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Cross of Saint James, Patron Saint of GaliciaGalician Christian Crosses
St James' Cross

What's in this section?
» The Patron Saint of Galicia and his Red Cross
» "Could the Danish Flag have a Galician origin?"

You may also want to read these pages:
» Galician Christian Crosses: The Blue Cross
» Flag of the Kingdom of Galicia
» Royal Standard of the Swabian Kings of Gallaecia


The Patron Saint of Galicia and his Red Cross

The red cross over a white field is the most popular Christian cross of all times. The cross is the symbol of Christianity and God's protection; the white colour is the symbol of purity and the red colour symbolises the blood of Christ. The red cross over a white field was used regularly during the Middle Ages, among others, by the French crusaders (which had the largest army fighting in the Crusades), the Knights Templar, and also as the national flag of England since the 16th century.
Royal Standard as depicted in the 'Book A' of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia
 From Christian Red Cross to Christian Red Sword:
The Christian Flag depicted in the "Book A" of the Cathedral of St James of Compostela was eventually transformed into a sword-cross as symbol of the Military Order of Santiago.
In the ‘Book A’ ("Tombo A") kept at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela there is a 12th century depiction of a dubious Battle of Clavijo between Christian and Muslim armies. In that picture we can clearly see a red cross flag flying over the tent of the Christian king. That flag, allegedly used as a royal standard by Christian king Ramiro, is directly linked to the cult of St James, the Patron Saint of Galicia.

King Ramiro's father, Afonso II Galletiae Rex (813-842 AD) had promoted the cult to St James in Galicia, where the remains of the Holy Apostle had allegedly been found. His son Ramiro I (842-850 AD) became the leader of the Christian army in the Battle of Clavijo, and the legend has it that the king asked the Patron Saint of Galicia for help in order to gain victory over the Muslims.

The Apostle Saint James or Saint Jacob (Sant-Iago, as he is called in the Galician language) was tipically represented in the Kingdom of Galicia as an pilgrim dressed with his cloak, holding a walking stick and a scallop shell. On the other hand, after the Battle of Clavijo, the iberian kingdoms of Leon, Castile, and Aragon began to depict St James as a “Muslim slayer” who helped Christians to gain victory over their islamic neighbours.

In that way, the red cross depicted in the 'Book A' of the Cathedral of Santiago evolved into a red sword to became the symbol of the Military Order of Santiago, a Christian knighthood founded in the 12th century in the kingdoms of Leon and Castile for patrolling their borders with Muslim Spain.

The red sword-cross of the Military Order of St James is known as the "Cross of St James", and is represented as a red cross flory or flowered cross over a white field, where the shape of the cross is actually the blade of a sword. As the centuries passed by, the Castilian-Leonese red military cross of St James was also introduced in the Kingdom of Galicia and, together with the traditional Scallop Shell, ended up being adopted as another national symbol of Galicia.
The Cross of St James on the banner of the Galician Battalion during the War against France in 1808
The Cross of St James on the shirt of the Galician national football team in 1922 (match won Galicia 4 - Castile 1)
The Cross of St James around the Galician Flag in a Home Rule campaign speech in the city of Pontevedra, 1933
The Cross of St James on the banner of the Galician Battalion during the War against France in 1808 The Cross of St James on the shirt of the Galician national football team in 1922 (match won Galicia 4 - Castile 1) The Cross of St James around the Galician Flag in a Home Rule campaign speech in the city of Pontevedra, 1933


From Santiago de Compostela to Denmark:
“Could the Danish Flag have a Galician Origin?”

Summary of a theory by Prof. Vicente Almazan, Doctor in Roman Philology by the University of Cologne, Professor of Medieval History in the universities of Sudbury, Windsor, Wayne State and Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Member of the International Committee of the Way of St James

Gallaecia Scandinavica, by doctor Vicente Almazan, Galaxia Publishers, 1986

Gallaecia Scandinavica, by Dr Vicente Almazan, Galaxia Publishers, 1986
In his excellent book of Galician-Scandinavian relations (Gallaecia Scandinavica, Galaxia Publishers, 1986) Dr Vicente Almazan suggests a historical connection between the origin of the Danish flag and the cult of St James.

