In heraldry, a cross (or other ordinary) cleché (clechée, clechy) flares out at the ends before tapering back to a point, in a shape resembling the bow of an old-fashioned key (French clé).[1][2] An example is the Occitan cross or Cross of Toulouse in the coat of arms of the counts of Toulouse: Gules, a cross cléchée, pommetty and voided Or. Because this Occitan cross is also voided (hollow), some writers[3] have mistakenly taken the term cléché to be a synonym of voided or to include voiding as a defining feature.[2]

A cross cléchée (not voided, nor botony).
A cross cléchée voided botony (a cross of Toulouse).

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References

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  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Cleché". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Vol. Clausum–Coining (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 233.

  1. ^ J. B. Rietstap, Armorial General, glossary s.v. croix cléchée (p. xix): "Se dit des arrondissements de la croix de Toulouse, dont les quatre extrémités sont faites comme les anneaux des clés."
  2. ^ a b James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (James Parker & Co., 1894, reprinted David & Charles, 1970), in the entry on "Cross", pages 161–2
  3. ^ E.g. Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry Archived 2021-05-05 at the Wayback Machine