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The Occitan Cross - Also called the Cross of Toulouse and, erroneously, the Cathar Cross, is unique to the area of South West France. 

In English heraldic terms the cross of Toulouse is described as "gules a cross clechy pommety and voided or". In French Heraldic terms as "de gueules, a la croix vidée, clechée, pommettée et alaisée d'or".   Both translate as "on a red background, a yellow cross with pointy ends and its centre cut out, and a bobble (pomette) on each of its 12 points. The twelve pomettes may well have evolved from 12 rivets used to fix a cross clechy onto a real military shield.

According to tradition, Raymond IV adopted the cross during the First Crusade, but it is known to have been used before the First Crusade. In 990 Guillame Taillefer, Count of Toulouse, married Emma, daughter and heir of Roubaud, Count of Provence, bringing Provençal counties as her dowry. In these lands the Counts vassals appear to have been the first to adopt the cross. It was mentioned in 1080 at Marseille, in connection with the Counts of Venasque. Their county, the Venaissin, would soon after pass into the hands of the Count of Toulouse as the Marquis de Provence. 

Some believe the origin of the cross to be pre-Christian. Its origin may have been a twelve-ray solar wheel, such as the one found in Saint-Michel-de-Lanes not far from Toulouse. The twelve discs may have symbolised the twelve houses of the zodiac - as can be seen in the large modern cross set into the square outside the Capitole in Toulouse.

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Below is collection of Occitan Crosses offered with various bold background colours, both traditional and non-traditional to suit your decor.