Fidei defensor
Fidei defensor ("Defender of the Faith", feminine form fidei defensatrix ) is the Latin designation of origin of the English title Defender of the faith and the French title Défenseur de la foi.
Defender of the Faith
Fidei defensor or Defender of the faith is a minor title of the English (and later British , Canadian and New Zealand) monarchs since he was bestowed on King Henry VIII of the House of Tudor on October 17, 1521 by Pope Leo X. Other great Catholic kingdoms were given similar pious titles, for example Apostolic King (Hungary), Most Christian King (France), or Catholic King (Spain).
The title was then given in recognition of the book Assertio Septem Sacramentorum ("Defense of the Seven Sacraments"), written by Henry and the unnamed Thomas More to defend the sacramental character of marriage and the primacy of the Pope . This was seen as an important countermeasure to the beginnings of the Reformation and especially to the ideas of Martin Luther .
When the Tudor King broke with Rome and made himself head of the Church of England , Henry became the title of Pope Paul III. revoked again.
However, the Parliament of England awarded King Edward VI in 1544 . and his successors the title of Defender of the faith , now in its capacity as a defender of the Anglican faith , the (Supreme Governor) they (with the exception of the Catholic Mary Tudor are) ever since. You are formally above the Archbishop of Canterbury as a primate . Above all, this award was made against Catholicism and thus in the exact reverse of the original award by the Pope. Although the two Cromwells, who were lord protectors of republican England between 1653 and 1659 , were more strictly Protestant than the monarchy, they did not adopt the title of Fidei defensor , which was therefore dormant until the Stuart Restoration .
The Latin version of the title, Fidei defensor, abbreviated as FD or FID DEF, was first minted on coins in 1714 during the reign of George I and can be found on all British coins .
Most of the other member states of the Commonwealth , which have the respective monarch as head of state, omit the use of the title Defender of the faith while retaining the introductory By God's grace , e.g. B. Australia since October 19, 1973.
However, the words are still in use in some Commonwealth Realms as part of the monarch's full title:
- In the United Kingdom , the home kingdom , on May 29, 1953: "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the faith." ("By the grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her Other Kingdoms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth , Defender of the Faith")
- In Canada , also on May 29, 1953: "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith". "Par la Grâce de Dieu, Reine du Royaume-Uni, du Canada et de ses autres Royaumes et Territoires, Chef du Commonwealth, Défenseur de la foi" ("By God's grace Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada and her other empires and territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith ")
- In New Zealand and those areas in which the Queen as Queen of New Zealand is also head of state ( Cook Islands , Niue , Tokelau and the Ross subsidiary area ): “By the Grace of God, Queen of New Zealand and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. ”(“ By the grace of God Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Empires and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith ”)
Canada included the title not because the sovereign would be the patron of the state religion - Canada has none - but because he is generally viewed as a defender of the faith. In a speech to the House of Commons in Canada in 1953 , Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent said :
- “A somewhat more delicate question arose about keeping the words 'defender of the faith'. There is a state church in England . In our countries [the other monarchies of the Commonwealth] there are no state churches, but in our countries there are people who trust in the guidance of human destinies by an omniscient providence; and we believed that it would be a good thing for the state authorities to declare that their polity is one that defends the persistent belief in a higher power governing the fortunes of ordinary people, and that there is no reasonable objection from anyone who believes in this highest being can give against the fact that the sovereign is named as the head of this state authority, believer in a supreme ruler and defender of belief in him. "
Other countries in the Commonwealth dropped the title before electing their own head of state, such as Muslim Pakistan between May 29, 1953 (when it was still a Dominion ) to March 23, 1956 (when it became a republic): " Queen of the United Kingdom and Her Other Kingdoms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth ”. Other countries kept it until the creation of a separate office for the head of state, for example Ireland .
Prince Charles is considering reinterpreting the title. In 1994 he noted, "Personally, I would see you [his future role] as the defender of the faith, not [defender] of the faith." What was meant by this was the defense of any belief. To formally change the title, however, it would require the amendment of the Coronation Act of 1688 and the approval of all Parliaments of the Commonweal Nations, as provided for in the preamble to the Statute of Westminster of 1931. Although the lack of articles in Latin allows the alternative translation, this raises the question of whether it still reflects the role of the monarch as head of the state church of England or, on the other hand, takes a stand against unbelievers who enjoy freedom of belief.
Défenseur de la foi
The French literal counterpart finds or found use as
- official version in French in Canada (especially in the French-speaking province of Québec ), see above;
- Self-bestowed sub-title of Henry I , the king of the north of Haiti (1811-1820), who was descended from slaves, as part of his title, which was translated from French: “By the grace of God and the constitutional law of the state, King of Haiti, Sovereign of Tortuga , Gonâve and other neighboring islands, destroyers of tyranny, innovators and benefactors of the Haitian nation, creators of its moral, political and martial institutions, first crowned monarch of the New World , defender of the faith, founder of the Royal and Military Order of St. Henry. "