All people crave recognition, and Scandinavians have a particularly liking for recog-nition in the form of a medal or a title. In the case of Orders of Knights you get both and that is perhaps why the Danes established their Order of the Elephant already in 1462. The other Nordic countries soon followed suit. Iceland came last with its Order of the Falcon in 1921.

The establishment of Orders of Knights goes back many centuries. Many spiritual orders were set up in the Holy Land during the Crusades to promote and defend Christianity and protect the pilgrims. Despite their religious nature, these orders eventually became more civilian and were often led by kings. Napoleon Bonaparte shocked the European royal houses when he founded the French Legion of Honour in 1802, to bestow knighthood on common citizens who had given exceptional services to the nation.

It has been stated that the four symbols of an independent nation are its flag, its coat of arms, its national anthem and its decorations. Today most countries have some kind of order of recognition. In Europe it is only Switzerland and Ireland that no longer hand out decorations.

In the Nordic countries it is the head of the state who bestows the order on deserving persons, such as visiting heads of state. In most of the countries decorations are also granted to deserving citizens that often receive them automatically with a promotion.

A medal is often beautiful as a piece of jewelry with real gold and precious stones. The medal itself is generally only a loan and should be returned after the bearer has deceased, but many medals (and the miniatures carried at informal occasions) often appear at auctions.

A person may also be deprived the right to wear an order if he or she has been found guilty of an offence. Sweden fought hard to get back its medals from Rumanian dictator Ceaceasceau during his lifetime.

In Finland the medal remains the property of the person who has received it as he or she has to pay for the actual material cost.

The decorations are often criticized for being undemocratic and therefore undeserving of a modern country. The orders have an aura of being secret and in some cases this is true with the members being bound by an oath of silence. There are secret ceremonies, passwords, and symbols and you can never question the reason for a particular selection.

Most orders divide their members in various ranks such as Knights of the Grand Cross, Commanders or just Knights, but seldom according to merit. The level of decoration you receive depends on your social standing. All the same recipients are uniformly happy to receive an order and very seldom are they declined. For a country it is a very inexpensive way to award happiness.

ICELAND

The Order of the Falcon was established in 1921. It is the only Icelandic order. It may be conferred upon Icelanders and nonnationals for achievements in the interest of Iceland or in the international arena. The President of Iceland is the Grand Master of the Order. A council consisting of five members controls the affairs of the Order and makes recommendations on awards to the Grand Master. On festive occasions, however, the Grand Master may award the Order without recommendations of the Council.

The Order has the following classes: Grand Cross, Commander with a Star, Commander and Knight.

The insignia common to the Order is a goldedged white enamel cross with the corners of the limbs cut off in an inward circle. The centre of the cross has a goldedged blue enamel medallion with a silver falcon lifting its wing in flight. On the reverse of the cross there is a gold inscription in the blue enamel saying "Seytjandi juni 1944". The crosses and ribbons of the Grand Cross Knights and Commanders are of equal size, but those of the Knights are smaller. The ribbons are skyblue and have white edges with a purplered stripe that remind you of the Icelandic flag.

The medal of the Icelandic Red Cross was established in 1949. It is awarded by the President of Iceland for humanitarian deeds and has two classes. Since 1954 the President of Iceland has also awarded medallions for services rendered. The President also awards medallions of the Republic of Iceland for heroic achievement. Established in 1950, they are awarded in two classes to those who endanger their lives or health to save Icelanders from mortal danger.