puente-la-reina in spain, where a single road passed through burgos and leon and culminated at santiago de compostelain the center of france, the major starting point was the church of mary magdalene at vezelay. this great romanesque abbey church at vezelay in the heart of burgundy is built far too large for the needs of its local population. paul crossley is a distinguished architectural historian whose special interest is romanesque and gothic architecture. it served primarily two functions. it housed a large and prosperous community of benedictine monks, and secondly and most importantly, it was one of the foremost places of pilgrimage in france, for here was contained the relics of saint mary magdalene. thousands of pilgrims came through the western portals of this church, and they found themselves in a sacred way... a long avenue of arches and aisles which led them to the distant and luminous choir where the body of saint mary magdalene was contained. the dout mediev christian, holy rel had the power to perform miracles. en the tiest fragment of the body of a snt encased in its riqry rapresented