The Camino scallop shell: meaning and history

The scallop shell is the most important symbol of pilgrims on the Camino. Almost everyone wears it visibly on their backpack – and most get hold of one before they've even set off.

Here you'll find out what the shell is all about, why it opens doors for you along the way and how it went from proof of pilgrimage to keepsake. And because every shell has its own story, further down pilgrims tell you where theirs came from and where it hangs today.

What actually is the scallop shell?

The Atlantic scallop is about 8 to 14 centimetres in size and has two halves, the valves. The lower shell is flat, the upper one more strongly curved. It's precisely this curved half that is regarded as the symbol – this is what we call the Camino shell or St. James shell.

Jule Vierheilig carried her shell for 920 km and took this photo of it in Muxía on 2 July 2016.

By the way: the scallop is also edible and tastes a little like nutty chicken. The closer you get to the Atlantic, the more often you'll find it on the menu.

Why you should wear a shell

With a scallop shell on your backpack, people recognise you as a pilgrim. You'll quickly notice how often you're offered help and how easily it gets you talking to nice people. This even works if you're only out for a weekend or a few hours on one of the small Ways of St. James in Central Europe.

From proof of pilgrimage to symbol

Until the 13th century, the shell itself was considered proof of pilgrimage: you bought it at the pilgrimage site and, incidentally, wore it on your hat back then.

For about 700 years now, the Compostela, the pilgrim certificate, has taken over that role. The shell became a symbol and a keepsake – and today people wear it while they're still on the way, tied visibly to their backpack with a cord.

The shell as a waymarker

The Camino's signage also uses the shell as a symbol, and you'll spot it in all sorts of variations. Even its orientation changes: if you imagine the shell as a hand with fingers, the palm almost always shows you the direction to Santiago – only sometimes it's exactly the other way round. And you know what? You'll still find your way to Santiago without any trouble.

Just how varied the shell can look as a waymarker is shown in our collections of Camino tiles and the most distant Camino signs.

Pilgrims and their scallop shells

We asked pilgrims where their shell came from and where it is today. Here are their answers.

Katja Lukas

I found my shell on a beach in southern Spain many years ago. It then moved house with me several times. Back then I wasn't yet thinking of walking the Camino. Two years ago I walked the Camino from Bilbao to Gijón. In Bilbao I met my pilgrim sister, and I gave her my shell when we said goodbye in Gijón. I flew home, but my shell made it to Santiago and now hangs in Liège.

Carolin Klotz

I have the shell symbol as part of a tattoo on my foot. My pilgrim shell hangs in my office together with postcards from the Camino, so I see it every day. I found lots of small shells on the beach and gave them to my family members and closest friends as lucky charms. One shell from the beach sits in a picture frame in my flat, together with my diary and my pilgrim passport.

Annette Segref

"Our" shell "pilgrimages" from person to person, up and down the Camino, with growing positive energy. From 2 pilgrims I don't know to Christine Meyer to me to Yvonne Schneider to Andreas B. … and on and on … the Way never ends.

Stephan Klebert

I had the shell tattooed on my shoulder. For eternity.

Of course I have a shell on my backpack on all my walks. The one from my first Camino, the fulfilment of a long-held dream, hangs safely in my hobby room. (Hans-Georg Göbel)

Lucean Reinhardt

I've had my shell since 2014. It came with me on the Mosel Camino in 2014 and on the Linksrheinischer Jakobsweg in 2015/2016. At the moment it has its place on the wall of my study and is longingly waiting for its next outing.

Markus

I bought my shell in SJPDP, and it accompanied me all the way to Santiago. At the cathedral I hung it on the gate and gave thanks for its protection and company. I wanted to carry on to Finisterre and Muxía. Traditionally, of course, you bring the shell back with you on the way home, as a sign that you've been to Santiago or Finisterre.
In Finisterre I ate scallops and took the shells home with me. These will now accompany me – or rather, one of them will. I'll choose the most beautiful of the shells as a tattoo design and will carry it under my skin on my left calf from now on. It showed me the way very well.

