Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela (also, Saint James of Compostela) is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the northwest of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was the "European City of Culture" for the year 2000.
The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route: the Way of St. James (Galician: Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: Camino de Santiago). Recently, the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela hosted one of the Catholic World Youth Day gatherings.
Folk etymology for the name "Compostela" is interesting: it comes from the Latin "Campus Stellae" (i.e., “Stars Field”), but it is unlikely that such a phonetic evolution takes account of normal evolution from Latin to Galician-Portuguese. A more probable etymology relates the word with Latin "compositum", and local Vulgar Latin "Composita Tella", meaning "burial ground" as a euphemism. Many other places through Galicia share this toponym (with identical sense) and there even exists a "Compostilla" in the León province.
The legend is that St James found his way to the Iberian Peninsula, and had preached there. This is one of a number of early traditions concerning the missionary activities and final resting places of the apostles of Jesus. Although the 1884 Bull of Pope Leo XIII Omnipotens Deus accepted the authenticity of the relics at Compostela, the Vatican remains uncommitted as to whether the relics are those of Saint James the Great, while continuing to promote the more general benefits of pilgrimage to the site. According to a tradition that can be traced to a time before the 12th century, the relics were said to have been discovered in 814 by Theodomir, Bishop of Iria Flavia in the west of Galicia. Legend has it that Theodomir was guided to the spot by a star, drawing upon a familiar Christian theme, hence "Compostela" may indeed be the "Star Field."
Santiago de Compostela (also, Saint James of Compostela) is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the northwest of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was the "European City of Culture" for the year 2000.
The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route: the Way of St. James (Galician: Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: Camino de Santiago). Recently, the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela hosted one of the Catholic World Youth Day gatherings.
Folk etymology for the name "Compostela" is interesting: it comes from the Latin "Campus Stellae" (i.e., “Stars Field”), but it is unlikely that such a phonetic evolution takes account of normal evolution from Latin to Galician-Portuguese. A more probable etymology relates the word with Latin "compositum", and local Vulgar Latin "Composita Tella", meaning "burial ground" as a euphemism. Many other places through Galicia share this toponym (with identical sense) and there even exists a "Compostilla" in the León province.
The legend is that St James found his way to the Iberian Peninsula, and had preached there. This is one of a number of early traditions concerning the missionary activities and final resting places of the apostles of Jesus. Although the 1884 Bull of Pope Leo XIII Omnipotens Deus accepted the authenticity of the relics at Compostela, the Vatican remains uncommitted as to whether the relics are those of Saint James the Great, while continuing to promote the more general benefits of pilgrimage to the site. According to a tradition that can be traced to a time before the 12th century, the relics were said to have been discovered in 814 by Theodomir, Bishop of Iria Flavia in the west of Galicia. Legend has it that Theodomir was guided to the spot by a star, drawing upon a familiar Christian theme, hence "Compostela" may indeed be the "Star Field."