Chapter V: Part 5

_France._--_The Legion of Honour_, the only order of France, and one which in its higher grades ranks in estimation with the highest European orders, was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte on the 19th of May 1802 (29 Floreal of the year X.) as a general military and civil order of merit. All soldiers on whom "swords of honour" had been already conferred were declared _legionaries ipso facto_, and all citizens after 25 years' service were declared eligible, whatever their birth, rank or religion. On admission all were to swear to co-operate so far as in them lay for the assertion of the principles of liberty and equality. The organization as laid down by Napoleon in 1804 was as follows: Napoleon was grand master; a grand council of 7 grand officers administered the order; the order was divided into 15 "cohorts" of 7 grand officers, 20 commanders, 30 officers and 350 legionaries, and at the headquarters of the cohorts, for which the territory of France was separated into 15 divisions, were maintained hospitals for the support of the sick and infirm legionaries. Salaries (_traitements_) varying in each rank were attached to the order. In 1805 the rank of "Grand Eagle" (now Grand Cross, or _Grand Cordon_) was instituted, taking precedence of the grand officers. At the Restoration many changes were made, the old military and religious orders were restored, and the _Legion of Honour_, now _Ordre Royale de la Légion d'Honneur_, took the lowest rank. The revolution of July 1830 restored the order to its unique place. The constitution of the order now rests on the decrees of the 16th of March and 24th of November 1852, the law of the 25th of July 1873, the decree of the 29th of December 1892, and the laws of the 16th of April 1895 and the 28th of January 1897, and a decree of the 26th of June 1900. The president of the republic is the grand master of the order; the administration is in the hands of a grand chancellor, who has a council of the order nominated by the grand master. The chancellery is housed in the _Palais de la Légion de l'Honneur_, which, burnt during the Commune, was rebuilt in 1878. The order consists of the five classes of grand cross (limited to 80), grand officer (200), commander (1000), officers (4000), and chevalier or knight, in which the number is unlimited. These limitations in number do not affect the foreign recipients of the order. Salaries (_traitements_) are attached to the military and naval recipients of the order when on the active list, viz. 3000 francs for grand cross, 2000 francs for grand officers, 1000 francs for commanders, 250 francs for chevaliers. The numbers of the recipients of the order _sans traitement_ are limited through all classes. In ordinary circumstances twenty years of military, naval or civil service must have been performed before a candidate can be eligible for the rank of chevalier, and promotions can only be made after definite service in the lower rank. Extraordinary service in time of war and extraordinary services in civil life admit to any rank. Women have been decorated, notably Rosa Bonheur, Madame Curie and Madame Bartet. The Napoleonic form of the grand cross and ribbon is illustrated on Plate IV, fig. 6; the cross from which the drawing was made was given to King Edward VII. when prince of Wales in 1863. In the present order of the French Republic the symbolical head of the Republic appears in the centre, and a laurel wreath replaces the imperial crown; the inscription round the medallion is _République française_. Since 1805 there has existed an institution, _Maison d'éducation de la Legion d'Honneur_, for the education of the daughters, granddaughters, sisters and nieces of members of the Legion of Honour. There are three houses, at Saint Denis, at Écouen and Les Loges (see _Dictionnaire de l'administration française_, by M. Block and E. Magnéro, 1905, _s.v._ "Decorations").

Among the orders swept away at the French Revolution, restored in part
at the Restoration, and finally abolished at the revolution of July
1830 were the following: The _Order of St Michael_ was founded by
Louis XI. in 1469 for a limited number of knights of noble birth.
Later the numbers were so much increased under Charles IX. that it
became known as _Le Collier à toutes bêtes_. In 1816 the order was
granted for services in art and science. In view of the low esteem
into which the _Order of St Michael_ had fallen, Henry III. founded in
1578 the _Order of the Holy Ghost_ (_St Esprit_). The badge of the
order was a white Maltese cross decorated in gold, with the gold
lilies of France at the angles, in the centre a white dove with wings
outstretched, the ribbon was sky blue (_cordon bleu_). The motto of
the order was _Duce et auspice_. The _Order of St Louis_ was founded
by Louis XIV. in 1693 for military merit, and the _Order of Military
Merit_ by Louis XV. in 1759, originally for Protestant officers.

_Germany._--i. _Anhalt._ The _Order of Albert the Bear_, a family
order or _Hausorden_, was founded in 1836 by the dukes Henry of
Anhalt-Köthen, Leopold Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau and Alexander
Charles of Anhalt-Bernburg. Changes in the constitution have been made
at various dates. It now consists of five classes, grand cross,
commander (2 classes) and knights (2 classes). The badge is a gold
oval bearing in gold a crowned and collared bear on a crenellated
wall; below the ring by which the badge is attached to the ribbon is a
shield with the arms of the house of Anhalt, on the reverse those of
the house of Ascania. Round the oval is the motto _Fürchte Gott und
folge seine Befehle_. The ribbon is green with two red stripes. The
grand master alone wears a collar.

ii. _Baden._ The _Order of Fidelity or Loyalty_ (_Hausorden der
Treue_) was instituted by William, margrave of Baden-Durlach in 1715,
and reconstituted in 1803 by the elector Charles Frederick. There is
now only one class, for princes of the reigning house, foreign
sovereigns and eminent men of the state. The badge is a red enamelled
cross with gold borders and double C's interlaced in the angles; in
the centre a white medallion with red monogram over a green mound
surmounted by the word _Fidelitas_ in black; the cross is suspended
from a ducal crown. The ribbon is orange with silver edging. The
military _Order of Charles Frederick_ was founded in 1807. There are
three classes. The badge is a white cross resting on a green laurel
wreath, the ribbon is red with a yellow stripe bordered with white.
The order is conferred for long and meritorious military service. The
_Order of the Zähringen Lion_ was founded in 1812 in commemoration of
the descent of the reigning house of Baden from the dukes of
Zähringen. It has been reconstituted in 1840 and 1877. It now consists
of five classes. The badge is a green enamel cross with gold clasps in
the angles; in the central medallion an enamelled representation of
the ruined castle of Zähringen. The ribbon is green with two orange
stripes. Since 1896 the _Order of Berthold I._ has been a distinct
order; it was founded in 1877 as a higher class of the _Zähringen
Lion_.

