Knighthood

The Order for Merit (Ordre pour le Merite), one of the most highly prized of European orders of merit, had 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 later name and granted for civil and military distinction by Frederick the Great, 1740. In 18io the order was made one for military merit against the enemy in the field exclusively. In 1840 the class for distinc tion for science and art, or peace class, was founded by Frederick William IV. The number was limited to 3o German and 3o for eign members. The Academy of Sciences and Arts on a vacancy nominated three candidates, from which one was selected by the king. It is interesting to note that this was the only distinction which Thomas Carlyle would accept. The Order of the Crown, founded by William I. in 1861, ranked with the Red Eagle. Other Prussian orders were 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 later form dating from 1893; and the family Order of the House o.f Hohenzollern, founded in 1851 by Frederick William IV. There was also for ladies the Order of Service,'founded in 1814 by Frederick William III., in one class, but enlarged in 185o and in 1865. The decoration of merit for ladies (Verdienst-kreuz) founded in 187o, 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 was founded as a family order by Frederick Augustus I. in 1807. It was of one class only, and the sons and nephews of the sovereign were born knights of the order. It was granted to foreign ruling princes and subjects of high rank. Other Saxon orders were the military Order of St. Henry; the Order of Albert, for civil and military merit ; the Order of Civil Merit, 1815. For ladies there were the Order of Sidonia, 187o, in memory of the wife of Albert the Bold, the mother of the Albertine line; and the Maria Anna Order, 5906.

xi. The duchies of Saxe Altenburg, Saxe Coburg Gotha and Saxe Meiningen had 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 founded in 169o. Saxe Coburg Gotha and Saxe Meiningen had also separate crosses of merit in science and art.

xii. Saxe Weimar.—The Order of the White Falcon or of Vigi lance was founded in 1732 and renewed in 1815.

xiii. Wfirttemberg.—The Order of the Crown of Wurttemberg was founded in 1818, uniting the former Order of the Golden Eagle and an order of civil merit. Besides the military Order of Merit founded in 1759, and the silver cross of merit, 1900, Wurt temberg had also the Order of Frederick, 183o, and the Order of Olga, 1871, which was 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 were five classes, the numbers being regulated for each. In 1912 was instituted the Order of George I.

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 V oor Moed, Beleid, Trouw (for Valour, Devo tion, 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. 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. 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 15 joys of the Virgin; hence the number of the knights was restricted to 15, the 15 chaplains recited 15 masses each day, and the clauses of the original statute of the order were 15 (Amadeus VIII. added five others in 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 modi fications in the statute and the costume. 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, and from it hangs a pendant enclosing a medallion representing the Annunciation. The motto nas been taken as the Latin word meaning "he bears" or as representing the initials of the legend Fortitudo Ejus Rhodum Tenuit, with an allusion to a defence of the island of Rhodes by an ancient count of Savoy.