Pilgrims on the Route to Santiago De Compostela, Spain: Evidence from the 12Th-Century Pilgrim’S Guide

1 The Experience of Medieval Pilgrims on the Route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Evidence from the 12th-century Pilgrim’s Guide

Tessa Garton* College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA

The dramatic rise in popularity of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the 11th and 12th centuries is reflected in the 12th-century Pilgrim’s Guide, which provides information about shrines to visit and the experiences of pilgrims along the four main routes through France and northern Spain – routes which are used by pilgrims to this day. This chapter examines the information provided in the Pilgrim’s Guide with an emphasis on the physical, visual and spiritual experiences of pilgrims along the route. The Guide describes the characteristics of the lands, peoples, local customs and food and drink experienced on the journey, as well as the miraculous qualities of saints whose shrines should be visited on the way, and in some cases the visual imagery of their shrines. Scholars have tended to emphasize the typical ‘pilgrimage church’ plan exemplified by the churches at Santiago, Toulouse or Conques, but a study of both the guide and the surviving churches reveals a rich variety of architectural forms and imagery that would have been experienced by 12th-century pilgrims along the pilgrimage routes. Each shrine emphasized the validity and significance of its relics, and the arrangement of the sacred space and visual imagery was frequently designed to demonstrate the miraculous powers or qualities of the local saint, as well as to encourage, warn and influence the behaviour and beliefs of devotees visiting the shrine. Methods of communication about the experiences of pilgrims have changed in recent times, as well as the religious emphasis; modern pilgrims have easy access to information about the journey and place less emphasis on the power of holy relics and more on the inner spiritual experience, but many aspects of walking the Camino remain the same.

The 12th-century Pilgrim’s Guide the Camino to Santiago de Compostela has taken place against a dramatic increase in Insights into the experience of individual pil- access to, and exchange of, information about grims in the modern world are often provided the experiences of pilgrims. Through online by pilgrim narratives, such as the multiple sto- media as well as written records, modern pil- ries of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, or grims can communicate with a wide network Richard Burton’s account of his Hajj, analysed of other pilgrims and can disseminate their sto- by Suzanne van der Beek (Chapter 4, this vol- ries and experiences to a large audience. In ume) and Aateka Khan (Chapter 6, this volume), contrast, 12th-century pilgrims to Santiago de respectively. The recent revival of interest in Compostela would generally have learned of

* Address for correspondence: [email protected]

the experiences of others, and disseminated The Routes, Lands and Peoples their own, by word of mouth, and they have left along the Way no personal written records. It is therefore much more difficult to access their individual The Guide provides practical information about experiences. We can, however, gain some in- the routes travelled by pilgrims, opening with a sights through a remarkable 12th-century description of four possible routes: manuscript, the Pilgrim’s Guide, which forms part of a collection of texts in the Codex Callixti- which, leading to Santiago, converge into one nus and which describes the routes and shrines near Puente la Reina, in Spanish territory. One to be visited along the Way of St James through goes through St Gilles, Montpellier, Toulouse, and the Somport; another passes through Notre France and Spain. Dame of Le Puy and Ste-Foy at Conques and The Codex was probably written and com- St-Pierre at Moissac; another proceeds through piled around 1140 by three authors, the primary Ste-Marie-Madeleine of Vézelay, St-Leonard of one being a French cleric, possibly Aymeric Pi- the Limousin and the city of Périgueux; another caud. It provides an anthology of information for goes from St-Martin of Tours to St-Hilaire of pilgrims, including sermons, miracles, liturgical Poitiers, St-Jean d’Angély, St-Eutrope of Saintes texts, musical pieces, descriptions of the route, and the city of Bordeaux. sites to visit along the way and local customs. The (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 65) final section, the Pilgrim’s Guide, provides infor- Since all had to travel initially from home, either mation and advice for pilgrims (Shaver-Crandell on foot or horseback or by boat, there was a and Gerson, 1995; Gerson et al., 1998; Ashley much larger network of routes that would have and Deegan, 2009). Few 12th-century pilgrims been used to join the major routes, and which no would have had the opportunity to see, or the doubt allowed pilgrims to take in as many ability to read, a copy of the Pilgrim’s Guide, and shrines and pilgrimage destinations as possible it was not a resource to be consulted en route like on the way. Each of the routes described in the a modern-day guide. Only 12 manuscript copies Guide starts at a major shrine, and the text em- survive, and there can never have been a large phasizes the importance of visiting shrines number of copies available (Shaver-Crandell and along the way, describing the characteristics and Gerson, 1995, p. 24). The Guide might, however, miracles of the saints at each site. But the Guide have been read to pilgrims by a local priest before does not focus only on spiritual or religious ex- they set off. This is implied by the passage at the periences; but it also provides an account of the end of Chapter III: ‘If I have enumerated only physical and cultural experiences of the journey. briefly the said towns and stages along the way, it Chapter VII describes ‘The Names of the Lands is so that pilgrims setting out for Santiago can, and Characteristics of the Peoples on the Road to having heard this, anticipate the expenses neces- St James’, displaying prejudices and fears typical sitated by the journey’ (Shaver-Crandell and Ger- of travellers in strange and foreign lands. One of son, 1995, p. 28). Information about the pilgrim- the most pejorative descriptions is that of the age would no doubt have been disseminated to people of Navarre who, the Guide asserts: prospective pilgrims by the local priest and by former pilgrims as they prepared for their jour- are repulsively dressed, and they eat and drink ney, and a liturgical ceremony was developed in repulsively. For in fact all those who dwell in the the 11th century for departing pilgrims. The rit- household of a Navarrese, servant as well as ual involved the blessing of their staff and scrip, master, maid as well as mistress, are accustomed items which became the identifying character- to eat all their food mixed together from one pot, istics of a pilgrim (Ashley and Deegan, 2009, not with spoons but with their own hands, and p. 65). they drink with one cup. If you saw them eat, you By examining some of the descriptions of, would think them dogs or pigs. If you heard them speak, you would be reminded of the barking of and evaluating the advice to, pilgrims given in dogs. For their speech is utterly barbarous. . . . This the Codex Callixtinus, and by analysing some of is a barbarous race unlike all other races in the surviving monuments referred to in the customs and in character, full of malice, swarthy Guide, we can gain a greater understanding of in colour, evil of face, depraved, perverse, the experience of 12th-century pilgrims. perfidious, empty of faith and corrupt, libidinous, Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 3

