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Another Walker,It would appear that many pilgrims attach scallop shells to their back pack. Do people usualy provide there own ??
Or is there a little "scallop shell man"outside every cathedral selling to pilgrims ? Just a thought.
The first pilgrim we ran into in France was in Bayonne. Gary the Hungarian told us of the symbolic nature of the shells and gave one to my wife. Then he explained that he had "borrowed" several of them from the restaurant where he worked back home. Hmmmm.... I declined accepting another one from him and said to the Amigo in SJPdP's Pilgrim office that I didn't need one. As I walked out the door there, I changed my mind and picked one out. It was attached to my backpack the whole Camino and it will be used again next month from Lisbon. That shell, my credencial, my compostela and my photos from that Camino are among my most prized physical possessions.
Thanks for the info. I live near the Atlantic coast so i shall go to the fish market and see if there are any there. Oddly,i can never remember seeing any locally despite extremely fond childhood memories of Sunday morning breakfast of scallops cooked in bacon fat, and heaps of other goodies.The shells available by donativo at the St. Jean Pied de Port Pilgrim Office are authentic, fresh from the sea (or a local restaurant). They are drilled and a plain white, cotton string is attached. These shells are NOT stenciled with the red Cross of St. James. The presence of the red cross stencil indicates the shell likely came from a souvenir seller. These are available virtually everywhere.
On my two Camino Frances, I obtained a new shell each time from the Pilgrim Office, as I endorse them with the particulars of my pilgrimage and save them in a scallop-shaped wooden "keepsake box" at home. On both Caminos, my unadorned shell (no stencil) was often commented on, as most pilgrims seem to have the commercial variety.
If you obtain and drill your own special scallop shell, there are two things to consider.
We all like the clicky sound of the shell bouncing against our rucksacks as we walk along. However, you need to be careful when placing your rucksack on the ground or into a bus luggage hold. Consider removing the shell and padding it inside your rucksack or carry it on your person as appropriate. My shells are among my most precious memories from the Camino.
- The scallop shell mollusk species exists most all over the world. But the one that is most authentic is the sand colored, hand-sized shell found around the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
- After you drill your shell think about adding a coat of clear varnish, shellac, or lacquer to the the outside to strengthen the shell against chipping.
I hope this helps.
You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander. On my first Camino I wore a scallop shell that my daughter had given me. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it until one has made it all the way to Santiago.As to when to acquire a scallop shell - I will wait until and if I make it to Santiago.
I am stupidly superstitious (is that a tautology?!!) and I would no more "award" myself a scallop shell before I made it to Santiago than have my birthday party a day early!
Most interesting,i had no idea the possession of the scallop shell was a symbol of completing the caminho (Portuguese spelling).You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander. On my first Camino I wore a scallop shell that my daughter had given me. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it until one has made it all the way to Santiago.
Maybe, but maybe not strictly:You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander.
My shell too hangs by the back door to remind me I am still working at being a pilgrim. thank you Margaret for telling us about the "timeless tradition of marking a pilgrim place."Ten years ago when nervously beginning my first camino a kindly volunteer of the Amis du Chemin de Saint Jacques in SJPdP offered me a pilgrim shell; I wore it with pride. Today that first precious shell hangs at the door of our farmhouse continuing the timeless tradition of marking a pilgrim place.
MM
. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it [a scallop shell] until one has made it all the way to Santiago.
You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander. On my first Camino I wore a scallop shell that my daughter had given me. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it until one has made it all the way to Santiago.
Surely you did not forget to get your shell license? You will need your birth certificate, passport, credential, and five photos with a plain white background, then go to the embassy in Madrid, and only the embassy, with your completed Form 817 and wait in line 3, but only on Tuesdays. Anything less, and you could be subject to arrest, fine, and even imprisonment.I had no idea the shell was so rule bound. That's a bit disappointing to me.
It isn't. I was just recounting what Snobagrinos told me on my first Camino. I still wore my shell all the way.I had no idea the shell was so rule bound. That's a bit disappointing to me.
