Languedoc

The flag of Languedoc bears the Occitan cross (crotz occitana) — a golden twelve-pointed cross on a red field. This distinctive cross features four arms of equal length, each terminating in three round balls (pommetty), creating twelve points in total that are said to represent the twelve signs of the zodiac or the twelve months of the year. The cross was the emblem of the Counts of Toulouse, who ruled Languedoc before the devastating Albigensian Crusade of the 13th century. Today the Occitan cross is the primary symbol of Occitan cultural identity across southern France, from Aquitaine to Provence, and appears on flags and emblems throughout the Midi.