drunken, experienced in all violence, ferocious It is worth reiterating that, although the and wild, dishonest and reprobate, impious and Guide’s author was an educated cleric, pilgrims harsh, cruel and contentious, unversed in came from all walks of life, and many of those anything good, well-trained in all vices and travelling on foot could not have been much more iniquities . . . in everything inimical to our French elegant in dress or eating habits than the descrip- people. For a mere nummus, a Navarrese or a tion of the people of Navarre. This may be illus- Basque will kill, if he can, a Frenchman. . . . In certain regions of their country . . . when the trated by a capital from the 12th-century chapel Navarrese are warming themselves, a man will of the pilgrim’s hostel in Navarrete (Navarre), show a woman and a woman a man their which depicts two seated pilgrims, wearing private parts. The Navarrese even practice hooded and belted tunics, one clearly identified unchaste fornication with animals. For the by his staff and scrip, the other holding a goblet Navarrese is said to hang a padlock behind his (Fig. 1.1). Both are eating ‘with their own mule and his mare, so that none may come near hands’ and appear to be drinking ‘with one cup’ her but himself. He even offers libidinous kisses in a manner not unlike the description of the to the vulva of woman and mule. Navarrese. A second capital depicts two figures (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 73) in their underwear, one grooming the hair of I have quoted this passage at some length as it the other, possibly removing head lice (Fig. 1.2). gives some idea of the mixture of observation, The capitals, now incorporated, along with the myth, prejudice and scandalous gossip presented portal and windows, into the entrance to the in the Guide and of the reaction to different ra- cemetery at Navarrete, come from the chapel of cial, linguistic and regional characteristics as the hospital and inn of St Juan de Acre, which pilgrims travelled through France and northern was founded just east of Navarrete in c.1185 Spain. It is clear from this passage that the au- (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 251–252). thor is French, and those reading it or listening Pilgrim hostels, established along the route to to it were given further insight into his region of Compostela by a number of monastic orders, origin by a description of the people of Poitou as served to provide food and shelter, and would ‘valiant heroes and fighting men, daring in the have brought together people of different na- front line of battle, elegant in their dress, distin- tionalities and backgrounds, much as they do guished of face, very generous with gifts, lavish today. in hospitality’ (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, The Guide also prepares pilgrims for the 1995, pp. 68–69). changes in climate, landscape and vegetation

Fig. 1.2. Navarrete, hospital and inn of St Juan de Acre, capital. Photo courtesy of Tessa Garton, ©2011. Used with permission. which they will encounter during their pilgrim- is overladen with too many people, it will soon age. Chapter VII includes warnings of the diffi- be in peril. Many times also, after receiving the culties and dangers of the journey, such as the money, the ferrymen take on such a throng of insects and quicksands of the Landes region: pilgrims that the boat tips over, and the pilgrims are killed in the water. Thereupon the If . . . you cross the Landes region in summer, ferrymen rejoice wickedly after seizing the take care to guard your face from the enormous spoils from the dead. insects, commonly called guespe [wasps] or (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 69) tavone [horseflies], which are most abundant there; and if you do not watch carefully where Many new bridges were constructed along you put your feet, you will slip rapidly up to your the pilgrimage routes during the 12th century as knees in the quicksand which abounds there. a solution to the difficulty and danger of river (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 69) crossings; one example is the bridge over the Dourdou, on the way out of Conques towards There are many references to the difficulties of the south. crossing rivers, and the dangers of dishonest Rivers were important in terms of the ferrymen. One notable example warns that: availability of fresh drinking water, and Chapter The way of St James crosses two rivers which VI of the Guide is devoted to ‘The Good and Bad flow near the town of St-Jean de Sorde . . . Rivers Found on the Road to Santiago’. The au- which cannot be crossed without a thor states that he has ‘described thus these barque – may their boatmen be utterly rivers, so that pilgrims starting out for Santiago damned! For, although the rivers are quite narrow, nevertheless, they are in the habit of may be careful to avoid drinking those which getting one nummus from every person, poor as are fatal and may choose those which are safe well as rich, whom they ferry across, and for a for them and their mounts’ (Shaver-Crandell beast four, which they undeservedly extort. and Gerson, 1995, p. 68). He recounts, apparently And, furthermore, their boat is small, made of from personal experience, the dangers of the a single tree trunk, scarcely big enough to ‘Salty Brook’ at Lorca, where: accommodate horses. Also, when you get in, be careful not to fall into the water by accident. while we were going to Santiago, we met two You will have to draw your horse behind you men of Navarre sitting sharpening their knives; by the bridle, outside the boat, through the they are in the habit of skinning the mounts of water. On account of this, get into the boat pilgrims who drink that water and die. When with only a few passengers because if the boat questioned by us, these liars said that it was safe Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 5

