The Legend of Saint James and the Rise of Santiago de Compostela

According to legend, Saint James the Great, one of Christ’s apostles, brought Christianity to the Celts in the Iberian Peninsula. After being beheaded in Jerusalem in 44 CE, his remains were transported to Galicia, where they were buried in a tomb.

By the 3rd century, amid Roman persecution of Christians, the tomb was abandoned and forgotten. However, in 814 CE, a hermit named Pelagius witnessed strange lights in the night sky, leading to the rediscovery of the tomb.

The Early Pilgrimage Shrine and Its Development

• Bishop Theodomirus of Iria proclaimed the event a miracle and informed King Alfonso II of Asturias and Galicia (791–842), who ordered the construction of a chapel on the site.
• Alfonso II is said to have been the first pilgrim to the shrine, marking the beginning of the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago).
• In 829, the first church was built, followed by a larger pre-Romanesque church in 899, commissioned by King Alfonso III of León, which spurred the growth of Santiago de Compostela as a major pilgrimage center.

Destruction by Almanzor and the Transfer of the Church Bells (997 CE)

In 997 CE, Almanzor Ibn Abi Aamir, the powerful military commander of Caliphate of Córdoba, raided and burned the church, reducing it to ashes. His Christian vassals, who accompanied the campaign, were rewarded with a share of the loot, while Saint James’ tomb and relics were left undisturbed.

As a symbol of Muslim triumph, Almanzor’s troops forced Christian captives to carry the church’s gates and bells to Córdoba, where they were incorporated into the Aljama Mosque.

(These same gates and bells would later be reclaimed by King Ferdinand III of Castile after he conquered Córdoba in 1236, at which point Muslim captives were made to carry them to Toledo, where they were installed in the Cathedral of Saint Mary.)

Construction of the Present Cathedral (1075 CE Onward)

In 1075, under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile (1040–1109) and the patronage of Bishop Diego Peláez, construction of the present Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela began.

• The cathedral was modeled after the monastic brick church of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, considered the greatest Romanesque structure in France.
• Built primarily of granite, the cathedral solidified Santiago’s status as a major pilgrimage destination.
• The church was elevated to the status of an episcopal see, further enhancing its importance in the Christian world.

The Cathedral of Saint James would go on to become one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in medieval Europe, second only to Jerusalem and Rome, playing a pivotal role in the spiritual and cultural history of Iberia.