Loop square

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⌘

The looped square (⌘), also Tristramsknoten (for an alternative designation of similar Bowen node from the English heraldry ), colloquially propeller, cloverleaf or cauliflower is a mostly as a symbol used ornament as well as an available on computer systems Script .

In correspondence to terms in Nordic languages ​​(such as Danish johanneskors ) there is also the term Johannskreuz , which is said to go back to the use to mark St. John's Day in medieval calendars. In heraldry , however, this term denotes a fundamentally different figure (see St. John's Cross ).

In Unicode , the loop square is contained as U + 2318 place of interest sign ("landmark symbol ") in the block of various technical signs .

shape

The loop square consists of a lying square (i.e. one with a horizontal lower edge), the edges of which are extended equally far beyond the corner points and connected to the outside of each corner with a three-quarter circle without kinks. It can be drawn in one go; When used as an ornament, the course of the line is often visible by emphasizing the "later" drawn part of the line at the crossing points, while the direction of rotation of the loops is always the same.

use

ornament

The origin of the symbol in the European cultural area is probably its use as an ornament on art and everyday objects in the Finnish and Viking cultural area. In Sweden , the picture stone from Stora Havor ( Gotland ), created around AD 400–600, is an important find. One of the oldest examples from Finland is a pair of wooden skis that are around 1000 years old and decorated with this symbol .

It can be found on coins, for example, on the reverse of the Finnish five penny coin minted between 1963 and 1990 .

Outside of Europe, the ornament can be found, for example, on finds from the Mississippi culture , in which the symbol is usually formed from four, often three parallel lines.

A related ornament is the shield knot in its basic form. Here the loop edges are fitted into a circular outline.

heraldry

In English heraldry , the symbol is one of several different forms of representation of the Bowen knot . Outside the British area, the symbol, also rotated by 45 °, occasionally appears as a common figure in coats of arms, without a uniform name having become established.

A similar common figure is the window cabbage cross or cube knot cross . Here the "loops" are square instead of round.

There are no special names for other similar figures in heraldry, so they must be described in detail in the blazon . In individual cases, such variants, especially if they only contain straight lines, can be counted as house brands .

Notice signs

The symbol was first proposed by Finnish homestead associations in the early 1950s to mark cultural monuments and has been used as a road sign in the Scandinavian countries since the late 1960s to indicate historical sites or sights in general. In other countries, too, for example Germany, it is used on signs, especially for prehistoric and early historical sights.

Keyboard icon

The loop square has been used by the computer manufacturer Apple since 1984 in the computer menus of Macintosh computers and on their keyboards to identify the command key in order to achieve a clear assignment of keyboard commands and menu items using a special symbol. This use goes back to the designer Susan Kare who worked at Apple at the time . When Steve Jobs did not want the Apple logo to be used there because he feared that the logo would be devalued through inflationary use, the designer found the Swedish symbol for sights in an international symbol lexicon.

The loop square has been standardized as a keyboard symbol since 2012:

  • in IEC 60417 Graphical Symbols for use on Equipment as Symbol IEC 60417-6090 Operating System Key .
  • in Amendment 1 (2012) to ISO / IEC 9995 -7: 2009 Information technology - Keyboard layouts for text and office systems - Symbols used to represent functions as Symbol 99 Operating System Key . An operating system logo may be used in place of this symbol . The function of a key labeled in this way is also optional for the operating system. For example, the Windows key corresponds to this standard.

Web links

Commons : Loop Squares and Bowen Knots  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Picture Stone from Havor in Hablingbo . Länsmuseet på Gotland. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ Ilmar Talve : Suomen kansankulttuuri (= Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia. 514). 3., tarkistettu ja taydennetty painos. Seura, Helsinki 1990, ISBN 951-717-553-1 .
  3. ^ Department of Archeology: Ski-Fragment ( Finnish / English ) In: National Board of Antiquities . Finnish Museums Online. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  4. ^ A b C. Andrew Buchner: Cox Mound Gorget. The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture 2.0, January 1, 2010, accessed April 14, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Герб города Костомукши. www.kostomuksha-city.ru, 1993, accessed on April 14, 2013 (Russian): "Тотемный знак золотого цвета расположен в верхней части их вем части герба на воне. Это символ древней культуры края, в котором находится Костомукша, давшего начало экультуры края "Калеваларосу" Калевал.
  6. ↑ Household. Heraldry of the World, accessed on February 24, 2013 ( Description of the coat of arms : the red village symbol in gold in the form of four interwoven triangles. ).
  7. ↑ Christina Lingdén: Riksantikvarieämbetets symbol. Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish National Heritage Board), November 13, 2012, archived from the original on January 18, 2013 ; Retrieved May 26, 2013 (Swedish).
  8. ^ Working on the Macintosh. In: Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley. Stanford University February 20, 2001, archived from the original October 17, 2013 ; accessed on February 19, 2016 .
  9. ^ The Original Macintosh - Swedish Campground. www.folklore.org, accessed on February 24, 2013 .