Reynard the Fox · Willem, 1260
Did Reynaert really go on a pilgrimage to Rome?
No
He says he must go to Rome to be forgiven. He goes home to Maleperduis, about 14 km on this map, and kills the hare who walked with him.
From the bookThe map's guessReal world
Freed at the gallows, Reynaert says he can't show the king the treasure himself: he is excommunicated and must go to Rome for forgiveness first. The king believes him. He gets a pilgrim's bag cut from Bruun's back and shoes from the paws of Isengrim and his wife. Belijn the ram blesses him.
Rome is about 1,200 km from Ghent as the crow flies, months on foot. Reynaert only walks home: Cuwaert and Belijn escort him to Maleperduis, and there the pilgrimage ends. He kills Cuwaert and sends Belijn back to court with the hare's head in the bag.
Pilgrimages to Rome were real in the 1200s, and a pilgrim's bag and staff made you look holy. The poet uses that to make Reynaert's lie even more brazen.
See the pilgrim set off