Compostela Holy Year 2020

[scruffy1]

"Where Never is Heard a Disparaging Word and the Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day" - well, the disparaging words bit maybe-cloudy days and worse we have seen more than our share! You can call me all be just another grouchy Old Stinky South Wind but I've never been happy when the powers that be changed the format of the Compostela from something so very traditional to something resembling that of Finistera or worse Muxia. I am sincerely hoping that there is a chance that a new/old style Compostela will appear in 2020.

 

[Bradypus]

I am not particularly bothered by the change in design and I have no plans to ask for another Compostela in future anyway. Just to be clear though - the next Holy Year will be 2021, not 2020.

 

[Saint Mike II]

So has there been any explanation as to why there has been a change??

 

[scruffy1]

I am not particularly bothered by the change in design and I have no plans to ask for another Compostela in future anyway. Just to be clear though - the next Holy Year will be 2021, not 2020.

Sorry writing too fast mind on other things - the change doe bother me!

 

[Kathar1na]

So has there been any explanation as to why there has been a change??

I don't know why there has been a change but I think the newer version looks attractive. I have Fernando Lalanda's book Historia de la Compostela with photos of Compostelas and the predecessors since 1501. The design has changed a dozen times, sometimes only slightly and sometimes drastically, no doubt driven by technological advances (at first handwritten but not terribly pretty, simple print when it became available, then later more advanced print).

The design that was used from about 1930 (or a bit earlier, difficult to say) until 2014 is quite similar to the design used in the 19th century. So quite young and not terribly traditional.

The current design is more colourful (colour print is nowadays feasible and no longer too expensive). It actually harks back to the Middle Ages. It has three elements that are taken from medieval illustrated manuscripts held in Santiago: the figure of the Apostle is from the Codex Calixtinus and the pattern along the left side (and presumably the first letter of the text) are taken from a famous breviary (Breviario de Miranda).

 

[trecile]

(colour print is nowadays feasible and no longer too expensive

I would guess that the fact that multi-color printing is no longer too expensive to be a big factor.

 

[Kathar1na]

I would guess that the fact that multi-color printing is no longer too expensive to be a big factor.

A bit more history : According to the booklet I mentioned earlier, in 1988, the Compostela was still printed in black only on white paper. By 1991, the print had changed to brown (marrones) tones on cream-coloured paper. Then, by 2014, multi-colour printing.

The author also says that printing technology appeared in Spain at the end of the 14th century (I guess that's woodblock printing) and the Santiago Cathedral did not wait long before they made used of it. Here's a Compostela from 1535 which was already considerably later:


Very economical : The year 1535 is partially pre-printed, in the form Anno domini M.D.35

 

[Jeff Crawley]

The older style ones fade really badly. On my 2001 Compostela the coloured frieze has all but vanished leaving just the denser black lettering and seal. The 'rubber stamped' signature has disappeared completely.
What annoys me about the newer version is that it's not a standard paper size so I've had to have the passe-partouts customised so you can see the whole of the image.