The "Rhodian cross" of the early 16th century had almost, but not quite, achieved the "sharp arrowhead appearance". Įmergence of the sharp vertex of the modern "four-arrowhead" design is gradual, and takes place during the 15th to 16th century. In 1489, the statutes of the order require all knights of Malta to wear "the white cross with eight points". Įight-pointed crosses appear on coins minted by the Grand Masters of the order, first shown as a bolsini-type cross embroidered on the left arm of the robe of the kneeling Grand Master on the obverse of a coin minted under Foulques de Villaret (r. The association of the eight-pointed cross with the southern Italy coastal town of Amalfi may go back to the 11th century, as the design is allegedly found on coins minted by the Duchy of Amalfi at that time. This early form is a cross moline (ancrée) or cross branchée ending in eight points, not yet featuring the sharp vertex of the modern design. Occasional use of the modern form straight-edged "eight-pointed cross" by the order begins in the early 16th century. The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a plain Latin cross. Fresco on the ceiling of the main corridor in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta ( Nicolau Nasoni 1724) 1500) Emblem of the Military Order of Malta on the façade of San Giovannino dei Cavalieri, Florence (1699). Johann Loesel, grand prior of the langue of Germany, shown with the eight-pointed cross on a flag and his habit in his role as mediator in the Old Zürich War in February 1446 (illustration of Gerold Edlibach's chronicle, c. Dedicatory miniature in Gestorum Rhodie obsidionis commentarii (account of the Siege of Rhodes of 1480), BNF Lat 6067 fol. Unicode defines a character named "Maltese cross" in the Dingbats range at code point U+2720 ( ✠) however most computer fonts render the code point as a cross pattée.įurther information: Flag and coat of arms of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson with senior knights, wearing the "Rhodian cross" on their habits. Notably the Order of Saint Stephen, the city of Amalfi, the Polish Order of the White Eagle (1709), the Prussian order Pour le Mérite (1740), and the Bavarian Military Merit Order (1866). John, now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and by extension with the island of Malta, it has come to be used by a wide array of entities since the early modern period, Although chiefly associated with the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed from earlier forms of eight-pointed crosses in the 16th century. The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. Cross of the Order of Saint John Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus For other uses, see Maltese cross (disambiguation).
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