It isn't. I was just recounting what Snobagrinos told me on my first Camino. I still wore my shell all the way.
Musicman, despite all the "supposed" rules posted, it is just a matter of personal choice.
Me? I'll wait until I make it to Santiago but I will not think any the less of anybody who wears their shell as a symbol of intent even if they were not to make it there.
You look like a pilgrim ! who is the person on the picture with the guitar in hand ?On my first Caminho, I bought a shell from the store in Rates. It's a very big one, with the St. James cross in the middle, painted by hand. I bought for 4, 50€. When I reached to Santiago, I saw that they were selling those for 1 to 1, 50€. But I'm sure that those were not hand painted, and aren’t big has mine! I bought some patches in Santiago, and after completing the Caminho, I removed the shell from my backpack.
After I bought my car, I putted my shell on the front of the rear-view mirror. It was funny to see pilgrim’s faces, when they saw a red car coming at them, slowing down, with a guy waving around and wishing them "Bom Caminho". And after they saw the shell, they would understand
After the aplication of the patches:
View attachment 12240
On a hike, on the 1st of August, to the biggest mountain of my area:
View attachment 12241
My shell too hangs by the back door to remind me I am still working at being a pilgrim. thank you Margaret for telling us about the "timeless tradition of marking a pilgrim place."
You look like a pilgrim ! who is the person on the picture with the guitar in hand ?
Back in the days, where fish and seafood was not being shipped around the world for commerce, very few pilgrims would have been able to secure a shell before leaving home. Unless you lived by the sea, how else could you get a shell unless you picked it up after arriving in Santiago?Hi All,
Regardless of when one should or shouldn't wear a shell on the way to Santiago, does anyone know if the medieval pilgrim traditionally wore the shell on the way to Santiago, or only on the way home?
Interesting story !I walked my caminho along the coast of Portugal and didn't feel that I was entitled to wear the shell until I completed the pilgrimage in Santiago. I was leaving Ancora de Praia when I was stopped by a gentleman named Carlos. He gave me his personal stamp, asked why I didn't wear the scallop shell and offered me one. I explained that I didn't feel entitled to wear one until I had arrived in Santiago. He laughed at me and basically told me I was being ridiculous, that he had collected the shell along the same coast I was walking, that the shell is the symbol of all pilgrims for St. James and walking as a pilgrim was what mattered, I was entitled to it just for being a pilgrim for St James. I accepted his shell.
That night in Caminha I was told by the albergue host that the priests used to tell pilgrims to bring a shell back from the coast and they would then paint the cross of St James on the shell to prove the walker had completed their pilgrimage. He said that the pilgrim would need to wash their shell every night between the coast and Santiago to get the salt off the shell so the paint would stick.
I washed my shell several times over the next few nights. I heard it everyday for the rest of the walk bouncing on the back of my pack. It became the heartbeat of my walk.
There were shells available in the albergues and for donation on the doorsteps of houses along my caminho. Bring one from home, buy one on the way or in Santiago, or wait until you get to the coast. I hope you find meaning in it wherever you find it or whenever you claim to wear it.
Kelly. This is great news that you write. Thank you very much. This is very useful for us and many others.Hi Albertinho,
If I may jump in and also offer some suggestions for albergues between Porto and (almost) Vigo... I posted this information elsewhere in the forum a couple years back, but can't find the complete list, so I will post it here again. Except for the first night, all albergues or monasteries:
Also, check out Louis's map with "A" for albergues: http://www.caminador.es/
1. Vila do Conde--I stayed in a pension because there was no albergue; however, I met some priests who stayed in the fire station in Vila do Conde
(sidenote: be careful leaving Vila do Conde. Keep to the coast and ignore the arrows leading you to Rates, because it's a long walk back to the coast from Rates!)
2. Vila do Conde to Esponsende: the albergue is actually north of Esponsende in Marinhas. It run by the Red Cross. You have to get the key from someone in the Red Cross clinic. I found it by asking for information in the tourist office in Esposende.
