A closer look
The Camino de Santiago's 'credencial' might seem like a cute, modern stamp-collecting habit for spiritual hikers, but its origins are purely anti-fraud. During the Middle Ages, opportunistic freeloaders realized that claiming to be a holy pilgrim guaranteed free wine and bread at monasteries across Spain. To combat these aggressive medieval grifters, church authorities mandated the official passport. If you couldn't prove your agonizing physical progress with legitimate stamps, you were immediately outed as a secular mooch and kicked out of the medieval hostel.
