The trio of scallop shells. This iconography represents James the Great. This James, distinguishing him from James the Less, was the brother of John and the son of Zebedee. James the Great was one of first apostles chosen and one of only three to witness Jesus’s Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-8). James and his brother John apparently had short tempers (they were also known as “the Sons of Thunder”): When Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, was not received by inhabitants of a Samaritan village, both James and John asked Jesus to let them “...command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. But [Jesus] turned and rebuked them” (Luke 9:54-55).                                                   

James traveled widely preaching the Word. He is said to have reached Iberia, present-day Spain. On returning to Jerusalem, however, he was decapitated by Herod Agrippa in 44 CE, making him the first apostle to be martyred (St. Stephen was not one of the Twelve). The story goes that his head lies in a chapel in Jerusalem. But his body was taken by angels and placed “in a boat of stone,” rudderless and without crew, which sailed back to Iberia. Because of this sea travel, his emblem became the scallop shell, common on Iberian shores. He was buried in Galicia, Spain, the grave soon forgotten. Forgotten until in the 9th century. It was then that a local shepherd, guided by a star, discovered the remains of St. James, Sanctu Iacobu in Latin, from which is derived “Santiago.” The bishop and king, recognizing this miracle, constructed a chapel at this site, located in what then became known as The Field of the Star, in Latin campus stellae. The latter was subsequently corrupted to “compostela,” and the surrounding town was thus called “Santiago de Compostela.” In the 13th century, an impressive eponymous cathedral replaced the chapel. Since the Middle Ages, The Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela has been a pilgrimage destination, the end of the route named the “Camino (or Way) of St. James.” Pilgrims to
 this day carry a seashell on their journey. And because of James’ association with shells, the French have dubbed their scallop dish Coquille St. Jacques.                                                         

But there is more to James’s story. Legend has it (and described in Cervantes’ Don Quixote) that James returned to Iberia during the Reconquista, the war to retake the peninsula from Moorish control. James led the Christians to victory at the Battle of Clavijo in 834 CE. Iconography shows him as “The Moor Slayer,” in full battle regalia. Still not done, in 1829 James is said to have reappeared, along with Peter and John, to Joseph Smith in order to restore Apostolic Succession to The Church of Latter Day Saints.

Dickerman Hollister, Jr., MD