pentangel

Noun

 * 1) pentangle
 * 2) * Late 1300s, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 2.6 (transl. by W.A. Neilson 1999, Cambridge, Ontario: In Parentheses Publications)
 * THEN þay schewed hym þe schelde, þat was of schyr goulez
 * Wyth þe pentangel depaynt of pure golde hwez.
 * He braydez hit by þe bauderyk, aboute þe hals kestes,
 * Þat bisemed þe segge semlyly fayre.
 * And quy þe pentangel apendez to þat prynce noble
 * I am in tent yow to telle, þof tary hyt me schulde:
 * Hit is a syngne þat Salamon set sumquyle
 * In bytoknyng of trawþe, bi tytle þat hit habbez,
 * For hit is a figure þat haldez fyue poyntez,
 * And vche lyne vmbelappez and loukez in oþer,
 * And ayquere hit is endelez; and Englych hit callen
 * Oueral, as I here, þe endeles knot.
 * Then they showed him the shield, that was of sheer gules, with the pentangle painted in pure gold. He took it by the baldric and cast it about his neck; and it became the hero passing fair. And why the pentangle pertains to that noble prince I mean to tell you, though it should delay me. It is a sign that Solomon set formerly as a token of truth, by its own right, for it is a figure that holds five points, and each line overlaps and locks in another; and throughout it is endless; and the English call it everywhere, as I hear, the endless knot.