Maltese cross

The insignia of a Serving Brother of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem

The Maltese Cross is featured on the badge of the Bermuda Regiment, heir to the BVRC. The Bermuda Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda.

The Maltese cross is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St It was originally the symbol of Amalfi, a small Italian republic of the 11th century. Amalfi is also a town in the Antioquia Departament in Colombia. The cross is eight-pointed and has the form of four "V"-shaped arms joined together at their tips, so that each arm has two points. Its design is based on crosses used since the First Crusade. The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing The eight points are said to symbolise the eight points of courage. :

• Loyalty
• Piety
• Frankness
• Bravery
• Glory and honour
• Contempt of death
• Helpfulness towards the poor and the sick
• Respect for the church

The Maltese cross remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and other Orders of St John, and St. John Ambulance. The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem or Order of St John is a British -based royal order of Chivalry, and is St John Ambulance, branded as St John in some territories is a common name used by a number of affiliated organizations in different countries dedicated to the teaching and 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. An Order is a Decoration, awarded by a government a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity Mecklenburg-Strelitz is a Kreis (district in the southern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. In Australia the Maltese Cross is part of the state emblem of Queensland. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent

In the United Kingdom, the Maltese Cross is the symbol used by Rifle Regiments, and has been incorporated into the badges of virtually all rifle units, including the amalgam, The Royal Green Jackets. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ was an Infantry Regiment of the British Army, one of two within the Light Division (the other being The 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. A postmark is a Postal marking made on a letter, Package, Postcard or the like indicating On Mail, a cancellation (or cancel for short is a Postal marking applied to a Postage stamp or Postal stationery indicating that A postage stamp is an adhesive paper evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services Events and trends Technology First use of General anesthesia in an operation by Crawford Long. The Maltese cross also forms the basis for the design of the Order of the Bath. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath) is a British Order of chivalry founded by George The Maltese cross is also the symbol of Neath Rugby Football Club in Neath, Wales.

In Sweden a Maltese Cross forms the basic form for all Royal Orders, such as Order of Seraphim and the Order of the Sword. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Order of the Sword ( Swedish Svärdsorden) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February

In Australia the Maltese Cross forms the logo for South Australian Ambulance Service logos. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The SA Ambulance Service is a Government Department under SA Health that is the sole provider of emergency ambulance transport clinical care and patient transport services to over 1

The Maltese cross flower (Lychnis chalcedonica) is so named because its petals are similarly shaped, though its points are more rounded into "heart"-like shapes. Lychnis chalcedonica ( Burning Love, Dusky Salmon, Flower of Bristol, Jerusalem Cross, Maltese Cross, The heart (♥ has long been used as a Symbol to refer to the spiritual, Emotional moral, and in the past also intellectual core The Geneva drive, a device that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion, is also sometimes called a "Maltese cross mechanism" after the shape of its main gear. The Geneva drive or Maltese cross is a mechanism that translates a continuous Rotation into an intermittent rotary motion

It is considered one of the National symbols of Malta and used to be depicted on the two mils coin of the island prior to the removal of that denomination from circulation. A national symbol is a Symbol of any entity considering itself and manifesting itself to the world as a national community – namely sovereign states, but also Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The mill or mille (₥ (sometimes mil in the UK, when discussing Property taxes in the United States, or previously in Cyprus It is now shown on the back of the one and two Euro coins which Malta introduced in January 2008. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[1]

Similar crosses

Other crosses with spreading limbs are often mistakenly called "Maltese", especially the cross pattée. A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other dividing one or two of the lines in half A cross pattée (also known as a "cross pattee" "cross patty" or "cross formy" or in German "Tatzenkreuz" is a type of The Nestorian cross also is very similar to both of these. The cross of Saint Florian, used by firefighters is often confused with the Maltese cross; although it may have eight or more points, it also has large curved arcs between the points. Saint Florian ( Latin: Florianus) (died ca 304 is a Christian Saint, and the Patron saint of Poland; Linz Austria

Maltese crosses have been adapted for use in the cross of Saint Lazarus and as part of the flag of Wallis and Futuna. This article concerns the former religious catholic-founded secular order of knighthood The official Flag of Wallis and Futuna is the French national flag, as it is a French territory It has been the official badge (combined with an ellipsoid in the center) of the Delta Phi Fraternity since 1833. Delta Phi ( ΔΦ) is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady New York. The official symbol of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is the cross pattée, though the organization's founder thought it was a Maltese cross when the organization was formed in 1865. This article is about the student fraternity in the United States A cross pattée (also known as a "cross pattee" "cross patty" or "cross formy" or in German "Tatzenkreuz" is a type of A similar cross is also used by the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization.

Finally, the Maltese cross should not be mistaken for the George Cross, awarded to Malta by George VI of the United Kingdom in 1942, which is depicted on the flag of Malta. The George Cross ( GC) is the highest Civil decoration of the Commonwealth of Nations. The George Cross ( GC) is the highest Civil decoration of the Commonwealth of Nations. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. List of flags of Malta The Flag of Malta is a basic bi-colour with white in the hoist and red in the fly colours from the blazon of the arms of Malta

See also

• Order of Malta
• Order of Malta Ambulance Corps
• Royal Green Jackets

References

External links

• History of the Maltese cross
• History of the firefighters cross
• Simple method of sketching the cross neatly
• The Maltese Cross: A Cherished Symbol - Article