The certificate (click to enlarge) and my translation:
Let all know seeing this Pilgrim Certificate that
[name]
has passed through the Leonese lands of Sahagun,
geographical center of the
Camino Frances,
where, as reported in the Codex Calixtinus,
"... prodigous in all types of goods,
one encounters the meadow, of which they say that in days gone by,
the shining lances that the victorious warriors
had thurst into the ground for the glory of the Lord came to life again."
and it further attests that
he has found rest for the fatigues of the body
and relief for the spirit.
The inhabitants of this noble town give him encouragement
to continue his camino and to arrive with safe passage
at the house of the Lord Saint James,
where we hope he retains a memory of the reception we have given him.
And for a record that can be presented
before whoever demands it
I sign this in Sahagun,
on the [day] of [month] of the year of our Lord [year]
The Mayor.
[name]
Jacobean
Pilgrims' Association
Region of Sahagun
- Leon -
Pilgrim Certificate [number]
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The story is that when Charlemagne (and Roland?) campaigned against the Moors in Spain there was a battle near Sahagun. The night before the battle the knights thurst their lances into the earth. In the morning the knights that were to die in battle that day found their lances had sprouted into trees showing them that they would have eternal life.
Cynics may say that the knights died in battle because trees make lousy lances.
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The story of the lances is depicted in a stained glass window in Chartes Cathedral: