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Crenel Cross

Crenel Cross

Crenel Cross


Rugged Cross

The Crenel Cross, sometimes called an Embattled Cross (French: Croix Bretessée), is a heraldic cross and symbolises strength. A variation of this is the Raguly Cross (Ragulee Cross or Ragged Cross).

In a religious setting, it can be symbolise 'Church Militant', that is, the church here on Earth as opposed to 'Church Triumphant' (the church in heaven) or 'Church Suffering' (Roman Catholicism's church in Purgatory).

The 'Great Wall of China' has around 10 million crenels (and a similar number of tourists tramping over it every day). But was it really built by Balbus?

Crenel (or crenelle) comes from the Latin crena, which means 'notch'. A similar word in English is 'cranny', as in 'nook and cranny'. It is an architectural term used to describe an indentation, particularly in a battlement you might see atop the turret of a medieval castle or fort. The complement (loosely speaking, the "opposite") of crenel is merlon. In other words, the gaps in a parapet are called crenels; the raised bits of wall between them are called merlons. For the Crenel Cross, understanding these different terms is important.

In battle, the defenders behind the battlements¹ are protected from incoming missiles by merlons and they fire their arrows or canon through the crenel. So when we refer to a Crenel Cross, we think 'attack'.

Attack and defence are opposites, but we often use the word 'defence' as a euphemism for war. If this cross was being invented today, we would no doubt use the euphemism Merlon Cross. We use strange language in warfare, and when you think about it, some of our choices of words are quite silly. For example, 'Humanitarian war' is an oxymoron.

Here are some more revolting and sly euphemisms which desensitize mass killing, prevent shareholders from pulling their support away from the arms industry, and enable politicians and voters sleep at night.

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