The Actual History of the Pilgrimage

            For centuries, people have made pilgrimages from one location to another in search of religious freedom; a brand new life; or to simply escape the persecution they were subjected to. Some even venture for the potential profit! This noble trip to the founding of an organized group or to the gravesite of an individual signifies the impact it has had among people for hundreds of years. For them, the trip is in the hope of an earthly or a spiritual award, or even to fulfill a promise. The Road to Saint James of Compostela is one such route; Christians from all over the world visit the magical northwestern Spanish city to pay respects to the apostle who may have preached in Spain during his lifetime.     

            More often than not, pilgrimages are the result of the following:  big dreams of being free; following feelings and intuition; a burning desire to freely practice the religion of choice without risking persecution experiencing hypocrisy; and the favorite money-making venture. In the case of St. James, he “suddenly offered the potent encouragement of his bones to sustain the courage of Christians fighting on the battle-front against Islam” (Kendrick 13). By sacrificing his physical bones – after death, he does something special to cause the early movement westward. Inquiries about his journey surfaced only in the eighth century have nothing better than his burial in northern Africa instead. In fact, St. Julian of Toledo knew nothing of the man other than he had written an epistle and preached to the Jews in Jerusalem.

            Another reason in going was to view the church where the saint’s immobile bones lay is because his two disciples were also found there…supposedly. As a result of the found bones, churches have been built upon his final resting place to not only preserve the memory, but also to advance the Christian faith. This was established in a time when pilgrimages were not safe since the roads were occupied for state use and because of the criminal element that existed. Visitors were then grounded in the most upright fashion possible and were at once sent out to go and spread the teachings of the deceased saint to all they encountered.

            However, not all motives were pure; someone had to make some money, and what better way to do it than with the relics? Even if they were only in it for some quick cash, these vendors became a part of history with their deeds. Good food and drink as well as a trinket from Compostela were some of the benefits included in going on the pilgrimage. Quite similarly, England had set up a colony in what is modern-day Virginia simply to gain a profit and run somewhat of a satellite colony. Many perils of the way to Compostela were due to the terrain itself and unfriendly nature. In the high mountains it was sometimes necessary to keep the monasteries’ and hospices’ bells ringing so the weary pilgrims had a place to stay at night, through flood and drought. The roads were for the most part rutted tracks unless a benefactor had laid foundations and provided drainage ditches.

            But the "miraculous arrival" of the corpse of the Apostle Saint James is the origin of the pilgrimage we know today. Beheaded in Palestine in the year 42 A.D., he finally arrives in Galicia. The legend says that his disciples stole their master's corpse and put it on board a ship without a crew, or better, with a crew of Angels. And seven days after their departure they landed at the mouth of the River Ulla in Galicia. Once there, the disciples had serious problems burying their Master caused by Queen Lupa and especially by King Duyo a confessed enemy of Christianity.

            In conclusion, the pilgrimages vary for one reason or another: to find a spiritual purpose for being on the earth, to make a profit from those who were traveling in that direction, and to escape persecution. Unfortunately, once the pilgrims became accustomed to their ways of life, others were subjected to even more isolation and as a result, the same pilgrims became worse than their tormentors. St. James of Compostela was among the earlier pilgrimages to spread Christianity throughout Europe and remains to this day one of the most important ones in the world today.

Works Cited

Hell, Vera and Helmut. The Great Pilgrimage of the Middle Ages. The Road to St. James of Compostela.

            New York:  Clarkson N. Potter, Inc, 1966. 13-29.

Xacobeo. http://www.xacobeo.es

Rod Mayer. http://www.rodmayer.com