Visible honour awarded to an individual recipient
An
order
is a visible
honour
awarded by a
sovereign state
,
monarch
,
dynastic house
or
organisation
to a person, typically in recognition of individual
merit
, that often comes with distinctive
insignia
such as
collars
,
medals
,
badges
, and
sashes
worn by recipients.
Modern honour systems of
state orders
and
dynastic orders
emerged from the culture of
orders of chivalry
of the
Middle Ages
, which in turn emerged from the
Catholic religious orders
.
Terminology
[
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]
The word order (
Latin
:
ordo
), in the case referred to in this article, can be traced back to the
chivalric orders
, including the
military orders
, which in turn trace the name of their organisation back to that of the
Catholic religious orders
.
Orders began to be created
ad hoc
and in a more courtly nature. Some were merely honorary and gradually the
badges
of these orders (i.e. the association) began to be known informally as
orders
. As a result, the modern distinction between
orders
and
decorations
or
insignia
has become somewhat blurred. While some
orders
today retain the original notion of being an association or society of individuals, others make no distinction, and an "order" may even be the name of a decoration.
Most historic chivalric orders imply a membership in a group, typically a
confraternity
. In a few exclusive European orders, membership is or was also limited in number. Decorations seldom have such limitations. Orders often come in multiple classes, including
knights
and
dames
in imitation of the original chivalric orders.
[2]
History
[
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]
Modern national orders,
orders of merit
, and decorations, emerged from the culture of chivalric orders established in the
Middle Ages
, originally the military orders of the Middle Ages and the
Crusades
, who in turn grew out of the original Catholic religious orders.
While these chivalric orders were "societies, fellowships and colleges of knights",
[3]
founded by the
Holy See
or European monarchs in imitation of the military orders of the Crusades, granting membership in such societies gradually developed into an honour that could be bestowed in recognition of service or to ensure the loyalty of a certain
clientele
. Some of modern Europe's highest honours, such as the
Order of the Golden Fleece
,
England
's
Order of the Garter
,
Denmark
's
Order of the Elephant
and
Scotland
's
Order of the Thistle
, were created during that era. They were essentially courtly in nature, characterised by close personal relations between the orders' members and the orders' sovereign.
In the contemporary era, 96% of the world's states ? 196 out of a sample of 204 polities, which includes sovereignty-claiming entities like
Abkhazia
? were found to use Orders to bestow them upon their own citizens and, as a diplomatic tool, upon foreigners. In total, 133 states even regulate the use of Orders in their constitutions. Only Switzerland, Micronesia, Libya, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, and the Seychelles do not seem to confer official civil orders of merit.
[4]
Orders by fount of honour
[
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]
State orders
[
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]
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Dynastic orders
[
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]
By the time of the
Renaissance
, most European monarchs had either acquired an existing order of chivalry, or created new ones of their own, to reward loyal civilian and especially military officials. Such orders remained out of reach to the general public, however, as being of noble rank or birth was usually a prerequisite to being admitted.
In the 18th century, these ideas gradually changed and the orders developed from "honourable societies" to visible honours. An example of this gradual development can be seen in two orders founded by
Maria Theresa of Austria
. While the
Military Order of Maria Theresa
(1757) was open to any deserving military officer regardless of social origin, and would grant titles of nobility to those who did not already have them, the
Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
(1764) still required that one had to have at least four generations of noble ancestors.
Still today, many dynastic orders are granted by royal families to worthy individuals for service and achievements.
Orders by type
[
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]
Orders of chivalry
[
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]
Military orders
[
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]
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Orders of merit
[
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]
In 1802
Napoleon
created the
Legion of Honour
(
Legion d'honneur
),
which could be awarded to any person, regardless of status,
for bravery in combat or for 20 years of distinguished service. While still retaining many trappings of an order of chivalry, it was the first modern national order of merit and is still
France
's highest award today. The French Legion of Honour served as the model for numerous modern orders of merit in the
Western world
, such as the
Order of Leopold
in
Belgium
(1832) and the
Order of the British Empire
in the
United Kingdom
(1917). Orders of merit based on the French Legion of Honour typically retain five classes in accordance with habits of chivalric orders.
In
communist countries
, orders of merit usually come in one to three grades, with only a
badge
worn with or without a
ribbon
on the chest. An example of a communist order of merit was the one-class
Order of Lenin
of the
Soviet Union
(1930). Unlike Western orders, however, communist orders could be awarded more than once to an individual. After the
collapse of the Soviet Bloc
in the 1990s, most Eastern European countries reverted to the Western-style orders originally established before the rise of communism.
Today, many countries have some form of order of merit or national decorations. Both
Thailand
's
Order of the White Elephant
and
Japan
's
Order of the Rising Sun
are over 100 years old. In
Canada
and some Commonwealth Realms, the
Order of Merit
is the highest civilian honour. Canada has the
Order of Canada
and provincial orders such as the
Order of Nova Scotia
.
Australia
has the
Order of Australia
, and
New Zealand
awards the
Order of New Zealand
and the
New Zealand Order of Merit
. The
Order of Mapungubwe
is the highest honour in
South Africa
, while the
Orders of Luthuli
, and the
Baobab
exist alongside other decorations. The
United States
awards the
Medal of Honor
to members of its military for acts of valour, and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
and the
Congressional Gold Medal
to civilians. The
Legion of Merit
is the only United States decoration which may be issued in award degrees (much like an order of chivalry or certain orders of merit), but award degrees are only made to foreign nationals, typically senior military officers or government officials.
Switzerland
does not award any orders. Article 12 of the
1848 Swiss Constitution
prohibited the acceptance of honours and titles by Swiss citizens.
[8]
The current Constitution of 1999
has no specific prohibition, but a federal statute effectively continues the prohibition by barring holders of foreign orders from holding public office. This practice has become common across the globe (albeit other countries usually issue a general prohibition to accept foreign orders, allowing for generous exceptions).
[9]
Australia, for instance, bans the acceptance of honors from other sovereigns unless the honorific order comes from a list of countries specified in a regulation.
[10]
In 1974 the
Cabinet of Sweden
passed a
regulation
forbidding the
monarch of Sweden
from awarding membership in orders to Swedish citizens. The orders themselves were not abolished, but only the
Royal Orders of the Seraphim
and the
Polar Star
(both established in 1748) continued to be awarded, and only to foreign citizens and stateless individuals. In 1995 the regulation was altered, allowing the monarch to bestow the two remaining active orders to members of the
Swedish royal family
.
[11]
Finally, in 2022, the 48-year-old regulation was repealed by the Swedish Government, the orders were re-opened to Swedish citizens, and the two dormant orders (
Sword
and
Vasa
) were revived, with effect from 2023.
[12]
Modern orders are usually open to all citizens of a particular country, regardless of status, sex, race or creed; there may be a minimum age for eligibility. Nominations are made either by private citizens or by government officials, depending on the country. An order may be revoked if the holder is
convicted
of a crime or
renounces citizenship
. Some people nominated for an award refuse it.
Ecclesiastical
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]
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See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
Works cited
[
edit
]
- Hieronymussen, Poul Ohm; Lundø, Jørgen, eds. (1968).
Eurooppalaiset kunniamerkit varikuvina
[
Europæiske ordner i farver
] (in Finnish). Translated by Karnila, Christer. Porvoo: WSOY.
OCLC
466954328
.
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