Saint James of Compostela, or Santiago, is the patron saint of Spain and especially the province of Galicia. His remains are claimed to be in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, making the city a major pilgrimage destination. Its popularity has increased in recent years with thousands trekking along the ‘camino’ (path) to get there. So what is his connection to the crusades and the Knights Templar?
Who was Saint James?
James, along with his brother John, was a follower of Jesus from the start, and is known as James the Greater. James was a fisherman from Capernaum. To be distinguished from James the Just, the brother of Jesus, who was another apostle. This James came from a well-to-do family. He had a burning hatred of the Samaritan community and when they failed to recognise Jesus as the Messiah, he suggested raining fire down on them from heaven. This suggestion was firmly turned down by Jesus.
James witnessed significant events in Jesus’ ministry, like the Transfiguration, and was one of the few apostles present during Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the death of Jesus, James traveled to the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain), where he preached the gospel, and was later martyred in Jerusalem.
According to medieval Roman Catholic tradition, Saint James the Greater came to Spain after Jesus’s death to spread the gospel, then returned to Jerusalem to be martyred in 44 CE, and after that his body was transported by fellow Christians to what is now Santiago de Compostela, where he is said to be buried. In some accounts the boat was piloted by two disciples and guided by angels. The details and chronology – needless to say – are a bit fuzzy.
During the Muslim conquest in 711 CE, monks hid the relics of Saint James – then apparently forgot where they hid them. The apostle’s tomb was rediscovered in 813 by a hermit called Pelayo who followed a strange star hovering above the Libredon forest, hence the name “Compostela” (field of stars).
Pelayo informed Bishop Teodomiro of Iria-Flavia, who, along with Pelayo, investigated the lights and discovered a mausoleum, which they believed contained the remains of the apostle James and his accompanying disciples. They in turn told a delighted King Alfonso II of Asturias – a sliver of a Christian realm in the north-west of Iberia – constantly besieged by Muslim forces.
The discovery of Saint James’s tomb led to the establishment of a major Christian pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, which continues to attract pilgrims from around the world.
Some historians believed Bishop Teodomiro was a mythical construct. However, in 1955, excavations at Santiago de Compostela’s cathedral unearthed a tomb under the nave with the bishop’s name inscribed. Further analysis confirmed that the skeleton was that of a woman and therefore definitely not the bishop. However, in recent years, the skeleton has been subjected to osteo-archaeological analysis, radiocarbon dating, multi-isotope analysis and DNA testing, affirming that it is that of an elderly male. The consensus view now is that the bones are those of the bishop.
Saint James and the Reconquista
The Iberian Peninsula was invaded by an Arab and Berber Muslim army in the year 711 CE that took the entire land mass, adding it to the global Islamic caliphate. Specifically, it became part of the Ayyubid empire. The previous Christian Visigoth rulers of the peninsula, who had vanquished the Romans three hundred years before, were now in turn destroyed. But in the north – around Asturias – Christian resistance to Muslim rule began. And Saint James would play a major part in this.
As what we now call Spain and Portugal gradually pushed back against Muslim rule during the Reconquista, the image of Saint James as a warrior on horseback, sword in hand, became a powerful symbol of Christian resilience and reconquest. He was known as “Santiago Matamoros”, or “Saint James the Moor-Slayer”, and legends say that he appeared during battles to help the Christian armies, often depicted on a white horse leading the charge.
The chronicles record instances of Saint James appearing in battle, as a warrior saint with a white banner, to encourage the Christian forces, like in the Battle of Clavijo in the 9th century. Most mainstream historians assume this battle, said to have taken place in 846 CE, was mythical. But the story became a part of crusading propaganda. In the 15th century depiction below – by the German artist Martin Schongauer – we see Saint James appearing on horseback at the height of the conflict.
READ MORE: What was the turning point for Moorish rule in Spain?
Saint James and his scallop shell
Saint James is often depicted with a scallop shell on his hat. Pilgrims today walk the camino with scallop shells hanging off their sticks. Why? One legend says that after Saint James’ death, his disciples transported his body to Galicia, Spain, where it was washed ashore covered in scallop shells, leading the faithful to his final resting place.
Another story recounts a knight falling from his horse into the sea and being miraculously carried to shore on a scallop shell, reinforcing the connection between St. James and the shell. Scallop shells were also abundant along the Camino de Santiago, and pilgrims used them as water containers and utensils, further solidifying their association with the pilgrimage.
Santiago de Compostela – burial place of James
The town of Santiago de Compostela was designated as the true burial place of James. The saint appeared as a vision to armies before battle. Miracles were attributed to him. And slowly but surely a basilica complex developed over his grave and the pilgrims began to swarm in from all over Europe. In fact, the cult of Saint James was second only to Jerusalem in the Templar period.
I’ve been twice to Santiago and the pilgrims are still coming journeying along the Camino de Santiago. They climb the stairs behind an enormous statue of the apostle to kiss his gold and jewel encrusted shoulders. They worship before statues of him trampling on the enemy Moor.
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The turbulent history of Santiago de Compostela
Because of its importance to Iberian Catholics, the shrine at Santiago became a focus for Moorish attacks. Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (Almanzor), a powerful military leader in Al-Andalus (Muslim controlled Iberia), sacked the city of Santiago de Compostela in 997 CE but spared the tomb of Saint James.
Al-Mansur, whose full name was Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri, was a brilliant military leader and politician in Islamic Spain. Burning down the church was a powerful statement that weakened Christian resistance. Though eventually, the crusaders recovered their nerve and pressed southwards, establishing new kingdoms and reclaiming the peninsula by degrees.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Santiago de Compostela competed with the Portuguese city of Braga to be the most important administrative centre for the Roman Catholic church in the region. While Braga became the equivalent of Canterbury in the kingdom of Portugal, established in the 12th century, it never really outshone Santiago on the European stage.
The relics of Saint James were to go missing one more time. In 1589, facing potential attacks from English pirates (including Francis Drake), Galician church authorities decided to temporarily hide the relics of Santiago. The location of the hidden relics fell into oblivion, and they were rediscovered in the 19th century. Following comparisons with a jawbone sent to Italy centuries prior, Pope Leo XIII confirmed their authenticity in 1884 and they were returned under the high altar of the cathedral where they are today.
The Knights Templar and Saint James
The Knights Templar played a significant role in protecting pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago – in the same way they shielded pilgrims from attack on the roads into Jerusalem. The knights had an unmissable presence on the camino, including the construction of Ponferrada Castle, a Templar stronghold during the height of pilgrimages.
But the Templars did not have a monopoly on protecting pilgrims along the camino. The rival Order of Santiago was set up to provide the same role. Its members followed the relatively relaxed rule book of the canons of Saint Augustine. Unlike the Templars, it restricted its activities to the reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula and did not have a presence across Europe and the Middle East.
If you want to know more about the Knights Templar – and of course you do – then get your hands on this book: The Knights Templar – History & Mystery – by Tony McMahon – published by Pen & Sword – available on Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, and Barnes & Noble.