iii. _Bavaria._ The _Order of St Hubert_, one of the oldest and most
distinguished knightly orders, was founded in 1444 by duke Gerhard V.
of Jülich-Berg in honour of a victory over Count Arnold of Egmont at
Ravensberg on the 3rd of November, St Hubert's day. The knights wore a
collar of golden hunting horns, whence the order was also known as the
_Order of the Horn_. Statutes were granted in 1476, but the order fell
into abeyance at the extinction of the dynasty in 1609. It was revived
in 1708 by the elector palatine, John William of Neuberg, and its
constitution was altered at various times, its final form being given
by the elector Maximilian Joseph, first king of Bavaria, in 1808.
Exclusive of the sovereign and princes of the blood, and foreign
sovereigns and princes, it consists of twelve capitular knights of the
rank of count or _Freiherr_. The badge of the order and the ribbon are
illustrated in Plate V. fig. 3. The central medallion represents the
conversion of St Hubert. The collar is composed of gold and blue
enamel figures of the conversion linked by the Gothic monogram I.T.V.,
_In Trau Vast_, the motto of the order, alternately red and green. The
_Order of St George_, said to have been founded in the 12th century as
a crusading order and revived by the emperor Maximilian I. in 1494,
dates historically from its institution in 1729 by the elector Charles
Albert, afterwards the emperor Charles VII. It was confirmed by the
elector Charles Theodore in 1778 and by the elector Maximilian Joseph
IV. as the second Bavarian order. Various new statutes have been
granted from 1827 to 1875. The order is divided into two branches, "of
German and foreign languages," and it also has a "spiritual class."
The members of the order must be Roman Catholics. The badge is a blue
enamelled cross with white and gold edging suspended from the mouth of
a gold lion's head; in the angles of the cross are blue lozenges
containing the letters V.I.B.I., _Virgini Immaculatae Bavaria
Immaculata_. The central medallion contains a figure of the Immaculate
Conception. The medallion on the reverse contains a figure of St
George and the Dragon and the corresponding initials J.U.P.F., _Justus
ut Palma Florebit_, the motto of the order. Besides the above Bavaria
possesses the _Military Order of Maximilian Joseph_, 1806, and the
_Civil Orders of Merit of St Michael_, 1693, and of the _Bavarian
Crown_, 1808, and other minor orders and decorations, civil and
military. There are also the two illustrious orders for ladies, the
_Order of Elizabeth_, founded in 1766, and the _Order of Theresa_, in
1827. The foundations of _St Anne of Munich_ and of _St Anne of
Würzburg_ for ladies are not properly orders.

iv. _Brunswick._ The _Order of Henry the Lion_, for military and civil
merit, was founded by Duke William in 1834. There are five classes,
and a cross of merit of two classes. The badge is a blue enamelled
cross dependent from a lion surmounted by the ducal crown; the angles
of the cross are filled by crowned W's and the centre bears the arms
of Brunswick, a crowned pillar and a white horse, between two sickles.
The ribbon is deep red bordered with yellow.

v. _Hanover._ The _Order of St George_ (one class only) was instituted
by King Ernest Augustus I. in 1839 as the family order of the house of
Hanover; the _Royal Guelphic Order_ (three classes) by George, prince
regent, afterwards George IV. of Great Britain, in 1815; and the
_Order of Ernest Augustus_ by George V. of Hanover in 1865. These
orders have not been conferred since 1866, when Hanover ceased to be a
kingdom, and the _Royal Guelphic Order_, which from its institution
was more British than Hanoverian, not since the death of William IV.
in 1837. The last British grand cross was the late duke of Cambridge.

vi. _Hesse._ Of the various orders founded by the houses of
Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt the following are still bestowed in
the grand duchy of Hesse. The _Order of Louis_, founded by the grand
duke Louis I. of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1807; there are five classes; the
black, red and gold bordered cross bears the initial L. in the centre,
the ribbon is black with red borders; the _Order of Philip the
Magnanimous_, founded by the grand duke Louis II. in 1840 has five
classes; the white cross of the badge bears the effigy of Philip
surrounded by the motto _Si Deus vobiscum quis contra nos_. The _Order
of the Golden Lion_ was founded in 1770 by the landgrave Frederick II.
of Hesse-Cassel, the knights are 41 in number and take precedence of
the members of the two former orders. The badge is an open oval of
gold with the Hessian lion in the centre. The ribbon is crimson.

vii. _Mecklenburg._ The grand duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Mecklenburg-Strelitz possess jointly the _Order of the Wendish Crown_,
founded in 1864 by the grand dukes Frederick Francis II. of Schwerin
and Frederick William of Strelitz; there are four classes, with two
divisions of the grand cross, and also an affiliated cross of merit;
the grand cross can be granted to ladies. The badge is a white cross
bearing on a blue centre the Wendish crown, surrounded by the motto,
for the Schwerin knights, _Per aspera ad astra_, for the Strelitz
knights, _Avito viret honore_. The _Order of the Griffin_, founded in
1884 by Frederick Francis III. of Schwerin, was made common to the
duchies in 1904.

viii. _Oldenberg._ The _Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis_, a family
order and order of merit, was founded by the grand duke Paul Frederick
Augustus in memory of his father in 1838. It has two divisions, each
of five classes, of capitular knights and honorary members. The badge
is a white gold bordered cross suspended from a crown, in the centre
the crowned monogram P.F.L. surrounded by the motto _Ein Gott, Ein
Recht, Eine Wahrheit_; the ribbon is dark blue bordered with red.

