Bowen knot

Bowen knot
Information
Family	Bowen Family
Region	Wales

The Bowen knot (also known as the heraldic knot in symbolism) is not a true knot, but is rather a heraldic knot, sometimes used as a heraldic charge. It is named after the Welshman James Bowen (died 1629)^[1] and is also called true lover's knot.^[1] It consists of a rope in the form of a continuous loop laid out as an upright square shape with loops at each of the four corners.^[2] Since the rope is not actually knotted, it would in topological terms be considered an unknot.

In Norwegian heraldry a Bowen knot is called a valknute (valknut) and the municipal coat of arms of Lødingen from 1984 has a femsløyfet valknute which means a Bowen knot with five loops.^[3]

An angular Bowen knot is such a knot with no rounded sides, so that it appears to be made of five squares. A Bowen knot with lozenge-shaped loops is called a bendwise Bowen knot or a Bowen cross.

The Dacre, Hungerford, Lacy, Shakespeare, and Tristram knots are all considered variations of the Bowen knot, and are sometimes blazoned as such.

The Bowen knot resembles the symbol ⌘ (

• 
  Bowen knot in a book from 1827^[4]
• 
  Angular Bowen knot
• 
  Bowen cross
• 
  Arms of the Norwegian municipality Lødingen
• 
  Schildknoten
• 
  Totem sign as a symbol of the ancient culture of the region in the coat of arms of Kostomuksha city
• 
  Fensterrautenkreuz
• 
  Coat of arms from Hausgereut (Rheinau, Baden):^[5] Hausmarke with triangles instead of loops

References