3. Marinhas to Viana do Costela: Sao Joao Da Cruz dos Caminhos, monastery with an albergue (12 beds, opens at 2 pm) It is on the right, just after the long bridge into town. We rang the bell now and then over a period of five or ten minutes before getting a response, so just be patient.
4. VdoC to A Guarda (we crossed the ferry from Caminha) and stayed in a St. Vincent De Paul Albergue. Key was with the police. This one was hard to find. The restaurant next door was amazing.
5. A Guarda to Mougas: Private Albergue on northern edge of town: Albergue Turistico Aguncheiro. Restaurant next door.
6. Oia to Ramallosa: We stayed in an Apostolic Sisters convent up the hill. 10 euro, private room with shared bath. Heaven.
7. Ramallosa to Freixo: stayed at the townhall/albergue. This is on the northeast side of town. You start to think you've left town and missed it, but you didn't. This albergue is run by the town, but overseen by the famous Louis, who has an excellent website about the Caminho do Costa with maps, etc. http://www.caminador.es/ Dinner and quemada.
I did not continue form here.
Hope this is helpful,
Kelly
Kelly. This is great news that you write. Thank you very much. This is very useful for us and many others.
We walked in May 2013 and were intending to follow the coast from Vila do Conde but at the very last second over the bridge from Vila do Conde we decided to go right on the central route instead of left to the Coastal due to the strong wind and the lonelyness for a couple of days after parted from Lisbon. We did not regret that but still the wish was there to walk the coastal . Last year we were in the area of Viana do Castelo and got the fire again so next May we will start the coastal. However we will start in Viana do Castelo this time. .thanks again for your info.
Much apreciated.
By the way. Now there is an albergue in Póvoa da Varzím just 5 kms north of Vila do Conde
From Porto is a metro connection either to Matosinhos, Vila do Vonde and Póvoa da Varzím for those who do not want to start in Porto.
Best regards
Albertinho
Hi All,
Regardless of when one should or shouldn't wear a shell on the way to Santiago, does anyone know if the medieval pilgrim traditionally wore the shell on the way to Santiago, or only on the way home?
Thanks, Kathy. That had been my understanding, too, but I can't find any original sources about it. Do you know where this version comes from? Just curious. I was commenting on a script that said pilgrims carried the shells to Santiago as a symbol of their pilgrimage. I was poised to tell the writer she was misinformed, but then, I thought, maybe I'm misinformed. Or perhaps both things are true!Kelley, as I understand it, pilgrims would pick up their shells when they finally arrived in Santiago/Finisterre. This was to prove to the people back home - remember, for a medieval pilgrim getting to Santiago was only half the journey, they then had to get back! - that they had, indeed, gone all the way to the end, to the ocean.
I got my shell in Finisterre at the end of my journey, when I felt I had earned it. I figured that, if someone couldn't tell that I was a pilgrim by the size of my backpack, by the fact that I was following the yellow arrows, by my smell, by my occasional limp, by my trekking poles, or by the fact that I walked one day in socks and sandals (oh, God), then a shell hanging off my pack probably wouldn't be the clue they needed.
LOL
They offered the scallops on the way from Padrón to Santiago at a stall alongside the road for € 1 ,00 each ,painted with the red cross, the text camino de Santiago and a red cord.plus a stamp on the credential.I bought a very nice scallop shell at a crafts store very inexpensively and then used a red permanent marker to draw the cross on it. I downloaded a figure of the cross and used it as a template. I did this before I went on the Camino and saved quite a bit compared to what I saw them selling for in Spain.
It would be hard to save on the 3E I paid!!saved quite a bit compared to what I saw them selling for in Spain.
That's true. If you look at rule #496 in the Official Rule Book of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela you will clearly see that under pain of being disqualified from obtaining a compostela, and possibly excommunication, you can only wear the shell after walking at least 781km along the exact route designated in rule #28. Every "real" pilgrim will follow all the rules in that book without exception. I just wonder why the Amigos in the Pilgrim Office in SJPdP don't know that rule and still insist on offering a shell to departing pilgrims. Which leads me to wonder why people on their first Camino insist on calling themselves "pilgrims" because according to rule #74, they are only supposed to be called "novices" until they successfully complete their pilgrimage.
