Editing Cockade (section)

{{Short description|Rosette or knot of ribbon used as an ornament}}
[[File:Grottger-pozegnanie fragm.jpg|thumb|right|A woman fastening a [[Flag of Poland|red-and-white]] cockade to a Polish insurgent's square-shaped ''[[rogatywka]]'' cap during the [[January Uprising]] of 1863–64]]

A '''cockade''' is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a [[hat]] or [[cap]]. The word cockade derives from the French ''cocarde'', from Old French ''coquarde'', feminine of ''coquard'' (vain, arrogant), from ''coc'' (cock), of imitative origin. The earliest documented use was in 1709.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wordsmith.org/words/cockade.html | title=Cockade }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=cockade | title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: Cockade }}</ref>

The first cockades were introduced in Europe in the 15th century.{{sfn|Adye|1802|p=271}}{{sfn|Troiani|1998|p=99}} The armies of the European states used them to signal the nationality of their soldiers to distinguish allies from enemies.{{sfn|Adye|1802|p=271}}{{sfn|Troiani|1998|p=99}} These first cockades were inspired by the distinctive coloured bands and ribbons that were used in the [[Late Middle Ages]] by [[Chivalry|knights]], both in war and in [[Tournament (medieval)|tournaments]], which had the same purpose, namely to distinguish the opponent from the fellow soldier.{{sfn|Lucchetti|2014|loc=Chapt. 22}} 

The cockade later became a revolutionary symbol par excellence during the insurrectional uprisings of the 18th and 19th centuries. Its main characteristic was that of being able to be clearly visible, thus giving way to unequivocally identify the political ideas of the person who wore it, as well as that of being, in case of need, better hideable than, for example, a flag.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/magazine/lingua_italiana/speciali/colori/Ridolfi.html|title=La politica dei colori nell'Italia contemporanea|access-date=5 August 2018|language=it}}</ref>