Maltese brass cross necklace pendant,Vintage Brass Cross,Rustic Brass Cross charm,medieval cross jewelry pendant,ukraine

Beautiful Maltese brass cross necklace pendant 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: 38x38 mm (1.5" x 1.5")