History. St James the Greater, one of the Twelve, was martyred in Jerusalem around AD 44 (Acts 12:2). In the early 9th century a tomb near Iria Flavia was identified as his, and King Alfonso II of Asturias came from Oviedo to visit it, the journey later remembered as the Camino Primitivo. A church, and later the Romanesque cathedral, rose over the site. The 12th-century Codex Calixtinus included a guide for pilgrims on the French Way. After centuries of decline the pilgrimage revived in the late 20th century: the Camino Francés became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and the northern routes were added in 2015 (UNESCO). Pilgrim numbers grew from a few thousand to 530,987 in 2025.
Legend. Tradition holds that James preached in Hispania and that, after his martyrdom, his disciples brought his body by stone boat to Galicia. Centuries later a hermit named Pelayo saw a star or lights over a field. That's one popular explanation for Compostela, "field of the star" (scholars also propose compositum, "burial place"). The scallop shell, gathered on Galician beaches, became the pilgrim's badge.
Sources
- UNESCO: Routes of Santiago de Compostela
- Oficina del Peregrino: history of the Compostela
- Gronze: Camino Francés overview
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