuaries in the western Mediterranean (Monserrat in Catalonia; Lluc on the island of Mallorca; Notre-Dame de la Garde at Marseille and the Sainte-Baume, both in Provence). Focusing in particular on the relationship between a chosen sequence of pictorial narratives and their specific geophysical environment, this study is meant as a contribution to both the current debate on the furnishing, lay-out and iconography of the sacred mountain landscapes of premodern Europe and to the nascent field of Mountaineering Culture Studies.

Keywords

• Holy mountains
• Joys of Virgin Mary
• life of Mary Magdalen
• pilgrimage
• wayside crosses
• Montserrat (Catalonia)