There are two versions of the legend surrounding the use of the scallop shell as symbolic of St James.

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One legend claims that after James' death his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago . Off the coast of Spain, a heavy storm hit the ship and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time however the body washed ashore undamaged and covered in scallops.

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The second legend recounts that after James' death his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago.
As the ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore.
The young bridegroom was on horseback and, on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked and the horse and
the rider plunged into the sea .
Through miraculous intervention the horse and the rider emerged from the water alive and covered in scallop shells.