Websites operated by both the German Order of Saint John ( Johanniterorden) and the British Venerable Order of St John associate the eight points with the Eight Beatitudes. Or alternatively the "eight obligations or aspirations" of the knights.
Such as representing the eight Langues of the Knights Hospitaller (Auvergne, Provence, France, Aragon, Castille and Portugal, Italy, Germany, and the British Isles). The eight points of the eight-pointed cross have been given a number of symbolic interpretations, The British colony of Queensland, Australia, adopted the Maltese cross as the state badge and on the flag in 1876 for reasons unknown, its use continuing through to statehood. Numerous other modern orders of merit have used the eight-pointed cross. John remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of the Order of Saint John and its allied orders, of the Venerable Order of Saint John, and of their various service organisations. The Maltese cross as defined by the constitution of the Order of St. Its depiction on the facade of San Giovannino dei Cavalieri dates to 1699. įrom the end of the 17th century, it is also occasionally displayed as alternative heraldic emblem of the order. It is shown on a copper coin dated 1693, minted under Grand Master Adrien de Wignacourt. The design appears again on coins minted in the late 17th to 18th centuries. In 1577, Alonso Sanchez Coello painted Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria as Grand Prior of the Order of Malta wearing the emblem on his robes. The fully modern design is found on a copper coin dated 1567, minted by Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette (r. The "Rhodian cross" of the early 16th century had almost, but not quite, achieved the "sharp arrowhead appearance". Įmergence of the sharp vertex of the modern "four-arrowhead" design is gradual, and takes place during the 15th to 16th century. In 1489, the statutes of the order require all knights of Malta to wear "the white cross with eight points". Įight-pointed crosses appear on coins minted by the Grand Masters of the order, first shown as a bolsini-type cross embroidered on the left arm of the robe of the kneeling Grand Master on the obverse of a coin minted under Foulques de Villaret (r. The association of the eight-pointed cross with the southern Italy coastal town of Amalfi may go back to the 11th century, as the design is allegedly found on coins minted by the Duchy of Amalfi at that time. This early form is a cross moline (ancrée) or cross branchée ending in eight points, not yet featuring the sharp vertex of the modern design. Occasional use of the modern form straight-edged "eight-pointed cross" by the order begins in the early 16th century. The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a plain Latin cross.
Fresco on the ceiling of the main corridor in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta ( Nicolau Nasoni 1724)