So what is it? These famous pilgrim roads?
And what is pilgrimage all about?
A pilgrim (lat. peregrinus) is one who undertakes a pilgrimage, literally 'far afield'. This is traditionally a visit
to a place of some religious or historic significance; often a considerable distance is traveled. Examples
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it
When it comes to Europe, it has been Rome and Santiago de Compostela that have been the goals for most
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known in English as The Way of St James, is a collection of
old pilgrimage routes which cover all Europe. They all have Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain as
their final destination. For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the Camino de Santiago.
The main Camino route is the Camino Frances. This part of the Camino de Santiago traditionally starts in St
Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago de Compostela about 780km later, after traveling the breadth of
Northern Spain, (In Santiago you can collect your Compostela). However you can start anywhere and even
continue past Santiago to the sea at Finisterre. Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world in medieval
times.
History of the Way of St. James Pilgrimage
It all began with a star. Early in the 9th century a hermit called Paio is said to have seen a particularly bright
one shining over the spot where the city now stands. He reported his vision to the local bishop, who saw the
star for himself and – according to a 12th-century manuscript called the Historia Compostelana – "found
among the undergrowth and bushes below a small marble tomb".
The bishop declared it to contain the remains of St James the Apostle, and King Alonso II of neighbouring
Asturias, "overflowing with joy at such important news", commissioned a shrine to be built.
Today pilgrims come from across the planet – an estimated 150,000 were officially recognised last year – and
their reasons for doing so are as varied as their nationalities. For many, if not a Christian journey it is
nevertheless a spiritual one, often made at a difficult time in life. For others it is more straightforwardly a
personal challenge, a chance to walk some of Europe's most spectacular scenery, or an opportunity to
immerse themselves in Spanish culture and history.
"Pilgrims' motives for setting out may be very different, but for all of them the journey is in some way
transcendental. They all arrive here in some way changed," says José María Díaz, the dean of Santiago's
cathedral. From his wooden throne-like chair in the cathedral's medieval library, he is keen to emphasise the
broad appeal and benefits of the act of pilgrimage itself rather than its Christian significance, and the
opportunity it offers for dialogue with those from other walks of life.
"I am from Israel, my girlfriend is from Australia. He is from Italy, from Greece, from France," says Benji, one
of a group of pilgrims sat cross-legged in the Praza do Obradoiro, leaning forward heavily on their staffs and
munching voraciously on cereal bars. "We all made promises – to ourselves, or to each other ... or to St
James. We met at a hostal three weeks ago, and we've been walking together ever since."
St. James' shell
The first international pilgrims arrived in Santiago well before Picaud's time, the
earliest coming from France in the middle of the ninth century. They were
preceded, say some, by stargazing Celts making a last journey west towards
Finisterre, which they believed to be a gateway to the afterlife. The scallop shell
was their chosen symbol along the route for its resemblance to the setting sun.
But in most European languages the scallop – coquille St Jacques,
Jakobsschelp, conchiglia di San Giacomo – is inexorably linked to St James by
the legend that he rescued a drowning knight who emerged from the sea
covered in them. The symbol of the scallop shell, carved into fence posts and
milestones, fashioned in ceramics and stained glass, now marks the way along
all four main routes of the most important Christian pilgrimage after Rome and
the Holy Land itself.
Most pilgrims follow one of two routes that wind their way down through the
Pyrenees, the earlier one then hugging the wild, verdant coast of the Basque
country and Asturias, while the more recent one cuts inland across the sunbaked
hills and plains of La Rioja and Castilla y León. Two others track northwards from
Portugal and Seville, and there are many lesser routes besides.
Whichever route they have trodden, "all paths to Santiago are pilgrims' ways," – they arrive in front of the
cathedral in varying degrees of exhaustion and elation. Some still have a spring in their step – they have
perhaps walked just the last 100km, the minimum required to earn official recognition – while others hobble
or drag their tattered trainers across the flagstones, testament to months on the hoof and a degree of
penance suffered whether they had intended it that way or not.
