The Road to Santiago: Pilgrims of St. James

eager to face the perils of the voyage. The way to Compostella by sea was as important as the way by land and had such a great influence on nautical science that the phrase —point de navire sans pèlerinage —became proverbial. Bristol was the port where most of the English fleets of pilgrim ships gathered, but there are also many references to ports in the south of England. Between 1397 and 1456 one hundred and twenty-four English ships made the pilgrimage carrying some thousands of pilgrims and in the Holy Year 1434 alone, sixty-three ships laden with pilgrims sailed to Spain.
    In the fourteenth century so many English pilgrims passed through France into Spain that the French became alarmed. It was during the Hundred Years War and Pedro I of Castile, was the ally of the Black Prince, whereas the French were assisting the former’s bastard brother, Enrique of Trastamara. After Enrique had murdered his brother at Montiel and mounted the throne as Enrique II he was compelled by his allies to prevent any English from entering Spain without the permission of the French King. The expedition to Santiago by John of Gaunt added to the difficulties of the English pilgrims by rousing the suspicions of the Spaniards.
    In our days of passports, visas and Exchange Control regulations, it is consoling to note that similar restrictions worried travellers even in the good old mediaeval days. Pilgrims; before starting on their long journey, had to swear an oath that they would not do anything that would prejudice the obedience and fealty they owed to the king. They were not allowed to take out of England gold or silver in money, beyond what was necessary for their journey. They were also bound to give an undertaking not to disclose secrets of the realm, and heavy penalties were imposed on those who violated these rules.
    In the olden days people felt great sympathy for men or women of their acquaintance who pledged themselves to undertake a pilgrimage, for they knew that there were grievous sins that could not be remitted by priest or confessor. Such sins needed the expiation of a pilgrimage to Santiago or to Rome, and so they considered it their duty to assist their friends who make the vow of pilgrimage and they would subscribe the amount necessary for the expiatory journey. In England there were guilds for helping poor pilgrims. Two of them at Lincoln, that of the Fullers and that of the Resurrection, were founded in 1297 and 1374 respectively and had the following rule: ‘If any brother or sister wishes to make a pilgrimage to Rome, St. James of Galicia or the Holy Land, he shall forewarn the guild, and all the brethren and sisters shall go with them to the city gate and each shall give him a halfpenny at least.’ *
    We today find it difficult to understand the attitude of the people in the Middle Ages towards penitents, because we have lost both the acute consciousness of sin and the certainty of punishment. In the Middle Ages, penitents who pledged themselves to make pilgrimages were looked upon as sinners in a big way and were even objects of curiosity. The hand of God was against the penitents and the normal citizen felt sorry for them and was ready to help the poverty-stricken pilgrim with money to pay the cost of his journey by ship (the shipowners gave no free passages) or by land.
    The pilgrimages to Compostella outshone all others in the Middle Ages, owing to the numbers of pilgrims of high rank who took part. Popes, kings, cardinals, archbishops and dukes rubbed shoulders with the masses of ragged waifs and strays who limped their way to Compostella. As well as those who rode on horseback, escorted by men on asses and retinues of minstrels and servants, there were others who trudged on foot, lay on straw in barns and fed off the scraps they could beg at the doors of the inns by the wayside. Although in theory every pilgrim who knelt as penitent at the tomb of St. James was considered the equal of his fellow, the clerics made a difference between the wealthy who gave gold and silver and the poor vagabond who could only afford a mere tallow candle as an offering to the Apostle. We are struck today by the number of ordinances that were made in the Middle Ages for the purpose of protecting the poor pilgrim. The whole sermon Veneranda Dies in the Book of St. James is directed against the rascally innkeepers who fleeced the pilgrims, and the author claims divine approbation for having written it. 20 The Siete Partidas