Fount of honour

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The fount of honour (

orders of chivalry
on other persons.

Origin

During the High Middle Ages, European knights were essentially armoured, mounted warriors.[1] In feudalism, by virtue of its defining characteristic of subinfeudation, it was common practice for knights commander to confer knighthoods upon their finest soldiers, who in turn had the right to confer knighthood on others upon attaining command.[2] For most of the Middle Ages, it was possible for private individuals to form orders of chivalry.[3] The oldest existing order of chivalry, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,[4] was formed as a private organization[5] which later received official sanction from church and state.[6]

The 13th century witnessed the trend of monarchs, beginning with Emperor

nation-state, orders and knighthoods, along with titles of nobility (in the case of monarchies), became the domain of the monarchs (heads of state) to reward their loyal subjects (citizens)[9] – in other words, the heads of state became their nations' "fountains of honour".[10]

Many of the old-style military knights resented what they considered to be a royal

knight errant, he charges, has been reduced to that of the litigant in courts."[13]

Legality of honours today

The question whether an order is a legitimate

self-styled order coincides with the subject of the fons honorum.[14] A legitimate fount of honour is a person or entity who holds sovereignty when the order is awarded. Ultimately, it is the authority of the state, whether exercised by a reigning monarch or the president of a republic, that distinguishes orders of chivalry from private organizations.[15][16] In Canada, for example, other persons – whether commoners, knights or nobles – no longer have the right to confer titles of nobility, knighthoods or orders of chivalry on others.[17]

The official website of the British monarchy

King Felipe VI as the head of state.[22]

In France, only decorations recognised by the Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honour may be worn publicly, and permission must be sought and granted to wear any foreign awards or decorations. Dynastic orders are prohibited unless the dynasty in question is currently recognised as sovereign.[23] (For example, the Royal Victorian Order is explicitly recognised, whereas the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is not.)[24] Failure to comply is punishable by law. A non-exhaustive list of collectively authorised orders is published by the government.[24]

"These two dispositions are meant to protect the ensemble of authentic national and foreign distinctions by attempting to prevent the attire of fake decorations. These may stem from territorial entities which have not acceded to sovereignty or even from countries, nations, empires or kingdoms that are the pure and simple products of someone's overactive imagination, a fan of fiction or even a megalomaniac, if not purely mercantile acts or even the patent intention to abuse and swindle others."[25]

The

Portuguese monarchs, since, unlike titles of nobility, the Portuguese orders of chivalry were not extinguished with the Republican Revolution in 1910. The current Constitution of Portugal alternatively styles the President as the "Grand Master of the Portuguese Honorific Orders" (Portuguese: Grão-Mestre das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas);[26] in this capacity, the President can wear as a private insignia the Sash of the Three Orders,[27]
which has become a symbol of the Portuguese presidential magistracy.

The

Papal Orders of Knighthood comprise five orders awarded directly by the Holy See and two others which it 'recognises and supports': the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. In response to queries regarding the Catholic Church's relationship to a large number of self-proclaimed Roman Catholic chivalric orders, the Holy See issued a statement in 2012 stating that any body other than its own seven approved orders, 'whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See' and that 'the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures... to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms that it attributes absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".'[28][third-party source needed
]

See also

  • Australian honours system
  • British honours system
  • Canadian honours system
  • Titles of nobility

References

  1. ISBN 9780495571476
    .
  2. ISBN 9780517686355. Every knight has the power to create knights{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  3. ISBN 9780275984885
    .
  4. ISBN 9789512924257
    .
  5. ISBN 9780879739102
    .
  6. ISBN 9781592760268.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  7. ISBN 9781843831921
    .
  8. ^ Mills, Charles (1861). The history of chivalry. Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea. p. 34.
  9. ISBN 9780719023811
    .
  10. ISBN 9780802039408
    .
  11. ^ Pitt-Rivers, Julian, "Honor and Social Status", in Jean G. Peristany, ed., Honour and Shame: The Values of Mediterranean Society, 20-77 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), 30.
  12. Modern French. Edition, History of William Marshal (3 vols): Volume 1
    , Volume 2, Volume 3.
  13. ^
    ISBN 9780198207306
    .
  14. ISBN 9781843834236
    .
  15. ISBN 9780861403714
    .
  16. ISBN 0713704454. In practice, it may be found that the Royal Knighthoods still extant and the true Orders of Merit are identical, but they can differ in their external presentation. The Order can be either the prerogative of The Sovereign, which means that the reigning member of the Royal House rules the institution as the Master of the Order, or it can be a State institution, the President of the country, as Grand Master of the State Orders, having the final decision in all question concerning the Order.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  17. ISBN 9781550027402
    . Before the Royal Charter of Incorporation of 1888, the Order of St. John had no official status in Britain or throughout the British Empire as an honour. The situation was not unlike that now experienced by bodies using the name designation The Order of St. Lazarus. The Order of St. John was simply a charitable organization that involved itself in the teaching of first aid ambulance duties that happened to have attached to it an order of chivalry; on that was unrecognized by all relevant authorities--the Order of Malta, Papal officials, and, most important, the government of the United Kingdom...The involvement of the Prince of Wales was central in affording legitimacy to the Order as it evolved from what was little more than a private club to an official British order of chivalry engaged in important charitable works
  18. ^ "The Royal Family".
  19. ^ "Queen and Honours". The Official website of the British Monarchy. London: The Royal Household. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2012. As the 'fountain of honour' the Queen has the sole right of conferring all titles of honour, including life peerages, knighthoods and gallantry awards.
  20. ^ a b JSP 761: Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces (PDF) (2nd ed.). London: Joint Service Publication, Ministry of Defense. May 2008. pp. 12B–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 29 November 2012. only the Life Saving Medal of the Order of St John, The Royal Humane Society medals, Stanhope Gold Medal and the medal of The Royal National Lifeboat Institution may be worn on the right side of the chest
  21. ^ The King's regulations and orders for the army. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1908. p. 287.
  22. ^ "The Crown Today: Functions of the Head of State". Official Page of The Royal Household of His Majesty the King. www.casareal.es owned by the House of His Majesty the King (Palacio de la Zarzuela, Madrid 28071, Spain). Retrieved 29 November 2012. Pursuant to the Constitution, the King is a symbol of the unity of the State, and as such, it is incumbent upon him to participate in important State acts...It is also incumbent upon the King to...Confer civil and military positions, as well as award honours and distinctions (Article 62 f).
  23. ^ Code de la légion d'honneur et de la médaille militaire, article R160
  24. ^ a b "Guide - Décorations étrangères - Constitution d'un dossier de demande d'autorisation de port de décorations étrangères" [Guide - Foreign decorations - Creation of an application form for authorization to wear foreign decorations] (in French). drimm.fr. Archived from the original (DOC) on 23 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Dispositions pénales relatives aux décorations" [Penal provisions relating to decorations]. Grande Chancellerie de la Légion d'honneur. n.d. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2012. These two dispositions are meant to protect the ensemble of authentic national and foreign distinctions by attempting to prevent the attire of fake decorations. These may stem from territorial entities which have not acceded to sovereignty or even from countries, nations, empires or kingdoms that are the pure and simple products of someone's overactive imagination, a fan of fiction or even a megalomaniac, if not purely mercantile acts or even the patent intention to abuse and swindle others.
  26. ^ "Constituição da República Portuguesa (VII Revisão Constitucional)". Assembleia da República (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  27. ^ "Lei das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas". Presidência da República (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  28. ^ "Note of Clarification from the Secretariat of State (Holy See)" (Press release). December 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fount_of_honour&oldid=1200017434"