Denmark.—The Order of the Elephant, one of the chief Euro pean 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 3o knights, who must be of the Protestant religion. 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 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 May 19, 1802 (29 Floreal of the year X.), as a general mili
tary 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 seven grand officers administered the order; the order was divided into 15 "cohorts" of seven grand officers, 20 commanders, 3o officers and 35o 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 varying in each rank were attached to the order. In 1805 the rank of "Grand Eagle" (now Grand Cross or Grand Cordon) was insti tuted, 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 Legion 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 March 16 and Nov. 1852, the law of July 25, 1873, the decree of Dec. 29, 1892, and the laws of April 16, 1895, and Jan. 28, 1897, and a decree of June 26, 1900. The president of the republic is the grand master of the order; the administration is in the hands of a grand chan cellor, who has a council of the order nominated by the grand master. The chancellery is housed in the Palais de la Legion d'Honneur, which, burnt during the Commune, was rebuilt in 1878. The order consists of the five classes of grand cross (limited to 8o), grand officer (20o), commander (I,000), officers (4,000), and chevalier or knight, in which the number is unlimited. These limitations in number do not affect the foreign recipients of the order. Salaries are attached to the military and naval recipients of the order when on the active list. The numbers of the recipients of the order sans traiternent are limited through all classes. In ordinary circumstances 20 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. 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 Republique francaise.