Route of Santiago de Compostela*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Scallop, St.James' shell, symbol of the Saint and the pilgrimage
State Party	Spain
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv, vi
Reference	669
Region	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	1993  (17th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way, often known by its Spanish name, el Camino de Santiago, is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where legend has it that the remains of the apostle, Saint James the Great, are buried.

A major Christian pilgrimage route

The Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times. It was considered one of three pilgrimages on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; the others are the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where they were buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. There are some, however, who claim that the bodily remains at Santiago belong to Priscillian, the fourth-century Galician leader of an ascetic Christian sect, Priscillianism, who was one of the first Christian heretics to be executed.

There is not a single route; the Way can take one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. However a few of the routes are considered main ones. Santiago is such an important pilgrimage destination because it is considered the burial site of the apostle, James the Great. During the middle ages, the route was highly travelled. However, the Black Plague, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th- century Europe resulted in its decline. Until the 1980s, only a few pilgrims arrived in Santiago annually. However, since then, the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe. The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 1993.

History of St James's Way

The pilgrimage to Santiago has never ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James' remains, though there have been years of fewer pilgrims, particularly during European wars. During the war of American Independance, John Adams was ordered by Congress to go to Paris to obtain funds for the cause. His ship started leaking and he disembarked with his two sons in Finisterre in 1779, where he proceeded to follow the Way of St. James in the opposite direction, in order to get to Paris overland. He did not stop to visit Santiago, and came to regret this during the course of his journey. In his autobiography, he gives an accurate description of the customs and lodgings afforded to St. James pilgrims in the 18th century, and mentions the legend as it was then told to travellers:

:

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—[1]

Pre-Christian history of the route

Prior to its existence as a Christian pilgrimage, the route is believed to have had significance for the ancient pagan peoples of the Iberian peninsula also, among them the Celts, and later the pre-Christian Romans who conquered Spain. The site of Santiago de Compostela itself may have been a Roman shrine.

To this day, many pilgrims continue from Santiago de Compostela to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, to finish their journeys at Spain's westernmost point Cape Finisterre (Galician: Fisterra). Although Cape Finisterre is not the westernmost point of mainland Europe (Cabo da Roca in Portugal is further west) the fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae (literally the end of the world, or Land's End in Latin) indicates that they viewed it as such.

The significance of the scallop symbol

The scallop shell, typically found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meaning.

There are different accounts of the mythical origin of the symbol. Which account is taken depends on who is telling the story. Two version of the most common myth are:

James the Greater, the brother of Jesus, was killed in Jerusalem for his convictions about his brother. James had spent some time preaching on the Iberian Peninsula.

(version 1) After his death, his discipled were shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Of the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, leading to the loss of the body to the ocean. After some time however the body washed undamaged ashore, covered in scallops.

(version 2) After his death his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. As James' ship approached land, a wedding was going on on the shore. The young bridegroom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and the horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.

Besides being the mythical symbol, the scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination, the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell is also a metaphor for the pilgrim. As the waves of the ocean washed scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guided the pilgrims to Santiago.

The scallop shell served practical purposes for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago as well. The shell was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl. Also, because the scallop shell is native to the shores of Galicia, the shell functioned as proof of completion. By having a scallop shell, a pilgrim could almost certainly prove that he or she had finished the pilgrimage and had actually seen the "end of the world" which at that point in history was the Western coast of Spain.

Pagan influences can still be seen along the Way; indeed, some of the modern-day pilgrims declare themselves more attracted to the pagan legends associated with the Way than to the Christian ones. One legend holds that walking the route was a pagan fertility ritual; this is one explanation for the scallop shell being a symbol of the pilgrimage. An alternative interpretation is that the scallop, which resembles the setting sun, was the focus of pre-Christian Celtic rituals of the area. That is to say, the pre-Christian origin of the Way of St. James was a Celtic death journey, westwards towards the setting sun, terminating at the End of the World (Finisterra) on the "Coast of Death" (Costa de Morta) and the "Sea of Darkness" (that is, the Abyss of Death, the Mare Tenebrosum, Latin for the Atlantic Ocean, itself named after the Dying Civilization of Atlantis).

The reference to St. James rescuing a "knight covered in scallops" is therefore a reference to St. James healing, or resurrecting, a dying (setting sun) knight. Note also that the knight obviously would have had to be "under the waters of death" for quite some time for shellfish to have grown over him. Similarly, the notion of the "Sea of Darkness" (Atlantic Ocean) disgorging St. James' body, so that his relics are (allegedly) buried at Santiago de Compostella on the coast, is itself a metaphor for "rising up out of Death", that is, resurrection.

