Across potent (plural:crosses potent), also known as acrutch cross, is a form ofheraldic cross with crossbars at the four ends. In French, it is known as croix potencée, inGerman as aKrückenkreuz, all translating to "crutch cross".

Potent is an old word for acrutch, from a lateMiddle English alteration ofOld Frenchpotence "crutch".^[a] The termpotent is also used in heraldic terminology to describe a T-shaped alteration ofvair,^[1] andpotenté is aline of partition contorted into a series of 'T' shapes.^[2]

In heraldic literature of the 19th century, the cross potent is also known as the "Jerusalem cross" due to its occurrence in the attributed coat of arms of theKingdom of Jerusalem. This convention is reflected inUnicode, where the character ☩ (U+2629) is named CROSS OF JERUSALEM. The nameJerusalem cross is more commonly given to the more complex symbol consisting of a large Greek cross or cross potent surrounded by four smaller Greek crosses.

The "cross potent" shape is found in pottery decorations in both the European and the Chinese Neolithic. InChinese bronze inscriptions, the glyph ancestral to the modern Chinese character巫 "shaman, witch" has the shape of a cross potent, interpreted as representing a cross-like "divining rod" or similar device used in shamanistic practice.^[3][b]

The cross potent as aChristian cross variant is used on Byzantine coins of the 7th century, under theHeraclian dynasty, mostly as a "Calvary cross potent", i.e. a cross potent standing on a number of steps. ATremissis of Heraclius, dated c. 610–613, also shows the cross potent without the steps. A cross potent, orcross patty, is already shown on a Tremissis ofTheodosius II (first half of the 5th century).

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  Tremissis minted under Theodosius II (r. 402–450)
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  Visigothic tremissis (5th century)
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  Calvary cross potent minted under Heraclius (c. 613–638)
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  Calvary cross potent on a solidus minted underTiberius Petasius (c. 730)

Earlyheraldic crosses are drawn to the edges of the shield, asordinaries, but variations in the termination of the cross limbs become current by the later 13th century. The heraldic cross potent is found in armorials of the late 13th century, notably in the coat of arms of theKingdom of Jerusalem,argent, a cross potent between four plain crosslets or (Camden Roll, c. 1280).^[4][1] Use of the cross potent remains rare in heraldry outside of the Jerusalem cross. In medieval heraldry, as in medieval seals, the distinction between the cross potent and thecross patty may be unclear. For example, the cross patty of theTeutonic Order is drawn as a cross patent forTannhäuser inCodex Manesse (c. 1310).

Use of theJerusalem cross is associated with the title ofKing of Jerusalem which passed from thekings of Cyprus to a number of royal houses of Europe in the late medieval period, notably thekings of Naples and theHouse of Savoy, viaLouis II of Naples to theHouse of Lorraine, via conquest of Naples to theHouse of Aragon, and viaFrancis I to the HabsburgEmperors of Austria. A simple cross potent is used as the arms of northernCalabria (Calabria Citra) as a province of theKingdom of Naples in the early modern period (Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria).^[5]

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  Cross potent on anescudo minted underCharles V (r. 1519–1556)
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  rinceau cross potent at a side entrance ofSt. Pierre Cathedral (18th century)

Use of the cross potent in heraldry is revived in the 19th to early 20th century, and then as an emblem forRoman Catholicism directly based on the Jerusalem cross.

Upon the passage of the 1924Schilling Act the cross potent was used as anational symbol of theAustrian First Republic, minted on the back of theGroschen coins. In 1934 it became the emblem of theFederal State of Austria, adopted from the rulingFatherland's Front, the Catholic authoritarian traditionalist organisation led by ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuss. A reference to the Jerusalem Cross, it served as a counter-symbol to both theNaziswastika and thecommunisthammer and sickle, as the Fatherland Front was both anti-Nazi and anti-Communist. The symbol was also adopted by the Russian far-rightPeople's National Party and the obscure Cambodian militiaMONATIO in the 1970s. It was also used as a symbol for independence by theNationalist Party of Puerto Rico during the first half of the 20th century, an organization was a Roman Catholic movement that was traditionalist, anti-communist, anti-American and anti-imperialist and sought to liberate the archipelago ofPuerto Rico fromAmerican control through armed struggle.

In the 1930s in the United States,George W. Christians, who founded the Crusader White Shirts inChattanooga, Tennessee, posed for photographs with a form ofcrusader's cross or cross potent on a white shirt and a gun in his belt.^[6][7]

Today, the cross potent is used by many, mostlyRoman Catholic,Scouting andGuiding organisations in their logos and insignia. It is currently used in the coats of arms of theSanta Cruz Department in Bolivia, and of theWingolf Christian student fraternities inGermany,Austria andEstonia.

A white cross potent on a black background was a candidate in the 2015Hello Internet Podcast Flag Referendum.^[8]

• Fylfot
• Jerusalem cross

• Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles; Johnston, Graham (2004) [1909].A Complete Guide to Heraldry. Kessinger Publishing.ISBN 1-4179-0630-8.

• Cross symbols
• Crosses in heraldry

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