ix. _Prussia._ The _Order of the Black Eagle_, one of the most
distinguished of European orders, was founded in 1701 by the elector
of Brandenburg, Frederick I., in memory of his coronation as king of
Prussia. The order consists of one class only and the original
statutes limited the number, exclusive of the princes of the royal
house and foreign members, to 30. But the number has been exceeded. It
is only conferred on those of royal lineage and upon high officers of
state. It confers the nobiliary particle _von_. Only those who have
received the _Order of the Red Eagle_ are eligible. An illustration of
the badge of the order with ribbon is given on Plate IV. fig. 3. The
star of silver bears the black eagle on an orange ground surrounded by
a silver fillet on which is the motto of the order _Suum Cuique_. The
collar is formed of alternate black eagles and a circular medallion
with the motto on a white centre surrounded by the initials F.R.
repeated in green, the whole in a circle of blue with four gold crowns
on the exterior rim. The _Order of the Red Eagle_, the second of the
Prussian orders, was founded originally as the _Order of Sincerity_
(_L'Ordre de la Sincerité_) in 1705 by George William, hereditary
prince of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The original constitution and insignia
are now entirely changed, with the exception of the red eagle which
formed the centre of the cross of the badge. The order had almost
fallen into oblivion when it was revived in 1734 by the margrave
George Frederick Charles as the _Order of the Brandenburg Red Eagle_.
It consisted of 30 nobly born knights. The numbers were increased and
a grand cross class added in 1759. On the cession of the principality
to Prussia in 1791 the order was transferred and King Frederick
William raised it to that place in Prussian orders which it has since
maintained. The order was divided into four classes in 1810 and there
are now five classes with numerous subdivisions. It is an order of
civil and military merit. The grand cross resembles the badge of the
Black Eagle, but is white and the eagles in the corners red, the
central medallion bearing the initials W.R. (those of William I.)
surrounded by a blue fillet with the motto _Sincere et Constanter_.
The numerous classes and subdivisions have exceedingly complicated
distinguishing marks, some bearing crossed swords, a crown, or an
oak-leaf surmounting the cross. The ribbon is white with two orange
stripes.

The _Order for Merit_ (_Ordre pour le Mérite_), one of the most highly
prized of European orders of merit, has now two divisions, military
and for science and art. It was originally founded by the electoral
prince Frederick, afterwards Frederick I. of Prussia, in 1667 as the
_Order of Generosity_; it was given its present name and granted for
civil and military distinction by Frederick the Great, 1740. In 1810
the order was made one for military merit against the enemy in the
field exclusively. In 1840 the class for distinction for science and
art, or peace class (_Friedensklasse_) was founded by Frederick
William IV., for those "who have gained an illustrious name by wide
recognition in the spheres of science and art." The number is limited
to 30 German and 30 foreign members. The _Academy of Sciences and
Arts_ on a vacancy nominates three candidates, from which one is
selected by the king. It is interesting to note that this was the only
distinction which Thomas Carlyle would accept. The badge of the
military order is a blue cross with gold uncrowned eagles in the
angles; on the topmost arm is the initial F., with a crown; on the
other arms the inscription _Pour le Mérite_. The ribbon is black with
a silver stripe at the edges. In 1866 a special grand cross was
instituted for the crown prince (afterwards Frederick III.) and Prince
Frederick Charles. It was in 1879 granted to Count von Moltke as a
special distinction. The badge of the class for science or art is a
circular medallion of white, with a gold eagle in the centre
surrounded by a blue border with the inscription _Pour le Mérite_; on
the white field the letters [reverse F]F. II. four times repeated, and
four crowns in gold projecting from the rim. The ribbon is the same as
for the military class. The _Order of the Crown_, founded by William
I. in 1861, ranks with the Red Eagle. There are four classes, with
many subdivisions. Other Prussian orders are the _Order of William_,
instituted by William II. in 1896; a Prussian branch of the knights of
St John of Jerusalem, _Johanniter Orden_, in its present form dating
from 1893; and the family _Order of the House of Hohenzollern_,
founded in 1851 by Frederick William IV. There are two divisions,
military and civil, divided into four classes. The military badge is a
white cross with black and gold edging, resting on a green oak and
laurel wreath; the central medallion bears the Prussian Eagle with the
arms of Hohenzollern, and is surrounded by a blue fillet with the
motto _Vom Fels zum Meer_; the civil badge is a black eagle, with the
head encircled with a blue fillet with the motto. There are also for
ladies the _Order of Service_, founded in 1814 by Frederick William
III., in one class, but enlarged in 1850 and in 1865. The decoration
of merit for ladies (_Verdienst-kreuz_), founded in 1870, was raised
to an order in 1907. For the famous military decoration, the _Iron
Cross_, see MEDALS.

x. _Saxony._--The _Order of the Crown of Rue_ (_Rauten Krone_) was
founded as a family order by Frederick Augustus I. in 1807. It is of
one class only, and the sons and nephews of the sovereign are born
knights of the order. It is granted to foreign ruling princes and
subjects of high rank. The badge is a pale green enamelled cross
resting on a gold crown with eight rue leaves, the centre is white
with the crowned monogram of the founder surrounded by a green circlet
of rue; the star bears in its centre the motto _Providentiae Memor_.
The ribbon is green. Other Saxon orders are the military _Order of St
Henry_, for distinguished service in the field, founded in 1736 in one
class; since 1829 it has had four classes; the ribbon is sky blue with
two yellow stripes, the gold cross bears in the centre the effigy of
the emperor Henry II.; the _Order of Albert_, for civil and military
merit, founded in 1850 by Frederick Augustus II. in memory of Duke
Albert the Bold, the founder of the Albertine line of Saxony, has six
classes; the _Order of Civil Merit_, was founded in 1815. For ladies
there are the _Order of Sidonia_, 1870, in memory of the wife of
Albert the Bold, the mother (_Stamm-Mutter_) of the Albertine line;
and the _Maria Anna Order_, 1906.

(i.) THE ST. ANDREW (Russia). (ii.) THE GOLDEN FLEECE (Spain). (iii.)
THE BLACK EAGLE (Prussia). (iv.) THE TOWER AND SWORD (Portugal). (v.)
THE ELEPHANT (Denmark). (vi.) THE LEGION OF HONOUR
(France-Napoleonic). (vii.) THE ANNUNZIATA (Italy).

