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Hornillos del Camino: what's the difference?

Bert45

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2003, 2014, 2016, 2016, 2018, 2019
I took a photo of the Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu in Hornillos del Camino. I googled for some information and found this:

Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu​

"Durante la época medieval fueron creados aquí tres hospitales para atender a los peregrinos. Dos de estos lugares llevaban el nombre de San Lázaro, destinado a leprosos y peregrinos, y el Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu en Hornillos del Camino, es el único que se ha mantenido, creado para romeros y peregrinos. Actualmente este recinto tiene un área separada como lugar de encuentro de la peregrinación moderna." [/viajecaminodesantiago.com/camino-frances/hornillos-camino/]

"... para romeros y peregrinos." My small Spanish-English dictionary translates 'romero' as 'pilgrim'. 'peregrino' is also translated as 'pilgrim'. So the Hospital was created for pilgrims and pilgrims. An automatic translation gave me 'created for rosemary and pilgrims', which seemed an unlikely alternative.

My question is, therefore, what's the difference between a romero and a peregrino?
 
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Weren't Romeros pilgrims to Rome?
Originally, yes, but the word ´romero´ was later extended to mean all pilgrims. In English, the same thing happened to the word ´palmer´ so romero and perergrino could be taken as synonyms, if not exact ones. A local festival is referred to in Spain as a ´Romería´, especially if it involves a procession. ´Romero´ is also the word for ´rosemary´.
 
Indeed, the RAE says that romero and peregrino are synonyms.

Here on the forum posters sometimes emphasise that a romería is a short pilgrimage, for example a pilgrimage that takes only a day or less, and peregrinación is a long-distance pilgrimage.

The English language lacks nouns that would make a distinction between the two. German has Wallfahrer and Pilger where it is similar: the two words are synonyms but Pilger is more associated with a longer pilgrimage than Wallfahrer.

See www.rae.es and www.Duden.de.
 
I took a photo of the Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu in Hornillos del Camino. I googled for some information and found this:

Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu​

"Durante la época medieval fueron creados aquí tres hospitales para atender a los peregrinos. Dos de estos lugares llevaban el nombre de San Lázaro, destinado a leprosos y peregrinos, y el Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu en Hornillos del Camino, es el único que se ha mantenido, creado para romeros y peregrinos. Actualmente este recinto tiene un área separada como lugar de encuentro de la peregrinación moderna." [/viajecaminodesantiago.com/camino-frances/hornillos-camino/]

"... para romeros y peregrinos." My small Spanish-English dictionary translates 'romero' as 'pilgrim'. 'peregrino' is also translated as 'pilgrim'. So the Hospital was created for pilgrims and pilgrims. An automatic translation gave me 'created for rosemary and pilgrims', which seemed an unlikely alternative.

My question is, therefore, what's the difference between a romero and a peregrino?
It's rather obvious: 'romero' is a character in an Italian opera and a 'peregrino' is a quite fine delicate wine. One you drink, one you don't drink other than you figuratively 'drink' in the opera as it plays itself out. Chuck
 
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The English language lacks nouns that would make a distinction between the two. German has Wallfahrer and Pilger where it is similar: the two words are synonyms but Pilger is more associated with a longer pilgrimage than Wallfahrer.
Possibly wayfarer but I don't think anyone would be putting it into a pilgrimage context.

Note the similarities between the German and English words though.
 
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Indeed, the RAE says that romero and peregrino are synonyms.

Here on the forum posters sometimes emphasise that a romería is a short pilgrimage, for example a pilgrimage that takes only a day or less, and peregrinación is a long-distance pilgrimage.

The English language lacks nouns that would make a distinction between the two. German has Wallfahrer and Pilger where it is similar: the two words are synonyms but Pilger is more associated with a longer pilgrimage than Wallfahrer.

See www.rae.es and www.Duden.de.
that was my thought almost immediately - the word "romero" seems to me like "rover"
 
I took a photo of the Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu in Hornillos del Camino. I googled for some information and found this:

Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu​

"Durante la época medieval fueron creados aquí tres hospitales para atender a los peregrinos. Dos de estos lugares llevaban el nombre de San Lázaro, destinado a leprosos y peregrinos, y el Hospital de Peregrinos Santo Espíritu en Hornillos del Camino, es el único que se ha mantenido, creado para romeros y peregrinos. Actualmente este recinto tiene un área separada como lugar de encuentro de la peregrinación moderna." [/viajecaminodesantiago.com/camino-frances/hornillos-camino/]

"... para romeros y peregrinos." My small Spanish-English dictionary translates 'romero' as 'pilgrim'. 'peregrino' is also translated as 'pilgrim'. So the Hospital was created for pilgrims and pilgrims. An automatic translation gave me 'created for rosemary and pilgrims', which seemed an unlikely alternative.

My question is, therefore, what's the difference between a romero and a peregrino?
I learned a long time ago that a romero was a pilgrim to Rome, a palmero was a pilgrim to Jerusalem, and a peregrino was a pilgrim to Santiago - the three primary medieval Christian pilgrimage sites.

I subsequently learned that the meanings had shifted over time and in different locations/languages, so that what I had originally learned didn't necessarily hold any water.

Personally, romero and palmero have root meanings that are specific to those pilgrimages, while peregrino strikes me as more generic. I would have called pilgrims to Santiago "concheros".
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
I l

I learned a long time ago that a romero was a pilgrim to Rome, a palmero was a pilgrim to Jerusalem, and a peregrino was a pilgrim to Santiago - the three primary medieval Christian pilgrimage sites.

I subsequently learned that the meanings had shifted over time and in different locations/languages, so that what I had originally learned didn't necessarily hold any water.
Yes, definitions vary over time, but I thank you for that historical definition. Buen Camino
 

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