The Order of La Pléiade (; ) is an
honorary order of the
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...
. It recognizes people who particularly distinguished themselves in the service of its ideals of cooperation and friendship, promoting the role of the
French language in their own countries or in the world. It was created in 1976 on initiative of the
Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie
The ''Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonies'' (APF) is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries.
History
It was established in Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: li ...
.
Origin of the name
In this reverse chronological list, each item intentionally referred to the following (historically preceding) one:
# Order of La Pléiade;
#
La Pléiade
La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad ...
, a group of (originally seven)
French Renaissance
The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...
poets;
# the
Alexandrian Pleiad The Alexandrian Pleiad is the name given to a group of seven Alexandrian poets and tragedians in the 3rd century BC (Alexandria was at that time the literary center of the Mediterranean) working in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The name d ...
of seven
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
n poets and tragedians (3rd century B.C.);
# the seven main stars of the
Pleiades star cluster in the western astronomical tradition, and the
Pleiades
The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...
, seven sisters in the Greek mythology.
Classes
There are five classes (in descending
order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...
):
# ''
Grand Cross
Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...
'' (Grand-croix)
# ''Grand Officer'' (Grand Officier)
# ''Commander'' (
Commandeur
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
)
# ''Officer'' (Officier)
# ''Knight'' (Chevalier)
Insignia
The ''badge'' of the Order of La Pléiade is a seven-pointed star, blue enameled at both sides. The obverse
[For "obverse" and "reverse", see: Obverse and reverse] silver central disc features a silver-colored
compass rose
A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...
, surrounded by a blue enamel and silver edged ring with the text "la Pléiade, ordre de la Francophonie", itself surrounded by seven small silver stars. The reverse silver central disc features the
Adolphe Bridge
The Adolphe Bridge ( lb, Adolphe-Bréck, french: Pont Adolphe, german: Adolphe-Brücke) is a double-decked arch bridge in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The bridge provides a one-way route for road traffic across the Pétrusse, from ...
in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, where the
Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie
The ''Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonies'' (APF) is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries.
History
It was established in Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: li ...
was founded, and symbolizes unity.
The
ribbon is
sky blue
Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' i ...
with small yellow stripes near each border.
Notes and references
Politics awards
Awards established in 1976
1976 establishments in France
French awards
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