The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a
dynastic order of chivalry
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order (distinction), order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic Military order (religious society), military orders of the ...
founded 5 April 1693 by King
Louis XIV, named after
Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional
officers, notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles. By the authorities of the
French Republic
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, it is considered a predecessor of the
Legion of Honour, with which it shares the red
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 mater ...
(though the Legion of Honour is awarded to military personnel and civilians alike).
Although officially abolished by the government authorities of the
July Revolution in 1830 following the
French Revolution, its activities carried on as a dynastic order of the formerly sovereign royal family. As such, it is still recognised by the
International Commission on Orders of Chivalry.
Icoregister
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Members
The King was the Grand Master of the order, and the Dauphin was automatically a member as well. The Order had three classes:
*''Grand-Croix'' (Grand Cross)
*''Commandeur'' (Commander)
*''Chevalier'' (Knight)
The entire order included 8 Grand Crosses, 28 Commanders and a variable number of Knights. Officers of the Order included, after the Grand Master, a ''Trésorier'' ( Treasurer), a ''Greffier'' ( Registrar) and a ''Huissier'' (Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.
Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical
Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...
).
The badge of the order consisted of a portrait of Saint Louis surrounded by the motto « LUD(OVICUS) M(AGNUS) IN(STITUIT) 1693 » ("Louis the Great instituted it in 1693"). The reverse features a sword interlaced with a laurel crown and a white sash, with the inscription « BELL(ICAE) VIRTUTIS PRAEM(IUM) » ("reward of wartime valour"). Knights wore the badge suspended from a ribbon on the breast, Commanders wore a red ribband (sash) over the right shoulder, and recipients of the Grand Cross wore the ribband as well as a star on the left breast. The general assembly of the Order was held annually on 25 August, the feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of Saint Louis, in the residence of the King.
Conditions for being inducted did not include nobility; however, Catholic faith was mandatory, as well as at least ten years' service as a commissioned officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
in the Army or the Navy. Members of the Order received a pension. Hereditary nobility was granted to a knight's son and grandsons. Another decoration, the Institution of Military Merit ( :fr:Institution du mérite militaire) was created for the Protestant officers in service of the French king (mainly foreign mercenaries, as French Protestants were not tolerated at the time).
Until the death of Louis XIV, the medal was awarded to outstanding officers only, but it gradually came to be an award that most officers would receive during their career. On 1 January 1791, during the French Revolution, a decree changed the name to ''décoration militaire'' ("military decoration"). It was subsequently withdrawn on 15 October 1792.
One of the first acts of Louis XVIII was to reinstate the Order of Saint Louis, using it to award officers of the Royal and Imperial armies alike. In 1830 the new king Louis-Philippe abolished the order, which was never reinstated.
File:Comte d'Angiviller.jpg, Comte d'Angiviller
Charles Claude Flahaut, Count of Angiviller (1730–1809) was the director of the Bâtiments du Roi, a forerunner of a minister of fine arts in charge of the royal building works, under Louis XVI of France, from 1775. Through Flahaut, virtually ...
depicted wearing the insignia of the Order of Saint Louis with a rosette.
File:Symon-de-Solemy.jpg, Jean-Baptiste Symon de Solémy wearing the insigna of Chevalier of the order of Saint Louis.
File:Rochambeau Versailles.jpg, Rochambeau wearing the sash of Commandeur of the Order of Saint Louis
File:Hyacinthe Rigaud; Count d'Argenson.jpg, Count d'Argenson wearing the insignia of the Order of Saint Louis around his neck, by Hyacinthe Rigaud
Decree by His Majesty the King Louis XIV of France
: Louis, by the grace of God King of France and Navarre, to all present and yet to come, hail.
: The officers of our troops have distinguished themselves by so many actions of considerable virtue and courage, in the conquest which it pleased God to bless the justice of our arms, that, ordinary awards becoming insufficient to the affection and the thankfulness which we have for them, we have deemed it necessary to seek new ways to reward their zeal and fidelity.
: In this view have we decided to establish a purely military Order to which, in addition to the external marks of honour which are associated to it, we shall guarantee revenues and pensions which shall rise in proportion to them growing more and more worthy through their behaviour.
: We have decided that only officers still serving in our troops shall be introduced and that virtue, merit and distinguished service in our armies shall be the only criteria to enter. We shall also in the future give a particular attention to increase the advantages of this order, so that we shall ever have the satisfaction to always be able to grant graces to the officers, and on the other hand, seeing rewards guaranteed by valour, they would every day bear renewed ardour in deserving them by their actions.
: In these causes, with the advice of our council, and our certain science, full power and royal authority, we have created, instituted and built, by the present, our military Order with the name of Saint Louis, and with the forms, statutes, ordinances and rules as follow: (...)
References
External links
*
Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis
€”includes photographs, explanations and a 20,000 nam
*
€”History of the Order
{{Authority control
Saint Louis, Order of
Military awards and decorations of France
Awards established in 1693
1693 establishments in France
Louis IX of France