Cross of Lorraine

also known as the Gaullist Cross

The Lorraine Cross is a Latin Cross with an upper bar (titulus) and usually without a corpus.

In heraldry, the Lorraine Cross is a localised (French) form of Patriarchal Cross. Its popularity has spread worldwide and is known by various names, depending on the local language and use. In Spain, for example, it is called the Cruz de Lorena, and in Hungary as Szent István Kereszt (St. Stephen's Cross).

Early crosses were similar to the diesis with two horizontal beams of equal length. The upper beam was as close to the top as the lower beam was to the bottom. 

Not an ordinary cross

In Christianity the Latin Cross is perhaps the one most commonly seen, and the double-barred Lorraine Cross therefore stands out as being "special" in some way.

For example, a researcher in the US recently sent this fascinating variation. Check out his website to find out more: esotericcatholicism.wordpress.com.

Origin

Lorraine. Sounds like it originates from a girl's name, yes? Actually, no.

Over a thousand years ago, the King Lothaire gave his name to a province in the northeast of France. The name 'Lothaire' evolved over the years to 'Lorraine'. The region has shrunk and now borders with Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany. So that's where 'Lorraine' comes from.

For this particular cross design, we must go back much further.

One of the earliest uses was in Samaria (now Jordan) as an ideogram for rulership, since it depicted a shepherd's crook. This was adopted for use as a Patriarchal Cross, the emblem of an archbishop, and became the arms of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who granted its use by the Knights Templar to wear in addition to their Cross Pattée.

Alex Roman tells us that...

The Duke of Lorraine, Godefroy de Boullion, used this cross for his standard when he took part in the capture of Jerusalem. The heraldry was then passed on to his successors.

In the 15^th century, the Duke of Anjou inherited it after the Battle of Nancy, following the defeat of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

This did not, however, give rise to the design's alternative name Anjou Cross. The Croix d' Anjou (photo on the right) had already been fashioned by the goldsmiths of Charles V (1338–1380) as a reliquary to house a piece of the Cross of Christ brought back from the Holy Land in 1244. By 1379 the design had been adopted as the emblem of the Duchy of Lorraine under René of Anjou.

The Lorraine region, because of its location, has hosted many wars and battles. Twice it was annexed by Germany and when Hitler took control of the region in WWII, General de Gaulle chose the Croix de Lorraine as a symbol of resistance against Germany's advance.

There were several French Resistance groups, and de Gaulle's was called the Forces Francaises Libres. The cross then also became known as the Free French Cross, the de Gaulle Cross or the Gaullist Cross.

In WWI also, there had been much fighting in the area. On 15 September 1918 in a heavily bombed township in Lorraine, an orphaned five-day old German Shepherd puppy was rescued. The dog later became the famous star of Warner movies and known as the brave 'Rin Tin Tin', man's best friend.

It is said the only life Rin Tin Tin actually saved was that of Warner Bros. which was facing bankruptcy. But there's no doubt the canine film star helped promote the idea that our four-legged friends would risk their lives to save their two-legged masters (see Purple Cross Award). For this, he was world famous over several generations.

Medicine

But on the infamous side, Lorraine saw the extensive use of poison gas to choke soldiers to death.

Slightly prior to WWI, in 1902, doctors met in Berlin at the International Tuberculosis Congress and delegates decided that because tuberculosis was so rampant they should declare war on this devastating disease.

For this 'war' it was appropriate to have a 'battle standard'. The representative from Lorraine suggested that they should take as a symbol the doubled-barred Red Cross of Lorraine, since many medieval victories for the French in battle fields were attributed to carrying this red cross into the fight.

Today the French-based International Union Against Tuberculosis (IUATLD) has branches in over 100 countries – all identified by the Cross of Lorraine. (See Medical Crosses for more about this double-barred red cross.)

Poison gas in WWI killed over 90,000 soldiers. A dreadful waste of young lives, and yet today, governments around the world prepare for their own future battles against economic competitors by building new and more effective chemical and biological weapons. Purely for defence, of course. (See Black Death Cross and Crenel Cross.)

Hungary and Slovakia

Many national flags include a Christian cross in their design.

Hungary's coat-of-arms, for example, is a tricolour red, white and green (meaning strength, fidelity and hope, respectively).  The emblem includes a white double-barred cross, known as the St. Stephen's Cross and named after the first King of Hungary who later became Hungary's patron saint.

For a long time, neighbouring Slovakia was part of the Hungarian kingdom and their current national flag features the same white double-barred cross.

In both countries, the symbol has been incorporated (or hijacked, if you prefer) into the emblems of far-right political parties such as Jobbik, Slovenská Národná Strana, and Ĺudová Strana – Naše Slovensko.

Nationalist parties

We're not going to discuss the merits or demerits of Jobbik, the "Movement for a Better Hungary ... a principled, conservative and radically patriotic Christian party". Their website shows their Hungarian pride and passion for changing the Hungarian nation to be a country for qualifying Hungarian nationals only, and not the unwelcome immigrants, especially Roma and Jewish.

Across the border in Slovakia we find Slovenská Národná Strana (Slovakian National Party) and Ĺudová Strana Naše Slovensko (People's Party-Our Slovakia).

Just as the Nazi party used the Swastika Cross, central to the Hungarian and Slovakian party logos is the Christian cross of St. Stephen. This is a curious choice of today's parties because as noted above, not only was this double-barred cross used by the fighters against Nazism in WWII, but also because Jesus (who was Jewish, incidentally) has no interest in nationalism, race or ethnicity.