Arcadia Discussion Zone

I'm interested in any comments
this symbol has come up in my travels
This cross is often associated with Crusaders or the Crusades. The heraldic cross pattée was sometimes used by a Crusader order, the Teutonic Knights
It sometimes considered a Templar cross

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,[1] 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

Royalty wears it
Queen of England crown


http://arkphagrandlodge.com/ktholybible.htm

In the Chronicles of the Crusaders, it states that the Comte de Jaffa, cousin to the Lord Montbeliard and the house of Joinville had a large gallery ship painted with escutcheons bearing his arms, which were or (gold) cross patée. His galley had at least three hundred rowers. Each shield was attached with a pennon (flag) with the same arms worked in gold (Joinville, 203). The multiple flags made quite a display as the ship was rowed into port, as the breeze rippled them in mass. This event was witnessed in 1249, while the ship was landing in Egypt.

This sighting was made by Jean de Joinville and was recorded in his journal: "The Life of Saint Louis." Jean de Joinville was born berween 1224 and 1225, and was the second son of a nobleman of Champayne, France. Joinville took the cross in 1246, which was the Seventh Crusade led by Louis of France.

the reason I bring this up is in the land of the Acadiens (Cajuns)

on the corners is the cross patee with four equilateral triangles
http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/crosspatee.html

The author of the first history of Prussian Poland asserts in his manuscripts that the first ancestor of the Dabrowa clan was a foreign knight. This knight participated in the Crusade begun by Pope Urban II. Christian armies were called (in 1096), to recover Jerusalem, and with it the grave of Christ, from the Turks. The Christian army would be composed of both knights and peasants.

Godfrey of Boullion, France, would lead one of the armies to the Holy Lands, as would his two brothers. Godfrey sent a courier to King Boleslaw Krzywousty (meaning "Wry" or Crooked Mouth") (1086-1138), of Poland, to ask for free passage through his kingdom to Novogrod. From Novogrod, they would travel south on the Volga River to the Sea of Azo and the Black Sea.

When this early ancestor of the Clan Dabrowa distinguished himself by his courage at Jerusalem, Godfrey de Bouillon, was King of Jerusalem. This gallant foreign knight had bestowed on him, via Godfrey Bouillon, a new coat of arms. The coat of arms was a rendition of Calvary Hill (Golgotha). Golgotha was the hill upon which Our Lord Jesus Christ's was crucified with two thieves. The new arms would bear three crosses patée, in the center; and one cross patée fitched on each side of the middle cross. These crosses were called "Dabrowa," in Polish.

After this knight returned from Palestine, he took the same path through Poland. He was fond of the scenery so he settled in Poland and his descendants still exist there today (The History of Prussian Poland by Posselii, stored in the Collection of Premisl. S. I, folio 56.)

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/DabrowskiClans.html

Templar cross

Templar Cross.—This Cross is formed of four equilateral triangles joined at the apices, and is called the Cross patée. It is the insignia of the officers of a Grand Commandery.

It is insisted upon by learned antiquarians that this is the Red Cross of the Order which the ancient Templars wore. That Cross is described as of "equal limbs, somewhat wider and somewhat concave at the ends, heraldically called patée." The "Ancient Red," here given, illustrates that Cross, and the author of this Monitor is inclined to accept it in preference to the form adopted by the Grand Encampment of the United States. This Cross was given the Templars by Pope Eugenius, and some think the Cross he gave them had its lower limb longer than the others, as in the Passion Cross.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/shib/shib15.htm

this is Ninurata of the Summerians
he wears the cross

Pope Innocent III in 1199 banned unauthorized versions of the Bible as a reaction to the Cathar and Waldensian heresies. The synods of Toulouse and Tarragona (1234) outlawed possession of such renderings. There is evidence of some vernacular translations being permitted while others were being scrutinized.

The complete Bible was translated into Old French in the late 13th century. Parts of this translation were included in editions of the popular Bible historiale, and there is no evidence of this translation being suppressed by the Church.[8]

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries demand for vernacular translations came from groups outside the Roman Catholic Church such as the Waldensians, Paterines, and Cathars. This was probably related to the increased urbanization of the twelfth-century, as well as increased literacy among educated urban populations.

In the thirteenth century vernacular languages began to gain this prestige. Pope Gregory IX prohibited translations in 1229 at a synod in Toulouse, and Innocent III's letter was incorporated into Gregory's Decretals

Its the Cathars who translate the bible and perhaps this is their greatest sin

The thirteenth-century chronicler Alberic of Trois Fontaines does say that translations were burned in Metz in 1200, and Deanesly understood this to mean it was ordered by Innocent in his letters from the previous year, but Boyle pointed out that nowhere in the letters did Innocent actually prohibit the translations.