_Drawn by William Gibb._

_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]

xi. The duchies of _Saxe Altenburg_, _Saxe Coburg Gotha_ and _Saxe
Meiningen_ have in common the family _Order of Ernest_, founded in
1833 in memory of Duke Ernest the Pious of Saxe Gotha and as a revival
of the _Order of German Integrity_ (_Orden der deutschen Redlichkeit_)
founded in 1690. Saxe Coburg Gotha and Saxe Meiningen have also
separate crosses of merit in science and art.

xii. _Saxe Weimar._--The _Order of the White Falcon_ or _of Vigilance_
was founded in 1732 and renewed in 1815.

xiii. _Württemberg._--The _Order of the Crown of Württemberg_ was
founded in 1818, uniting the former _Order of the Golden Eagle_ and an
order of civil merit. It has five classes. The badge is a white cross
surmounted by the royal crown, in the centre the initial F surrounded
by a crimson fillet on which is the motto _Furchtlos und Treu_; in the
angles of the cross are four golden leopards; the ribbon is crimson
with two black stripes. Besides the military _Order of Merit_ founded
in 1759, and the silver cross of merit, 1900, Württemberg has also the
_Order of Frederick_, 1830, and the _Order of Olga_, 1871, which is
granted to ladies as well as men.

_Greece._--The _Order of the Redeemer_ was founded as such in 1833 by
King Otto, being a conversion of a decoration of honour instituted in
1829 by the National Assembly at Argos. There are five classes, the
numbers being regulated for each. An illustration of the badge and
ribbon of the grand cross is given on Plate V. fig. 1.

_Holland._--The _Order of William_, for military merit, was founded in
1815 by William I.; there are four classes; the badge is a white cross
resting on a green laurel Burgundian cross, in the centre the
Burgundian flint-steel, as in the order of the Golden Fleece. The
motto _Voer Moed, Belied, Trouw_ (For Valour, Devotion, Loyalty),
appears on the arms of the cross. The cross is surmounted by a
jewelled crown; the ribbon is orange with dark blue edging. The _Order
of the Netherlands Lion_, for civil merit, was founded in 1818; there
are four classes. The family _Order of the Golden Lion of Nassau_
passed in 1890 to the grand duchy of Luxembourg (see under LUXEMBURG).
In 1892 Queen Wilhelmina instituted the _Order of Orange-Nassau_ with
five classes. The _Teutonic Order_ (q.v.), surviving in the Ballarde
(Bailiwick) of Utrecht, was officially established in the Netherlands
by the States General in 1580. It was abolished by Napoleon in 1811
and was restored in 1815.

_Italy._--The _Order of the Annunziata_, the highest order of
knighthood of the Italian kingdom, was instituted in 1362 by Amadeus
VI., count of Savoy, as the Order of the Collare or Collar, from the
silver collar made up of love-knots and roses, which was its badge, in
honour of the fifteen joys of the Virgin; hence the number of the
knights was restricted to fifteen, the fifteen chaplains recited
fifteen masses each day, and the clauses of the original statute of
the order were fifteen (Amadeus VIII. added five others in 1434).
Charles III. decreed that the order should be called the Annunziata,
and made some other alterations in 1518. His son and successor,
Emmanuel Philibert, made further modifications in the statute and the
costume. The church of the order was originally the Carthusian
monastery of Pierre-châtel in the district of Bugey, but after Charles
Emmanuel I. had given Bugey and Bresse to France in 1601 the church of
the order was transferred to the Camaldolese monastery near Turin.
That religious order having been suppressed at the time of the French
Revolution, King Charles Albert decreed in 1840 that the Carthusian
church of Collegno should be the chapel of the order. The knights of
the Annunziata have the title of "cousins of the king," and enjoy
precedence over all the other officials of the state. The costume of
the order is of white satin embroidered in silk, with a purple velvet
cloak adorned with roses and gold embroidery, but it is now never
worn; in the collar the motto _Fert_ is inserted, on the meaning of
which there is great uncertainty,[65] and from it hangs a pendant
enclosing a medallion representing the Annunciation (see Plate IV.
fig. 7). An account of the order is given in Count Luigi Cibrario's
_Ordini Cavallereschi_ (Turin, 1846) with coloured plates of the
costume and badges.

The _Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus_ (SS Maurizio e Lazzaro), is a
combination of two ancient orders. The Order of St Maurice was
originally founded by Amadeus VIII., duke of Savoy, in 1434, when he
retired to the hermitage of Ripaille, and consisted of a group of
half-a-dozen councillors who were to advise him on such affairs of
state as he continued to control. When he became pope as Felix V. the
order practically ceased to exist. It was re-established at the
instance of Emmanuel Philibert by Pope Pius V. in 1572 as a military
and religious order, and the following year it was united to that of
St Lazarus by Gregory XIII. The latter order had been founded as a
military and religious community at the time of the Latin kingdom of
Jerusalem with the object of assisting lepers, many of whom were among
its members. Popes, princes and nobles endowed it with estates and
privileges, including that of administering and succeeding to the
property of lepers, which eventually led to grave abuses. With the
advance of the Saracens the knights of St Lazarus, when driven from
the Holy Land and Egypt, migrated to France (1291) and Naples (1311),
where they founded leper hospitals. The order in Naples, which alone
was afterwards recognized as the legitimate descendant of the
Jerusalem community, was empowered to seize and confine anyone
suspected of leprosy, a permission which led to the establishment of a
regular inquisitorial system of blackmail. In the 15th and 16th
centuries dissensions broke out among the knights, and the order
declined in credit and wealth, until finally the grand master,
Giannotto Castiglioni, resigned his position in favour of Emmanuel
Philibert, duke of Savoy, in 1571. Two years later the orders of St
Lazarus and St Maurice were incorporated into one community, the
members of which were to devote themselves to the defence of the Holy
See and to fight its enemies as well as to continue assisting lepers.
The galleys of the order subsequently took part in various expeditions
against the Turks and the Barbary pirates. Leprosy, which had almost
disappeared in the 17th century, broke out once more in the 18th, and
in 1773 a hospital was established by the order at Aosta, made famous
by Xavier de Maistre's tale, _Le Lépreux de la cité d'Aoste_. The
statutes were published in 1816, by which date the order had lost its
military character; it was reformed first by Charles Albert (1831),
and later by Victor Emmanuel II., king of Italy (1868). The knighthood
of St Maurice and St Lazarus is now a dignity conferred by the king of
Italy (the grand master) on persons distinguished in the public
service, science, art and letters, trade, and above all in charitable
works, to which its income is devoted. There are five classes. The
badge of the combined order is composed of the white cross with
trefoil termination of St Lazarus resting on the green cross of St
Maurice; both crosses are bordered gold. The first four classes wear
the badge suspended from a royal crown. The ribbon is dark green.

