Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain has been a pilgrimage destination since the early ninth century. Nowadays, the walking paths leading to what is claimed to be the tomb of the Apostle James are also popular among people from the North. And this despite the fact that their ancestors, formerly called the Norse, almost razed the city and the surrounding area to ground. Since the 1960s, the first Sunday in August, the Viking Festival has been held in Catoira, a small but strategically located town about 40 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela. The traveling Norse, or Vikings, did not leave much in terms of physical objects on the Iberian Peninsula, but their conduct is well documented in written sources from the time. The ravages of the Vikings had significant consequences for the settlement pattern in Galicia right up to modern times.
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous region of Galicia. In 813, a tomb was rediscovered here, which was believed to contain the earthly remains of the apostle James. Santiago is the local evolution of the Latin “Sancti Iacobi”, in English known as Saint James. He was executed in the year 44 AD in Jerusalem, but legend has it that the dead body was transported to Compostela where James is said to have worked previously to spread the Christian message.
As early as the ninth century, Catholics began to make pilgrimages to the apostle’s tomb. In just a few more years, Christians started to flock to the city from large parts of Western Europe. The city, along with Jerusalem and Rome, became the Christian Church’s most important pilgrimage destination.
The Way of St. James is the term for pilgrimage routes that lead to Santiago de Compostela. Ideally, every pilgrimage begins at home, and that is the explanation why there was a whole network of routes to Santiago.
With relics and pilgrims came wealth – and the Vikings were in search of material treasures and people, both of which could be traded.
From pilgrimage to looting
The Vikings must have had excellent intelligence – because they rarely wasted time in finding profitable targets for their voyages.
Historians and archaeologists do not completely agree on exactly when the Vikings first arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. Some believe it may have been as early as 795. Among them is the Swedish researcher and Arabist Arne Melvinger, who bases his belief on Ibn al-Atir’s book “The Complete Story”. In this book, written around the year 1230 AD, the author tells of a group of warriors he calls al-madjus who, together with a Basque army, are said to have come to the aid of the Galician king Alfonso II in battles against the king’s Muslim enemies from the south, led by Emir Hisham I of Cordoba. Al-madjus is an Arabic term for Vikings.
But, there are some problems with al-Atir’s presentation of world history and whether it is reliable or not. First, he wrote his book several hundred years after the events he recounts are said to have taken place. He also lived far away from Spain, in areas that today are parts of Iraq and Syria. There are reasons to doubt whether the Vikings were on the Iberian Peninsula that early. The alliances described in this book were not common as the Vikings did not seem to have established particularly strong friendships with the locals in these areas.
The Vikings left few traces in the form of finds of settlements or objects. Yet we know a great deal about their “Iberian adventures.” We have accounts from both contemporary Muslim and Christian sources and we find a lot of information in Norse literature, not least in the sagas by Snorre Sturlasson. We also find a number of Norse names for places, rivers and the like on the Iberian Peninsula. Galizeland corresponds to Galicia, Spánland is Spain.
“A Pagan and Extremely Evil People”
Based on various sources, it is believed that the Vikings arrived in three main waves to the Iberian Peninsula: the first in 844, the second around 860 and the third towards the end of the 960s. The Viking expeditions often began quite similarly with attacks along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from where the ships sailed south and made their way along the great rivers.
The Viking raid of 844 is well documented. The Alfonso Chronicle describes the Norsemen as “a pagan and extremely evil people, previously unknown to us.” The Vikings did not exactly make a favorable first impression on the locals, neither in Galicia nor elsewhere. They looted and robbed wherever they went – churches, monasteries and rich people’s homes were obvious targets. Hostage-taking belonged to the order of the day, for the collection of ransom was a widespread and profitable practice.
Muslim historians and geographers in contemporary al-Andalus, North Africa and the Middle East largely confirm the Alfonso Chronicle’s account. The Alfonso Chronicle does, however, boast of King Ramirez the First – as commissioned work often does. The author describes large losses for the Vikings who reportedly were repulsed by the king’s men. However, there can hardly have been any major casualties, as several sources describe a large Viking fleet moving south towards Lisbon. And the Vikings’ boldness on this journey does not indicate that we are dealing with “beaten men”.
