While on our annual family outing in the Eastern Sierras for Aida's birthday, during which we inhabited a cabin at Virginia Lakes that is owned by some very kind friends, my sister-in-law Lisa and I were so exhilarated by the local trails that we decided we would like to take a trip to Britain next year to go walk-a-bout. Combing the San Francisco Main Library for books to help us plan such UK outing, I happened upon a book in the travel-writing section with an intriguing title -- "Walking to Canterbury: A Modern Journey Through Chaucer's Medieval England." The title piqued my interest, as it seemed likely that the book's contents would provide a few ideas for our own trek. More than just ideas, this book provided ample inspiration!
Author Jerry Ellis is well known for taking very long walks and then writing beautifully about them. He explains in "Walking to Canterbury" that he has ancestral roots in the British Isles and also some Cherokee blood. Ellis had previously undertaken a journey across the Trail of Tears, that had been the route of the forced Cherokee exodus from their homeland at the direction of our government in the 1830s. He had written about this extensive hike in his celebrated book entitled "Walking the Trail" (which is now on my reading list). Ellis felt behooved to embark upon a pilgrimage in the UK that would in some ways mirror his expedition in honor of the Cherokee.
Ellis recounts his experiences as he walked along the medieval Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury, which he began not far outside London and concluded about a week later at Canterbury Cathedral, the site of the brutal murder/martyrdom of Thomas Becket. He alternates his physical and spiritual adventures along the trail with fascinating studies, both of life in medieval England and the troubled pilgrims described in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Ellis finds himself sympathizing, and sometimes identifying, with the medieval pilgrims, and he describes his strong, reliant affection for the colorful characters with whom he interacts during his week in 1999 England.
In the book's Epilogue, Ellis offers some of the perspective to be gained from a look back at medieval Britain: "While the medieval church may have controlled the ignorant masses, the modern American world is also a bit brainwashed. But instead of the church doing it on the great scale it once celebrated, it has been replaced with advertisements on TV: every other ad caters to people's fear of death, just as profound now as it was in the Middle Ages. But instead of taking pilgrimages for our spiritual and physical health, we have turned to 'miracles' in the form of every pill imaginable. Don't forget to buy that new car, the latest fashion, and diet food--guaranteed to give heaven on earth."
"Walking to Canterbury" is an engrossing book for anyone who enjoys purposeful, explorational walks that immerse the sojourner in nature, history, and culture as well as provide encounters with interesting people. Ellis' approach to his own genealogical background has provided inspiration for my own efforts at compiling family history, and I believe others who have ancestral roots in Britain will find this book valuable. Ellis has likely motivated many of his readers to undertake at least small sections of the walks about which he has written, particularly this one in England because the UK government marks and preserves the trail.
The modern official British National Trail name for the Pilgrim's Way described by Chaucer is the North Downs Way. Sections of the original trail are no longer accessible, but North Downs retraces as much of the medieval route as possible, and locals still call it Pilgrim's Way.
A very blessed Thanksgiving to you all! May you feast upon the warmth of family and drink deeply of the knowledge that they love you as you are!!
Annie
"Just as our forefathers came to America to seek a better life, I grasped more clearly in digesting my trek to Canterbury that we are still searching for meaning and purpose in a complex and constantly changing society." -- Jerry Ellis
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