economy – Digital Camino de Santiago

Welcoming Pilgrims to the Santiago Cathedral (c. 1243-1250)

April 26, 2023January 19, 2024amelia.kennedy

We would like to thank Sebastian Rider-Bezerra for his suggestions on the linguistic aspects and translation of this text.

Upon arrival at the Cathedral of Santiago, pilgrims today participate in rich traditions that shape their experience of at last reaching their destination: They may attend a pilgrims’ mass, descend into the crypt to view the relics of St. James, watch the enormous botafumeiro swing, marvel at the Pórtico de la Gloria, and, of course, greet their host: One of the most beloved Camino traditions involves climbing the stairs embedded within the ornate altar to hug a statue of St. James from behind.

Thanks to some intriguing medieval documents (as well as painstaking scholarship by José Pensado, Francisco Javier Pérez Rodríguez, and Pär Larson, among others), we can get a sense of what pilgrims experienced when they entered the cathedral centuries ago. The 13th-century document translated below, held in the Cathedral Archive in Libro 2 de Constituciones (f. 64-65), is an excellent example. It outlines the important features within the cathedral and contains instructions for those working there to welcome and guide pilgrims in their path through the cathedral interior. The multilingualism of this text is especially striking: It proposes various “scripts” that can be addressed to pilgrims in different languages, including forms of Occitan and Italian. Above all, practicality pervades the text, and these multilingual lines seem to reflect the kinds of pragmatic communication that arose from a diverse context of locals and pilgrims.

Background on Pilgrims’ Experiences in 13th-Century Santiago

The Altar of St. James was the principal attraction of the cathedral, and it received the richest portion of visitors’ offerings. These offerings were then shared out to various beneficiaries, including the archbishop and the cathedral chapter. Such a collection of offerings was known as an arca, a word that can refer both to the physical donation box and to the fund more generally.

Next in importance after the Altar itself was the Arca de la Obra, which likewise took in a variety of offerings, in this case earmarked for the cathedral fabric: Within this context, the word “fabric” refers to the physical materials and upkeep of the cathedral. The donations made to the Arca de la Obra thus supported the stone masons, as well as other groups with a stake in the fabric of the church. It’s hard for us know exactly how funding for the cathedral’s maintenance worked in practice, given a lack of relevant documentation; we are thus left to speculate about precisely how the alms given to the Arca de la Obra were divided, as well as how stone masons and artisans were contracted and by whom.

Apart from these two main arcas within the cathedral, others existed of lesser importance. In the 13th century, these included: the chain, crown (corona), and treasury (thesaurus), as well as others whose precise significance is not immediately apparent (guardarie, madanela, carta). It’s clear that numerous places and objects existed within the cathedral where pilgrims could dedicate their offerings, each connected to some aspect of St. James’ life, though for some objects, the link to St. James is clearer than for others. The crown is particularly associated with German pilgrims, who participated in a special coronation ceremony; one striking sculptural depiction of such a ceremony once decorated the Nordstetter Kapelle, an important German waypoint along the Camino (today, the sculpture can be found at the Villinger Münster in southwestern Germany).

We know a considerable amount of detail about the cathedral customs that guided pilgrims’ visits thanks to the quarrels that erupted during the 13th and 14th centuries between the Altar of St. James and the Arca de la Obra. In 1228, Archbishop Bernard threatened to excommunicate anyone who confused or misled pilgrims while they were trying to leave offerings in the various chapels of the cathedral. Issues arose over the question of donations: If the arqueyrus of the Obra (guardian of the Arca de la Obra) wanted to secure a larger portion of the pilgrims’ offerings, then he might take advantage of the fact that the names of the two arcas were very similar: the fund for the Altar was the arca beati Jacobi, while that for the Obra was the arca operis beati Jacobi. An unscrupulous arqueyrus merely had to mumble the word operis or omit it entirely. In addition, the Arca de la Obra enjoyed a convenient position within the cathedral, attracting the attention of pilgrims soon after they entered.

The rivalry between the Altar of St. James and the Arca de la Obra led the Archbishop Juan Arias to entrust the cantor Juan Peláez, the cardinal Lorenzo Domínguez, and Juan Fernández Rapati with conducting an investigation. The document translated below is the result of this investigation. Though undated, the document is believed to date to the period between 1243-1250, based on the people involved in carrying it out.