to drink. We therefore watered our horses, and as described in Chapter VIII, ‘The Bodies of the immediately two of them died, which these Saints at Rest along the Road to Saint James people skinned on the spot. which Pilgrims Ought to Visit’. At Vézelay, pil- (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 68) grims visited the tomb of Mary Magdalen, whose The author warns that ‘all the rivers between Es- legendary powers are described in the Guide in tella and Logroño have water that is dangerous the following manner: for men and beasts to drink, and the fish from The most worthy body of the blessed Mary them are poisonous to eat’ (Shaver-Crandell and Magdalen must first be venerated by pilgrims. . . . Gerson, 1995, p. 68). It is she, in truth, who, after the Ascension of the Not only water, but the availability of food Lord, arrived by sea from the region of Jerusa- was an important concern for pilgrims, and here lem, with the blessed Maximinus, disciple of again we find prejudices and fears typical of Christ, and other disciples of the Lord, in the land travellers in foreign lands. After warning that of Provence, that is, through the port of ‘all the fish, beef, and pork of the whole of Spain Marseille, in which land she lived a celibate life and Galicia cause illnesses to foreigners’ (Shaver- for several years and finally was buried in the city of Aix by the same Maximinus, who had become Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 68), the author is bishop of the city. But, in truth, after a long time, more enthusiastic when describing the pilgrim’s a certain distinguished man, blessed by his arrival in Galicia: monastic life, by the name of Badilo, translated after crossing the region of León and the passes her most precious mortal clay to Vézelay where of Mount Irago and Mount Cebrero; this is even today it rests in a revered tomb. Also, in this wooded and has rivers and is well provided with place, a vast and very beautiful basilica and an meadows and excellent orchards, with equally abbey of monks were established; there, for love good fruits and very clear springs; there are few of this saint, transgressions of sinners are cities, towns or cornfields. It is short of wheaten forgiven by the Lord, sight is restored to the blind, bread and wine, bountiful in rye bread and cider, the tongue of the mute is loosed, paralytics are well-stocked with cattle and horses, milk and raised, the possessed are delivered and ineffable honey, ocean fish both gigantic and small, and benefits are granted to many. wealthy in gold, silver, fabrics, and furs of forest (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 78–79) animals and other riches, as well as Saracen treasures. The Galicians, in truth, more than all In this passage, the emphasis is on the signifi- the other uncultivated Spanish peoples, are cance and authenticity of the relics, and their those who most closely resemble our French power to bring both spiritual and physical benefits race by their manners, but they are alleged to be to pilgrims. Stories such as that of the translation irascible and very litigious. of the relics of Mary Magdalen from Marseille to (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 74) Vézelay meant that the relics of a particular saint were often claimed by a number of different The description of Galicia as a bountiful land of churches, each of which was anxious to guaran- milk and honey suggests the relief and elation tee the authenticity of its claim. The author of experienced after an arduous journey, when the the Guide is particularly emphatic about the im- end is almost in sight. As with modern pilgrims, movability of the relics of St James, St Martin of the shared experiences with companions, and Tours, St Leonard de Noblat in the Limousin, the physical rigours of a long journey, often and St Giles, of whom he states: through hostile countryside, served to intensify the euphoria of arriving at the destination, and Therefore may the Hungarians blush, who say in particular of arriving at the shrine of a saint. they have his body; may the people of Chamalières be wholly confounded, who fancy that they have his entire body; may the people of St-Seine waste Shrines and Relics away, they who praise themselves for having his head. Similarly may the Normans of Coutances stand in awe, they who boast of having his entire It was not only the final destination at the shrine body, because there is no way, as many people of St James that offered benefits to pilgrims; the assert, that his most holy bones could have been entire journey was punctuated by visits to the transported away from this place. shrines of miracle-working saints along the way, (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 77) 6 Tessa Garton

