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The Cross in Medieval Heraldry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2011

Extract

The multiplicity of terms used to blazon crosses and the diversity of manners in which they were depicted constitute one of the most confusing aspects of medieval heraldry. Sir William St. John Hope deplored this situation in the following terms:

As regards the cross, heraldic writers have gone mad, and from the few simple crosses of pre-Tudor days there have been evolved scores of fantastic forms for which it would be difficult to find instances outside the heraldry books. In the Glossary of Heraldry, published in 1847, upwards of fifty varieties are enumerated, and there are other modern works in which they exceed two hundred!

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1967

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