U+2720 "✠" Maltese Cross Unicode Character

U+2720 "✠" Maltese Cross is a symbol with a rich history, most famously associated with the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta, dating back to the Crusades. Its distinctive design features four V shaped arms that converge at the center, with the inner edges forming a hollow octagonal shape, symbolizing the eight obligations or beatitudes of the knights. Today, it is widely used as an emblem of honor, bravery, and solidarity, appearing in heraldry, military insignia, and as a decorative or gothic typeface element, often carrying connotations of protection and chivalry. Despite its religious origins, in modern contexts it is also utilized by various fire departments and as a general symbol for the island nation of Malta.

General Properties

Code Point	U+2720
Version Added	1.1
Name	Maltese Cross
Block	Dingbats
General Category	Other Symbol
Canonical Combining Class	Not Reordered
Bidirectional Class	Other Neutral

Encodings

HTML Decimal Encoding	✠
HTML Hex Encoding	✠
UTF-8 Encoding	0xE2 0x9C 0xA0
UTF-16 Encoding	0x2720
UTF-32 Encoding	0x00002720
C/C++/Java Escape	\u2720

Unicode Properties

NFC Quick Check	Yes
NFD Quick Check	Yes
NFKC Quick Check	Yes
NFKD Quick Check	Yes
Numeric Type	None
Numeric Value	NaN
Line Break	Alphabetic
Script	Common
Script Extensions	Common
Indic Syllabic Category	Other
Pattern Syntax	Yes
Vertical Orientation	Upright
Grapheme Base	Yes
Grapheme Cluster Break	Other
Word Break	Other
Sentence Break	Other