Victory Cross

Cruz de la Victoria
Victory Cross (in English)
Picture of the Santa Cruz de la Victoria.
MaterialVarious (incl. gold, gems).
CreatedEarly Middle Ages
(c. 908 AD; core claimed from 8th century)
Present locationCámara Santa, Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo

The Victory Cross (Asturian and Spanish: Cruz de la Victoria) is an early 10th-century Asturian jewelled cross (crux gemmata) gifted by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain). It was made in 908 in the Castle of Gauzón.

At its core is an oakwood cross, in legend identified with a cross carried by King Pelagius of Asturias when his Christian forces defeated the Umayyad Caliphate troops in the Battle of Covadonga (722), which is regarded as the foundational event of the early medieval Kingdom of Asturias in northern Spain.

Today's Principality of Asturias is one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, and since December 1990 its official flag bears the Victory Cross on blue background, offset towards the hoist.[1]

  1. ^ Bandera del Principado de Asturias - Ley 4/1990, de 19 de diciembre (BOPAP nº 6, de 9 de enero de 1991. BOE nº 32, de 6 de febrero de 1991) (PDF) (in Spanish), 1990

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