Abstract
This chapter presents a geographical analysis of the Way of Saint James in several venues. Its contemporary dimension is favored, providing the basic keys to understanding the changes discussed, but certainly a focus is on the past. We begin with a theoretical review of the peregrination issue from a geographic perspective. Next a geopolitical interpretation of the rise and development of the Jacobean phenomenon in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period is proposed. We then turn to explain the contemporary revival of the Way of Saint James, conveyed through various geographical scales that have discursively used it. Five intersecting scales are: Spain as a nation-state construction; Galicia as national construction; devolved regions and nationalities that attained autonomy within the framework of a decentralized political system in Spain since the late 1970s; local governments; and the European Union. The next section deals with the contemporary spatial production of the Way. The final section is devoted to the interaction between landscape and the Way of Saint James, highlighting the critical contribution of books that give a prejudicial perspective to walkers/pilgrims before they experience the Camino. The conclusion systematizes the binomial tourism/pilgrimage nexus in the current Jacobean phenomenon and shows the enormous explanatory power of geography to address the Way of Saint James in its many contemporary facets.
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Notes
- 1.
The Way of Saint James is internationally known by its Spanish name, Camino. We will use both terms interchangeably.
- 2.
“Jacobean” is the adjective for the Apostle James. In Galician the word Xacobeo is widely used, as in Spanish Jacobeo, to refer to all the culture dimensions related with the Apostle James, the City of Santiago and the Way of Saint James. “Jacobean” will be used in this sense in this contribution.
- 3.
An advertisement appeared in the March 2012 issue of the journal WEA Course Guide, published in Adelaide (South Australia). The advert says that the Camino de Santiago leads to “the final resting place of Saint John the Elder” and defines the experience as a “cultural exchange.”
- 4.
- 5.
Historiography prefers the Latin term inventio, which literally means “discovery.” However, there is a current agreement that the term means a real “invention” in this particular case.
- 6.
In contemporary Spanish historiography, Alfonso II is considered “King,” but possibly he was a modest feudal Lord. See López Carreira (2005) for a critical review of de Alfonso II’s “reign.”
- 7.
The transfer has also to do with a practical circumstance: the risks and attacks coming from the sea, due to the coastal setting of Iria Flavia.
- 8.
The Codex Calixtinus (popular name for Liber Sancti Iacobi, dated from the mid twelfth century) and medieval Galician texts such as Miragres de Santiago (dated from the fifteenth century). The Codex Calixtinus is a fundamental text in peregrination to Santiago history and the foresight of a canon on the peregrination tradition, not only in the Middle Ages, but also at present.
- 9.
We can cite, for example, a book that reflects in its very own title the deep ideological content: The Kingdom of Asturias. Origins of the Spanish Nation (Sánchez Albornoz 1979), which contains “the dominant thesis” in Spanish historiography that the northwest peninsular quickly constituted a uniform kingdom that was able to repel the Muslim power, formed around Asturias-León, which, centuries later, would become Spain. It must be said that this simple literal interpretation continues to be quite preached still today in Spain.
- 10.
In the state of Bahia (Brazil) one finds the Caminho de Santiago do Iguape and the Caminho de Santiago do Piripiri, the first from Cachoeira and the second from Vitória da Conquista. These ways are used by Brazilian pilgrims before going to the Camino de Santiago in Europe or, after doing it, by veteran pilgrims. They are also increasingly being used by people who have no connection with the European Camino.
- 11.
In historiography this is considered the second inventio. Villares (2003) examines the archaeological excavations carried out at those times and points out that the remains have never been scientifically analyzed.
- 12.
In the Jacobean tradition, Holy Years (the Jubilees or years of remission of sins and plenary indulgence) are declared when Saint James Day (25th of July) falls on a Sunday. Holy Years fall every 6, 5, 6, and 11 years.
- 13.
Act 3/1996 for the Protection of the Ways of Saint James.
- 14.
Created in 1992, the Consortium is public administration that includes participation of the Spanish Government (60 %), the Galician Government (35 %) and the Municipality of Santiago de Compostela (5 %). The Consortium proposes, promotes and safeguards, financially and technically as parts of its goals various initiatives and projects for the City of Santiago de Compostela.
- 15.
Official figures for the number of pilgrims as declared by the Catholic Church. See www.peregrinossantiago.es/ (Accessed 30 Apr 2012) and footnote 25.
- 16.
The Jacobean Council essentially is responsible for carrying out programs and performances related to the Camino de Santiago, especially Holy Year celebrations.
- 17.
In Spain, local authorities did not have any real independent decision-making power until the Constitution of 1978. The first democratic elections were in 1979.
- 18.
The establishment of the capital was the first Act passed by the Galician Parliament (Act 1/1982 establishing the institutions’ seat). However, it cannot be considered a closed case, in the way that there always remains public and political debate on this question. In fact, the capital statute for Santiago was agreed two decades after the city was selected as the capital (Act 4/2002 of the statute of the capital of the City of Santiago de Compostela). These developments show the continuing debate of this theme.
- 19.
It is noteworthy that Jacobean routes are signposted using these same colors in countries such as Brazil.
- 20.
This hill is renowned for being the place where pilgrims on the Way of Saint James get their first views of their destination: the Cathedral of Santiago. Gozo means “enjoyment” in Galician.
- 21.
See also the “seven criteria” for a landscape to be considered, according to Berque (2008).
- 22.
- 23.
Edited abstract of the book published in a Qantas passenger magazine in December 2010, pp. 200–206.
- 24.
Additional Provision of Act 3/1996 (cited in footnote 13) required the Galician Government in 2 years to pass this Special Plan. It has been 14 years since the legal deadline.
- 25.
In this sense, it should be noted that data supplied by CETUR (2007–2010) are appropriate. Data provided by the Catholic Church, which are often used in Jacobean research (in this work this has been done, see footnote 15), cannot be considered strictly statistics as they only count people who have received the religious certification (so-called Compostella). This certification represents an underestimation of the flow, because the “pilgrims” must compulsory declare doing the Way for religion reasons in order to receive certification, which many times people only casually fill out.
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Lois-González, R.C., Paül, V., Pazos-Otón, M., Santos, X.M. (2015). The Way of Saint James: A Contemporary Geographical Analysis. In: Brunn, S. (eds) The Changing World Religion Map. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9376-6_35
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