The route during the Medieval period

St. James pilgrim accesories

St. James is sometimes depicted as St. James the Moor Slayer, as well as 'St. James' the Pilgrim.

The earliest records of visits paid to the shrine dedicated to St. James at Santiago de Compostela date from the 8th century, in the time of the Kingdom of Asturias. The pilgrimage to the shrine became the most renowned medieval pilgrimage, and it became customary for those who returned from Compostela to carry back with them a Galician scallop shell as proof of their completion of the journey. This practice was gradually extended to other pilgrimages.

The earliest recorded pilgrims from beyond the Pyrenees visited the shrine in the middle of the 10th century, but it seems that it was not until a century later that large numbers of pilgrims from abroad were regularly journeying there. The earliest records of pilgrims arriving from England arrived date from the period between 1092 and 1105. However, by the early 12th century the pilgrimage had become a highly organized affair. The official guide in those times was the Codex Calixtinus. Published around 1140, the 5th book of the Codex is still considered the definitive source for many modern guidebooks. Four pilgrimage routes listed in the Codex originate in France and converge at Puente la Reina. From there, a well-defined route crosses northern Spain, linking Burgos, Carrión de los Condes, Sahagún, León, Astorga, and Compostela.

The daily needs of pilgrims on their way to, and from, Compostela were met by a series of hospitals and hospices. These had royal protection and were a lucrative source of revenue. A new genre of ecclesiastical architecture, Romanesque, with its massive archways, was designed to cope with huge devout crowds. There was also the now- familiar paraphernalia of tourism, such as the selling of badges and souvenirs. Since the Christian symbol for James the Greater was the scallop shell, many pilgrims would wear this as a sign to anyone on the road that they were a pilgrim. This gave them privileges to sleep in churches and ask for free meals, but also warded off thieves who did not dare attack devoted pilgrims.

The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela was possible because of the protection and freedom provided by the Kingdom of France, where the majority of pilgrims originated. Enterprising French people (including Gascons and other peoples not under the French crown) settled in towns along the pilgrimage routes, where their names appear in the archives. The pilgrims were tended by people like Domingo de la Calzada who was later recognized as a saint himself.

Pilgrims would walk the Way of St. James, often for months, in order to arrive at the great church in the main square of Compostela to pay homage to St. James. So many pilgrims have laid their hands on the pillar just inside the doorway of the church that a groove has been worn in the stone.

Oddly, the popular Spanish name for the astronomical Milky Way is El Camino de Santiago. The Milky Way was said to be formed from the dust raised by travelling pilgrims in a common medieval legend.^[1]. Compostela itself means 'field of stars'.

The pilgrimage as penance

The Church created a system of rituals to atone for sins, including confession, absolution, and penance. According to this system, pilgrimages were a suitable form of expiation for some sins, and they could be used as acts of penance for those who were guilty of certain crimes. As noted in the Catholic Encyclopedia,

:

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

There is still a tradition in Flanders of freeing one prisoner a year^[2] under the condition that this prisoner walk to Santiago wearing a heavy backpack, accompanied by a guard.

The modern-day pilgrimage

Today tens of thousands^[3] of Christian pilgrims and other travellers set out each year from their front doorstep, or popular starting points across Europe, to make their way to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, some by bicycle, and a few travel as some of their medieval counterparts did, on horseback or by donkey (for example, the British author and humorist Tim Moore). In addition to people undertaking a religious pilgrimage, there are many travellers and hikers who walk the route for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign land.

Routes to Santiago

For a more detailed treatment of this topic, see the subarticle Way of St. James (route descriptions).

Pilgrims on the Way of St. James walk for weeks or months to visit the city of Santiago de Compostela. They can follow many routes (any path to Santiago is a pilgrim's path) but the most popular route is the French Way or Camino Francés. The most common starting points are cities in Spain situated along the Camino Francés, which means 'the French Way'. Historically, most of the pilgrims came from France, due to the Codex Calixtinus. For this reason, the Spanish consider the Pyrenees the starting point. Common starting points along the French border are Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Somport on the French side of the Pyrenees and Roncesvalles or Jaca on the Spanish side.

However, many pilgrims begin further afield, in one of the four French towns which are common and traditional starting points: Le Puy, Vézelay, Arles and Tours. Cluny, site of the celebrated medieval abbey, was another important rallying point for pilgrims, and, in 2002, it was integrated into the official European pilgrimage route linking Vézelay and Le Puy. Some pilgrims start from even further away, though their routes will often pass through one of the four French towns mentioned. Some Europeans begin their pilgrimage from the very doorstep of their homes just as their medieval counterparts did hundreds of years ago.

