Confronted with an expanding Islam, a fabulous legend arose from the outer reaches of Europe which would have great repercussions throughout the Old Continent. The sepulchre of the apostle St. James, the only burial of a disciple of Jesus in Western Europe, became a powerful beacon of the West, attracting and captivating the whole of Christianity, and becoming a prominent place of worship and pilgrimage.

The discovery of the tomb of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela in the 9th century led to the creation of the most important pilgrimage route in mediaeval Europe, the Way of Saint James. The passage of numerous pilgrims who, driven on by their faith, travelled to Santiago de Compostela from all over Europe, acted as a starting point for artistic, social and economic development, which left its mark along the entire Way of Saint James.