On pilgrimage with Cosima Gillhammer, author and medieval scholar

Where would you go?

The Sanctuary of Lluc (Santuari de Lluc) in Majorca, the oldest Marian pilgrimage site of the Balearic Islands.

Would you make any special stops?

I would stop by at two monasteries associated with the 13th-century polymath and mystic Ramon Llull: Miramar Monastery and the Sanctuary of Cura, both with stunning mountain views.

Whom would you take?

Just myself.

You can transplant your favourite pub, bar or restaurant onto the route. What is it?

The Old Post Office at Guiting Power, though it might be quite odd to see it transplanted from the gentle hills of the Cotswolds to Majorca’s mountains!

Camp under the stars or find a church hall to sleep in?

It would have to be a church hall, as I’m terrible at setting up a tent.

Which books would you take with you?

A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor and The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot.

What spiritual text would you ponder as you walked?

In keeping with the Majorcan theme, it would be The Hundred Names of God by Ramon Llull.

What’s your go-to prayer?

The Rosary.

What’s the singalong to keep everyone’s spirits up?

I suppose I would hum odd bits of polyphonic choral music to myself, as I do on a daily basis.

You’re allowed one luxury – what is it?

Other than the obvious (a shower), probably some chocolate to keep me going.

What would you miss most about ordinary life?

My friends and singing with my choirs.

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RELATED: The liturgy that built the West: Cosima Gillhammer’s illuminating new book

‍Cosima Clara Gillhammer is a Career Development Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. She teaches English Literature and writes about literature, culture, and liturgy in medieval England. Her most recent book, Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy (Reaktion Books), is an accessible introduction to medieval rites of worship and their influence on Western art, literature, and music.

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