St. James Zebedeus, also known as St James the Great, whose story appears in the New Testament, is the patron saint of Spain. His cult is celebrated at the university city of Santiago di Compostela in northwestern Spain. This identity with Galicia is referenced by tradition, documented in the 12th century, of his return here, for burial, following his death in Jerusalem at the hands of Herod Agrippa in about AD 43. His disciples buried the saint in a marble tomb over which was constructed an oratory. We must note, however, that this specifically Galician meaning of Santiago was overtaken by the Spanish monarchy's adoption of St. James as the symbol of the Spanish expulsion of the Moors.
Santiago de Compostela was the greatest of the Christian pilgrimage sites in the medieval period. It is no coincidence that the major street going south out of Notre Dame in Paris is called the Rue Saint-Jacques, denoting the first steps on the long journey to Santiago. Such pilgrimages were arguably at the origin of European tourism, as travelers passed though many regions and met a very diverse set of co-religionists.
Our visit coincided with midday mass. For some the opportunity of communion, for most the experience of a multilingual service and the awe of the action of the botafumeiro. The current vessel is silver-plated, dating from 1851. In use since the 14th century, the botafumeiro was probably a device to create an even more solemn religious ambience. The burning incense did bring relief to the fetid atmosphere of medieval times where pilgrims provided their potent quotient of bodily stench, no doubt accumulated by their many weeks on the Way of Saint James. It takes eight men to swing the device-which weighs fifty-four kilos.Rarely has an accident occurred, but notably, in 1501, tragedy occurred in the presence of Catherine of Aragon on her way to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry VIII's older brother-but that's another story!