See L. Cibrario, _Descrizione storica degli Ordini Cavallereschi_,
vol. i. (Turin, 1846); _Calendario Reale_, an annual publication
issued in Rome.

The military _Order of Savoy_ was founded in 1815 by Victor Emmanuel
of Sardinia; badge modified 1855 and 1857. It has now five classes.
The badge is a white cross, the arms of which expand and terminate in
an obtuse angle; round the cross is a green laurel and oak wreath; the
central medallion is red, bearing in gold two crossed swords, the
initials of the founder and the date 1855. The ribbon is red with a
central stripe of blue. The _Civil Order of Savoy_, founded in 1831 by
Charles Albert of Sardinia, is of one class, and in statutes of 1868
is limited to 60 members. The badge is the plain Savoy cross in blue,
with silver medallion, the ribbon is blue with white borders. The
_Order of the Crown of Italy_ was founded in 1868 by Victor Emmanuel
II. in commemoration of the union of Italy into a kingdom. There are
five classes.

_Luxemburg._--The _Order of the Golden Lion_ was founded as a family
order of the house of Nassau by William III. of the Netherlands and
Adolphus of Nassau jointly. On the death of William in 1890 it passed
to the grand duke of Luxemburg; it has only one class. The _Order of
Adolphus of Nassau_, for civil and military merit, in four classes,
was founded in 1858, and the _Order of the Oak Crown_ as a general
order of merit, in five classes, in 1841, modified 1858.

_Monaco._--The _Order of St Charles_, five classes, was founded in
1858 by Prince Charles III. and remodelled in 1863. It is a general
order of merit.

_Montenegro._--The _Order of St Peter_, founded in 1852, is a family
order, in one class, and only given to members of the princely family;
the _Order of Danilo_, or of the _Independence of Montenegro_, is a
general order of merit, in four classes, with subdivisions, also
founded in 1852.

_Norway._--The _Order of St Olaf_ was founded in 1847 by Oscar I. in
honour of St Olaf, the founder of Christianity in Norway, as a general
order of merit, military and civil. There are three classes, the last
two being, in 1873 and 1890, subdivided into two grades each. The
badge and ribbon is illustrated on Plate V, fig. 5. The reverse bears
the motto _Ret og Sandhed_ (Right and Truth). The _Order of the
Norwegian Lion_, founded in 1904 by Oscar II., has only one class;
foreigners on whom the order is conferred must be sovereigns or heads
of states or members of reigning houses.

_Papal._--The arrangement and constitution of the papal orders was
remodelled by a brief of Pius X. in 1905. The _Order of Christ_, the
supreme pontifical order, is of one class only; for the history of
this ancient order see _Portugal_ (_infra_). The badge and ribbon is
the same as the older Portuguese form. The _Order of Pius_ was founded
in 1847 by Pius IX.; there are now three classes; the badge is an
eight-pointed blue star with golden flames between the rays, a white
centre bears the founder's name; the ribbon is blue with two red
stripes at each border. The _Order of St Gregory the Great_, founded
in 1831, is in two divisions, civil and military, each having three
classes. The _Order of St Sylvester_ was originally founded as the
_Order of the Golden Spur_ by Paul IV. in 1559 as a military body,
though tradition assigns it to Constantine the Great and Pope
Sylvester. It was reorganized as an order of merit by Gregory XVI. in
1841. In 1905 the order was divided into three classes, and a separate
order, that of the _Golden Spur_ or _Golden Legion_ (_Militia Aurata_)
was established, in one class, with the numbers limited to a hundred.
The cross _Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice_, instituted by Leo XIII. in
1888 is a decoration, not an order. There remains the venerable _Order
of the Holy Sepulchre_, of which tradition assigns the foundation to
Godfrey de Bouillon. It was, however, probably founded as a military
order for the protection of the Holy Sepulchre by Alexander VI. in
1496. The right to nominate to the order was shared with the pope as
grand master by the guardian of the _Patres Minores_ in Jerusalem,
later by the Franciscans, and then by the Latin patriarch in
Jerusalem. In 1905 the latter was nominated grand master, but the pope
reserves the joint right of nomination. The badge of the order is a
red Jerusalem cross with red Latin crosses in the angles.

