St James was the brother of John the Evangelist. The Gospels record that they were fishermen, the sons of Zebedee, and were called by Jesus from mending their nets beside the sea of Galilee at the beginning of His ministry. It is believed that James spent a number of years preaching in Spain before returning to Jerusalem, but the only certain fact recorded of him is his martyrdom at the hands of Herod Agrippa in 44 A.D.
The beheading of St James.