The Coat of Arms
The Coat of Arms is composed of three elements: 1)The Shield is red with a white cross and it indicated that the bearer was a crusader. It is from the time when the first Crusade was called by the Pope in 1096. 2) The eight pointed cross was developed from the logo of the merchants of Amalfi, Italy. After 1530, when the Order was domiciled in Malta, it was called the Maltese cross. 3) The double headed Austrian eagle was granted in 1502 by Maximillian I to the Hospitaller Order of St. Anthony. In 1775 this Order was amalgamated with the Order of St John, and the eagle was given to our order as the supporting third element.
The Crown of the Order
The crown surmounting the three elements of the Coat of Arms was worn by Czar Paul I of Russia. It was given to him in 1799. The Cap of Estate within the Crown is black, representative of the Benedictine Order. This colour also shows through under the headband of the Crown. The gold Crown itself is not decorated with precious stones but with raised embellishments of the actual gold. The Crown still exists in the care of the Palace Museum (Palowsky) in St Petersburg, Russia.