In the Middle Ages, a palmer ( Latin: palmarius or palmerius) was a Christian pilgrim, normally from Western Europe, who had visited the holy places in Palestine and who, as a token of his visits to the Holy Land, brought back a palm leaf or a palm leaf folded into a cross. Palmers were often highly regarded as well-natured holy men because of their devotion to Christ along the pilgrimage. The word is frequently used as synonymous with " pilgrim". ^[1]

One of the most prominent literary characters to have been a palmer was Wilfred of Ivanhoe, the title character of the book by Sir Walter Scott. ^[2] A palmer also plays a significant role representing Reason in Book II of Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene. ^[3]

Notes

References

• Cummings, Michael J. (2010) [2004], Ivanhoe, Cummings Study Guide
• Woodhouse, A. S. P. (1949), "Nature and Grace in the Faerie Queene", ELH, 16 (3), The Johns Hopkins University Press: 194–228, doi: 10.2307/2871731, JSTOR  2871731

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). " Palmer". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 645.