Cross of Lorraine? |
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Cross of LorraineThe Cross of Lorraine is a heraldic cross. It consists of a vertical line, crossed by two smaller horizontal bars. The lower bar is as close to the bottom of the vertical as the upper bar is to the top. In the ancient version, both bars were of the same length. In 20th century use, the lower bar is longer than the upper, thus resembling a patriarchal cross, the crossbars of which, however, are both near the top.
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Symbol in France
The Cross of Lorraine is part of the heraldric arms of Lorraine in eastern France. It was originally the symbol of Joan of Arc, renowned for her perseverance against foreign invaders of France (in her case, the English). Between 1871 and 1918 (and again between 1940a href="1944.html" title="1944">1944), Lorraine was annexed to Germany, along with Alsace. During that period the cross served as a rallying point for French ambitions to recover its lost provinces. This historical significance lent it considerable weight as a symbol of French patriotism.
During World War II, the cross was adopted as the official symbol of the Free French Forces (French: Forces Françaises Libres, or FFL) under Charles de Gaulle.
The capitaine de corvette Thierry d'Argenlieu suggested to adopt the Cross of Lorraine as symbol of the Free French, both to recall the perseverance of Joan of Arc, whose it had been the symbol, and as an answer to the Hakenkreuz.
In his general order n° 2 of the 3 July 1940, vice-admiral Émile Muselier, since two days chief of the naval and air forces of the Free French, created the bow flag displaying the French colours with a red cross of Lorraine, and a cocarde also featuring the cross of Lorraine.
Appropriately, de Gaulle is memorialised by a gigantic 43m-high Cross of Lorraine at his home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises.
The cross was also carried on the fuselages of aircraft flying on behalf of the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL) from 1940 to 1943 to distinguish them from the aircraft of the Vichy French air force, which continued to sport the traditional French air force (Armée de l'Air) roundels, dating from World War I.
The Cross of Lorraine was later adopted by Gaullist movements such as the Rally for the Republic.
The French frigate Aconit, named after the corvette Aconit of the Free French Forces, flies the Cross of Lorraine on her unit flagOther uses
The flag of Slovakia and the Slovak coat of arms both include the cross of Lorraine. In Slovakia, the cross of Lorraine as a symbol of Lorraine is considered to have arisen when the Great Moravian King Svätopluk "passed" it to Zwentibold of Lorraine, the godchild of Svätopluk and son of the emperor Arnulf of Carinthia.
The Hungarian coat of arms also depicts a double cross, which is often attributed to Byzantine influence on Pannonia and Great Moravia, early precursors to present-day Hungary and Slovakia.
The double cross is one of the national symbols in Belarus. The Belarusian version of the cross symbolises the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polatsk, an important religious artefact. The symbol is supposed to have Byzantine roots and is used by the Belarusian Uniate church as a symbol uniting Orthodox and Catholic traditions. The Belarusian Cross can be found on the traditional coat of arms of Belarus - the Pahonia
A similar cross is used as an emblem by the American Lung Association and as such is familiar from their Christmas Seals program. One explanation of this use of the symbol is that it was adopted during World War I on account of the victims of poison gas warfare in eastern France.
Miscellaneous
The "Cross of Lorraine" symbol appears in Unicode as U+2628 (☨).
The Tape de bouche of the Rubis features the Cross of Lorraine in honour of the Free French eponymous submarine.See also
- Kotwica, the symbol of the Polish Secret State