What is the origin of the Maltese Cross?

[Bodie]

What is the origin of the Maltese Cross?

Specifically, as it pertains to motorcyclists. I've done a great deal of Googling and found several historical organizations that used the Maltese Cross as their symbol, but nothing about how it made its way into the motorcycle world. I've even read articles by motorcyclists saying "I don't know why the Maltese Cross is our symbol, but it is." in one form or another.

My best guess is something to do with WWII. Maybe American GIs took the German Maltese Cross off of dead soldiers and wore them to prove they killed a German soldier as a sign that they're a badass. Then after WWII, motorcycles became hugely popular, and the "badass" bikers kept the Maltese Cross as a sign of being a badass biker. Just a theory.

Anybody know?

[2WheelFun]

The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem gave Malta the heritage of the Maltese Cross. The eight-pointed cross is a symbol used by the knights to denote the eight obligations or aspirations of the knights.

The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, now commonly known as the Knights of Malta, can trace their origin to a group of monks attached to a hospice built in the Holy Lands to aid travelers visting the Holy Land. The monks were known as the Freres Hospitaliers de St. Jean de Jerusalem. Over time, the monks started offering armed escort to travelers as they passed through perilous Syrian territory. Following the success of the First Crusade, the Hospitallers evolved into a military order.

Around 1113, Pope Pascal II acknowledged the Hospitallers as a religious order. They were bound by the Augustinian rules of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience. However, more was expected of the members of the Order. They were required to abide by eight obligations or aspirations. These eight obligations were:

1. live in truth;
2. have faith;
3. repent of sins;
4. give proof of humility;
5. love justice;
6. be merciful;
7. be sincere and whole-hearted; and
8. endure persecution.

Noble aspiration indeed especially for individuals who came from very rich and powerful European families. Members of the Order wore a black habit and a camel-hair cloak of the same colour. A white eight-pointed cross covered their breast. The eight-pointed cross was also on their standard against a scarlet background. Eventually, as the Knights became known as the Knights of Malta, their symbol also became associated with Malta and is now known as the Maltese Cross.

The Maltese Cross is a very cherished symbol of the Maltese people and the cross has become part of the Malta's heritage and culture. Many souvenirs are adorned by the Maltese Cross. The cross is also used in all kinds of jewelry including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, broaches, pendants and cuff-links.
Dov Gutterman and Lewis A. Nowitz, 15 April 1999

http://atlasgeo.span.ch/fotw/flags/smom).html

My thoughts:

Symbols are always used to denote one thing or another. Seems like some symbols become adopted early on to mean one thing but eventually can become a "status symbol" and in our day and age...a commercialized item that sells because it looks cool.

[Spok]

hmmmm, came her for bikes and got edumacated too. thanks cary. that was a really great read.

yet another reason to spend time here. who needs the history channel?

[Xgenn]

nice job on the facts ill have to read some more on this it kinda interested me cause my dad has a few greman crosses in his collection of coins and things he aquired from his dad and from the service.....

[trikebubble]

As far as it relates to "motorcycles" and bikers. I would say it comes from back in the day when the Outlaw Biker gangs were just getting going. They would adopt various taboo signs and emblams (such as the swastika, German WWII helmets, etc.) to show their seperation from society and rebelious attitude.
In my opinion the Maltese Cross is just a holdover from those days.

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by trikebubble

As far as it relates to "motorcycles" and bikers. I would say it comes from back in the day when the Outlaw Biker gangs were just getting going. They would adopt various taboo signs and emblams (such as the swastika, German WWII helmets, etc.) to show their seperation from society and rebelious attitude.
In my opinion the Maltese Cross is just a holdover from those days.

I agree. Looking tuff does seem to draw different types of symbols. Some for clubs...some just to look cool.

[CTRider]

Originally Posted by trikebubble

As far as it relates to "motorcycles" and bikers. I would say it comes from back in the day when the Outlaw Biker gangs were just getting going. They would adopt various taboo signs and emblams (such as the swastika, German WWII helmets, etc.) to show their seperation from society and rebelious attitude.
In my opinion the Maltese Cross is just a holdover from those days.

