Also known as Saint James the Greater, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary appeared to him in Caesaraugusta (now Zaragoza) while he was preaching the Gospel in Hispania. He afterwards returned to Judea, where he was beheaded by king Herod Agrippa I, and his remains were transported by angels to Galicia.
In 813 the king Alfonso II The Chaste of the Kingdom of Asturias found the body of Santiago, and so he built a basilica over the place the body was found, which later in the Middle Ages became the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Since then Saint James has been the Patron Saint of Spain.
During the Reconquista, in 844, the christians, led by the king Ramiro I of Asturias, battled against the Moors in Clavijo, despite the Asturians were fewer. Suddenly, Santiago appeared in white armor, wielding a sword and riding a white horse on battle. The Apostle battled at the side of the Christians until the battle was over, when the Asturians obtained victory. Since this battle, Saint James is also called Santiago Matamoros, in English Saint James the Moor-slayer. His insignia are the Cross of Saint James, with the form of a sword, and the shell of a vieira (galician species of scallop).