Who knew?

It wasn’t until three people, in one day, 

asked me what the Camino IS, 

that I realized many of my friends 

had no idea about this ancient pilgrimage route.

Hey, most of my friends aren’t Catholic, 

many are not even particularly religious… 

if they thought my pilgrimage to Scotland was quaint, 

for most of them, 

this quest is just flat out bizarre. 

You know how you can become so focused on something, 

so immersed in the details of a project that consumes your life, 

you figure everyone else shares your obsession 

and knows what you know? 

Well then, you would be just as wrong as I was! 

So here is a brief explanation, 
using what I’ve distilled from countless books, websites and articles. 

For all you history or religious buffs, 

it’s NOT meant to be an inclusive account covering all aspects of Camino history. 

There are whole volumes written about that; 

this is just meant for friends who are wondering a basic 

what and WHY. 

The Camino de Santiago – The Way of St James – 

is comprised of a number of pilgrimage routes across Europe, 

all leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. 

 In Spanish, Sant means Saint and Iago means James – hence Santiago. 

I’ll be walking on the Camino Frances. 

According to legend, Jesus’s apostle, James 

(of ‘put down your nets and follow me’ and ‘become fishers of men’ fame) 

went to the Iberian Peninsula following Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Apparently, all the Apostles drew straws when they were dividing up the known world 

into mission fields – 

and James got the short one!  

He was there evangelizing for 5 years. 

Either he wasn’t too persuasive or his heart wasn’t in it 

because he got only 9 converts in that whole time. 

He returned to Jerusalem in 44 AD and was promptly beheaded by Herod. 

I’m trying not to take it as an object lesson 

in what happens when you feel you’ve reached the end of a ministry 

and make plans to move on.

To avoid the desecration of his body by enemies, 

his followers, few but committed, 

carried his body to the coast and put it into a stone boat.

The boat was guided by angels and carried by the wind 

past “the Pillars of Hercules” 

(the Strait of Gibraltar) 

and landed in Finisterre 

in Northern Spain. 

There, a local Queen, Lupa, provided oxen to bring the remains inland.

He was buried in a marble tomb – and promptly forgotten about - 

for centuries. 

In the 9^th century, a hermit living in that part of Galicia, 

had a dream in which he saw a field of stars. 

The stars led him to the ancient tomb. 

When he woke up, he followed the stars of his dreams 

and St James’ remains were re-discovered. 

The hermit, Pelagius, promptly reported his finding 

to his Bishop (Theodomir) and the King of Asturia.

The Bishop and King (Alphonso II) must have had experience in marketing or PR 

(or dreams of their own - “build it and they will come”) 

because a small village 

named Campus de la Stella (Field of Stars) 

and a monastery 

were established – and publicized.

Pilgrims started arriving to pay honor to the Saints remains; 

stories of miracles resulting from prayers to him started being circulated. 

And more pilgrims came...

The discovery of relics came at a fortuitous time in the region’s political history. 

Moors (Muslims) had conquered the area and made it their stronghold.

 Rumor had it they had been aided in their victory 

by carrying a piece of the arm bone of Muhammad.

The discovery of bones of St James, 

at just that moment then, 

provided just the talisman the Spaniards needed. 

In fact,
(well, if ANY of it is 'fact'), 

Alfonso's nephew, Ramiro I, who succeeded him as King 

had a dream the night before the Battle of Clavijo 

in which St James told him that 

God had chosen him (James) as the protector for the Spanish kingdoms.

According to legend, Saint James appeared during that battle
as a warrior 

on his white horse with a white banner 

to help Christian armies of king Ramiro I of Asturias 

in their battle against the Moors. 

The Christians marched to the cry of "¡Dios ayuda a Santiago!" 

(God save St. James!). 

Together, the Army, with St James,

slew more than 5,000 Moors, 

forcing the survivors back into Africa 

and James became known as "Matamoros" 

(The Moorslayer)

To this day he is Spain's patron saint.

Clerics and political rulers alike were delighted, 

not only in Spain and France,
but across Europe as well.

Regional governments actively supported a pilgrimage route
to honor St James as a way

to deepen ties within the Christian faith and extend their own influence. 

The route continued to grow in popularity,

reaching its peak in the Middle Ages

when it was widely recognized as a major 

religious, political and cultural route.

 A massive infrastructure was established to support pilgrims,

including bridges, towns, commercial businesses, 

hospitals and rural churches – 

many of which still form the backbone of the pilgrimage today.

Brigands and robbers were so commonly found along the road 

that the Knights Templar was formed to protect the pilgrims 

as they made their way West. 

As an added bonus,
the Catholic church offered indulgences to pilgrims
and, 

for those lucky enough to make it to the Cathedral in Santiago,

they were given the medieval equivalent of a

 get out of hell free card and
all their sins were forgiven.

Fascinating stuff, right?