Imperial Order of the Cross
The Imperial Order of the Cross , officially Portuguese Ordem Imperial do Cruzeiro , also Imperial Ordem do Cruzeiro and Ordem Imperial do Cruzeiro do Sul , German as Imperial Order of the Southern Cross , Imperial Order of the Cross , Order of the Southern Cross , as a predicate also briefly only Cruzeiro , was an Order of Merit of the Brazilian Empire donated by Emperor Dom Pedro I on December 1, 1822 .
history
In 1808, the Portuguese royal court under John VI. settled in Rio de Janeiro , and on December 16, 1815, Brazil became a kingdom. King John VI continued the tradition of religious orders of the Portuguese royal court in Brazil. The order was taken over by the new Emperor Peter I and continued by his successor Dom Pedro II of Brazil in the Second Brazilian Empire until the Republic of Brazil was proclaimed in 1889, when the award of the Order of the Southern Cross was canceled on March 22, 1890 has been.
The highest distinction was the elevation to the nobility (merit), other awards as imperial orders are the Imperial Ordem de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo , the Imperial Ordem de São Bento de Avis , the Imperial Ordem de Pedro Primeiro and the Ordem da Rosa .
Based on the former imperial order, after more than 40 years, the dictator and president Getúlio Vargas created the National Order of the Southern Cross on December 5, 1932 . It comprises six order classes, is slightly modified and is awarded today by the Brazilian government for services to international relations.
Order classes
The order consists of four classes. Descending order:
- Grand Cross ( Grã-Cruz )
- Dignitar ( dignitário ), dignitary
- Officer ( oficial )
- Knight ( Cavaleiro )
In older spelling before newer spelling reforms: Gran-Cruz , Official , Cavalleiro . Winners of the Grand Cross carried the predicate excellence (Ex.ª for Excelência ), Dignitare the predicate Senhoria (SS or SSa for Sua Senhoria ). In the event of death, the medal did not have to be returned.
Order decoration
In 1893, Gritzner describes the gem as a star made up of five two-pointed arms, white, bordered with gold, with golden balls at the ends and a green laurel wreath through the angles, the imperial crown on the upper pair of tips. The medallion is blue with the silver constellation of the Southern Cross made up of 19 five-pointed stars. The ring around it is bordered with gold, blue and bears the golden inscription Benemerentium Premium (also Præmium ). The lapel shows the golden image of the founder on sky blue and the golden inscription Petrus I, Brasiliae imperator D. on a steel blue hoop .
The ribbon is sky blue and was worn by officers and knights on the chest, by dignitarians around the neck and by Grand Cross bearers over the right shoulder.
Award
The decree of 1822 states the maximum number of Grand Cross bearers with eight real and four honorary grand cross bearers, 30 dignitarians and 15 honorary dignitarians as well as 200 officers and 120 honorary officers. The number of knights is unlimited. The medal could only be awarded after 20 years of service; it was possible to obtain a higher rank after a few years, with years of war counting twice. The order could also be awarded to women and the reigning emperor was a grand master . Pensions were linked to the order.
In 1884 Pinheiro gives a statistical overview of the number of recipients up to the year 1883:
| year | Grand Cross | Dignitar | officer | Knight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1822 | 2 | 13 | 34 | 85 |
| 1823 | 1 | 8th | 37 | 107 |
| 1824 | 4th | 21st | 22nd | 86 |
| 1825 | - | 5 | 34 | 145 |
| 1826 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 142 |
| 1827 | 1 | 4th | 19th | 55 |
| 1828 | 4th | 4th | 20th | 44 |
| 1829 | 3 | 7th | 43 | 94 |
| 1830 | 1 | 3 | 18th | 69 |
| 1831 | - | - | - | 2 |
| total | 17th | 70 | 258 | 829 |
| year | Grand Cross | Dignitar | officer | Knight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | 30th | 62 | 185 | 743 |
Selection of some medals
- Moritz Rugendas , painter from Augsburg, knight
literature
- Artidoro Augusto Xavier Pinheiro: Organisação the order of honorificas do Imperio do Brazil. J. Seckler, São Paulo 1884, pp. 13-17 ( online , Portuguese).
- Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states of the world within the XIX. Century. (= Weber's illustrated catechisms. Vol. 146). Weber, Leipzig 1893, pp. 41-43 ( online ).
- Southern cross . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . tape 19 . Leipzig 1909, p. 183 ( zeno.org [accessed January 11, 2018]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Copy of the decree: Decreto 1 ° de Dezembro de 1822. Crêa a Ordem Imperial do Cruzeiro. Retrieved January 11, 2018 (Portuguese).
- ^ A b Maximilian Gritzner: Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states of the world within the XIX. Century. Weber, Leipzig 1893, pp. 41-43. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ Christof Metzger: Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802-1858). A biographical sketch. In: Chile and Johann Moritz Rugendas. Werner, Worms 2007, ISBN 978-3-88462-245-2 , p. 32.