Translation of the Text

How the guardians of the Altar of St. James should behave toward the guardians of the Obra of St. James, as well as the other honors of the church of St. James. These are the customs which the guardians of the Arca de la Obra of St. James ought to observe, along with the guardians of the Altar of St. James.

First, as soon as the bell has been rung at the Altar of St. James for morning mass, the arqueyrus (that is, the guardian of the Arca) and a cleric ought to stand there at the Arca de la Obra with their rods in hand for calling pilgrims to the Arca and for delivering [blows] to the backs and limbs of the pilgrims as penitence. But neither in the grilles of the doors, nor at the doors of the Altar of St. James, nor anywhere else, should they use the rods in a way that causes [noise] or tumult. And the cleric ought to wear his surplice and stand over the Arca, and he who speaks the indulgence or pardon ought first to identify the Arca before any other honor of the church.

And after it has been called out, the arqueyrus ought at once to say to the French, “Here is the Arca de la Obra of my lord St. James. Here is the work of the church [Ze e l’archa de l’obra mon sennor San Iame. Ze e l’obra de la egresa].”¹

And he ought to say to Lombards and Tuscans, “O Master Lombard, here is the Arca de la Obra of my lord St. James. This goes to the work of the church [O miçer lombardo, quest’e l’archa de la lauoree de micer Saiacomo. Questo uay a la gage fayr].”²

And to campisinis, he should say, “And you [and] [those from Tierra de Campos] and the frontier,³ come here to the Arca de la Obra of the lord St. James. The offerings which you bring from the living and the dead for the work of the lord St. James, put them here, and not in any other place [Et uos et del estremo aca ueinde a la archa de la obra de sennor Santiago. Las comendas que trahedes de mortos et de uiuos para la obra de sennor Santiago, aca las echade et non en outra parte].”⁴

And he ought to say each one of these phrases once in the morning, at the time the pardon is given and not before. And then, he and the other people from the church should stand there quietly until the indulgence is said. And once the pardon has been said, he ought to call all the pilgrims to the Arca in each language. And he should say, “{?}⁵ This is the Arca of St. James; this is the Arca de la Obra [{ƀtom} A acron Sangyama, a acron de labro].”⁶

And then, after Matins are finished, when the group of pilgrims advances toward the Altar of St. James, the arqueyrus (or his man whom he has there) should call them to the Arca. And if he realizes that a pilgrim wishes to leave an offering there at the Altar of St. James, then he should speak to them and point out the Altar of St. James and say that this is [instead] the Arca de la Obra. And so, the pilgrims should be guided there [to the Altar], namely so that they first make offerings at the Altar of St. James, and then the chain, and then the Arca de la Obra, and then the other honors.

And if the crown of St. James has been brought to the Altar of St. James, the Germans ought first to make an offering there to the aforesaid crown, and then to the cross, which is brought before that crown, and then to the chain, and then to the Arca de la Obra. But if the Germans are brought to the crown and then to the treasury, when they are refreshed from the treasury, they first ought to make an offering to the Arca de la Obra prior to the Altar.

Likewise, if a pilgrim tells the treasurers that he is bringing an offering, the treasurers ought to ask him if he is bringing it to St. James or to the Arca de la Obra of St. James. And if he says that he is bringing it to St. James, they should tell him to put it on the Altar. And if he says that he is bringing it for the Arca or for the work, they should send him with it to the Arca de la Obra or lead him to the Arca.

Likewise, if a pilgrim says that he brings an offering, then the arqueyrus and cleric (or those who stand there with them or in their place) ought to ask if he is bringing the offering itself to St. James or to the Arca de la Obra. And if he says he is bringing it to the Arca de la Obra of St. James, they should say that they will bring it there.

But when the door of the Altar of St. James is closed, or the treasurers have gone from there, then the cleric who stands at the Arca ought to take off his surplice and go there with the arqueyrus and sit on the steps without his rod and guard the linens, wax, and other things; but the man of the arqueyrus should remain there. And they should not call pilgrims. But if a pilgrim asks after the Arca de la Obra or the Altar of St. James, the man ought to show him and he ought to do this well and faithfully.

After eating, when the treasurers come to the Altar of St. James, the arqueyrus and cleric should presently go to the Arca de la Obra, and the cleric should put on his surplice and stand there over the Arca with his rod, and the arqueyrus with his rod, and however the pilgrims come to the Altar of St. James, the arqueyrus and the cleric (or his man) ought to call out “Arca de la Obra of St. James” and not “Arca of St. James” – but rather the “Arca de la Obra of St. James.” And from there, they should lead the pilgrims through the honors according to how it is said above.

