A short history of the Camino
Europe was formed on the road to Santiago - Goethe
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known in English as The Way of St James, is a collection of old pilgrimage routes throughout 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. In Medieval times Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world.
Legend has it that the remains of the apostle, Saint James the Great 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 is no 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. By 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.
The French Way is the most traditional of all the pilgrims' ways to Santiago and the best known internationally. The route, which crosses the north of the Iberian Peninsula, was established in the late 11th century thanks to the efforts of monarchs like Sancho III the Greater and Sancho Ramirez de Navarra y Aragon, as well as Alphonse VI and his successors, who took care of its construction and promotion. The principal routes of the Way in France and Spain were described in detail around the year 1135 in the Codex Calixtinus, an essential reference work providing details of the pilgrimage tradition.
Book V of this codex is a bona-fide medieval guide describing the pilgrimage to Santiago. It enumerates the different stretches of the French Way from the lands of Gaul and offers detailed information on the sanctuaries to be found along the way, including comments on the hospitality, the people, the food, natural springs, local customs, etc. The entire work is written clearly and succinctly, a practical answer to a specific demand: the pilgrimage to Santiago.
Pilgrim Credential
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 km (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 100 km, or cycled 200 km to get there (as indicated on their credencial), are eligible for this compostela from the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago.
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.
The Way of St. James is most often referred to by the names used in the areas it passes:
Spanish: El Camino de Santiago or simply El Camino
Galician: O Camiño de Santiago or Ruta Xacobea
Basque: Donejakue Bidea
French: O Camiño de Santiago or Le Chemin de Saint Jacques''
Portuguese: O Caminho de Santiago
