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{{Short description|Pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, Spain}}
{{For|the documentary|El camino de Santiago (film){{!}}''El camino de Santiago'' (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox historic site
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The Way of St. James was one of the most important [[Christian pilgrimage]]s during the later [[Middle Ages]], and a pilgrimage route on which a [[plenary indulgence]] could be earned;<ref>{{CathEncy|title =Indulgences|first= William H.|last= Kent|wstitle=Indulgences}} This entry on indulgences suggests that the evolution of the doctrine came to include a pilgrimage to shrines as a trend that developed from the 8th century A.D.: "Among other forms of commutation were pilgrimages to well-known shrines such as that at [[St. Albans]] in [[England]] or at Compostela in Spain. But the most important place of pilgrimage was Rome. According to [[Bede]] (674–735) the ''visitatio liminum'', or visit to the tomb of the Apostles, was even then regarded as a good work of great efficacy (Hist. Eccl., IV, 23). At first the pilgrims came simply to venerate the relics of the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]] and [[Christian martyrs|martyrs]], but in course of time their chief purpose was to gain the indulgences granted by the pope and attached especially to the [[Stations of the Cross|Stations]]."</ref> other major pilgrimage routes include the [[Via Francigena]] to [[Rome]] and the pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]]. Legend holds that [[James, son of Zebedee|St James]]'s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain, where he was buried in what is now the city of [[Santiago de Compostela]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Santiago de Compostela {{!}} Spain |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Santiago-de-Compostela |access-date=16 February 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> (according to Spanish legends, Saint James had spent time preaching the gospel in Spain, but returned to Judaea upon seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary on the bank of the [[Ebro River]]).<ref name="chadwick">{{Citation |last=Chadwick |first=Henry |title=Priscillian of Avila |year=1976 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name="Fletcher">{{Citation |last=Fletcher |first=Richard A. |title=Saint James's Catapult : The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela |url=http://libro.uca.edu/sjc/sjc.htm |year=1984 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>
Pilgrims on the Way can take one of dozens of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James begins at one's home and ends at the pilgrimage site. However, a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the [[Middle Ages]], the route was highly travelled. However, the [[Black Death]], the [[Protestant Reformation]], and political unrest in 16th century Europe led to its decline.
Whenever St James's [[Feast Day|Day]] (25 July) falls on a [[Sunday]], the cathedral declares a Holy or [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee]] Year. Depending on leap years, Holy Years occur in 5-, 6-, and 11-year intervals. The most recent were 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010 and 2021. The next will be 2027, and 2032.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Years at Santiago de Compostela |url=http://www.csj.org.uk/holy-years.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916050419/http://www.csj.org.uk/holy-years.htm |archive-date=16 September 2014 |access-date=6 March 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
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=== Pre-Christian history ===
[[File:Hospital de Órbigo (496110133).jpg|thumb|Roman bridge with 19 arches over the river [[Órbigo]]. The bridge has been integrated into the modern Camino Francés.]]
The main pilgrimage route to Santiago follows an earlier Roman trade route, which continues to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], ending at [[Cape Finisterre]]. Although it is known today that Cape Finisterre, Spain's westernmost point, is not the westernmost point of Europe ([[Cabo da Roca]] in [[Portugal]] is
=== Scallop symbol ===
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The [[scallop]] shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on a variety of meanings, metaphorical, practical, and mythical, even if its relevance may have actually derived from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir.