Don't forget - the swastika wasn't always a bad sign. In fact, it often was used to represent life, good luck and good health long before Hitler got his hands on it:

http://history1900s.about.com/cs/swa...ikahistory.htm

It's too bad things that have positive origins get screwed up by those that do evil deeds.

[trikebubble]

Originally Posted by CTRider

Don't forget - the swastika wasn't always a bad sign. In fact, it often was used to represent life, good luck and good health long before Hitler got his hands on it:

http://history1900s.about.com/cs/swa...ikahistory.htm

It's too bad things that have positive origins get screwed up by those that do evil deeds.

What one madman can do, unfortunately.

[BamaBob]

hmmmm, came her for bikes and got edumacated too. thanks cary. that was a really great read.

yet another reason to spend time here. who needs the history channel?

This place is like WalMart - one stop does it all!!





http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp...p=ZSYYYYYYDGUS

[Chuckster]

I bet a lot of folks have this stuff and don't even know what it means (per Whistle's history lession). I bought a bike one time and it had these as mirrors on it. I took them off simply because I thought they were ugly. Really didn't know what they mean't though I had seen them before.

[2WheelFun]

Like other things that catch the eye of the beholder the maltese cross has become a popular design for tattoos. I did a google search and applied it to tattoos. Take a look at how it's used...even in the firefighters format.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...&sa=N&tab= wi

[SleekStreak]

Originally Posted by trikebubble

As far as it relates to "motorcycles" and bikers. I would say it comes from back in the day when the Outlaw Biker gangs were just getting going. They would adopt various taboo signs and emblams (such as the swastika, German WWII helmets, etc.) to show their seperation from society and rebelious attitude.
In my opinion the Maltese Cross is just a holdover from those days.

I read up on this a little bit, too, a while back. Nothing ever really said specifically why it made it into biker lore, but I think trikebubble hit it on the head. After reading lots of googled articles I reached the same conclusion. I think originally the biker symbol was the Iron Cross, not the Maltese Cross. I think over time the lines between the two have become very blurred as far as the biking community goes, but they are two distinctly different symbols, and I believe originally the Iron Cross was what was displayed by bikers... but it looks practically identical to many variations of the maltese cross. Just run the following google search and you'll find so many instances of iron cross and bike as opposed to the maltese cross.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...the+iron+cross

As i said, it's gotten blurred and you can find where biking info calls it the maltese cross, but the two are distinctly different emblem though they look alike, with distinctly different histories. The maltese cross is most commonly associated with Firemen today, and is often referred to as the "Fireman's Cross", too.

I agree with trike the bikers adopted this emblem simply because it was taboo. This is precisely how I believe the cross got into biker society. Many emerging bike "gangs" took on Nazi paraphernalia and at the time the Iron Cross was largely associated with Nazism. In truth, it was an honorable award given to military. Over 5 million of them were handed out to military forces in WWI alone. Hitler renewed the use of the Iron Cross 25 yrs later in WWII but he superimposed the swastika on top of it, which lead to people associating it with Nazism for years afterward.

After WWII wearing anything with a swastika was outlawed so no one who had won the medal could wear it. Then, in 1957, the reissued a politically correct Iron Cross without a swastika to all those people who had won it so that they could proudly wear their medals of honor.

The award was originally conceived to be given out for acts of bravery, but over time it was adopted as the national symbol. In 1956 it was adopted as the symbol of the german military and its administration (the Bundeswehr).

So, in a nutshell... I think it made it into bikerdom because of the Nazi ties at the time. As was said, lots of early bike gangs took on Nazi symbols probably for no other reason that to stick in the face of "the man" who frowned down upon it, and because it was "billy bad ***" to have the swastika or iron cross and german helms. Historically lots of different groups have used the Nazi-era Iron Corss for shock effect. Even today, many neo-nazi groups display it as a hate symbol. This is why bikers often get a bad rap and some mistrustful looks because of the historical connotations of the symbol and how some people even today still pervert it.

This is a really good site for the history of the Iron Cross:
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-...iron_cross.htm