Codex Calixtinus Book III (Translation)

I have not wished to exclude from my codex the translation of the Gospel of James, since it recounts so many miracles and testimonies for the glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Apostle, and because it does not differ greatly from the letter entitled to Saint Leo. Furthermore, let it be known that James had many disciples, but twelve in particular. It is said that he chose three in the lands of Jerusalem; of these, Hermogenes, appointed bishop, and Philetus, archdeacon, after their martyrdom in Antioch, adorned with many miracles, rested from their holy life in the Lord; and the blessed Josiah, Herod's steward, died in the company of the Apostle, crowned with martyrdom.

Nine, however, are said to have been chosen by the Apostle in Galicia during his lifetime; seven of whom, while the other two remained in Galicia to preach, went with him to Jerusalem, and after his Passion brought his body by sea to Galicia. Saint Jerome wrote of them in his Martyrology, as he learned from the blessed Chromatius, that after the body of James was buried in Galicia, they were ordained with episcopal honors in Rome by the Apostles Peter and Paul, and were sent to preach the word of God to Spain, still under the sway of pagan error. Finally, then, after having enlightened many peoples with their preaching, they died on the fifteenth of May: Torquatus in Acci, Ctesiphon in Vergi, Secundus in Abula, Indalecius in Urci, Caecilius in Iliberis, Hesychius in Garcesa, and Euphrasius in Iliturgis.

A wondrous miracle endures to this day as testimony to his precious death. For, as is said on the eve of his aforementioned solemnity, in the city of Guadix, next to the tomb of Saint Torquatus, behind the church, every year an olive tree miraculously blossoms and is adorned with its ripe fruit, from which oil is immediately extracted to light the lamps before his venerable altar.

The other two disciples, namely Athanasius and Theodore, were buried, as recorded in the same letter of St. Leo, next to the Apostle's body, one to his right and the other to his left. And no one should think that Athanasius is Hesychius, since Hesychius is one person, and Athanasius is another.

But we must tell what happened in our time to a certain pilgrim to Santiago concerning the book of this translation. A certain cleric I know, a devout pilgrim to Santiago, wishing to take this translation, along with some other miracles of the Apostle, back to his homeland, commissioned a copyist named Fernando in the city of Santiago to have them written down and paid him twenty Rotomagenses as payment. And when he, after paying the price and receiving the copy, sat down to read it in a low voice in a corner of the apostolic basilica, he found in his pocket as many coins as he had given the copyist; and he did not believe that any mortal had placed them there, but that the Apostle had done so miraculously. For this reason, it is believed that the holy Apostle is a most generous rewarder through heavenly graces, since he so readily rewarded his servant with earthly ones.

After the Passion of Our Savior and the most glorious triumph of His Resurrection, and then after His wondrous Ascension, when He ascended to the throne of His Father and of the Holy Spirit; after the outpouring of tongues of fire upon the apostles, the disciples whom He Himself had chosen, enlightened by the rays of wisdom and inspired by heavenly grace, made known through their preaching the name of Christ everywhere, to all peoples and nations. And among the illustrious number of those, the saint of admirable virtue, blessed by his life, marvelous by his virtue, enlightened by his intellect, brilliant by his oratory, was James, whose brother John is known as an evangelist and apostle. And to him, in truth, such grace was granted by divine work, that even the Lord of inestimable glory did not disdain to transfigure himself with his incomparable brightness on Mount Tabor before his eyes, and in the presence also of Peter and John, true witnesses.

He, therefore, while the others went to various regions of the world, was brought to the shores of Spain by the will of God, preaching and teaching the divine word to the people who lived there and considered it their homeland. And having remained there for some time, while the small seed he wished to gather then sprouted among thorns, it is said that, trusting in Christ, he chose seven disciples, whose names are these: Torquatus, Secundus, Indalecius, Ctesiphon, Euphrasius, Caecilius, and Hesychius, so that with their help he might uproot the weeds and entrust the seed of the divine word to a land that had long remained barren, under more favorable conditions.

And as his last day drew near, he hastened to Jerusalem, offering his friendly comfort to none of his disciples. While a wicked crowd of Sadducees and Pharisees surrounded him, seduced by the serpent's ancient cunning, they posed countless questions about Christ. But inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit, his eloquence was unmatched; thus, their raging anger intensified, fueled with even greater violence against him. Spurred by hatred, he became so enraged and driven mad that he was seized by the cruel injustice and vehemence of the enraged crowd and brought before Herod to be put to death. Condemned by a cruel death sentence, and bathed in the pool of his own rosy blood, crowned with triumphant martyrdom, he flew to heaven, adorned with unfading laurels.

