Maltese cross

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For the flower, see Lychnis chalcedonica. For the mechanism, see Geneva drive.

The Maltese cross is identified as the symbol of Christian warriors. The cross is eight-pointed and has the shape of four "V" shaped arms joined together at their bases, so that each arm has two points. Its design is based on crosses used since the First Crusade. The eight points are said to symbolise the chivalric virtues:

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. 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.

Image:Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps Badges.jpg

Image:Bermuda Regiment Cap Badge.jpg

In Great Britain, 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 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 also forms the basis for the design of the Order of the Bath. The Maltese cross is also the symbol of Neath Rugby Football Club in Neath, Wales.

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. 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.

It is considered as 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. It has been proposed that the symbol will be shown on the Euro coins which Malta is expected to introduce beginning in 2008.<ref>Maltese choose cross for euro coin. cathnews (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.</ref>

A Maltese cross (with an elliptical orb in the center) has been the official badge of the Delta Phi fraternity since 1833.

[edit] Similar crosses

Other crosses with spreading limbs are often mistakenly called "Maltese", especially the cross pattée.

Such crosses appear as the Victoria Cross and on the flag of Wallis and Futuna. 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. Similar crosses are also used by some Fire Services in the United States, as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars.