> [!quote] u/Kelphie-Cat (flaired user) answering [[caves were common along Medieval road networks via AskHistorians]] > In medieval Fife in Scotland, caves were an important part of pilgrimage networks. Many of them were associated with hermits, who were said to offer shelter to pilgrims making their way to their destinations. > > Pilgrims would come from all over Scotland to visit the shrines of Andrew and Ethernan (who was later misremembered as St Adrian, a martyr of Viking raids). Many caves along the Fife coast are thought to have been temporary stops for pilgrims on their way to these sites. Many of the caves with crosses also have Pictish symbols carved into them, such as at Wemyss and Caiplie. > > Some of these caves are quite easy to link with early Christian monastic sites. The monasteries would have provided food to the hermits living in the caves, so presumably they would have also supplied the hermits with extra food to offer hospitality to pilgrims. - [I] Saving because I'm currently collecting information about [[cave-dwellers]] to give myself a more robust picture of different ways that phenomenon manifests.