The Bowen knot (also known as the heraldic knot in symbolism) is not a true
knot
A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
, but is rather a
heraldic knot
A heraldic knot (referred to in heraldry as simply a knot) is a knot, unknot, or design incorporating a knot used in European heraldry. While a given knot can be used on more than one family's achievement of arms, the family on whose coat the k ...
, sometimes used as a
heraldic charge
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an '' escutcheon'' (shield). That may be a geometric design (sometimes called an '' ordinary'') or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object, building, or ...
. It is named after the
Welshman ''James Bowen'' (died 1629)
[Francis Jones: ''Bowen of Pentre Ifan and Llwyngwair'', in: ''The Pembrokeshire historian journal of the Pembrokeshire Local History Society'', No. 6 (1979), p. 40, onlin]
here
on the '' National Library of Wales'' website: "James Bowen ... died at Llwyngwair on 22 October 1629 ... The main escutcheon borne on the melancholy occasion showed in the first and fourth quarters, azure a lion rampant or within an orle of roses or, in the second quarter gules a chevron or between three ''true-love knots'' or, and in the third quarter, azure a bird standing argent." (emphasis added) and is also called ''true lover's knot''.
It consists of a rope in the form of a continuous loop laid out as an upright square shape with loops at each of the four corners. Since the rope is not actually knotted, it would in
topological
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...
terms be considered an
unknot
In the mathematical theory of knots, the unknot, not knot, or trivial knot, is the least knotted of all knots. Intuitively, the unknot is a closed loop of rope without a knot tied into it, unknotted. To a knot theorist, an unknot is any embe ...
.
In Norwegian heraldry a Bowen knot is called a ''valknute'' (
valknut
The valknut is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles. It appears on a variety of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic peoples. The term ''valknut'' is a modern development; it is not known what term or term ...
) and the municipal coat of arms of
Lødingen
Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipali ...
from 1984 has a ''femsløyfet valknute'' which means a Bowen knot with five loops.
An angular Bowen knot is such a knot with no rounded sides, so that it appears to be made of five squares. A Bowen knot with lozenge-shaped loops is called a bendwise Bowen knot or a Bowen cross.
The
Dacre,
Hungerford
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
,
Lacy, Shakespeare, and Tristram knots are all considered variations of the Bowen knot, and are sometimes
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ed as such.
The Bowen knot resembles the symbol ⌘ (
looped square
The looped square (⌘), also known as Saint John's Arms, Saint Hannes cross (related to Swedish ''sankthanskors'', Danish ''johanneskors'', and Finnish ''hannunvaakuna''), and as the command-key symbol due to its use on the command key on App ...
), which is used on
Apple Keyboards as the symbol of the
Command key
The Command key (sometimes abbreviated as Cmd key), , formerly also known as the Apple key or open Apple key, is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard commands in applicati ...
. However, the origin of this use is not related to the use of the Bowen knot 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 ...
designs.
File:Bowen-knot-Hugh-Clark-Introduction-to-Heraldry-1827-vol2-table3-fig7.png, Bowen knot in a book from 1827
File:Coa Illustration Cross Bowen 3.svg, Angular Bowen knot
File:Coa Illustration Cross Bowen 2a.svg, Bowen cross
File:Lødingen komm.svg, Arms of the Norwegian municipality Lødingen
File:Shield Knot (basic form).svg, Schildknoten
File:Kostomuksha Coat of Arms.svg, Totem sign as a symbol of the ancient culture of the region in the coat of arms of Kostomuksha
Kostomuksha (russian: Костому́кша; krl, Koštamuš; fi, Kostamus; vep, Kostamukš) is a town in the northwest of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located from the border with Finland, on the shore of Lake Kontoki. Population:
Ge ...
city
File:Croix-macles on Iberian escutcheon.svg, Fensterrautenkreuz
File:Coa Germany Town Hausgereut.svg, Coat of arms from Hausgereut (Rheinau Rheinau may refer to:
*Rheinau, Switzerland, a town in the canton of Zürich
*Rheinau Abbey, in Rheinau, Switzerland
*Rheinau (Baden), a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
*a part of Mannheim, Germany
{{geodis ...
, Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
):[ Wappenbeschreibung: ''In Gold das rote Dorfzeichen in Form von vier miteinander verflochtenen Dreiecken.''] Hausmarke with triangles instead of loops
References
Sources
*
Heraldic Templates — Knots
{{Knots
Heraldic knots
Visual motifs