His disciples, stealthily seizing the body of their master, with great effort and extraordinary speed carried it to the beach. They found a ship prepared for them, and embarking on it, they set sail on the open sea. In seven days they reached the port of Iria, in Galicia, and rowed to their longed-for land. There is no doubt that they then gave many thanks to the Author of all things and sang well-deserved praises, both for the great blessing God had bestowed upon them and because they had escaped unharmed the attacks of pirates, the perilous collisions with the reefs, and the dark depths of the raging waves. Thus, trusting in such a great protector, they turned their thoughts to the other things necessary for their purpose and sought to discover the place the Lord had chosen for the tomb of his martyr.

Having thus begun their journey eastward, they carried the sacred coffin to a small field belonging to a certain lady named Lupa, about five miles from the city, and left it there. Inquiring who owned the land, they learned this from some natives and fervently sought the woman they were looking for. Finally, going to meet her and recounting the events as they had unfolded, they asked her to give them a small temple where she had placed an idol for worship, a place frequented by the misguided believers of the absurd paganism.

And she, born of the noblest lineage, and widowed by the intervention of supreme fate, though she had sacrilegiously given herself over to superstition, not forgetting her nobility, renounced marriage with those who sought her hand, both noble and commoner, so that a kind of adultery would not stain her first conjugal bed. And constantly considering their words and their request, before giving any answer, she pondered in the depths of her heart how she would deliver them to a cruel death, and finally answered them, hypocritically wrathfully:

«"Go," he said; "seek the king who lives in Dugio, and ask him for a place to prepare the burial for your dead.".

Following his instructions, some kept vigil over the apostle's body in one place, according to the funeral rites, while others rushed to the royal palace. Brought before the king, they greeted him according to royal etiquette and explained in detail who they were, where they came from, and why they had come. The king, though initially listening attentively and kindly, was nevertheless astonished by an incredible shock, unsure of what to do. Inspired by a diabolical suggestion, he ordered, in the height of cruelty, that an ambush be secretly prepared and that the servants of God be killed. However, this was discovered by divine will, and they secretly fled, escaping swiftly.

When the king was informed of their escape, he was seized with a fierce anger, and, like a rabid lion, he and his court relentlessly pursued the trail of the fugitive servants of God. And when they were about to be killed by their relentless pursuers, they crossed a bridge over a certain river—the pursuers anxious, the others calm—and in an instant, by the sudden decree of Almighty God, the foundations of the bridge they were crossing cracked, and it collapsed from the heights to the depths of the river below, completely destroyed. And so the wise judgment of the Eternal King decreed that not one of the entire throng of pursuers should survive to tell the king's palace what had happened.

The holy men, therefore, turning their heads to the sound of falling weapons and stones, extolled the greatness of God, worthy of being proclaimed, as they saw the bodies of the magnates and their horses and military trappings tumble miserably beneath the waters of the river, just as the Pharaonic army had once experienced. Consequently, aided and saved by the helping hand of God, and encouraged and inflamed by this event, they traveled the saving path to the house of the aforementioned matron and showed her how the king's exasperated determination had sought to destroy them, and what God had done against him as punishment.

Then, with insistent entreaties, they asked her to give up the aforementioned house dedicated to demons, to consecrate it to God. They advised and insisted that she reject those artificial idols that could neither benefit her nor harm others, nor allow her to see with her eyes, hear with her ears, or smell with her nose, and which made absolutely no use of any of her limbs. And her mind, shaken because, faced with the king's sinking in the river, she feared for the death of her relatives and friends, and thus incapable, as often happens in human affairs, of sound judgment, she devised a crude stratagem, pretending, in the face of public opinion, not to consider them deceivers.

While they urged her with even greater vehemence with their pleas to provide part of the small plot of land to bury the body of the most holy man, she devised a new and unusual stratagem, believing she could kill them by some trickery, and spoke thus: «Since,» she said, “I see your intention so decidedly inclined to this, and that you do not wish to desist from it, go and take some gentle oxen that I have on a hill, and carrying with them whatever seems most useful to you and whatever you need, build the tomb. If you lack food, I will endeavor to give it liberally to you and to them.”.

