The Order of Santiago (, , ), also known as the Order of St. James of the Sword, is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrim of St. James' Way, to defend Christendom and to remove the Muslim Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. Entrance was not however restricted to nobles of Spain exclusively, and so many of her members have been prominent Catholic Europeans in general. The Order of Santiago is one of the most renowned military orders in the history of the world, its insignia being particularly recognisable and abundant in Western art.