Orders began to be createdad hoc and in a more courtly nature. Some were merely honorary and gradually thebadges of these orders (i.e. the association) began to be known informally asorders. As a result, the modern distinction betweenorders anddecorations orinsignia has become somewhat blurred. While someorders 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 aconfraternity. 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, includingknights anddames in imitation of the original chivalric orders.[2]
Modern national orders, orders of merit, and decorations, emerged from the culture of chivalric orders established in theMiddle Ages, originally the military orders of the Middle Ages and theCrusades, who in turn grew out of the original Catholic religious orders.[1]
While these chivalric orders were "societies, fellowships and colleges of knights",[3] founded by theHoly 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 certainclientele. Some of modern Europe's highest honours, such as theOrder of the Golden Fleece,England'sOrder of the Garter,Denmark'sOrder of the Elephant andScotland'sOrder 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 likeAbkhazia – 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]
By the time of theRenaissance, 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 byMaria Theresa of Austria. While theMilitary 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, theOrder 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.[5]
In 1802Napoleon created theLegion of Honour (Légion d'honneur),[6] which could be awarded to any person, regardless of status,[7] 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 stillFrance's highest award today. The French Legion of Honour served as the model for numerous modern orders of merit in theWestern world, such as theOrder of Leopold inBelgium (1832) and theOrder of the British Empire in theUnited Kingdom (1917). Orders of merit based on the French Legion of Honour typically retain five classes in accordance with habits of chivalric orders.
Incommunist countries, orders of merit usually come in one to three grades, with only abadge worn with or without aribbon on the chest. An example of a communist order of merit was the one-classOrder of Lenin of theSoviet Union (1930). Unlike Western orders, however, communist orders could be awarded more than once to an individual. After thecollapse of the Soviet Bloc in the 1990s, most Eastern European countries reverted to the Western-style orders originally established before the rise of communism.
Switzerland does not award any orders. Article 12 of the1848 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 theCabinet of Sweden passed aregulation forbidding themonarch of Sweden from awarding membership in orders to Swedish citizens. The orders themselves were not abolished, but only theRoyal Orders of the Seraphim and thePolar 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 theSwedish 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 andVasa) 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 isconvicted of a crime orrenounces citizenship. Some people nominated for an award refuse it.
^"St. George's Chapel: History: Order of the Garter". See the definition of the Order of the Garter as "a society, fellowship and college of knights" there. – St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. 2005. Archived fromthe original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved6 November 2006.
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