_Portugal._--The _Order of Christ_ was founded on the abolition of the
Templars by Dionysius or Diniz of Portugal and in 1318 in conjunction
with Pope John XXII., both having the right to nominate to the order.
The papal branch survives as a distinct order. In 1522 it was formed
as a distinct Portuguese order and the grand mastership vested in the
crown of Portugal. In 1789 its original religious aspect was
abandoned, and with the exception that its members must be of the
Roman Catholic faith, it is entirely secularized. There are three
classes. The original badge of the order was a long red cross with
expanded flat ends bearing a small cross in white; the ribbon is red.
The modern badge is a blue enamelled cross resting on a green laurel
wreath; the central medallion, in white, contains the old red and
white cross. The older form is worn with the collar by the
grand-crosses. The _Order of the Tower and Sword_ was founded in 1808
in Brazil by the regent, afterwards king John VI. of Portugal, as a
revival of the old _Order of the Sword_, said to have been founded by
Alfonso V. in 1459. It was remodelled in 1832 under its present name
and constitution as a general order of military and civil merit. There
are five classes. The badge of the order and ribbon is illustrated on
Plate IV. fig 4. The _Order of St Benedict of Aviz_ (earlier of
_Evora_), founded in 1162 as a religious military order, was
secularized in 1789 as an order of military merit, in four classes.
The badge is a green cross _fleury_; the ribbon is green. The _Order
of St James of the Sword_, or James of Compostella, is a branch of the
Spanish order of that name (see under SPAIN). It also was secularized
in 1789, and in 1862 was constituted an order of merit for science,
literature and art, in five classes. The badge is the lily-hilted
sword of St James, enamelled red with gold borders; the ribbon is
violet. In 1789 these three orders were granted a common badge uniting
the three separate crosses in a gold medallion; the joint ribbon is
red, green and violet, and to the separate crosses was added a red
sacred heart and small white cross. There are also the _Order of Our
Lady of Villa Viçosa_ (1819), for both sexes, and the _Order of St
Isabella_, 1801, for ladies.

_Rumania._--The _Order of the Star of Rumania_ was founded in 1877,
and the _Order of the Crown of Rumania_ in 1881, both in five classes,
for civil and military merit; the ribbon of the first is red with blue
borders, of the second light blue with two silver stripes.

_Russia._--The _Order of St Andrew_ was founded in 1698 by Peter the
Great. It is the chief order of the empire, and admission carries with
it according to the statutes of 1720 the orders of _St Anne_,
_Alexander Nevsky_, and the _White Eagle_; there is only one class.
The badge and ribbon is illustrated in Plate IV. fig 5. The collar is
composed of three members alternately, the imperial eagle bearing on a
red medallion a figure of St George slaying the Dragon, the badge of
the grand duchy of Moskow, the cipher of the emperor Paul I. in gold
on a blue ground, surmounted by the imperial crown, and surrounded by
a trophy of weapons and green and white flags, and a circular red and
gold star with a blue St Andrew's cross. The _Order of St Catherine_,
for ladies, ranks next to the St Andrew. It was founded under the name
of the _Order of Rescue_ by Peter the Great in 1714 in honour of the
empress Catherine and the part she had taken in rescuing him at the
battle of the Pruth in 1711. There are two classes. The grand cross is
only for members of the imperial house and ladies of the highest
nobility. The second class was added in 1797. The badge of the order
is a cross of diamonds bearing in a medallion the effigy of St
Catherine. The ribbon is red with the motto _For Love and Fatherland_
in silver letters. The _Order of St Alexander Nevsky_ was founded in
1725 by the empress Catherine I. There is only one class. The badge is
a red enamelled cross with gold eagles in the angles, bearing in a
medallion the mounted effigy of St Alexander Nevsky. The ribbon is
red. The _Order of the White Eagle_ was founded in 1713 by Augustus
II. of Poland and was adopted as a Russian order in 1831; there is one
class. The _Order of St Anne_ was founded by Charles Frederick, duke
of Holstein-Gottorp in 1735 in honour of his wife, Anna Petrovna,
daughter of Peter the Great. It was adopted as a Russian order in 1797
by their grandson, the emperor Paul. There are four classes. Other
orders are those of _St Vladimir_, founded by Catherine II., 1782,
four classes, and of _St Stanislaus_, founded originally as a Polish
order by Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in 1765, and adopted as a
Russian order in 1831.

The military _Order of St George_ was founded by the empress Catherine
II. in 1769 for military service on land and sea, with four classes; a
fifth class for non-commissioned officers and men, the _St George's
Cross_, was added in 1807. The badge is a white cross with gold
borders, with a red central medallion on which is the figure of St
George slaying the dragon. The ribbon is orange with three black
stripes.

_Servia._--The _Order of the White Eagle_, the principal order, was
founded by Milan I. in 1882, statutes 1883, in five classes; the
ribbon is blue and red; the _Order of St Sava_, founded 1883, also in
five classes, is an order of merit for science and art; the _Order of
the Star of Karageorgevitch_, four classes, was founded by Peter I. in
1904. The orders of _Milosch the Great_, founded by Alexander I. in
1898 and of _Takovo_, founded originally by Michael Obrenovitch in
1863, reconstituted in 1883, are since the dynastic revolution of 1903
no longer bestowed. The _Order of St Lazarus_ is not a general order,
the cross and collar being only worn by the king.

_Spain._--The Spanish branch of the _Order of the Golden Fleece_ has
been treated above. The three most ancient orders of Spain--of _St
James of Compostella_, or _St James of the Sword_, of _Alcantara_ and
of _Calatrava_--still exist as orders of merit, the first in three
classes, the last two as orders of military merit in one class. They
were all originally founded as military religious orders, like the
crusading Templars and the Hospitallers, but to fight for the true
faith against the Moors in Spain. The present badges of the orders
represent the crosses that the knights wore on their mantles. That of
St James of Compostella is the red lily-hilted sword of St James; the
ribbon is also red. The other two orders wear the cross
_fleury_--_Alcantara_ red, _Calatrava_ green, with corresponding
ribbons. A short history of these orders may be here given. Tradition
gives the foundation of the _Order of Knights of St James of
Compostella_ to Ramiro II., king of Leon, in the 10th century, to
commemorate a victory over the Moors, but, historically the order
dates from the confirmation in 1175 by Pope Alexander III. It gained
great reputation in the wars against the Moors and became very
wealthy. In 1493 the grand-mastership was annexed by Ferdinand the
Catholic, and was vested permanently in the crown of Spain by Pope
Adrian VI. in 1522.

