The story was easily interpreted by the Order of St. Dream of Constantine and battle of the Milvian Bridge, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Wikipedia Commons Although the Emperor was only baptised on his deathbed, Christianity began to be favoured as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Constantine attributed his victory to his use of Christian symbols, and began to favour the Christian God and religion over that of Sol Invictus. The story of Constantine’s vision and conversion, as relayed by the Greek historian Eusubius of Caesarea, formed the basis for the fusion of the Roman Imperial ideology with fledgling Christianity. The battle was against Maxentius for sole control of the Roman Empire. LDOSJ M6/12 and M6/16 Two silver coins minted by Jean de Valette ©Museum of the Order of St John, London/Jack Hanson 2017Ĭonstantine (b.c.272 CE, r.306 – 337 CE.) ordered the use of Christian symbols on his army’s shields and standards, allegedly following seeing a vision of Christ suggesting their use. It is a reminder of the victory for Constantine the Great’s forces at the battle of Milvian Bridge, and the gradual conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. The Latin reads “SVB HOC SIGNO MILITAMUS”, which translates as “Under this sign, fight.” Although this may seem a generic statement of Christian holy war, it is an important classical reference to an extremely symbolic event in the history of both Europe and Christianity. However, it is the inscription which lends context to the symbolism of the coin. Crosses appear frequently on Order coinage. The coin has a large eight-pointed Maltese Cross, with a simple Latin inscription around the edge. He has been volunteering at the Museum on a British Numismatic Society Bursary.Īt first glance, a particular design of coin minted by Jean de Valette (r.1557-1568) appears to be nearly devoid of symbolism. Jack Hanson is an undergraduate at Queen Mary, University of London, about to start his dissertation on the Third Crusade.
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