What does \ mean in Spring Security Roles Hierarchy Expression?

Question

security:
  jwt:
    issuer: "https://localhost.com"
  rolesHierarchyExpression:
    ROLE_FATHER > ROLE_LORD \
    ROLE_VASSAL > ROLE_HUMBLE_SERVANT
    ROLE_KNIGHT > ROLE_HUMBLE_SERVANT
...

I was wondering in the application yml, what does \ mean? This is Spring Security Oauth 1.0.0.