And at the conclusion of Vespers, the arqueyrus and the cleric should place any pilgrim, if there are any, under the guard of the Arca. Once a guard has been placed on the altar, he should say to anyone asking that this is the Arca de la Obra of St. James and tell them, if they ask, where they should put offerings to the Arca de la Obra of St. James. But he should not call pilgrims there. And the man of the arqueyrus should remain there, who guards the iron and linen and wax and other things. But he should not call any pilgrim. And the arqueyrus should not receive the image of a man, horse, or any other form; nor incense; nor any bread. Likewise, at the Altar of St. James and at the other honors of the church, they should not accept iron rods or iron crosses, nor lead or iron candlesticks. But they ought to accept at the Altar of St. James a good sword, a good knife, or a good bell. If any of the former things are offered, the Arca de la Obra should have them. Also, the arqueyrus should not accept unrefined beeswax, but he should have all the candles which are offered there, unless it is the great candle of clamor.⁷ And the treasurers should not show the collection box to the pilgrims who make offerings there.

Likewise, they ought to give something from the altar of St. James to the arqueyrus and the cleric and render service to them. And the arqueyrus and the cleric (or his man) should not say to the pilgrims that they should put what remains of the wax and hirloure (which is called expedimentum in Latin)⁸ at the Arca de la Obra of St. James. But they should tell them that they should put candles before the figure of St. James.

I, Juan Peláez, sworn public notary of Compostela, wrote this at the mandate of Juan Peláez, Cantor, and Lorenzo Domínguez, Cardinal of Compostela, and Juan Fernández, called “Rapati,” who investigated this matter at the mandate of the Lord Archbishop.

Notes

¹ Francigenis: These lines are directed “to the French,” meaning more broadly those from the territory of France. José Pensado (1960) identifies the phrasing here as belonging to the language of southern France (langue d’oc) rather than northern France (langue d’oïl): see Pensado, p. 330.This linguistic community also implicates the Crown of England, since Occitan would answer for Gascony, Henry III’s nearest territory. The rhotacism (egresa for eglesa (< ecclesia)) is surprising, but perhaps not unthinkable in a Galician-Portuguese context (modern Portuguese has praia for Spanish playa, etc.). If so, it is quite telling, because it is very rare in an Occitan context.

² Lombardis et tozcanis: “…to the Lombards and the Tuscans”: that is, to northern and central Italians more generally; see Pär Larson (2020), p. 334, n. 11 on the use of these terms to designate larger swaths of north/central Italy. Pensado identifies the lines that follow as combining Tuscan with other north Italian (Lombard, Genoese) elements. He notes that this script begins with a formula of invocation (O miçer lombardo…), which he views as an especially courteous opening; Larson argues instead that Spanish-speakers commonly used miçer at this time to address or indicate Italians. The final line of this section (Questo uay a la gage fayr) offers some complications. Larson suggests interpreting it as inflected with French ([questo] va à les gages faire) and thus meaning: “What you leave here goes to pay wages.” See Larson, p. 335. Pensado observes the Latin-influenced word order of the sentence, with the verb fayr at the end, rather than Questo vay a fayr la gage, which would be more typical; see Pensado, p. 338.

³ Campisinis: These lines are directed “to the campisini” (campisinis), though it is difficult to identify the precise group of people to whom this refers. The Castilian word campesinos would typically denote peasant farmers, and so the campisini here may refer to peasants from the surrounding areas or from across Iberia who spoke a variety of local dialects. Another possibility is that it refers to those from Tierra de Campos (see, e.g., Larson, p. 335). Some editions of this text (e.g., López Ferreiro) open the quotation that follows with E uos de Campos et del Estremo acá, but de Campos does not appear in the manuscript. Overall, we find it likely that this line may be a reference to Tierra de Campos, but that it is not strictly intended to be understood in that sense. Just as the reference to lombardi et tozcani covers the northern Italians more generally (remembering that there are also the Liguri, Veneti, etc.), and el estremo covers the Iberian frontiers to the south, campisinis is likely intended to mean simply “to the Iberians.”

