Customer Reviews

The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Melczer offers an academic work that is a very readable translation of the twelfth century Book Five of the Codex Calixtinus, together with substantial backgound notes and explanatory material. This, in spite of its academic overtones, is not a difficult read. I found it to be a very useful starting point and historical information base for our proposed pilgrimage.

Melczer's book is a masterpiece. Anyone with an interest in Spain, the Middle Ages, or Santiago De Compostela simply must read this book! It is lively and highly readable, but it is underpinned by impeccable scholarship. It opens numerous windows on a forgotten world, and deserves the widest possible readership.

I personally knew Mr. Melczer both as my instructor and later as a friend and I simply cannot say enough about this man. Studying in Spain with Mr. Melczer in 1990 I can say he truly opened my eyes to history, art and culture. I took copious notes, but I realized I could never fully "absorb" the knowledge that this man imparted to his students. He inspired me to enter the field I am in now.
This book is an excellent presentation of one of the most remarkable journeys traversed by so many people throughout history. The research is excellent and the reading is very clear. This book is a must for any person interested in Spanish history

When you are not sure of the details of any particular Camino miracle, you need go no further than William Melczer's guide. The Codex Calixtinus is the source of all those stories you read in the other English language books. Melczner's guide is the first complete English translation of Book Five of the Codex Calixtinus - the original medieval pilgrim's guide.

This is a scholarly, extremely well documented book. The entire book is 345 pages. Of this, the actual translated Codex is 50 pages. The introduction and notes demonstrate a through knowledge the medieval pilgrimages. The book includes a haigographical register and gazetteer as well as bibliograpy and index. I had to go to my unabridged dictionary to find out that haigography is the study of saints. The gazetteer contains a short explanation if each place name. Both the haigraphical index and the gazetteer are quite helpful when doing any Camino reading.

This is not a book I would carry with me, but certainly one that is enjoyed after doing the Camino. For those who have time, it supplements any historical reading one may do before the Camino.

DO NOT buy this book if you are looking for a modern guide to the Camino.

DO buy this book for a scholarly translation and background of the pilgrims who went before you on the Camino (the guide was written in approx. 1160 AD)! The large introduction is packed with detailed information about the history/legends of St. James and his tomb from the time of Christ through early Church fathers, early Spanish history, Islamic invasion and subsequent withdrawal, and the French connection. There is detailed history on pilgrim routes, what they wore, where they stayed, and more. A great read prior to walking the Camino!

Wow! This book is lucid, inspiring, insightful and profound. It really uses the Guide as a window to the medieval mind. Outstandingly scholarly and genuinely readable. A winner!

William Melczer's guide includes an introduction to Book V of the Codex Calixtinus, followed by his translation. In the introduction, Melczer situates the book within the social, cultural, and religious fabric of the Middle Ages to shed light on the medieval mindset towards pilgrimage and the cult of relics. Because relics were known as a "source of spiritual power and miracle," believers would journey to reliquaries for prayer and penance (2). This interdependence between pilgrimage and relic forms the basis of the pilgrim's journey to Santiago de Compostela, the monumental cathedral built over the remains of St. James.

The medieval pilgrim's journey to Santiago begins at his doorstep, and continues on foot or horseback across France and Spain, following the routes of St. James. On the way, he stops at various towns to eat and rest, but more importantly to visit their saintly remains. Accordingly, Book V of the Codex Calixtinus details not only the route to Santiago and Santiago itself, but also the towns and the saints one must visit along the way. Chapters VII and VIII read like an ethnography of these towns, as they vividly describe the customs and habits of the townsmen and the narratives surrounding their saints. In a number of towns, monumental basilicas have been built over the relics as hagiographic markers, which attract pilgrims seeking spiritual power on their way to Santiago.

The author of Book V strikes a careful balance between content on the physical pilgrimage and the accompanying relics in order to provide the medieval pilgrim with the most practical advice. Because the Camino de Santiago involves the body and soul, the pilgrimage is not just about the destination, but the journey to the destination. Relics imbue the pilgrim with a steady source of divine power throughout the pilgrimage.

This book is comprised of a translation of Book V of the Codex Calixtinus, and abundant notes, commentary and introduction of same. If you have traveled to Santiago, then you have most likely already read extensive quotations, citations or information from this work. It is probably the single most important historical source of information about the pilgrimage. Or at least the most famous.

The translated work itself is only a small fraction of the total book. I urge you to go to the effort of reading the Notes to the Codex. Do this at least for the value for money in the experience since the Notes section is almost twice as long as the actual text. Even past that, I found the notes good reading, and only wish that they had been published in situ with the text and not at the back since it would have saved me a lot of really endless flipping back and forth.

The book is also published with a Hagiographical register of the relevant saints and a Gazetteer of the locations. Either of those sections might be of more use to the prospective pilgrim than is the text itself. I have to say that reading the Codex after I completed my trip made it funnier and more illuminating.

This is one of those fabled must-reads if you are interested in the Camino. If you aren't, it still might be interesting as an example of medieval travel writing. Melczer seems to do a good job with the book and the translation. Recommended.

As a collector of guide books about Iberia, I found this volume exceptionally revealing, practical and poetic.