The Muslim historian Ibn al-Idari, for example, describes the attack on Seville. The Vikings arrived in the city, today Spain’s only river port, with as many as 80 ships: “They were like dark birds over the sea and filled all hearts with anxiety and torment.” According to the same source, the Vikings besieged the city for a week and “let its inhabitants drink the cup of death.”
The next time the Vikings appeared was in 859, in a raid that lasted three to four years. They were probably led by Danish Vikings: Bjørn Jernskjegg (literally meaning Iron beard) and Hasting are well-known figures. But this time the rulers of northern Spain were wiser from previous injuries and better prepared. The Vikings therefore quickly continued their journey further south on the peninsula.
The third great wave of Viking raids took place between 966 and 971. King Ramiro III was the ruler in Asturias-Leon. According to sources, a fleet of 100 ships appeared in the Arousafjord by the river Ulla in Galicia. If we imagine that each ship may have had between fifty and a hundred men, you can imagine that it must have been a frightening view. The longship-crews were again looking for riches in Santiago de Compostela – they called the alluring area “Jakobs land”.
Annual Viking Festival
Even in this wave, the last of the great waves of attack, the fighting became a brutal hand to hand affair. Bishop Sisenand led the local opposition in Galizeland, if we are to believe the chronicles. The Vikings may have landed as many as 8,000 men at Catoira and continued on foot to Santiago de Compostela.
It was not a respectful pilgrimage. The Vikings killed the bishop in battle and ravaged Galicia for several years before they were forced to withdraw.
The last decisive battle, in which the locals finally managed to defeat their enemies from the north, is celebrated with an annual Viking festival in Catoira. No wonder there is a celebration, right? The festival has been “Declared of International Tourist Interest”. The city, which today has about 3,500 inhabitants, is strategically located to protect Santiago de Compostela from invasion forces sailing up-river.
You can still see the remains of the large fortress Torres de Oeste (or the Western Towers), located on a promontory that juts out into the river Ulla. The local rulers had used large resources over many years to build fortifications that could withstand attacks but the Vikings did not give up without a fight. Among other things, they demolished the local church. At that same site, they later built a pilgrimage chapel. The chapel was built on the spot where one of the Viking ships is said to have run aground and local tradition has it that the grounding was a result of the bishop’s desperate prayers for help from Our Lord.
If you, like about 200,000 other annual visitors, plan a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Catoira, just 40 kilometers from the Santiago Cathedral, is an interesting stop on your journey.
The first Sunday in August of each year, the Battle of Catoira is recreated. The colorful event has been going on since 1960, and the city has even built its own Viking ship inspired by the Gokstad and Oseberg ships. The organizers collaborate with Viking groups in Scandinavia, including Fredrikssund Vikingtheater in Denmark.
Jesper Wittenburg from Fredrikssund tells us his theater has helped Catoira develop the historical play performed in the small town every night for a week before the actual “naval battle”. The festival also offers a lot of good food and drink and up to 1,500 people seated around long tables. Fortunately, the atmosphere is quite different than in the past.
If you are interested in a different kind of experience this summer, you can contact Concello de Catoira and find out more about the Viking Festival in Catoira, local history, accommodation and experiences. You can call them by phone (+34) 986 54 60 14 or send an email to concello.catoira@eidolocal.es.
Vikings and long-term effects
The Viking raids did not end altogether after the last big wave in the second half of the 10th century. Minor incidents took place on what is today Spanish territory until the end of the Viking Age. Some historians believe that mighty warlord Saint Olav also ravaged Santiago’s land before he returned home to Christianize Norway. Following the Christianization of the Norse, they even passed through on their way to participate in the crusades to the Holy Land.
The Vikings did not leave many traces in terms of physical items of their time in Iberia, but they made a decisive contribution to changing the settlement and population patterns in Galicia. Their ravages led people to seek out local mayors and churches for protection, they withdrew from rivers that could carry the dreaded long-ships, and moved further inland.
As a consequence, both the king’s and the church’s power was strengthened because they were perceived to be the people’s protectors against the “berserkers” from the north.
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