Cross crescenty (Period)

The “cross crescenty” was termed un croix à croissants in period French blazons.  It’s found in the arms of Tadyngton, c.1445 [DBA3 128].

Gregor of nan Crioch Tuatha bears:  Gules, a cross crescenty quarterly Or and argent.

Celestria of Celtenhomme bears as a badge:  Purpure, a cross crescenty argent.

Cross couped (Period)

The “cross couped”, technically speaking, is simply a cross with its ends cut, so that it is not throughout; but it’s conventionally rendered with arms of equal length (cf. the discussion on the cross humetty).  The usage is found as early as c.1255, in the arms of Sarren [ANA2 349].  The cross couped in the illustration, with arms as wide as they are long, may also be called a “Greek cross”.  Note that the use of a red cross couped on a white background, by itself or in combination with other motifs, has been restricted due to its use as the symbol of the International Red Cross, which is protected by mundane international law.

Edward FitzRanulf bears:  Quarterly Or and gules, four crosses couped counterchanged.

Brant Marcksson bears:  Per bend sinister argent and vair, in dexter chief a cross couped vert.

Coptic cross (Accepted)

The “Coptic cross” is a motif found in Christian art in Ethiopia and Egypt.  The term has been applied in modern times to several cross motifs; the illustrated form is the one accepted for Society use.  It has not been found in mundane heraldry.

Stephen of Bellamy bears:  Argent, a Coptic cross sable within a bordure embattled gules.

Cionaodh na Cairrce mac Cosgraigh bears:  Gules, a Coptic cross throughout, a bordure argent.

Passchyer Bisscop bears:  Argent, a Coptic cross purpure.

Cross clechy (Period)

The “cross clechy” was originally a variant form of the crosses formy and patonce:  it was blazoned a crux florida patens in the Boke of St. Albans, 1485, and used in the arms of da Lisson, mid-15^th Century [Triv 201].  Modern heraldry texts sometimes blazon it as a “cross urdy”; in Society blazonry, the latter term is reserved for the cross as an ordinary with a complex line of division.

Teleri Tawel bears:  Sable, in chief three crosses clechy Or.

Antonio Giovanni Pecoraro bears:  Per pale and per chevron argent and azure, three crosses clechy counterchanged.

Cross of Cerdaña (Disallowed)

The “cross of Cerdaña” is a Society invention; it’s essentially a square set on one corner, with a semi-circular notch in each side.  This cross has been disallowed for Society use.

Rodrigo de Cerdaña bears:  Or, a cross of Cerdaña gules, a chief embattled arrondi azure.

Celtic cross (Accepted)

Equal-armed Celtic cross (Accepted)

The “Celtic cross” is found in Irish stone sculptures, dating from the 5^th Century; it’s characterized by a thin annulet conjoined to the limbs, which are broad and either straight or slightly tapered, extending beyond the annulet.  The most common form of Celtic cross in the Society is Latinate, with an elongated lower limb, but an equal-armed variant is also found.  These remain registerable as “Celtic crosses”.

In the past, the Society has also registered an “equal-armed Celtic cross” that was effectively a cross potent surmounted by an annulet; this form mimics a cross found in period heraldry, the arms of Cardinal St. Marie, 1413 [Conz.Const. lxxi], but with the annulet interlacing the cross potent.  The latter remains registerable, but now is blazoned explicitly as a “cross potent interlaced with an annulet” and treated as two charges.  The heraldic difference between all these forms of Celtic cross is negligible.

Celtic crosses made by adding an annulet to another type of cross (e.g., a “Celtic cross moline”) are considered a step from period practice as of this writing.  Modern depictions of the Celtic cross, where the annulet and cross are thin lines of equal width (like a gunsight) are not permitted.

Siobhan an Lochllanach bears:  Sable, a Celtic cross argent atop a mount Or.

Etain ingen Ghilla Phatraic bears:  Or, a Celtic cross per pale purpure and vert.

Morgana Swansdottir bears:  Or, a Celtic cross equal armed, quarterly pierced and throughout vert.

Seamus Albanach Mac Roibeirt bears:  Bendy sinister sable and argent, an equal-armed Celtic cross gules.

Cross of Canterbury (Accepted)

The “cross of Canterbury” was first found as a piece of jewelry, dating from the 8^th or 9^th Century, excavated in 1867 in St. George’s Street, Canterbury (and now in the Royal Museum).  The design was later carved into the wall of Canterbury Cathedral (SW Transept).  It is the symbol of that religious house.

Sebastian de Grey bears:  Purpure, an owl close affronty and on a chief argent three crosses of Canterbury purpure.

Ginevra Isabella di Serafino Visconti bears as a badge:  A Canterbury cross argent.

Cross of Calvary (Period)

The “cross of Calvary” is a Latin cross mounted on a stepped pedestal; there are three steps (called “grieces” or “degrees”) by default.  If more than three grieces are used, they must be explicitly numbered.  The cross of Calvary is shown in rolls temp. Edward I, as the attributed canting arms of the King of Greece [ANA2 320].  In later period, other cross variants besides Latin crosses were shown atop grieces:  Society heralds would blazon these as a “[variant] cross Calvary.”  Thus Brytton, c.1460, bore what we would blazon a “Patriarchal cross Calvary” [RH]; Gloch, 1605, bore a “Tau cross potent Calvary” [Siebmacher 62]; while Iones, 1610, bore a “cross crosslet Calvary” [Guillim1 212].

Arthur of Ballonesmore bears:  Per bend sinister purpure and argent, two crosses of Calvary and a bordure counterchanged.

Cross of Calatrava (Period)

The “cross of Calatrava” is also called the “cross of Aviz”; it was the insignia of the Knights of Calatrava, an Iberian order founded in 1158 [Spada’s Onori e Glorie: Sovrano Militare Ordine, p.59].  It was originally a highly ornamental form of the cross flory.

The King of Calontir bears:  Purpure, a cross of Calatrava, in chief a crown within in bordure a laurel wreath Or.

Costança Daguiar bears:  Argent, a cross of Calatrava and a double tressure azure.

Aethelwine Aethelredson bears:  Paly of four sable and Or, a cross of Calatrava counterchanged.