The presence of relics was essential to the devel- and Gerson, 1995, pp. 97–101; Gerson, 2006, opment of pilgrimage; it was the miracle-working pp. 599–618). The churches provide ample space power of relics that established the sacred geog- for the circulation of crowds, with continuous raphy of a site and provided the stimulus to aisles around nave and transepts, linked by an pilgrims, and the stealing of relics was common ambulatory which passes around the main apse, in the Middle Ages (Geary, 1978). giving access to a series of chapels with subsid- Litanies of similar miraculous qualities are iary altars. Galleries above the aisles and ambula- listed for many saints whose shrines could be tory provide additional space for crowds on feast visited along the route. At Tours, pilgrims are days, as well as access to additional chapels and urged to visit the tomb of St Martin, who: altars. Pilgrims could circulate around the per- is said to be the noble resuscitator of three dead ipheral spaces before gaining access to the crypt men, and to have restored to desired health below the main apse, where the relics of the patron lepers, the possessed, those who had gone astray saint were usually preserved. It was thus possible in their wits, madmen, those possessed by devils, for pilgrims to visit the relics without disturbing and other sick people. For truly, the tomb in regular services in the main apse and choir, while which rests his most sacred mortal clay near the the nave, transept and aisles provided ample city of Tours gleams with a profusion of silver spaces for liturgical processions. and gold and precious stones, and it shines forth The church of Ste Foy at Conques, on the with frequent miracles. Above it, an immense route from Le Puy, provides a well-preserved, and venerable basilica of admirable workman- small-scale version of this design. Its setting, ris- ship, similar to the church of the blessed James, was built in his honour; to it the sick come and ing above a cluster of medieval houses nestled are cured, the possessed are delivered, the blind on the slope of a wooded valley, has remained are given sight, the lame are raised up, and all virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages, and kinds of illnesses are cured and total consolation gives a sense of the visual and spatial context ex- is given worthily to all who ask. perienced by 12th-century pilgrims (Fau, 1973; (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 81) Gaillard et al., 1974, pp. 27–147; Fig 1.3). The Guide does not refer to the architectural While the enumeration of the miraculous powers design of the church at Conques, but rather to of the saint and the precious materials of the the saint and her power to grant favours: tomb are typical of descriptions in the Guide, it is rare (with the exception of the detailed descrip- The most precious body of the blessed Faith, tion of the cathedral at Santiago itself) that the virgin and martyr, was buried with honour by specific architectural design of a church is men- the Christians in a valley commonly called tioned. It is to that subject that this chapter now Conques, above which a beautiful basilica was built by Christians, in which, to the glory of the turns, for although the Guide mentions the simi- Lord, the rule of the blessed Benedict is observed larity to the church of St James at Compostela even today with the greatest care; to the sound only in somewhat general terms, it is important and to the infirm many favours are granted; in to understand the physical and spatial context in front of its portals is an excellent spring whose which pilgrims would have experienced their virtues are more marvellous than can be told. contact with the relics. (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 78) The reference to a spring with marvellous virtues may suggest the presence of an earlier sacred site Pilgrimage Churches from pre-Christian times; holy wells and sacred springs which had been pagan sites of pilgrimage The church of St Martin at Tours was destroyed in often continued to function as centres of Chris- 1796, but plans and excavations indicate that it tian devotion. The cult of Ste Foy, a 4th-century followed a design similar to the cathedral of San- Christian martyr, developed at Conques as a re- tiago and the churches of St Sernin at Toulouse, sult of a famous example of ‘furta sacra’, de- St Martial at Limoges and Ste Foy at Conques. signed to bring pilgrims to this remote monastic This architectural type has been much discussed site. The relics were stolen from Agen in the 9th by scholars and been commonly identified as century by a monk from Conques who had spent typical of pilgrimage churches (Shaver-Crandell 10 years and become a trusted member of the Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 7

Fig. 1.3. Conques, with church of Ste Foy. Photo courtesy of Tessa Garton, ©2000. Used with permission. community in Agen. At Conques, the relics were 12th-century railings protecting the precious enshrined in a gold reliquary in the form of the reliquary from visitors (or potential thieves), enthroned saint, and her miracles were recorded while allowing them to view it from the ambula- in the Liber miraculorum sancte Fidis, resulting in tory (Fig. 1.4). a great increase in pilgrimage and benefits to the An image of Ste Foy on the west portal abbey (Ashley and Scheingorn, 1999). Ste Foy shows her kneeling before an altar hung with was particularly famous for her ability to free shackles and blessed by the hand of God (Fig.1.5). prisoners, a quality she shared with St Leonard She appears among the ranks of the Saved on the of the Limousin: right hand of Christ in a dramatic representation whose powerful virtue freed from prison of the Last Judgement. On Christ’s left, the thousands of captives, whose thousands upon damned are depicted suffering the torments of thousands of iron fetters, more barbarous than Hell, with graphic details of specific punish- can be told, were hung all around his basilica, ments. The imagery would have been clear even on the right and on the left, inside and out, to the illiterate, but extensive inscriptions accom- bearing witness to such great miracles. It is pany the carvings and underline the message: beyond all telling to see those wooden poles weighed down with so great and so many The sign of the Cross will appear in the Heavens barbarous irons. For there hang iron manacles, when the Lord comes to judge Humanity. Come, fetters, chains, hobbles, shackles, traps, bars, Blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom yokes, helmets, scythes and divers instruments, prepared for you. The assembly of saints stands from which the most mighty confessor of Christ happy before Christ the Judge. Thus are given to had delivered the captives by the virtue of the elect, united forever in the joy of Heaven, his power. glory, peace, repose, and days without end. The (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 79–80) chaste, the peaceful, the gentle, the pious receive happiness and security, free from fear. Depart At Conques, the iron from shackles donated by from me, cursed ones. The perverse are thrown grateful devotees who had been saved through into the Inferno. The wicked suffer tortures; the intercession of Ste Foy was used to forge the burned by flames, tortured by demons, they 8 Tessa Garton

