AYMERY PICAUD: AUTHOR OF THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA,

Ever since the middle of the nineteenth century, authorship of the Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela has been attributed to one Aimery Picaud of Parthenay le Vieux. This essay traces how this attribution came about and argues against its almost universal acceptance. While I do not supply a named replacement as author of the Guide, by examining the internal evidence of the text it is possible to establish a profile of the author’s identity: nationality, social class, station in life, education.

The Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela is Book Five of a Latin compendium that deals with various aspects of the cult and shrine of St. James at Santiago de Compostela.^[1] (See Appendix One for the contents.) The compilation used to be called the Codex Calixtinus but is now generally referred to as the Liber Sancti Jacobi (shortened to “LSJ”) or Jacobus. It probably ought to be called the Pseudo-Calixtine Compilation, but one hesitates to give yet another name to this extraordinary compendium. The earliest extant copy is in the Cathedral Archives at Santiago de Compostela and has been transcribed by Whitehill. Its first campaign can be dated between 1137 and the early 1140s, and its second to the 1170s.^[2]

There are only five copies of the complete (or nearly complete) compilation and seven partial or abridged versions.^[3] In addition, various books, like the Pseudo-Turpin or the Miracles of James, travel separately from the text and develop their own traditions. To complicate matters further, parts of the texts from the compilation were added to other texts and form a tradition generally referred*e Liber Sancti Jacobi was first attributed to Pope Calixtus (1119–1124), and derived the name Codex Calixtinus from this attribution. Calixtus’s name appears in numerous parts of the compilation. It is appended to the introductory letter which prefaces the volume, some sermons in Book One, some miracles in Book Two, as well as some chapters of Book Five, the Pilgrim’s Guide. This attribution was questioned as early as the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century by the Spanish scholar Mariana who had an abridged copy of the text.^[4]

It is not until the nineteenth century that Aymery Picaud became the “author” of the Pilgrim’s Guide, Book Five of the Liber Sancti Jacobi. This was the result of the kind of chance and coincidence that would have appealed to Shakespeare as well as to Gilbert and Sullivan.

In 1847, Victor Le Clerc published an essay in the multi-volumed Histoire Littéraire de la France entitled “Aimeric Picaudi de Parthenai; cantique et itineraire des pélerins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle.” Le Clerc did not know the entire Liber Sancti Jacobi—only those parts of it that were included in two Bibliothèque Nationale manuscripts (Le Clerc 274). The texts from which he was working contained the Miracles of James (Book Two), the Translation of James (Book Three), an itinerary of relics to visit on the route to Santiago (an abridgement of chapter eight of the Guide, Book Five) and, immediately after this itinerary, a pilgrim’s song written by Aymericus Picaudi [sic] presbiter de Partiniaco.

The song, Ad honorem regis summi, is only one of many songs by various authors included in the addenda to the entire Liber Sancti Jacobi, but Le Clerc would not have known this, because he had never seen the entire compilation. Ad honorem records in brief verse the miracles of St. James. In the manuscripts from which Le Clerc was working the song by Aymericus was followed (though not immediately) by a bull of Pope Innocent, which also is found in the addenda of the entire Liber Sancti Jacobi. In the bull, now recognized as false, the name Aymericus again appears. Here, Aymericus Picaudus de Partiniaco ueteri is one of two or three people carrying “the codex” to Santiago de Compostela.^[5]

Consider now the organization and line-up of texts before Le Clerc: Miracles, Translation, Itinerary, song by Aymericus summarizing the miracles of James and, finally, the false bull of Innocent II that mentions Aymericus. What more natural, then, to assume that Aymericus was responsible for the itinerary as well as the song that followed it. And that is precisely what Le Clerc infers.

After Le Clerc’s publication, Aymericus became the subject of considerable interest. In the 1860s and 70s, we find scholarly debate on the role of Aymericus as author, especially in regard to the Book of Miracles since those miracles appear to be summarized in the song, Ad honorem.^[6]

We move now to 1882, when the entire text of the Pilgrim’s Guide (Book Five of the Liber Sancti Jacobi) was published by Fita and Vinson. (See Appendix Two for the contents of Book Five).^[7]

As mentioned above, Calixtus was given credit for various parts of Book Five. His name appears as author of the foreword to the Guide, and of chapters two and six, as well as co-author of chapter nine. More important for this study, an Aymericus appears as author of chapter five and Aymericus the Chancellor as co-author with Calixtus of chapter nine. And, as if matters were not complicated enough, Pope Calixtus did have a chancellor named Aymericus, but this Aymericus came from Berry, not from Parthenay.^[8]

Consider, now, chance and coincidence:

•Le Clerc’s manuscripts with the name Aymericus appearing in the song Ad honorem and the false bull of Innocent II;

•The implied attribution of the itinerary to the same Aymericus by Le Clerc;

•The full text of this same itinerary attributed by Le Clerc to Aymericus is published in the 1882 edition of the Guide;

•The full text of the Guide also includes an Aymericus as author of one or two other chapters.

