which Christ died). In the minds of the pilgrims these objects provided tangible points of connection with the holy persons to whom they had belonged. The "spirit and authority of the deceased were thought to continue" in the relics.4 Relics could aid people very directly, since they were frequently believed to be responsible for medical cures and other miracles. People also believed that the saints "who had themselves experienced human suffering . . . must therefore be all the more compassionate" and willing to intercede on the believers' behalf.5
For those who had faith in such a direct relationship with God, it was a noble calling to embark on a difficult journey that would take months or even years. Some pilgrims traveled out of "genuine religious zeal", others intended to ask particular favors, some saw the journey as a means of escape that would also benefit them spiritually, and many went as a form of penance "to gain absolution from some grievous offense which threatened their salvation."6
The most important pilgrim destinations were Rome, Jerusalem (recently taken from the Muslims by the Crusaders), and the church of Santiago (St. James) de Compostela in Spain. St. James was one of Christ's disciples. In 813, "on what basis we do not know", the belief arose that an ancient monument there was St. James' tomb.7 Local pilgrimages began almost immediately and, by the end of the ninth century, the site was the final stop on an international pilgrimage route. Throughout the tenth century parts of the pilgrimage route in Spain were subject to attacks from the Moors, North African Muslims who were trying to conquer all of the Iberian peninsula. But the pilgrimage flourished in spite of its considerable dangers.
Modern estimates place the annual number of pilgrims to Compostela at 500,000. Pilgrims to Compostela wore emblematic cockleshells and a great sense of camaraderie developed among them. Aymery Picaud...