One myth says that after James's death, his body was transported by a ship piloted by an angel, back to the [[Iberian Peninsula]] to be buried in what is now
From its connection to the Camino, the scallop shell came to represent pilgrimage, both to a specific shrine as well as to heaven, recalling Hebrews 11:13, identifying that Christians "are pilgrims and strangers on the earth".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kosloski |first=Philip |date=25 July 2017 |title=How the scallop shell became a symbol of pilgrimage |url=https://aleteia.org/2017/07/25/how-the-scallop-shell-became-a-symbol-of-pilgrimage/}}</ref> The scallop shell symbol is used as a waymarker on the Camino, and is commonly seen on pilgrims themselves, who are thereby identified as pilgrims. During the medieval period, the shell was more a proof of completion than a symbol worn during the pilgrimage. [[pilgrim's staff|The pilgrim's staff]] is a walking stick used by some pilgrims on the way to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.<ref name="navarra">"{{Cite web |title=Pilgrim's Way to Santiago: Curiosities |url=http://www.turismo.navarra.es/eng/propuestas/camino-santiago/informacion-general-camino/curiosidades-camino.htm |website=Navarre Tourist Board}}</ref> Generally, the stick has a hook so that something may be hung from it; it may have a crosspiece.<ref>Pilgrim's or Palmer's Staff {{lang-fr|bourdon}}: this was used as a device in a coat of arms as early at least as Edward II's reign, as will be seen. The Staff and the Escallop shell were the badge of the pilgrim, and hence it is but natural it should find its way into the shields of those who had visited the Holy Land.</ref> The usual form of representation is with a hook,<ref>{{Cite web |title=figure 1 |url=http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/images/m460b.gif |website=heraldsnet.org}}</ref> but in some the hook is absent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=figure 2 |url=http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/images/m460b.gif |website=heraldsnet.org}}</ref> The pilgrim's staff is represented under different forms and is referred to using different names, e.g. a pilgrim's crutch, a crutch-staff. The crutch, perhaps, should be represented with the transverse piece on the top of the staff (like the letter "T") instead of across it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=J |url=http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglossj.htm |website=A GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN HERALDRY}}</ref>
===Medieval route history ===
[[File:Marker Camino de Santiago.jpg|thumb|Marker of the Camino near the entrance to the [[Taboada Bridge]], a X-Century bridge located in the [[Silleda|Silleda Council]] of [[Province of Pontevedra|Pontevedra Province]] in [[Spain]]. The bridge is still used today by the pilgrims on their way to Santiago using the Silver Way (
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The daily needs of pilgrims on their way to and from Compostela were met by a series of [[hospital]]s. Indeed, these institutions contributed to the development of the modern concept of
</ref>
[[Romanesque architecture]], a new genre of ecclesiastical architecture, was designed with massive archways to cope with huge crowds of the devout.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Romanesque Architecture - Durham World Heritage Site |url=https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/architecture/romanesque |website=www.durhamworldheritagesite.com}}</ref>
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The Church employed (and employs) rituals (the sacrament of confession) that can lead to the imposition by a priest of [[penance]], through which the sinner atones for his or her sins. Pilgrimages were deemed to be a suitable form of expiation for sin and long pilgrimages would be imposed as penance for very serious sins. As noted in the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'':
{{blockquote|In the registers of the Inquisition at Carcassone ... we find the four following places noted as being the centres of the greater pilgrimages to be imposed as penances for the graver crimes: the tomb of the Apostles at Rome, the shrine of St. James at Compostella [sic], St. Thomas' body at Canterbury, and the relics of the Three Kings at Cologne.}}
Pilgrimages could also be imposed as judicial punishment for crime, a practice that is still occasionally used today. For example, a tradition in [[Flanders]] persists of pardoning and releasing one prisoner every year<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huellas españolas en Flandes |url=http://www.flandes.net/ideas_para_visitar_flandes/huellas_espanolas_en_flandes/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401205847/http://www.flandes.net/ideas_para_visitar_flandes/huellas_espanolas_en_flandes/ |archive-date=1 April 2012 |publisher=Turismo de Bélgica}}</ref> under the condition that, accompanied by a guard, the prisoner walks to Santiago wearing a heavy backpack.
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*The pilgrimage is central to the plot of the film ''[[The Milky Way (1969 film)|The Milky Way]]'' (1969), directed by [[surrealist]] [[Luis Buñuel]]. It is intended to critique the Catholic church, as the modern pilgrims encounter various manifestations of Catholic dogma and heresy.
*In Part Four of the novel ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'' (1989), one of the main characters, Aliena, travels the Camino in search of her lost love, Jack, who is also the father to her child. She travels the route from England through France (specifically [[Tours]] and [[Basilica of St Denis|Saint Denis]]) and Spain, eventually
*''[[The Naked Pilgrim]]'' (2003) documents the journey of art critic and journalist [[Brian Sewell]] to Santiago de Compostela for the UK's Channel Five. Travelling by car along the French route, he visited many towns and cities on the way including Paris, [[Chartres]], [[Roncesvalles]], [[Burgos]], [[León, Spain|León]] and [[Frómista]]. Sewell, a lapsed Catholic, was moved by the stories of other pilgrims and by the sights he saw. The series climaxed with Sewell's emotional response to the Mass at Compostela.
*The Way of St. James was the central feature of the film ''Saint Jacques... La Mecque'' (2005) directed by [[Coline Serreau]].
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* [[Cross of Saint James]]
* [[Dominic de la Calzada]]
* [[Grand Tour]]
* [[Hajj]]
* [[Holy door (Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela)|
* [[Japan 100 Kannon Pilgrimage]]
* [[Jeju Olle Trail]]
* [[Kumano Kodo]]
* [[List of Christian pilgrimage sites]]
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[[Category:Cultural landscapes]]
[[Category:European Cultural Routes]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Hiking trails in Europe]]
[[Category:Pilgrimage routes]]
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