In the light of these data, it is not surprising that Aymericus Picaudus was assumed to be the author of the entire Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela.

In 1911 Emile Ginot published an article in support of Aymery Picaud as author of the Guide. Keeping in mind that Parthenay is in the Poitou, Ginot (xxvii–xxxi) cites all passages where the Guide’s author has knowledge of Poitiers and the Poitevins. Needless to say, this is knowledge that anyone passing through Poitiers on the pilgrim’s route might easily pick up.

By the early twentieth century Aymery Picaud was acknowledged by most scholars as author of the Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela. And although both Bédier (3: 85, 88) and Vielliard (xiii) were somewhat cautious in this attribution it was almost universally accepted.^[9]

Serious questions concerning the role of Aymery Picaud in composing the Pilgrim’s Guide first appeared in the 1940s in four articles on the Liber Sancti Jacobi by Pierre David. These issues were virtually ignored by René Louis in his 1948–1949 article and by André Moisan as recently as 1985 and 1992.

However, the fact remains that Aymery Picaud’s name, as such, appears only twice in the entire Liber Sancti Jacobi, both times in the addenda to the five books. He is the author of the song Ad honorem, and he is cited in the false bull of Innocent II as carrying “the codex” to Santiago de Compostela.

Furthermore, Aymericus is by no means an unusual name in the twelfth century, and there are at least two other Aymerys who can be associated with Santiago de Compostela. Aymery the Chancellor, already mentioned, appears as co-author with Calixtus of chapter nine of the Guide. He was chancellor to Calixtus beginning about 1120 and served as papal chancellor until 1141 under the subsequent popes, Honorius II and Innocent II. Aymericus the Chancellor is mentioned in the Historia Compostellana as having correspondence with Archbishop Diego Gelmirez (David 12: 187–88). There is also a monk of Jerusalem named Aymery who was sent to Archbishop Gelmirez by Stephen, patriarch of Jerusalem around 1131 (Lambert 1291). Other Aymerys could be cited as well.

Return now to the itinerary included in the manuscripts from which Le Clerc was working in the 1840s. That itinerary, an abridged version of chapter eight of the Guide, was a crucial link in the chain which connected Aymery Picaud’s name to the Pilgrim’s Guide. But, when the language and grammar of chapter eight are analyzed it becomes clear that this chapter was not written by the same person who wrote the rest of the Guide.

So much scholarly attention has been paid to the specific identification of the author of this text, that focus has shifted away from the text itself. When the Latin of the Pilgrim’s Guide is analyzed it becomes clear that chapter eight is itself a compilation inserted into the text of the Guide. In the process of translation, my colleagues and I found at least three different voices or styles in the writing (Gerson, Krochalis, Shaver-Crandell and Stones).

Ten of the eleven chapters of the Pilgrim’s Guide appear to have been written by the same person (chapters one through seven and nine through eleven). This can be determined on the basis of grammatical errors, sentence structure, and the density of certain repeated words, especially in the use of vero and scilicet. Let us call this person the primary author. However, the longest chapter (chapter eight), the itinerary dealing with the bodies of saints to be visited, exhibits three different voices.

As a whole, this chapter appears to have been compiled by someone with a very good library at hand. The organization of the chapter is very clear. The author treats each of the four major routes through France in turn, indicating the important shrines to visit as the pilgrim proceeds towards Santiago de Compostela. For each shrine mentioned there is a thumbnail vita for the saint whose relics are to be found. The chapter ends with the Spanish route, discussed very briefly.

The sentences in chapter eight are very long, with clauses strung together. They feature frequent use of cuius and eius, words rarely encountered in the rest of the text. The language is close to that of the early martyrologies of Usuard, Ado, Florus, as well as to Bede (see Quentin, Dubois, Dubois and Renaud). For this reason it would appear that the compiler of chapter eight had a good library at his disposal and was able to assemble his text appropriating passages rather freely.

The second distinctive style in this chapter occurs along the Arles route. After a recital of the miracles performed by St. Gilles we are given a description of the gold shrine of Gilles (now destroyed), which appears to be written by our primary author from firsthand observation.

The third clearly defined style emerges toward the end of the chapter in the discussion of sites along the Paris-Orleans route. Here, the rather long life and passion of St. Eutropius has been inserted into the text when we come to the town of Saintes. The author here is distinctly different from the primary author of the Guide and from the compiler of chapter eight. The Eutropius author makes fewer errors in Latin grammar, and his sentences are less tortured than either the primary author or the compiler of the bulk of the chapter.

