camino de santiago history


Various sites in Galicia Spain remind us of the earlier pagan traditions. ndmag@nd.edu. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer tells us that the Wife of Bath had been to Santiago. The most popular route is the French Way or Camino Francés on which most pilgrims start from either Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees or from Roncesvalles on the Spanish side. While much has changed along the Way since the first pilgrims walked the path, the experience itself is akin to a trip back through time. Since that time, the feet of millions’ have tread the holy path winding its way through small Spanish villages and towns towards the Iberian Peninsula coast. Besides, el Camino de Santiago was favoured by the Pope and above all by the Clunian monks, its most important supporters and developers in the second half of the 11th century. This was the beginning of the first official Way known as the Primitive Way. Pilgrims come from all over the world, especially from Italy, Germany, the United States or Japan.

After his return to Jerusalem he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa in the year 44 AD, thus becoming one of the first Christian martyrs. Across France and Spain, the pilgrimage route led from shrine to shrine, just as a caravan route leads from oasis to oasis.
Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James is an ancient pilgrimage with its roots in the 9th century. Many pilgrims would pick up a shell on the beach to prove that they had completed the journey and walked all the way to the ocean. El Camino de Santiago had many protectors both in the Spanish territory and in other European kingdoms. However, the conditions for the development of a pilgrimage way weren’t good at that time. While pilgrims continued to travel to Santiago, numbers were much lower than those of the pilgrimage Medieval heyday. The Catholic Encyclopedia noted: “In the registers of the Inquisition at Carcassone… we find the four following places noted as being the centres of the greater pilgrimages to be imposed as penances for the graver crimes, the tomb of the Apostles at Rome, the shrine of St. James at Compostella [sic], St. Thomas’s body at Canterbury, and the relics of the Three Kings at Cologne.”. If they died in any of these refuge centres, the pilgrims would receive Christian sepulture. Camino de Santiago information for children. Tell us your preferences and we will send you an emal with your personalized options. Today we introduce you to the fascinating history of the Camino de Santiago. People used to build monuments in some of the cities that they crossed or put a plaque in the places where they stayed the night. Note that he is wearing a pilgrim hat. It’s a walkway trod by travelers of all kinds for more than 2,000 years. This website uses cookies to provide you the best user experience. The Way of St James has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times and it has existed for over 1000 years. For instance, many of the Camino routes in France join up before the Pyrenees, very close to St Jean Pied de Port.

They built infrastructure, including a road from Bordeaux in modern France to Astorga in northwest Spain, to mine the area’s gold and silver. It is thought that this ancient route followed the Milky Way to what people believed at the time was the end of the Earth. After the death of Jesus Christ, Santiago came in preaching to Hispania, according to tradition. The Camino grew in popularity in the Middle Ages, attracting over 250,000 pilgrims every year, and it became one of the three most popular Christian pilgrimages – the other two being to Jerusalem and Rome. Teva Vs Keen – The Ultimate Sports Sandals. He went from Oviedo to Santiago to verify the finding of St James’ mortal remains and also to worship them. He would certainly be very proud of the Camino today and its modern heyday.

Pilgrims faithfully walk the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James or Saint James’ Way) to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia every year. As part of their conquest of Europe, the Romans occupied Iberia by 200 B.C. Note that he is wearing a pilgrim hat. The local bishop declared the remains those of The Apostle St. James The Greater and with this the Camino de Santiago was born. Now that we have already told the children the history of the Camino de Santiago in a very summary way, we are going there with some relevant information so that not a single detail is lost!. Of course, at this point in time, religious buildings across Europe were busy competing for the best relics, as a way of attracting pilgrims, and the relics of Saint James would transform Santiago de Compostela into one of the world’s most important pilgrimage destinations. Hospital de Orbigo – Astorga (19km) | Camino de Santiago, 24. Tell us what you nedd and we will send you your personalized options. In the early 1980’s only a few pilgrims a year arrived in Santiago. History of El Camino de Santiago El Camino de Santiago came to being due to the belief that the apostle Saint James was buried in the land of Galicia, in the northwest of Spain. A combination of the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment and European wars gradually suppressed the Camino. However many pilgrims begin further afield from cities such as Le Puy or St. Albain.

