View source for Cross (crown)

{{Single source|date=September 2023}}

A '''''cross''''' is the decoration located at the highest level of a [[crown (headgear)|crown]] on top of the ''[[monde (crown)|monde]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Younghusband |first=George John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXpnAAAAMAAJ |title=A Short History of the Tower of London |date=1926 |publisher=Herbert Jenkins Limited |pages=96 |language=en}}</ref> Its usage traditionally symbolised the [[Christians|Christian]] nature of the monarchy of that country, though not all crowns even in monarchies associated with Christianity used a cross as its top decoration, with some [[France|French]] crowns using other national symbols.

While many early crowns were uncovered [[circlet]]s (and some [[Europe]]an crowns continue to have this form (see e.g. [[Danish Crown Regalia|the Danish crown]]), from the late Middle Ages onward it became traditional to enclose the crown in a head-covering or [[cap (crown)|cap]], in part due to the drafty nature of the [[cathedral]]s, [[castle]]s, [[palace]]s and halls where crowns were worn. To hide the cap, a series of decorative features were added; the [[half-arch (crown)|half-arch]]es, meeting at the [[monde (crown)|monde]], with the Christian nature of the crown symbolised by the use of 4 [[Cross pattée (crown)|crosses pattee]] and the crown on top of the monde. However, not all such crowns have mondes; those of [[Crown of Saint Wenceslas|Bohemia]] and [[Holy Crown of Hungary|Hungary]] have crosses directly on top of them.

A decorative cross is particularly associated with the [[British Crown Jewels]] and with [[Papal Tiara]]s.

== See also ==
* [[Globus cruciger]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Parts of a crown}}

[[Category:Crowns (headgear)]]
[[Category:Cross symbols]]
[[Category:Crosses in heraldry]]

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