History book recommendations for the Camino de Santiago

August 21, 2023 11:02 AM

I'm looking for reading about pilgrimages or specifically the pilgrimage route the Camino de Santiago. I'd prefer non-fiction, particularly historical information. But I'll take a memoir or factually grounded novel if it's particularly insightful about the route. I'd love to read a history book that talks about their cultural or economic impact of pilgrimage in Europe (or elsewhere). A book like Salt or this book about the spice trade, only for pilgrimages.

I'm taking a trip in a month in this region of Spain. I won't be making the pilgrimage and I'm not on a journey of spiritual discovery. But I'm taking a week-long tourist trip right across the same route from San Sebastián to Santiago de Compostela. I always enjoy doing a little background reading for this kind of vacation.

posted by Nelson to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

Best answer: I've walked the Camino Frances route, and I've read a ton of books about pilgrimages - but I'm not familiar with any that are quite as accessible as the books you have linked to. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago is the book I most often recommend when people want to know about the history. It has a lot of information about the history and art of the Camino. It describes the major pilgrimage sites along the way, including their history and their status in the 1990s, when the research for the book was done. Although it is not a guide book, it's also not a history book, so it's not quite what you are looking for. The Age of Pilgrimage is a very good history about both the Camino and pilgrimage as a phenomenon, with the caveat that it is not as accessible or as popular as the two books you have linked.

I'm interested to see what others suggest!
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:05 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Roads to Santiago by Cees Nooteboom
Amazing writing.
posted by falsedmitri at 12:13 PM on August 21, 2023

This one was recommended in the forums for its cultural context, have not read it The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook
posted by garbanzilla at 1:00 PM on August 21, 2023

Rupert Sheldrake's Science and Spiritual Practices: transformative experiences and their effects on our bodies, brains and health. Too much book? 1 hr exec summ with transcript. Sheldrake's analysis is based on a walk to Canterbury with his 14 y.o. godson: very English. Themes = Meditation + Gratitude + Connecting with nature + Relating to plants + Rituals + Singing and chanting + Pilgrimage and holy places.

In another direction is A Pilgrimage to Eternity: from Canterbury to Rome in search of a faith by Timothy "NYT" Egan. 25 min interview with transcript. Touches on the history of pilgrimage and practice.

And a little bit more - The Crossway by Guy Stagg [ [Guardian reviewed] tells of author's walk from Canterbury to Rome and on to Jerusalem and the 'desert' beyond. Again, some ruminations on the history and process on the way.

Original 900 y.o. guide is the Codex Calixtinus.
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:06 PM on August 21, 2023

Author Elizabeth Sheehan wrote a book called "The Trail: A True Tale of the Camino". It's her memoir of her walk (she hints at a handbook/guidebook but doesn't name it, or I don't remember her naming it). It gives the feel of the long walk, the hostels she stayed in, the views and experiences.

It was also one of the most frustrating and aggravating books I've ever read, but that was due to my feelings on the author's attitude and expectations from her month long walk.
posted by annieb at 5:16 PM on August 21, 2023

I enjoyed Lucy Pick's novel about a woman on the Compostela route in the twelfth century. Reviews here and here. It is on the Internet Archive here.
posted by paduasoy at 4:19 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Kathryn harrison's the road to santiago
posted by brujita at 11:55 AM on August 22, 2023