⁴ Et uos et del estremo: As both Larson and Pensado note, the language used in this passage combines Galician and Castilian elements; Pensado ultimately concludes that these lines represent a lingua franca, “a mixed language, without linguistic reality, born from the necessity that contact among Spanish people from different regions and languages demanded for ease of mutual comprehension.” (“Nos vemos obligados a explicar el pasaje como una lengua mixta, sin realidad lingüística, nacida de la necesidad que el contacto entre gentes hispánicas de diversas regiones y lenguas exigía para una más fácil comprensión.”): see Pensado, p. 339-40.

⁵ƀtom: Scholars have disagreed on how to read this line. One difficulty arises from a word in the manuscript beginning with ƀto and ending with either om or oni. Pensado’s transcription reads Et debet dicere bretoni: «A acron Sangyama, a acron de labro» (“And he should say to the Breton: «…»”). In this case, the language of the quotation would be Breton, a Celtic language spoken in northwestern France. However, this reading is implausible, and the language here does not appear to be Breton. Others read the word as bentom, bertom, or similar and see it instead as the first word of the recommended script spoken to the pilgrim. This second interpretation seems to us more plausible. Larson transcribes this section as follows: et debet dicere: ƀtom aatrō sangyama aatrō d’labro.

⁶ A acron Sangyama: Larson offers speculative readings of the line to be spoken to the pilgrims and in particular suggests swapping the vowel order of aatrō. The line thus becomes: ƀtom a ōtra [or otrā?] san gyama a ōtra [or otrā?] del obra, which he translates (leaving out ƀtom) as: “l’una è per san Jacopo, l’altra è dell’Opera” (“One is for St. James, the other for the Obra”). On this issue, we suggest following Pensado’s reading of the word as acron (arca) since this involves fewer changes to the sentence as it appears in the manuscript. We have thus settled – for now – on the translation above: “This is the Arca of St. James; this is the Arca de la Obra.”

⁷ The candela magna de clamore (“great candle of clamor”) was a big candle offered to the Apostle to request his help obtaining some special wish or goal. See Pensado, p. 330.

⁸It is unclear what hirloure/expedimentum means, and decades of scholarship has been (to our knowledge) unable to decipher it. One early modern Latin dictionary defines expedimentum as fustian, a type of fabric: See Riders Dictionarie, Corrected and Augmented (London 1606), Link to Google Books. More convincingly, for expedimentum Du Cange gives impedimentum, sarcinae, with the meaning of “equipment, baggage”; he supplies as evidence a letter of St. Thomas Becket: “He says that he does not have [the letters] to hand, due to the fact that he had sent them with his baggage (cum suo expedimento) to Winchester.” In the context of the Liber de Constituciones, this could be all the other offerings and gifts which have been brought by pilgrims. Wax (cera) is a fairly standard gift, but there are other votive offerings (a number listed in the text itself) which should be accounted for in the rules of the cathedral. Thus, the proposal of expedimentum as a simple variant of impedimentum, perhaps arising conceptually from a confusion between those things which impede your movement (impedimenta) and those things which are carried along (expedimenta). Unfortunately, hours upon hours of searching have been insufficient to locate any piece of Galician, Castilian, or French vocabulary which is plausibly connected phonetically to hirloure and definitionally to expedimentum. That does not mean that it cannot still be found, nor that this definition does not serve, at least for the moment. [See: http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/EXPEDIMENTUM].

REFERENCES

For the information in our introduction, see especially: Pérez Rodríguez, Francisco Javier. La Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela en la Edad Media: El Cabildo Catedralicio (1110-1400). Santiago: Xunta de Galicia, 1996. Pages 149-51.

For the primary source text itself: The manuscript containing this document is Libro 2 de Constituciones, held in the cathedral archives of Santiago de Compostela. An image of the manuscript, as well as a transcription and linguistic analysis, can be viewed in an article by José L. Pensado: “Aspectos lingüísticos de la Compostela medieval.” Vox Romanica 19 (1960): 319-40. Link to PDF.

The document is also included in López Ferreiro, Antonio. Historia de la Santa A.M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela. Vol. 5. Appendix #25, pages 64-67; and in a volume by Luis Vázquez de Parga, José M.^A Lacarra, and Juan Uría Ríu: Las Peregrinaciones a Santiago de Compostela. Vol. III. Madrid, 1949. Pages 113-14.

