Pilgrims from the land of sagas: Jacobean devotion in medieval Iceland

ABSTRACT This article discusses the cult of James the Greater in medieval Iceland, considering the documents referring to images, texts, temples dedicated to the apostle, pilgrimages to Compostella and the use of the feast of the saint as in dating documents. The main source is the collection of documents known as the Diplomatarium Islandicum, but other written sources are also taken into account. It is argued that while Jacobean devotion played a comparatively minor role in Iceland, possibly due to the weakness of its social, cultural and economic links with the Iberian Peninsula, the saint was a present figure for pre-reformation Icelanders and some individuals sought to obtain prestige and display their faith by pilgrimage to the “Land of Jakob.”