De la Générosité

The Order de la Générosité in 1667

The Order de la Générosité

The Ordre de la Générosité ( German "For nobleness"), also known as the Cross of Mercy , was from 1667 to 1740, alongside the Order of the Black Eagle, the most important award that could be awarded in Brandenburg-Prussia , and the forerunner of the Pour le Mérite order .

history

The order was donated in 1667 by Prince Elector Friedrich von Brandenburg, who was just nine years old, and later King Friedrich I of Prussia . However, no statutes were established. The general rule was only that the bearer should live “in all things according to generosity”. Under the soldier king Friedrich Wilhelm I , the order was given primarily as a bonus for good service in recruiting tall guys . In June 1740, immediately after his accession to the throne, Frederick the Great took over the shape, color and form of the inscription of the order for his rededication of the award in the Order pour le Mérite . The Ordre de la Générosité was sporadically awarded to foreigners until 1791.

Order decoration

The jewel of the order consisted of a small golden cross with a precious stone in the middle, later with the inscription "générosité".

Known knights

see: Knight of the Order de la Générosité

literature

Horst Fuhrmann : Pour le mérite. About the visualization of merits; a historical reflection. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1992, ISBN 3-7995-4159-4 ; orden-pourlemerite.de (PDF), pp. 31–35 and 67–68 (with references to older literature).
Prussian medals - a selection . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 2, 2001, ISSN 0944-5560 , p. 107-111 ( luise-berlin.de ).

Web links

Commons : Ordre de la Générosité - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ See Horst Fuhrmann : Pour le mérite. About the visualization of merits; a historical reflection. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1992, ISBN 3-7995-4159-4 ; orden-pourlemerite.de (PDF), here pp. 31–35.
^ Mérite . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 11, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 494–495.
↑ See the illustration of the copy loaned to the Bernese postal operator Beat Fischer in 1695 in: Hans Braun u. a .: Beat Fischer (1642–1698). The founder of the Bernese Post. Stämpfli, Bern 2004, p. 127, fig. 55; also the illustration by Horst Fuhrmann: Pour le mérite. About the visualization of merits; a historical reflection. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1992, ISBN 3-7995-4159-4 ; orden-pourlemerite.de (PDF), here p. 32.

[1] See Horst Fuhrmann : Pour le mérite. About the visualization of merits; a historical reflection. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1992, ISBN 3-7995-4159-4 ; orden-pourlemerite.de (PDF), here pp. 31–35.

[2] Mérite . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 11, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, pp. 494–495.

[3] See the illustration of the copy loaned to the Bernese postal operator Beat Fischer in 1695 in: Hans Braun u. a .: Beat Fischer (1642–1698). The founder of the Bernese Post. Stämpfli, Bern 2004, p. 127, fig. 55; also the illustration by Horst Fuhrmann: Pour le mérite. About the visualization of merits; a historical reflection. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1992, ISBN 3-7995-4159-4 ; orden-pourlemerite.de (PDF), here p. 32.