Sword - Crossed Swords Symbol

Crossed Swords Symbol

"Crossed swords" redirects here. For other uses, see Crossed swords (disambiguation).

The crossed swords symbol (⚔ at Unicode U+2694) is used to represent battlegrounds on maps. It is also used to show that person died in battle or that a war machine was lost in action. Two crossed swords also look like a Christian cross and the mixed symbolism has been used in military decorations, for instance in the Polish Order of the White Eagle (before 1730) and the Cross of Independence. Several German military orders in both world wars had grades adorned with crossed swords, e.g. Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), and so was the British Order of Merit when awarded for military achievements. Crossed swords are also used in tatoos as a symbol of power, violence and death.

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Famous quotes containing the words crossed, swords and/or symbol:

    A slight digression: that bit about my mother was a deliberate lie. In reality, she was a woman of the people, simple and coarse, sordidly dressed in a kind of blouse hanging loose at the waist. I could, of course, have crossed it out, but I purposely leave it there as a sample of one of my essential traits: my light-hearted, inspired lying.
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    I had, my Country—am I to be blamed?
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    William Faulkner (1897–1962)