Today the word "banner" is used generally for any type or shape of flag or large poster; in medieval times it meant a very specific and particular type of flag and was just one of many different kinds: banners, banderoles, gonfalons, gonfanons, pennons, pennoncells, standards, streamers, and guidons.

Most people are unaware that there were many different grades of knight, each rank being allowed to carry (or have someone else carry) a specific and strictly-controlled type of flag.

At the very bottom of the grade system were knights bachelor, originally landless and therefore poor knights who had little or no experience of battle. They carried a pennoncelle attached to their spear - a small square or rectangular flag with two, three or more triangular tails on the edge opposite the spear; many of these can be seen on the Bayeux Tapestry carried by Norman knights. Higher grades of knight bachelor carried a pennon, usually a flag about 3 feet long and triangular in shape.

On becoming an experienced and trusted knight banneret, the knight was entitled to remove these triangular tails, leaving just the square or rectangular flag which was called a banner, carrying the same device as shown on the shield. This was carried in different sizes by increasingly higher grades of knight and might be fringed around the edge.

The next level of knights were of very high status and included royalty, their male relatives and most trusted barons. They carried (actually someone else carried for them) flags called standards, which were extremely long, narrow, tapering and swallow-tailed at the end. A royal standard could be 33 feet long. They did not display coats of arms, but the animal or other crests, livery colours, badges and mottoes of the family.

The purpose of the banner was to indicate the presence of a prticular knight on the battlefield; it served as a rallying-point for his own household troops and (since it symbolised the man himself) its loss was considered extremely shameful. It was from these banners that heralds in the opposing armies could identify the coats of arms (and therefore the names) of the important knights in the enemy ranks and where they were positioned.

You found a safe place such as an inn (if you had money) or a pilgrim hospital or monastic hospital (if you had no money).

Monastic and pilgrim hospitals were not places for treating the sick (they were called infirmaries) - hospitals were places of hospitality and free accommodation for a short period (often just one night). In many cases people had to sleep on a pile of straw on a stone floor. In these establishments simple food would also be provided, as well as a chapel for prayer, which pilgrims would certainly have always used.

It follows that a journee (a day's travel) had to be carefully planned to allow overnight stops at safe places - sleeping outdoors was extremely dangerous because of outlaws and robbers, unless you happened to be in a large group with armed men included.

Some of the Pilgrim routes were specific roads that pilgrims travelled on, where the road itself was a thing to experience for religious reasons. The route from London to the Becket Shrine in Canterbury was of this type, as was the Way of St. James in Spain. Another pilgrimage routes of this type was the Via Dolorosa in Israel, though the specific path has changed through the ages. Another was St. Olav's Way, from Oslo to Trondheim, in Norway.

Some of the Pilgrim routes were simply the main roads between cities or shipping routes to a pilgrim destination. The answers below treat both types. There is a link below to a map of European Trade Routes.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was an important destination in France. Other French destinations were several churches in Lourdes, Basilica of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, in Normandy, and the Cathedral of Chartres.

One site of importance was the Shrine of St. Olav in Trondheim, Norway. In this case, the specific road to the shrine, called St. Olav's Way, was an important route to travel.

In Germany, Cologne Cathedral was an important destination.

There were pilgrim destinations in nearly every country.

The earliest pilgrimages were to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Bethany, and other sites in the the Holy Land. These sites were the destinations of pilgrim from antiquity, and Roman Emperors and Empresses went on Pilgrimage to them. The routes to the Holy Land stretched across the Roman Empire and were often by sea.

1. Going on a pilgrimage in the middle ages was a long and difficult journey. The venture took much longer, demanded much more physically, and could be quite dangerous.
2. you could very easily injure yourself as there was no proper roads or paths
3. you could be mugged (although this was rare as people wanted to be relieved of their sins not to add more sins!

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•It is true that there was a cold period around this time in Western Europe, but it probably came a little later, in the 500's and 600's AD, too late to be the cause of the fall of Roman government. But around 500 the climate did get colder.

• In the south, like in Spain, this may have been good: more rain, maybe. In the north, in France, Germany, and England, it was bad. There was a lot of flooding in the river valleys, and many Roman villages in the valleys had to be abandoned as people moved up onto the hills. You couldn't grow olives or wine so far north as before. One result was a general shift to eating butter rather than olive oil and using tallow or beeswax candles for lighting instead of oil lamps.

•By about 800, in the time of Charlemagne, the weather began to improve again, and around 1000 AD was probably a very good time in Europe, when it was easy to grow wheat and barley and even wine again. The same weather patterns that made for good weather in north-western Europe, however, may have made southern Spain hotter and drier than people liked.

•Again toward the end of the Middle Ages, around 1400 AD, there was another "Little Ice Age," with much the same effects as before. There was a lot of flooding, and in England especially there were many years where the crops were ruined and people went hungry. Although changes in government do have important effects on ordinary people's lives, the weather also plays a very important role.

