Case 1 of "On The Road: Words, Pictures, and Artifacts of Pilgrims" Exhibit
Shown here is an image of Case 1 from the exhibit "On The Road: Words, Pictures, and Artifacts of Pilgrims", on display in the Read and Relax Area of Swem Library at the College of William & Mary. The exhibit is on display from September 28, 2012 to January 16, 2013.
The following is a transcription of the labels presented in this case:
Items exhibited in this case are on loan from George Greenia, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Coordinator of the Institute for Pilgrimage Studies. Since 2005, Professor Greenia has led students each summer on the 500-mile Camino Francés route across Spain while they research diverse topics such as ritual movement, funerary sculpture, economics and infrastructure, tourism vs. pilgrimage, kinesiology and cardio conditioning, iconography and art history, and the sacred quality of landscapes.
Learn more about W&M’s Santiago de Compostela summer study abroad program here:
www.wm.edu/news/stories/2012/global-education-office-anno...
Scallop Shells
Scallop shells are a universal symbol carried by all bikers and walkers making the journey to Santiago. Some William & Mary pilgrims choose to carry the state fossil of Virginia, the Chesapecten Jeffersonius; specimens of this extinct scallop can be found around campus.
Stone from College Woods
Beginning in 1998, William & Mary student pilgrims have carried stones up to the Cruz de Ferro, the highest elevation on the Camino Francés. Through the centuries, placing a stone symbolizes achieving the highest point on the journey and leaving behind the burden of one’s toil and sins to complete the journey feeling lighter.
Booklet of The Way
William & Mary’s Institute for Pilgrimage Studies sponsored two gala screenings of The Way in 2011 with stars Martin Sheen and son Emilio Estevez, whose family is originally from Galicia, where the Cathedral of Santiago is located.
Compostela
Typically written in Latin, a compostela proclaims that the traveler has faithfully completed the journey to the tomb of the Apostle St. James and is worthy of the blessings of this pilgrimage. Pilgrims must have walked at least 100 km or cycled 200 km of the journey to be eligible for a compostela. This proclamation was issued to William & Mary in honor of the students and faculty who have traveled the Camino de Santiago for research.
Codex Calixtinus
This limited edition facsimile of the original 12th century manuscript contains the history of St. James in Spain and early sermons, hymns, and miracle stories–as well as the first traveler’s guide book for trekking to the apostles shrine.
The original manuscript, the greatest treasure held by the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was stolen on July 4, 2011 and recovered exactly one year later from a local electrician who had been laid off by the cathedral.
Chicken Feather from the Cathedral in Santo Domingo de la Calzada
In a popular medieval legend, two roast chickens sprang back to life with feathers in response to the miraculous resuscitation of a pilgrim wrongly hanged. Those chickens–and their direct descendents–have since occupied a coop high on the cathedral wall. A William & Mary pilgrim captured this midair feather in 2006; the legend says that any pilgrim who caught such a feather before it hit the floor would arrive safely in Santiago.
Pilgrim’s Credential
This document, similar to a passport with stamps added along the journey, is a modern version of a medieval document of safe-conduct, and has become a the traveler’s most personal souvenir as well as proof of one’s pilgrim identity. The credential is presented when seeking lodging along the Camino in refuges and at the Cathedral in Santiago for the compostela,
a document marking the completed pilgrimage. Some national pilgrim groups create their own credentials for travelers from their countries, such as the ones shown from the American Pilgrims on the Camino and the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in Japan.
Gourd
This medieval “water canteen” has long been one of the most iconic symbols of the pilgrimage to the relics and shrine of St. James in Santiago.
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/research/special-collections for further information and assistance.
Case 1 of "On The Road: Words, Pictures, and Artifacts of Pilgrims" Exhibit
Shown here is an image of Case 1 from the exhibit "On The Road: Words, Pictures, and Artifacts of Pilgrims", on display in the Read and Relax Area of Swem Library at the College of William & Mary. The exhibit is on display from September 28, 2012 to January 16, 2013.
The following is a transcription of the labels presented in this case:
Items exhibited in this case are on loan from George Greenia, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Coordinator of the Institute for Pilgrimage Studies. Since 2005, Professor Greenia has led students each summer on the 500-mile Camino Francés route across Spain while they research diverse topics such as ritual movement, funerary sculpture, economics and infrastructure, tourism vs. pilgrimage, kinesiology and cardio conditioning, iconography and art history, and the sacred quality of landscapes.
Learn more about W&M’s Santiago de Compostela summer study abroad program here:
www.wm.edu/news/stories/2012/global-education-office-anno...
Scallop Shells
Scallop shells are a universal symbol carried by all bikers and walkers making the journey to Santiago. Some William & Mary pilgrims choose to carry the state fossil of Virginia, the Chesapecten Jeffersonius; specimens of this extinct scallop can be found around campus.
Stone from College Woods
Beginning in 1998, William & Mary student pilgrims have carried stones up to the Cruz de Ferro, the highest elevation on the Camino Francés. Through the centuries, placing a stone symbolizes achieving the highest point on the journey and leaving behind the burden of one’s toil and sins to complete the journey feeling lighter.
Booklet of The Way
William & Mary’s Institute for Pilgrimage Studies sponsored two gala screenings of The Way in 2011 with stars Martin Sheen and son Emilio Estevez, whose family is originally from Galicia, where the Cathedral of Santiago is located.
Compostela
Typically written in Latin, a compostela proclaims that the traveler has faithfully completed the journey to the tomb of the Apostle St. James and is worthy of the blessings of this pilgrimage. Pilgrims must have walked at least 100 km or cycled 200 km of the journey to be eligible for a compostela. This proclamation was issued to William & Mary in honor of the students and faculty who have traveled the Camino de Santiago for research.
Codex Calixtinus
This limited edition facsimile of the original 12th century manuscript contains the history of St. James in Spain and early sermons, hymns, and miracle stories–as well as the first traveler’s guide book for trekking to the apostles shrine.
The original manuscript, the greatest treasure held by the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, was stolen on July 4, 2011 and recovered exactly one year later from a local electrician who had been laid off by the cathedral.
Chicken Feather from the Cathedral in Santo Domingo de la Calzada
In a popular medieval legend, two roast chickens sprang back to life with feathers in response to the miraculous resuscitation of a pilgrim wrongly hanged. Those chickens–and their direct descendents–have since occupied a coop high on the cathedral wall. A William & Mary pilgrim captured this midair feather in 2006; the legend says that any pilgrim who caught such a feather before it hit the floor would arrive safely in Santiago.
Pilgrim’s Credential
This document, similar to a passport with stamps added along the journey, is a modern version of a medieval document of safe-conduct, and has become a the traveler’s most personal souvenir as well as proof of one’s pilgrim identity. The credential is presented when seeking lodging along the Camino in refuges and at the Cathedral in Santiago for the compostela,
a document marking the completed pilgrimage. Some national pilgrim groups create their own credentials for travelers from their countries, such as the ones shown from the American Pilgrims on the Camino and the Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in Japan.
Gourd
This medieval “water canteen” has long been one of the most iconic symbols of the pilgrimage to the relics and shrine of St. James in Santiago.
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/research/special-collections for further information and assistance.