Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben-by CW Peale-modified

The House Order of Fidelity (german: Hausorden der Treue) is a

dynastic order A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an order under royal patronage. Such an order is bestowed by, as a legitimate , a sovereign or the head of a once-sovereign ruling family. These are often considered part of the cultural p ...

of the

Margraviate of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

. It was established by

Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Charles III William (german: Karl III. Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach; Durlach, Karlsruhe Palace. As was customary at that time, it was originally named in French as the ''Ordre de la Fidélité'', before later being renamed the ''Orden der Treue'' and finally in 1840 the ''Hausorden der Treue''. Its motto was ''Fidelitas'' (Latin for "Fidelity"), which is also part of

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

's coat of arms.

History

The order was founded at the building site of Karlsruhe Palace on 17 June 1715 and later the same day, the palace's foundation stone was laid – this was also the city of

's foundation date. In the city's early years until around 1732, the city's main streets were named after knights of the order, at the suggestion of one of the founding knights and one of the ''obervogts'' or city guards, Johann Christian von Günzer, who also suggested that ''Fidelitas'' be used on the city's coat of arms. On 8 May 1803, Charles Frederick, Margrave of Baden added the class of Commander to the order. After Baden was promoted to a

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in th ...

in 1806, it became one of Baden's highest orders. From 1814, it returned to being a single-class order. From 17 January 1840, it was made the highest order in Baden and renamed the ''Hausorden der Treue''. By a statute of 17 June 1840, it was expanded back into two classes and reserved for princes of the grand ducal house, foreign sovereigns and higher statesmen with the title of "Excellency". In 1902, the Princess Cross class was added, which was reserved for princesses born in the grand ducal house or who had married into it. Even after the monarchies of Germany were abolished, it was awarded as a dynastic order by the House of Baden.

Classes

* Grand Cross * Commander * Princess Cross

Insignia

Star

Its star consists of an eight-point

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

with small golden balls on its tips, gold "C"s (after its founder) in the corners and a suspension loop attached to a crown on the top arm of the cross. The shield on the centre is gold plated with white enamel showing three green mountains below three gold "C"s and the motto ''FIDELITAS''. The rear of the gold shield shows the arms of Baden and a red

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shi ...

Badge

This is a silver eight-arm cross, with an orange medallion on the front and four gold double "C"s on the silver arms.

Sash

This is orange with a narrow silver stripe down each side. It is worn over the right shoulder and left hip. On its left side is a gap for the badge.

Recipients

When the Order of Fidelity was reserved for foreign sovereigns, members of the ruling house and princes, the concurrent award of the Order of the Zähringer Lion continued until 1877. After that date, the Grand Cross of the

Order of Berthold the First The Order of Berthold the First was a dynastic order in the Grand Duchy of Baden. It was established on 29 April 1877 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession as an additional class above the gra ...

was awarded first instead.

Distribution

The number of distributions before the end of the German monarchies (not including awards to members of the grand ducal house) were: The following were awarded the order in diamonds:Arnhard Graf Klenau: ''Orden in Deutschland und Österreich.'' Band II: ''Deutsche Staaten (1806–1918).'' Teil 1. Graf Klenau Verlag, Offenbach 2008, , S. 32.

Bibliography (in German)

* Moritz Ruhl: ''Die Orden, Wappen und Flaggen aller Regenten und Staaten.'' Leipzig 1884. Nachdruck: Offenbach am Main 1998, . *

Maximilian Gritzner Adolf Maximilian Ferdinand Gritzner (29 July 1843 – 10 July 1902) was a German expert on heraldry and a herald in the Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. His reference book on orders of knighthood was still in print in 2000. Gritzner was bo ...

: ''Handbuch der Ritter- und Verdienstorden aller Kulturstaaten der Welt.'' Leipzig 1893, . * Arnhard Graf Klenau: ''Orden in Deutschland und Österreich.'' Band II. Graf Klenau Verlag, Offenbach 2008, . * Lars Adler: ''Die Ordensstiftungen der Markgrafen von Baden 1584–1803: adlige Korporationen im Spiegel fürstlicher Landespolitik.'' („Phaleristische Monographien“, Band 5), with a foreword by

Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden} (Bernhard Max Friedrich August Gustav Louis Kraft; born 27 May 1970) is a German prince and heir to the head of the House of Baden. Early life Prince Bernhard was born in Schloss Salem, Salem, Bodensee, Sale ...

. Konstanz 2008, . * derselbe: '' Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben als Ritter des Markgräflich badischen Ordens der Treue: der Fall einer durch Adelsanmaßung erlangten Ordensmitgliedschaft im 18. Jahrhundert.'' In: ''Herold-Jahrbuch'' des Herold, Verein für Heraldik, Genealogie und Verwandte Wissenschaften. N.F., 11. Band (2006). , , S. 9–32. * derselbe: ''Ordenspokal und Temperantiabecher. Gläsergarnitur des badischen Fidelitasordens.'' In: ''Orden und Ehrenzeichen.'' herausgegeben von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde e. V. 10. Jahrgang (2008). Heft Nr. 54, April 2008, S. 74–80. * ''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Grossherzogthums Baden'', 184
Statuten und Liste der Ordensträger
in der Google-Buchsuche

References

External links

*
Statutes
*
Verleihungsliste badischer Fidelitasorden 1715-1802
{{Orders, decorations, and medals of the German Empire