The _Order of Knights of Alcantara_, instituted about 1156 by the
brothers Don Suarez and Don Gomez de Barrientos for protection against
the Moors. In 1177 they were confirmed as a religious order of
knighthood under Benedictine rule by Pope Alexander III. Until about
1213 they were known as the Knights of San Julian del Pereyro; but
when the defence of Alcantara, newly wrested from the Moors by
Alphonso IX. of Castile, was entrusted to them they took their name
from that city. For a considerable time they were in some degree
subject to the grand master of the kindred order of Calatrava.
Ultimately, however, they asserted their independence by electing a
grand master of their own, the first holder of the office being Don
Diego Sanche. During the rule of thirty-seven successive grand
masters, similarly chosen, the influence and wealth of the order
gradually increased until the Knights of Alcantara were almost as
powerful as the sovereign. In 1494-1495 Juan de Zuñiga was prevailed
upon to resign the grand-mastership to Ferdinand, who thereupon vested
it in his own person as king; and this arrangement was ratified by a
bull of Pope Alexander VI., and was declared permanent by Pope Adrian
VI. in 1523. The yearly income of Zuñiga at the time of his
resignation amounted to 150,000 ducats. In 1540 Pope Paul III.
released the knights from the strictness of Benedictine rule by giving
them permission to marry, though second marriage was forbidden. The
three vows were henceforth _obedientia_, _castitas conjugalis_ and
_conversio morum_. In modern times the history of the order has been
somewhat chequered. When Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain in
1808, he deprived the knights of their revenues, which were only
partially recovered on the restoration of Ferdinand VII. in 1814. The
order ceased to exist as a spiritual body in 1835.

The _Order of Knights of Calatrava_ was founded in 1158 by Don Sancho
III. of Castile, who presented the town of Calatrava, newly wrested
from the Moors, to them to guard. In 1164 Pope Alexander III. granted
confirmation as a religious military order under Cistercian rule. In
1197 Calatrava fell into the hands of the Moors and the order removed
to the castle of Salvatierra, but recovered their town in 1212. In
1489 Ferdinand seized the grand-mastership, and it was finally vested
in the crown of Spain in 1523. The order became a military order of
merit in 1808 and was reorganized in 1874. The _Royal and Illustrious
Order of Charles III._ was founded in 1771 by Charles III., in two
classes; altered in 1804, it was abolished by Joseph Bonaparte in
1809, together with all the Spanish orders except the Golden Fleece,
and the _Royal Order of the Knights of Spain_ was established. In 1814
Ferdinand VII. revived the order, and in 1847 it received its present
constitution, viz. of three classes (the commanders in two divisions).
The badge of the order is a blue and white cross suspended from a
green laurel wreath, in the angles are golden lilies, and the oval
centre bears a figure of the Virgin in a golden glory. The ribbon is
blue and white. The _Order of Isabella the Catholic_ was founded in
1815 under the patronage of St Isabella, wife of Diniz of Portugal;
originally instituted to reward loyalty in defence of the Spanish
possessions in America, it is now a general order of merit, in three
classes. The badge is a red rayed cross with gold rays in the angles,
in the centre a representation of the pillars of Hercules; the cross
is attached to the yellow and white ribbon by a green laurel wreath.
Other Spanish orders are the _Maria Louisa_, 1792, for noble ladies;
the military and naval orders of merit of _St Ferdinand_, founded by
the Cortes in 1811, five classes; of _St Ermenegild_ (_Hermenegildo_),
1814, three classes, of _Military Merit_ and _Naval Merit_, 1866, and
of _Maria Christina_, 1890; the _Order of Beneficencia_ for civil
merit, 1856; that of _Alfonso XII._ for merit in science, literature
and art, 1902, and the _Civil Order of Alfonso XII._, 1902.

(i) THE REDEEMER (Greece). (ii) THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN
OF JERUSALEM (English Branch, Badge of the Sovereign and Patron).
(iii) THE ST. HUBERT (Bavaria). (iv) THE ST. STEPHEN (Hungary). (v).
THE ST. OLAF (Norway). (vi). THE SERAPHIM (Sweden).

_Drawn by William Gibb._

_Niagara Litho. Co., Buffalo, N. Y._]

_Sweden._--The _Order of the Seraphim_ (the "Blue Ribbon"). Tradition
attributes the foundation of this most illustrious order of knighthood
to Magnus I. in 1280, more certainty attaches to the fact that the
order was in existence in 1336. In its modern form the order dates
from its reconstitution in 1748 by Frederick I., modified by statutes
of 1798 and 1814. Exclusive of the sovereign and the princes of the
blood, the order is limited to 23 Swedish and 8 foreign members. The
native members must be already members of the _Order of the Sword_ or
the _Pole Star_. There is a prelate of the order which is administered
by a chapter; the chapel of the knights is in the Riddar Holmskyrka at
Stockholm. The badge and ribbon of the grand cross is illustrated on
Plate V. fig. 6. The collar is formed of alternate gold seraphim and
blue enamelled patriarchal crosses. The motto is _Iesus Hominum
Salvator_. The _Order of the Sword_ (the "Yellow Ribbon"), the
principal Swedish military order, was founded, it is said, by Gustavus
I. Vasa in 1522, and was re-established by Frederick I., with the
_Seraphim_ and the _Pole Star_ in 1748; modifications have been made
in 1798, 1814 and 1889. There are five classes, with subdivisions. The
badge is a white cross, in the angles gold crowns, the points of the
cross joined by gold swords entwined with gold and blue belts, in the
blue centre an upright sword with the three crowns in gold, the whole
surmounted by the royal crown. The ribbon is yellow with blue edging.
The _Order of the Pole Star_ (_Polar Star_, _North Star_, the "Black
Ribbon"), founded in 1748 for civil merit, has since 1844 three
classes. The white cross bears a five-pointed silver star on a blue
medallion. The ribbon is black. The _Order of Vasa_ (the "Green
Ribbon"), founded by Gustavus III. in 1772 as an order of merit for
services rendered to the national industries and manufactures, has
three classes, with subdivisions. The white cross badge bears on a
blue centre the charge of the house of Vasa, a gold sheaf shaped like
a vase with two handles. The ribbon is green. The _Order of Charles
XIII._, founded in 1811, is granted to Freemasons of high degree. It
is thus quite unique.

