Santiago!

Saint James, represented as a Moor-slayer.

¡Santiago! (or ¡Santiago y cierra, España!), is an alleged battle cry of Iberian troops during the Reconquista, and of the Spanish Empire. In English, it is often incorrectly translated as "Santiago and close, Spain!" or "Santiago and at them, Spain!" The vocative "cierra" in this case was used in the military to mean "engage with the enemy", and it can be found in any comprehensive Spanish dictionary.

Supposedly, its first usage was during the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 and was then utilized on each occasion that Spanish troops fought Muslims. The meaning of the phrase is to praise St. James the apostle, patron saint of Spain, and to charge or attack ("close in on them!"). The "Spain", at the end, refers to the recipient of the phrase: the Spanish troops.

After the Reconquista, the phrase continued to be used, especially by the brigades of Spanish cavalry and the Conquistadores under Hernán Cortés. Cervantes quotes it in Don Quixote, when the knight and Sancho Panza are discussing Santiago.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Don Quixote, 2nd section, chapter 58
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