Maltese Cross (symbol)

The Maltese Cross (✠) has been the symbol of the Christian warrior since the First Crusade. It is in the form of four "V" shaped arms joined together at their bases, so that each arm has two points, and the cross has eight points in all.

Related Topics:
Christian - First Crusade

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today the Maltese Cross remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In recent centuries it has come to be adopted as the insignia of numerous orders of chivalry, and appears on the coat-of-arms of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz district. In Australia the Maltese Cross is the state emblem of Queensland, and is also the symbol for Ambulance Services nationwide.

Related Topics:
Sovereign Military Order of Malta - Orders of chivalry - Mecklenburg-Strelitz district - Australia - Queensland - Ambulance

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Great Britain the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new postage stamps in the 1840s was the shape of a Maltese Cross and named accordingly. The Maltese cross is also the symbol of the Neath Rugby Football Club in Neath, South Wales.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Postmark - Cancellation - Postage stamps - 1840s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Modified versions (properly known as the cross pattée) appear as the Victoria Cross and on the flag of Wallis and Futuna. It also has been used (with an ellipitical orb in the center) as the official badge of the Delta Phi Fraternity since 1833. The official symbol of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is the heraldic cross pattee, though the organization's founder thought it was a Maltese Cross when the organization was formed in 1865.

Related Topics:
Victoria Cross - Flag of Wallis and Futuna - Delta Phi - Alpha Tau Omega

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The cross used as the symbol of various Fire Services in the United States are often referred to as Maltese Cross, although this is strictly speaking incorrect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At King George V's funeral procession, as the funeral cortege turned into New Palace Yard, the Maltese Cross fell from the Crown and landed in the gutter. This was viewed as a bad omen for the next King, Edward VIII, who would abdicate before the year was out.

Related Topics:
King George V - Edward VIII - Abdicate

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~