The Camino Primitivo or "Primitive Way" owes its name to it being the first recorded pilgrimage route to Santiago.
One of the first of the faithful to follow this route was King Alfonso II the Chaste, who, when ruling the Astur Kingdom, covered the route from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela in the first thirty years of the 9th century, in order to visit the Apostle's tomb, discovered a few years earlier. This monarch's contribution was key to consolidating the pilgrimage to Compostela by confirming that the remains belonged to James, son of Zebedee. By order of the king, a small church was built on the site of the discovery. The news spread among the community of believers, and thus pilgrimages and the organisation of worship of the Apostle in the incipient city began.