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The Pilgrims’ Ways to Santiago in Galicia The French Way S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo Texts Photography Translation Manuel Rodríguez Arquivo da S.A. de Xestión Interlingua Traduccións S.L. do Plan Xacobeo Claire Teed Olson Editing Tono Arias Ana B. Freire Revision and updating Rosa García Technical advice Carraig Linguistic Services Dpto. de Arquitectura da Documentation: S.A. de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo Design and Lay-out pilgrims’ hostels and services Permuy Asociados Pilar Cuíña Revision Rosa Fernández Dori Abuín Printing Ana B. Freire Carla Fernández-Refoxo Gráficas LASA, S.L. Rosa García Carmo Iglesias Coroni Rubio Alfonso Salgueiro D.L.: The French Way The French Way is the most traditional of all the pilgrims’ ways to Santiago and the best known internationally. The route, which crosses the north of the Iberian Peninsula, was established in the late 11th century thanks to the efforts of monarchs like Sancho III the Greater and Sancho Ramírez de Navarra y Aragón, as well as Alphonse VI and his successors, who took care of its construction and promotion. The principal routes of the Way in France and Spain were described in detail around the year 1135 in the Codex Calixtinus, an essential reference work providing details of the pilgrimage tradition. Book V of this codex is a bona-fide medieval guide describing the pilgrimage to Santiago. It enumerates the different stretches of the French Way from the lands of Gaul and offers detailed information on the sanctuaries to be found along the way, including comments on the hospitality, the people, the food, natural springs, local customs, etc. The entire work Codex Calixtinus (XII c.) is written clearly and succinctly, a practical answer to a specific demand: the pilgrimage to Santiago. This guide, attributed to the French cleric, Aymeric Picaud, reveals the political and religious interest that lay behind promoting the sanctuary of Santiago de Compostela and making it easily accessible, yet it also bears testimony to the demand for this type of information. At the time of the writing of this book, the French Way and the pilgrimages reached their heyday and maximum stream of visitors –not counting the present time– Santiago became the goal of all pilgrims from the entire Christian world. This surge of pilgrims was so intense that it prompted a Moslem Ambassador to comment 3 The French Way that “the throng of worshippers who travel to Santiago and back is so great that there is almost no room left on the road leading to the west”. Over the centuries and with the political and religious avatars in Europe, the physical route of the French Way lost much of its former influence. Indeed, it was not until the end of the 19th century that there was a resurgence of interest in the question of Saint James and the pilgrimage way, which continued into the second half of the 20th century, with the progressive restoration and recovery of the ancient way internationally recognised as one of the historical symbols of European unity. Itineraries The French Way acquired a specific itinerary in France through the four main routes described in the Codex Calixtinus. Three of these routes (París-Tours, Vézelay-Limoges and Le Puy-Conques) enter Spain after crossing the Pyrenees through Roncesvalles, in Navarra, while the fourth route (Arlés-Toulouse) crosses the border over the Somport pass and continues on to Jaca, in the region of Aragón. The Roncesvalles route, which goes through the city of Pamplona, Santiago Cathedral prior to the construction of the current Baroque facade (XVII c.) joins the Aragonese route in Puente la Reina (Navarra). Bridge over the River Garonne. Toulouse The Aragón Way in Irache From Puente la Reina onwards, the French Way follows a single route as far as the city of Santiago, passing through cities and towns of note in the north of Spain such as Estella, Logroño, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos, Castrojeriz, Frómista, Carrión de los Condes, Sahagún, León, Astorga, Ponferrada and Villafranca del Bierzo. The Bierzo region, which, throughout history has enjoyed strong ties with Galicia, is the gateway to Galicia for this French Way, a territory, described by Aymeric Picaud as being “abundant in woods and the countryside is pleasant with its rivers, meadows and rich apple orchards, its excellent fruit and pristine fountains; cities, towns and farmlands are few and far between. It is lacking in wheat bread and wine, but abounds in rye bread and cider, cattle and horses, milk and honey, in fish from the sea both large and small; it is rich in gold and silver and in cloth and the pelts of wild animals. It has other riches, most notably Saracen treasures”. Twenty-first century pilgrims will be able to see for themselves what remains and what has