Pilgrims' accommodation

In Spain and southern France, pilgrim's hostels dot the common routes providing overnight accommodation for recognised pilgrims, those who hold a credencial. (See below.) In Spain this type of accommodation is called a refugio or an albergue, both of which are similar to youth hostels or hostelries in the French system of Gîtes d'étape; beds are in dormitories, and they usually cost between three and seven Euros per night, but a few operate on voluntary donations. Pilgrims are usually limited to one night's accommodation.

These hostels may be run by the local parish, the local council, private owners, or pilgrims' associations. Occasionally these refugios are located in monasteries, such as the one in Samos, Spain, run by monks.

The Pilgrim's passport

St. James pilgrim passport stamps in Spain for the Camino Frances

St. James pilgrim passport stamps in France on the Via Turenensis (Tours route) for the Chemin de St. Jacques de Compostelle. The World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France lists the major French towns with stamps.

Most pilgrims have a document called the credencial, which they have purchased for a few euros through a Spanish tourist agency or their local church, depending on their starting location. The Credencial is a pass which allows (sometimes free) overnight accommodation in refugios. Also known as the "Pilgrim's passport", the credencial is stamped with the official St. James stamp of each town or refugio at which the pilgrim has stayed. It provides walking pilgrims with a record of where they ate or slept, but also serves as proof to the Pilgrim's office in Santiago that the journey is accomplished according to an official route. The credencial is available at refugios, tourist offices, some local parish houses, and outside Spain, through the national St. James organisation of that country. The stamped credencial is also necessary if the pilgrim wants to obtain a compostela.

Most often the stamp can be obtained in the refugio, Cathedral or local church. If the church is closed, the town hall or office of tourism can provide a stamp, as well as nearby youth hostels or private St. James addresses. Outside Spain, the stamp can be somewhat of a ceremony, where the stamper and the pilgrim can share information. As the pilgrimage approaches Santiago however, the increased number of pilgrims cause many of the stamps in small towns to be self-service, while in the larger towns there are several options to obtain the necessary stamp.

The Compostela

The Compostela is a certificate of accomplishment given to pilgrims on completing the Way. To earn the Compostela one needs to walk a minimum of 100 kilometers (cyclists must cycle at least 200 km). In practice for walkers, that means starting in the small city of Sarria, for it has good transportation connections via bus and rail to other places in Spain. Pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela who have walked at least the last 100km, or cycled 200km to get there (as indicated on their credencial), are eligible for this Compostela from the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago.

St. James pilgrim Compostela certificate

In medieval catholicism, the "Compostela" counted as an act of indulgence. The pilgrim was entitled to a partial indulgence, or, if the Compostela was obtained in a Holy Year, a plenary indulgence. The full text of the certificate is in Latin and reads:

CAPITULUM hujus Almae Apostolicae et Metropolitanae Ecclesiae Compostellanae sigilli Altaris Beati Jacobi Apostoli custos, ut omnibus Fidelibus et Perigrinis ex toto terrarum Orbe, devotionis affectu vel voti cosa, ad limina Apostoli Nostri Hispaniarum Patroni ac Tutelaris SANCTI JACOBI convenientibus, authenticas visitationis litteras expediat, omnibus et singulis praesentes inspecturis, notum facit : (Latin version of name of recipient)

Hoc sacratissimum Templum pietatis causa devote visitasse. In quorum fidem praesentes litteras, sigillo ejusdem Sanctae Ecclesiae munitas, ei confero.

Datum Compostellae die (day) mensis (month) anno Dni (year)

Canonicus Deputatus pro Peregrinis

The pilgrim passport is examined carefully for stamps and dates. If a key stamp is missing, or if the pilgrim does not claim a religious purpose for their pilgrimage, the compostela may be refused. The Pilgrim office of Santiago awards more than 100,000 compostelas per year to pilgrims from over 100 countries.

Pilgrim's mass

A Pilgrim's mass in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is held each day at noon for pilgrims. Pilgrims who received the Compostela the day before have their countries of origin and the starting point of their pilgrimage announced at the mass.

The pilgrimage as tourism

The Galician government seeks to make the Way into a popular tourist destination. When there is a Holy Compostellan Year (whenever July 25 falls on a Sunday) the Galician government's Xacobeo tourism campaign is unleashed once more.

