The Star of Courage (french: Étoile du Courage) is a
decoration
Decoration may refer to:
* Decorative arts
* A house painter and decorator's craft
* An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc.
* An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing
Other ...
that is the second highest award for bravery within the
Canadian system of honours,
and one of the three
Canadian Bravery Decorations
The Canadian Bravery Decorations are a group of Canadian medals awarded for bravery. They are part of the Canadian Honour System created in 1967. The awards themselves were established in 1972. The Canadian Bravery Decorations recognize courageous ...
awarded by the
Canadian monarch
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...
, generally through his or her
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
-
in-Council. Created in 1972, the medal is presented to both living and deceased individuals deemed to have performed "acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril,"
and grants recipients the ability to use
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
; for
Anglophones
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
''SC'', and for
Francophones
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the la ...
''ÉC''.
Design
The Star of Courage is in the form of a wide
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
compass star Celeste with a maple leaf in each angle. On the obverse is a
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
roundel at the centre of the star, bearing a maple leaf surrounded by a
laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...
. The reverse bears on the upper arm the
Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch beneath a
St. Edward's Crown
St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...
, symbolizing the
Canadian monarch
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...
's role as the
fount of honour The fount of honour ( la, fons honorum) is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons.
Origin
During the High Middle Ages, ...
,
and the inscription ''COURAGE''. Below this is engraved the name and rank of the recipient.
This medallion is worn on the left chest, on a wide ribbon coloured red with two vertical blue stripes: for men, hung from a bar, and for women, on a ribbon bow, both pinned to the left chest.
Should an individual already possessing a Star of Courage be awarded the medal again for subsequent acts of bravery, he or she is granted a
medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the ...
, in gold and bearing a maple leaf, for wear on the ribbon from which the original medal is suspended; a small gold maple leaf is also added to the
ribbon bar
A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...
.
Eligibility and receipt
On 1 May 1972, Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, on the advice of her
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
under
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada
The prime mini ...
, created the Star of Courage to recognize acts of great bravery. Any person, living or deceased, may be nominated for the Star of Courage; it is not necessary that the act of bravery take place in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, nor must the person who carried out the act be a Canadian. However, the event must have involved Canadians and/or Canadian interests. Nominations can be made no later than two years following either the act of bravery itself or the conclusion of any coroner's or court's inquest into the events for which the person was nominated.
, the Star of Courage has been presented to 461 people.
See also
*
Canadian order of precedence (decorations and medals)
The following is the Canadian order of precedence for decorations and medals. Where applicable, post-nominal letters are indicated.
Awards of valour
National orders
Provincial orders
Territorial orders
National decorations
National dec ...
*
State decoration
A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes:
*Civil awards and decorations
*Military awards and decorations
See ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Canadian Honours System
Military awards and decorations of Canada
Courage awards