The Order of Arts and Letters () is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

of France established on 2 May 1957 by the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. Its origin is attributed to the

Order of Saint Michael The Order of Saint Michael () is a French dynastic order of chivalry, founded by King Louis XI of France on 1 August 1469, in response to the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor fo ...

(established 1 August 1469), as acknowledged by French government sources.Archives de France
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Background

To be considered for the award, French government guidelines stipulate that citizens of France must be at least thirty years old, respect French civil law, and must have "significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance". Membership is not, however, limited to French nationals; recipients include numerous foreign luminaries. Foreign recipients are admitted into the Order "without condition of age". The Order has three grades: * (Commander) — medallion worn on a

necklet A necklet is a type of state decoration, decoration which is designed to be worn and displayed around a person's neck, rather than hung (draped) from the chest as is the standard practice for displaying most decorations. In the Middle Ages most ...

; up to 20 recipients a year * (Officer) — medallion worn on a ribbon with rosette on left breast; up to 60 recipients a year * (Knight) — medallion worn on a

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

on left breast; up to 200 recipients a year The (medallion) of the Order is an eight-pointed, green-enameled

asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, in gilt for Commanders and Officers and in silver for Knights; the obverse central disc has the letters "A" and "L" on a white-enameled background, surrounded by a golden ring emblazoned with the phrase . The reverse central disc features the head of

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

on a golden background, surrounded by a golden ring bearing the words . The Commander's badge is topped by a gilt twisted ring. The ribbon of the Order is green with four white stripes.

Members of the Order

Upgrading rank

According to the statutes of the Order, French citizens must wait a minimum of 5 years before they are eligible to be upgraded from to , or to , and must have displayed additional meritorious deeds than just those that originally made them a . However, in the statutes, there is a clause saying "". (Translation: "The officers and commanders of the Legion of Honour can be promoted directly to an equivalent grade in the Order of Arts and Letters".) This means that if someone were to be made of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, then the next year, that person could be directly made of the Order of Arts and Letters and bypass a nomination as a knight and the five-year rule.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres Awards established in 1957 1957 establishments in France Civil awards and decorations of France Orders of merit

Background

Members of the Order

Upgrading rank

See also

References

External links