The most famous military orders from the middle ages are undoubtedly the Knights Hospitaller (who still survive in the form of the Order of Malta) and the Knights Templar (who have no end of occult junk written about them). Within Spain a number of prominent orders were established, most notably those of Calatrava, Alcántara, MontesaContinue reading “Domhnall O’Sullivan Beare (1560–1618) — Ireland’s first Knight of Santiago”
Category Archives: Menu del Peregrino – a blog about the Camino
Easter and Granada
April, the month that Chaucer’s pilgrims saddled up for Canterbury, telling tall tales along the way, and in which the feast of Easter is most likely to fall. Anyone who has spent Easter in Spain will know of the impressive religious spectacles and processions held in many parts. While living in Navarre in 2022, IContinue reading “Easter and Granada”
Patron saints for the times in which we live
As the feast of St Patrick falls in the middle of this month (17th March), I thought it might be a good time to look at Santiago’s position as patron of Spain and some of the challengers whom he has faced along over the centuries. I wrote previously about how Santiago’s position as patron wasContinue reading “Patron saints for the times in which we live”
Finding love on the Camino
The title of this post might be a bit misleading because although it’s inspired by St Valentine’s Day, it’s not about those pilgrim romances that somehow develop while we’re all daily in a physically unattractive state that would never pass muster for a date in civil society. Rather it’s about a practice I encountered onContinue reading “Finding love on the Camino”
Padrón, peppers and preaching
The town of Padrón lies about 25km south of Santiago de Compostela (for those of you who use alternative measurement systems, in miles that’s 15.5, or in Camino it’s a day’s walk), and is perhaps best known internationally for the pimientos de Padrón (Padrón peppers), small peppers fried in oil until they blister and areContinue reading “Padrón, peppers and preaching”
Santiago peregrino (‘the pilgrim’): a saint just like you?
Since literacy levels were low in the middle ages, artists used a variety of iconographic means to communicate to their audiences, not least to help the viewer identify the subject of their works. Saints, in particular, were recognizable by how they dressed and by items associated with a defining event in their lives or theirContinue reading “Santiago peregrino (‘the pilgrim’): a saint just like you?”
Remembering John Brierley (1948-2023)
A while back I was asked to pen a tribute to John Brierley (1948-2023), for the Camino Society Ireland. He was the author of the most significant set of guides to the Camino in the English language (I discussed the maps in them previously) and a key figure in the modern history of the CaminoContinue reading “Remembering John Brierley (1948-2023)”
The Quintana façade: cover-ups in plain sight
The history of the Quintana façade is that of a cover-up, and I mean that literally, not metaphorically — after all, the historical links between the square and fascism are still openly on display, and that is an issue that many places on the Camino have sought to remove from memory. Instead, this cover-up isContinue reading “The Quintana façade: cover-ups in plain sight”
Eucalyptus — a (un)welcome smell on the Camino?
Eucalyptus is one of the smells I associate with the Camino, particularly stretches of the Camino del Norte/Primativo, and while I enjoy the sweetness that fills the air as its thimble-like seed capsules crunch underfoot in the early morning, I can’t help but wish it wasn’t there. Perhaps that’s because one interloper rarely likes another?Continue reading “Eucalyptus — a (un)welcome smell on the Camino?”
So the donkey stuff again…
So I was asked to clarify about the donkey stuff in my first blog post (‘The oldest guide to the Camino’) — specifically about how it’s done! I mean, really? That’s what you want to know? Well, in lieu of finding and posting a video to something that would probably get me fired should myContinue reading “So the donkey stuff again…”
Denis Casey 