PRUSSIA has no very ancient orders, although the Order of the Black Eagle is held in the highest estimation. It was founded in 1701 by the Elector of Brandenburg to commemorate his coronation as king of Prussia (Frederick I.). It is limited to thirty knights (exclusive of princes of the royal blood), who must prove a noble descent for four generations. Badge, a blue enamelled Maltese cross, with a black eagle displayed in each angle; in the centre the royal cipher F.R. with the motto Suum cuique.—The Order of the Red Eagle was originated in 1705, and was raised to the second rank by Frederick William II. Only those having it can receive the Black Eagle. The badge is similar to the Black Eagle, except that the cross is white and the eagle red.—Order of the Crown was instituted in 1861 by William I. to commemorate his coronation as king of Prussia. Badge, white enamelled gold cross with gold edges, having in the centre the royal crown on a gold field.—The order Pour le Mérite was a reconstitution in 1740 by Frederick the Great of an older order. It has a military and a civil division; and in 1842 William IV. constituted a special class for science and art, to include thirty Germans and a not larger number of foreigners.—A new Order of St John of Jerusalem was founded in 1812 by
Frederick-William III., which received a new constitution from Frederick-William IV. in 1852 (see HOSPITALLERS).—Order of Civil Merit in arts and sciences was founded by Frederick-William IV. in honour of the memory of Frederick II.—Order of Louisa was founded in 1815 by Frederick-William III. for women's services in war.—Order of the House of Hohenzollern, founded in 1851.
ROUMANIA.—The Order of the Star, for civil and military merit, instituted by Prince Charles in 1877.—Order of the Crown of Roumania, founded in 1881 by the king of Roumania.
RUSSIA, like Prussia, has no very ancient orders, though entry into all of them creates nobility.—The Order of St Andrew, the patron saint of Russia, founded in 1698 by Peter the Great, is the highest in the empire. It carries with it the orders of St Anne, Alexander Nevsky, and St Stanislaus. Badge, the Russian double-headed eagle charged with St Andrew on an azure cross, and surmounted by the imperial crown.—Order of St Catharine, founded by Peter the Great in honour of his consort Catharine I. in 1714, is now restricted to ladies.—Order of Alexander Nevsky, instituted by Catharine I. in 1725 in honour of Alexander, son of Jaroslav, Prince of Novgorod (1240). It is both civil and military, the latter open to no one under the rank of major-general.—Order of St Anne, founded in 1735 by Duke Frederick Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp in memory of the Empress Anne, and declared a Russian order in 1796 by Paul III.—Order of St George, instituted in 1796 by Catharine II. for officers of the army and navy.—Order of St Vladimir, founded by Catharine II. in 1782 as an order of civil and military merit. Among other qualifications, 'whoever, at the peril of his life, saves ten lives from fire or water' may claim it.
The POLISH orders of the White Eagle, an old order supposed to date from 1325, 'restored' in 1807, St Stanislaus, founded by Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in 1765, and Military Merit, by Stanislaus Augustus in 1792 and revived at Warsaw in 1807, were in 1831 united with those of Russia.
SAXONY.—The Order of the Crown of Rue was founded in 1807 by King Frederick Augustus, at the suggestion of Napoleon I.—Order of Albert the Valorous, for merit in science, art, and civil virtue, instituted by King John in 1850.—Order of St Henry, for merit on the battlefield, founded by Augustus III., king of Poland and Elector of Saxony in 1739.—Order of Civil Merit, founded in 1815 by King Frederick Augustus on his restoration.—Order of Sidonia, for ladies, founded in 1870 by King John as a reward for services during war.
SERVIA has three orders: the Double-headed White Eagle, founded by Milan I. in 1883 to commemorate the re-establishment of the kingdom, is conferred for services to the king or country.—The Cross of Takovo, founded in 1865 by Prince Michael, is for services to the cause of Servian independence.—The Order of St Sava, for services to education, literature, or the church, was instituted in 1883.
SIAM.—The Royal Order of the White Elephant was instituted in 1861, and consists of five classes. It is the highest of Siamese orders, and was accepted by the Empress-Queen Victoria. Badge, a beautifully enamelled white elephant, surrounded by a triple circlet of leaves in yellow, red, and green enamel, and surmounted by the Siamese crown.—The Order of the Crown, the second order in Siam, instituted by the king of Siam in 1869.—Other orders are Chulachondas; the Sacred Order, said to have been instituted in 1782; and the Order of Maha Chakrakri, founded by the king of Siam in 1882 in honour of the centenary of his capital.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICAN STATES.—Brazil, prior to the establishment of a republic in 1890, had four orders—Order of Pedro (1827); Order of the Southern Cross (1822); Order of the Rose (1829), all instituted by Dom Pedro I.; and Order of St Benedict of Avis, St James of the Sword, and of Christ, taken to Brazil when a dependency of Portugal, and proclaimed as 'national' in 1823.—Bolivia and Peru—Legion of Honour (1866).—Honduras—Order of Santa Rosa (1868).—Nicaragua—Order of St John of Nicaragua (1857).—Venezuela—Order of the Bust of Bolivar (1825).
