ANST - Re: Period Travel Guides

Nathan Jones bigbeartx at msn.com
Tue May 1 20:25:53 PDT 2001


>Scot and Domino Eddy wrote:
>>I assume that people wrote "travel guides" during the Middle Ages and
>>Renaissance. Have any survived? Where can they be found? What do they
>>cover?

>There's one written on pilgrimage to Compostella.  15th Century?

>- --Perronnelle

Perronnelle is right. The book she is probably referring to
is the Codex Calixtinus, written in the 12th century, here
are some notes about it.

>From the liner notes of "The Way of the Pilgrim: Medieval
Songs of Travel" by The Toronto Consort:

"The route to Santiago was well enough travelled to occasion
a popular 'pilgrim's guide,' the earliest copy of which is
found in the cathedral archival library in Santiago in a
manuscript known as the Codex Calixtinus. The codex is a
five-part compilation containing liturgies, accounts of
miracles, a description of how the body of St. James was
"translated" to Compostela, as well as the 'Pilgrim Guide.'
The guide describes towns and shrines which could be visited
en route to Santiago, and includes such practical information
as warnings about unsafe water and extortionist ferrymen, and
recommendations of friendly towns and where good wine is to be
had.  The last chapter is entitled 'How Pilgrims of Saint James
are to be Received." [...] Then follow cautionary tales of
devine punishment visited on people or towns who wwere
inhospitable to pilgrims, including one French villiage in
which a thousand houses were burnt because two pilgrims had
been refused accommodation.  Clearly the attraction of
pilgrimages, by which certain towns and churches profited
so much, depended on the safety and hospitality of the
towns en route."

Here are some links that talk about the Codex Calixtinus:
http://personal.readysoft.es/oborras/csantiago/codex.htm
This site seems to contain a wonderfully organized online v
ersion of the codex in modern Spanish.  It does have the
5th book of the codex, which is the travelogue, in English,
but only transcribed up to chapter five.  The English text is
from William Melczer's book _The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago De
Compostela_.
Here is a link to the English portion.  
http://personal.readysoft.es/oborras/csantiago/book5.htm

_The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago De Compostela_ by William Melczer.
The 5th book of the Codex Calixtinus in English.  Haven't seen the
book, but it's available from Amazon for $25.  It's paperback and
coffetable sized.  Looks cool.  (It would make a great birthday gift
for me.  Really.  I wouldn't say no.  June 27th, mark it in your
calendars.  )

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/Courses/MUSL242/f98/santiago.htm
Has a summary of the codex, but not actual text.  Focus is on the
music included in the manuscript.

http://www.nd.edu/~medvllib/musnot/calix.html
Not much info here, but has some pics of the actual codex.  Also has
links to facimilies of other period documents.

http://www.italicapress.com/index82.html
This one is an advertisement for a CD that has "an interactive
tour of the medieval Pilgrim's Road from France to Santiago de
Compostela in northwestern Spain. It presents a series of medieval
texts relating to the pilgrimage to, shrine of, and cult of St.
James, including the twelfth-century Codex Calixtinus, now in the
library of the cathedral of Santiago, as well as descriptions and
excerpts from travelers in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The Road to Compostela also features a Gazetteer of historic places
along the Camino, a Dictionary of Saints met along the Road, and a
complete Bibliography. It includes a General Map of the Road and 4
interactive detail maps of the route, 12 city maps, 17 plans, and 150
color photos."  I thought it was pretty cool, but no way am I going to
pay for it or endorsing it's purchase.  (However...June 27th....)


--Giovanni di Cellini
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.



More information about the Ansteorra mailing list