The Victory Cross ( Asturian and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Cruz de la Victoria'') is an early 10th century Asturian

crux gemmata A ''crux gemmata'' (Latin for jewelled cross) is a form of cross typical of Early Christian and Early Medieval art, where the cross, or at least its front side, is principally decorated with jewels. In an actual cross, rather than a painted imag ...

or jewelled cross, given by King

Alfonso III of Asturias Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great ( es, el Magno), was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spai ...

, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador of

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

(

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). It was made in 908 in the Castle of Gauzón (Raices Viejo,

Castrillón Castrillón is a municipality in Asturias, located on the central coast. It has an area of 56.70 km² and a population of 22,361 inhabitants (in 2005). The most important population centres are the capital Piedras Blancas, Salinas, and R ...

, Asturias). At the core is an oakwood cross, in legend identified with a cross carried by King

Pelagius of Asturias Pelagius (; ; ; ; ''c''. 685 – 737) was a Hispano-Visigoth nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718. Pelagius is credited with initiating the ''Reconquista'', the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, and estab ...

at the

Battle of Covadonga The Battle of Covadonga took place in 718 or 722 between the army of Pelagius the Visigoth and the army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga in the Picos de Europa, either in 718 or 722, it resulted in a victory for the forces of Pelag ...

. Since December 1990, the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of modern

Principality of Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive ...

bears the Victory Cross offset towards the hoist.

History

According to legend, the primitive, undecorated wooden core of this cross was carried against the Muslims of al-Andalus by King

at the

, later kept by his son

Favila of Asturias Favila or Fafila (died 739) was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his death. He was the only son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch. In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís, but ...

in the Church of Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís, erected by Favila and his wife Froiluba in 737, and dedicated to the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

in Cangas de Onís, the first capital of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of V ...

. However, a 2010 study has radiocarbon dated the cross to the late 9th century, roughly contemporary to the ornate casing. The ornate casing contains 152 gems and imitation gems. An inscription tells us that this casing was made at the Castle of Gauzón in

in 908. Alfonso III donated this important

Pre-Romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...

gold artifact to Cathedral of Oviedo to commemorate a hundred years of the Asturian kingdom's victories and conquests. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, the Cross, like the rest of the artifacts in the Cámara Sancta, suffered serious damages which required its restoration.See historic picture on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/dinocefalo/3261696810/ The Victoria Cross recovered its gems from 1942 on, thanks to popular donations for the acquisition and restoration of the relic. However, the work of goldsmiths Horacio Rivero Alvarez and Luis Aguilar did not consider the original design, altering the position of the medallion on both fronts.Official website of the Ayuntamiento of Oviedo
/ref> In 1971 new enamels were placed by German goldsmith Werner Henneberger, but here again the original design was not taken sufficiently into account. On 9 August 1977, the Cross, together with Agate box and the

Cross of the Angels The Cross of the Angels ( ast, Cruz de los Ánxeles, es, Cruz de los Ángeles) is a pre-romanesque Asturian reliquary donated by Alfonso II of Asturias in the year 808 to the Church of San Salvador in Oviedo, Asturias (Spain). The Cross of the ...

, were stolen and suffered serious damage after the thieves tore their precious stones and gold plating. Its current appearance is the result of careful reconstruction carried out in 1978.

Description

The Latin cross is . The core is made of two thick pieces of oak with circular ends finished in three foils, and joined in the centre by a circular disk. The whole cross is covered with gold leaf and filigree, and richly decorated especially the anverse, covered with coloured enamel, pearls, precious stones and gold thread. The reverse shows an inscription in soldered gold letters, mentioning the donors to the Church of San Salvador, King Alfonso II and Queen Jimena, and the place (Gauzón Castle) and the year it was made:

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Official website of the Ayuntamiento of Oviedo
{{Asturian Art, state=uncollapsed Asturian culture Crux gemmata Pelagius of Asturias Religion in Asturias Spanish art Crosses in heraldry Processional crosses