The Maltese cross is a symbol identified with the Christian warrior whose outward points form an octagon (left figure). Another class of cross sometimes (incorrectly) known as the Maltese cross is the cross pattée (from the French word meaning "paw," which each arm of the cross resembles). The TeX macro gives the form of the cross pattée illustrated in the middle figure. Around 1901, Dudeney published a seven-piece dissection of what he termed a "Maltese cross" (but which is actually a variant of the cross pattée) to a square (right figure) due to A. E. Hill (Gardner 1991, p. 46).
Maltese Cross
See also
Cross, Dissection, Maltese Cross CurveExplore with Wolfram|Alpha
References
Foster, M. "A History of the Maltese Cross, as Used by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem." http://www2.prestel.co.uk/church/oosj/cross.htm.Frederickson, G. "Maltese Crosses." Ch. 14 in Dissections: Plane and Fancy. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 157-162, 1997.Gardner, M. The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991.Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha
Maltese CrossCite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Maltese Cross." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/MalteseCross.html