Editing Santiago de Compostela (section)

===Legends===
According to a tradition that can be traced back at least to the 12th century, when it was recorded in the ''[[Codex Calixtinus]]'', Saint James decided to return to the [[Holy Land]] after preaching in Galicia. There he was beheaded, but his disciples got his body to [[Jaffa]], where they found a marvelous [[stone ship]] which miraculously conducted them and the apostle's body to [[Iria Flavia]], back in Galicia. There, the disciples asked the local pagan queen ''Loba'' ('She-wolf') for permission to bury the body; she, annoyed, decided to deceive them, sending them to pick a pair of oxen she allegedly had by the ''Pico Sacro'', a local sacred mountain where a [[dragon]] dwelt, hoping that the dragon would kill the Christians, but as soon as the beast attacked the disciples, at the sight of the cross, the dragon exploded. Then the disciples marched to collect the oxen, which were actually wild bulls which the queen used to punish her enemies; but again, at the sight of the Christian's cross, the bulls calmed down, and after being subjected to a yoke they carried the apostle's body to the place where now Compostela is. The legend was again referred with minor changes by the [[Czech people|Czech]] traveller [[Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál]], in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garrido Bugarín|first=Gustavo A.|title=Aventureiros e curiosos : relatos de viaxeiros estranxeiros por Galicia, séculos XV – XX|year=1994|publisher=Ed. Galaxia|location=Vigo|isbn=84-7154-909-3|pages=35–37}}</ref>

The relics were said to have been later rediscovered in the 9th century by a hermit named Pelagius, who after observing strange lights in a local forest went for help after the local bishop, [[Theodemar of Iria]], in the west of Galicia. The legend affirms that Theodemar was then guided to the spot by a star, drawing upon a familiar myth-element, hence "Compostela" was given an [[etymology]] as a corruption of Campus Stellae, "Field of Stars."

In the 15th century, the red banner which guided the Galician armies to battle, was still preserved in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in the centre Saint James riding a white horse and wearing a white cloak, sword in hand:<ref>{{cite book|last=Garrido Bugarín|first=Gustavo A.|title=Aventureiros e curiosos : relatos de viaxeiros estranxeiros por Galicia, séculos XV – XX|year=1994|publisher=Ed. Galaxia|location=Vigo|isbn=84-7154-909-3|pages=40}}</ref> The legend of the miraculous armed intervention of Saint James, disguised as a white knight to help the Christians when battling the Muslims, was a recurrent myth during the High Middle Ages.