Orders and knighthood in your nation

[Walosia]

Does your nation have a specific Order, knighthood or any type of “Order of merits” awarded to your nations citizens?

In Walosia
These two Orders of Merits presented here are the two highest honors available in Walosia. There exist many other smaller and less prestigious honors, but these two are the largest, most prestigious and most known.

The Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence:
History:
The Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence is the newest order instituted by Emperor Cassius II following the Second Maldovian Territorial War with Khelshar in 1827. Emperor Cassius II wanted to honor those who helped the Walosians in the war out of free will. In other words, this honor was founded on the basis of awarding civilians who helped in the war effort against Khelshar, conscripted soldiers and military personnel were awarded within another order. The first recipient was Gaius Sulpicius Peticus, a retired doctor who volunteered to turn his own house into a temporary medical station. He assisted injured soldiers and preformed operations in his living room using his old surgery kit. It is estimated that Sulpicius saved four hundred lives. He was awarded the Grand Imperial Cross in August of 1827 at the end of the war. Well over twenty thousands Imperial Crosses have been awarded to individuals since then.

Empress Hadriana II renovated the Imperial Cross from solely focusing on individuals who assisted Walosia during wartime to an order of individuals who “shows the excellence of Walosia”. From 1933, the Imperial Cross could be awarded to individuals who have showed great excellence in their field of work. Both individuals within culture, science, law, education and so fourth could now be bestowed with the honor of the Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence. The last recipient was Neurosurgeon Gaia Atia Julia Secunda who became the first surgeon to successfully preform a full brain transplant between two humans. She was awarded the Imperial Cross with Stripes on 29th July 2018 in Caesarions Palace by Emperor David.

Classes:
Like with most Orders of Chivalry, the Imperial Cross is divided into two classes or ranks. These two classes are as follows, organized from top to bottom:

• Grand Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence (GICWE)
This cross is the most prestigious honor available within the order and is rarely awarded. This honor is reserved for “Individuals who show the greatest of excellence in their effort to contribute to the Walosian society”. A rule of thumb is that the Grand Cross is reserved for those actions of such magnitude that it is comparable to historical actions.
• Imperial Cross with Stripes (ICS)
This cross is the second most prestigious honor available within the order and is most commonly awarded. This award is given to individuals who “show great excellence in their effort to contribute to the Walosian society”.
Originally there were a third Imperial Cross simply known as “The Imperial Cross”, but due to the almost indistinguishable differences in requirements between that and the Imperial Cross with Stripes, it was scrapped in 1999.

Both of these ranks are considered knighthoods and it allow the recipient to call himself or herself “Sir” or “Lady”. This counts for foreign recipients as well. Those who are bestowed with the Grand Imperial Cross are eligible to call themselves “The Honorable Lord” or “The Honorable Lady”, but most refrains from doing so, preferring the term “Sir” or “Lady”.

Make Up:
The Walosian Monarch is the “Imperial Bearer of the Cross” and appoints all members to the order, both Grand Cross holders and regular Cross holders. However, the responsibility of choosing whom to bestow the honor to is given to an independent committee consisting of the Emperor (or Imperial Grand Master, see below), five former Grand Imperial Cross recipients, five Imperial Senators and three randomly selected civilian citizens of Walosia.

By rules of the order, set by Emperor Cassius II, there are a limited of recipients to the order. There can be only 250 Grand Imperial Cross recipients alive and 5.000 Imperial Cross recipients alive. As one recipient dies, his or hers spot within the Order is open to other candidates. There are no rules dictating the maximum number of dead recipients.

