"" is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

phrase conventionally translated into English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer", often also being translated as "By and/or in this sign, conquer". The Latin phrase itself renders, rather loosely, the Greek phrase "", transliterated as "''en toútōi níka''", literally meaning "in this, conquer".

History

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author () who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor,

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

(and tutor to his son), guiding the Emperor's religious policy as it developed during his reign. His work ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' has an apologetic character, but has been treated as a work of history by Christian writers. Here Lactantius preserves the story of Constantine's vision of the

Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

before his conversion to Christianity. The full text is found in only one manuscript, which bears the title, ''Lucii Caecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum''. The bishop Eusebius of Caesaria, a historian, states that Constantine was marching with his army (Eusebius does not specify the actual location of the event, but it is clearly not in the camp at Rome), when he looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "( ἐν) τούτῳ νίκα" ("In this, conquer"), a phrase often rendered into Latin as ''in hoc signo vinces'' ("in this sign, you

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

conquer"). At first, Constantine did not know the meaning of the apparition, but on the following night, he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign of the cross against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the Labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius, showing the Chi-Rho sign. The accounts by Lactantius and Eusebius, though not entirely consistent, have been connected to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312 AD), merging into a popular notion of Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the evening before the battle. The phrase appears prominently placed as a motto on a ribbon unfurled with a passion cross to its left, beneath a window over the Scala Regia, adjacent to the equestrian statue of Emperor Constantine, in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. Emperors and other monarchs, having paid respects to the Pope, descended the Scala Regia, and would observe the light shining down through the window, with the motto, reminiscent of Constantine's vision, and be reminded to follow the Cross. In the fifth century, the Christian rulers of the

Kingdom of Aksum The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

imitated Constantine's motto, with coins minted (in Ge'ez) saying "With this cross you shall conquer." The

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

had used this motto since 1139, after the Miracle at the Battle of Ourique, when the first portuguese king D. Afonso Henriques, before his battle against the moorish King Ali ibn Yusuf, experienced a similar miracle to Constantine's. The miracle was later famously retold through the written epic poem the Lusíadas.

Cultural references

* Motto of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

and

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

. When Jesus on the cross allegedly appeared to Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, before the battle of Ouriques, he gave him the Portuguese symbol, the "Quinas", and said "". The motto has been contained on each of the Portuguese flags since. * Inscribed on the banner of the Sanfedismo in 1799 *Inscribed in Greek on the flag (obverse side) of the Sacred Band of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

* Part of the trademark for Pall Mall cigarettes: "PALL MALL IN HOC SIGNO VINCES 'WHEREVER PARTICULAR PEOPLE CONGREGATE'". *It is the public motto of the English Defence League, emblazoned around the group's logo. *The phrase is the motto on some Byzantine coins (e.g. the folles of Constans II). *It is the motto on most regimental flags of the Irish Brigade (France). *It is the official motto of the World Famous Bomber Barons 23D Bomb Squadron, Minot AFB, ND. *In hoc signo vinces was the motto of the Sherbrooke Regiment, which is perpetuated by the Sherbrooke Hussars, a Canadian reserve regiment *In hoc signo vinces is the motto on the O'Donnell coat of arms. *It is the motto of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. * It is the official motto of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

in the American York Rite of Freemasonry. * It was the motto of the Ancient and Illustrious Order Knights Of Malta, a Protestant fraternal society * It is the motto of the Regimiento de Caballería «Montesa» n.º 3 of the Spanish Army. * It was the motto of the 4th Guards Brigade "Spiders" of the Croatian army. * It is the motto of the 2nd Battalion of the Norwegian Army * It is the public motto of Sigma Chi, a North American collegiate mens fraternity, since 1861. * It is the motto of the Anglo-Catholic priestly society Societas Sanctae Crucis.

Notes

References

General and cited sources

* At the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. * * *

External links