changed in this narration, caught halfway between reality and legend. The pages that follow highlight the peculiarities of this route as it travels through the lands of Galicia. Quintana Square. Santiago de Compostela 5 The French Way O Cebreiro-Triacastela The French Way crosses over into Galicia from El Bierzo, after leaving Ferrerías, and begins its arduous climb surrounded by a spectacular landscape of mountains, passing through the villages of La Faba and The Miracle of Laguna de Castilla, until it reaches the mountain pass of O Cebreiro O Cebreiro Chalice (1,300 m), located in the province of Lugo. One kilometre outside this town stands a small monument announcing that the route is entering Galicia. There are 152 kilometres left before reaching Santiago de Compostela. On the elevation of O Cebreiro stands the village of the same name. It has a tradition dating back to protohistoric times and has adapted to the harsh climatic conditions of the mountains. The centre of this mythical and symbolic village includes the sanctuary of Santa María a Real do Cebreiro and the building that formerly housed the old pilgrim hospital, founded by the French saint Giraldo de Aurillac (9th century). The Pre-Romanesque church is the oldest on the French Way and was one of the first monuments on the Way to be restored in the early 1960s. Santa María do Cebreiro houses liturgical objects and the sacred remains of a famous eucharistic miracle (14th century) in which the species became flesh and blood in the presence of a local parishioner. The symbolism of Shrine of Santa María this miracle, which is related to the legend of the Holy Grail, became part a Real do Cebreiro of the coat of arms of Galicia. View of O Cebreiro O Cebreiro is also a major ethnographic site. Its principal landmark is the group of pallozas, small dwellings of Pre-Roman origin, circular in shape, which are characteristic of the northwest part of the Iberian Peninsula. For years they have been used as community and cultural centres and one of them houses the ethnographic museum. O Cebreiro also has one of the most popular hostels for pilgrims along the way. From O Cebreiro, continuing along through the mountains (altitude over 1,000 m) on a route leading to the nearby ranges of Os Ancares and O Courel, rich in elements related to ethnography, nature and landscape, the traveller reaches Hospital da Condesa. This route covers 6 kilometres that end in a village whose name is reminiscent of the centre of assistance founded at the end of the 9th century by Doña Egido. A little farther on lies the village of Padornelo, which formerly belonged to the medieval fief of the Church of Santiago, where the charitable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem was set up to care for and defend the pilgrims. From the mountain pass at O Poio (1,337 m), the highest point on the French Way in Galicia, the route begins its gentle descent towards Fonfría, and from here, flanked by beautiful and lush panoramic views, it arrives at the town of Triacastela, leaving behind villages such as O Biduedo, Filloval, Pasantes and Ramil. Mount San Roque 7 The French Way Triacastela – Sarria Triacastela (665 m), which marks the end of one of the final stretches on the French Way, as determined by Aymeric Picaud in the 12th century, still retains its urban layout based on this route. Its name appears to allude to “three hillforts” (castros). The Middle Ages left their mark with the Romanesque apse (12th century) of the Church of Santiago. The nave, façade and bell tower of this building date from the 18th century. Triacastela had a hospital and even a jail for pilgrims, remains of which have been preserved to our times. During the period when the Cathedral of Santiago was being constructed, some of the pilgrims would pick up small pieces of limestone from a quarry in Triacastela, which is still functioning and can be seen from the road, and carry them all the way to the limekilns of Castañeda (Arzúa), to be used in the construction of the basilica of Santiago de Compostela. On leaving Triacastela the Way forks. It is possible to continue directly on to Sarria, passing through a succession of old villages with a long-standing pilgrimage tradition –A Balsa, San Xil, Montán, Pintín, Calvor and San Mamede do Camiño– and a rural Church of Santiago de Triacastela landscape of lush beauty with unusual examples of local flora. Samos Monastery Triacastela Hostel Other pilgrims, however, prefer to head south, seeking out the hospitality of the monks of the Benedictine Monastery of Samos, who still run the old inn. The stretch leading to the town of Samos (530 m) offers not only the opportunity to admire the ancient monastery, but also the spectacular landscapes bathed by the Sarria river and of villages such as San Cristovo, Renche and San Martiño.

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