tremble and groan endlessly. Thieves, liars, space of the portal served to prepare the devotee deceivers, misers, rapists are all condemned. Oh for the sacred space within the church, fre- sinners, if you do not change your ways, know quently displaying imagery reminding them of what a terrible judgment awaits you. the day of judgement and of the powers of the (Stokstad, 1986/88, pp. 227–228) local saint to redeem them or grant them fa- The inscriptions could have been read and ex- vours. A range of church plans served to choreo- plained to pilgrims by the clergy, much as inter- graph the experience of the pilgrim, providing pretations of the tympanum are still offered to liturgical and processional space and empha- modern pilgrims after evening services in the sizing the sacred nature of the shrine; the ‘pil- church. It is in the light of the evening sun that grimage plan’ was only one of many variations. the imagery of the tympanum is most clearly Contrasts of open and closed spaces, of light and visible; it would have been even more vivid with darkness, dramatized the setting of the shrine or its original polychromy. tomb, which was generally located in a crypt The visual, spatial and physical setting of and embellished with bejewelled gold and silver; the shrine was intended to prepare pilgrims for its rich and colourful imagery would have glit- the experience of the sacred relics. The liminal tered in the mysterious light of flickering candles. Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 9

Pilgrims passed from the secular world into the by two smaller apses, with no ambulatory or sacred space of the church through portals re- aisled transepts to provide for the circulation of plete with didactic imagery; they moved through pilgrims. The nave is flanked by narrow aisles, carefully orchestrated spaces before arriving at with no galleries to accommodate extra crowds. the saint’s relics. The sequence of sensory, spa- The original arrangement may have proved in- tial, visual and tactile experiences was designed adequate for the crowds of pilgrims or for the to enhance and emphasize the miraculous viewing of the relics, and a series of alterations powers of the relics. made during the 12th century appear to have been designed to accommodate pilgrims and provide a more impressive setting for the relics. Alternative Designs for Pilgrimage A large vaulted crypt was installed at the level of Churches the nave below a raised choir, and pilgrims en- tered the crypt through a narrow tunnel be- Chapter VIII of the Guide, ‘The Bodies of the tween steps to the choir. This arrangement was Saints which are at Rest along the Road to Saint again altered in the second half of the 12th cen- James which Pilgrims Ought to Visit’, begins tury, when the west portal was added and the with a vivid and detailed description of some of floor level of the nave was raised above that of the major shrines along the southern route to the crypt, with access to the relics in the crypt Santiago de Compostela, referred to as the ‘road provided by stairways (Labande, 1903, 1904 of St-Gilles’. The route starts at Arles, where pil- and 1930; Borg, 1972, pp. 61–70; Rouquette, grims are advised to ‘first make a visit to the body 1974, pp. 265–299; Thirion, 1979, pp. 360–479; of the blessed Trophimus’, who ‘was the first to Hartmann-Virnich, 2001, pp. 82–83). The west be sent to the said city to preach the Gospel of portal provided an imposing entrance which Christ’ (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, would have dramatically enhanced the experi- p. 74). The design of the church of St Trophime ence of pilgrims visiting the church; it reflects in Arles is very different from the so-called ‘pil- the influence of Roman triumphal arches, in grimage type’, and aspects of the design reflect particular that at nearby Glanum (Rouquette, local Provençal traditions. The projecting tran- 1974, p. 275; Thirion, 1979, pp. 445–446). sept originally had a large central apse flanked The iconography incorporates both apocalyptic 10 Tessa Garton