The Grand Masters are the title given to the next-most senior members to the order besides the “Imperial Bearer of the Cross”. By tradition, the Grand Masters must be of royal blood and belonging to one of the four royal families in Walosia, the Caesarion family, the Augustus family, the Aurelius family or the Octavio family. There can only be one Grand Master at a time and his/hers job is to fill in for the Imperial Bearer (The Emperor) when necessary. Should the Imperial Bearer of the Cross be killed or in any way incapable of preforming his/her duties, the successor is the most senior Grand Master. The list of Grand Masters is as follows:

1. Her Excellency, Imperial Crown Princess Gaia Chloe Caesarion (The Emperors Daughter)
As Chloe is only 3 years old, it is unlikely that she would succeed her father as the Imperial Bearer until she turned 18. However, in theory, she would be the successor, as the Imperial Bearer should anything happen to her father.
If something should happen to Emperor David while Chloe was underage, the responsibility of Imperial Bearer would be given to number two on this list until Chloe turned 18 and then the responsibility would be returned to her.
2. His Excellency, The King of Kingston, Gaius Brutus Aurelius
3. His Excellency, The King of Logata, Gaius Trajanus “Trajan” Augustus
4. His Excellency, The King of Saint Halvards and Maldovia, Gaius Lucius Octavio
When one of the Grand Masters passes away, his/hers position is given to their first-born child.

Once awarded, only the Emperor can withdraw the Cross and honorary titles.

Pictures:

Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence


Imperial Cross with Stripes

The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath:
History:
The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath is the oldest order in Walosia and has existed since the dawn of the empire itself. Its founding is shrouded in mystery and religious interpretation, but many historians agree that the Roman Order was formed by Archangel Matheus II in 197BC in an attempt to unite the various temples in Walosia. This order is built on a religious interpretation of Walosian Roman paganism, which states that humans are eligible to obtain divine status as a result of their actions. Initially, this order was reserved for those individuals who were seen as divine and important to the Paganism itself. It could be individuals who had preformed one or more miracles, spread the religion itself or in other way been important to the religion. According to Matheus II himself, this order was given to those who had received a divine acceptance from the Gods, individuals we as mortals must look towards as excellent examples of how we should live our lives.

Throughout the years, the honor of receiving the Golden Wreath was seen as the most prestigious award available, especially within the religious portion of society (which was the majority of Walosians until the 19th century). Examples of individuals bestowed with the honor of the Golden Wreath were Gaius Didius Julianus who was awarded with the Golden Wreath for his missionary-work in Logata in the early 150AD.

As time progressed and Walosia became increasingly secular, the order moved away from a focus on divine activity and holy individuals to focusing more on individuals with a merit of moral supremacy. In other words, individuals who showed great love and effort to improve the lives of others. The first non-pagan individual to receive the honor of the Golden Wreath was Teresa Scantilla who in 1829 managed to operate a orphanage from her own house where she took care of children whose parents either abandoned them or was unable to take care of them. Today, the Golden Wreath is awarded to individuals who, without selfish interest helps to improve the lives of other humans. The Walosian Pantheon have many honors and awards given for the same reason, however, this honor is considered to be the most prestigious and is reserved for extraordinary actions and individuals.

Classes:
The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath is divided into two classes or ranks:

• The Golden Wreath of Sainthood:
This is the highest possible honor possible within the Walosian paganism and is reserved for those individuals who have shown an excellent effort in improving the lives of their peers. Historically, this honor was reserved for those individuals who had shown great divine spirituality and reserved for those who was seen as holy individuals. Today however, the honor can be bestowed upon any individual regardless of “holiness”.
• The Golden Wreath of our Roman Angels:
This is the second highest possible honor within the Walosian paganism and is reserved for those individuals who have shown a great effort in improving the lives of their peers. Unlike the Wreath of Sainthood, this award are not historically reserved for holy individuals. Historically, this honor was the highest obtainable honor for the “regular” Walosian.

