"" 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 Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

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 Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fai ...

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 Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

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 Vinces is a city in the Los Ríos Province, Ecuador. It is the seat of the Vinces Canton and is located at the Vinces River. Vinces, known as "Little Paris", is characterized by its ancient buildings, constructed in wood, that belonged to the ric ...

'' ("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 labarum ( or λάβουρον) was a '' vexillum'' (military standard) that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (, or Χριστός) – '' Chi'' (χ) and ''Rho'' (� ...

, 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 The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine the Great, Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October AD 312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the batt ...

(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 Scala Regia (; {{langx, en, "Royal Staircase") is a term referring to a number of majestic entrance staircases in Italian palaces plus some European palaces, including: * The Scala Regia of the Vatican, a flight of steps designed by Gian Lorenz ...

, 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 A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

at the

Battle of Ourique The Battle of Ourique () took place on 25 July 1139, in which the forces of Portuguese count Afonso Henriques (of the House of Burgundy) defeated those led by the Almoravid governor of Córdoba, Muhammad Az-Zubayr Ibn Umar, identified as "Ki ...

, when the first portuguese king D. Afonso Henriques, before his battle against the

moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

King

Ali ibn Yusuf Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (c. 1084 – 28 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106 to 1143. Early life Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084–1085 (477 AH) in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn Tashf ...

, experienced a similar miracle to Constantine's. The miracle was later famously retold through the written

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

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 Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...

, the first king of Portugal, before the

battle of Ourique The Battle of Ourique () took place on 25 July 1139, in which the forces of Portuguese count Afonso Henriques (of the House of Burgundy) defeated those led by the Almoravid governor of Córdoba, Muhammad Az-Zubayr Ibn Umar, identified as "Ki ...

s, 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 ''Sanfedismo'' (from ''Santa Fede'', "Holy Faith" in Italian) was a popular anti-Jacobin movement, organized by Fabrizio Cardinal Ruffo, which mobilized peasants of the Kingdom of Naples against the pro-French Parthenopaean Republic in 1799, ...

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 The English Defence League (EDL) was a Far-right politics, far-right, Islamophobia, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and Advocacy group, pressure group that employed street demo ...

, emblazoned around the group's logo. *The phrase is the motto on some Byzantine coins (e.g. the folles of

Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...

). *It is the motto on most regimental flags of the

Irish Brigade (France) The Irish Brigade (, ) was a brigade in the French Royal Army composed of Irish exiles, led by Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel, Lord Mountcashel. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobitism, Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland t ...

. *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 The Sherbrooke Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The regiment was formed in 1965 by amalgamation of the 7th/11th Hussars with the Sherbrooke Regiment (RCAC). It perpetuates the Sherbrooke F ...

, a Canadian reserve regiment *In hoc signo vinces is the motto on the

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming ...

coat of arms. *It is the motto of the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

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 The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

* It is the public motto of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

, 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