themes of Judgement and Salvation, and specific and beside St James the Great, the apostle to images related to the relics within emphasize Spain, who would have reminded pilgrims to both the sanctity of the relics and the hope of Compostela of the ultimate goal of their journey. salvation offered through the mediation of the St James the Great is followed by St Bartholomew saints and apostles on the Day of Judgement on the north side, while St James the Less and (Fig. 1.6). St Philip stand to the right of St Stephen on the Ascending a flight of stairs, pilgrims passed south side (Rouquette, 1974, p. 283).2 Entering through the imposing triumphal arch and be- the portal, visitors pass between St Peter and neath images of the Apocalyptic Vision and Last St John the Evangelist on the north jamb and Judgement, expressing the power of the Church St Paul and St Andrew on the south jamb. Their Militant and the hope of salvation. To either side proximity to St Trophime emphasizes his legend- stand apostles and saints, with the two most im- ary status as an apostle sent by Peter and a dis- portant positions, closest to the doorway and to ciple of Paul. After passing through the portal the figure of Christ, given to the patron saints and along the long narrow nave, visitors des- St Trophime and St Stephen. St Stephen is repre- cended to the crypt to view the relics, whose sented on the right of the doorway by a dramatic authenticity and antiquity may have been em- narrative of his martyrdom, emphasizing his role phasized by being displayed in an Early Christian as the first Christian martyr, and St Trophime, sarcophagus. standing to the left of the doorway, wears a pallium The choice of the church of St Trophime with an inscription identifying him as one of the as a model for the new and enlarged church of 72 disciples of Christ. Angels place a bishop’s mitre St Honorat in the cemetery of Arles, with its on his head (Labande, 1930, p. 44; Rouquette, important collection of episcopal relics and sar- 1974, p. 282).1 He is placed among the apostles cophagi, suggests that this design was considered

particularly suitable for the display of relics and gold tomb of the saint, the front decorated with the accommodation of pilgrims. The Guide an image of Christ framed by the evangelists’ urges pilgrims to visit the cemetery of Arles, at symbols and flanked by angels, apostles and ‘les Alyscamps’ and to seek there ‘the aid of the elders, as well as by virtues and zodiac signs blessed Honoratus’, in whose ‘most venerable (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 76–77). and magnificent basilica reposes the body of The description is so detailed and precise that it the most holy martyr, blessed Genesius’ (Shaver- appears to have been written from first-hand ob- Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 75). The new servation, and it is especially valuable as a re- church of St Honorat was designed with three cord of what must have been a particularly parallel apses, a slightly projecting transept and splendid metalwork shrine, which unfortunately a nave flanked by narrow aisles, but it remained has not survived (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, unfinished after the completion of the chevet 1995, p. 30). The author also emphasizes the and the east bay of the nave. The main apse was authenticity of the relics at St Gilles-du-Gard in raised over a large crypt, which appears origin- contrast to those of other claimants, ‘because ally to have been at the same level as the nave, there is no way, as many people assert, that his as in St Trophime, with two lateral doorways most holy bones could have been transported for the circulation of pilgrims. The crypt housed away from this place’ (Shaver-Crandell and the sarcophagi and relics of a number of Gerson, 1995, p. 77). The tomb was housed in a bishops of Arles (Benoit, 1938, pp. 353–396). vast crypt, built in a series of campaigns, and The Guide marvels at the size of the ceme- incorporating an earlier confessio. A ‘pilgrimage tery of Les Alyscamps and the quantity and choir’ with an ambulatory and radiating chap- scale of the tombs, ‘its length and breadth are a els was added to the church during the second mile. In no other cemetery but this one can be half of the 12th century, but the nave and tran- found so many marble tombs placed on the sept were not joined until the 14th century, and ground or of such a size’ (Shaver-Crandell and the tomb of St Gilles remained in the crypt. A pil- Gerson, 1995, p. 75). The cemetery still displays grim arriving at the site in the late 12th century a remarkable array of Early Christian sarcoph- would first have seen the richly decorated west agi. The pilgrim is encouraged to ‘intercede for front, which follows classical models, in par- the dead with prayers, psalms and alms, accord- ticular the scene-building of a Roman theatre ing to custom’, and if a priest celebrates a mass (Lugand et al., 1975, pp. 298–345; O’Meara, or a cleric reads the psalms in any of the seven 1977). The arrangement of apostles between churches there, he is ‘sure to find in the presence columns on the west front may have echoed the of God, at the Final Resurrection, helpers among decoration of the shrine, which is described as those pious dead lying there to aid him in obtain- having ‘gold columns . . . set between the apostles’ ing salvation’ (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 77). As at 1995, p. 75). The Guide thus emphasizes the St Trophime in Arles, St James the Great is prom- value of prayer to all of the saints and at all of inently positioned (immediately to the right of the shrines along the route. the central portal), reminding pilgrims of their The next shrine on the southern route men- ultimate destination. Passing into the interior, tioned in the Pilgrim’s Guide was of such import- pilgrims would have moved from the brilliantly lit ance that the route is named the Via Egidiana – or space in front of the façade into the darkness of way of St Gilles. The author lists a series of mir- the nave and the immense crypt, measuring 25 m acles worked by the saint, insisting that ‘after the by 50 m and housing the tomb of St Gilles. prophets and the apostles, none among the After St Gilles-du-Gard, the Guide urges the other saints is more worthy than he, none more pilgrim to visit the shrine of St William at St holy, none more glorious, none more speedy in Guilhem-le-Desert. Originally founded in 804 as giving help’, adding that he himself has ‘experi- the abbey of Gellone by Duke William of Aqui- enced what I say’, and concluding ‘it wearies the taine, Count of Toulouse, the abbey was re- memory such that I am unable to recount all his named after its founder, who was elevated to venerable deeds because they are so many and sainthood in the 12th century. William led mili- so great’ (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, tary campaigns in France and Spain and played pp. 75–76). He describes the richly ornamented an important role in the fight against Islam. 12 Tessa Garton

