Plus ultra
Plus Ultra is the motto of the Spanish coat of arms .
From time immemorial, the pillars of Heracles were considered to be the limit of the habitable world, this was a non plus ultra (here it was no longer possible). When the Spanish kings began to build their world empire with the possessions in America in the course of the 16th century, they successfully violated the warning of "no more" and modified the saying in Plus Ultra (German: "Beyond") , “Always on”). They put the pillars of Heracles with a banner and the Plus Ultra in the coat of arms of Spain, where they still serve as a kind of shield holder .
This was originally the personal symbol of Emperor Charles V , who was already King of Spain before his election as Roman-German Emperor. He also included the pillars and the banner in his emperor's coat of arms. The original version was in French , Karl's mother tongue, and was Plus Oultre (in modern French it would be Plus Outre ). In German there was the version Noch Weytter . Emperor Charles V was considered the first ruler of an empire in which the sun never set.
Since then, pillars and banners have symbolized the overseas holdings of Spain and the relations between Spain and the American states.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense named a brigade deployed in Iraq , which consisted of Spanish and Latin American soldiers, after the Spanish coat of arms Plus Ultra .
According to a possible explanation, the pillars of Herakles (combined with the banner Plus Ultra ) are said to have provided the graphic model for the development of the dollar symbol " $ ", which is still used internationally today . The US dollar evolved from the Hispanic-Mexican peso, which featured the ancient Hispanic-American symbol on its coins.
