Melide
Camino Francés · Camino Primitivo
A Coruña · La CoruñaGalicia
Here Camino Francés and Camino Primitivo converge. It is one of the points where the pilgrim shares the way with those arriving by another route.
Toponym of disputed origin, attested as Mellid in early medieval documents. The main hypotheses derive it from the Latin mel 'honey' (apiary zone) or from an opaque Gothic personal name; none has been firmly established.
Documented since 832 as Mellide in the monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes, the toponym lacks consensus etymology. The most widespread reading connects it to a honey-producing zone, on Latin mel/mellis: the central Galician mountains preserve a honey tradition. The anthroponymic hypothesis posits a Gothic or Suevic personal name, without firm parallels. Melide has Jacobean relevance as a confluence point: here the French Camino meets the Primitive Camino (from Oviedo), creating one of the pilgrim nodes of the final stretch. Contemporary gastronomy —pulpo á feira is one of its specialties— sustains the town with daily pilgrim flow.
Evolution of the name
- Mellid / Melide medieval Galician from the 9th century
- Melide modern Galician from the 13th century
Glossary
- Anthroponym
- A personal name, often used as the base of toponyms (Lucronius → Logroño, Sigerici → Castrojeriz).
- Etymology
- The origin and history of a word and the phonetic and semantic changes it has undergone. An etymology may be confirmed, probable or disputed depending on documentary attestations and linguistic parallels.
Sources
- Cabeza Quiles, F. — Os nomes da terra
- Filgueira Valverde, X. — Toponimia gallega
- Sobrado dos Monxes — Tumbo (siglos XII—XIII)
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Camino Francés