Hearing this, the apostolic men, unaware of the woman's hypocrisy, departed, giving thanks. They reached the mountain and discovered something unexpected. As they stepped onto the mountain's edge, a huge dragon, whose frequent raids had left the nearby villages deserted, emerged from its lair and, breathing fire, attacked the holy men, who were burning with love for God, ready to strike and threatening them with death. But remembering the doctrines of the faith, they fearlessly defended themselves with the cross, forcing the dragon to retreat. Unable to withstand the sign of the Lord's Cross, the dragon burst open its belly.

And when this encounter was over, raising their eyes to heaven, they gave thanks to the Supreme King from the depths of their hearts. Finally, to completely banish the multitude of demons from there, they exorcised the water and sprinkled it over the entire mountain. This mountain, then, formerly called Ilicino, as we might say, the one that seduces, because before that time many ill-gotten men maintained the worship of the devil there, was called by them Monte Sacro, that is, sacred mountain.

And seeing from there the oxen that had been treacherously promised to them, they beheld them, fierce and bellowing, their high heads ramming against the ground, their hooves striking the earth with force. And suddenly, as they ran one after another across the pasture, posing a cruel threat of death with their perilous race, such meekness and slowness came over them that those who at first had rushed forward to cause a catastrophe, driven by their ferocious bravery, then, with their heads bowed, spontaneously entrusted their horns to the hands of the holy men.

The bearers of the holy body, caressing the animals that had been transformed from wild to docile, promptly placed the yokes upon them and, marching by the most direct path, entered the woman's palace with the yoked oxen. She, certainly astonished, recognizing the wondrous miracles, moved by these three evident signs, agreed to their request, and, having lost her insolence, after surrendering her small house and being reborn in the threefold name of faith, became a believer in the name of Christ with her entire family. And thus, instructed by divine inspiration in the truths of the faith, she resolutely destroyed and smashed the idols that she had previously, deceived by her fantastical error, humbly and submissively worshipped, and she tore down and destroyed the temples that had stood in her domain. And after the ground had been dug deep, having been destroyed and reduced to fine dust, a sepulcher was built, a magnificent work of stonework, where the body of the apostle was placed with ingenious skill. And on the same spot, a church the size of the tomb was erected, which, adorned with an altar, opened a auspicious entrance to the devout people.

After some time, the people were instructed in the knowledge of the faith by the disciples of the apostle. As the fields watered by the heavenly dew first bore fruit, the bountiful harvest, multiplied by God, soon grew. Two disciples of the master, while out of reverence they kept constant watch over the aforementioned tomb with great affection, like zealous guardians, having paid their debt to Nature, when the uncertain end of life arrived, breathed their last in a blessed death, and joyfully carried their souls to heaven. And their illustrious master, not abandoning them, obtained by divine grace the place of them with him, in heaven and on earth, and clothed in a purple stole and adorned with a crown, he shines with his disciples in the heavenly court, he who will not abandon the unfortunate who take refuge in his ineffable protection. With the help of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose kingdom and dominion lasts eternally, world without end. Amen.

Know, your fraternity, most beloved leaders of all Christendom, how the entire body of the most blessed apostle James was translated to Spain, to the lands of Galicia. After the Ascension of our Savior into Heaven, and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, in the course of the eleventh year since the Passion of Christ, in the time of Unleavened Bread, the blessed apostle James, after visiting the synagogues of the Jews, was arrested in Jerusalem by the high priest Abiathar, and condemned to death, along with his disciple Josiah, by order of Herod.

 Out of fear of the Jews, the body of the blessed apostle James was taken up during the night by his disciples, who, guided by an angel of the Lord, arrived at Joppa, by the seashore. And as they themselves hesitated there about what they should do, suddenly, by God's design, a prepared ship appeared. And with great joy they boarded it, carrying the disciple of our Redeemer, and with the sails billowing in favorable winds, sailing with great tranquility upon the waves of the sea, they reached the port of Iria, praising the mercy of our Savior. In their joy, they sang there this verse of David: "The sea was your path and the vastness of the waters your way.".

Once ashore, they left the blessed body they were carrying in a small plot of land called Libredón, eight miles from the aforementioned city, where it is now venerated. And in this place they found a very large idol made by the pagans. Searching around, they found a crypt containing tools that stonemasons use to build houses.

