Walter Finch
SANTIAGO de Compostela was once the most important destination in the Christian world, rivalling even Rome and Jerusalem for sheer pulling power.
By the late 15th century, the city had become what medieval studies professor Anthony Bale calls ‘the capital of European travelers’ – a remarkable claim for a place at what was then considered near the edge of the known world.
Today, the Camino de Santiago attracts hundreds of thousands of walkers annually, making it one of Europe’s most popular long-distance trails.
Modern pilgrims swap wax tablets for smartphones and medieval inns for albergues, but they’re following the same routes that once made this Galician city the most important destination in Christendom.
Santiago housed the remains of Saint James the Apostle, making it one of Christianity’s three holiest pilgrimage sites.
But unlike its Mediterranean and Middle Eastern counterparts, the Galician city offered something neither Rome nor Jerusalem could guarantee: safety.
“The Spanish city had more glamour, more security, and a well-organised system of inns,” explains Bale, who teaches at Birkbeck College in London and has just published ‘Travel Guide to the Middle Ages’.
“Visiting the Near East was very dangerous, so pilgrims from all over the continent travelled to Santiago instead,” ABC reported.
Millions undertook journeys of thousands of miles, often spending months on the road.
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These weren’t cultural tours – most travelled for what they called ‘spiritual health’, seeking peace with God or hoping saints might cure their ailments.
Take Margery Kempe, a 14th-century Englishwoman who left her 14 children at home to visit all three holy cities.
Chronicles record she wept constantly ‘for her sins and, sometimes, for the sins of others’ throughout her journey.
Her favourite souvenir – a ring bearing a declaration of love for Jesus – was stolen along the way.
Or consider Adalbrecht, a Prussian gunsmith who sold everything in 1384 to begin a nine-week pilgrimage from Gdansk to Aachen as penance for beating his wife.
His spouse Dorothea came along, convinced the journey would earn God’s favour. They were robbed in Brandenburg, with the woman left in nothing but a very short skirt.
Medieval travellers had guidebooks offering practical advice on everything from which relics to visit in La Coruna to where mosquitoes lurked.
The ‘Codex Calixtinus’ warned pilgrims never to reveal their itinerary ‘to prevent certain men from getting ahead and ambushing innocent and unsuspecting travelers.’
Santiago developed what Bale describes as a ‘colossal travel industry’ based on accommodation and souvenirs.
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The mythical conch shell became the city’s calling card – proof pilgrims had completed their journey. Badges and emblems were hot sellers too, some featuring surprisingly risque imagery that medieval pilgrims apparently considered a blessing.
What’s perhaps most striking is how little has changed. Despite centuries of technological advancement, Bale argues medieval motivations mirror our own.
“As much as they loved to travel, they all ended up yearning for home and yearning to return,” he says. “It’s something that’s inherent to being human.”
Not bad for a place the ancient Romans called Finisterre – the end of the earth.
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