In hoc signo vinces

Detail from The Vision of the Cross by assistants of Raphael, depicting the vision of the cross and the Greek writing "Ἐν τούτῳ νίκα" in the sky, before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

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

Flag of Kallergis brothers.

Knights Templar logo of freemasonry.

In hoc signo vinces (Classical Latin: [ɪn hoːk ˈsɪŋnoː ˈwɪŋkeːs]; Ecclesiastical Latin: [in ɔk ˈsiɲɲo ˈvintʃes]) is a Latin phrase meaning "In this sign you will conquer", often also rendered in early modern English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer". It is a translation, or rendering, of the Greek phrase "ἐν τούτῳ νίκα" en toútōi níka (Ancient Greek: [en tóːtɔ͜ːi níkaː]), literally meaning "in this, conquer".

History

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author (c. 240 – c. 320) who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son.^[1] 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 before his conversion to Christianity.^[2] The full text is found in only one manuscript, which bears the title, Lucii Caecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum.

The historian bishop Eusebius of Caesaria 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"),^[3] a phrase often rendered into Latin as in hoc signo vinces ("in this sign, you will conquer").^[4]

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,^[5] 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 C.E.), having merged 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. 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. They would thence turn right into the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica, ostensibly so inspired.

Cultural references

Military

• Inscribed on the banner and the motto of the 4th Guards Brigade (now 2nd Motorized Battalion "Pauci" - the Spiders) of the Croatian army
• Inscribed on the banner of the Sanfedismo in 1799^[6]
• Inscribed in Greek on the flag (obverse side) of the Sacred Band of the Greek War of Independence^[7]
• Inscribed in Greek on the coat of arms, insignia and flag of the 22nd Tank Brigade (XXII ΤΘΤ) of the Greek Army^[8]

Schools

• Motto of Madras Christian College, (( Madras, India ))
• Motto of Hardey Preparatory School for Boys, Chicago, Illinois USA
• Motto of Holy Cross College, Kalutara, Sri Lanka^[9]
• Motto of Quitman High School, Quitman, Louisiana USA^[10]
• Motto of Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida, Mérida, Mexico^[11]
• Motto of Holy Cross College, Arima, Trinidad^[12]
• Motto of Holy Cross School, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.^[13]
• Motto of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Tbilisi, Georgia^[14]
• Motto of Wah Yan College, Wan Chai, Hong Kong^[15]
• Motto of Wah Yan College, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong^[16]
• Motto of the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA ^[17]
• Motto of Marist Brothers High School ,Fiji Suva city
• Motto of Saint Joseph's Grammar School, Donaghmore, County Tyrone, Ireland ^[18]
• Motto of St. Eunan's College, Letterkenny, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland ^[19]
• Motto of Holy Cross College of Carigara, Carigara, Leyte, Republic of the Philippines
• Motto of Strangford Integrated College, Carrowdore, County Down, Northern Ireland ^[20]
• Motto of Bishop Simon Brute College Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Sports

• Crest of the Royal Hockey Club, Antwerp, Belgium^[21]

Other

• Is the motto on the coat of arms of the city of Plzeň, Czech Republic.^[22]
• The 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.^[23]
• Public motto of the Sigma Chi undergraduate fraternity.^[24]
• Public motto of the English Defence League.
• It has been used in some versions of logo for the brand of cigarettes, Pall Mall.^[25][26]
• The phrase is the motto on some Byzantine coins (e.g. the folles of Constans II).^[27]
• Used as the title of the political manifesto of George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party.
• Is the motto on the Coat of Arms of O'Donnell

Notes

1. "Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius". Online Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent.
2. Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James, eds. (1871). "The manner in which persecutors died. Chapter 44". The works of Lactantius. Volume II. Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the writings of the Fathers. Down to A.D. 325 XXII. Edinburgh. p. 203.
3. Eusebius. "1.28". Vita Constantini (PDF). www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu. p. 944.
4. Haaren, John H.; Poland, A. B. (2006) [1904]. Famous Men of Rome. Yesterday's Classics. p. 229. ISBN 978-159915-046-8.
5. Eusebius, Vita Constantini 1.31, p. 946.
6. Chadwick, Owen. 1981. The Popes and European Revolution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-826919-6. p. 474.
7. Helene P. Kokkone, Katerina Korre-Zographou, Chrysa Daskalopoulou (1997). Ελληνικές Σημαίες, Σήματα, Εμβλήματα (in Greek). Athens: G. Tsiberiotes. ISBN 960-7795-01-6.
8. "Εμβλήματα: XXII ΤΘΤ" (in Greek). Hellenic Army General Staff.
9. HCCKalutara.net
10. JPSB.us
11. ITmerida.mx
12. HCCAAB.org
13. Holycrossschool.mb.ca
14. GIPA.ge
17. "College Seal". College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
21. Dragons.be
22. "Story of Coat of Arms". 24 November 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
23. Municipiodebayamon.com
24. "Sigma Chi Crest".
25. Pall Mall Example
26. Chris Harrald et al. The Cigarette Book: The History and Culture of Smoking
27. Grierson, Philip (1982). Byzantine Coins. University of California Press. p. 111. ISBN 0-520-04897-0.

Sources

• Eusebius. "1.28". Βίος Κωνσταντίνου [Vita Constantini] (in Greek). At the Internet Archive.
• Eusebius. "1.28". Eusebius - Constantine and the sign of the cross. www.earlychurchtexts.com (in Greek). Passages 1.26-31 of Vita Constantini.
• Eusebius. "1.28". Vita Constantini (PDF). www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu (in Latin). Book 1. p. 7 (21–22 on scanned book).
• Lactantius. "Lucii Caecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum". www.thelatinlibrary.com (in Latin).