Heraldic Cross Designs Are Used Widely In The Regnas Jewellery Range

By Author: John Sanger
Total Articles: 10
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Crosses have always been one of the most dominant designs in men jewels. From cross pendants to custom cufflinks, you can see a host of patterns drawing inspiration from the ancient crosses. Here we bring for you a primer on the various types of crosses which would acquaint you with their history and significance.

Heraldic designs were created at a time when fighting men on a battlefield did not wear uniforms. In order to distinguish between friend and foe it was important for a warrior to know under which banner he fought and, indeed, the banners of the enemy. Heraldic crests were seen on both shields and amour as well as the standards and banners carried into battle.

During the first crusades there was one significant addition to the heraldic designs which was the addition of a cross. Many divisions of Christian armies would distinguish themselves by different designs and colours of crosses. Since then more than 1600 heraldic Cross designs have been documented.

The ...
... terminology for the crosses is both complicated and confusing. The Cross of St James is basically a Fleurie cross. It has the lower arm pointed so it could be driven firmly into the ground at times of prayer or used as a makeshift shrine to mark a fallen warrior.

The Fleurie Crosses are usually based on the lily as this is regarded by Christians as the symbol of chastity, innocence and purity but the fleur-de-lis cross shown here also alludes to the barbed ends of fighting spears.

Other Crosses are symbols that pre-date Christianity. One such is the Ankh Cross. This is a development of the Tau an ancient symbol that was later described in heraldry as Crux Commissa.

The Caduceus is a medical Cross. Because the snake sheds its skin revealing a new body it has become a symbol of rebirth. Asclepius (son of Apollo) a Greek deity associated with healing used the symbol of a staff with a snake wrapped around it. The staff represents authority and the snake rebirth. The Caduceus is similar with a staff and snakes and was the sign of the Greek god Hermes, the ancient symbol for Mercury and later was associated with the alchemists.

Though heraldry in Europe began under Henry I in 1127 there are signs that the Jerusalem Cross is one of the earliest examples of a European heraldic design as we can see it on the Bayeaux Tapestry on the banner of Count Eustace during the 1066 invasion of England. The Jerusalem Cross is often referred to as the Crusader’s Cross as it was on the Papal banner given to the crusaders by Pope Urban II in the Middle Ages.

The Cross of Lorraine is exactly the same as the Patriarchal Cross and in Spain is known as the Cruz de Lorena. The Patriarchal Cross is the heraldic emblem of an archbishop. It was used by the Knights Templar and was superimposed on the French flag to denote the Banner for Free French Forces in WWII.

The Rosy Cross happens to contain ancient occult phallic symbols; the rose representing female and the cross, male. It was created to honour a German nobleman and former monk named Christian Rosenkreuz (1378-1484). He considered that God could be experienced better through nature than a man elected by mankind, i.e. the Pope, and for 2 centuries the Fratres Rosea Crucis kept their sect secret. However in the 17thC France the intelligencia and educated population of the time discovered it and it became very popular in the times of Louis XIV. In the 18thC some Freemasons aligned themselves to Rosicrucianism and the Rosy cross was incorporated into their emblem.

All these and many other crosses or elements of them can be found in heraldic designs and their variety makes for a rich resource for our ring, men cufflinks and pendant designs. They are also to be found in the family crests we are asked to incorporate into custom designs. I have introduced you briefly to a few of them here and am grateful to http://www.seiyaku.com/customs/crosses/index-alpha.html for providing a well documented directory of crosses.

About Author

I have been working with The Regnas Collection of Jewelry for men for several years and I am excited by the work that we do. It is a passion for us and our designs often include ideas that we have picked up from our customers. We have a vibrant custom design and build section and to us the customer is king. Our English backgrounds leave us with a great deal of knowledge of heraldry and heraldic family crest designs and we incorporate many of them in our mens rings, signet rings and custom cuff links. The Regnas Collection continues to expand and we are introducing new lines all the time. We are able to source and supply a large variety of sterling silver cufflinks, custom made cufflinks, mens cufflinks, jade cufflinks, heraldic cufflinks, malachite cufflinks, engraved cufflinks, initial rings gold cufflinks, jade rings, custom engraved rings, signet rings, and others.

It is my pleasure to run the jewellerymen website and our vibrant facebook community. Tim Davies Director It and marketing The Regnas Collection http://www.jewellerymen.com/