I hope humor translates well into different cultures / languages.
You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander. On my first Camino I wore a scallop shell that my daughter had given me. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it until one has made it all the way to Santiago.
the one version i remember reading about is that - according to myth/tales/legend of dead james arriving in that stone boat to the coast near/at Padron .... that it was covered (on the outside) with those shells.Kelly, off the top of my head, I don't know where I got that information. I know that I did quite a bit of research as I was preparing to give one of several talks about my Camino to interested groups but I honestly can't give you the source.
There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for medieval pilgrims to have brought a shell with them, at least not originally. I can't imagine that most pilgrims came from areas where shells were common and would be carried around as part of their walking equipment.
Many saints and apostles have particular "shorthand" to identify them. Besides being on a white horse and slashing away at heathen swine (joking), the shell is the shorthand for St. James. After the shell came to symbolize St. James, I can understand why pilgrims might carry one, if one could even get one.
But, in medieval times, I think a stranger showing up in your town from another country, dressing differently and speaking another language, would be a dead give away for being someone traveling a long distance and that person probably wouldn't need to have a shell to indicate that they were on a pilgrimage.
So, when did the shell being a symbol for St James start? Any art historians out there? I think this may be part of the answer to the origin of the "shell game."
Just curious. The idea that pilgrims picked up a shell when they finally arrived in Santiago is my story and I'm sticking to it!!
So a story of the egg and the chicken or was it the chicken and the egg Claudia ?the one version i remember reading about is that - according to myth/tales/legend of dead james arriving in that stone boat to the coast near/at Padron .... that it was covered (on the outside) with those shells.
guess that james stuck to these shells or the shells stuck to him - and onwards the shells and st james became symbols of each other ... like st francis and the birds, etc etc
http://www.fisheaters.com/saintsart.html
...
Regarding the scallop shell. I have read that those who had walked to Santiago were entitled to have the scallop shell on the family coat of arms.
Found this crest ! Scallop fishing guild ?Pilgrims and Heraldry
By Duane L.C.M. Galles, OLJ
Coat of Arms No. 145, Spring 1989.
Heraldry, like language, felt the effect of pilgrims. The pilgrim or palmer's staff was adopted as a heraldic charge. In heraldry the palmer's staff is a tapering stick, terminating in a ball at the top. Often it is accompanied by a palmer's scrip or wallet. This is a kind of satchel, with tassels at each bottom corner, and a strap or sling attached to the top. If used with the palmer's staff, the palmer's scrip is drawn to appear hanging by its strap from the pommel of the staff.
These charges are often found as canting arms in the achievements of persons with the surname "Palmer" or its foreign equivalent, "Pellegrini", "Pellerin". The Palmers of Rahan, county Kildare, bore Azure, on a Fesse between three Palmer's Scripts or, two Palm Branches in Saltire Vert. Palmer of London bore Gules, on a Fesse between in chief two Lions Rampant and in base a Palmer's Scrip Or, three Trefoils Vert.
A less obvious example of pilgrim arms are the arms of the Burdon family, Gules, three Pilgrim Staves Argent. "Bourdon" is the French for "staff. In Continental heraldry, in fact, the charge is more frequently met with. The Norman annobli family of Bourdon de la Croix appropriately bore, "d'azure, à quatre bourdons d'or, appointés et posés en croix".
Four centuries earlier the Breton chevalier, Oliver de la Bourdonnaye, who took the cross in 1248, bore "de gueles, à trois bourdons d'argent posés en pal deux et un". The double canting arms of the Gascon family of Pelegry were, Azure, a Bourdon Argent between three Escallops of the same. A "roamer" being a pilgrim to Rome, the Saxon Römer family bore Gules, two Palmer's Staves Argent crossed in Saltire.
Given its religious associations, it is not surprising that the pilgrim staff appears in ecclesiastical heraldry. Some religious houses, for example, used the charge on their shields. Two Gilbertine houses in fact used the palmer's staff in rather similar fashion. The priory at Sempringham, Lincolnshire, bore, Barry of six, Argent and Gules, over all a Palmer's Crutch in Bend Sinister Or. Malton Priory in Yorkshire bore the same arms but with the staff in bend.
More often, however, the staff was used, not on the shield as a charge, but behind it as an emblem of office. Certain secular clergy (like dignitaries of cathedral and collegiate churches) also made use of the burdon in heraldry. These dignitaries include priors, provosts, and precentors. The precentor was originally the music director of the church and actually once used a cantorial staff to give musical directions in choir. Appropriately he began ensigning his shield with this instrument and it became a badge of office. Boyer, in his ancien regime treatise, depicts the arms of Jacques Alain de Biron, D.D., precentor and canon of the cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris:
"Quarterly Or and Gules. Behind the shield to denote his dignity is a chanter's staff in pale. Over the shield is his coronet and for supporters, two griffens proper."
Beside the palmer's staff and the palmer's script, the palm was often used in heraldry to indicate a pilgrim connection or as canting arms for persons with the name of "Palmer". We saw it earlier in the arms of the Palmers of Rahan. Similarly the olive branch might indicate pilgrimage or serve as canting arms. As armes parlantes it is to be seen in the arms of the great French composer Phillippe Rameau, ennobled in 1764. He bore "d'azure, à la colombe d'argent tenant en son bèc un rameau d'olivier d'or".
Coquilles Saint Jacques are not only good eating but also good armory. Pilgrims to the shrine of Saint James of Compostela often stopped to gather as souvenirs the scallop shells on the Galician beaches. Hence, the shell became the emblem of pilgrims of Saint James (who was the patron saint of fishermen and travelers) and, by extension, of all pilgrims. Pilgrims developed the custom of sewing shells on their tunics and hats to identify them as pilgrims. The transition from use on garments to use on coats of arms came quickly. Fox-Davies thought the escallop one of the most widely used heraldic charges. Sir George Bellew some thirty years ago counted shells in some 900 coats of arms, some ninety crests, and some fifteen badges in England.
On crusade (considered an armed pilgrimage) with Prince Edward, Sir Richard de Villiers adopted a handsome "pilgrim" coat of arms to commemorate the event, Argent, on a Cross Gules, five Escallops Or. At the same time he relinquished his old arms, Sable, three Cinquefoils Argent. The shell can be found, in fact, in the earliest rolls of arms. In the Falkirk roll of 1298 we find listed the arms of Sir Robert de Scales: Gules, six Escallops Argent. The Walford Roll, dating to the thirteenth century also, includes the arms of Richard Fitz Nicholl: Azure, a Cinquefoil Or within an Orle of Escallops Argent.
Other feudal coats used the shell as well. At the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, Sir Richard de Holland bore, Azure, semé of Escallops and a Lion Rampant, Argent. More famous is the coat of Lord Dacre, Gules, three Escallops Argent. Dugdale claimed that this coat derived from an ancestor present at the battle of Acre in 1291.
In some parts of France, viz., Normandy, Brittany and Poitou, the shell was associated, not with the Apostle James, but rather with the Archangel Michael. The shell thus appears prominently in the arms of the Norman abbey of Mont Saint Michel.
Not surprisingly, families from those regions with the surname "Michel" made use of the escallop in armes parlantes. Thus, the Norman family of Michel de Cambernon bore, Azure, a Cross between four Escallops Or. Not surprisingly either, the shell was made use of by the French royal Order of Saint Michael the Archangel. Founded in 1469 by Louis XI, the collar of the Order was composed of shells linked by gold chains from which depended an image of the Archangel Michael battling the dragon.
