Paw cross
A paw cross , also known as a Templar and cannon cross , is a Greek cross with equal arms and widening bar ends. The names Mantuan cross and rounded cross are also used.
Naming and variants
The name paw cross generally refers to the thickening at the ends of the bars. Templar cross refers to the Templar order . The original old consecration cross ( apostles cross, papal cross, crux signata ) 
is nimbed . The name cannon or mantua cross comes from the Austrian army cross of 1813/14 and the reference to the Tyrolean freedom struggle of 1809/10 against Napoleon .
The straight-armed paw cross differs from the actual shape of the paw cross with curved outer lines of the cross arms 
.
The Maltese cross or Johanniterkreuz, 
in turn, is a modification of this cross shape and has notches at the ends of the cross bars. The distinct shapes are similar to the paw cross 
, the naming of the representation then primarily relates to the origin and meaning of the cross.
Furthermore, the paw cross can be found in a wide variety of modified forms, including in coats of arms , flags , on rune stones and medals . If it tapers to a point on the lower arm, it is called a nail-tip cross and is a form of the cross . A square in the middle of the cross turns it into a squared paw cross . If tips are attached in the middle of the arm ends, it is called a nail-tip paw cross .
Many dioceses and abbeys have the paw cross in different tinctures (colors) in their coats of arms.
use
The Tatzenkreuz was the coat of arms in red on a white background Knights Templar and found himself (also called Baucent or Beauceant) on the black and white flag Templars. Originally the red cross on a white background was reserved for the crusaders alone. The patron saint of the Templar Order at the time of its founding, Bernhard von Clairvaux , obtained the right from the Pope for the Templars to also wear the Crusader Cross, arguing that this order was in a permanent crusade .
The other form of the paw cross used by the Teutonic Order , with straight arms that are only widened at the outer end, is also known as the paw cross . Its colors were black on a white background.
The Iron Cross and the national emblem of the Bundeswehr also have the shape of a paw cross, but are generally not referred to as such. The Austro-Hungarian aviation troops also used a paw cross, which had been in use in the Austrian monarchy since the Napoleonic Wars, from 1915 to 1918 as a sovereign symbol for their aircraft.
Wallis and Futuna sometimes had a paw cross in their flag and coat of arms, and it is also used in the Hinterstoder coat of arms .
The paw cross is also known as the Hanseatic Cross and is usually found in red in logos and coats of arms:
- in the logo of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People
- in the flag of the former shipping company Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa"
- in the former city arms of Bremen-Vegesack and in Bremerhaven
- as the sailing symbol of the Hansa dinghy
- in the ship class specification of Germanischer Lloyd
- in the coat of arms of the Hanseatic city of Stralsund
Logo of the Bundeswehr
Hanseatic Cross of the DGzRS
Paw cross of the Knights Templar
Stralsund coat of arms
Flag of the shipping company "Hansa"
Characters
In Unicode is in block Dingbats as U + 2720 maltese cross one character whose code tables used in the glyph , however, actually represents a Tatzenkreuz.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ A cannon cross veteran. †. In: Badener Bezirks-Blatt , February 18, 1882, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ here in the coat of arms of Lungern OW
- ↑ Code Tables - Dingbats. (PDF; 238 kB) Unicode Consortium, accessed on August 2, 2012 .
