The Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous (german: Verdienstorden Philipps des Großmütigen) was an

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 ...

established by

Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse Louis II (26 December 1777 – 16 June 1848) was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 6 April 1830 until 5 March 1848, resigning during the German Revolution of 1848. He was the son of Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Louise of He ...

on 1 May 1840, the name day of

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestan ...

, in his honour to award extraordinary military or civil merit. It was the second-highest order of the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

before 1876, when it was displaced to third by the revived Order of the Golden Lion, the former paramount order of the

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...

. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the fall of the German monarchies, the order—along with all other grand ducal decorations—was formally abolished in 1919.

Overview

The order was initially divided into four grades: Grand Cross, Commanders 1st and 2nd classes, and knight. On the anniversary of its founding in 1849, a new class was created, the Silver Cross, with the introduction of crossed swords in gold or silver for the class. From 10 November 1859 the knight class was further divided into two grades, 1st and 2nd classes. In 1876, the order was renamed the "Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Philip" (german: Großherzoglich Hessischer Philipps-Orden), though that decree was withdrawn a year later. From 1881, the order could be awarded with a golden crown, as a special distinction; the order with swords for military merit was from 1893 restricted to those with outstanding achievements during war. In 1900, another new class, the Cross of Honour (german: Ehrenkreuz) was created, which was below commander 2nd class and above knight 1st class. A final revision was made on 17 June 1911, with golden rays added to the cross arms of the Commander 1st Class grade.

Recipients

Grand Crosses

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...

Alexander of Battenberg Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince ('' knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bul ...

Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (german: Alexander Ludwig Alfred Eberhard, Fürst & Graf zu Erbach-Schönberg; 12 September 1872 –18 October 1944) was the 2nd Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, eldest son of Gustav, 1st Prince of Erbach- ...

Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse and by Rhine, (15 July 1823 – 15 December 1888), was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Wilhelmine of Baden. He was a brother of Tsarina Maria Alexandr ...

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was the sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from ...

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gov ...

Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky Friedrich Graf von Beck-Rzikowsky (21 March 1830 – 9 March 1920), sometimes Friedrich Beck, was an Austrian Generaloberst and Chief of the general staff of the Imperial and Royal army from 1881 to 1906. Beck was born at Freiburg im Breisgau, an ...

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was the chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I. According to biog ...

Julius von Bose The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow (german: Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin Fürst von Bülow ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as the foreign minister for three years and then as the chancellor of t ...

Stephan Burián von Rajecz Count Stephan Burián von Rajecz ( hu, rajeczi gróf Burián István) (16 January 1851 – 20 October 1922), commonly called: "Baron von Burian" or, later, "Count Burian" in English language press reports; (titles from 1900, ''Freiherr''; from 19 ...

* Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke *

Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine (23 April 1809 - 20 March 1877) was a German prince, officer and politician. He was the second surviving son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmine of Baden. The prince had a military career and became ...

Rudolf von Delbrück Martin Friedrich Rudolf von Delbrück (; 16 April 1817 – 1 February 1903) was a Prussian statesman at the time of Otto von Bismarck. Early life Delbrück was born at Berlin, Province of Brandenburg. He came of a distinguished family, his fathe ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

Karl von Einem Karl Wilhelm Georg August von Einem genannt von Rothmaler (1 January 1853 – 7 April 1934) was the commander of the German 3rd Army during the First World War and served as the Prussian Minister of War responsible for much of the German milit ...

* Hermann von Eichhorn *

Woldemar Freedericksz Count Adolf Andreas Woldemar Freedericksz (russian: links=no, Владимир Борисович Фредерикс, Vladimir Borisovich Frederiks; 1 July 1927) was a Finno-Russian statesman who served as Imperial Household Minister between 189 ...

Josias von Heeringen Josias von Heeringen (9 March 1850 – 9 October 1926) was a German general of the imperial era who served as Prussian Minister of War and saw service in the First World War. Early life Heeringen was born in Kassel in the Electorate of Hesse ...

Georg von Hertling Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...

Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg ( pl, Jan Henryk XV; 23 April 1861 – 31 January 1938) was Prince of Pless (Pszczyna), Count von Hochberg and Baron of Fürstenstein ( Książ). He was the husband (1891–1923) of Mary Theresa Olivia Hochberg von P ...

* Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler *

Emich, Prince of Leiningen , house = Leiningen , father = Ernst, Prince of Leiningen , mother = Princess Marie of Baden , birth_date = , birth_place =Osborne House, Isle of Wight, England , death_date = , death_place =Mudau, Free People's State of Württe ...

Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale en, Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick , house = Hanover , father = George V of Hanover , mother = Marie of Saxe-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover , death_date = , death_place = Gmunde ...

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother =Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Gran ...

Ferdinand, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Ferdinand Heinrich Friedrich (26 April 1783 – 24 March 1866) was a German nobleman and the last landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. Life He was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in 1783, the fifth of six sons born to Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse- ...

Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, (german: Franz Joseph; 24 September 1861 – 31 July 1924), was the fourth and youngest son and child of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and his morganatic wife Countess Julia von Hauke. Biograph ...

* Ganga Singh *

Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse en, George Donatus William Nicholas Edward Henry Charles , spouse = , issue = Prince LudwigPrince AlexanderPrincess JohannaUnnamed son , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of ...

Heinrich von Gagern Heinrich Wilhelm August Freiherr von Gagern (20 August 179922 May 1880) was a statesman who argued for the unification of Germany. Early career The third son of Hans Christoph Ernst, Baron von Gagern, a liberal statesman from Nassau, Heinrich v ...

Heinrich von Heß Heinrich Hermann Josef Freiherr von Heß (alternatively: von Hess) (17 March 1788, Vienna – 13 April 1870, Vienna), was an Austrian soldier and field marshal, who entered the army in 1805 and was soon employed as a staff officer on survey wo ...

* Gustav, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg * Gustav, Prince of Vasa * Prince Henry of Battenberg * Kamehameha V * Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany *

* Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse * Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse * Prince Louis of Battenberg * Madho Rao Scindia * Moriz von Lyncker * Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel * Georg Alexander von Müller * Jean-Baptiste Nothomb * Hugo von Radolin * Gustav Waldemar von Rauch * Karl von Schlitz * Friedrich von Scholl * Gustav von Senden-Bibran * Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode * Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel * Alfred von Tirpitz * Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov * Wilhelm von Wedell-Piesdorf * William I, German Emperor * Ferdinand von Zeppelin

Commanders 1st Class

* Alfred Mordaunt Egerton * Antoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł * Leopold von Ranke * Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen * Karl von Wedel

Commanders 2nd Class

* August von Heeringen * Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff * Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff * August von Mackensen * Otto von Marchtaler * Georg von der Marwitz * Helmuth von Moltke the Younger * Ernst von Prittwitz und Gaffron

Crosses of Honour

* Eberhard Graf von Schmettow

Knights 1st class

* Heinrich Bone * George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont * Oskar von Hutier

Others

* Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia * Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

References

Literature

*Jörg Nimmergut: ''Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945, Band I – Anhalt-Hohenzollern'', Zentralstelle für wissenschaftliche Ordenskunde, München 1997, {{Orders of Imperial Germany Orders, decorations, and medals of Hesse House of Hesse-Kassel 1840 establishments in the Grand Duchy of Hesse Awards established in 1840