According to Danish tradition, the flag of Denmark fell from the sky during a battle fought around 1219 AD between Danish Christians and Pagan Estonians. As the white cross flag was given to the Danes, a voice in the sky told the Christian army that they would win their fight over the pagans. The voice in the sky was right and the Danes defeated the Estonians.

Some centuries before that miracle happened, St James was already showing himself in the sky to the Christians while promising military victory over the Muslims. That occurred in the before-mentioned Battle of Clavijo (844 AD) as well as in many other battles like Simancas (939 AD), Ourique (1139 AD), Navas de Tolosa (1212 AD) or Alcacer do Sal (1217 AD).

In those days, the city of Santiago was the spiritual capital of the Christian world. During the Middle Ages the religious capitals of Christendom were Jerusalem in the East, Rome in the centre, and Santiago in the West. Since the 12th century, the Pilgrimage to Santiago became more popular among Christians than Rome and Jerusalem.

One of the first depictions of the Dannebrog, Denmark's National Flag, Gelre Armorial, 14th century

Fallen miraculously from heaven: one of the first depictions of the Dannebrog, Denmark's National Flag, in the Gelre Armorial, 14th century
Among the Scandinavian pilgrims to Jakobsland (as they called Galicia) there were kings, earls, saints, bishops, and many thousands of soldiers and crusaders. In 1108 AD King Sigurd of Norway wintered in Galicia with his army of 60 ships and several thousand soldiers. In 1152 AD Earl Rognvald of Orkney spent the winter in Galicia with an army of 15 ships and one thousand men. Many thousands of Scandinavian crusaders stopped by in Jakobsland to whorship St James while on their way to Holy Land for the Crusades of 1189, 1197, 1217 and 1229. Precisely, during the 1197 and 1217 campaign, Danish crusaders joined in the battle for Silves (1197) and Alcacer do Sal (1217) where, according to tradition, they witnessed St James in the sky promising victory to the Christians.

Considering those facts, as well as many others as detailed in his book Gallaecia Scandinavica, Dr. Vicente Almazan concludes:

1) The legend of the Danish cross falling from the sky in a battle against the pagans is similar to previous legends of St James showing himself in the sky during battles against Muslim armies. It is also a matter of fact that Danish soldiers were fighting in battles against the Muslims, such as in Alcacer do Sal (1217 AD), where St James also showed himself in the sky.

2) The oldest known Danish flag is the Flag of the Scandinavian Union of 1427 where, next to the Scandinavian cross, there was a large St James dressed as a pilgrim and holding his typical scallop shell, just in the way he was originally represented in Galicia. What was the Patron Saint of Galicia doing in the Flag of the Scandinavian Union? Dr Almazan also brings to our attention that the scallop shell of St James is a very popular feature in the heraldry and coats of arms of Denmark.
The Flag of the Scandinavian Union, 1427 AD, showing Apostle St James holding the Galician scallop shell The Flag of the Scandinavian Union from 1427 AD, showing the national arms of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Pomerania. The saint accompanying the Virgin Mary and infant Christ is the apostle Saint James, who is holding his typical scallop shell as depicted widely in the Galician iconography.
[Click on the picture to enlarge image]

Therefore, according to Dr Almazan, it would be reasonable to suggest that the national flag of Denmark was inspired by the religious folklore surrounding St James. Many Danish crusaders visited Jakobsland, then went south to fight against the Muslims, heard stories about St James' miracles in the battle, and many of them even saw with their own eyes those miracles like in the Battle of Alcacer do Sal. Back to Scandinavia, the Danish crusaders spread the story about the heavenly miracles of St James against the infidels, and this very same story was replicated once again during a battle against the pagans where a Christian cross fell from the sky and a voice could be heard promising victory to the Christians. This was the origin of the Danish flag, which in turn served as inspiration for the subsequent Scandinavian flags of Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Feroe islands, etc...


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