Ecclesiastical heraldry was exceedingly fond of the shell. Buckingham Priory in Norfolk bore three black shells on a silver field. The Augustinian house at Northampton, which was dedicated to Saint James, bore per Pale, Argent and Gules, over all an Escallop Or. The Benedictine Abbey at Saffron Walden, Essex, was dedicated both to the Virgin and to Saint James. It bore, 'Azure, on a bend Gules, cotised and between two Mullets Or, three Escallops Argent. Since one of the titles of the Virgin is "stella maris", "star of the sea", both of the abbey's titulars were represented in this coat. By contrast, the great Benedictine Abbey at Reading, which was dedicated to Saint Mary, Saint John and Saint James, bore a simpler coat: Azure, three Escallops Or. Although the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII, interestingly its coat of arms lives on: It appears in the chief of the arms of Reading University. A conundrum, however, is the shell in the arms of the diocese of Rochester: Argent, on a Saltire Gules an Escallop Or. Saint Andrew (as the saltire might suggest) but not Saint James as well was the titular of the cathedral there. Woodward hypothesises the escallop may be a reference to the oyster fisheries of the diocese.
A number of coats of arms combine several "pilgrim" charges. The Romeos of Sicily used a trinity of pilgrim charges in their canting arms. They bore: Argent, a Palmer's Staff or between in Dexter three Escallops of the same and in sinister a Palm Vert. The Rev. Samuel Reynolds Colby, A.K.C., likewise made use of several "pilgrim" charges. He bore, Azure, two Chevronels between two Escallops in chief and as many Palmer's Staves saltirewise in base Or, a crescent for difference. "Pilgrim" charges also appeared in his crest: On a Wreath of the colours, between two Palm-branches, a dexter Arm embowed in Armour, the Hand in a Gauntlet grasping a broken Sword proper, suspended from a Palmer's Script Or. Beautifully combining both the pilgrim shells and the pilgrim staff are the arms of Lord Palmer: Per Saltire, Azure and Gules, four Escallops between two Palmer's Staves crossed in Saltire, Or.
Some chivalric orders still award to their members, who make a special pilgrimage to the Holy Land, a special decoration consisting of a pilgrim shell. The Order of the Holy Sepulchre is among these. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre was revived and refashioned in 1847 by Pope Pius IX. Some years later Pope Leo XIII established for it, in grades of gold, silver and bronze, a pilgrim cross of honour as a mark of distinction to be bestowed on members who on pilgrimage had visited Jerusalem. Revenues from the oblations made by recipients went to support the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.
Somewhat in the same vein is the augmentation of honour granted to Sir John Hawkins about 1569 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms. It was to be "for a perpetuall memory" of the fact that Hawkins, the famous Elizabethan mariner and buccaneer, "travaylinge to the West Indias in A° 1568 arryved at a towne caled Rio de la Hacha nere Capo de la Vele to thende to furnushe himself of suche necessaryes as he wanted viz. water and fuell where he was by Michell de Castilianos a Spanyard in warlyke wise resisted with 100 harkabushers, nevertheless the sayd John Hawkins with 200 men under his conduction and valiantnes entered the sayd towne and not only put the sayd captayne and his men to flight but also toke and brought his enseigne away."
The augmented arms are blazoned: Sable, a Lion Passant Or between in chief three Bezants and in base a point wavy barry-wavy Argent and Azure; in augmentation, a canton of the second charged with an Escallop between two Palmer's Staves Sable. Sir Anthony Wagner, sometime Garter King of Arms, adds: "The 1565 [original] Coat suggests the English lion bestriding the waves and bringing back treasure of bezants. The escallop and palmers' staves are emblems of pilgrimage".
A universal religious practice, pilgrimage as an institution has cast a broad shadow over the gamut of human experience. No aspect of human life has escaped its influence. This is certainly true of heraldry, which had been a natural object of its bounty.
Not true! In fact the church required that all pilgrims wear a scallop shell on their person while on Camino as proof that they were pilgrims (along with the staff, the hat and the gourd).You are strictly speaking correct, Bystander. On my first Camino I wore a scallop shell that my daughter had given me. I was told firmly, several times, that one does not have the right to wear it until one has made it all the way to Santiago.
