St. James the Great.
Lat. Sanctus Jacobus Major. Ital. San Giacomo, or Jacopo, Maggiore. Fr. St. Jacques Majeur. Spa. San Jago, or Santiago. El Tutelar. Patron saint of Spain. July 25. A.D. 44.
St. James the Great, or the Elder, or St. James Major, was nearly related to Christ, and, with his brother John (the evangelist) and Peter, he seems to have been admitted to particular favour, travelled with the Lord, and was present at most of the events recorded in the Gospels. He was one of the three who were permitted to witness the glorification of Christ on Mount Tabor, and one of those who slept during the agony in the garden. After our Saviour’s ascension, nothing is recorded concerning him, except the fact that Herod slew him with the sword. In the ancient traditions he is described as being of a zealous and affectionate temper, easily excited to anger: of this we have a particular instance in his imprecation against the inhospitable Samaritans, for which Christ rebuked him: ‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ (Luke, ix. 55.)
As Scripture makes no farther mention of one so distinguished by his zeal and by his near relationship to the Saviour, the legends of the middle ages have supplied this deficiency; and so amply, that St. James, as St. Jago or Santiago, the military patron of Spain, became one of the most renowned saints in Christendom, and one of the most popular subjects of Western Art. Many of these subjects are so singular, that, in order to render them intelligible, I must give the legend at full length as it was followed by the artists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
According to the Spanish legend, the apostle James was the son of Zebedee, an illustrious baron of Galilee, who, being the proprietor of ships, was accustomed to fish along the shores of a certain lake called Gennesareth, but solely for his good pleasure and recreation: for who can suppose that Spain, that nation of Hidalgos and Caballeros, would ever have chosen for her patron, or accepted as the leader and captain-general of her armies, a poor ignoble fisherman? It remains, therefore, indisputable, that this glorious apostle, who was our Lord’s cousin-german, was of noble lineage, and worthy of his spurs as a knight and a gentleman;—so in Dante:—
Ecco il Barone
Per cui laggiù si visita Galizia.‘
But it pleased him, in his great humility, to follow, while on earth, the example of his divine Lord, and reserve his warlike prowess till called upon to slaughter, by thousands and tens of thousands, those wicked Moors, the perpetual enemies of Christ and his servants. Now, as James and his brother John were one day in their father’s ship with his hired servants, and were employed in mending the nets, the Lord, who was walking on the shores of the lake, called them; and they left all and followed him; and became thenceforward his most favoured disciples, and the witnesses of his miracles while on earth. After the ascension of Christ, James preached the Gospel in Judea; then he travelled over the whole world, and came at last to Spain, where he made very few converts, by reason of the ignorance and darkness of the people. One day, as he stood with his disciples on the banks of the Ebro, the blessed Virgin appeared to him seated on the top of a pillar of jasper, and surrounded by a choir of angels; and the apostle having thrown himself on his face, she commanded him to build on that spot a chapel for her worship, assuring him that all this province of Saragossa, though now in the darkness of paganism, would at a future time be distinguished by devotion to her. He did as the holy Virgin had commanded, and this was the origin of a famous church afterwards known as that of Our Lady of the Pillar (’Nuestra Señora del Pillar‘). Then St. James, having founded the Christian faith in Spain, returned to Judea, where he preached for many years, and performed many wonders and miracles in the sight of the people: and it happened that a certain sorcerer, whose name was Hermogenes,[211] set himself against the apostle, just as Simon Magus had wickedly and vainly opposed St. Peter, and with the like result. Hermogenes sent his scholar Philetus to dispute with James, and to compete with him in wondrous works; but, as you will easily believe, he had no chance against the apostle, and, confessing himself vanquished, he returned to his master, to whom he announced his intention to follow henceforth James and his doctrine. Then Hermogenes, in a rage, bound Philetus by his diabolical spells, so that he could not move hand or foot; saying, ‘Let us now see if thy new master can deliver thee:’ and Philetus sent his servant to St. James, praying for aid. Then the apostle took off his cloak, and gave it to the servant to give his master; and no sooner had Philetus touched it, than he became free, and hastened to throw himself at the feet of his deliverer. Hermogenes, more furious than ever, called to the demons who served him, and commanded that they should bring to him James and Philetus, bound in fetters; but on their way the demons met with a company of angels, who seized upon them, and punished them for their wicked intentions, till they cried for mercy. Then St. James said to them, ‘Go back to him who sent ye, and bring him hither bound.’ And they did so; and having laid the sorcerer down at the feet of St. James, they besought him, saying, ‘Now give us power to be avenged of our enemy and thine!’ But St. James rebuked them, saying, ‘Christ hath commanded us to do good for evil.’ So he delivered Hermogenes from their hands; and the magician, being utterly confounded, cast his books into the sea, and desired of St. James that he would protect him against the demons, his former servants. Then St. James gave him his staff, as the most effectual means of defence against the infernal spirits; and Hermogenes became a faithful disciple and preacher of the word from that day.
But the evil-minded Jews, being more and more incensed, took James and bound him, and brought him before the tribunal of Herod Agrippa; and one of those who dragged him along, touched by the gentleness of his demeanour, and by his miracles of mercy, was converted, and supplicated to die with him; and the apostle gave him the kiss of peace, saying, ‘Pax vobis!’ and the kiss and the words together have remained as a form of benediction in the Church to this day. Then they were both beheaded, and so died.
And the disciples of St. James came and took away his body; and, not daring to bury it, for fear of the Jews, they carried it to Joppa, and placed it on board of a ship: some say that the ship was of marble, but this is not authenticated; however, it is most certain that angels conducted the ship miraculously to the coast of Spain, where they arrived in seven days; and, sailing through the straits called the Pillars of Hercules, they landed at length in Galicia, at a port called Iria Flavia, now Padron.