A quote from Father Sarmiento, the scallops in the Codeseda church, several Maltese crosses in homes and a peto de ánimas dedicated "to walkers" give wings to investigate a medieval route to Santiago.
One of them is the Camino Miñoto Ribeiro, for which the association of councils of passage seeks the official seal of Ruta Xacobea. Originating in Castro Leboreiro (Melgaço), it enters A Estrada through Forcarei and continues towards Vedra.
The other one is greener. It does not yet have a name or a defined itinerary. It is not even known if in part it could coincide with the Miñoto Ribeiro Path as it passes through A Estrada. However, the Codeseda Viva association and the researchers Luis Ferro, Marcos Pérez, Jorge Fernández and Carlos da Barreira are convinced that there was a Portuguese medieval Way that does not coincide with the official one of the Xacobeo and that it would enter A Estrada from Cerdedo.
The researchers have only just begun, but they have found revealing clues that encourage them to continue scouring monuments and archives in search of new data. They assure that there are weighty clues that point to a medieval road to Santiago originating in Portugal that would cross the parish of Codeseda.
And what are those signs? One is the work Viaje a Galicia (1745) by Father Sarmiento. In it the intellectual refers to the Pedre bridge (Cerdedo) saying that it is a real passage to pass from the province of Tui to Los Baños (by Cuntis) and A Estrada. Father Sarmiento considers that this could be the path of the Romans from Braga to Lugo. Current researchers maintain that, if this were the case, it is easy that this consolidated historical route was the one used by pilgrims from Portugal to reach Compostela.
This thesis is reinforced by the discovery on one of the exterior walls of the Codeseda church of a relief with two scallop shells flanking a cross inserted in a circle. The temple was built on much older constructions.
"pilgrim" stones
Some of the ashlars from the previous buildings were reused in the new one. This seems to be the case with the stone with the shell relief. According to experts, its shape indicates that it was designed for the lintel of a door, leaving the cross and shells on the heads of those who crossed it. The imperfection in the distribution and definition of the elements are characteristic of ancient constructions obtained with still little perfected tools. The dimensions also speak of a piece carved many centuries ago. Although it had to be a really significant entrance -perhaps the gateway for pilgrims to the enclosure or place of worship- the width would barely allow the passage of two people at a time. Although it is difficult to certify the date of this "pilgrim" stone, documents referring to the existing religious buildings in that place have been found. The oldest review is from 1124.
Maltese crosses on houses
The hypothesis of Codeseda as a place of passage for pilgrims in medieval times also gains weight due to the presence of one or several Maltese crosses engraved on the side stones of the entrance door to some houses in Codeseda. The researchers believe that they may be testimony to the local presence of the Order of Malta, which was established on pilgrimage routes to support them.
Another indication is the presence on the alleged route of petos de ánimas, common on pilgrimage routes and busier routes, to obtain more alms. In A Consolación -in Tabeirós, the only Estrada parish whose patron saint is Santiago- you can read the dedication: "To the walkers".
A will calls for a local pilgrim hospital
In the claim of A Estrada as a point of the Camino, a testament studied by the researcher Luis Ferro plays a fundamental role. In 1589 Juan González de Figueroa ordered his heirs to build "a house where the poor pilgrims are welcomed" which was never built. Also in the statutes of the Toedo brotherhood it was established that if any pilgrim died in the parish they would be buried as one more brother. And the documents of several brotherhoods that existed in Codeseda still remain to be analyzed and to follow the trail of some indications that suggest that the kings of Portugal Afonso II and Santa Isabel (wife of Dionisio I) on two occasions between 1325 and 336 passed through Codeseda on his pilgrimages to Santiago. Cruceiros like the one in A Estrada -with figures of Santiago and San Roque, pilgrims par excellence- and the one in Cerdedo -with a figure of Santiago the Apostle instead of that of Christ-, carvings of scallop shells and place names -like the place from O Vieiro, in Codesedan-dan to continue pulling the thread.A quote from Father Sarmiento, the scallops in the Codeseda church, several Maltese crosses in homes and a peto de ánimas dedicated "to walkers" give wings to investigate a medieval route to Santiago.
