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January 20, 2008 30 Comments

The Huguenot Cross

This morning I wore a necklace with a Huguenot Cross pendant, and a friend noticed and asked about it. I told her that it was a Huguenot Cross and is often worn by Protestant believers in Europe. It’s full of symbolism, but all I could think of at the moment—the opening song had just started up—was the most obvious: a dove dangling at the bottom is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. 

Here’s a shot of mine:

huguenot-cross2.jpg

When I got home, I decided to refresh my memory on the symbolism, as it’s quite detailed.

  • The shape of this cross was modeled after the Maltese Cross; and the cross is, of course, to remind us of the cross on which our Savior died for our sins. The cross is empty, further symbolizing His victory over death–He is risen and alive!
  • Eight points around the edges add up to represent the eight Beatitudes.
  • Between the arms of the cross, the fancier pendants have the image of a flower of French origins, the fleur-de-lys (mine doesn’t have them, but you can see it here)–and the three petals of the  fleur-de-lys are supposed to represent the Trinity.
  • The fleur-de-lys also suggests purity.
  • There are four fleur-de-lys, one for each of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
  • Do a little math, and you’ll discover that the three petals multiplied by four fleur-de-lys adds up to….twelve. The number of Jesus’ disciples (after subtracting Judas and adding in Matthias).
  • The inner ring formed by the string of fleur-de-lys form the crown of thorns that the soldiers twisted together and set onto Jesus’ head.
  • The fleur-de-lys, when set next to each arm of the cross, end up forming an open-spaced heart. Considering Christ’s heart reminds us of His sufferings.
  • And then, as I already mentioned, the dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit. During times of persecution, the dove would be replaced by a pearl, symbolizing a teardrop.

My friend was particularly struck by my pendant, because she had just finished a book (from this series ) depicting in historical fiction the persecution of the Huguenots. This site offers an overview of the persecution endured by these French Calvinists, or Protestant Reformers. It’s not a happy history.

My dad tells me that my family lineage includes some Huguenots. I don’t know the details of their part in the bigger story. I wonder what they endured?

I wonder if they ever wore one of these crosses?

I wonder if they wore it with a dove…or a teardrop?

I’m grateful that for now, today, in the United States of America, we are free from that kind of persecution. We must beware, though. One day we may find ourselves in the same situation as the Huguenots.

Today I could wear mine with joy while worshiping in a Protestant Reformed church…with a dove.

Peace.

______________________________

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Filed Under: lifelong learning, worship Tagged With: Christian symbols, Christianity, cross, history, huguenot cross, huguenots, reformed church, reformed faith, religion, religious persecution, worship

Comments

  1. Anna says

    January 20, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Oh, someone else who shares my love of the Huguenots! I have been fascinated with them ever since I read a story about them when I was in middle school. I love Linda Lee Chaikin’s series as well. Now I really want one of those necklaces. 🙂

    Reply
    • T.L. Lewis says

      July 19, 2010 at 12:52 pm

      I do love this website, as I also became so enthralled with Huguenot history, the intolerance and injustice, the inhumanity– that I was literally driven to write a SCREENPLAY, soon to be named “REBIRTH.”

      “Rebirth” recently garnered three First Place Awards. I think because it was written from the heart and it touches a collective consciousness. Hollywood will like it because it’s written from a humanist perspective:

      Logline: In a world torn between renaissance and genocide, a womanizing artist finds love that changes his life and risks it all in a fight for civil liberty. Inspired by a provocative true story of the unbridled abuse of power versus the true power of love and honor.

      If you’d like to know more: go to http://www.tlllewis.net and http://www.tllewis.net/rebirth.

      If you’d like to read the script for FREE before it one day becomes a film, email me: tllewis@mac.com.

      Reply
  2. annkroeker says

    January 22, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    Anna: Wow, you have a wide range of interests! I need to read those Chaikin books and learn more. I hope you can find an inexpensive Huguenot cross online.

    Reply
  3. hookedonhouses says

    January 23, 2008 at 9:50 pm

    Very cool! Thanks for explaining the meaning behind these.

    Reply
  4. hookedonhouses says

    January 23, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Oops. Just realized I’m still logged on to my WordPress account for my blog, so my name didn’t come up on that last comment (did you know I have a blog about houses/decorating now? http://hookedonhouses.wordpress.com/) . In case you’re wondering–it’s me, Julia K! 🙂

    Reply
  5. hthr says

    January 25, 2008 at 6:41 pm

    I have the same pendant! It was my mothers and as a child I remember she wore it all the time. She was raised in the Reformed Church and later attended the Christian Reformed Church. Thanks for writing about its symbolism! I have often wondered what it meant, knowing it was special to her. Now it will mean much more to me as well. Blessings….

