Hi Mark,
There is so much complexity in trying to clearly understand these early military orders and religious orders that evolved prior to and during the crusades, which were of course complex in understanding themselves. I am not sure that historians even agree specifically on exactly how many crusades or actual campaigns there were over the two hundred year + period.I must admit that I was struggling through "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" a full decade before Dan Brown wrote the "DaVinci Code", and found some relief in enjoying the movie!
Marc, thank you for showing the variations in the military orders and the forms and color coding of the crosses that have evolved in thier symbolism. It really is interesting that the color coding has become so key, as well as the fluerets added on the ends of the cross branches on some, and there is of course numeric symbolism in the eight point crosses.
It would be interesting to know just what the crosses worn on the knights' mantles really looked like, and for that matter, the crosses on the sails of Columbus' ships. While we naturally have no contemporary illustrations, and the artistic license of the art created much later and based loosely on narratives and the imagination of the artist, there is really no way to know for sure.
The reference that noted that Ferdinand's ships carried the red Christian cross on thier sails, may have meant that entirely metaphorically, suggesting that the expeditions were for the glory of the Church rather than the search for gold. The red crosses always depicted on the mantles of the crusaders seem to suggest similar symbolism. Whatever the case, it does seem unlikely that any cross or such device applied in those times would have incorporated the artistic elements of these later graphic interpretations with the key symbolisms imbued in the elements.
The simple 'maltese' cross that was stamped or carved into metalwork such as seen on blades would not have the benefit of color nor the intricacies seen in variations, so the specifics typically would remain assumed. The symbolism however would seem to allude to these orders and further to the apotropaic properties often applied in blade markings of the period.
Thanks very much Mark for the kind words! I really do wish I did have extensive knowledge on this subject, and my copy of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" is so tattered and dogeared from all the years I've tried to understand it, my wife groans every time we take a flight and there I am with it!
Marc, its really great to have you come in on the thread, and I really appreciate you including those crosses and the various orders. The symbolism in these denote the fantastic and colorful history of Spain and Portugal and thier monumental importance in world history.
All very best regards,
Jim