One of them is the Camino Miñoto Ribeiro, for which the association of councils of passage seeks the official seal of Ruta Xacobea. Originating in Castro Leboreiro (Melgaço), it enters A Estrada through Forcarei and continues towards Vedra.
The other one is greener. It does not yet have a name or a defined itinerary. It is not even known if in part it could coincide with the Miñoto Ribeiro Path as it passes through A Estrada. However, the Codeseda Viva association and the researchers Luis Ferro, Marcos Pérez, Jorge Fernández and Carlos da Barreira are convinced that there was a Portuguese medieval Way that does not coincide with the official one of the Xacobeo and that it would enter A Estrada from Cerdedo.
The researchers have only just begun, but they have found revealing clues that encourage them to continue scouring monuments and archives in search of new data. They assure that there are weighty clues that point to a medieval road to Santiago originating in Portugal that would cross the parish of Codeseda.
And what are those signs? One is the work Viaje a Galicia (1745) by Father Sarmiento. In it the intellectual refers to the Pedre bridge (Cerdedo) saying that it is a real passage to pass from the province of Tui to Los Baños (by Cuntis) and A Estrada. Father Sarmiento considers that this could be the path of the Romans from Braga to Lugo. Current researchers maintain that, if this were the case, it is easy that this consolidated historical route was the one used by pilgrims from Portugal to reach Compostela.
This thesis is reinforced by the discovery on one of the exterior walls of the Codeseda church of a relief with two scallop shells flanking a cross inserted in a circle. The temple was built on much older constructions.
"pilgrim" stones
Some of the ashlars from the previous buildings were reused in the new one. This seems to be the case with the stone with the shell relief. According to experts, its shape indicates that it was designed for the lintel of a door, leaving the cross and shells on the heads of those who crossed it. The imperfection in the distribution and definition of the elements are characteristic of ancient constructions obtained with still little perfected tools. The dimensions also speak of a piece carved many centuries ago. Although it had to be a really significant entrance -perhaps the gateway for pilgrims to the enclosure or place of worship- the width would barely allow the passage of two people at a time. Although it is difficult to certify the date of this "pilgrim" stone, documents referring to the existing religious buildings in that place have been found. The oldest review is from 1124.
Maltese crosses on houses
The hypothesis of Codeseda as a place of passage for pilgrims in medieval times also gains weight due to the presence of one or several Maltese crosses engraved on the side stones of the entrance door to some houses in Codeseda. The researchers believe that they may be testimony to the local presence of the Order of Malta, which was established on pilgrimage routes to support them.
Another indication is the presence on the alleged route of petos de ánimas, common on pilgrimage routes and busier routes, to obtain more alms. In A Consolación -in Tabeirós, the only Estrada parish whose patron saint is Santiago- you can read the dedication: "To the walkers".
A will calls for a local pilgrim hospital
In the claim of A Estrada as a point of the Camino, a testament studied by the researcher Luis Ferro plays a fundamental role. In 1589 Juan González de Figueroa ordered his heirs to build "a house where the poor pilgrims are welcomed" which was never built. Also in the statutes of the Toedo brotherhood it was established that if any pilgrim died in the parish they would be buried as one more brother. And the documents of several brotherhoods that existed in Codeseda still remain to be analyzed and to follow the trail of some indications that suggest that the kings of Portugal Afonso II and Santa Isabel (wife of Dionisio I) on two occasions between 1325 and 336 passed through Codeseda on his pilgrimages to Santiago. Cruceiros like the one in A Estrada -with figures of Santiago and San Roque, pilgrims par excellence- and the one in Cerdedo -with a figure of Santiago the Apostle instead of that of Christ-, carvings of scallop shells and place names -like the place from O Vieiro, in Codesedan-dan to continue pulling the thread.