Individuals bestowed with the honor of the Golden Wreath are eligible to refer to themselves by a specific title. Those individuals given the honor of the Golden Wreath of Sainthood are given the title of Saint. Example is Saint Teresa Scantilla or the Honorable Saint Teresa Scantilla. Thos individuals given the honor of the Golden Wreath of our Roman Angels are given the tile of Honorary Angel, example Honorary Angel Gaius Augustus Jupitus or simply Angel Augustus Jupitus. The honor of Sainthood is the most prestigious and up through history, individuals given this specific honor have been viewed as divine. In some cases, the name of streets, neighborhoods, cities and even districts have been named after Sainthood recipients.

Make Up:
The Archangel of the Roman Paganism is the “Divine Saint” and tasked with choosing candidates to this prestigious honor. However, the final choosing of a recipient is the responsibility of the “Holy Committee”, a committee consisting of all fifty Angels (not former recipients, Angel is also a term for a religious figure comparable with a Bishop). A least 30 Angels must vote in favor of one candidate and they meet on an annually basis to vote for the candidates presented by the Archangel.

Unlike the Imperial Cross, the Golden Wreath does not have a limit in regards to the total amount of recipient alive or dead, both to the Sainthood or the status as Honorable Angel. However, it has become a tradition to only bestow one Sainthood honor and two Angel honors on an annual basis. Another important restriction is that military merits cannot be awarded with title and honor, a change that was introduced by Archangel Jupitus IV in 1827.

The Archangel can, whenever and for whatever reason withdraw the honor of Angel, but in order to withdraw a Sainthood honor, the Holy Committee must agree by a two/thirds vote.

Pictures:

Those bestowed with the honor of Sainthood is given a solid gold Laurel Wreath, the main religious symbol of Walosian paganism.


Those bestowed with the honor of Honorary Angel is given a solid gold medal depicting the wings of an Angel.

[Auzkhia]

The most prestigious knightly order is the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Emperor is its Grand Master of the Imperial Branch and the Archbishop of Vienna is its chaplain.
For the military, there is the Order of Maria Theresa. Which is the highest military decoration.
Many states that have their own monarchies and Hungary, have their own knightly orders.

[Rhodevus]

Does your nation have a specific Order, knighthood or any type of “Order of merits” awarded to your nations citizens?

Rhodevus has 2 specific orders that are awarded to citizens who show certain attributes.
The Rhodeve Order of the Crown
This award was created by the first king of Rhodevus, King Rubin Machin in 1846 to honour citizens who uphold chivalrous deeds. What would later become known as the "first attempt at knighthood", the Order of the Crown bestowed upon the recipient the title of "Saviour of Olde". Only 16 awards have been given to citizens since its founding; the most notable recipient being John Harrison in 1852, eight years before he became King of Rhodevus. Harrison was awarded this honour after he put himself in the line of fire, saving 7 Native Rhodevan children from a massacre and putting himself in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.

The last recipient of the Rhodeve Order of the Crown was Margaritta Tahtcher in 1942 after she was killed in battle, while defending her position against enemy fire. It was deemed that her actions in the battle allowed for enough time to evacuate 13,000 civilians from their villages, before enemies advanced inward, destroying the entire villages. This was also the only Order of the Crown award to be given posthumously.

The members in this order; all of whom are made members by given the award by the King/Queen at the time, work to create conditions for the betterment of the lower classes, and people who need help. Although members usually work alone in this order, due to the sheer lack of recipients of the award, people with the title of "Saviour of Olde" are given an immense amount of power in politics, and usually end up becoming politicians and other civil rights activists.

Emperor Monty's Knighthood
Created during the Empire of Rhodevus in 1802, this is one of the oldest orders in Rhodevus to still be active to this day. It was created by Emperor Montgomery Hart, who although was deemed an emperor, was a democratically elected leader (with a larger more complex backstory, which really does not need to be gotten into right now). Emperor Montgomery created the order of knights to act much like the Order of the Crown. Although coming much before the order, the Knighthood was originally a military honour, bestowed upon those who have achieved victory for the Rhodeve Empire.

As the empire began to decline in the mid 1830s and collapse in 1845, the Knighthood moved away from being a totally military honour, to becoming an honour granted to any person who distinguished themselves, by putting themselves in harm's way.

