According to a late 16th-century definition, a symbol is a sign that points to a situation and makes it intelligible; the symbol can be a way of behaving, a concrete object (e.g. a wedding ring), an image (e.g. a heraldic device [Arms]), or a verbal expression (e.g. a watchword) [2]. This article does not deal with the theological term symbolum, “creed.”
According to Erasmus of Rotterdam and Andrea Alciato, the ability of a symbol to convey meaning is based on attributes of the thing repr…