Handmade Red enamelled Maltese cross,Hospitallers brass Cross necklace pendant

The Handmade Red enamelled Maltese cross was made in Ukraine. The Maltese cross is an octagonal cross of the knightly and monastic order of the Hospitallers, which owned Malta. It comes from the star of Solomon, or from the coat of arms of the Italian city of Amalfi, the natives of which were the founders of the Jerusalem hospital that started the order. A symbol of chastity and the eight knightly virtues. Chivalric Virtues— faith mercy truth justice saintliness humility sincerity patience The four directions of the cross spoke of the main ones christian virtues - prudence justice fortitude restraint In Ukraine during the development of the Hetmanate, rather close ties developed between the Order of Malta and Zaporizhzhya Sich. Although the Order of Malta officially appeared on Ukrainian lands in 1609, contacts took place even earlier. Hetman Dmytro Vyshnevetskyi, who organized Zaporizhzhya Sich, built it on the model of the Order of Malta. One of the confirmations of this is the image of Maltese crosses on Cossack flags and other paraphernalia, as well as Maltese crosses carved from stone on Cossack graves. Dimensions of Hospitallers brass Cross necklace pendant: 28x24 mm (1.1" x 1"), weight is about 3.5 g