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The
Route to Santiago in History
At a time when Europe needed to
be united, the Route to Santiago was the first element that
made it possible. The find of the sepulchre of the first Apostle
Martyr became an unquestionable symbol, compatible with the
diverse conceptions of the christian peoples. |
Conscious of the importance of having the relics of Santiago
el Mayor, the Spanish Monarchies contributed significantly
to the success of the holy route. In those times the Peninsula
had a growing need for money and soldiers to fight against
the Moorish.
The kings of Aragon, Navarre and Castile made a great effort
to attract to their possessions powerful rich people, and
to that end, employed all possible means: interchange of presents,
arranged marriages and the announcements of the favours dispensed
by the Apostle. |
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An
Extraordinary Find
The history of the Route to Santiago
dates back to the beginning of the 9C, when the sepulchre
of Santiago el Mayor (James the Greater), evangelist in Spain,
was discovered. The facts concerning this find have been embellished
by people´s imagination, without distorting reality,
so that they become more poetic.
One of these legends is the one that locates the extraordinary
event in the former diocese of Iria Flavia, when the hermit
Pelayo had a "divine revelation" in the deep of the forest.
He sees "altar lights" and hears "angels singing". |
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The
Routes to Santiago de Compostela
Most pilgrims who arrived at Santiago
followed the "French route", but there are other six historic
routes. The French route is the most travelled by and promoted.
It enters Spain through Roncesvalles and Sompot, in the Pyrenees
and crosses the autonomous communities of Aragón, Navarra,
La Rioja, Castilla, León and Galicia. The second more widely
known itinerary is the "Northern Route". From Irún, it crosses
Euskadi, Cantabria and Asturias before entering Galicia through
Ribadeo, on the coast, and through A Fonsagrada, in the interior.
Until the 10 C it was the most travelled by. |
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James
the Greater
The Apostle James (Santiago) the Greater, as he was called
by christian tradition, was one of the sons of Zebedeo and
Salome; his brother was John the evangelist, also Apostle.
He was invited by Jesus "beside his brother and immediately
after Peter and Andrew- to become fisherman of men". He was
one of the apostles that had a close and intimate relationship
with the son of God. |
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The Pilgrims
Along the routes to Santiago have walked
people of all stamps and conditions: honest pilgrims, convicts,
minstrels, beggars, adventurers,tramps, fugitives from justice,
bandids...
The religious people made the pilgrimage urged by their unrestrained
need to visit the tomb of the Apostle and to begin a personal
relationship with him. |
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The Romanesque Art along the Route to
Santiago
The development of the Romanesque art,
the first international style in the Middle Ages, took place
after the consolidation of the Route, in the 11 and 12 C.
The cultural interchanges derived from the pilgrimage caused
the extension of this artistic movement, with its local variants,
all over Europe. The Route to Santiago brought about many
changes in the Medieval society that also contributed to the
extension of the Romanesque: the strengthening of European
kingdoms, the increase of the population, and the extension
of trade |
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History of the Route to
Santiago in Navarre
Navarre has been a fundamental region
over the history of the Route to Santiago, one of the most
important religious-cultural phenomena in the Middle ages.
In Navarre several itineraries joined together, and starts
the French Route by Roncesvalles. Other itineraries include
the Somport, Barranca, Baztán, from Monleón to Roncal and
Lumbier, the Ribera, Val de Aibar and the Valdorba routes.
On Navarrese lands converged the French and the Aragonese
Routes (along with the fourth french route, that crossed Somport).
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The
Castles along the Route
Castles are the most characteristic symbols
of the Middle Ages in Spain. Between the years 722 and 1422
the Iberian landscape was filled with these magnificent stone
constructions that stood majestically on strategic sites.
Its number increased spectacularly thanks to the economic
expansion and the reconquest of territories that had been
under the control of the Arabs for centuries. This favourable
socio-economic situation was partly due to the Route. |
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