A two-barred cross is similar to a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

but with an extra bar added. The lengths and placement of the bars (or "arms") vary, and most of the variations are interchangeably called the

cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (french: Croix de Lorraine, link=no), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizon ...

, the patriarchal cross, the Orthodox cross or the

archiepiscopal cross An archiepiscopal cross (archbishop's cross) is a two-barred cross used by or to signify or dignify an archbishop. Similar to the patriarchal cross The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christian ...

The two bars

The two bars can be placed tight together (condensed) or far apart. They can be symmetrically spaced either around the middle, or above or below the middle. One

asymmetrical Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...

variation has one bar near the top and the other just below the middle. Finally the bars can be of equal length, or with one shorter than the other.

Decorations

The ends of the arms can be decorated according to different styles. A style with round or rounded ends is called treflée or botonée (from French bouton) in heraldic use. The same style is called budded, apostles' or cathedral cross in religious use. A straight and pointy style called pattée also includes

maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

variations, and finally a pointed style called aiguisé.

Heraldic use

Coa Hungary Country History Bela III (1172-1196)

The crosses appear in

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

use in the second century A.D. A balanced cross is used in the

Coat of arms of Hungary The coat of arms of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország címere) was adopted on 3 July 1990, after the end of communist rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary, sometimes as part of a larger, more comp ...

as well as in several small shields within shields of Vytis. An outlined balanced cross (equal length outlined bars on equal distances) is used on

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

s and

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s In

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

, the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

, the

and several municipal symbols include a double cross, where graded bars are more common than equally long bars, and balanced distances along the vertical line are more common. The two-barred cross was also, since around the year 1140, used in Kopnik, Branibor (currently Berlin, Brandenburg) as seen on one of the five emissions of the silver bracteate of Iakša (Jaxa), a Christian state, fief of Poland ( archbishops of Gniezno), coined until its invasion and destruction by Germanic " Wendish Crusade" of 1147.

In print

In typography the double cross (U+2021 ‡) is called double dagger, double obelisk and diesis.

In medicine and botany

The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease has used a red two-barred cross as its logo since 1920, following a proposal at the 1902 Berlin International Conference on Tuberculosis. The two equally long bars are on the upper half of the cross and all six ends are aiguisé. A similar but blue two-barred cross is used as the logo of the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History The organization was founded in 1904 to figh ...

. In

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

a balanced cross (equal length bars on equal distances) is used to mark very poisonous plants

In chess

A two-barred cross is used to symbolize

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

Gallery

File:Coa_Illustration_Cross_Patriarchal.svg, Patriarchal cross File:Coa_Illustration_Croix_de_Lorrianne_3.svg,

Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (french: Croix de Lorraine, link=no), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizon ...

File:Coa_Illustration_Cross_Russian.svg, Orthodox cross File:Archbishop_symbol.png,

Archiepiscopal cross An archiepiscopal cross (archbishop's cross) is a two-barred cross used by or to signify or dignify an archbishop. Similar to the patriarchal cross The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christian ...

File:Coa_Illustration_Cross_Double_Obelisk.svg, Double obelisk

References

{{reflist Cross symbols Crosses in heraldry