The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild ( es, Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo) is both a general military honor and a legion created by

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

on 28 November 1814. The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

distinction of the

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, Cana ...

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

created by

at the conclusion of the Spanish War of Independence in 1814. The purpose of the Order was to serve as a maximum means of reward for those

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s who exceeded their military obligations and fought on, surpassing their suffering in battle, and who thus would serve as examples of

bravery Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

to His Spanish Majesty's armies. Given the desire of the King to create a distinction of extraordinary rank, comparable to others traditional honours, it was decided to put the Order under the Patronage of Saint Hermenegild, who was the

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

who was

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

in defence of the Christian faith in the sixth century and who is the patron saint of the Spanish Armed Forces. Its first

promulgation Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...

was published in 1815, being renewed later in 1860, 1879, 1951, 1994 and its most recent modernization in 2000. It is declared that The Order intends "to compensate and to distinguish to the

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

commissioned officers 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 ...

and

warrant officers Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most ...

of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

, Common Corps and the Spanish Civil Guard, ''(the militarized police service depending on both Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense which holds different risponsabilities such Crime Investigation Department, Intelligence, Coast Guard , Fiscal and Borders responsibilities, Green Police, Public order and Security, Administrative Police, Traffic Police, Airborne Command, Scuba divers, weapons and firearms control etc among others) by their faultless and exemplary conduct in the service of The Crown." The monarch of Spain is the Sovereign of the order. The Order is governed by three governing bodies: the Chapter, the Permanent Assembly and the Chancellery.

Attribution

According to its current statutes, the order is divided into four classes: * Cross (''Cruz'') – worn on a chest, conferred to generals, admirals, other officers and senior warrant officers who have completed 20 years of service; * Commander (''Encomienda'') – worn as a neck decoration, conferred as above after completion of 25 years of service; * Commander with Star (''Placa'') – worn as a neck decoration with a star on the left breast, conferred as above after completion of 30 years of service; * Grand Cross (''Gran Cruz'') – worn on a sash over the right shoulder with a star on the left breast, conferred to generals and admirals who have completed at least 33 years of service;

Insignia

The badge of the order is a gold, white enameled

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

, surmounted by a royal crown. The central medallion bears an effigy of St. Hermenegild on a horseback, surrounded by a blue ring inscribed "PREMIO A LA CONSTANCIA MILITAR" (''reward for long military service''). On the reverse there is the royal cypher of Fernando VII. The star has the form of a gold

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 developed f ...

with ball finials and silver rays between the arms and the effigy of St. Hermenegild in the central medallion, surrounded by a white ring with the order's motto and a green laurel wreath. The medallion of the Grand Cross star is surmounted by a royal crown. Ribbon Bars

References

Sources

External links

Order of Saint Hermenegild
– Ministry of Defence website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal And Military Order Of San Hermenegildo Military awards and decorations of Spain Awards established in 1814