A
cross pattée (also known as a "cross pattee", "cross patty", "cross formée" or "cross formy" or in
German "Tatzenkreuz") is a type of
cross that has arms which are narrow at the center, and broader at the perimeter. The name comes from the fact that the shape of each arm of the cross was thought to resemble a paw (French
patte). Here are several variants of the cross pattée:
Image:Cross-Pattee-Heraldry.svg|With the edges of the arms concave throughout; the "Iron Cross", as generally used on Luftstreitkräfte aircraft in 1915
Image:Cross-Pattee-alternate3.svg|With less curvature, used on Luftstreitkräfte aircraft into April 1918, and the basis for the similar cross by the Bundeswehr of modern Germany
Image:Cross-Pattee-Alisee.svg|With the ends of the arms convex and curved; sometimes called "Alisee" (French croix pattée alésée arrondie)
Image:Cross-Pattee-alternate2.png|With triangular arms which come close to filling the square
Image:Cross-Not-Pattee-Not-Maltese.png|With triangular arms that do not fill the square (sometimes not called
pattée but a variant of the
Maltese cross; See also variation of the
St George's cross)
Image:Cross-Pattee-alternate.svg|With straight parallel lines at the center (considered
pattée by
Rudolf Koch in
Book of Signs)
Crusades
This cross is often associated with Crusaders or the
Crusades. The heraldic cross pattée was sometimes used by a Crusader order, the
Teutonic Knights (though their more usual emblem was a plain straight black cross on white), and later became associated with
Prussia and the 1871-1918
German empire. It continued to be used by the German military after 1918. A version of the
Iron Cross is used to date by the German army (
Bundeswehr) as its symbol and nationality marking and found on vehicles, aircraft and publications.
The cross pattée is also sometimes associated with another Crusader order, the
Knights Templar, though as with the Teutonic Knights, it was not used consistently. The Templars did adopt a red cross on their white robes in 1147, but there was no specific style designated, and different Templars used different versions of the cross. The pattée was by no means their official symbol. However, some modern Freemason organizations do use the pattée in an official way, and this use occasionally causes confusion as to which version was used by the medieval order of Knights Templar.
Other uses
The cross pattée is also placed before the name of the bishop who issues a Catholic
imprimatur, is occasionally found as a map symbol indicating the location of a Christian site, and is the logo of the "
Independent" skate clothing line (in the "alisee" form, with the ends of the arms in the shape of arcs of an enclosing circle). It is also associated with the
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. It is also the logo of the
Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps.
Derivatives of the Cross Pattee are popular amongst
bikers,
hot rodders and fans of air-cooled Volkswagens. Schneider cams, a speed equipment manufacturer, used an iron cross as their logo.
The Cross Pattee is strongly associated to a soccer team of Brazil,named Vasco da Gama.
Typefaces
The character "X" is rendered as a cross pattee in the Microsoft
Wingdings font.
Unicode defines:
- the "Maltese Cross" in the Dingbats range at codepoint U+2720.
See also