    Reply
  6. erfantibesvence says

    April 11, 2008 at 1:39 am

    Dear Mrs Kroeker,

    I was interested in your post about the Huguenot Cross ; in respect of which I allow myself indicating you my following post : http://erfantibesvence.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/la-croix-huguenote/

    Reply
  7. hkyfanz says

    August 6, 2008 at 2:49 am

    Thank you for the excellent information. I am a nurse working in a seniors facility. I found an antique version of this pendant and wondered what its background was. Now I am really interested in finding its owner and returning it.

    Reply
  8. Daniel says

    October 25, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    Hello,

    There are many stories about the history, symbolics, etc of the huguenot cross and it comes in just as many shapes (yours is really nice). It can be seen as a tribute to those who suffered to make us free, a way to recognize each other, and an affirmation of our identity, both religious and cultural. This is true but still misses the real point. If I had to explain what it says in a sentence that I’m sure my ancestors would agree with, I would say something like “I’m an heretic beliver” or “the reform is still going on”. I apologise if my poor English makes this unclear but a feeling wich comes so strong, right from under my cross, is hard to communicate through internet.

    Daniel, Montpellier, France.

    Reply
    • Susan McFadden says

      February 22, 2018 at 9:33 pm

      An ancestor James partee was said to have been a hugenot who was born in Versailles and fled during the time of religious persecution. He was born 1730. Would there be an online reference that could verify his ties to the royal family?

      Reply
  9. Daniel says

    October 25, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    By the way, for those who want to get a “croix huguenote”, you can go the old way and bring a gold or silver coin to the nearest joallier who will cut a cross for you… and pay himself with the remaining precious metal ! Otherwise, the best place is the boutique of the musée du désert, mas Soubeyran, Mialet (google is your friend, I have no interest in this business). Prices are OK, the choice is huge and the quality is top. We tend to go for the simplest design. French women usually wear a 35 mm gold (F:”or”) cross on a relatively short and thin gold chain. The idea is to avoid wearing it above clothes while keeping it reasonnably visible … but not too showy … (girls !). They would pass it to their oldest daughter after their death. Nowadays, men wear the cross more often than in the past. I have a 25 mm silver (F:argent) cross on a longer thin chain. I’ve never seen children being offered a cross before they ask why they don’t have one. The other traditional metal is tin (F:étain), used as a cheap substitute when people had to sell their jewellery because of hard times. You can get a tin cross from the musée but I would not recomend wearing it as this is toxic. I’ve never seen the other huguenot cross or cross-derived items they sell in any french protestant familly.

    Daniel

    Reply
  10. Hels says

    May 21, 2009 at 9:33 am

    Many years ago I wrote my thesis on the Huguenot goldsmiths who moved to the UK after 1685. Although it has been a long time, I still look fondly at their very high standards of artistry and craftsmanship. They certainly set the pace amongst goldsmiths, at least until 1730.

    I knew nothing about the Huguenot Cross and have created a link to your post. Many thanks

    Hels

    Art and Architecture, mainly

    Reply
  11. Marion McInnes says

    May 25, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    I’ve had a heugenot cross necklace (along with many others) for the past 20 years since my sister & aunt returned from a reformation tour. Everyone comments on the necklace ( it’s the only necklace people notice) so it gives me a chance to talk about what it represents. Thanks for the clarification of what it represents. M x

    Reply
  12. Meira de Bouter says

    September 23, 2009 at 12:55 am

    Hi Everyone,

    I have just had a large silver Hugenot cross made here in NZ and have never seen one here before. Both my families left France and then moved to Holland. At least one of the families was Protestant. There’s a good movie about the French royal family and the Hugenots its called “Queen Margot.”

    Reply
    • Lee Milne says

      January 29, 2010 at 8:59 pm

      Meira, please contact me abput the Huguenot cross pendant that you had made. Thanks, Lee

      Reply
  13. Lee Milne says

    January 29, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    Hi Meira,

    I am of French Huguenots descent and would like to have a pendant made of the cross. Where in New Zealand did you have it made and by whom? I will be travelling to NZ in April 2010 from Tasmania, Australia and would like to puirchase a cross if I could.

    Thanks, Lee

    Reply
    • Ann Wilkinson says

      December 27, 2017 at 9:52 pm

      Hi. I am also from Tasmania and have huguenot ancestors who fled from Picardie to London after the revocation of the treaty of Nantes. If you Google French huguenot cross many sites appear where you will be able to purchase one. I have a small silver one.
      Ann

      Reply
  14. Russell says

    February 13, 2010 at 11:38 am

    Hello all,

    I’m looking for a silver or gold brooch of the Huguenot Cross (a lapel pin type). This is for my Mother a Huguenot descendant, a nice surprise for her 88th birthday but I cannot find anything at all.

