Editing Emblem (section)

==Emblems vs. symbols==
[[File:House of the Prince of Naples in Pompeii Plate 147 Triclinium Emblem on North Wall MH.jpg|thumb|left|[[House of the Prince of Naples]] in Pompeii Triclinium Emblem on North Wall]]
Although the words ''emblem'' and ''[[symbol]]'' are often used interchangeably, an emblem is a pattern that is used to represent an [[idea]] or an individual. An emblem develops in concrete, visual terms some abstraction: a [[deity]], a [[tribe]] or [[nation]], or a [[virtue]] or [[vice]].{{Clarify| reason=In which discipline is this distinction done? Is it an elementary notion in such field? As the previous sentence says (as everyone knows) emblem and symbols are interchangeable casually.| date=January 2013}}

An emblem may be worn or otherwise used as an identifying [[badge]] or [[Embroidered patch|patch]]. For example, in America, police officers' badges refer to their personal metal emblem whereas their woven emblems on uniforms identify members of a particular unit. A real or metal [[Cockle (bivalve)|cockle]] shell, the emblem of [[St James the Great|James the Great]], sewn onto the hat or clothes, identified a medieval pilgrim to his shrine at [[Santiago de Compostela]]. In the Middle Ages, many saints were given emblems, which served to identify them in paintings and other images: [[Catherine of Alexandria|St. Catherine of Alexandria]] had a wheel, or a sword, [[St Anthony the Great|St. Anthony the Abbot]], a pig and a small bell. These are also called '''attributes''', especially when shown carried by or close to [[Saint_symbolism|the saint in art]]. Monarchs and other grand persons increasingly adopted [[personal device]]s or emblems that were distinct from their family [[heraldry]]. The most famous include [[Louis&nbsp;XIV of France]]'s sun, the [[Salamander (legendary creature)|salamander]] of [[Francis&nbsp;I of France]], the [[boar]] of [[Richard&nbsp;III of England]] and the [[armillary sphere]] of [[Manuel&nbsp;I of Portugal]]. In the fifteenth and sixteenth century, there was a fashion, started in Italy, for making large [[medal]]s with a portrait head on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] and the emblem on the reverse; these would be given to friends and as [[diplomatic gift]]s. [[Pisanello]] produced many of the earliest and finest of these.

A symbol, on the other hand, substitutes one thing for another, in a more concrete fashion:<ref name="OED"/>
* The [[Christian cross]] is a symbol of the [[crucifixion of Jesus]]; it is an emblem of [[sacrifice]].
* The [[Emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement#Red Cross|Red Cross]] is one of three symbols representing the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|International Red Cross]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2006-03-14 |title=The History of the Emblems |url=http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/emblem-history |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803090304/http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/emblem-history.htm |archive-date=3 August 2012 |access-date=2009-05-29 |website=International Committee of the Red Cross}} History of the emblems of the International Red Cross: An account of this organisation's need to adopt an emblem to represent itself, and the factors which led to it eventually adopting a second (the red crescent) and third (the red crystal).</ref> A red cross on a white background is the emblem of [[humanitarian spirit]].
* The [[crescent]] shape is a symbol of the moon; it is an [[Symbols of Islam|emblem of Islam]].
* The [[Skull and crossbones (poison)|skull and crossbones]] is a symbol identifying a [[poison]].<ref><!--Unable to confirm that the OED2 has a "skull and crossbones" reference, otherwise I would use <ref name="OED"/> -->{{cite web |year=2009 |title=skull and crossbones |url=http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/skull-and-crossbones |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008153956/https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/skull-and-crossbones |archive-date=Oct 8, 2009 |access-date=2009-05-29 |website=Macmillan Dictionary |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]}} macmillandictionary.com entry for "skull and crossbones"</ref> The [[Skull (symbolism)|skull]] is an [[Memento mori|emblem of the transitory nature of human life]].

[[File:Emblemata_Politica-Minor_esca_maioris.jpg|thumb|left|"The big eat the small", a political emblem from an [[emblem book]], 1617]]