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.
SWEDEN
Until 1975 the King of Sweden could award four different orders. These were the Royal Order of the Seraphim, the Royal Order of the Polar Star, the Royal Order of the North Star and the Royal Order of the Sword and Vasa. Today only the first two remain, the other orders likely victims of the "royal Swedish envy". Swedish citizens are not even eligible for the remaining orders that can only be awarded to foreigners.
Some 200-300 foreign nationals receive the Polar Star each year in recognition for personal services to Sweden or for the promotion of Swedish interests. The pretty insignia is awarded in different classes: Commander Grand Cross, Commander First Class, Commander, Officer or Member (if you are a clergyman or a woman) First Class, Officer or Member and lastly simply in the form of a Polar Star Medal.
Greta Garbo was awarded the Order of the North Star in the Commander Grade before her death.
The finest of the Swedish 0rders is the Seraphim, that today is only bestowed on visiting heads of states. The Order has only one class with the dignity of Knight or Mem-ber. The insignia of the Order are the collar, badge and grand star. The collar of the order is only bestowed as a mark of special distinction.
A Knight or Member submits proposals regarding his Seraphim arms and a motto to the Chancellor of Orders. On the death of a Knight or Member of the Order, his or her coat of arms, designed in accordance with the above, is mounted in Riddarholmskyrkan (church of chivalry) in Stockholm. The bells are tolled at Riddarholmskyrkan on the occasion of the funeral of a deceased Knight or Member.
These days there is less glitter on Swedish breasts at formal occasions and much criticism of government for not retaining this inexpensive way of rewarding its citizens.
There are however still odd orders awarded to Swedish citizens, but these insignia are only worn at special occasions. The finest of these orders is the Masonic that only has 31 members including the King. The Masonic was created by King Carl XIII in 1811.
Queen Christina started the Order of the Amarant as a social order. The Amaranten and the 100 year younger Innocence Orders still hold their balls at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm and all you need to attend, apart from being dressed in formal attire, is to know a member who can "present" you.
The Collar of the Order of the Seraphim consists of eleven gold seraphim alternating with eleven blue patriarchal crosses, set in gold, joined with gold links.
The badge consists of a white Maltese Cross set in gold, in the centre of which is a blue medallion bearing the monogram of Christ "I HS" with a Latin Cross on the cross-bar of the middle character, all in white and surrounded by the three gold crowns of Sweden. Under the lowest cross there are three gold Nails of the Cross.
The initials FRS (Fredericus Rex Sueciae), in memory of King Fredrik I who instituted the Order in 1748, are engraved on the reverse of the medallion.
On both sides of the arms of the cross, there are gold patriarchal crosses. Golden Seraphim, identical on both sides, appear in the angles between the arms of the cross. The badge is surmounted by a golden royal crown, by which it is fastened to the collar or to a light blue moiré ribbon.
The Star consists of a Maltese Cross of silver, in the centre of which is a blue medallion with a golden surround. Ornamentation of the medallion is the same as that of the obverse medallion of the badge, but larger. Seraphim of silver adorn the angles between the arms of the cross.