He is described in the Guide as the ‘illustrious journey were offered the same spiritual benefits standard-bearer and count of Charlemagne’ as at Santiago de Compostela (Shaver-Crandell who ‘subjected the city of Nimes . . . and Orange, and Gerson, 1995, pp. 386–387). Recent exca- and many others, to Christian rule, by his cap- vations revealed a number of burials just outside able valour and brought with him the wood of this doorway. the Cross of the Lord to the valley of Gellone’ (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 78). His cult prospered and the abbey became an import- Santiago De Compostela ant place of pilgrimage, its fame based on the possession of relics of the True Cross and of Upon arrival at Compostela, there were plentiful the founder. The architectural development provisions for pilgrims. The Guide describes the of the Romanesque church can be related to the ‘parvis, made of stone, where the small scallop development of the cult, and a series of building shells, which are the insignia of the Blessed campaigns and changes can be seen as a direct James, are sold to pilgrims, and wine flasks, san- response to the impact of pilgrimage. The original dals, deerskin scrips, pouches, straps, belts, and small confessio, with its narrow staircases, must all sorts of medicinal herbs and other spices’ have become inadequate for the flow of pilgrims, (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 89). This and in 1138 the relics were translated into the is the earliest mention of the scallop shell as a main apse of the church, where they were symbol for pilgrims to Santiago (Shaver-Crandell housed in a white marble sarcophagus raised on and Gerson, 1995, p. 39). Local merchants, four columns, in response to the pilgrims’ de- ‘money-changers, indeed, and hotel keepers’ mand for the sick to be able to pass beneath the also benefited from the trade brought by pilgrims relics (Valléry-Radot, 1951, pp. 156–180; Lugand (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 89). The et al., 1975, pp. 75–95; Shaver-Crandell and wares listed in the Guide are chiefly utilitarian, Gerson, 1995, pp. 313–314; Barral i Altet, n.d.). but already during the 12th century a pilgrim These alterations in display and accessibility badge industry was established in Santiago de demonstrate the importance of accommodating Compostela, as well as at Rocamadour and Le the pilgrims’ desire for close visual and physical Puy, and souvenir badges and other commercial contact with the sacred and miracle-working aspects of pilgrimage became increasingly im- relics. However, the needs of pilgrims did not al- portant in the later Middle Ages. In Santiago, ways coincide with those of monks or clergy; the there were clashes between church and towns- circulation of increasing numbers of pilgrims in people over the profits from the sale of pilgrim the apse must have caused problems for the mo- badges; in 1200, the archbishop attempted to nastic community, and at the end of the 12th gain control of the trade from the badge-makers, century, the monks built a tribune gallery over but finally agreed that that these ‘concheiros’ the western bays of the nave to enable them to could maintain control of the shops in return for continue to recite the monastic offices without payment of an annual rent (Cohen, 1992). Pil- interference (Lugand et al., 1975, p. 86; Barral i grimage, like tourism, benefits local trade in both Altet, n.d., p. 9).3 A reminder to the monastic practical provisions and souvenirs for travellers.5 community of the sacred role of pilgrims can be Placing the greatest emphasis on the seen in a representation of Christ as a pilgrim in churches and monuments to be experienced by the scene of the disciples at Emmaus on a corner the pilgrim in Santiago de Compostela, the Guide pier of the cloister. A vaulted narthex flanked provides us with invaluable evidence about the by stone benches was added at the west end in appearance of the cathedral in the 12th century, the second half of the 12th century to provide a before later alterations were made. The sculp- resting place for pilgrims (Lugand et al., 1975, ture of the three main portals, at the north, pp. 85–86).4 south and west entrances to the cathedral, is de- Smaller churches along the way also offered scribed in great detail, with explanations of the special benefits to pilgrims. By passing through the subject matter of each portal. This description Puerta del Perdón and praying in the church of has been particularly useful in establishing the Santiago in Villafranca del Bierzo (where hospices original placement of many of the sculptures were established for French pilgrims travelling to which were later moved from the north and west Compostela), pilgrims too sick to continue their portal to the south portal (Shaver-Crandell and Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 13