[…] is a blog about hiking the pilgrimage toward Santiago from France. The peace was recovered in the roads and the number of people who travelled along these roads for many different motivations increased sharply. Saint James had died some 800 years earlier and according to legend transported to Galicia (to the town of Iria Flavia, today’s Padron, on the Camino Portugues) by two disciples in a boat led by angels. Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA It is believed that St James preached the Gospel in present day Galicia and on return to Jerusalem he was beheaded by King Herod in 44AD. However, sometimes they had to use the local inns and taverns where not only did they have to pay but also they were often deceived. The Camino de Santiago has its origins in pre-Christian times when people of the Celtic/Iberian tribes made their way from the interior to land’s end on the Atlantic coast of Galicia.

According to the official history of the pilgrimage, the body of Saint James the Apostle, son of Zebedee and brother of John the Evangelist, was discovered by a shepherd named Pelayo in a field in Galicia during the reign of King Alfonso II, back in the 9th century. Another famous pilgrim was Aymeric Picaud who wrote part of the Codex Calixtinus, the book number five known as A Guide for the Traveller. Pagan influences can still be seen along the Way; indeed some of the modern-day pilgrims themselves are attracted more to the pagan legends associated with the Way rather than the Christian. I’m an American woman figuring it out […], […] El Camino de Santiago had many protectors both in the Spanish territory and in other European kingdoms…click here for more information http://www.caminosantiagodecompostela.com/el-camino-de-santiago-history/ […], […] providing something positive which others could use to help them – and when I thought that these gestures have been happening for centuries, it was all the more […], First things first – choosing a trail | walkwithmefrance, EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, THE WAY OF ST JAMES | El Camino De Santiago. Culture Trip stands with Black Lives Matter. In the middle ages, the route was highly traveled.

Following the saint’s dead, it was said that St. James’ disciples put his body in a stone boat that, lead by angels, sailed across the Mediterranean Sea, went through the Pillars of Hercules in the Strait of Gibraltar to finally arrive at the coast of Galicia, where a massive rock closed around his relics. Saint James spent some years preaching the Gospels in the Iberian Peninsula, and in fact he is the patron saint of Spain. The main pilgrimage route to Santiago follows an earlier Roman trade route, which continues to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, ending at Cape Finisterre. The 12th and 13th centuries marked the heyday of pilgrimage to Santiago with as many as 250,000 pilgrims travelling every year, moved by their faith but also by many other reasons: some wanted to secure salvation or pay a penance; but many others were also moved by money, undertaking the treacherous trip on behalf of wealthier citizens; or even to serve a sentence. Informed about this important discovery, King Alfonso II had a small chapel built in this holy place and would later commission a larger temple to attract pilgrims from all over the world, competing with other important religious centres of pilgrimage such as Jerusalem and Rome. Cookies ensure the best experience, continue to use this site if you accept it / Utilizamos cookies para mejorar tu experiencia, si continuas navegando, consideramos que aceptas su uso. Both of them were immersed in an innovative reform, known as “Gregorian Reforms”, which focused on the unification of all Christian territories under the rule of the bishops of Rome.

The modern Camino was created in the 1980s by Father Elias Valiña, the priest of the Galician village of O Cebreiro, who marked the ancient route with the symbol of a yellow scallop shell on a blue background, so that pilgrims could easily find the way. Though many pilgrims today erroneously believe Cape Finisterre is also the westernmost point of mainland Europe, the fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae (literally the end of the world in Latin) indicates that they viewed it as a place of significance. History of the Camino de Santiago < Back. She also loves travel, good food and good books, as well as all things arty crafty.

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