Mine hangs on my bike pannier and has done the Camino del Norte twice. Unfortunately, last year it was so windy on the bridge over the Eo that it got damaged on the bridge railing. I got it in 2014 at the pilgrim office in Bilbao. Right now it's cycling through Germany with me :) (Christoph Bumann)

I got my shell in 2011 at the pilgrim office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in exchange for a donation, and we walked together all the way to Finisterre. I then took the shell along again on my walks in 2013, 2014 and 2015 – never change a winning team. :-) (Thorsten Raulfs)

Irene and Schorsch

We got our scallop shells from the pilgrim confraternity in Paderborn. They accompanied us, my wife and me, for 5 weeks and gave us a lot of strength too. Both shells hang on the wall in our hallway together with the certificates, and even today they still stir up strong emotions every now and then.

Sunna

Of course the shell has a very special meaning for me too, since it accompanied me from the very beginning of my walk – I had it attached to the outside of my backpack, like many of my fellow walkers – and to this day it's a real "treasure", a symbol of my Way. After I got back, it was given its place on a Buddha figure, together with the bracelets that were also a kind of talisman on the walk! And every time, it reminds me that I'll walk again, and this time all the way "to the end of the world". The longing remains!

This one was with me on the Camino in 2014. I almost don't want to say it … I got it from the Asia Palast, where I'd gone for a meal with my husband, and then he drilled a hole in it for me, and this shell came with me. I didn't want one of those run-of-the-mill white plastic shells! Next year it'll come along again, because then it's … I'm going there again … and this time together with my daughter. (Anni Kaa)

I bought my shell from a little farmer along the route. I didn't want to get it in a souvenir shop. The little stall suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere! Now it hangs on the wall together with my pilgrim passport. (Marion Hörmann)

A journey of farewell: Detlef's shell

Detlef Girlanda sent us a particularly moving story:

You want to know where and how I keep my scallop shell. For that I have to go back a little further into the past. The wish to walk part of the Way of St. James took shape in me back in 2000, after I read a book by Paulo Coelho. I just had to convince my wife to walk this famous Camino with me.
At first I was met with incomprehension. "How can anyone spend the best weeks of the year with a backpack and hiking boots," she said, and the wish to go to the seaside won out. From then on we went to talks, searched the internet and attended multimedia slide shows.
So at some point the wish did emerge after all to walk just the last 100 kilometres from Sarria to Santiago and to collect our Compostela at the end of the Way. The planning was almost complete, the trip was planned, and then – then my wife fell ill with cancer.
This terrible illness robbed her of all her strength, and so all that remained possible were books, music and the internet, as well as personal accounts of the Camino.
Sadly, she was not granted her wish and longing to reach the tomb of the Apostle James in Santiago de Compostela. She died in 2008.
So in May 2009 I set off on my Way. It went from León to Santiago de Compostela. It was a journey of farewell, but also a journey of new beginnings.
The many people I was privileged to meet, from all cultures and countries of this earth, made this journey a unique experience for me.
My scallop shell, which accompanied me on my journey, now rests on my wife's grave. Every time I go to the cemetery to her grave, it reminds me of the wish we carried within us together: to walk the Camino Francés, to feel it, to taste it and to experience it.
Buen Camino.

On the backpack, on the wall, in the heart

Finally, a few more shells that their owners have shown us.

Hangs on my backpack and comes with me on all my walks :-) (Ich bin dann mal unterwegs)

A fellow pilgrim gave me my shell as a gift. We kept walking together again and again until the end. By the end he was like a brother to me. I then bought a shell myself and in turn gave it to a new fellow pilgrim. That's why this shell means so much to me. Because it reminds me not only of my Way, but very specifically of two wonderful people. (Cindy Thcirua)

One day I'll tie it to my backpack again, take a deep breath and look forward to setting off once more. (Klaus Richters)

Greets me every morning when I get up. (Ulrike Ulrich)

My special companions on the Way. (Sabine Thöle)

Tell us about your shell

Do you also have a story or a photo of your scallop shell that other pilgrims may see here? Write to us at info@caminoninja.com – we'll be happy to add it to this page.

The scallop shell: meaning, history and pilgrims' stories