On the coronation ritual for German pilgrims, see:

Plötz, Robert. “Santiago ‘coronatio peregrinorum.'” In Santiago, Camino de Europa: Culto y Cultura en la Peregrinación a Compostela. Edited by Serafín Moralejo and Fernando López Alsina. Santiago: Monasterio de San Martín Pinario, 1993), p. 344.

On the linguistic elements of the text, see:

Larson, Pär. “Per totam linguaginem. [‘In every language’].” Verba 47 (2020): 329-40. Link to DOI.

Monteagudo, Henrique. “O Camiño, as linguas e a emerxencia do galego.” Grial 42 (2004): 52-61. Link to JSTOR.

Pensado, José L. “Aspectos lingüísticos de la Compostela medieval.” Vox Romanica 19 (1960): 319-40. Link to PDF.

Papal Documents on the Monopoly on Shells in Santiago

July 9, 2020January 19, 2024amelia.kennedy

About the Texts

If you travel to Santiago de Compostela today, you will have ample opportunity to purchase a scallop-shaped souvenir. These shells have long been a symbol of St. James, and as the following four documents show, they were sometimes a source of concern for the church of Compostela, which aimed to regulate the production and sale of shells in various ways.

As indicated by our other series of shell-related texts (Documents on the Sale of Shells to Pilgrims), the Compostelan church sought to control the sale of shell-shaped badges to pilgrims within the city. These items, often made from lead or tin, constituted an important source of revenue for the church.

In the documents translated here, the main concern is instead with preventing the manufacture and sale of these items outside of Santiago de Compostela. While the archbishop of Santiago could likely exercise effective control over shell sales within his diocese (and to a lesser extent, the archdiocese), the Camino stretched over a vast amount of territory, including large swaths of the archdiocese of Toledo, the diocese of Pamplona, and the diocese of León. To clamp down on sales in these areas, the archbishop of Compostela needed assistance from the pope.

Text #1 is a letter from Pope Alexander IV and dates to 1259. Alexander denounces the manufacture and sale of counterfeit shell badges (produced outside of Santiago) and places the bishop of Lugo (about 100 km from Santiago) in charge of ensuring that his commands are carried out.

Illicit shell badges remained a problem in 1266, as we can see from Text #2, a letter from Pope Clement IV on the same problem. Clement here threatens not only the people making and selling counterfeits, but also the pilgrims who bought and wore them.

Text #3, written by Pope Gregory X in 1272, shows that counterfeit scallop shell badges remained an ongoing issue.

In 1327 [Text #4], the bishop of Lugo, Juan Martínez, was commissioned by Pope John XXII to enforce the prohibition on forging and selling counterfeits outlined in Pope Alexander IV’s earlier letter, which he quoted in full and upon which he then elaborated.

All four of these documents are preserved in Tumbo B, a cartulary compiled during the 1320s under the archbishop Berengar of Landorra and the treasurer Aymeric of Anteaic. Bishop Juan Martínez’s letter [Text #4] shows a renewed interest in dealing with longstanding problems and reviving previous papal directives and privileges that had perhaps lapsed.

Translation: Text #1

21 January 1259.

Bishop Alexander, servant of the servants of God, sends greetings and apostolic blessings to the venerable brothers, the archbishops and bishops constituted throughout Spain and Gascony.

The Apostolic See ought to oppose the presumptions of evil ones and to restrain their excesses with pastoral solicitude. Indeed, it has come to my attention from my venerable brother the archbishop of Compostela that certain ones in Spain and Gascony, detained by the detestable ardor of inflamed greed, presume with their own temerity to forge and sell counterfeit insignia of St. James. Therefore, wishing to inhibit these presumptuous people by your zeal, we firmly order your brotherhood by apostolic letter, in the virtue of obedience, that each of you in your cities and dioceses, by you or by others, compel those presumptuous ones of this sort to desist from such presumption, with an advance warning, through the ecclesiastical censure without need for appeal. In any case, I enjoin my venerable brother the bishop of Lugo with my letter that he, himself or through others, pursue those who contradict this apostolic mandate for punishment by my authority, curbing them with appeal postponed, notwithstanding any indulgence through which the execution of my mandate regarding this matter should be impeded or hindered in any way.

Given in Anagni, 12th Kalends of February, in the 5th year of my pontificate.

Translation: Text #2

1 January 1266.

Bishop Clement, servant of the servants of God, sends greetings and apostolic blessings to his venerable brother, the archbishop of Compostela.

