Cathedral De Compastela: Bibliography

Laffi, Domenico. A Journey to the West. The Diary of a Seventeenth-Century Pilgrim from Bologna to Santiago de Compostela. Viaggio in Ponente. Trans. James Hall. Primavera Press. Leiden, the Netherlands. 1997.

This is a journal kept by Laffi Domenico, a seventeenth century Italian clergyman. Laffi traveled from Bologna, Italy to Santiago de Compostela three times as well as making pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome. Very detailed. He really gives a thorough account of his travels. He also does not exclude his own personal thoughts, which add color to the events.

Mullins,Edwin. The Pilgrimage to Santiago. Richard and Clay (The Chaucer Press). Great Britain, 1974.

This book is essentially about why the pilgrims set out on the road and it talks about the Moors invading Spain and Christianity. There were wonderful colored pictures that really made the book special. It talks about the roads leading to Comopstela and describes each one in detail. It also describes the Benedictine Monastery of Cluny and how they help in the history of Compostela.

Starkie, Walter. The Road to Santiago: Pilgrims of St. James. University of California.Press. Los Angeles. 1965.

This is a text that is rich with information. It starts way back at the beginning of the Middle Ages tracing the rise of the cult of St. James and brings the reader into the present. Good, informative and easy reading. Starkie talks a lot about the part in which the French, especially the order of Cluny, had to play in the creating an anti-Moor fervor which used the cult as its main drive. Gives a lot of evidence as to why it may have been the Order of Cluny that wrote the Codex Calixtinus.

Stockstad, Marilyn. Art History. Revised Ed. Volume One. Prentice Hall, Inc., and Harry N. Abrams, Inc.1999. Chapter 15.

This art history book is insightful as well as informative. The author is unafraid to analyze the work and gives a lot of explanation to both art and architectural terms. A good companion to the Medieval Art and Architecture sites on our linkbase.

Tate, Brain and Marcus. The Pilgrim Route to Santiago. Phaidon/Oxford Univ. Press. Spain, 1987.

This book was really useful. It went into detail about the Codex Calixtinus and the pilgrims on the actual road. It gave scenarios and really painted a picture of how the pilgrimage used to be in the earlier centuries.

The Pilgrim’s Guide. To Santiago de Compostela. Trans. William Melczer. Italica Press. New York. 1993.

This is the actual Pilgrim’s Guide, which is the fifth book of the Codex Calixtinus. This is definitely a book for the advanced reader with knowledge of the subject. It is a combination of Laffi’s journal and Starkie’s informative text. There is a lot of dry detail, such as where to cross a river and who will give a fair price and who will not, but there is also a lot text-book information.

The Pilgrim’s Guide: A Critical Edition. Ed. Paula Gerson. Harvey Miller Publishers. London. 1998.

This book tries to prove who actually wrote the Codex Calixtinus. This is not a book to read without either extensive prior knowledge of early European-Christian history or a large amount of referance.