The Scallop shell

Give me my scallop shell of quiet;

 My staff of faith to lean upon;

 My scrip of joy, immortal diet;

 My bottle of salvation;

 My gown of glory (hope's true gauge)

 And thus I'll go my pilgrimage.

---Sir Walter Raleigh

  

The origin of the scallop shell as the emblem of the pilgrim to Compostela is unknown, and many explanations abound.  The shell is found in Galicia along the northern beaches and has become closely intertwined with Saint James, and the pilgrimage to Santiago.  According to one source I read, the scallop shell has been associated with funerary imagery since antiquity, and the early Church appropriated it to symbolize heaven and the afterlife. 

Over the centuries the same scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings. There are legends that the body of Saint James was washed ashore, covered in scallop shells, or that  as the boat carrying the Apostle's body approached, a rider, sometimes a bridegroom, fell into the sea and emerged covered in the shells.  Elsewhere, the lines and grooves on the scallop shell are said to represent the meeting of all the roads to Santiago, or the shell is claimed to represent the setting sun--the rays off the ends of the earth at Finisterre, where the shells are found in abundance.  The shell has also been known to symbolize baptism.

Practically speaking, the shell early on adapted well as a device for drinking water from streams along the way, and use as a make-shift bowl. It served both as a souvenir and "proof" of the pilgrimage.  The symbol has not only shown up on road markers that guided the pilgrims to the cathedral, but the motif also appeared on some of the buildings along the way and was often worn by the pilgrims themselves as badges of their journey. In commentary on the Codex Calixtinus, William Melczer informs us that the shells were sold at the entrance to the cathedral by the middle of the twelfth century, and by the year 1200 the selling of the scallop shell was even regulated, so that we know a hundred scallop shell vendors were licensed at Santiago!

With time the scallop shell came to represent the pilgrim.  As what may seem strange anomalies, the Virgin Mary, and Christ himself have even been depicted wearing the shell in art of the late Middle Ages! 

Right now I am reading David Downie's Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James which was recommended by someone on the American Pilgrims on the Camino Facebook site.  I have downloaded it to my Kindle.  Downie spends his time in France, not Spain, and currently seems to be enjoying walking the viae romanae in search of Caesar and Vercingétorix as he and his wife read through Caesar's Conquest of Gaul, hardly following the chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle at all, but then I am only half-way through. . .

 

Recently another friend of mine in Paris sent me the link to a French web-site for would-be travelers of the pilgrimage routes. What caught my eye was its advertising of the 2011 film I mentioned earlier, The Way, called La route ensemble in French, as opening in France on September 25.  If it follows precedent, the film will result in a marked growth of francophone pilgrims, just as the original film increased the volume of anglophone ones . . . 

 Click below for the trailer:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7f4f_CzD5-o

I've also bought a tiny pocket pedometer from Amazon. I finally got it to work after discovering that the battery was in upside down!  I suppose the manufacturer did it to save the life of the battery, although I was surprised that there was one already inserted, since it came with a second one. . .  To make it function properly, I had to estimate my stride, and add my weight, and the thing in return calculates the miles walked and calories burned!  I tried it out walking the dogs on the trail near Lake Frank, and it gave me roughly the same distance reading going and returning, so I assume it works. . .

My pocket pedometer--the little LED display window slides shut so it is quite small

 

The credential

Today I sent off to the American Pilgrims on the Camino for my credential.  I could have waited until I got to Sarria, but thought it might be nice to have it in hand before I left.  They have an application form that can simply be filled out online and sent to them up to 3 months before actually leaving.

http://www.americanpilgrims.com/camino/credential_req.html

The credencial, which I mentioned in an earlier post, known also as the 'pilgrim's passport', is a small cardboard booklet that pilgrims carry throughout their walk on the Camino de Santiago . The credencial is stamped along the way, usually at the hostel (or albergue) stayed in, and acts as proof that the person has actually walked the Camino. It also serves as a nice souvenir because it can record the albergues or places stayed in, cafes, churches and other sites visited along the way. For those completing an entire Camino de Santiago route, they will only need to get one stamp (or sello) per day, however, those starting their walk in Galicia, like me, will need to get their credencial stamped twice daily.

Once a pilgrim has reached Santiago de Compostela, he or she turns in the completed Credencial del Pelegrino, and is then awarded a  'compostela', the certificate proving that they have walked the Camino de Santiago. It serves as a diploma that the Catholic Church issues to award those who have walked the pilgrim route, having completed at least the last 100 km on foot or 200 km on bicycle.

Medieval pilgrims, on the other hand, were required to make confession and take communion in order to have their pilgrimage recognized with what was known as an "autentica", or official church document. They often traveled with a letter of commendation from their local priest, signifying they had already confessed and were traveling with the right spirit as a bona-fide pilgrim.