_Turkey._--The _Nischan-i-Imtiaz_, or _Order of Privilege_, was
founded by Abdul Hamid II. in 1879 as a general order of merit in one
class; the _Nischan-el-Iftikhar_, or _Order of Glory_, also one class,
founded 1831 by Mahmoud II.; the _Nischan-i-Mejidi_, the _Mejidieh_,
was founded as a civil and military order of merit in 1851 by Abdul
Medjid. There are five classes; the badge is a silver sun of seven
clustered rays, with crescent and star between each cluster; on a gold
centre is the sultan's name in black Turkish lettering, surrounded by
a red fillet inscribed with the words _Zeal_, _Devotion_, _Loyalty_;
it is suspended from a red crescent and star; the ribbon is red with
green borders. The khedive of Egypt has authority, delegated by the
sultan, to grant this order. The _Nischan-i-Osmanie_, the _Osmanieh_,
for civil and military merit, was founded by Abdul Aziz in 1862; it
has four classes. The badge is a gold sun with seven gold-bordered
green rays; the red centre bears the crescent, and it is also
suspended from a gold crescent and star; the ribbon is green bordered
with red. The _Nischan-i-Schefakat of Compassion or Benevolence_, was
instituted for ladies, in three classes, in 1878 by the sultan in
honour of the work done for the non-combatant victims of the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877 in connexion with the Turkish Compassionate
Fund started by the late Baroness Burdett-Coutts. She was one of the
first to receive the order. There are also the family order, for
Turkish princes, the _Hanédani-Ali-Osman_, founded in 1893, and the
_Ertogroul_, in 1903.

_Non-European Orders._--Of the various states of Central and South
America, Nicaragua has the _American Order of San Juan_ or _Grey
Town_, founded in 1857, in three classes; and Venezuela that of the
_Bust of Bolivar_, 1854, five classes; the ribbon is yellow, blue and
red. Mexico has abolished its former orders, the _Mexican Eagle_,
1865, and _Our Lady of Guadalupe_, 1853; as has Brazil those of the
_Southern Cross_, 1822, _Dom Pedro I._, 1826, _the Rose_, 1829, and
the Brazilian branches of the Portuguese orders of _Christ_, _St
Benedict of Aviz_ and _St James_. The republican _Order of Columbus_,
founded in 1890, was abolished in 1891.

_China._--There are no orders for natives, and such distinctions as
are conferred by the different coloured buttons of the mandarins, the
grades indicated by the number of peacocks' feathers, the gift of the
yellow jacket and the like, are rather insignia of rank or personal
marks of honour than orders, whether of knighthood or merit, in the
European sense. For foreigners, however, the emperor in 1882
established the sole order, that of the _Imperial Double Dragon_, in
five classes, the first three of which are further divided into three
grades each, making eleven grades in all. The recipients eligible for
the various classes are graded, from the first grade of the first
class for reigning sovereigns down to the fifth class for merchants
and manufacturers. The insignia of the order are unique in shape and
decoration. Of the three grades of the first class the badge is a
rectangular gold and yellow enamel plaque, decorated with two upright
blue dragons, with details in green and white, between the heads for
the first grade a pearl, for the second a ruby, for the third a coral,
set in green, white and gold circles. The size of the plaque varies
for the different classes. The badges of the other four classes are
round plaques, the first three with indented edges, the last plain; in
the second class the dragons are in silver on a yellow and gold
ground, the jewel is a cut coral; the grades differ in the colour,
shape, &c., of the borders and indentations; in the third class the
dragons are gold, the ground green, the jewel a sapphire; in the
fourth the silver dragons are on a blue ground, the jewel a lapis
lazuli; in the fifth green dragons on a silver ground, the jewel a
pearl. The ribbons, decorated with embroidered dragons, differ for the
various grades and classes.

_Japan._--The Japanese orders have all been instituted by the emperor
Mutsu Hito. In design and workmanship the insignia of the orders are
beautiful examples of the art of the native enamellers. The _Order of
the Chrysanthemum_ (_Kikkwa Daijasho_), founded in 1877, has only one
class. It is but rarely conferred on others than members of the royal
house or foreign rulers or princes. The badge of the order may be
described as follows: From a centre of red enamel representing the sun
issue 32 white gold-bordered rays in four sharply projecting groups,
between the angles of which are four yellow conventional chrysanthemum
flowers with green leaves forming a circle on which the rays rest; the
whole is suspended from a larger yellow chrysanthemum. The ribbon is
deep red bordered with purple. The collar, which may be granted with
the order or later, is composed of four members repeated, two gold
chrysanthemums, one with green leaves, the other surrounded by a
wreath of palm, and two elaborate arabesque designs. The _Order of the
Paulownia Sun_ (_Tokwa Daijasho_), founded in 1888, in one class, may
be in a sense regarded as the highest class of the _Rising Sun_
(_Kiokujitsasho_) founded in eight classes, in 1875. The badge of both
orders is essentially the same, viz. the red sun with white and gold
rays; in the former the lilac flowers of the Paulownia tree, the
flower of the Tycoon's arms, take a prominent part. The ribbon of the
first order is deep red with white edging, of the second scarlet with
white central stripe. The last two classes of the _Rising Sun_ wear a
decoration formed of the Paulownia flower and leaves. The _Order of
the Mirror_ or _Happy Sacred Treasure_ (_Zaihosho_) was founded in
1888, with eight classes. The cross of white and gold clustered rays
bears in a blue centre a silver star-shaped mirror. The ribbon is pale
blue with orange stripes. There is also an order for ladies, that of
the _Crown_, founded in five classes in 1888. The military order of
Japan is the _Order of the Golden Kite_, founded in 1890, in seven
classes. The badge has an elaborate design; it consists of a star of
purple, red, yellow, gold and silver rays, on which are displayed old
Japanese weapons, banners and shields in various coloured enamels, the
whole surmounted by a golden kite with outstretched wings. The ribbon
is green with white stripes.