The roads to Santiago de Compostela have historically been many, so many in fact, that it is probably beyond our 21st century capabilities to discover them all. We know from research, and it is proudly proclaimed by the sword of St James on the hillside above Góis, that the town is situated on one of these ancient pilgrimage routes.

From all across Europe (and beyond) medieval pilgrims from the mid-10th century onwards made their way by boat, horse, donkey, but principally on foot, to the shrine of St. James – also known as Santiago Matamoros – the Slayer of the Moors.

St James is remembered as one of Jesus’ disciples, said to have come to Portugal during his ministry, and to have preached his Master’s message (of love and forgiveness – not murder of the ‘heathen’) at Monte Santiaguiño. Executed in 44 AD, two of his followers are said to have brought his body by boat from Jerusalem to Galicia, burying it close to the place that now bears his name, at the invitation of Queen Lupar, one of the first recorded converts to Christianity.

There are at least two versions of the founding of Santiago de Compostela, some 800 years later:

One says that the relics of St. James were discovered in 835 by Theodomir, bishop of Iria Flavia , who was guided by a star to the place where they lay.
The other says that around 820 a hermit, Pelayo, was living in the forest of Libredon (the old name for Santiago de Compostela) when he witnessed a shower of stars falling over the place where St. James’ relics were buried.
Both versions share the potent image of the star, and it is likely that this is how Compostela ( a corruption of  Campus Stellae “Plain of Stars”) gained its new name.

Most sources agree that the timing of this ‘discovery’ was convenient, to say the least, for the Christian Reconquista, in their mission to drive back the Moors. With a terrible irony, the apostle of Christ was re-invented as slayer of the heathen – a knight on a white horse single-handedly slaughtering Islamic ‘infidels’.

For whatever reason, whether for his new-found reputation as “Defender of the Faith”, or perhaps in memory of his origins as Christ’s apostle, the resting-place of St. James grew from the focus of  a local Galician cult into a destination for pilgrims of several centuries, third in importance only to Jerusalem and Rome. Having declined from  the height of  its popularity in the 15th Century, the late 20th and early 21st centuries have seen an immense revival of interest in the “Ways of St.James”.

According to Celtic legend, this north-western corner of Iberia was the place where the souls of the dead gathered to follow the sun across the sea, and it seems likely that this area held a deeply spiritual significance for thousands of years before St. James came along.

Celtic paganism, which had a highly-developed system of belief and practices, was itself built upon the religion of the megalithic culture. There is plenty of evidence of rites from the megalithic period suggestive of sun-worship, and one of the most important deities for the Celts was the Triple Goddess Brigid, “the bright one”, Goddess of the Sun who brings in the Celtic New Year when she kindles the fire in the earth.

The Romans adopted Brigid when they came into Iberia, and worshipped her as Dea Brigantia. Many places are thought to derive their name from her, including the Spanish town of Betanzos, just 26km north-east of Santiago de Compostela.

And the link between the Goddess Brigid and the pilgrims of St.James?

 - the scallop shell, the Vieira, the symbol of Venus – sacred to Brigid, and also,  the emblem that identified the devotees of the cult of St. James. (According to one legend, his body, lost at sea on the way to Spain, washed up on the shore intact, and covered in scallop shells.) Attributed with miraculous powers, and used as an amulet against curses by medieval Christians, the scallop shell harks back to a religion of a much, much earlier time in this land.

The Góis Real Estate Company and Professor João Alves Simões are working together to produce a map showing the route the pilgrims took through the region. This research runs alongside that into the Roman road that passes through Góis, since the two appear to be associated with each other. We hope to identify points of historical interest along the route, and to explain the socio-religious importance of the town of Góis.