No - these pilgrimages were set up by the Catholic church. Rome and the Pope were the "key" to heaven. The Jerusalem pilgrim is walking that path that Jesus walked into Jerusalem when the faithful placed palm leaves at his feet. The church granted a dispensation to pilgrims who completed the pilgrimage. (They really needed people in Spain to fight the moors!) As more and more people began walking the camino, more and more people began showing up at hospitals and churches CLAIMING they were pilgrims and requesting free meals and shelter. So the Church said OK, to be a pilgrim you have to wear a robe, a big black hat with a wide brim, carry a staff with a hook and a gourd and a symbol of the Camino you are on...and you need a letter from your priest you can show to the shelters you come across. They will sign your letter as well and when you arrive in Santiago you'll get your dispensation.Just to throw this into the discussion: The symbol of a romero (Rome pilgrim) are keys, symbol of St.Peter. The symbol of a palmero (Jerusalem pilgrim) are palms like in Palm Sunday. Perhaps we are over-thinking things here too much and the symbols have more to do with the venerated Saint than with the actual, practical pilgrimage.
Buen Camino, SY
pardon moi - my french language skills are far from brilliant - but as far as i recall - it's BATON = staff (bastone in italiano)"Bourdon" is the French for "staff.
What you received in Santiago was a small piece of lead with a scallop shell imprint or engraving. You were supposed to pin it to your hat.We were told that originally (Middle Ages) the scallop shells could only be obtained in Santiago at the end of the pilgrimage and that they could not be obtained elsewhere (by decree). Then that was relaxed. Now many pilgrims walk with a shell and that is seen as a sign that they are on their pilgrimage.
Personally we drilled two small shells off the local beach and tied them to our hats, then we could be seen as pilgrims even when we didn't have our packs. Our large shell had a Tarta Santiago in it and the cross was on the wrapper, so we cut it out and stuck it in place after eating the tarta. It lives safely at home as do the original hat shells. We also have a stick-pin type hat badge each, bought in Santiago from one of the stall-holders.
What to do this year? Find two new shells for our hats and use as before. Our packs have our original forum badge and the European Santiago badge stitched on them so we have our pack shells that way and quietly. Like all the variants on 'how to walk the Camino' we are free to walk with a shell or wait until Santiago. There are no 'rules' to keep on this.
One each in our hats and one each on a jacketWhat you received in Santiago was a small piece of lead with a scallop shell imprint or engraving. You were supposed to pin it to your hat.
Amorfati, bourdon is actually both a staff and an insect. Baton is stick, and it can be small or large, you can throw one to your dog for example, whereas the bourdon is the large stick used for walking by pilgrims, you would not want to play fetch with it ;0)pardon moi - my french language skills are far from brilliant - but as far as i recall - it's BATON = staff (bastone in italiano)
bourdon is a bumblebee or some such. - bourdon might be strictly a dialect for a staff?
still, interesting thread ...
The moder walking sticks seen on the Camino, carbon, aluminum, etc. would be refered to as "batons de marche" - walking sticks. A magic wand is a baguette magique, and chopsticks are also baguettes. Only the traditional pigrim woden staff is a bourdon.how very interesting - grazie! seems like in italiano the bastone is also a walking stick. we were using Baton also as a Wand/Staff ... - saluti -
For our first Frances, we purchased some unique scallop shells in Pamplona. We enjoyed them very much. For our second Frances, we brought our own. They were a stuffed scallop shell appetizer sold in the deli section of our local grocery store. We customized them with the flag of our home, the US State of Colorado. They are one of a kind and signaled to others where we were from and they started nice conversations.
Thanks Mike! My wife designed that image, combining the yellow Camino flecha with the yellow sun at the heart of the Colorado flag.Very cool!
Silly me - fancy not having read the rule book cover to cover recently - and it lives under my pillow too! Now I know!f you look at rule #496 in the Official Rule Book of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela you will clearly see that under pain of being disqualified from obtaining a compostela, and possibly excommunication, you can only wear the shell after walking at least 781km along the exact route designated in rule #28
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