1 o’clock. Traveler’s staff and scallop shell. James the Greater, brother of John. The scallop shell was used for collecting drinking water, so the staff and shell are used here to represent someone who was on the road. Sometimes a sword and scallop shell is used for James.
Note on James. James was the first of the disciples to be martyred between 42 and 44 AD. Acts 12:2. One tradition is that he traveled to Spain and established the church there and then returned to Judea. Therefore James becomes the patron saint of Spain. Others, Matthew Henry for example, contend that James never left Jerusalem. As is the case with some of the other Apostles, their martyrdom is based on tradition and the associated symbols in this window synch-up with that tradition. Regardless, the symbol used here is the symbol for James the Greater and he was martyred according to Scripture.
In part 6, we move to John, the brother of James the Greater at the 2 o’clock position.