Part 10

_Austria-Hungary._--The following are the principal orders other than that of the Golden Fleece (_supra_). _The Order of St Stephen of Hungary_, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress Maria Theresa, consists of the grand master (the sovereign), 20 knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights. The badge is a green enamelled cross with gold borders, suspended from the Hungarian crown; the red enamelled medallion in the centre of the cross bears a white patriarchal cross issuing from a coroneted green mound; on either side of the cross are the letters M.T. in gold, and the whole is surrounded by a white fillet with the legend _Publicum Meritorum Praemium_. The ribbon is green with a crimson central stripe. The collar, only worn by the knights grand cross, is of gold, and consists of Hungarian crowns linked together alternately by the monograms of St Stephen, S.S., and the foundress, M.T.; the centre of the collar is formed by a flying lark encircled by the motto _Stringit amore_. An illustration of the star of the grand cross is given on Plate V. fig. 4. _The Order of Leopold_, for civil and military service, was founded in 1808 by the emperor Francis I. in memory of his father Leopold II. The three classes take precedence next after the corresponding classes of the order of St Stephen. The badge is a red enamelled cross bordered with white and gold and surmounted by the imperial crown; the red medallion in the centre bears the letters F.I.A., and on the encircling white fillet is the inscription _Integritati et Merito_. When conferred for service in war the cross rests on a green laurel wreath. The ribbon is scarlet with two white stripes. The collar consists of imperial crowns, the initials F. and L. and oak wreaths. _The Order of the Iron Crown_, i.e. of Lombardy, was founded by Napoleon as king of Italy in 1809, and refounded as an Austrian order of civil and military merit in 1816 by the emperor Francis I.; the number of knights is limited to 100--20 grand cross, 30 commanders, 50 knights. The badge consists of the double-headed imperial eagle with sword and orb; below it is the jewelled iron crown of Lombardy, and above the imperial crown; on the breast of the eagle is a gold-bordered blue shield with the letter F. in gold. The military decoration for war service also bears two green laurel branches. The ribbon is yellow edged with narrow blue stripes. The collar is formed of Lombard crowns, oak wreaths and the monogram F. P. (_Franciscus Primus_). _The Order of Francis Joseph_, for personal merit of every kind, was founded in 1849 by the emperor Francis Joseph I. It is of the three usual classes and is unlimited in numbers. The badge is a black and gold imperial eagle surmounted by the imperial crown. The eagle bears a red cross with a white medallion, containing the letters F. J., and to the beaks of the two heads of the eagle is attached a chain on which is the legend _Viribus Unitis_. The ribbon is deep red. The _Order of Maria Theresa_ was founded by the empress Maria Theresa in 1757. It is a purely military order and is given to officers for personal distinguished conduct in the field. There are three classes. There were originally only two, grand cross and knights. The emperor Joseph II. added a commanders' class in 1765. The badge is a white cross with gold edge, in the centre a red medallion with a white gold-edged _fesse_, surrounded by a fillet with the inscription _Fortitudini_. The ribbon is red with a white central stripe. The _Order of Elizabeth Theresa_, also a military order for officers, was founded in 1750 by the will of Elizabeth Christina, widow of the emperor Charles VI. It was renovated in 1771 by her daughter, the empress Maria Theresa. The order is limited to 21 knights in three divisions. The badge is an oval star with eight points, enamelled half red and white, dependent from a gold imperial crown. The central medallion bears the initials of the founders, with the encircling inscription _M. Theresa parentis gratiam perennem voluit_. The ribbon is black. The _Order of the Starry Cross_, for high-born ladies of the Roman Catholic faith who devote themselves to good works, spiritual and temporal, was founded in 1668 by the empress Eleanor, widow of the emperor Ferdinand III. and mother of Leopold I., to commemorate the recovery of a relic of the true cross from a dangerous fire in the imperial palace at Vienna. The relic was supposed to have been peculiarly treasured by the emperor Maximilian I. and the emperor Frederick III. The patroness of the order must be a princess of the imperial Austrian house. The badge is the black double-headed eagle surrounded by a blue-enamelled ornamented border, with the inscription _Salus et Gloria_ on a white fillet; the eagle bears a red Greek cross with gold and blue borders. The _Order of Elizabeth_, also for ladies, was founded in 1898.

_Belgium._--The _Order of Leopold_, for civil and military merit, was founded in 1832 by Leopold I., with four classes, a fifth being added in 1838. The badge is a white enamelled cross, with gold borders and balls, suspended from a royal crown and resting on a green laurel and oak wreath. In the centre a medallion, surrounded by a red fillet with the motto of the order, _L'union fait la force_, bears a golden Belgian lion on a black field. The ribbon is watered red. The _Order of the Iron Cross_, the badge of which is a black cross with gold borders, with a gold centre bearing a lion, was instituted by Leopold II. in 1867 as an order of civil merit. The military cross was instituted in 1885. There are also the following orders instituted by Leopold II. for service in the Congo State: the _Order of the African Star_ (1888), the _Royal Order of the Lion_ (1891) and the _Congo Star_ (1889).

_Bulgaria._--The _Order of SS Cyril and Methodius_ was instituted in 1909 by King Ferdinand to commemorate the elevation of the principality to the position of an independent kingdom. It now takes precedence of the _Order of St Alexander_, which was founded by Prince Alexander in 1881, and reconstituted by Prince Ferdinand in 1888. There are six classes. The plain white cross, suspended from the Bulgarian crown, bears the name of the patron saint in old Cyrillic letters in the centre.

_Denmark._--The _Order of the Elephant_, one of the chief European orders of knighthood, was, it is said, founded by Christian I. in 1462; a still earlier origin has been assigned to it, but its regular institution was that of Christian V. in 1693. The order, exclusive of the sovereign and his sons, is limited to 30 knights, who must be of the Protestant religion. The badge of the order is illustrated on Plate IV. fig. 5. The ribbon is light watered blue, the collar of alternate gold elephants with blue housings and towers, the star of silver with a purple medallion bearing a silver or brilliant cross surrounded by a silver laurel wreath. The motto is _Magnanime pretium_. The _Order of the Dannebrog_ is, according to Danish tradition, of miraculous origin, and was founded by Valdemar II. in 1219 as a memorial of a victory over the Esthonians, won by the appearance in the sky of a red banner bearing a white cross. Historically the order dates from the foundation in 1671 by Christian V. at the birth of his son Frederick, the statutes being published in 1693. Originally restricted to 50 knights and granted as a family or court decoration, it was reconstituted as an unlimited order of merit in 1808 by Frederick VI.; alterations have been made in 1811 and 1864. It now consists of three classes--grand cross, commander (two grades), knight, and of one rank of ordinary members (_Dannebrogs maender_). The badge of the order is, with variations for the different classes, a white enamelled Danish cross with red and gold borders, bearing in the centre the letter W (V) and on the four arms the inscription _Gud og Kongen_ (For God and King). The ribbon is white with red edging.

_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.