in hoc signo vinces

5/19/2014 In hoc signo vinces - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Detail from The Vision of the Cross by assistants ofRaphael, depicting the vision of the cross and theGreek writing " " in the sky, beforethe Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

Sample of use of "In hoc signo vinces" in a 1721Portuguese coin

In hoc signo vincesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In hoc signo vinces (reconstructed Latin pronunciation[n hok sno wnkes], ecclesiastical pronunciation[in ok sio vintes]) is a Latin phrase meaning "In thissign you will conquer." It may be related to the Greekphrase " " en touto nika, (Ancient Greek: [entti nka]) meaning '"in this thing conquer."

Contents

1 History2 Use by nobility3 Cultural references

3.1 Military3.2 Schools3.3 Sports3.4 Other

4 Notes5 Sources

HistoryLucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an earlyChristian author (c. 240 c. 320) who became an advisorto the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I,guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor tohis son.[1] His work De Mortibus Persecutorum has anapologetic character, but has been treated as a work ofhistory by Christian writers. Here Lactantius preserves the story of Constantine's vision of the Chi Rho beforehis conversion to Christianity. The full text is found in only one manuscript, which bears the title, LuciiCaecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum.

The historian bishop Eusebius of Caesaria states that Constantine was marching with his army (Eusebius doesnot specify the actual location of the event, but it is clearly not in the camp at Rome), when he looked up to thesun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "() " ("In this, conquer"),often rendered in Latin as In hoc signo vinces ("in this sign, you will conquer").



At first, Constantine did not know the meaning of the apparition, but on the following night, he had a dream inwhich Christ explained to him that he should use the sign of the cross against his enemies. Eusebius thencontinues to describe the Labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius,showing the Chi-Rho sign.

The phrase appears prominently placed as a motto on a ribbon unfurled with a passion cross to its left, beneatha window over the Scala Regia, adjacent to the equestrian statue of Emperor Constantine, in the Vatican.Emperors and other monarchs, having paid respects to the Pope, descended the Scala Regia, and wouldobserve the light shining down through the window, with the motto, reminiscent of Constantine's vision, andbe reminded to follow the Cross. They would thence turn right into the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica,ostensibly so inspired.

Use by nobilityThe phrase is the motto on some Byzantine silver coins (f.e. the silver miliaresia of Basil II and ConstantineVIII, coined between 977 and 989).

It appears on the coat of arms borne by Jan III Sobieski and other members of the Sobieski line; it is also onthe coat of arms of the Irish noble dynasty of O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, the Noble House of Vassallo, and isthe motto of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.

It was used as a motto by the Portuguese monarchy. According to the legend, King Afonso I of Portugal sawthe sign of the "quinas" -Portugal's heraldic symbol- at the battle of Ourique, adopting them as the nationalsymbol and the motto as a consequence. This legend is told in The Lusiads by Lus de Cames.

Cultural references

Military

Inscribed on the banner of the Sanfedismo in 1799[2]

Inscribed in Greek on the flag (obverse side) of the Sacred Band of the Greek War of Independence[3]

Inscribed in Greek on the coat of arms, insignia and flag of the 22nd Tank Brigade (XXII ) of the

Greek Army[4]

Inscribed on the insignia of the Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 of the United StatesMarine Corps.

Schools

Motto of Holy Cross College, Kalutara, Sri Lanka[5]

Motto of Quitman High School, Quitman, Louisiana USA[6]

Motto of Instituto Tecnolgico de Mrida, Mrida, Mexico[7]

Motto of Holy Cross College, Arima, Trinidad[8]



Motto of Holy Cross School, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[9]

Motto of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Tbilisi, Georgia[10]

Motto of Wah Yan College, Wan Chai, Hong Kong[11]

Motto of Wah Yan College, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong[12]

Motto of the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA [13]

Sports

Crest of the Royal Hockey Club, Antwerp, Belgium[14]

Other

Is the motto on the coat of arms of the city of Plze, Czech Republic.[15]

Is the motto of the far-right street protest movement, the English Defence LeagueThe phrase is in the coat of arms of the city of Birkirkara, the largest city on the island of Malta, and the

city of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.[16]

Notes

1. ^ "Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius" (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08736a.htm). Online CatholicEncyclopedia. New Advent.

2. ^ Chadwick, Owen. 1981. The Popes and European Revolution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-826919-6. p.474.

3. ^ Helene P. Kokkone, Katerina Korre-Zographou, Chrysa Daskalopoulou (1997). , , (in Greek). Athens: G. Tsiberiotes. ISBN 960-7795-01-6.

4. ^ ": XXII " (http://www.army.gr/default.php?pname=PERIGRAFI_EMBLIMATOS_XX!!TUT&la=1) (in Greek). Hellenic Army General Staff.

5. ^ HCCKalutara.net (http://www.hcckalutara.net/)6. ^ JPSB.us (http://jpsb.us/Quitman.htm)7. ^ ITmerida.mx (http://www.itmerida.mx)8. ^ HCCAAB.org (http://www.hccaab.org/index.htm)9. ^ Holycrossschool.mb.ca (http://www.holycrossschool.mb.ca/)

10. ^ GIPA.ge (http://www.gipa.ge)11. ^ [1] (http://web.wahyan.edu.hk/)12. ^ [2] (http://www.wyk.edu.hk/)13. ^ "College Seal" (http://offices.holycross.edu/about/history/seal). College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved 25 March

2014.14. ^ Dragons.be (http://www.dragons.be)



Sources

(Greek) Eusebius. "1.28" (https://archive.org/stream/eusebiiscriptah00eusegoog#page/n708/mode/1up). [Vita Constantini]. At the Internet Archive.(Greek) Eusebius. 1.28(http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/main/eusebiusofcaes/constantine_and_the_sign_of_the_cross.shtml)."Eusebius - Constantine and the sign of the cross". www.earlychurchtexts.com. Passages 1.26-31 ofVita Constantini.(Latin) Eusebius. 1.28 (http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/02m/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_De_vita_Imperatoris_Constantini,_MLT.pdf). "Vita Constantini".www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu. Book 1. p. 7 (2122 on scanned book).(English) Eusebius. 1,28 (http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_Vita_Constantini_%5BSchaff%5D,_EN.pdf). "Vita Constantini".www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu. p. 944.(Latin) Lactantius. "Lucii Caecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum"(http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/lactantius/demort.shtml). www.thelatinlibrary.com.

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15. ^ "Story of Coat of Arms" (http://www.kr-plzensky.cz/article.asp?sec=245). 24 November 2010. Retrieved 4January 2012.

16. ^ Municipiodebayamon.com (http://www.municipiodebayamon.com/files/docs/%7B3AA0D16E-E001-4F3B-85C0-BF960E687F8C%7D.pdf)

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