1973 Daniel Derveaux Map of the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela: France, Spain

This is a 1973 Daniel-Louis Derveaux map of France and northern Spain, illustrating the historic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Derveaux crafted this map in the 17th - 18th century styles of J. B. Homann and Blaeu, but in fact the map was issued as a novelty item in the early 1970s. Dotted lines illustrate the historic pilgrimage routes across Europe from centers in Paris, Vezelay, and Le Puy, across the Pyrenees near Pamplona, then directly west across northern Spain to Santiago, located in the far northwestern province of Galicia. Iconography associated with the pilgrimage, including a scallop shell and multiple armorial crests, surround the map. In the lower right and left, vignette views feature a traditionally garbed pilgrim, complete with staff, hat, and scallop shells.

Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St. James, is a late mediaeval network of pilgrimage routes across Europe to Santiago de Compostela, in northwestern Spain. The Cathedral of Compostela is believed to hold the relics of the apostle St. James the Greater, or James of Zebedee, who suffered martyrdom in AD 44 and is thus considered the first martyred apostle. The relics are believed to have been translated there via mystical voyages that include the Virgin Mary, an evil Queen, and stone boat. When the pilgrimage was at its height, it was one considered one of the most remote corners of Christianity. The popular pilgrimage routes to Jerusalem were closed by the Ottomans and Compostela was seen as an alternative to Rome. Completing the pilgrimage would offer a plenary indulgence. It became one of the most popular pilgrimage routes in Christianity by the late 16th century, but starting in the 17th century, suffered a decline to plague and political unrest. In more recent times the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela has been revived as European heritage route and is hiked by thousands.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Daniel-Louis Derveaux around 1973. Editions Dervereaux still prints and sells newly run prints of this and Derveaux's other maps, but original 1970s examples on Lana laid and watermarked paper, as here, are increasingly scarce on the market. We note undated examples in several institutional collections.