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History of the
Camino
Many people, by nature, are curious about what a Pilgrimage is all
about. You can read more about why people do pilgrimages and
why I did it in a new section coming soon to this website, until then
you can read about Spain's most beloved Saint, James the Apostle
(Santiago) and the History of the Pilgrimage.
What does it all mean? Santiago is Spanish for
"Saint James", Compostela is Spanish for "field of stars". So
in other words Santiago de Compostela means "St. James of the Field of
Stars". The reason for this name is that late in the 8th
century a monk came across a bright start in the sky, which followed
and found the remains of St. James in a starry filled field, close to
what is now known as Santiago.
Who is St. James the
Apostle?
James and his brother were sons of a fisherman, Zebedee and were with
Jesus during many of the historic moments in his life.
Read more here: http://www.frtommylane.com/homilies/pilgrimage/saint_james_compostela.htm
The story goes that after Pentecost the apostles went far and wide
preaching about Jesus and spreading Christianity. Tradition
says that James came as far west as what we now call the Iberian
Peninsula, at that called Hispania. According to tradition,
Our Lady appeared to James when he was in Zaragosa
saying that Jesus desired that James return to Jerusalem to be martyred
there. In Acts 12:1-2 we read of the martyrdom of James in
Jerusalem by Herod. According to tradition his disciples took
his body to Spain and buried him in a tomb in Libredón near
a castro or prehistoric fortified settlement which has a street in
Compostela called after it today, Calle del Castro. Two of
James’ disciples were Theodore and Athanasius who are said to
have been buried, one on either side of him. Gradually the
tomb was forgotten and became overgrown due to Roman persecutions of
Christians and the barbarian invasion of Christians in the fifth
century and the Moors conquering the area in the 8th century.
We are told that early in the 9th century a hermit named
Pelagius saw and heard inexplicable lights and sounds coming from a
nearby wood. He was aware that this spot,
Libredón, was said to have been the place where James was
buried. He went to the local bishop, Theodomir of Iria,
informing him that he believed it was a sign of the location of
James’ burial place. The bishop ordered the area to
be cleared of shrubs and they discovered what might be called a tiny
chapel with an altar and a crypt beneath containing three tombs, the
central one attributed to James, and one on either side attributed to
his disciples Theodore and Athanasius. The King of Asturias,
Alphonsus II, came from Oviedo and ordered a basilica to be erected
over the tomb and arranged for the building of a monastery nearby.
(He is also the king who had the Camara Santa built for the Sudarium
in Oviedo) Twelve Benedictine monks came from
Oviedo and this was the beginning of the town of Compostela.
The History of the
Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Interested in learning more about St. James and the history of this
pilgrimage? http://www.csj.org.uk/history.htm
Present Day Pilgrimage
to Santiago de Compostela
People undertake a pilgrimage for many different reasons, typically the
past has dictated religious or spiritual, however in recent years
Pilgrimages have been done for many other reasons...what better way to
experience a country, like Spain; rich in culture, a history so layered
and diverse, the landscape, people, architecture, food and wine.
The numbers have been steadily increasing over the last five years, one
major reason is a result of the formation of the EU and the emphasis on
tourism in each country.
Could it also be that people in general want to escape and find some
time for themselves? In societies that offer little
elaxation time people are seeking new ways to connect with
nature and themselves. What other place in the world can
people of different nations, races, social and economic classes gather
in a spiritual and natural setting and just simply "be", connect with
nature, themselves, other people, and God. Even
the most non-religious or spiritual person is bound to have some
experience on El Camino (the Road) to make them think twice.
Interested in stats? Check them out here: http://www.csj.org.uk/present.htm#Some%20statistics
Our list convenor from the GoCamino webgroup reports : 1. Pilgrims in
the public albergues during March, 2004:
15,365 pilgrims availed themselves of the public albergues' facilities
during March (bringing the total for the past three months to 25,869, a
33.4% increase over the 1999 numbers). The figures for last month are
1,256 pilgrims higher than those of 1999, despite the fact that in that
year Holy Week, with its traditional large number of pilgrims, fell in
March. 11,861 of the March pilgrims were on the French Way; 1,514
on the Portuguese Way, 645 on the Northern Way; 618 on the
Via de la Plata; 500 on the Fisterra-Muxia Way and 227 on the English
Way. These numbers represent only those pilgrims that stayed in the
albergues sponsored by the Galician and other Xuntas, and do not
include pilgrims staying in private albergues or in those, such as the
ones on the Primitive Way, sponsored by religious orders.
Order of Saint James
of Compostela
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13353a.htm
(SANTIAGO DE LA ESPADA).
Founded in the twelfth century, owes its name to the national patron of
Spain, St. James the Greater, under whose banner the Christians
of Galicia began in the ninth century to combat and drive back the Mussulmans
of Spain. Compostela, in Galicia, the centre of devotion to this
Apostle, is neither the cradle nor the principal seat of the order. Two
cities contend for the honour of having given it birth, León
in the kingdom of that name, and Uclés in Castile. At that
time (1157-1230) the royal dynasty was divided into two rival branches,
which rivalry tended to obscure the beginnings of the order. The
Knights of Santiago had possessions in each of the kingdoms, but
Ferdinand II of León and Alfonso VIII of Castile, in
bestowing them, set the condition that the seat of the order should be
in their respective states. Hence arose long disputes which only ended
in 1230 when Ferdinand III, the Saint, united both crowns.
Their symbol was a red cross terminating in a sword, which recalls
their title de la Espada, and a shell (la venera), which they doubtless
owed to their connection with the pilgrimage of St. James.
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Tania's Journey on the Camino 