Crenelle, or Crenel. A term used sometimes to denote a battlement, but more frequently an embrasure in a battlement. The adjective crenellated is employed to signify that a building is supplied with crenelles.
Crépy. A town of France, department of the Oise; it was captured and sacked by the English in 1339; by the Duke of Lancaster in 1373; occupied by the Burgundians in 1418; by Pothon and Xaintrailles in 1419; it was besieged by the Duke of Burgundy in 1420; taken by the English and their allies in 1431; by Charles VII. in 1433; by the Duc de Mayenne in 1588.
Crépy en Laonois. A town of France, department of Aisne. It was sacked by the English in 1339 and 1373, and taken by the Burgundians in 1418 and 1420. A treaty of peace was concluded here between Spain and France, September 18, 1544.
Crescent. The figure or likeness of the new moon borne in the Turkish flag or national standard; also the standard itself.
Crescent. The name of three orders of knighthood; the first instituted by Charles I., king of Naples and Sicily, in 1268; the second by René of Anjou, in 1448; and the third by the sultan Selim, in 1801. Of these the last is still in existence, and is remarkable for the fact that none but Christians are eligible. See [Crescent, Turkish Order of].
Crescent. In heraldry, is used both as a bearing or charge, and as a difference or mark of cadency. In the latter case it designates the second son, and those that descend from him.
Crescent, Turkish Order of the. In 1799, after the battle of Aboukir, the sultan Selim III. testified his gratitude to Nelson by sending him a crescent richly adorned with diamonds. Selim was flattered by the value which the English admiral seemed to attach to this gift, and it was this circumstance which determined him, in 1801, to found the order of the Crescent, which is only conferred on Christians who have done service to the state. The second person on whom it was conferred was Gen. Sebastiani, for his defense of Constantinople against the English fleet in 1807.
Cressit. A small crease or dagger.
Crest. Signifies the line which marks the top of a parapet. It is sometimes called the interior crest. The exterior, or sub-crest, is the line marking the meeting of the exterior and superior slopes.
Crest. In feudal times was the distinctive ornament of the helmet; hence the term is frequently applied to the helmet itself. In heraldry the crest is shown as an appendage to the shield, placed over it, and usually borne upon a wreath. It is generally either some portion of the coat-armor, or a device commemorative of some incident in the history of a family, and often contains an allusion to the office of the bearer.