Cleché

In heraldry, a cross (or other ordinary) cleché, or clechée, flares out at the tips in a shape resembling the handle of an old-fashioned key (French clé).[1] The outstanding example is the Occitan cross, in the coat of arms of the counts of Toulouse: Gules, a cross cléchée, pommetty and voided Or. Because this cross is also voided (hollow), some writers[2] have taken the term cléché either to be a synonym of voided or to include voiding as a defining feature.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "article name needed". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (first ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. 

See also

References

  1. J. B. Rietstap, Armorial General, glossary s.v. croix cléchée (p. xix): "Se dit des arrondissements de la croix de Toulouse, dont les quatre extrémités sont faites comme les anneaux des clés."
  2. Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.