It has been brought to my attention by my beloved sons, the chapter of Compostela, that although [the insignia of St. James] have long been made according to ancient and approved and hitherto peacefully observed custom, and it should be obtained that the insignia of St. James, which are called conche [i.e. scallop shells] in the common tongue, be made by that authority; and although the greater part of their [the chapter’s] income consists in that which they receive and have been accustomed to receive for a long time; nevertheless certain sons of iniquity presume by their own temerity to make or mint false and counterfeit forgeries of the insignia of St. James, to the peril of their souls and causing no little damage and grievance to the chapter [of Compostela]. As such, I order your fraternity by apostolic writ that you, by my authority, strictly prohibit under the penalty of indefinite anathema all pilgrims visiting the threshold of St. James from presuming to buy or wear any false insignia of this sort.

Given in Vézère, Kalends of January in the third year of my pontificate.

Translation: Text #3

7 March 1272.

Bishop Gregory, servant of the servants of God, sends greetings and apostolic blessings to his beloved sons the bishop-elect and chapter of Compostela.

You have brought to me the symbols of St. James, which are called conchee [i.e. scallop shells] in the common tongue, the likes of which have been made in the city of Compostela since time immemorial. Therefore, inclining to your supplications, I strictly prohibit by the authority of those present that scallops of this sort be made anywhere but in the aforesaid city.

Therefore, let no one infringe upon this page of my prohibition or contradict it with reckless abandon. But if anyone should dare to try, he should know himself to have incurred the indignation of God Almighty and his apostles, Saints Peter and Paul.

Given in Orvieto, Nones of March, in the first year of my pontificate.

Translation: Text #4

24 May 1327.

Juan, Bishop of Lugo and delegated by the Apostolic See regarding the matters described below, sends greetings to the reverend fathers in Christ, the archbishops and bishops of Spain and Gascony to whom the present letter is addressed.

And you should firmly and humbly obey my commands, or rather, the apostolic commands, namely the letter which I received from Pope Alexander IV of happy memory, with his authentic bulla hanging from a hemp cord, which was presented to me by the archbishop [Berengar of Landorra] and chapter of Compostela; the tenor and contents of the letter are the following:

[Text #1: letter from Pope Alexander IV in 1259].

The aforesaid archbishop and chapter produced and showed this to me, and they complained that some people in your cities and dioceses, detained by detestable greed and burning with the zeal of avarice, mint, make, and sell fake symbols of St. James, which are called conche in the common tongue of Galicia, to pilgrims going to Santiago or returning from the pilgrimage–with considerable damage and harm to the church of Compostela. On account of which, I was asked by the archbishop and chapter to proceed against the people making and selling such items. Wishing to obey the apostolic mandate as I am held to do, I therefore ask each of you and your people, by the apostolic authority which I discharge, and in the virtue of holy obedience. And I order you–you yourselves or others–to prohibit this practice within your cities and dioceses lest from now on anyone presume to coin, make, or sell fake symbols of St. James. And if anyone does so, you should proceed against them with ecclesiastical censure, not to mention other legal remedies. Moreover, I, with apostolic authority, warn those presuming to do such a thing once, twice, and a third time, giving them a period of 15 days to cease the aforesaid activities. But if they do not desist, even after having been warned three times, I will carry out a sentence of excommunication against them as I have written here. I wish that you cause this sentence of excommunication to be solemnly publicized in your churches and dioceses on Sundays and feast days. As a sign of faith and testimony whereof, I secure this letter by affixing my seal.

Given in Compostela, 23rd day of the month of May, in the year of our Lord 1327, in the presence of the venerable men Master Juan, Judge; Martín Bernardez, Cardinal; Aymeric of Anteiac, Treasurer; Fernando Martínez, Canon; members of the church of Compostela; witnesses, specially summoned and called regarding the above.

I, Alfonso Yañez, sworn public notary of Compostela, saw, held, and read the letter of the Pope Alexander IV, and at the order of the aforesaid reverend father the bishop of Lugo, I subscribe and sign with my usual sign as a witness of the above.

References

Text #1

López Ferreiro, Antonio. Historia de la Santa A.M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela. Vol. 5. Santiago: Imp. y Enc. del Seminario Conciliar Central, 1902. Appendix: Document #33.