It was the itinerary of chapter eight that was originally linked to Aymery Picaud in the 1840s. But if chapter eight was written by someone other than the one who wrote the rest of the Guide, then the attribution to Picaud does not stand. As well, the initial attribution made by Le Clerc from partial evidence is also faulty.^[10]

If we reject the attribution of the text to Aymery Picaud can we establish a profile of the person we have called the primary author? Although he has no name we can tell a great deal about him. He was adamantly French and possibly a Poitevin. He was prejudiced against Basques, Navarese, and Spaniards. His knowledge of devotional and classical texts indicates he was a cleric, even though his Latin is not very good. His social class gave him access to a horse. He was concerned with how pilgrims’ offerings were distributed and knew enough about the procedure at St-Léonard-de-Nobat to be able to compare it to the division of offerings at Santiago de Compostela.

In travelling to Santiago he followed the Paris route, although beginning only at the city of Orléans. He seems to have travelled before 1135 but his text was not composed until sometime after 1137.^[11] Also, he had visited foundations on at least two other French routes at some time before writing his guide book. His description of the shrine of St. Gilles (Arles route) is certainly that of an eyewitness, and his knowledge of St-Léonard-de-Noblat (Vézelay route) indicates he spent time there.

The primary author’s text itself is extraordinary when compared to previous pilgrimage texts. Certainly his guide is related to earlier prototypes, as it includes lists of the towns passed through and the stages of the journey (chapters two and three). But the primary author goes considerably beyond previous pilgrim’s texts by combining information about art, travel, and pilgrimage in a more comprehensive way. He seems to have asked: “If I were doing this trip again, what would I need to know?”

Thus he includes information on food and wine and their availability, on safe and unsafe drinking water, and on where to look out for bandits and robbers. He also includes a chapter on the customs of the people one might meet—noting that the Navarese fornicate unchastely with their animals. He is interested in language and gives one of the first recorded lists of Basque words. His description of the architecture and sculpture of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the first of its kind in the west since the fall of the Roman Empire. And although he hasn’t quite got it right, he does attempt to use technical architectural terms.

Above all, the primary author is keen to share his experiences and there is an underlying conviction that what is of interest to him would be useful to others. In this he exemplifies a new approach to writing from personal experience in the twelfth century.

Works Cited

David, Pierre. “Etudes sur le livre de St-Jacques attribué au pape Calixte II.” 4 parts. Bulletin des Etudes portugaises et de l’Institut français au Portugal (Etudes historiques sur la Galice et le Portugal du VI^e au XII^e siècle, Lisbon). 10 (1946): 1–41; 11 (1947): 113–85; 12 (1948): 70–223; 13 (1949): 52–104.

Díaz y Díaz, Manuel C. El Codice Calixtino de la Catedral de Santiago, estudio codicólogico y de contenido. Santiago de Compostela: Centro de Estudios Jacobeos, Monografías de Compostellanum 2, 1988.

Dubois, Dom Jacques. Le Martyrologe d’Usuard, texte et commentaire (Subsida hagiographica 40). Brussels: 1965.

___, and Genevieve Renaud. Edition pratique des martyrologes de Bède, de l’anonyme Lyonnais et de Florus. Paris: CNRS, 1976.

___. Le Martyrologe d’Adon, ses deux familles, ses trois recensions, texte et commentaire. Paris: CNRS, 1984.

Dunn, Maryjane and Linda Kay Davidson. The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1994.

Fita y Colomé, F. and J. Vinson, eds. “Le Codex de St-Jacques, Livre IV.” Revue de linguistique et de littératures comparées 15 (1882): 1–20; 225–68; 268–70.

Gerson, Paula, Jeanne Krochalis, Annie Shaver-Crandell and Alison Stones. The Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela: Translation and Critical Edition. London: Miller, 1995.

Ginot, Emile. “Dix siècles de pèlerinage à Compostelle; Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques en Poitou.” Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest. 3 ser. 5 (1911): xx–lvi.

Le Clerc, Victor. “Aimeric Picaudi de Parthenai; cantique et itinéraire des pèlerins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle.” Histoire Littéraire de la France 21 (1847): 272–81.

Lambert, A. “Aymeric Picaud.” Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastique 5. Cols. 1296–98.

Louis, René. “Aymery Picaud et le Codex Calixtinus.” Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaries de France (1948–1949): 80–97.

Mariana, Juan de. Tractatus VII, Ch. 12, De adventu Sancti Jacobi in Hispaniam. Rpt. in PL 163. Cols. 1377–1410.

Moisan, André. “Aimeri Picaud de Parthenay et le ‘Liber Sancti Jacobi’.” Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Chartres 143 (1985): 5–52.

___. Le Livre de Saint Jacques ou Codex Calixtinus de Compostelle. Etude critique et littéraire. Geneva: Slatkine, 1992.

Quentin, Henri. Les Martyrologies historiques du Moyen Age, étude sur la formation du martyrologe romain. Lecoffre: Paris, 1908.

