The
Christian cross emblem (
Latin cross or
Greek cross) was used from the 5th century, deriving from a
T-shape representing the
gibbet (
stauros,
crux) of the
crucifixion of Jesus in use from at least the 2nd century. The
globus cruciger and the
staurogram is used in Byzantine coins and seals during the
Heraclian period (6th century). Under the
Heraclian dynasty (7th century), coins also depict simply crosses
potent,
patty, or
pommy. The cross was used as a
field sign by the Christian troops during the
Crusades. In 1188, Kings
Henry II of England and
Philip II of France agreed to launch the
Third Crusade together, and that Henry would use a white cross and Philip a red cross. The red-on-white cross came to be used by the
Knights Templar, and the white-on-red one by the
Knights Hospitaller (also white-on-black); the
Teutonic Order used a black-on white version. Early cross or spiral-like shield decorations, not necessarily with Christian symbolism, are already found on depictions of shields of the 11th century.
Heraldry emerged in western Europe at the start of the 13th century out of earlier traditions. The basic variants of the red-on-white (termed the
Cross of Saint George) and the white-on-red crusaders' cross were continued independently in the
flags of various states in the 13th and 14th century, including the Duchy of
Genoa, the Electorate of
Trier, the Bishopric of
Constance and the Kingdoms of
England and
Georgia, which last two had special devotions to St George on one hand; and
Savoy, the
war flag of the
Holy Roman Empire and (possibly from the latter)
Switzerland and
Denmark on the other. The cross appears as heraldic charge in the oldest
rolls of arms, from about 1250. A roll of arms of the 13th century (the reign of
Henry III of England) lists the coats of arms of various noblemen distinguished by crosses of different tinctures: • (viz. red on gold); • (white on red): this is
attributed, Peter's funerary monument displays an
eagle on his shield; • (red on white).
Glover's Roll (
British Library Add MS 29796), a 16th-century copy of a roll of arms of the 1250s has depictions of various heraldic crosses, including the
or a cross gules of the
earl of Norfolk,
gules, a cross argent of
Peter of Savoy,
argent a cross gules of
Robert de Veer,
gules a cross flory vair of Guillaume de Forz, Comte d'Aumale,
gules a cross fleury argent of Guillaume Vescy,
gules a cross saltire engrele of Fulke de Escherdestone,
argent a cross fleury azure of
John Lexington,
azure three crosses or of William de Sarren,
or a cross gules, five scallops argent of Ralph Bigod,
gules a cross fourchy argent of Gilbert de Vale,
argent a cross fleury sable of John Lamplowe,
or a cross saltire gules, a chief gules of
Robert de Brus,
gules a cross saltire argent of
Robert de Neville,
or a cross voided gules of Hamond (Robert) de Crevecoeur, and
azure a cross or, four lions rampant or of Baudouin Dakeney. In addition, the Glover Roll has
semy of crosses crosslet as a tincture in several coats of arms. The desire to distinguish one's coat of arms from others led to a period of substantial innovation in producing variants of the basic Christian cross by the early 14th century (in England, the reign of
Edward II). The great number of variants of crosses, and the deep history of such variants (going back to the 14th century or earlier) results in confusing and often contradictory terminology. In the
heraldry of the Holy Roman Empire, the cross is comparatively rare in the coats of arms of noble families, presumably because the plain heraldic cross was seen as an
imperial symbol (for the same reason, the eagle was rarely used as a charge because it
represented the empire), but in the 14th century the plain cross is used in the seals and flags of several
prince-bishoprics, including
Trier,
Constance and
Cologne. Looking back on the Crusades as the foundational period of knighthood, the badge of the cross became strongly associated with the idealized Christian
knight of romance, as expressed by Spenser (
Faerie Queene book 1, canto 1): The black-on-white cross worn by the
Teutonic Knights was granted by
Innocent III in 1205. The coat of arms representing the grand master (
Deutschmeisterwappen) is shown with a golden
cross fleury or
cross potent superimposed on the black cross, with the
imperial eagle as a central inescutcheon. The golden cross fleury overlaid on the black cross becomes widely used in the 15th century. A legendary account attributes its introduction to
Louis IX of France, who on 20 August 1250 granted the master of the order this cross as a variation of the
Jerusalem cross, with the
fleur-de-lis symbol attached to each arm. While this legendary account cannot be traced back further than the early modern period (Christoph Hartknoch, 1684) there is some evidence that the design does indeed date to the mid 13th century. The black cross patty was later used for military decoration and insignia by the
Kingdom of Prussia and gave rise to the cross patty in the German
Reichskriegsflagge and the
Iron Cross and
Pour le Mérite orders. The
Nordic cross is an 18th-century innovation derived from cross flags adapted as swallow-tailed (or triple-tailed)
pennons used as
civil ensigns; the first official introduction of such a flag was in a regulation of 11 June 1748 describing the Danish civil ensign (
Koffardiflaget) for merchant ships. The Danish design was adopted for the flags of
Norway (civil ensign 1821) and
Sweden (1906), both derived from a common ensign used during the
Union between Sweden and Norway 1818–1844,
Iceland (1915) and
Finland (1917). ==Ordinary cross==