Abstract
The second half of the tenth century saw the production of many texts in England and Ireland that reflected early medieval views of Christian pilgrimage. In this thesis I have identified three important and recurring characteristics in the pilgrimage literature of that time which help to reveal the historical context in which they were written: identity, time and space, and the importance of memory. Three texts in particular demonstrate these overarching characteristics: the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan), the Itinerary of Archbishop Sigeric, and the Old English poem The Wanderer. Further titles, including early medieval charters and their boundary clauses, poetry and prose writings also provide specific insights into how pilgrims connected with the wider world. All three texts have characters who must find their way home across the sea: Sigeric direct to Canterbury from Rome, Brendan back to his monastery, his earthly home, and then to the Promised Land of Saints. The Wanderer will find his home only after death, in his hopes for heaven. Their journeys reflect the growing sense of nationhood in England and Ireland as the tenth century drew to a close.