So I was testing out my new GPS unit on the way home from work today and lookie what I discovered... The I-75 and I-696 interchange ramps make a maltese cross! Haha.
The Maltese cross is made of two intersecting unicursal hexagrams. Kinda. Regardless, it is much more pointed. The cross most identified as "Maltese," such as the one you see in the highway clover design, is really a "Cross Formée." That's pronounced "formay." Doesn't sound as cool, does it?
The Maltese cross was named after the Knights of Malta (duh), who were originally established in 1085 as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a bunch of monks responsible for looking after the sick at the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem. They were also known as the Hospitallers and later became a military order, defending crusader territory in the Holy Lands and safeguarding the routes taken by medieval pilgrims. After getting the shit kicked out of them by the Muslim king Salidin, they were chased around the Mediterranean until the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, offered them the island of Malta in 1530.
The four arms of the cross represent the "Four Cardinal Virtues": Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance; while the eight points are the signs of the eight Beatitudes which a knight must preserve: Spiritual Joy, To Live Without Malice, To Weep Over Thy Sins, To Humble Thyself To Those Who Injure Thee, To Love Justice, To Be Merciful, To Be Sincere and Pure Of Heart, To Suffer Persecution. Great stuff.
The Maltese cross first appeared in the mid-16th century on coins and it has since has been used in a lot of religious and occult imagery. It most simply symbolizes hospitability toward others, an ideal that such conduct may help shape the character of an individual. Funny now it's largely associated with Nazi Germany and bikers blathering about "freedom" with good amounts of selfish intent since the freedom they speak of is usually their own, not somebody else's. I'm sure the old monks would roll over in their graves with the irony. Except for the millions of dead Jews part. They'd love that.
The I-75 and I-696 interchange ramps make a maltese cross! Haha.
The Maltese cross is made of two intersecting unicursal hexagrams. Kinda. Regardless, it is much more pointed. The cross most identified as "Maltese," such as the one you see in the highway clover design, is really a "Cross Formée." That's pronounced "formay." Doesn't sound as cool, does it?
ReplyDeleteThe Maltese cross was named after the Knights of Malta (duh), who were originally established in 1085 as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a bunch of monks responsible for looking after the sick at the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem. They were also known as the Hospitallers and later became a military order, defending crusader territory in the Holy Lands and safeguarding the routes taken by medieval pilgrims. After getting the shit kicked out of them by the Muslim king Salidin, they were chased around the Mediterranean until the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, offered them the island of Malta in 1530.
The four arms of the cross represent the "Four Cardinal Virtues": Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance; while the eight points are the signs of the eight Beatitudes which a knight must preserve: Spiritual Joy, To Live Without Malice, To Weep Over Thy Sins, To Humble Thyself To Those Who Injure Thee, To Love Justice, To Be Merciful, To Be Sincere and Pure Of Heart, To Suffer Persecution. Great stuff.
The Maltese cross first appeared in the mid-16th century on coins and it has since has been used in a lot of religious and occult imagery. It most simply symbolizes hospitability toward others, an ideal that such conduct may help shape the character of an individual. Funny now it's largely associated with Nazi Germany and bikers blathering about "freedom" with good amounts of selfish intent since the freedom they speak of is usually their own, not somebody else's. I'm sure the old monks would roll over in their graves with the irony. Except for the millions of dead Jews part. They'd love that.
Fun with skeletons and dust!
Damn dude, thanks for the history lesson.
ReplyDeleteYo, T... you lost me after "The Maltese cross".
ReplyDeleteFreedom dude!
Great another conspiracy to hate! LOL
ReplyDelete