In Roman times, the plow was pulled by attaching it to a horse by tying a rope from one to the other, with the rope simply tied to the horse's neck. This was very fatiguing for the horse. Plows were light and could not turn much soil or plow deeply. The invention of the horse collar and the heavy plow during the Early Middle Ages made agriculture much more efficient, and this made it possible to free more people to pursue crafts.

Horse shoes did not exist in Roman times (nor did stirrups, though this was not a factor for agriculture). Horse shoes added to the value of horses for agriculture.

Wine presses were introduced, making wine production less labor intensive.

Hops came to be used for beer, which meant a new crop was being raised in Germany. Their use spread to other places in later times.

The Middle Ages saw the introduction of three crop rotation instead of two crop. This meant that on any manor, two thirds of the fields were in use at any time instead of half. One third was for crops planted in fall, and one third for crops planted in spring, and this created a different mix of crops.

During the High Middle ages, someone in Britain figured out that cows, which had little to graze on in the winter, were healthier if they had food from storage. Turnips did nicely for this, and the result was a very large increase in milk, cheese, and beef.

Some specialty crops were introduced. One example is a type of thistle with an edible flower bud. Today we call it an artichoke.

Heavy horses bred for jousting were made available for farms.

An increase in interest in spices from the East lead to an increase in locally grown seasonings.

Hajj

Ihram

Ihram is the intention of the person willing to perform all rites of 'Umrah, Hajj or both when he arrives at the Miqat (boundry of Makkah). It is recommended that a male who intends to perform pilgrimage makes Ghusl (a shower with the intention to purify one's self), perfumes his body, but not his garments, and puts on a two piece garment with no headgear. The garments should be of seamless cloth. One piece to cover the upper part of the body, and the second to cover the lower part. For a woman the Ihram is the same except that she should not use perfumes at all and her dress should cover the whole body decently, leaving the hands and the face uncovered. The pilgrim should say the intention.

Men are recommended to utter the Talbeyah aloud while women are to say it quietly. This Talbeyah is of the form: "Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk. Labbayka La Shareeka Laka Labbayk. Inna-alhamda Wan-ntimata Laka Walmulk. La Shareek Lak." (Here I am at your service. O my Lord, here I am. Here I am. No partner do You have. Here I am. Truly, the praise and the provisions are Yours, and so is the dominion. No partner do You have.)

Performing 'Umrah

Tawaf: When a Muslim arrives to Makkah, he should make Tawaf around the Ka'bah, as a gesture of greeting AlMasjid Al-Haraam. This is done by circling the Ka'bah SEVEN times in the counterclockwise direction, starting from the black stone with Takbeer and ending each circle at the Black Stone with Takbeer, keeping the Ka'bah to one's left. Then the pilgrim goes to Maqam Ibrahim (Ibrahim's Station), and performs two rak'ah behind it, close to it if possible, but away from the path of the people making Tawaf. In all cases one should be facing the Ka'bah when praying behind Maqam Ibrahim.

Sa'i: The next rite is to make Sa'i between Safa and Marwah. The pilgrim starts Sa'i by ascending the Safa. While facing the Ka'bah he praises Allah, raises his hands and says Takbeer "Allah-u Akbar" three times, then makes supplication to Allah. Then the pilgrim descends from the Safa and heads towards the Marwah. Males should increase the pace between the clearly marked green posts, but should walk at a normal pace before and after them. When the pilgrim reaches the Marwah, he should ascend it, praise Allah and do as he did at the Safa. This is considered ONE round and so is the other way from the Marwah to the Safa. A total of SEVEN rounds are required to perform the Sa'i.

After Sa'i, the Muslim ends his 'Umrah rites by shaving his head or trimming his hair (women should cut a finger tip's length from their hair).

The Umrah is now complete. One must pray to Allah The Merciful to accept it.

At this stage, the prohibitions pertaining to the state of Ihram are lifted and one can resume his normal life.

There are no required formulas or supplications for Tawaf or for Sa'i. It is up to the worshipper to praise Allah The Merciful or to supplicate Him with any acceptable supplication or to recite portions of the Qur'an. Although it is recommended to recite the supplications that the Prophet, salla Allah-u alaihe WA salam, used to say during the performance of these rites.

It must be noted that 'Umrah can be performed by itself as described above at any time of the year.

The Hajj

One was religious, which was that cleanliness is next to godliness. They believed the way a people took care of their bodies was an indication of how they took care of their souls. Clearly, by this way of thinking, a person who was dirty was liable to trouble in the afterlife.

On a material level, they believed that bad air was a vector for diseases. So they tried hard to avoid bad air. The easiest way to tell that the air was bad was that it was likely to smell bad. So anything that smelled bad was likely to be cleaned up.

The result of these beliefs was that they had public baths in most all villages except the smallest. I have read that people even bathed in streams in the winter, if that is how they had to keep clean.

The idea that medieval people were stinky and dirty was promoted by those of the Renaissance, who wanted to look down on medieval people, but had forgotten the reasons to bathe because they had perfume and did not care much for religion.

There is a link below to the history section of an article on bathing.