PILGRIMS OF BETANZOS: THE ARMENIAN BISHOP MARTYRS OF ARSENJAN

We leave the city of Betanzos that was an important location in the Middle Ages and capital of one of the seven provinces that formed Galicia in the modern age. Located at the end of the river it was an obligatory passing point in order to go to many other places, not only towards Ferrol and the north of Galicia but also towards the interior, towards Vilalba and Portmarín. A Roman road used to pass through here and the royal road towards Madrid. It was an important enclave and communications hub on the old roads as well as those of the pilgrimage.

So the Armenian bishop passed through Betanzos, his name was Martiros de Arzedjan, and he went on a pilgrimage to Compostela in the year 1491. This enigmatic person, after visiting the tomb of Saint Peter, went to visit the tomb of Santiago el Mayor, passing first through Oviedo. It is from this city that he went on to Santiago, first through Betanzos and then returned by the same road, after going as far as Fisterra and telling us about the existence of a curious monster called “Vakner” that used to come to the roads at night and devour people, although he had the luck of not encountering the beast.

On his return from the pilgrimage to Santiago, the Austrian pilgrim Christoph Gunzinger also went through Betanzos in 1665. He said that Betanzos was a small city with good bread, but that the wine was of low quality.