Today, I completed a four-part series for the Camino Podcast on the Camino Primitivo, following on the heels of my recent re-walking of that route in advance of a forthcoming reprint of the Norte/Primitivo guidebook.
The Camino Primitivo was the first of the Caminos de Santiago. Here’s how I introduce the route in the guidebook:
“While the Camino Francés enjoys greater prominence today than the Northern Caminos, that should not suggest that the northern alternatives lack historical significance. Indeed, evidence exists of pilgrims following the coastal option in the ninth and tenth centuries. The name ‘Camino Primitivo’ is not meant to suggest the absence of civilization along the route, but rather the route’s historical primacy.
“When Pelayo of Asturias (a different Pelayo from the aforementioned hermit) halted Moorish expansion at the Battle of Covadonga in 722, he thereby preserved a sliver of northern Spain for Christianity. The Kingdom of Asturias grew gradually, experiencing its greatest success during Alfonso II’s reign (791–842). During that time, the kingdom expanded into Galicia and the Basque Country, and also celebrated the discovery of Santiago’s tomb.
“The first pilgrims to Compostela were well aware of the persistent Muslim threat, particularly in Navarre, and thus often favored the coastal approach. Perhaps the single greatest influence on the early prominence of these routes, however, was the supreme importance of Oviedo, the Asturian Kingdom’s capital. The cult of relics surrounding San Salvador de Oviedo is as old as the one surrounding Santiago. The Holy Ark kept there is said to include a fragment of the True Cross, an image of Christ, and remnants from the Crown of Thorns and Last Supper. In 1075, Alfonso VI visited Oviedo specifically to behold the Holy Ark; during his stay, he ordered the creation of a pilgrims’ hospital. While the royal court had moved to León by this point, Oviedo’s spiritual significance was reinforced by the popular pilgrimage refrain: ‘He who goes to Santiago and not to San Salvador, serves the servant and forsakes the Lord.’ Providing royal acknowledgement of this view, in 1222 Alfonso IX ordered all pilgrims to Santiago to pass through the Monastery of Obona near Tineo. Remarkably, many pilgrims following the Camino Francés made the lengthy detour.”
The new Camino Podcast series on the Primitivo breaks the route into four chunks. In each episode, I discuss roughly 70 kilometers of walking with an experienced pilgrim or two. Along with that, I speak with an expert (or two) who can speak to some historical or cultural issue that has relevance to that section. Here is a quick overview of each episode, along with links to useful background information:
The Camino Primitivo, Part 1: Walking the First Camino – Oviedo to Tineo
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- Nadine Karel: Primitivo Blog / Primitivo Videos
- Allison Bixby Bemus, Bodenaya: Facebook / Gronze listing
- UNESCO: Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias
Find the episode here: Soundcloud / Apple / Spotify
The Camino Primitivo, Part 2: Asturias, Never Defeated! – Tineo to Berducedo
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- Lainey Silver and Shawn Forno, Days We Spend: Primitivo Videos
- David Guardado: Nunca Vencida / Interview in Spanish
- The Battle of Covadonga: A concise overview
Find the episode here: Soundcloud / Apple / Spotify
The Camino Primitivo, Part 3: What Shines Atop Alto del Acebo? – Berducedo to O Cádavo
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- Jeff Monroe: Primitivo Blog
- Noelia Bueno Gómez: A Study of the ‘Coplas del Comandante Moreno’
- The Story of Comandante Moreno: In Spanish
- Faro De Vigo: News coverage of the exhumation in 2008 (In Spanish)
Find the episode here: Soundcloud / Apple / Spotify
The Camino Primitivo, Part 4: From Lugo to the Francés – O Cádavo to Melide and Sobrado
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- Mel Trethowan: Primitivo Blog
- Susan Faillettaz & Angus Carrick: Primitivo Blog
- Rob Portass: Re-evaluating the Iberian Northwest in Late Antiquity
Find the episode here: Soundcloud / Apple / Spotify