SPAIN.—The Order of Calatrava was instituted to commemorate the recovery of that town from the Moors in 1147. Convents of nuns were attached to the order in 1219 and in 1479. In 1523 Charles V. vested in the crown of Spain the grand mastership of the orders of Calatrava, Alcantara, and St James. Badge, on a gold lozenge a red fleur-de-lis cross.—Order of St James of Compostella, founded in 1175 in honour of the relics of the patron saint of Spain, believed to be preserved at Compostella. It is now purely military. Badge, a red enamel sword with fleur-de-lis hilt, in an oval white enamel medallion with a red border.—Order of Alcantara (q.v.), instituted in 1177 by Pope Alexander III., but the name Alcantara was only assumed in 1213 on their getting possession of that place. Badge, same as Calatrava, but green.—Order of Our Lady of Montesa, founded in 1317 by James II. of Aragon and Valencia.—The Golden Fleece, identical with the Austrian order of the same name (see GOLDEN FLEECE).—Order of Charles the Third, founded by that sovereign in 1771.—Order of Maria Louisa, founded by Charles IV. in 1792 for 'noble ladies.'—Order of St Hermengilde, founded by Ferdinand VII. in 1814 for officers of the army and navy.—St Ferdinand, founded by Ferdinand VII. in 1811 for military exploits, includes a class for subaltern officers and soldiers.—Isabella the Catholic, founded by Isabella of Portugal in 1815 for defence of the American possessions.—Beneficencia, established by royal decree in 1856 for humane and useful public service.—Naval Merit, founded on the 'Marine Cross' of 1816, in 1866.—Maria Isabella Louisa, instituted in 1833 to reward the lower ranks of officers, in honour of the king's 'august daughter.'—Military Merit, founded by Queen Maria Isabella Louisa in 1864.
SWEDEN AND NORWAY.—Order of the Seraphim, or Blue Ribbon, of doubtful origin, but assigned to King Magnus (1280), revived in 1748 by Frederick I. It has twenty-four Swedish and eight foreign knights, who must not be under rank of lieutenant-general.—Order of the Sword, or Yellow Ribbon, ascribed to Gustavus Vasa and revived by Frederick I. in 1748.—Order of the Pole Star, or Black Ribbon, founded in 1748 by Frederick I. for civil merit.—Order of Vasa, founded by Gustavus III. on his coronation in 1776 to reward services in developing the natural resources of the country. It has a green ribbon.—Order of Charles the Thirteenth, founded by that monarch in 1811 for freemasons of high degree. It has a red ribbon. This is memorable as the only knightly order into which only freemasons are admitted.—Order of St Olaf, founded by King Oscar in 1847 in memory of St Olaf, who in 1015 threw off the yoke of Denmark. It is open to the meritorious of all classes. Red ribbon with blue and white borders.
TURKEY.—Order of the Nishani Medjid, established by Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid in 1850 for good conduct in the Turkish service. It has five classes, the first having fifty and the last six thousand members, not including foreigners who may receive it.—Nishani Osmanie, instituted in 1862. It has four classes for services to the state, military and civil.—Nishani Shefakat, instituted in 1877 for ladies, to commemorate the 'Turkish Compassionate Fund' under the auspices of Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
WÜRTEMBERG.—Order of the Crown of Württemberg, formed in 1818 by the union of an older order with Frederick I.'s Order of Civil Merit of 1806. It confers personal nobility on civilians.—Order of Frederick, a military order founded by King William in 1818 in honour of his father.—Order of Military Merit, instituted in 1759 by Duke Charles Engéne.—Order of Olga, for ladies, founded by King Charles X. in 1871 in honour of his queen, Olga, and is bestowed for special service in the field, for both sexes.
In addition there are many minor governments which have orders. Hawaii has three, Kamehamahe (1865), Kalauau (1874), and Kapiolani (date uncertain). Abyssinia, Cambodia, Liberia, Zanzibar, &c. have one each.
A complete account of all the orders, fully illustrated, with a complete bibliography of the subject, will be found in Orders of Chivalry, by Major J. H. Lawrence-Archer (Lond. 1887), to which work we are indebted for much of our information. See also Elias Ashmole, Institution of the Garter and other Military Orders (1693); Clark's History of the Orders of Knighthood (1784); Hansen, The Orders of Europe (1802); Carlisle, Foreign Orders of Knighthood (1839); Nicholas, History of British Orders of Knighthood (1842); Sir Bernard Burke, Book of the Orders of Knighthood (1858).