English branch of the mendicant order of Fratres Cruciferi, claiming Eastern origin and flourishing in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries; suppressed, 1656. They sought permission to settle in England at the synod of Rochester, 1244, and in time established eight or nine houses there. They followed the Augustinian rule and each friar carried in his hand a wooden staff surmounted by a cross; hence their name.