The mediaeval road network was made up of not always very well maintained tracks, of which some, former Roman roads, were in effect main roads because of the numbers of people using them. Conversely, a main road turned back into a mere track as soon as the users abandoned it.
So a mediaeval road was basically whichever route people habitually used. The frequency with which an itinerary was used depended on the state of the track, the presence of crossings (bridges, ferries), accommodation, tolls, convergence of commercial activities, the existence of an unsafe zone, rumours of epidemics…
Considering that the state of a road could fluctuate, just like commercial activities, one can understand that from the 5th to the 18th C., land communications constituted a "living" network, perpetually changing, although certain major routes managed to impose themselves.
It seems obvious that routes specially intended for pilgrims never existed, at least in France. Nevertheless, certain donations to finance the building of a bridge took on a pious dimension by facilitating the crossing for pilgrims. The latter were a very important constituent of traffic on the roads.
They would choose the safest route and, on leaving their home, would get on to the major routes where they would find accommodation and hospitals, the protection of town walls at night, and alms if needed. But they didn't hesitate to make a detour whilst on their journey to visit a renowned sanctuary or to see some miraculous relics.
In the Middle Ages, the "St. James' Ways" did not exist. However, references are found to the "Camin Roumieu" (Pilgrim way) or the "Camin de Sanct Jaume" in numerous texts from the South of France. This name is an indication of a tradition of passing that way.
The pilgrim going to Compostela, or any other shrine, set off from home on foot (or on horseback if they had the means). They used the usual communication itineraries and counted amongst the road users just like any other traveller. Their route was determined by the presence of sanctuaries and accommodation. The pilgrim could tell a whole rosary full of saints along the way, whether or not Compostela was their ultimate destination.
The reputation and pulling power of all the sanctuaries visited by the pilgrims was in function of the miraculous power of the relics which they held. These places were glorified by miracles - wonderful events periodically essential for reminding people of the saint's power, for guaranteeing faith…and prosperity.
The rich and fascinating history of these devotions and sanctuaries confirms their importance. Destinations in their own right, one cannot reduce them all to the status of a mere staging-post on the way to the prestigious sanctuary of Saint James in Galicia.
Drawing maps of "the pilgrim roads" presupposes simplifying into one single version a historic reality which was constantly changing. This was done in the 20th C., based on Book V of the Codex Calixtinus.
In the present-day proliferation of the ways to Compostela - 60,000 kms of paths are signposted as "Santiago de Compostela ways" in Europe - we see a new phase of this enduring pilgrimage, proof of its vitality.
It is up to those who walk the paths today to delve into the history books in search of this universe, and to go encounter these humble devotions and local traditions for themselves. Nowadays, the signposted Ways to Santiago in Galicia are an invitation to push open church doors to meet with History…
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In the absence of printing, the Codex Calixtinus was very little circulated, and as there were not many copies made, it had no real influence on pilgrims. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the interest of Book V : it constitutes a picturesque account of the everyday life of pilgrims and travellers, and provides some delightful observations on the lands crossed, mediaeval manners and the sanctuaries, made by the masters or scholars who wrote it.
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| The routier d'Avignon ©B. Delhomme |
As of the second half of the 19th C., Book V of the Codex Calixtinus stimulated the imagination of historians. They set off in quest of clues to reconstitute the web of pilgrim itineraries and noted down :
They saw the routes taken by the Santiago pilgrims as vectors of transmission for certain forms of architecture and for epic literary works (the Song of Roland, for instance).
They crystallised a constantly-changing thousand year old reality into one single version through maps which were used to trace out the footpaths of today.
The development of rambling from the 1950's onwards inspired the idea of re-establishing the mediaeval tradition. In a world dominated by cars, the creation of footpaths enabled ramblers' itineraries to be made safe.
From 1970 onwards, the St. James itineraries inspired by the "Guide du pèlerin" and mapped out on the basis of itineraries cooked up by historians were materialised in the form of footpaths. The routes they follow, a guarantee of comfort and security, are a compromise between history and present-day reality. It is a question of avoiding tarmac roads, cars and private property, of taking into account availability of accommodation and the esthetic interest of places along the way.
The profusion of Compostela itineraries and the spontaneous proliferation of paths has made a classification of paths necessary. No second category paths : they all have their character and grandeur.
In France, the itineraries are often GR® long-distance footpaths (sentiers de grande randonnée) signposted by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (French Ramblers' Federation).
Certain paths are traced out and maintained by associations but without the GR® trademark : they are known as "pilgrim paths" ("itinéraires pèlerins"). Amongst these are the Via Arverna in the Auvergne, the link between Rocamadour and the Vézelay itinerary which goes through Périgord, the "Catalan paths" created by the Pyrénées-Orientales council, the "Charente way" created by the Charente council…
The theory of the four Ways to Compostela, each one with its specific departure point, is a purely modern one. Mediaeval pilgrims set out from home, and, if they did not go to a "departure point" as present-day pilgrims often do, they joined the nearest major Way.
In the 11th and 12th C., Saint-Martin de Tours, Notre-Dame du Puy, Sainte-Madeleine in Vézelay, les Alyscamps d’Arles, Saint-Gilles du Gard, like Notre-Dame de Rocamadour, Saint-Michel in Bari, then later on Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois or Sainte-Catherine de Fierbois and many other sanctuaries were the objects of long-standing devotion and were themselves pilgrimage destinations : le Puy en Vélay for its Black Virgin, Tours for the relics of St. Martin, Vézelay for the relics of Marie-Madeleine, Arles for its necropolis where, according to the legend of Charlemagne, several of his knights who died at Roncevaux were buried…
In reality, there may have been as many itineraries as there were pilgrims. They went from sanctuary to sanctuary, attracted by the reputation of relics and by the help that they would find along a particular way.
Pilgrims knew absolutely nothing of the "guide", since they were not aware of it : it was only copied a few times, and in the absence of printing, its distribution and influence were extremely limited.
It is rash to suggest figures : it is impossible to calculate in any meaningful way the number of pilgrims going to Compostela in the Middle Ages.
On the other hand, it is perfectly possible nowadays : in 2019, the archbishopric of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela welcomed 347,578 pilgrims.
The Order of Cluny was largely concerned not with the movement of pilgrims, but with spreading the Gregorian reform in Spain. Its abbeys forged political and economic links on either side of the Pyrenees.
