Mission in Hispania and burial at Compostela The 12th century
Historia Compostelana commissioned by
Diego Gelmírez provides a summary of the legend of St. James, as it was believed at Compostela at that time. Two propositions are central to the legend: first, that James preached the gospel in
Hispania as well as in the
Holy Land; second, that after his
martyrdom at the hands of
Herod Agrippa, his followers carried his body by sea to Hispania, where they landed at
Padrón on the coast of
Galicia, then carried it over land for burial at
Santiago de Compostela. After first going to
Sardinia James embarked at
Cartagena and started preaching the Gospel. According to ancient local tradition, on 2 January AD 40, the
Virgin Mary appeared to James on the bank of the
Ebro River at
Caesaraugusta, while he was preaching the Gospel in
Hispania. She
appeared upon a pillar, and that pillar is conserved and venerated within the present
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, in
Zaragoza, Spain. Following that apparition, St. James returned to
Judaea, where he was beheaded by
Herod Agrippa I in AD 44. The
translation of his relics from
Judaea to Galicia in the northwest of Hispania was, in legend, accomplished by a series of miraculous events: his decapitated body was taken up by angels and sailed in a rudderless, unattended boat to
Iria Flavia in Hispania, where a massive rock closed around his body. Lupa appears in the
Codex Calixtinus which further relates that she decides to trick the disciples and sends them to the governor of
Duio with the intent of having them killed. Sensing a trap, they escape the governor and return to the queen. Once again Lupa tries to deceive them and sends them to
Pico Sacro (the Sacred Peak) to collect two of her oxen to carry the necessary material to build the tomb. She does not tell them that the mountain has a cave which is the entrance to
hell and is guarded by a dragon. However, the presence of the
holy cross protects the disciples from harm and tames the bulls. Upon witnessing the miraculous events, Lupa converts to
Christianity and helps build the apostle's tomb in
Libredon. The tradition at Compostela placed the discovery of the relics of the saint in the 9th century, by
Pelayo in the
Libredon forest in the time of
Bishop Theodemir and king
Alfonso II. These traditions were the basis for the pilgrimage route that began to be established in the 9th century, and the shrine dedicated to James at
Santiago de Compostela became a famous pilgrimage site within the Christian world. The
Way of St. James is a network of routes that cross Western Europe and arrive at Santiago de Compostela through northern Spain.
Medieval "Santiago Matamoros" legend by
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (
Museum of Fine Arts,
Budapest). His mantle is that of his military order. An even later tradition states that he miraculously appeared to fight for the Christian army during the legendary
battle of Clavijo, and was henceforth called
Santiago Matamoros (Saint James the
Moor-slayer).
¡Santiago, y cierra, España! ("St. James and strike for Spain") was the traditional
battle cry of medieval Spanish (Christian) armies.
Miguel de Cervantes has
Don Quixote explaining that "the great knight of the russet cross was given by God to Spain as patron and protector".
Emblem , the symbol of the
Order of Santiago; the hilt is surmounted with a scallop. James' emblem was the
scallop shell (or "
cockle shell"), and pilgrims to his shrine often wore that symbol on their hats or clothes. The French term for a scallop is
coquille St. Jacques, which means "cockle (or mollusc) of [St.] Jacob". The German word for a scallop is
Jakobsmuschel, which means "Jacob's mussel (or clam)"; the
Dutch word is
Jacobsschelp, meaning "Jacob's shell". In
Danish and with the same meaning as in Dutch, the word is
Ibskal –
Ib being a Danish version of the name "Jakob" and
skal meaning "shell".
Military Order of Santiago The military
Order of Santiago, named after Saint Tiago or Saint James, was founded in Spain in the 12th century to fight the
Moors. Later, as in other
orders of chivalry, the membership became a mark of honor. ==Latter-day Saints==