This order also includes rules on entry to its ranks.
The most important rule, is that only living people can receive the knighthood. This rule has been combated many times over the years, since people putting themselves in harm's way have the possibility of dying. This rule has yet to be changed.
The second rule, is that others must see the action being performed
and the third rule, is that members of their ranks must maintain a strong connection to the people for whom they distinguished themselves with.

At any given time, there can only be 10,000 'knights' alive, yet this limit has only ever been reached once in its recorded history. At present, there are 6,271 knights in this order. All members, whether they are male or female are given the title of "Sir". This title is also placed on all documents that this person holds.

There are a few levels to this knighthood, all based on the amount of acts performed, the severity of those acts, and time as a part of the knighthood.

High Lord: There is only ever 5 High Lords at any given time. These High Lords are elected by the Knighthood as their representatives and leaders.
Knight of the Kingdoms: The highest rank a knight can achieve without being given the title of High Lord. Knights of the Kingdoms are people who have distinguished themselves time and time again. This is the only other award that must be given to the recipient by the King/Queen at the time (the first being the initial award). There are only ever 500 recipients, and those with the rank are given the extra title of "Of the Realm", so a man named Anthony Hariss, would be given the title of Sir Anthony Hariss of the Realm.
Knight High: Those who have been in the order of Knights for at least 10 years, or those who were killed in action (granted by the High Lords). This rank is given to those who have showed the longevity of time they can put into the order, helping it overcome difficulties.
Knight: The lowest rank in the Knighthood, awarded by the King/Queen at the time. Recipients are given the title of "Sir".

A well-known member of Emperor Monty's Knighthood was General Sir Richard Weivar. He was granted the knighthood in 2006 by newly made Queen Diana Wolff, after he rescued a family from a burning building. The unstable building hit him, giving him a pronounceable limp and a badly scarred left hand. He was awarded the rank of Knight High, following his death in 2007. Weivar was awarded this rank so quickly, because he sacrificed his own life to kill King James Wolff, who had started a Civil War in the country. Richard's sacrifice most likely saved hundreds of thousands of people who would have died, had the war continued.

While both awards are considered Knighthoods by Rhodeve people, only Emperor Monty's Knighthood grants people the title of knight.

There are many other important orders in Rhodevus, but these are the most famous of them

[Estainia]

Does your nation have a specific Order, knighthood or any type of “Order of merits” awarded to your nations citizens?

There are many Chivalric Orders in the Esto-Alisonian Empire, there are no 'Orders of Merit' however, and Knighthood is not awarded for the stupidity it is awarded for in places like Britannia. A Knight is the epitomy of Chivalry, a Defender of the Meek and the Stalwart Champion of Just, Honorable Intent. He is a warrior and a solider, a bulwark against the darkness of the world, he is not a musician. Knighthood in the Empire is the highest honor capable of being given to a worthy soul in defense of the peoples of the world, the Empire and Imperial Virtue, roughly speaking it is akin to the Californian Congressional Medal of Honor, with exception given to the fact it is not a medal. It is a title, a position, with land and responsibilities, the beginning of a new life and the end to an old one.

The Order of the Golden Spyglass is the foremost Chivalric Order of the Empire, with more than thirty thousand Knights all of whom are trained warriors and defenders of chivalry, as well as skilled chroniclers and librarians of Imperial culture and history; they are the closest to an 'order of merit' that exists in the Empire, as they have the loosest (but no where near easy) ascension lines to their hallowed ranks.

[Daniel-Franklin]

We have no monarchist, feudalist nonsense such as knights, chivalric orders, and what have you. However, we do have a fraternal order known as the Order of Saints, which is a semi-governmental organization that is composed of the most dedicated, committed laymen convinced of the need to preserve the piety and morals of public life. The Order works in place of a ruling party in some ways, helping to identify and organize the most loyal and faithful men of Christian principles, the ones determined to maintain a Christian society and nation here in Daniel-Franklin.

