The Order of St Stephen of Hungary

Other than in Hungary itself, where it is observed on August 20th, the day of the translation of his relics - today is the feast of St Stephen of Hungary, the first Christian King of that country, who died in 1038. There is an online life of him here.

   

My posts about him from previous years can be read at St Stephen of Hungary and  The Holy Crown of Hungary from 2010 and St Stephen of Hungary from 2011.

St Stephen of Hungary
Nineteenth century statue at the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest

Image:judgedredd on Flickriver

As principal patron of the kingdom after the Virgin Mary, to whom he entrusted it on his deathbed, it is not surprising that the chivalric order of the Habsburg Kings of Hungary was under his patronage. Ther had been at least two earlier orders of chivalry founded by Kings of Hungary. In 1326 King Charles Robert (Charles I or Carobert )  instituted the Order of George, which as a chivalric confraternity has manage dto survive to the present day through arather curious descent. The website of its British branch, which includes a history and the text of the foundation document can be seen here.       

In 1408 King Sigismund founded the Order of the Dragon, of which there is a history here. Its foreign knights included King Henry V, but it disappeared after 1526, although, as you will read on the link, it has left a familiar reference in modern popular culture. In 1916 there was, I understand, a brief refoundation by King Charles IV at the time of his coronation.

In 1764 the Empress Maria Theresa - technically and literally King Maria Theresa in Hungary - founded the Order of St Stephen of Hungary as a national Order for the Apostolic Kingdom. There is a handsomely illustrated account, which includes a list of recipients here. 

It must have been one of the first such orders to have three classes Knights Grand Cross, Knights Commander and Knights, rather than simply being a confraternity of Knights around the Sovereign. As Hungary had a sizeable Protestant population membership was not, like the Golden Fleece, restricted to Catholics. As a result it was the most senior Habsburg Order that could be conferred on rulers such as King Edward VII and King George V or Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Diamond Star of a Knight Grand Cross

Image: Wikipedia

Mantle and robe of a Knight Grand Cross with the collar

Image Wikipedia

Emperor Francis Joseph I

Today is the 180th anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Francis Joseph I, which seems as good an excuse as I can find to post this portrait of him as a young man - I think the portrait would be from about 1855. I had not seen this portrait before, and it is a reminder of the younger man before the venerable balding be-whiskered image became more or less definitive.

He is wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, the star of the Order of Maria Theresa and the Fourth Class of the Russian Order of St George, which he was awarded in 1849 by Emperor Nicholas I for bravery under fire in the fighting in Hungary in the months following Francis Joseph's accession.

Orders of the Day

St George, as a military martyr saint has, not surprisingly, become the patron of several chivalric orders.
The most famous is, of course, the Order of the Garter, founded in 1348 by King Edward III. There is a history here, and this is what the present Sovereign's website says about it.

In Russia there is the Order of St George, founded by the Empress Catherine II in 1769. The distinctive riband design survived for a military decoration even in the Soviet era, and the Order was re-established in 1994.There are details and pictures of the insignia here.

Earlier in origin even than the Garter is the Hungarian Order of St George. A chivalric guild under the patronage of King Charles I it originated in 1326, but appears to have had a rather discontinuous history, but has been revived again in recent years, and functions as a charitable foundation. Its British website is here, and for those of you who are less acquainted with the life of Charles I, (sometimes referred to as Charles Robert or Carobert) there is an account of him here.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies has the Constantinian Order of St George. This also functions - is its disparate forms - as a charitable foundation. Its history is given here.The website of the branch, under H.R.H. the Duke of Castro, and which operates in Britain, is here.

Like the claim to the throne of the Two Sicilies the headship of the Order is divided between rival claimants, three in the case of the Order, as opposed to two in respect of the throne itself. Considering at the history of Il Regno one should not be surprised. I can see that acquiring a reasonable understanding of the issues, claims and personalities in the current dispute could, quite apart from its genuine interest, also be socially very useful as either a conversation starter or killer depending on the circumstances in which one found oneself.

In addition the Kingdom also had the Order of St George and Reunion. This was founded in 1819 by King Ferdinand I ( formerly Ferdinand IV ) to celebrate the creation of the United Kingdom of the Two Sicilies three years previously. Details of this Order can be found here.