    I would appreciate any suggestions of a source please.

    Russell

    United Kingom

    Reply
  15. frank Bonifield says

    May 26, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    During the persacutions of our faith it is said that the flur-de lys in the cross represents 4 young folks that was burned at the stake for not recanting there faith to cathlicism during the persucutions, this time period abt 1500-1700’s or so,as they were burned alive they sang hymes during the process,they also represent mark mathew luke and jhon

    Reply
  16. Debbie says

    October 14, 2010 at 11:18 pm

    I was given a French Huguenot cross when I was baptized in Geneva, Switzerland, in the Church of Scotland which met and still meets in the Auditoire where John Calvin (reformer and founder of the Presbyterian church) taught and where John Knox (Scottish reformer who took Calvin’s teachings and Presbyterianism back to Scotland) preached in the first English language congregation in Geneva. I wore my French Huguenot cross proudly on those occasions marking baptism or Reformation. Then in Sept. 2009 our house was broken into and the jewelry box with the cross in it was stolen, along a computer and video camera. Although the box (and the computer) was recovered by the police and much of the jewelery was still there, the cross was gone! It broke my heart! I have been trying on and off this year to see where I could get a replacement. The silver one at the Musee du Desert is as close as I’ve found. Thank you, Daniel, for the recommendation!

    Reply
  17. Irène H. Arm says

    January 30, 2011 at 3:53 am

    I’m in possession of an old, real gold Huguenot cross since I was born in Switzerland; it belonged to an ancestor in my family who wore it sewn to a black velvet band around her neck in the 1800s. Up until now, I’ve kept it in my jewelry box “out of emotional reasons and familial ties that have since broken; since then I’ve read and thought about how badly some of you are wanting one, that I don’t think it would matter to me one way or another if I still had it, since I never use it, nor look at it. Again, it’s not gold plated, and I would want to get a good price for it.

    Reply
    • Michelle le-serve says

      June 1, 2016 at 6:24 am

      Hello their.my name is michelle le-serve my fathers family french hugenots escaped persecution and are now established in australia..if you are interested in selling your cross could you please email leserve43@outlook.com with a price you would find acceptable..scincerely m le-serve..

      Reply
  18. Michelle says

    February 10, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    I love the pendant and necklace you have in the picture! Is this the one you have? Can you ask your friend where she purchased it? I have been looking for the “perfect one” and this is it!! Thank you!!

    Reply
  19. Kari S says

    April 26, 2011 at 10:01 am

    Thank you for writing this! I am a Huguenot descendant, through my mother’s side. My ancestors came from La Rochelle (on the west coast of France). They fled to the American colonies in the late 1600’s.

    I don’t have a Huguenot cross pendant yet – though a few years ago I gave a picture of one to a visiting potter (who specialized in crafting crosses) and asked if he could make one for me. It was the first he’d ever done of a Huguenot cross. It turned out beautifully ( and large – about 14″ from the top points of the cross to the tip of the dove’s beak) and now hangs on the wall in our living room.

    Reply
  20. Barbara vA says

    June 14, 2011 at 4:02 am

    I’m happy to have found all of you and your stories. Just found out alittle over a year ago that my family were huguenots from Alsace France, and many others fled England and were the originial settlers here in the U.S. I fell in love with this cross and my story of the Zirby/Zerbe/Zerby family touched my heart. Seen a couple of web sites that sell the cross, but can anyone recommend one to me?

    Reply
  21. Kay says

    January 26, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Right now I am reading a book written by an acquaintance of mine entitled “The Silk Weaver’s Daughter”. It is always on the subject of the Huguenot’s. I find French history fascinating!
    Regards,
    Kay

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      January 27, 2012 at 8:02 am

      Thanks for your note, Kay. Sounds like a great book, and I enjoy learning about history via literature.

      Thanks again for taking time to write.!

      Reply
  22. Ford M. says

    April 9, 2018 at 11:34 am

    Please visit http://www.Huguenotsociety.org (Huguenot Society of South Carolina) which carries a number of tasteful pieces of jewelry incorporating the Huguenot cross.
    The society’s library houses a recognized repository of Huguenot holdings dating from the 16th century to present day with leading Huguenot researchers and archivists on staff who are available to assist with questions and research.
    The society publishes a quarterly member newsletter and annual scholarly journal, Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina.

    Reply
    • Ann Kroeker says

      April 9, 2018 at 9:12 pm

      How lovely to have you stop by with your great resource! People will love to know about this!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Various and Sundry (1/31) | Hope Road says:
    April 17, 2010 at 10:55 am

    […] history: Ann Kroeker posted about one of her favorite pieces of jewelry, The Huguenot Cross. The Huguenots were French Calvinistic Protestants who were heavily persecuted a few hundred years […]

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