Thus, the disciples themselves, with great joy, demolished the aforementioned idol and reduced it to dust. Then, digging deep, they laid a very firm foundation and erected upon it a small vaulted structure, in which they built a stone tomb, where, with ingenious skill, the body of the Apostle was laid to rest. Above it, a small church was built, adorned with an altar, which opens to the devout people a blessed entrance to its sacred altar. After the burial of the most holy body, they sang praises to the King of Heaven, chanting these verses of David: «The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him.» And then: «The righteous will be remembered forever and will not fear bad news.».

After some time, the people, having been instructed in the faith by the disciples of the same Apostle, soon saw a bountiful harvest, multiplied by God. Having thus made a prudent decision, two disciples, one named Theodore and the other Athanasius, remained there to guard that most precious treasure, that is, the venerable body of James. The other disciples, however, guided by God, spread throughout Spain to preach.

As we have said, those two disciples, inseparable out of reverence for their master, while lovingly and tirelessly watching over the aforementioned tomb, ordered that, after their deaths, they be buried by the Christians beside their master, one to his right and the other to his left. And so, when the end of their lives arrived, having paid their debt to Nature, they breathed their last in a blessed death, and joyfully carried their souls to heaven. And their illustrious master, not abandoning them, obtained, by divine grace, to place them with him in heaven and on earth, and adorned with his purple stole and a crown, he rejoices in the heavenly court with his disciples, he who will protect the unfortunate who take refuge in his invincible protection, with the help of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose kingdom and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit lasts eternally, world without end. Amen.

The evangelist Saint Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, recounts that the apostle Saint Peter was imprisoned by Herod during Passover, saying, "It was the days of Unleavened Bread, etc." He also recounts that James was killed before Passover by the same Herod, during the famine foretold by the prophet Agabus, which occurred under the Roman emperor Claudius. Luke writes, therefore, "About that time Herod the king began to persecute some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword." He indicates the time of James's martyrdom and even mentions some of the people involved, but omits the exact day. This day, though long unknown to everyone, was revealed to a certain faithful man, an acquaintance of mine, in a spiritual vision. On the night of the vigil of the Annunciation to Mary, it seemed to him that while James was being led to a palace to be tried before Herod's council, a great altercation broke out between the Jewish and Gentile crowds, because some said that the pious apostle should not be put to death, and others, on the contrary, asserted that he should. Finally, tried by Herod in an unjust trial, he was led by the hands of the wicked Herodians out of the city, to the place of martyrdom, tied with ropes around his neck, and beheaded.

And then a figure who appeared to be a prelate, weeping for him sorrowfully and tenderly, spoke of him thus to the people in the royal palace, saying: Around the third hour he was judged, and around the ninth, like Christ, he was put to death. That is to say, on the same day and hour as the Master, the disciple also died. Some were going to their business or their tasks; he, on the other hand, was going to his worthy work; that is, to merit the crown of martyrdom. Others were going to eat and drink; he was going to receive the unfailing food of eternal life, which had been promised to him beforehand by the Lord in this way: «Surely you will drink my cup.».

But first, St. Jerome, in the martyrology he wrote for the holy bishops Chromatius and Heliodorus, says that their deaths should be celebrated on the eighth day before the Kalends of August; later, the blessed Pope Alexander ordered that it be celebrated on that same day, when he also established the feast of St. Peter in Chains on the first of August. For on this day, as is said in Roman histories, the same pope placed the chains of St. Peter, which had long before been brought from Jerusalem to Rome by Empress Eudoxia, in the basilica of the saint himself, after having sprinkled them with holy water and holy oil, and ordered that the solemnities which, according to their custom, the Gentiles had previously celebrated in honor of Caesar Augustus be celebrated in honor of St. Peter and in their place, because Caesar himself had defeated Antony and Cleopatra, who was bitten by the asp, on the Kalends of the sixth month, that is, on the first of August. Likewise, on that day, the daughter of a certain Roman prince named Quirinius, on the advice of the aforementioned pope, who was imprisoned by Quirinius himself, kissed the chains of Saint Peter and was cured of the serious illness from which she suffered; and the holy pope was released from prison, receiving satisfaction from Quirinius himself. Finally, Bede the Venerable, eloquent doctor of the Holy Church, corroborated that the death of James should be celebrated on that day, writing and saying in his Martyrology:

Julio rejoices, carrying on the two fourth calends

to Santiago, the brother of Juan, with his obligatory feast.

Thus, he suffered martyrdom on March 25th, was taken from Iria to Compostela on July 25th, and was buried on December 30th. For the work on his tomb lasted from August to December.

