Sv: Re: Place names?

[fkjaer]

RE: Place names?Joe wrote:

>>For sure I believe you already know that "Compostela" means "Campo de Estrellas" or "Field of Stars" probably referring to the "Milk Way".<<

According to James Michener there is another and less poetic interpretation: "Compost terra", namely "burial grounds".
(Michener, James: _Iberia. Spanish Travels and Reflections._ Chapter XIII: "Santiago de Compostela". (Page 842 in my paperback copy published by Fawsett Crest, ISBN 0-449-23804-0)).

Interesting idea to investigate into the etymologies behind the names of the camino.
The only names I remember - besides obvious ones like Puente la Reina f.x. - are Nájera: an Arab word meaning "red rocks", and Ciraqui which is Basque for "vipers nest".

¡ Ultreya !

Frans.