Pilgrimage of the Fool
Performance by Agnes Nedregard
Friday 2nd - Saturday 3rd July 2010
Woodhall Spa to Lincoln Cathedral, following the Viking Way

Agnes Nedregard was commissioned to develop a new work that reacted to Lincoln as a historic site. She responded by undertaking a pilgrimage toward the counties most famous landmark, Lincoln Cathedral. The pilgrimage stemmed from an interest to connect to a place through journey within a landscape.

Travelling in a costume reminiscent of a medieval traveller, Nedregard followed the Viking Way route which runs through the width of Lincolnshire, historically used by pilgrims travelling to Lincoln Cathedral. Beginning at Woodhall Spa approximately 20 miles east of Lincoln Cathedral the pilgrimage began and proceeded to travel through a number of villages with regular stopping points. These stopping points enabled Nedregard to engage with local people and places, pubs, post offices and historic sites which all presented opportunities for the pilgrim to tell tales of her journey so far, and allowed people to join her at different stages of the pilgrimage.

As Nedregard arrived in the city, audiences met and greeted her under the Stonebow Archway, a common meeting place for local Lincoln citizens, before joining her for the final section of the journey. Under the imposing peal of the cathedral bells, Nedregard ended the journey. In a final act Nedregard unravelled her cloth bundle to reveal a miniature wooden model of the cathedral encased in a glass globe, an item Nedregard had secretly carried for the duration of the journey. Nedregard released the model and placed it on the steps of the building before leaving.

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Photo Credit, Tom Cretney

Pilgrimage of the Fool created an opportunity for audiences to re-connect and look again at Lincoln’s historical and architectural sites of significance and beauty, whilst allowing Nedregard to connect to a place which she had previously no knowledge of. Traditionally pilgrims would take something away from their destination, yet Nedregard compelled by the cathedral, the city, and its people reversed the process by leaving the small replica cathedral as a gift to the city. 

Photo Credit, James E Smith

Photo Credit, James E Smith