Membership comes with the following oath.

"I, (insert name here), a fallen sinner redeemed from the sins of Adam and Eve by the grace and blood of Jesus Christ unto the Kingdom of God, our Heavenly Father, inspired by the Holy Ghost to take this action, do hereby swear and consecrate my life to the service of Church and State alike, serving both the body of Christ and the body politic for the purposes of defending them against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I swear that I will be loyal and faithful to the works of God, whatever my private sins, which I shall always seek to reform, and that I will zealously and earnest contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints, so help me God."

Membership is strictly male and members are identified only by a special pin with the image of Saint George slaying the Dragon. Membership comes with a handgun permit almost automatically, whereas handgun permits are somewhat harder for citizens outside of the Order to acquire (though how difficult depends on one's history of loyalty or disloyalty). Membership comes with an implied duty to, at times, engage in extra-judicial executions whenever necessary to save the Church and State, with a strong, unofficial impression that Saints have a "license to kill." No official data exists, but the Order is estimated to have a minimum of 435,000 members nationwide, perhaps two to three times that many.

It is just one of many ways that the Union keeps its citizens firmly within the fold, not permitting them to stray into treason and other kinds of sin. While members come from all walks of life, it is very common for civil servants and prominent capitalists to be Saints, and it is widely believed that membership tends to result in special favors from the State as well as certain advantages in business.

[Stormaen]

Order of Stormaen

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The Order of Stormaen is the highest honour in Stormaen's honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of Stormaen in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted on 15 March 1974.

There is only one class which is limited to 24 living members; new appointments only being made once incumbents die. Recipients are appointed either:

• Knight / Dame of the Order of Stormaen and are styled "Sir" or "Dame".
• Companion of the Order of Stormaen for those wishing to accept appointment to the order but not the knighthood.
• All the above use the post-nominal letters "OS".

Order of Merit

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The exclusivity of the Order of Stormaen has led to the more prolific use of the next award down in the order of precedence, the Order of Merit, which was instituted in 1912. There are four classes to the Order of Merit:

1. Knight Commander / Dame Commander of the Order of Merit (KM / DM).
2. Commander of the Order of Merit (CM).
3. Officer of the Order of Merit (OM).
4. Member of the Order of Merit (MM).

[Swilatia]

Does your nation have a specific Order, knighthood or any type of “Order of merits” awarded to your nations citizens?

No, we are a free, democratic republic and do not partake in such feudalist nonsense.

[Macureus]

Does your nation have a specific Order, knighthood or any type of “Order of merits” awarded to your nations citizens?

We are a socialist nation and have no time or use for such outdated relics of other nations' pasts....considering that there never was a chivalric code or order of knights in our history, it makes even less sense for us to create one that never existed.

[Ingensterra]

No, we do not.

[United Dixieland Territories]

Even though the Confederate People are a proudly democratic sort, they have in the past gone out of their way to hold and maintain a set of sacred "orders" that function as an extension of Presidential Might.

Primarily, that of the "Knights of the Southern Cross"; born from the cultic practices of the KGC and integrated in as a presidentially backed and hyper-nationalist frontline forces. "CUSTODIAT AD AUSTRUM!" Is their battlecry, as the "1st Richmond Roughnecks", a powered armor brigade charged the hellish pit that was the siege of Mexico City in 2025.

Proud, Vicious & Loyal, the Knights of the Southern Cross stand firm against adversity and the Confederacies many enemies.

[Byzantium Imperium]

Knighthood does not exist in the Roman Empire, however the martial basis of the Knight is Roman in origin, the Cataphract heavy cavalry troops employed by the Imperium during Late Antiquity through until the Renaissance is where the idea of the heavily armored, mounted horseman comes from. We have no idea where the hell 'Chivalry' comes from though.

[Aikoland]

We don't have anything like orders or knighthood in our nation.