Preparations
The decision to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was a major one and not undertaken lightly. The journey would take months, at least, and was fraught with dangers. Although the decision to go was a very personal one, it could not be taken in isolation. Permission had to be sought first from one's bishop; since the pilgrimage was a form of penance, the Church had to give formal approval.
Peasants and the like normally did not go on pilgrimage, but should they desire to do so, they had to seek the permission of their lord. Similarly, a noble had to get the permission of his lord. Only free men, such as town dwellers or free peasants, could avoid this. Everyone, though, was expected to get the approval and support of their own family.
If the pilgrim were a landholder, arrangements had to be made concerning the estate, though similar concerns applied to merchants and craftsmen. Various pilgrims, especially among the landholding nobility, made pious donations prior to setting out. Some gave all their possessions to a monastery, should they die en route, with suitable provisions for the widow and children. In other cases, the donor gave property, but if he returned home, he could enjoy the income of the land for the rest of his own life, whereupon the donated lands would revert to the monastery. Pilgrims were allowed to make a will, a privilege usually allowed to only a few until the later Middle Ages.
Our nobleman, the Count of Béarn, would have made all these arrangments. He would also have settled on some knight, probably a relative, who would fulfill his military duties during his absence, act as his advocate at court (at the court of his lord; suits at law were suspended for a pilgrim), and so on.
All these matters having been attended to, the pilgrim also concerned himself with the practicalities of the journey: the route to take, horses and pack animals, supplies, clothing, and personal possessions. A great noble, travelling in style, might require whole wagons and a mule train to carry all of his "necessities." Our Count will travel more simply, but will still require a number of mules to carry not only his own possessions but those of his two valets who will accompany him. He would also have had to raise the money to pay for the trip, which often meant mortgaging land or borrowing from a moneylender.
Because Count Fulk was an important fellow, he had to arrange for a guardian to handle his estates in the event of his death, of course, but there was much more.
Once the permissions had been granted, the pilgrim-to-be attended to worldly matters, the most important of which was to settle disputes. An act of penance was held not to be valid if the penitent performed the act with outstanding grievances. This could be a serious and expensive matter if one were a great lord.
For example, he tried to bring projects to completion, as much as he could. A new treaty negotiated here, a building project completed there, back taxes collected, a nephew sent off to school, a niece sent to a nunnery, a dispute with townsmen settled, and so on. He called upon the advice of his lords and councillors to make sure that he did not overlook anything of importance.
Besides his worldly affairs, Fulk was advised by his bishop to attend to spiritual matters as well. Disputes with monasteries or with church officials needed to be resolved. Pious donations, long intended, had best be made. A confession was necessary, but that would be part of the vow-taking ceremonies. But also in this category came the settling of debts. Long-standing hostilities with a rival family, or with some fellow who once insulted him, these all created a spiritual burden that the pilgrim was advised to shed in so far as he could. So in the weeks prior to leaving, Fulk's castle saw the arrival of people not seen in Pau for many years.