From the earliest days of the pilgrimage there was a desire for the completion of the journey to be recognised in some way. Pilgrims used the scallop shell as a symbol of their arrival at the Tomb of St James. However this simple practice was easily debased. Vendors started to sell shells to pilgrims as they entered the city. Due to the prevalence of fraudulent practices the Church had to impose the penalty of excommunication on the perpetrators. From the 13th century onwards documents called “evidential letters” were used as a more effective way of recording a completed pilgrimage. These are the direct roots of the Compostela.The Compostela is official recognition of the pilgrimage. To earn one, it is important to walk at least the final 100km to Santiago and to provide evidence by collecting at least two sellos (stamps) each day along the journey in a Credencial. That Credencial (or "Pilgrim's Passport") became very important to us as we got closer and closer to Santiago.
To make things simpler, I ordered our Credencials from the American Pilgrims on the Camino organization before our trip. My Credencial:
The first sello at the Porto Cathedral:
My Compostela:
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