Now it has been thought that it was under the influence of the Abbey of Cluny, and perhaps especially of Gui de Bourgogne, that towards the beginning of the twelfth century some unknown French monk wrote a work, parts of which at any rate became very famous. This was a work which Bédier calls Le Livre de St. Jaques, and which consisted of five parts: An anthology; the book of miracles; the book of the translation (of St. James) ; the Chronicle of Turpin; and a guide to pilgrims visiting Compostella.[1]
The object of this work seems to have been to advertise the sacred shrine, and to serve as a useful guide book to visitors, and it is believed that it was written to please, if not at the instigation of Gui, who had in 1119 assumed the tiara under the title of Calixtus II, and the work has long been known to scholars as the Codex Calixtinus. The only portion that need concern us here is the Chronicle of Turpin, or as it is sometimes called, the "Ystorya de Carolo Magno."
This story, of which various versions exist, begins by relating how St. James was the first to preach the gospel in Galicia, and how he returned to Jerusalem, was martyred by Herod, when his disciples returned to preach to the Galicians. The story then tells of Charlemagne and how one night he saw across the heavens a pathway of stars stretching from Frisia to Galicia, where the body of St. James was lying unrecognised, and seeing this repeatedly and wondering what its significance might be, he saw beside him a warrior who said that he was St. James the Apostle; the saint demanded that he should set his country free from the Saracens. Then follows an account of a mythical campaign between Charlemagne and the Moors in Spain.
The Chronicle of the pseudo-Turpin was translated into many languages and was widely read; a Welsh version
- ↑ Bédier (J.), op. cit.