He didn't prohibit it...he just burned them

Germany saw the burning too
Deanesly thought that Bible translations were easier to produce in Germany, where the decentralized nature of the Empire allowed for greater religious freedom. However, these translations were seized and burned by inquisitors whenever they were found.[14] Altogether there are 13 medieval German translations before the Luther Bible

Crusade started with the Cathars

Were there Albigensis knight serving in the Crusades?
there appear to be
Joinville talks of one

Once when they flung it at us, it fell close beside the tortoise-tower that my Lord of Courtenay's men were guarding, and buried itself in the river bank. And presently comes a knight, named " the Albigensis," and: "Sir," says he to me, "unless you help us, we are all burnt; for the Saracens have let fly so many of their fire-darts, that it is just like a great hedge all ablaze bearing down on our turret." We jumped up, and hurried to the spot, and found that he had spoken the truth. We put out the fire, and before we had got it under, we were covered from head to foot with the fire-darts that the Saracens shot across the river.
it seems the Templars and other knights fought with this knight

Something in Sir Walter Scots novel Ivanhoe makes one wonder did the Crusaders use some of these rituals

A Cross and Crown laid upon the Cross pattée inscribed with "In Hoc Signo Vinces" resting upon downward pointing crossed swords in saltire is often used in to represent the Knights Templar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar_%28Freemasonry%29

So Saint Martin of Tours is in line with the Freemason symbol





and the church bears the Cross Pattee of the Knights Templar Freemasonry

Order is The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, and it is an international philanthropic chivalric order affiliated with Freemasonry. The word "United" in this title indicates that more than one historical tradition and more than one actual Order are jointly controlled within this system. The individual Orders 'united' within this system are principally the Knights of the Temple (Knights Templar), and the Knights of Malta, together with the Knights of St Paul. Within the York Rite system a fourth constituent element is the Order of the Red Cross.

The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite, and the only one not to deal with the Hiramic Legend. Unlike other Masonic bodies, which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious affiliation, membership of the Knights Templar is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in the Christian religion. They must have completed their Royal Arch (and in some jurisdictions also their Cryptic) degrees.[1]

This body is modeled on the historical Knights Templar and hopes to carry on the spirit of their organization. Throughout history it has been claimed that Freemasonry itself was founded by the Knights Templar or that the Knights Templar took refuge in Freemasonry after their persecution. The Grand Encampment of the United States acknowledges the existence of these theories, but states that there is no proof to justify such claims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar_%28Freemasonry%29

The Royal Arch is one of the symbols used in the Priory of Sion


The original medieval Order of Knights Templar was established after the First Crusade, and existed from approximately 1118 to 1312. There is no known historical evidence to link the medieval Knights Templar and Masonic Templarism, nor do the Masonic Knights Templar organizations claim any such direct link to the original medieval Templar organization.[3] Though it has been said that its affiliation with Masonry is based on texts that indicate persecuted Templars found refuge within the safety of Freemasonry, the order itself states that "there is no proof of direct connection between the ancient order and the modern order known today as the Knights Templar."[4] The official motto of the Knights Templar is In Hoc Signo Vinces, the rendition in Latin of the Greek phrase "εν τούτῳ νίκα", en toutōi nika, meaning "in this [sign] you will conquer".

The Degree of the Knight of Malta
This degree is universally associated with the Masonic Knights Templar. In the York Rite system it is conferred before the Templar Degree; in the 'stand-alone' tradition it is conferred subsequently to the Templar Degree. It is known by varying degrees of formality as the Order of Malta, or the Order of Knights of Malta, or the Ancient and Masonic Order of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes, and Malta. In practice this last and fullest version of the name tends to be reserved to letterheads, rituals, and formal documents.

Maltese Cross


The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross
Unique to the York Rite, the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross continues or reverts to the period of the Royal Arch Degree when the Israelites were returning from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Zerubbabel, their leader prevails upon King Darius to restore the Holy Vessels to the new Temple. They had been carried away by the Babylonian armies when the first Temple was destroyed. In presenting his plea before the King, the companion gives a powerful testimony to the almighty force of Truth.

Interesting stuff. The German Iron cross which originated in Prussia also has this kind of general shape.

And was specifically designed to reference the earlier Teutonic Knights.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

"De Laude Novae Militiae," addressed to Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master and Prior of Jerusalem (1129). This is a eulogy of the military order instituted in 1118, and an exhortation to the knights to conduct themselves with courage in their several stations.