THE PILGRIMAGE ROAD TO SANTIAGO, THE COMPLETE CULTURAL HANDBOOK by Linda Davidson and Dadvid Gitlitz covers both medieval and modern history of the
Camino Frances and the Aragones route from Somport.
You might find more information on the Spanish Federation website at:
http://www.caminosantiago.org/cpperegri ... inicio.asp
This is an excerpt from the Time-line in my planning book YOUR CAMINO:
The rise of el Camino – late 1970s
The resurrection and promotion of the old trails to Santiago can be attributed mainly to Don Elias Valina Sampedro of O Cebreiro parish – a dedicated priest and scholar who devoted over 30 years of his life to the restoration of the Camino as a pilgrimage trail. In 1967 he wrote his doctoral thesis on ‘The Road of St James: A Historical and Legal Study’.
Linda Davidson and David Gitlitz walked to Santiago five times between 1974 and 1996 accompanying groups of college student-pilgrims on academic medieval study programmes. On their first trek in 1974 they did not meet even one other pilgrim. In 1979 the only other pilgrim they encountered was an elderly Frenchman who was fulfilling a vow made in the Second World War. They wrote in their book The Pilgrimages Road to Santiago, ‘To most people in the 1970s the pilgrimages road was hardly more than a vague memory of a historical relic’.
1982: Don Elias published his guide for walking the Camino trails to Santiago. In total 1 868 pilgrims received the Compostela, but this was mainly due to the visit of Pope John Paul II.
1985: This was a pivotal year for ‘The Camino’ pilgrimage trail. At a gathering in Santiago in 1985 Don Elias was entrusted with the co-ordination of all the resources for the Camino. ‘Refugios’ were established and he was the first to mark the way with yellow arrows, begging for yellow paint from the departments of roads. Also in 1985 UNESCO declared the city of Santiago de Compostela a World Heritage Site.
1987: El
Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail is named the first European Cultural Itinerary.
1989: Pope John Paul II visited Santiago again (and sadly, Don Elias passed away). In this year, 5 760 Compostelas were issued. (This rise was attributed to the Pope's visit.)
1993: The
Camino Frances is named a World Heritage Site.
Exponential growth: From then on there was an exponential growth in the number of pilgrims walking and riding to Santiago, and those earning the Compostela certificate – a junp from 5 760 in the 1989 Holy Year to 88 436 in the 1993 Holy Year. (The Pilgrim’s Office estimates that only one in five pilgrims walking the Camino actually walk to Santiago and request the Compostela.)
Compostela numbers
1986 – 2 491
1989 – 5 760
1993 – 88 436
1999 – 154 613
2004 – 179 944
2010 –272 000+
The rise of el Camino: Reconstruction of ‘The Camino’ as we know it today only began in the late 1970s and 1980s with a dedicated priest, a group of hard working volunteers with a few tins of yellow paint, and the formation of Camino interest groups. These events, coinciding with the advent of Internet and the World Wide Web in the 1990s, saw the numbers of people visiting Santiago explode, with exponential growth into the 21st century.
Millions of pilgrim visitors still journey to the tomb of St James every year – 10-12 million visitors in the 2010 Holy Year. The focus and goal of these pilgrims hasn’t changed – to venerate St James the Greater.
