Order of the Sword
Royal Order of the Sword Kungliga Svärdsorden | |
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Royal Order of the Seraphim | |
Next (lower) | Royal Order of the Polar Star |
Ribbon bar of the Order of the Sword |
The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: Royal Order of the Sword;
Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it eventually became a more or less obligatory award for military officers after a certain number of years in service. There were originally three grades, Knight, Commander and Commander Grand Cross, but these were later multiplied by division into classes. On 20 December 2022, the Swedish Government published a new regulation that repealed the 1974 regulation, and once again opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again and reactivated the Order of the Sword and the Order of Vasa, which came in effect from 1 February 2023.[3][4]
History
The order was created by King Frederick I in 1748, along with two other orders, the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. In 1788, King
- "Knight Grand Cross First Class" – The cross is in shape similar to the Knight's cross, but as large as the Grand Cross badge and is worn on a necklet, and the star is in the shape of an upraised silver sword. It was awarded to division commanders of at least the rank of a Charles XIII and Charles XIV John.
- "Knight Grand Cross" – The cross is in shape similar to the Knight's cross, but as large as the Grand Cross badge and is worn on a necklet, and the star is in the shape of two crossed upright silver swords.
These grades proper were only given to commissioned officers, but an affiliated decoration, the Svärdstecken ("Badge of the Sword"), introduced in 1850, was given to non-commissioned officers; one thus decorated would call himself a svärdsman ("Swordsman"). A Medal of the Sword was also introduced for enlisted men. Both the non-commissioned officers and the enlisted men had to have served for at least sixteen years to qualify for the Badge and Medal respectively.
In 1952 a special medal of distinction was added to the order. These could only be bestowed in wartime. They are the War Cross of the Order of the Sword in Gold, in Silver and in Bronze. They are worn on the same ribbon as the order and the medal consist of the cross saltire of the Order struck in gold, silver or bronze, with an upraised sword behind central medallion bearing the Swedish three crowns and in the spaces between the upper and lower arms of the cross. At the top of the points of the upper arms of the cross and of the sword is a small royal crown.
King
Formerly the reception of new Commanders Grand Cross took place without religious ceremonies in the royal apartments, but in the presence of the other Commanders Grand Cross of the Order, of the Knights of the Seraphim, and the Commanders Grand Cross of all the other orders. By the oath the Commander elect bound himself “to defend with life and property the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, to serve faithfully the King and the country, and to combat courageously against the foes of the country.” When a foreigner was elected a Commander of the Grand Cross, the insignia were sent to him abroad, while he, in his turn, transmitted to the archives of the Order a statement of the services rendered by him.
Grades
The Order of the Sword in peacetime had five classes:
- Commander Grand Cross – wears the badge on a collar (chain) or on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
- Commander 1st Class – wears the badge on a necklet, plus the star on the left chest;
- Commander – wears the badge on a necklet;
- Knight 1st Class – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
- Knight – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
Knight of the Grand Cross
In 1788 King
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Badge
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Breast star
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Ribbon
Medals and badges
The order also encompasses two medals;
- Badge of the Sword (Svärdstecknet) – reserved for Non-commissioned officers
- Medal of the Sword (Svärdsmedaljen) – reserved for enlisted men
Both medals are worn on a ribbon on the left chest.
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Medal of the Sword, with the inscription Konung och Fädernesland (King and Country)
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Badge of the Sword.
Insignia and habit
The badge of the Order is a white enamelled
- The collar of the Order is of gold in the form of eleven gold swords in blue enamelled scabbards with gold belts connected by gold chains and alternating with eleven gold pelte shields each bearing a blue enamelled helmet .
- The star of the Order is a silver Maltese Cross, the central medallion bearing the same upright sword between three gold crownson a blue enamelled background as the badge. The star of the Grand Cross also has golden crowns over short silver triangular rays between the arms of the cross.
- The ribbon of the Order is yellow with blue stripes near its borders (i. e., the Swedish national colours).
Formerly the Order also had a distinctive blue and yellow habit worn on formal occasions such as at chapters of the Order. The habit included yellow
Insignia of the medals
- The Badge of the Sword is similar to the knight's silver badge of the Order. The front central medallion is enamelled but the arms of the cross have no white enamel nor is the back of this badge enamelled.
- The Medal of the Sword is of also of silver and round with a royal crown on it upper side. The Medal bears the sword and three crown of the badge of the Order surrounded by a band with the Swedish words, "Konung och Fädernesland" (King and Fatherland).
Gallery
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Grand Cross badge and sash.
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Commander 1st Class set of insignia.
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Commander grade.
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Commander grade set of insignia.
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Badge of a Commanders class.
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Reverse of Commanders class.
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Various grades of the order, on display in the Royal Palace of Stockholm.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Star of the Commander Grand Cross grade of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman, c.1921
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Badge of the Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman, c.1921
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Star of the Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
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Commander Grand Cross of the order in a case by C.F. Carlman.
See also
- List of recipients of the Order of the Sword (from 2023)
- För tapperhet i fält
- Orders, decorations, and medals of Sweden
References
- Nordisk familjebok, vol. 27 [1]
- Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color by Paul Hieronymussen and protographed by Aage Struwing; English translation by Christine Crowley. The MacMillan Company. New York, 1967. Originally published as Europaeiske Ordner I Faever @ Politikens Forlag, 1966. Color plates # 21-27; text pp. 125–126.
- 'The Orders of Chivalry from the Original Statutes of the Various Orders of Knighthood and other Sources of Information by J. H. Lawrence-Archer. London: W. H. Allen and Company, 13 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S. W. Publishers to the India Office. 1887.
- (in Swedish) Per Nordenvall, Kungliga Serafimerorden 1748–1998. Stockholm : Kungl. Maj:ts orden, 1998. ISBN 978-91-630-6744-0
- (in Swedish) Royal Court of Sweden, www.royalcourt.se
- Orders and Decorations of Europe in Color by Paul Hieronymussen and protographed by Aage Struwing; English translation by Christine Crowley. The MacMillan Company. New York, 1967. Originally published as Europaeiske Ordner I Faever @ Politikens Forlag, 1966. Color plates # 28-32; text pp. 126–127.
Footnotes
- ^ "Personalförändringar vid Kungl. Maj:ts Orden". Kungahuset (Official page of the Royal Court of Sweden. Archived from the original on 29 Jan 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
- ^ "Ordnar till tretton exceptionella svenskar". Kungl. Maj:ts Orden (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "Ett offentligt belöningssystem för Sveriges främsta utmärkelser" (Media Release) (in Swedish). Justitiedepartementet, Regeringskansliet. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Förordning om Sveriges främsta utmärkelser" (PDF). Svensk författningssamling (SFS 2022:1800) (in Swedish). Regeringskansliet. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Dir. 2019:76 Kommittédirektiv Det offentliga belöningssystemet, de allmänna flaggdagarna och utformningen av anslaget till hovet" (PDF) (in Swedish). Government of Sweden. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Sunnqvist, Martin (30 January 2023). "Det är nytt med vårt nya ordenssystem" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ @usembsweden (September 29, 2023). "Congratulations, Colonel Ryan Sweeney, on receiving the prestigious 🇸🇪 Royal Order of the Sword, the first since 1974, for bridging our nations in defense & camaraderie. Your recognition by 🇸🇪 is well-deserved! 🇺🇸🇸🇪" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Medalj.nu -Kungl. Svärdsorden - Riddare med stora korset av första klass RmstSO1kl". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-04-26.