Stafford knot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stafford knot
The arms of the Borough of Stafford
The Stafford badge
Information
Family	Stafford family

The Stafford knot, also sometimes called the Staffordshire knot, is a distinctive three-looped knot that is the traditional symbol of the English county of Staffordshire and of its county town, Stafford. It is a particular representation of the simple overhand knot, the most basic knot of all.

The knot was the badge of the de Stafford family. The fanciful legend of its origin is that three convicted felons who had committed a crime together were due to be executed in Stafford gaol. There was argument over who should be hanged first but the hangman solved the problem by devising this knot and hanging the three simultaneously. However, the knot can be seen on a 4 ft (1.2 m) high carved Anglo-Saxon cross in a churchyard in Stoke-upon-Trent. This strongly suggests it pre-dates the Norman and medieval period, being probably either a heraldic symbol of early Mercia or a Celtic Christian symbol brought to Staffordshire by missionary monks from Lindisfarne.

The knot appears on the coat of arms of the Borough of Stafford, and the county motto of Staffordshire is "the knot unites". The North Staffordshire Railway was referred to as the Knotty after the knot.

Stoke-on-Trent based football team Port Vale also use the knot on their club badge, as have West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City.

v • d • e Heraldic knots Bourchier knot · Bowen knot · Cavendish knot · Dacre knot · Harrington knot · Hastings knot · Heneage knot · Hinckaert knot · Hungerford knot Lacy knot · Medici knot · Morvillier knot · Ormonde knot · Savoy knot · Shakespeare knot · Stafford knot · Trafford knot · Tristram knot · Wake knot

This article has not been added to any categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. (May 2009)