The Maltese Cross, however, has come to epitomise not only one of Malta’s most glorious historical periods but also anything which is intrinsically Maltese. The palaces and churches constructed during the long rule of the Knights, as well as the many treasures they house, are bedecked with this representation of aristocratic and autocratic power. Valletta is home to the world’s largest concentration of portrayals of the Maltese Cross. The Cross found itself on coats-of-arms, palaces, hospitals, the entrances and gates to various forts and towers, on fortifications as well as on coins, cannon, monuments, churches, paintings and frescoes, furniture, silverware and jewellery. By then, the Cross had become the established symbol of the Order, and as the Knights set about putting their stamp on these islands through their inspired architectural feats and patronage of the arts, so the Maltese Cross provided the signature to this glorious legacy. The link between the Maltese Cross and these islands was forged with the Knights’ arrival in Malta in 1530. Following the success of the First Crusade, the Knights Hospitallers evolved into a military order. Over time, the monks started offering an armed escort to travellers as they passed through perilous Syrian territory.

John) can trace their origin to a group of monks attached to a hospice built in the Holy Lands to aid pilgrims. John is Observant, Tactful, Resourceful, Dextrous, Explicit, Discriminating, Persevering and Sympathetic. A good first aider in service of the Order of St. As part of its present-day teachings, the cross represents eight beatitudes (or ‘blessings’). The Maltese cross remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which is still in existence (and active as an international organisation for medical and humanitarian aid) today. With time, the eight points also came to represent the eight langues (or “tongues”, but in effect national groupings) of the noblemen who were admitted to the famed order, namely those of Auvergne, Provence, France, Aragon, Castille and Portugal, Italy, Baviere (Germany), and England (with Scotland and Ireland). John in 1126, stylistically owes its origins to the crosses used in the crusades, when it was identified as the symbol of the “Christian warrior”: Its eight points denote the eight obligations or aspirations of the knights, namely “to live in truth, have faith, repent one’s sins, give proof of humility, love justice, be merciful, be sincere and wholehearted, and to endure persecution”. The Maltese Cross formally adopted by the Knights Hospitallers of St. Although the Maltese cross is most famously associated with the Knights of Malta, as well as Malta itself as a country, it is thought the symbol evolved from a closely resembling cross found on coins minted in Amalfi (an Italian republic) during the 11th century.

Logoist maltese cross outline