The history of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela stretches back more than years to the discovery of the body of St. James during the reign of King Alfonso II James was already believed to have been the great evangelist of Spain and for many hundreds of years there had been a scholarly and literary tradition supporting this belief.
The discovery of the relics of St. James then became a focal point for pilgrims. The first Cathedral was built over the site of the tomb, and gradually houses were established, for example by monks from Cluny in Burgundy and from Aurillac in Cantal, France, along the developing pilgrimage route.
The 12th and 13th centuries are considered to have been the golden age of the pilgrimage to Santiago. While many roads led to Santiago from all over Europe, the most traveled became the French Road, which passes over the Pyrenees Mountains before entering Galicia.
The Way of St. James was difficult, but for many pilgrims it offered a much easier trip than the journey to Jerusalem or Rome. Monuments, churches, monasteries, towns, and cities grew up along the network of roads leading to Santiago, and the city itself benefited greatly from the spiritual, economic and cultural growth stimulated by the millions of pilgrims.
James became the first great thoroughfare of Christian Europe, a meeting place for people from a wide variety of backgrounds and nations. On the road pilgrims from many countries mingled, from Amsterdam and Gdansk to Lisbon and Zagreb.
For many centuries, the pilgrimage drew both the wealthy and the poor. A pilgrimage was seen as an enactment of the spiritual journey to Christ, and the hardships along the way were welcomed as tests of faith. As the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela grew in popularity, so did the legends and lore associated with it. The scallop shell became the symbol of the pilgrimage, in part because the shells were common along the Atlantic beaches just west of Santiago.
Travelers would wear a scallop shell to proclaim their status as pilgrims, and the motif was incorporated into many of the buildings, wells, churches, and monuments along the route. Please enable JavaScript on your browser to best view this site. The Camino de Santiago the Way of St. James is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe and coming together at the tomb of St.
Yearly, hundreds of thousands of people of various backgrounds walk the Camino de Santiago either on their own or in organized groups. People who want to have peace of mind will benefit from an organized tour or a self-guided tour while many will opt to plan the camino on their own.
0コメント