Text #2

González Balasch, María Teresa, ed. Tumbo B de la Catedral de Santiago. Santiago de Compostela: Edicios do Castro, 2004. Document #331.

Text #3

González Balasch, María Teresa, ed. Tumbo B de la Catedral de Santiago. Santiago de Compostela: Edicios do Castro, 2004. Document #333.

López Ferreiro, Antonio. Historia de la Santa A.M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela. Vol. 5. Santiago: Imp. y Enc. del Seminario Conciliar Central, 1902. Appendix: Document #39 [incomplete].

Text #4

González Balasch, María Teresa, ed. Tumbo B de la Catedral de Santiago. Santiago de Compostela: Edicios do Castro, 2004. Document #229.

Documents on the Sale of Shells to Pilgrims

July 3, 2020May 8, 2022amelia.kennedy

About the Texts

The first document [Text #1] records an agreement forged in 1200 between Pedro Suárez de Deza, the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, and the townspeople who held licenses to sell scallop shells to pilgrims. It is most likely that the shells discussed here are not natural shells, but rather shell-shaped badges made of lead, tin, or other materials. The text comes down to us in Tumbo C, compiled during the 1320s under the episcopacy of Berengar of Landorra.

The scallop shell is a well-known symbol of the Camino de Santiago, dating back at least to the 12th century. Shells are mentioned in various medieval texts, including the Liber Sancti Jacobi. Pilgrims might buy a shell as a souvenir, and some seem to have believed in their miraculous powers of healing and defense.

The second document translated here [Text #2] represents a sequel of sorts to the first document. Dating to 1230 and promulgated by the Archbishop Bernardo II, it again delineates rules and guidelines for shell vendors, outlining the fees they owed to the Church and discussing how ownership of a license to sell shells could be lawfully transferred. This text is also included in Tumbo C.

What do these documents tell us about the relationships among the archbishop of Santiago, the townspeople, and the flow of pilgrims? What can we learn about the economy of pilgrimage?

Translation: Text #1

Pedro, by the esteem of God Archbishop of the Holy Church of Compostela, sends greetings in the Lord to my beloved sons in Christ, namely to the citizens who hold the right to sell shells.

I want it to be known that it pleases me and that I have decreed that there should be no more than 100 licenses to sell shells, and that no more than this number should be added, neither by me nor by you. And let me have 25 out of those 100 licenses, in addition to three others which I had there previously. Out of these 28 licenses, let me do as I wish. But you may have 62 licenses, and you should give me as tribute each year one morabetino for each license from the pilgrimage season between Easter and Pentecost, and half a morabetino for the autumnal pilgrimage season from the feast of St. Michael until the feast of St. Martin. For this rent, you may hold them from me for 30 years.

If, however, within this time you wish to raise a question or make a case against me regarding these rights, it should not be an annoyance to me, but the matter should be treated amicably by both parties without scandal and violence or undue contention, and it should be adjudicated by suitable judges who are agreeable to both parties. If, by chance, you win the suit, I shall not require the aforesaid income from your licenses until those 30 years are complete. But if I win against you in this case, nevertheless I will not demand anything from you for those 30 years beyond the morabetino and a half for each license, just as I have said. However, after the end of the aforesaid period of time, I will do with each shell license what I please, without any contradiction from you.

If one of you or your heirs wishes to give up the license(s) which you have within this time frame, I will receive the license(s), thereafter doing with them what I please, and I will not require from you or your heirs anything beyond the aforementioned payment.

Also, it is provided that this period of 30 years should be able to generate no prejudice by reason of time for either party.

Moreover, it is decreed that if within this 30-year span you or your heirs do not raise a question regarding the licenses with me or my successors, so that the case is decided by a legal judgment, afterwards it will not be permitted to you or your heirs, or to me or my successors, to press a legal claim regarding this in any way whatsoever. But I or my successors have free power over all of the shell licenses, apart from any complaint that might be brought to me.

Also, you are held by oath that you should faithfully exercise the ministry of the shells in a manner useful to me and my Church by serving pilgrims honestly. And if there is anything to be corrected or emended, it will be up to the discretion of my procurators to whom I have committed this ministry. It should be emended competently and efficiently according to the conventions and agreements which you have placed with my vicar. And all these things, just as they have been determined above, should be observed faithfully between myself or my successors and you and your successors without change. And if either party tries to act contrary to this, with reckless abandon, that party should pay 3000 morabetinos to the other party. Nevertheless, this writing should stand by its own strength.

