Page 409 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

The True Love Knot 403

badges of the English families Stafford, Bouchier, Wake and Ormonde display
knots. Although they are not always regarded now as Friendship Knots, their
usage in family badges continues. Ohrvall mentions a painting belonging to
his family and dating from 1813 [36]. In its background one can see an altar
with the inscription `Sacred be friendship'. By the side of the altar are figures
of a man and a woman. Over them float two doves, which hold a ribbon with
a Figure of Eight Knot in their bills. Under it all can be read:

The further we part, the tighter the Friendship Knot is drawn.

How far the expression The Friendship Knot in this context equates to
the Figure of Eight Knot is not really known. Without doubt, at many times
in the past the Figure of Eight Knot has played an important role as a symbol.
The knot's property to be secure and yet not be able to lock, so that it can
be opened easily, would in many cases have given it its meaning as a symbol.
The connection between Friendship and Love Knots is natural, and before
long it became fashionable among noble ladies to have Love Knots in their
insignia. According to M. Sebastian Jacob Jungendres, refering to an otherwise
anonymous Mr. Trier, the tradition was originated by Anne de Bretagne [23].
The knots, or the lack of them, in the cords on the coats of arms of ladies are
indicative of their status, i.e (Love) Knots for married women and none for
those who were widowed. This phenomenon had an interesting development.
The coat of arms of Louisa de la Tour (ca. 1472), for instance, is divided
into her maiden and marital badge surrounded by a knotted cord. Although
it displays several statuses, the knot can be considered a Love Knot. When
her husband died, Louisa de la Tour got this knotted decoration sewn onto
the ceremonial costumes when she founded the Carmelite church in Chalons
(France), who kept her knot in the heraldic arms of the church choir. In this
way knotted cords became motives in the badges of the clergy. However, this
application can hardly be explained as one of a Love Knot, because the number
of knots indicates the placing of the bearer in the church's hierarchy.

Betrothal Knots
In our account so far, we have proceeded to the situation of around the 1500s
in Southern Europe. We will now turn to Northern Europe and see how parts
of its pagan culture reacted to the christianisation process.
At an early stage of its history, the Roman Catholic church supplanted
the role of the Hercules Knot as a symbol of love by wedding- and engagement
rings. Yet, as we saw in the foregoing section, the symbolic power of knots did
not become extinct. In Northern Europe a knot, which (presumably indepen-
dently) has played an important role, is the Betrothal Knot. Betrothal is the