Gerson, 1995, p. 39). Like the inscriptions on the scent of lamps over the altar, which ‘receive the west tympanum at Conques, this detailed in- virtually nothing but oil of balsam, of myrtle, of terpretation of the imagery suggests that pil- Arabian ben-nut or olive oil’ (Shaver-Crandell grims may have received explanations of the and Gerson, 1995, p. 93). And pilgrims are as- subject matter as a preparation to entering the sured of the power of the miracles of St James: sacred space of the church. In some cases these Health is given to the sick, sight restored to the explanations, passed on by word of mouth, may blind, the tongue of the mute is loosened, have become confused and legendary. This may hearing is given to the deaf, soundness of limb is be true of the famous relief of the woman with granted to cripples, the possessed are de- the skull, which was clearly not intended for its livered . . . the prayers of the faithful are heard, current position on the south portal but is de- their vows are accepted, the bonds of sin are scribed in that location in the Guide, with the fol- broken, heaven is opened to those who knock, lowing interpretation: and all the people of foreign nations, flocking from all parts of the world, come together here Nor should be forgotten the woman who stands in crowds bringing with them gifts of praise to next to the Lord’s Temptation, holding between the Lord. her own hands the stinking head of her lover, (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 94) cut off by her rightful husband, which she is In addition to the experience of moving in forced by her husband to kiss twice a day. Oh, procession through majestic spaces filled with what ingenious and admirable justice for an imagery, colour and precious materials and the adulterous wife; it should be recounted to everyone! scent of exotic perfumes, pilgrims would have (Shaver-Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 90–91) heard the chanting of monastic services, and also participated in singing, accompanied by a This same explanation of the image was given by variety of secular instruments. The Portico de la a beggar to Conrad Rudolph when he visited the Gloria may have been intended to emphasize this church almost nine centuries later, although additional sensory experience offered to the pil- there is no biblical source for such an interpret- grim. It was completed by Master Mateo between ation, and the story may simply be a legend that 1168 and 1188, and thus did not form part of developed in response to the vivid and enigmatic the experience of the author of the Guide, writ- imagery (Rudolph, 2004, p. 17). ing around 1140. The sculpture still retains The Guide describes the plan of the church much of its original polychromy, and represents of St James in unusual detail and in anthropo- a new level of realism in its representation of the morphic terms; dimensions are given in units of Elders of the Apocalypse and Last Judgement, ‘the stature of a man’ and the church is de- who are depicted with an extraordinarily described as having ‘one larger “head”, where the tailed variety of musical instruments, possibly altar is found, and one “laurel wreath,” and one conjuring up the joyful celebration of pilgrims “body,” and two “limbs”’ (Shaver-Crandell and ‘passing the night by candlelight beside the altar Gerson, 1995, p. 87). Its two storied elevation is of St James’, where ‘some play zithers, others described as ‘just like a royal palace. For indeed, lyres, others drums, others flutes . . . trumpets, whoever visits the . . . gallery, if he goes up sad, harps, vielles . . . others sing with zithers, others after having seen the perfect beauty of this tem- sing accompanied by various instruments’ (Coffey ple, he will be made happy and joyful’ (Shaver- et al., 1996, pp. 18–19; Fig. 1.7). Crandell and Gerson, 1995, p. 88). The three The pilgrimage combined sacred and reli- portals and their imagery are described in detail, gious experience with the stimulus of popular cul- as are the towers, the altars, the silver altar frontal, ture. The transformative experience of the journey, and the ‘ciborium which covers this worthy as well as its physical and psychological trials, pre- altar . . . wonderfully worked on the interior and ex- pared pilgrims for their encounter with the saint. terior with paintings, and drawings’ (Shaver- Arriving at the shrine, devotees were manipulated Crandell and Gerson, 1995, pp. 89–93). The gran- by the spatial and visual stimuli of the architec- deur of the architecture, the splendour of the ture, the sculpture, the glittering metalwork and by decoration, and the symbolism of the imagery the music, incense and liturgical ceremonies. The were all clearly designed to enrich the experience senses of sight, touch, hearing and smell were all of pilgrims. Visual stimuli were supplemented by engaged in the physical experience of the sacred 14 Tessa Garton

Fig. 1.7. Santiago de Compostela, detail of Portico de la Gloria. Photo courtesy of Tessa Garton, ©2005. Used with permission. places. Imagery emphasized and reinforced le- relics or tomb of the saint. The experience of the gends of the miraculous powers of the local pilgrim, described in a variety of detail through- saint, and sensory experiences built to a cres- out the Guide, was thus both controlled and cendo as pilgrims approached the shrine, where dramatized by the imaginative design of art and they might be allowed physical contact with the architecture.

Notes

1. The inscription reads: CERNITVR EXIMVS VIR XPI DISCIPVLORVM DE NVMERO TROPHIMVS HIC SEPTVAGINTA DVORVM. 2. This is the identification given by Rouquette and seems the most convincing. Both figures of St James are shown holding books inscribed SCS JACOBVS, with no clear distinction between them. 3. The apse originally contained two Romanesque altars dedicated to St Sauveur and St Guilhem. It is not clear what route pilgrims could have taken to visit the relics of St Guilhem (and of the Holy Cross) in the main apse without interfering with the liturgy. The apse has barrel-vaulted passages in the thickness of the side walls, linking it to the apses of the adjacent transept chapels, perhaps to provide circulation for pilgrims. 4. The narthex also appears to have served as a place to receive penitent Albigensian heretics and for the monks to wash the feet of the poor in Holy Week. 5. Such commercial aspects are not unique to Christian pilgrimage: Burton’s Hajj was also intended to open up trade with the Orient. See Aateka Khan, ‘Richard Burton: Disguise as Journey to the Self and Beyond’ (Chapter 6, this volume). Medieval Pilgrims’ Experience on the Route to Santiago de Compostela 15

References

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