What's in a name

 "What's in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet"

--William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, Scene 2)

Well so far I've mentioned the names "James", "Jacques" and "Jacobus". Apparently the original derivation of the name we have come to know as "James", or "Jacob", is from the Hebrew given name "Yaakov", popularly interpreted to mean "he supplanted" referring to the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau. The Latin forms "Iacobus" (Jacob) or "Jacobus" and "Jacomus", resulted in the modern English forms of Jacob and James, or "Jacques" in French, "Giacomo", "Iacopo" or "Jacopo", or "Giacobbe" in Italian, which then, in turn, became "Iago" in western Spain. "Saint James" ("Sanctus Jacobus") became "Sant' Iago", which was abbreviated to simply "Santiago".

 In English we have variants and nicknames of "James" such as Jack, Jake, Jim, Jimmy, Jamie, or even Coby. Since the Germans are great hikers and many walk the Camino, the most common versions of "James" in German include "Jakob" or "Jacob" and "Jakobus." There is also a nickname "Kobus", but there are many, many more nicknames which have evolved. The Swiss German dialects are incredibly rich with these, including Bappi, Beppi, Peppi, Boobba, Boppi, Jäck, Jäckli, Jäcklin, Jagg, Jaggi, Jägsch, Jageli, Jaggili, Joggi, Joggel, Jockel, Jöggel, Joggeli, Jögeli, Jäppi, Jaggeler, Jagschi, Köbel, Kobi, Köbi, Zagge, and Hanogg being the most popular derivatives!  And those are just a few names for starters!  Pretty amazing!

Even my dog's name "Jacquot" is actually derived from a surname with its origins in the old French personal name "Jacques"

Well, my Camino passport has arrived!  A totally blank document except for my name and the statement that I intend to do the walk on foot.  I've put it in a small zip-lock bag to protect it for the time being...

Incidently, if anyone reading this blog ever considers walking the Camino themselves, the organization from which I requested my Credential, the American Pilgrims on the Camino, is a great source of information.  They also have a very active Facebook page where pilgrims or would-be pilgrims contribute regularly, along with a local chapter which plans occasional events. 

For a peek at their website, click on the link below

http://www.americanpilgrims.com/

I've also added another gadget to my backpack--an inexpensive headlamp.  I understand that I will likely need one for the last 20 km to Santiago de Compostela since I will be leaving very early in the morning when it is still dark.

Downie's Paris to the Pyrenees has largely turned out to be quite a disappointment after all.  He writes engagingly enough, for the most part, but the book has turned out to really about Downie's most  singular journey, accompanied by his circuitous travelogue, with descriptions of colorful characters met, and interspersed with historic trivia, personal opinion and wit.  Very little of the book, aside from his own internal musings on being a most unwilling, or even accidental pilgrim, has to do with walking the Way of Saint James.  In addition to the considerable information on Julius Caesar and Vercingétorix, there is interwoven a most curious commentary on former French president François Mitterrand! Most relevant were his comments about the powerful influence of the Abbey of Cluny during the 10th and 11th centuries, something I mentioned in an earlier post. Fortunately I did benefit from his photographer-wife Alison's gorgeous photos, which I was told were left out of the Kindle edition, but they managed to show up, after all, at the end of the android version of the Kindle "book."

Click on the link below to see some of her photos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29nlMaILO1U