Tom Steyer draws a medieval symbol on his hand in pen every day to remind himself to always tell the truth

• Tuesday's Democratic Debate introduced billionaire candidate Tom Steyer to a new audience - many of whom noticed a symbol on his hand.
• It is called the Jerusalem Cross, a Christian symbol with origins in the medieval Crusades.
• Steyer says that he draws the symbol on his hand every day as a reminder of the importance of telling the truth.
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Tom Steyer had two cut-through moments at Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Iowa - though neither were to do with his policies.

One was his status as the awkward man-in-the-middle as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders confronted each other over whether Sanders in 2018 told Warren that a woman cannot win the presidency.

The second was a moderate surge in social media attention on the unusual symbol he sports on his left hand.

Steyer's hand symbol, a large cross surrounded by four smaller ones, is called a Jerusalem Cross, and dates from medieval times.

According to Steyer, he draws it on himself every morning with a pen. He has spoken about the symbol plenty before, but it got extra prominence this week because of his status as one the last six Democrats standing in the TV debates.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News in October, Steyer told the outlet: "for a while now I have drawn it on my hand every day to remind myself to tell the truth."

Steyer said he only found out the name of the symbol after he started drawing it.

The Jerusalem Cross has roots in medieval Christianity, particularly the Crusades, a series of wars in which European Christians tried to invade and hold Jerusalem and the area around it.

It is seen on armor, shields, on coins and in paintings from the medieval period.

According to Dan Jones, an author cited by The Washington Post for his expertise on Christian symbolism, the Jerusalem cross is often a symbol of pilgrimage to the city.

However, it is not unusual for different people and groups to use the symbol for different purposes.

Jones's work was used as context for an article about Donald Trump Jr. posing with an AR-15-style rifle marked with a Jerusalem Cross.