The Order of Santiago or the Order of Saint James of Compostela was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Spain, Santiago (St. James the Greater), under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
via en.wikipedia.org
On 5 July, or possibly 3 July, 1175, Pope Alexander III recognized the Order of Santiago, which followed the Augustian rule.
Wikipedia:
Today the Order of Santiago still exists under the Spanish crown. Currently there are 35 knights and 30 novices in the order. Admission to the order is determined if the applicant has noble ancestry.
Its symbol is, in heraldic terminology, cross fleury fitchy--a red cross terminating in a sword--which Velázquez is wearing in his 1656 self-portrait. (See image. More on crosses in heraldry here.)
The Portuguese branch of the order is The (Royal) Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.
Comments