The Way of St. James or Santiago de Compostella

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella

The way of St. James is one of the most famous and important pilgrimage routes in Europe.

Though it has many possible origin points, its ultimate goal is the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella, pictured above, which is said to be the final resting place of St. James, one of Jesus' apostles.  The trek from a pilgrim's home to the cathedral itself represented a spiritual journey, as well as a physical one.  The structure acquired significance beyond its status as a cathedral by virtue of its association with a prominent figure in Christian scripture.  By making the sometimes arduous journey to the Shrine, pilgrims partake in a holy tradition with ancient roots, forging a connection between the past and present.

A Map of the Route

Given the importance of the Way of St. James in the Christian faith, there are several routes which it is traditional to follow, allowing access to people from all over Europe.  Though cheap air travel allows modern pilgrims to choose what they believe is the most significant point of departure for their journey, during the middle ages (when the practice of pilgrimage was at its height) it was common for travelers to simply walk out of their doors and begin right there.  In this way one could find French, Italians, Germans, Swiss, representatives of any European political or ethnic group which paid homage to Jesus Christ.  In a time of great political and military strife, when neighboring fiefdoms often fought bitterly with each other, the main unifying factor was religion, which often caused relatively small and weak nations to band together in the face of outside interference (such as the Moorish invasion).  Religion was the social glue holding Europe together as more than just a battle ground and the Way of Saint James was one of the primary methods of accomplishing that.

Saint James

St. James' importance to the Christian religion stems from two sources.  First of all he was one of the Apostles, the disciples of Jesus who knew him in life and were tasked with spreading his word after his death (and resurrection).   The practice of proselytizim is one of the central tenants of the Catholic faith, since they believe that the only way into Heaven is to accept the Gospel and Jesus, making it a Christian's duty to preach in order to help more people be saved.  James' position as an Apostle makes him one of the original twelve, a role model upon whom to base one's behavior.  Second, he was beheaded by Herod upon his return to Judea after (supposedly) preaching the Gospel in Iberia (present day Spain).   The concept of Martyrdom is one common to nearly all of the Abrahamic religions and it is fairly common for saints to have died for their beliefs.  James was the first of the Apostles to be martyred (though by no means the last) and thus by extension one of the first Christians to do so, giving him an a sort of authority in the arena of holding to his convictions in the face of all opposition. 

The Scallops of Saint James

The scallop is very strongly associated with Saint James, to the point that it's name in French is coquille St. Jacques (St. James' Shell).   There are many variations of the myth explaining this but the two most common are as follows.  In one possible tale, James' disciples lost his body at sea while transporting it to Ibera and when they recovered it (undamaged) washed ashore, it was covered in scallops.  The other tale involves a knight who fell into the sea while James' body was being transported to the location of present day Santiago by a ship with no crew.  According to legend the knight was saved by divine intervention and emerged (I think you can see were this is going) covered in shells.  Because of this strong association, the scallop has become the symbol of the way, as well as a sign of it's completion (the scallop is native to the area around Santiago, so pilgrims would pick it up as proof that they had completed the journey.  The scallop also served as a sort of signpost for both the correct route and the pilgrims themselves.  The various roads by which the pilgrimage might be completed were marked with carved scallop shells and pilgrims would indicate their religious status by sewing imitations into their clothing.

The modern symbol for the Way.

The symbol of the scallop also has important metaphorical meanings relating to the nature of the pilgrimage.  The shape of the scallop (represented above in a simplified form) consists of many lines converging on a single point from widely divergent starting locations.  This is a parallel of the many possible routes by which the Way of St. James may be walked.  Although there are certain towns in France and Spain which are traditional places for a pilgrim to begin their journey, the only true requirement for the Way is to travel more than a certain minimum distance and to end up at the Shrine.  This is a sort of unification effect, leaving the Way available to all who wish to walk it and reducing the differences between them, giving them a common status as pilgrims.  The scallop shell also stands for the individual pilgrims themselves, according to the the following reasoning: "As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guided the pilgrims to Santiago."

Saint James in Pilgrim garb.

This image depicts Saint James wearing the traditional outfit of a pilgrim on the Way of Saint James, an amusing little bit of metatextuality. The staff, the hat, and the scallop shell sewn into the lining of the cloak are exactly what the average pilgrim would equip themselves before making their journey.  This perfectly illustrates one of the most important psychological factors behind the Way. James' status as a saint made him one of the primary role models of the Catholic faith, a person after whom to model one's behavior.  By coming into physical proximity with his remains the pilgrims are attempting to gain a greater spiritual connection with him

Saint James the Moor-slayer

Oddly enough, considering that most of the miracles concerning him were miraculous healings, Saint James has a very significant military aspect to him, which lead to the founding of the Order of Santiago during the time in which Spain was invaded by the Moors (the word for Muslim at the time).  The picture above depicts him in that capacity as "Saint James the Moor-slayer."  According to legend St. James appeared on horseback to assist at the battle which finally saw the Moors defeated and driven out of Spain.  This gives him a sort of protective aspect in addition to his position as a missionary and a martyr.

The Cross of Saint James.

The cross of Saint James is another of his symbols.  Just as the scallop represents his pious and holy nature, as relating to the pilgrimage to see his remains, the cross stands for his more war-like qualities.  The exact construction of this emblem has a fair amount of symbolic significance to it.  The white background signifies purity and the red stands the blood of Christ.  The most important part however, is the shape.  The elongated lower prong coming to a point is evocative of a sword-blade, making this cross a warrior's symbol.  This stemmed from the fact that the Galician kings (whose banner it was) believed that Saint James was providing them with literal protection from Moorish invasion.  By riding under his banner they believed that they could maintain that protection over them.

the meaning of the cross

The Codex Calixtinus.

This picture is the cover of a book called the Codex Calixtinus, a work which compiles advice for pilgrims following the Way, in the form of sermons, descriptions of the route, descriptions of miracles, and the customs of the local people along the way.  What is interesting about this work is that the very manuscript itself is rumored to posses miraculous properties (in its original form at least).  Compiled by a man a man claiming to be Pope Callixtus II, it is reported to have survived fire and drowning as notes relating to the good deeds of St. James were gathered together.

The Way served another purpose beyond just providing the faithful with spiritual growth.  It also served as one of the mechanisms by which someone who had sinned or transgressed could cleanse their soul of that stain.  Thus there was a period of time during which the Church would allow convicted criminals to escape temporal punishment by making them walk the Way (with company to ensure compliance) making confessions along the way and at the end.  This is an extension of the christian idea that any sin or wrong doing can be forgiven if the transgressor confesses their crime and honestly begs for absolution from god.  This is an interesting idea, since it means that no matter how far out of the community a Christian's actions have taken them, they can be reabsorbed so long as they repent.  This particular belief is vital to the faith, since one of the other main foundation points is that everyone automatically starts out stained by original sin.  Their spiritual beliefs influenced their legal system.