Pelia Werth

PhD candidate in History
Johns Hopkins University
Supervisor: Prof. Anne Lester

“My doctoral research combines two of my major interests – interfaith relations in the Middle Ages and the practice and experience of pilgrimage. My thesis examines pilgrimage sites that were ‘shared’ by Jews, Muslims, and Christians in and around the crusader period (c. 1050-1300). Specifically, I am interested in how sharing sacred space allowed members of different religious communities to encounter one another, and how experiences and conceptions of such spaces helped shape perceptions of people from other religious and ethnic groups.

The thesis also considers sacred sites as part of broader pilgrimage routes. It will use mapping software to identify points of intersection between different routes and thereby offer more insight into how pilgrims from a variety of faith communities could come into contact with each other. Further, my research takes into account the practical and material aspects of such journeys, considering where travelers may have stopped for necessities such as food and shelter, or to partake in other commercial activities.

My time as a visiting research fellow at the Rothberg International School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has been invaluable to the development of my project. I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of sites on which my dissertation focuses, which has provided me with greater insight into how these spaces functioned and developed over time. I have also been fortunate to meet and work with a number of experts across multiple fields, in particular the members of the ‘Contending with Crises’ research group headed by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten, who have offered important thoughts and feedback.”

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