The Way's name in other languages

The Way of St. James is most often referred to by the names used in the countries it passes:

• In Spanish, it is called El Camino de Santiago or simply El Camino
• In Galician, it is O Camiño de Santiago or Ruta Xacobea
• In Basque, it is Donejakue Bidea
• In French, le chemin de Saint Jacques
• In Portuguese, O Caminho de Santiago

See also

• World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
• Codex Calixtinus
• Confraternity of Saint James
• Order of Santiago

Further reading

Pilgrim's guides and travelogues

• Confraternity of St. James, Pilgrim Guides To Spain 1. The Camino Francés
• Camino de Santiago PUNTOS, jsantacana, posted January 14, 2006; viewable by Google Maps or Google Earth. These are satellite photos of points along the Way of St. James.

Fiction and other literary works

• Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage
• Shirley MacLaine, The Camino
• James Michener, Iberia; contains one chapter about the Camino de Santiago
• Louise Collis, Memoirs of a Medieval Woman
• Tim Moore, Spanish Steps

References

1. ^ Visions of the Milky Way, Giovanni F. Bignami, Science 26 March 2004 303: 1979
2. ^ Turismo de Bélgica. Huellas españolas en Flandes.
3. ^ "The present-day pilgrimage", Confraternity of Saint James, July 26, 2006. 

External links

General information

• The official site of the Santiago de Compostela cathedral
• Compostela Group of Universities - a network of Universities preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the route

Camino Confraternities

• Site of The Confraternity of Saint James, England
• Site of the American Pilgrims on the Camino
• Site of The Canadian Company of Pilgrims

Travel information

• The Camino - The pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in pictures
• General information about the Way of St James.
• Forum on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

Link collections

• Xacowebs Collection of websites related to Way of St. James
• International Bibliography

•  • [ e] World Heritage Sites in Spain

Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzn, Granada Altamira Cave Aranjuez Cultural Landscape Archaeological Ensemble of Mrida Archaeological Ensemble of Trraco (Tarragona) Archaeological Site of Atapuerca vila with its Extra-mural Churches Burgos Cathedral Cceres Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Bo Cathedral, Alczar and Archivo de Indias, Seville Cordoba Cuenca Doana El Escorial Garajonay Ibiza (Biodiversity and Culture) Las Mdulas Mudjar Architecture of Aragon Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias Palau de la Msica Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona Palmeral of Elche Poblet Monastery Pyrnes - Mont Perdu (with ) Renaissance Monuments of beda and Baeza Rock-Art on the Iberian Peninsula Roman Walls of Lugo Route of Santiago de Compostela Salamanca San Cristbal de La Laguna San Milln Yuso and Suso Monasteries Santa Mara de Guadalupe Santiago de Compostela Segovia and its Aqueduct Silk Exchange in Valencia Teide National Park Toledo University and Historic Precinct of Alcal de Henares Vizcaya Bridge Works of Antoni Gaud

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
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Motto
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"Marcha Real" ¹
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 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
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Spanish (
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pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages.
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Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is situated in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the destination of the Way of St.
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Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia / Comunidade Autónoma de Galicia

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Capital Santiago de Compostela
Official language(s) Galician and Spanish
Area
 – Total
 – % of Spain Ranked 7th
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Motto
"Plus Ultra"   (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" ¹
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For people and places called Saint James, see the disambiguation page.

Saint James, son of Zebedee

Saint James the Elder by Rembrandt
Apostle and Martyr
Born Unknown,
Died 44, Judea
Venerated in All Christianity
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Christianity

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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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Via Francigena is an ancient road to Rome for those coming from France. It was an important medieval road and pilgrimage route connecting north-Western Europe with Rome and the harbours to Jerusalem in Apulia (Bari, Brindisi, Otranto).
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Comune di Roma

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Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם   (help info ) , Yerushaláyim; Arabic:
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Priscillian of Ávila (died 383), a theologian from Roman Gallaecia (in the Iberian Peninsula), was the first person in the history of Christianity to be executed for heresy (though the civil charges were for the practice of magic).
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century (per the Julian/Gregorian calendar and Anno Domini era) was that century which lasted from 301 to 400.

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Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia / Comunidade Autónoma de Galicia

Flag Coat of arms

Capital Santiago de Compostela
Official language(s) Galician and Spanish
Area
 – Total
 – % of Spain Ranked 7th
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Priscillianism is a Christian doctrine developed in the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania) in the 4th century by Priscillian, derived from the Gnostic-Manichaean doctrines taught by Marcus
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Not to be confused with Hearsay.

Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian
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pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages.
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Black Death, or The Black Plague, was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. It began in South-western or Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s.
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 through 1600.

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A European Cultural Route is a title awarded to cultural routes recognised as significant throughout Europe by the Council of Europe. The European Institute of Cultural Routes is the body established to help the Council of Europe co-ordinate the development of these routes.
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Anthem
Ode to Joy (orchestral)

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