Done in Compostela, 12th Kalends of March.

In era 1238 [= 1200 CE].

I, Pedro, Archbishop of Compostela, confirm.
I, Martin, the Dean, confirm.
I, Adam, Archdeacon of Compostela, confirm.
Don Raymond, at that time Justice of Compostela, confirms.
Miguel Díaz, at that time Majordomo of Compostela, confirms.
Pedro Fernández confirms.
Don Viviano Bernadez confirms.
Don Gayo confirms.
Juan Gascón confirms.
Pedro Martínez de Civitate confirms.
Don Martín Pérez de Campo confirms.
I, Lope Arias, notary of Compostela [drew up this document].

Translation: Text #2

Since life is brief and memory is fragile, and the deeds of past or present are not allowed to be perpetuated, thus deeds are committed to the life of letters, so that they live in a certain way an eternal life. Therefore, let it be known both to the present parties, as well as to posterity, that these agreements and statutes made between Bernardo, Archbishop of the Church of Compostela on one side, and the citizens of Compostela who have licenses to sell shells on the other, are to be observed without violation in perpetuity.

There should not be more than 100 licenses to sell shells, of which the archbishop has 28 licenses, and he may do with them as he wishes. But the citizens have 62 licenses from which they must give the archbishop as rent, in recognition of his lordship, each year from each license 14 and a half solidi in the money current at that time in the city of Compostela. And ten solidi should be paid from the pilgrimage between Easter and Pentecost, and the other four solidi and a half should be paid from the pilgrimage between the feast of St. Michael and the feast of St. Martin. But the aforesaid citizens have and hold the aforesaid 62 licenses from the hand and grant of the archbishop of Compostela.

Nevertheless, by law, they have the right to hand them down to their heirs in perpetuity, or to give them away or sell them. However, it is not permitted to the aforesaid citizens or their successors in perpetuity that they–regardless of the title or manner in which they obtained them–sell or give any of the 62 licenses to any cleric except those of the Church of Compostela. And if they wish to give alms from any of the licenses, in part or in whole, or provide for an anniversary [i.e. pay for mass to be said on the anniversary of a person’s death], they or their successors may only do so in the Church of Compostela. But the sale or donation which is not for alms can be made within the Church of Compostela so long as in no way or manner any of these licenses or any right in them is transferred to any cleric except the Church of Compostela.

And if anyone causes a transference of ownership to be done against this comprehensive statute, then this transference is ipso iure and ipso facto null. And if, by chance…[The edited text leaves off here; this is possibly meant as a reference to the sentence beginning “If, by chance” in Text #1 above.]

And if anyone acts against this statute, he should pay 1000 morabetinos, with this statute nevertheless remaining valid. The document was made 8th Kalends of February in the archbishop’s palace, era 1268 [= 1230 CE]. Those present were the following:

I, Bernardo, by the mercy of God Archbishop of Compostela, confirm.
I, Juan, Dean of Compostela, confirm.
I, B., cantor of Compostela, confirm.
I, Juan Raimundez, Archdeacon of Compostela, confirm.
I, Martín Pérez, Canon and Cardinal-Elect, confirm.
I, Juan Cresconio, Archdeacon of Nendos, confirm.
I, Sancho Pérez, Judge of Compostela, confirm.
I, Domingo Díaz, Cardinal, confirm.
Martín Pérez of Tudela and Pelayo García, Justices.
Juan Martínez Xarpa.
Julian Yañez.
Abril Sebastianez.
Fernando Pectavinus.
Pedro Martínez de Campo.
Guillermo Yañez.
Juan Díaz de Moneta Nona.
Juan Fernandez Rapatus.
Arias Pérez Pauquitinus.
Fernando Pelaez de Arenis.
Pedro Raimundez.
Bernaldo Romanez, godfather of Martín.
Juan Pérez Curutana.
Domingo Martínez.
Pelayo de Valouta.
Juan de Saon.
Pedro Arias the Shell-Vendor.
I, Martín Yañez, sworn notary of the Council of Compostela, wrote this document.

References

López Ferreiro, Antonio. Historia de la Santa A.M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela. Vol. 5. Santiago: Imp. y Enc. del Seminario Conciliar Central, 1902. Appendix: Documents #5 and #17.