Robert, Ulysse. “Aymeric Picaud et le recueil de Miracles de Saint Jacques.” Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France (1890): 291–94.

Stones, Alison. “The Decoration and Illumination of the Codex Calixtinus at Santiago de Compostela.” The Codex Calixtinus and the Shrine of St. James. Ed. John Williams and Alison Stones. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen, 1992. 137–84.

Vielliard, Jeanne. Le Guide du pèlerin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle: Texte latin du XII^e siècle, édité et traduit en français d’après les manuscrits de Compostelle et de Ripoll. Macon: n.p., 1938 (5th ed. Macon: Protat, 1978).

Whitehill, Walter Muir. Liber Sancti Jacobi, Codex Calixtinus. Texto del manuscrito del Codex Calixtinus conservado en la catedral Compostelana. 3 vols. Santiago de Compostela: n.p., 1944.

APPENDIX ONE

Contents of the Liber Sancti Jacobi

Introduction by Pseudo-Calixtus

Book I Liturgical Book

Book II Book of the Miracles of James

Book III Book of the Translation of James

Book IV The Pseudo-Turpin

Book V The Pilgrim’s Guide

Addenda. Polyphonic songs, an Alleluia and fragments of a Mass, miracles, a false bull attributed to Pope Innocent (1130–1143) and seven additional miracles, two dated 1139 and 1164.

APPENDIX TWO

The contents of Book V, the Pilgrim’s Guide

Chapter Title

1		The roads of Saint James. Calixtus
2		The days’ journeys on the road of the Apostle. Calixtus
3		The names of the towns on his road
4		The three good religious houses of the world
5		The names of the overseers of the road of Saint James. Aymericus
6		The bitter and fresh waters on his road. Calixtus
7		The characteristics of the lands and peoples on his road
8		The bodies of saints which rest on his road and the Passion of Saint Eutropius
9		The characteristics of the city and church of Saint James. Calixtus and Aymericus the Chancellor
10		How the offerings at the altar of Saint James are dispensed
11		How the pilgrims of Saint James should be properly received.
Colophon

^[1]In the compendium the Guide is not given a title. The Incipit reads, simply, “Here begins the fifth book of Saint James the Apostle.” (Incipit Liber v Sancti Iacobi Apostoli.) The name Pilgrim’s Guide has been used to designate this text since early in this century.

^[2]There has been considerable debate concerning the date of the Compostela manuscript. For a full discussion of these complex issues see Stones. Díaz y Díaz argues for later dates.

^[3]In addition to the manuscript in the Archives of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the other full copies are: London, British Library, Additional 12213; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Archivo S. Pietro C 128; Salamanca, Biblioteca Universitaria 2631; and Madrid, Biblioteca National 4305. The partial or abridged versions are: Barcelona, Archivo de la Corona de Aragón, Ripoll 99; Lisbon, Biblioteca National, Alcobaça CCCII (334); Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Borghese 202; London, British Library, Cotton Titus A.XIX; Pistoia, Archivo di Stato, Documenti vari 27; Madrid, Biblioteca National 7381; Madrid, Biblioteca National 13118. For a complete analysis of these manuscripts see the Catalogue of Manuscripts by Stones and Krochalis which accompanies the new translation and critical edition of the Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela by Gerson, Krochalis, Shaver-Crandell and Stones.

^[4]Mariana’s copy is now lost. See Le Clerc 275–76.

^[5]The bull exists in two versions. The bull in the Compostela copy states that Aymery Picaud of Parthenay-le-Vieux, who is also called Oliver of Asquins, and his companion Gerberga carried the codex to Santiago (Whitehill 399). The bull published by Mariana (and in two of the abridged extant manuscripts) has Aymery and Oliver as two separate people, with Gerberga attached to Oliver (Le Clerc 274–75).

^[6]See the arguments of Dozy, Delisle and Paris summarized by Robert (291–92).

^[7]Fita and Vinson published their edition before the Pseudo-Turpin (the actual Book Four) was reunited with the rest of the texts, and so they refer to the Pilgrim’s Guide (the actual Book Five) as Book Four.

^[8]On Aymericus the chancellor see David 12: 187–88.

^[9]See the numerous entries for Aymery Picaud in the recent annotated bibliography published by Dunn and Davidson.

^[10]This has not stopped other scholars (especially Louis and Moisan) from following Ginot in emphasizing the Poitevin aspects of the text.

^[11]In his description of the Cathedral of Santiago he does not mention the new altar frontal donated by Diego Gelmirez in 1135 and thus must have been in Santiago before it was installed. He does mention the death of Louis VI in 1137, which indicates that he wrote after 1137. See David 12: 215.