The scene is Rome in the fifteenth century, Golden Rome, a magnet
drawing pilgrims by its architectural attractions and the magnitude of
its religious importance as the mother of faith. The Austin friar John
Capgrave attended Rome for the Jubilee in 1450, including the Lenten
stations, and his Solace of Pilgrimes, intended as a guide for
subsequent pilgrims, was written up following the author's own
pilgrimage. In three parts it covers the ancient monuments, the seven
principal churches and the Lenten stations, and other churches of note,
especially those dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The work has been
described as the most ambitious description of Rome in Middle English.
The present edition offers a new Text based on a transcription of the
author's holograph manuscript. Parallel with the Text there is a modern
English Translation. The illustrations, mostly from a period slightly
later than the 1450 Jubilee, aim to give some visual clue as to what
Capgrave saw. There is a full account of the multiple sources that he
used, most of which is the product of new research. Following the Text
there is a Commentary that aims to provide some background information
about the buildings and monuments that Capgrave focuses on, and to
explain and illuminate any difficulties or points of interest in the
Text. Capgrave is an omni-present guide leading us towards what he
considered an appropriate interpretation of the classical past as a
foundation for the Christian present, which built on it and surpassed
it.