With the passage of time, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela became one of three major pilgrimages on which a plenary indulgence, or a complete remission of temporal punishment for sins, could be earned.  Later such indulgences were also made available those who couldn't go on a pilgrimage or crusade, but who offered cash contributions to the effort instead, a practice which lead to many abuses, and was much decried by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation.

The other good news is that my phone is now unlocked!  No hassle from T-Mobile--they just asked me for my phone's EMEI information and emailed me back the unlock code and instructions.  Now I'll be able to take my LG phone with me and use it with a Spanish SIM card!

  
I also just downloaded a nifty navigation software for android to my Samsung Tablet for free, called Navigator, which works off-line! After adding the Spain maps, I noticed that it has Camino routes available, so it looks like I won't need to use the GPS after all!

And because of a couple of unseasonaly cool days, I have already been able to practice walking in Rock Creek Regional Park with my two dogs on the Lake Frank and Meadowside trails . . . 2 miles the first time, 3.5 miles the second time . . .

 http://www.montgomeryparks.org/PPSD/ParkTrails/trails_MAPS/trailmap_pdfs/lakefrank_trails.pdf

Feast of Saint James

Santiago de Compostela hit the headlines July 24 when a train derailed there killing some 79 people.  Although most of the victims were from Spain, one was a local Arlington woman, who along with her husband and daughter, was on her way to visit her son there. He had recently completed the pilgrimage. It was the day before the Feast of Saint James, the traditional feast day of July 25 on the liturgical calendar, celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans.  It is a major religious festival and public holiday in Galicia and the neighboring Basque country, and the accident came as a huge shock for those preparing for the biggest day of their calendar year, being the worst train disaster in Spain in 40 years.  It is all very sad, especially when it appears that the train driver was speeding at almost twice the normal limit, and on his telephone at the same time.  I, on the other hand, am planning on flying Vueling Airlines, heading directly into Santiago de Compostela from Paris, taking a bus to Sarria from there.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jul/25/santiago-de-compostela-train-crash-cctv-video

I have been continuing on in William Melczer's book where he states that the three items that the 12th century pilgrim habitually carried were a staff, useful for uneven terrain and to ward off wild animals and thieves, a large soft leather pouch, usually open and practically empty, representing the pilgrim's life, and the scallop shell, the traditional emblem associated with Saint James, frequently worn on their hat or person.  The pouch, or scrip, might be used to store the pilgrim's few belongings: food, money and documents.  In addition, there might be a gourd for drinking, which frequently hung from the staff.

I

As a 21st century traveler, I think I am traveling light by carrying a mere 15 lbs. to last me 10 days.  These 12th century pilgrims would be making the pilgrimage in 4 to 6 months, perhaps a year round-trip if they made it back. . .

I just received an email from a friend saying that a French friend of hers started the pilgrimage route in France this year and will be doing the Spanish portion next year.  She got in shape by spending 3 weeks in a spa before starting out from Le Puy en Velay!  How times have changed!  As it's still hot and muggy I will be waiting until September before I start my tentative walking forays in earnest.

Since during the late Middle Ages, the French were some of the main proponents of the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, below is a map of what is known as the French Way.  As you can see, the four key French starting points are the pilgrim cities of  Paris, Vezelay, Le Puy and Arles.  The powerful Benedictine order at Cluny, France, encouraged the worship of religious relics by publishing much on lives of the saints, along with collections of purported miracles, consequently, relevant churches of their veneration frequently occurred along these pilgrim routes.

Many current day pilgrims start at St. Jean Pied-de-Port (see the red arrow) where three of these routes come together.  As you can see, Sarria, where I will be starting, is practically at the end of the route.

Today, however, I understand that most of the pilgrims are from Spain.  The map below shows the Spanish network of pilgrim routes.

For those that like statistics, according to the Pilgrims's Welcome Office in Santiago de Compostela, some 145,877 people completed the pilgrimage in 2011. Of that number, 83% arrived on foot, 17% by bicycle, and handful rode horseback. Most pilgrims came from Spain (54%), followed by Germany (10%), then Italy (7%). Five percent were from France, three percent from Portugal, 1.7% from the US, 1.5% from Canada, 1.2% from the UK, and the remainder from a hundred other countries.  I just checked the current figures on their website, and noticed that there were increasing numbers coming from other English-speaking countries such as Australia, Ireland, and South Africa. 

 A little over 9% were under 18 years old, 35% were between the ages of 19 and 35, about 50% were between 36 and 65, and just over 5% were older than that.  Statistics can be deceiving, though. A friend of mine, recently returned from her trip there, said her impression was that the bulk were either just out of college or those nearing retirement.  This yawn between, say 25 - 49 years, makes perfect sense since this would cover their prime working years.  Only those without jobs, or those with considerable leisure time on their hands would be likely to walk the Camino, even in stages, as some do.