With good reason, then, the Holy Church was accustomed to celebrate the solemnities of the death of Saint James and of Saint Peter in Chains on the aforementioned days, for if these feasts were celebrated around Easter, the established Easter or Lenten services for the day on which those solemnities coincided would be abandoned without reason. Often the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which should be celebrated on the twenty-fifth of March, fell between Palm Sunday and Easter or during Easter week and could not be celebrated in its entirety.

The feast of the miracles of Saint James, such as that of the man who had taken his own life and whom the holy apostle raised from the dead, and the other miracles he performed, a feast usually celebrated on October 3rd, was piously ordered to be celebrated by Saint Anselm. And We confirm this same. It is said that the famous Hispanic emperor, Alfonso, of blessed memory, ordered the celebration among the Galicians, before it was corroborated by our authority, of the feast of the translation and election of Saint James on December 30th. He believed that the solemnity of the translation was no less illustrious than that of his death, since on that day the Galician people received with great joy the physical comfort of the Lord's disciple.

At this feast, the venerable king used to offer, during the mass, according to custom, on the venerated altar of the Apostle, twelve silver marks and as many talents of gold, in honor of the twelve apostles; and he also used to give his knights their pay and rewards, and dress them in silk robes and cloaks; he knighted the squires, presented the new knights, and invited all who came, both known and unknown, with various delicacies, and he did not close the doors of his palace to any poor person, but rather instructed his heralds to summon everyone with the sound of their trumpets to eat, on the occasion of such a great feast.

He, therefore, clothed in royal attributes, surrounded by squadrons of knights and by the different orders of leaders and counts, marched on this day in procession around the basilica of Santiago with the royal ceremony of the festivities.

The admirable silver scepter of the Hispanic Empire, which the venerable king carried in his hands, gleamed, encrusted with golden flowers, diverse designs, and all manner of precious stones. The golden diadem, with which the all-powerful king crowned himself in honor of the Apostle, was decorated with enameled flowers and niello work, with all kinds of precious stones, and with resplendent images of animals and birds. The double-edged sword, which was carried naked before the king, shone with its golden flowers and its resplendent inscription, its golden pommel, and its silver cross.

In front of him marched the Bishop of Santiago, dignified, dressed in pontifical robes, covered with the white mitre, wearing golden sandals, adorned with his gold ring, wearing white gloves and carrying the pontifical ivory staff, and surrounded by the other bishops.

The clergy who advanced before him were also adorned with venerable finery. The silk capes worn by the seventy-two canons of Compostela were exquisitely crafted with precious stones and silver clasps, adorned with gold flowers and magnificent fringes all around. Some wore silk gowns, decorated from the shoulders to the hem with exquisitely beautiful gold-embroidered bands. Others wore gold necklaces encrusted with all kinds of precious stones and were luxuriously adorned with gold-embroidered bands, rich miters, beautiful sandals, golden girdles, gold-embroidered stoles, and maniples studded with pearls.

What else? The choirboys were exquisitely adorned with all manner of precious stones and a great abundance of gold and silver. Some carried candlesticks, others silver censers, some gilded crosses, others cloths woven of gold and studded with all kinds of precious stones; some boxes filled with relics of many saints, others phylacteries, and still others, finally, batons of gold or ivory, suitable for the singers, their ends embellished with an onyx, a beryl, a sapphire, a carbuncle, an emerald, or some other precious stone. Others carried, placed upon silver carts, two silver-gilt tables on which the devout people placed lit candles.

These were followed by the devout people, that is, the knights, governors, optimates, nobles, counts, both native and foreign, dressed in their finest attire. The choirs of venerable women, also dressed in their finest attire, were covered and adorned with golden boots, sable, ermine, and fox furs; silk gowns, gray pelts, scarlet cloaks on the outside and varied on the inside, with gold crescents, necklaces, hairpins, bracelets, earrings, chains, rings, pearls, mirrors, gold belts, silk ribbons, veils, bows, and headdresses; with braids held by gold threads, and other varieties of dresses.

It is said that whenever the melody of the conch shell of Santiago, which pilgrims usually carry with them, resounds in the ears of the people, their devotion to the faith increases, all the snares of the enemy are repelled; the roar of hailstorms, the agitation of squalls, the force of tempests are softened into festive thunder; the gusts of the winds are contained healthily and moderately; the forces of the air are subdued.