The Y-shaped cross, or forked cross, is a Christian symbol. It has been popular in western Europe since the early thirteenth century and its use later spread to other parts of the world. This form of cross is also known as the crucifixus dolorosus, the furca, the ypsilon cross, and occasionally the ‘robber’s cross’ or ‘thief’s cross’, because it was said to be the cross used for the two thieves who were crucified together with Jesus Christ.
The Y-shaped cross has been a popular form of decoration on Catholic and Protestant Christian liturgical vestments, especially the chasuble, for many centuries.
Sources:
- DRYDEN, Alice (1911). The Arts of the Church: Church Embroidery, London: A. R Mowbray & Co., Ltd.
- JOHNSTONE, Pauline (2002). High Fashion in the Church, Leeds/London: Maney Publishing, p.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 9th July 2016).
GVE