The Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows ( es, Orden Imperial del Yugo y las Flechas) was a Spanish

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and military order. It was established in 1937 under the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

of ''Caudillo''

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

and discontinued in 1976 following Franco's death and during the

Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. The order was formally abolished in October 2022 under the

Democratic Memory Law The Democratic Memory Law is a law in Spain which came into effect in October 2022, concerning the legacy of Francoist Spain. Background After the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, the Spanish transition to democracy saw the birth of the Pact ...

.s. 41(2) The order came in five grades.

History

The Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows was established on 1 October 1937 by

during the second year of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. The symbol of the

yoke and arrows A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

, known in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

as the ''yugo and flechas'', was a symbol of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

during the late 15th and early 16th century, but was also used as a symbol of

Falangism Falangism ( es, falangismo) was the political ideology of two political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS) and afterwards the Fal ...

. The motto of the order was "To Cesar what is Cesar's and to God what is God's," in reference to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

saying A saying is any concisely written or spoken expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. Sayings are categorized as follows: * Aphorism: a general, observational truth; "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth". ** Ad ...

from Chapter 22 in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

. On 27 January 1943, a decree established that the award would be one of the leaders of the Falangist movement in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

. The award was discontinued in 1976 during the

but was not formally abolished until 2022.

Notable recipients

Spanish recipients

* Juan Cabanas ( es), 19 May 1939 (Commendation) * Francisco Javier Conde ( es), 18 July 1952 (Commendation with Plaque) * Francisco Corbellini Obregón, 18 July 1952 (Commendation) * Manuel Díez-Alegría, 18 July 1969 (Grand Cross) *

, 1 October 1937 (Grand Collar) * Cristóbal González-Aller y Balseyro, 18 July 1952 (Commendation with Plaque) * Leonardo López Fernández, 18 July 1952 (Commendation) *

José Martínez Maza José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

, 18 July 1952 (Commendation with Plaque) *

Aurelio Morazo Palomino Aurelio may refer to: People Politicians * Aurelio D. Gonzales Jr. (born 1964), congressman in the Philippines *Aurélio de Lira Tavares (1905–1998), President of Brazil *Aurelio Martínez, Honduran politician *Aurelio Mosquera (1883–1939), Pr ...

, 18 July 1952 (Commendation) *

Francisco Priede González Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

, 18 July 1952 (Medal) * Manuel María Rincón, 19 March 1940 (Commendation) *

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister since the Second Spanish Republic and a key figure in th ...

, 4 July 1975 (Grand Cross) * Theo Roger, 19 March 1940 (Commendation) * Luis Vilches, 18 July 1952 (Medal)

Foreign recipients

* Arturo Bocchini, 19 May 1939 (Grand Cross) *

Óscar Carmona António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (; 24 November 1869 – 18 April 1951) was a Portuguese Army officer and politician who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1926 to 1928 and as the 11th president of Portugal from 1926 until his death i ...

, 19 May 1939 (Grand Collar) *

Francisco Craveiro Lopes Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes (; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958. Early life and career Born in Lisbon, he was a son of ...

, 14 May 1953 (Grand Collar) *

Faisal II of Iraq Faisal II ( ar, الملك فيصل الثاني ''el-Melik Faysal es-Sânî'') (2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regi ...

, 18 May 1956 (Grand Cross) *

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, 19 May 1939 (Grand Cross) *

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, 4 October 1937 (Grand Collar) * Georg Kolbe, 19 May 1939 (Commendation with Plaque) *

Hans Lammers Hans Heinrich Lammers (27 May 1879 – 4 January 1962) was a German jurist and prominent Nazi politician. From 1933 until 1945 he served as Chief of the Reich Chancellery under Adolf Hitler. During the 1948–1949 Ministries Trial, Lammers was ...

, 9 February 1941 (Medal) * Giandomenico De Marchis, 19 May 1939 (Commendation) *

Mohammed V of Morocco Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

, 3 April 1956 (Grand Collar) * Eugenio Morelli, 7 May 1940 (Commendation) *

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

, 4 October 1937 (Grand Collar) *

Ettore Muti Ettore Muti (2 May 1902 – 24 August 1943) was an Italian aviator and Fascist politician. He was party secretary of the National Fascist Party (''Partito Nazionale Fascista'', or PNF) from October 1939 until shortly after the entry of Italy i ...

, 3 June 1940 (Grand Cross) * Hugh Pollard, 4 October 1937 (Grand Cross) *

Claro M. Recto Claro Mayo Recto Jr. (born Claro Recto y Mayo; February 8, 1890 – October 2, 1960) was a Filipino politician, jurist, and poet. He is remembered for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thoug ...

, 19 March 1940 (Commendation) *

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...

, 28 May 1940 (Grand Collar) * Nuri al-Said, 1 April 1952 (Grand Cross) *

Saud of Saudi Arabia Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سعود بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Suʿūd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 195 ...

, 1 April 1952 (Grand Cross) *

Sami Solh Sami Solh or Sami El Solh ( ar, سامي الصلح) (1887–1968) was a Lebanese Sunni Muslim politician. He was a relative of former Lebanese prime ministers Riad Solh, Takieddine Solh and Rachid Solh. He served as Prime Minister of Lebanon fi ...

, 1 April 1952 (Grand Cross) *

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, 4 October 1937 (Grand Collar)

Gallery

File:Coat of Arms of Francisco Franco as Head of the Spanish State (Order of the Yoke and the Arrows).svg, Coat of arms of

with the award File:Orden Imperial del Yugo y las Flechas.png, Medal of the award

References