The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, A Case Study

Sculpture of Santiago Peregrino, Plateria facade, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

eop 2001

In the last session we listened to some samples of music related to pilgrimage and looked at pictures of various works of architecture, sculpture and painting deriving from or otherwise related to pilgrimage. More than a few of those works were ones linked to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in far northwestern Spain, in Galicia, España Verde (Green Spain). One of the three major Roman Catholic Pilgrimages in the Great age of pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela, not far from Fisterra (Finisterre in Castellano) or “the end of the earth” and the westernmost point in Continental Europe, has been attracting Christian pilgrims for more than 1000 years. Those pilgrims are attracted to the purported tomb of the Apostle James the Greater, Santiago, in the crypt of the Cathedral. The cathedral itself is a masterpiece of the Romanesque now inside a Baroque facade. Leading to Santiago is a well trodden route called the Camino Frances, one of a number of Spanish trails leading to Santiago. I have been privileged to walk the Camino Frances twice, and I am using this session as an opportunity to examine in a bit of detail one of the world’s major pilgrimages and, inevitably, to recount some personal experiences.

Session VII begins with the story of the apostle St. James the Major after the events recounted in the gospels. The story includes his suffering as the first Christian martyr, the translocation of his corpse from Palestine to Galicia, and the rediscovery of the purported grave after many centuries. Shortly after the rediscovery, an event closely linked to the Reconquista and the reclaiming of Spain for Christianity, the pilgrimage began, and with a century of two it had become a major force in Western Christianity. Thousands of pilgrims made their way to Santiago de Compostela, and in that pilgrimage generated a rich folklore. Along with a little of the history of the pilgrimage itself, we shall examine some of the symbols of the pilgrimage and two of the legends out of that folklore. The session will conclude with commentary and pictures on a present day walk along the main route, the Camino Frances, from the French-Spanish border to Santiago and beyond to Fisterra.

I. The story of St. James the Greater (also called St. James the Major), Santiago in Castellano.

A. Disciple of Christ

B. Evangelist in Iberia?

C. Martyrdom

D. Translocation and burial

II. The evolution of the pilgrimage

A. "Rediscovery" of the tomb

B. Reconquista

1. Santiago Peregrino

2. Santiago Matamoros

C. Resettlement of the wastes

1.The Benedictines and the route

2. Villafrancas

III. The folklore of the pilgrimage

A. Symbols of the pilgrimage

B. Origins of "Compostela"

C. The legends of Santo Domingo de la Calzada

IV. The Camino today

A. Marking the route

B. Fr. Elias Valina Sampedro

C. Revival of pilgrimage and tourism

V. Walking the Camino - slide show with commentary