Order of Isabel la Católica

Order of Isabel la Católica

The Orden de Isabel la Católica (dt. Order of Isabel the Catholic ) is awarded for services to art and science in Spain .

It was founded on March 24, 1815 under the name of the Royal and American Order of Isabellas the Catholic by King Ferdinand VII . That this order was dedicated to the Queen, under whose rule the discovery of America took place in 1492, is not surprising, because it was initially promised as an incentive to those who would contribute to the suppression of the rebellion in America - whether as civilians or soldiers . Its officially constituted aim was "to recognize the immaculate allegiance to Spain and the merits of those Spanish citizens and foreigners for the good of the nation and, very particularly, for those extraordinary services rendered to the welfare of the American and overseas territories". The order was reformed in 1847 and renamed the Real Orden Isabel la Católica , so after the loss of most of the colonial empire it was only royal, no longer American.

Order classes

• Collane
• Grand Cross
• Grand Commander
• Commander
• Knight 1st class
• Knight II class
• Silver cross
• Silver medal
• Bronze medal

Order decoration

The decoration is a red enamelled cross with a gold border. The outer edges of the four cross arms have five tooth-like tips. The outer tips are covered with small gold balls. Golden rays are inserted in the cross angles. The round medallion with a crown above has a picture showing the two hemispheres and is framed with a white enamel border. On this are the inscriptions: "A la lealtad Acrisolada" ("of the flawless fidelity") and "Por Isabel la Católica" ("for Isabella the Catholic"). Above the cross is a green enamelled laurel wreath with the ribbon ring.

insignia
Collane	Collane cross	Grand Cross	Grand Commander	Commander
Commander lady	Knight 1st class	Knight 1st class lady	Knight II class	Knight II class lady
Silver cross	Silver cross lady	Silver medal	Silver medal lady	Bronze medal
Bronze medal lady

Ribbon

The band is white with yellow stripes. The highest class wears the medal over the right shoulder to the left hip and a gold, somewhat larger, star of the order with the same decoration on the chest. The initials of the donor "FR" are on the medallion. The commanders wear the decoration around their necks and the knights in their buttonholes.

Others

The medal was awarded in the First Carlist War both by the Christian party and by the insurgents who supported the pretender Don Carlos (V) in the fight against the Isabelline monarchy. There were also awards to foreign supporters and fighters of the Carlist such as the later Prussian general August Karl von Goeben . In the later Carlist Wars as well as in the Spanish Civil War , both civil war parties awarded the award and each claimed the legitimate administration of the order for themselves.

This medal was later awarded to foreign and own diplomats as well as to artists and scientists. Today the Orden de Isabel la Catolica is the highest honor in Spain. It is awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Grand Master is the Spanish King .

carrier

• Frederico Leão Cabreira
• Johann Traugott Dreyer von der Iller , Komtur
• Rainer Keßelring , Commander (1989)
• Paul Preston , Grand Cross, 2007
• Nelson Mandela , Collane, 1999
• Johann Meixner
• Vittorio Messori , Grand Cross, 2000
• Hugo Reichenberger , 1914
• Willy Rohr , Prussian officer
• Wolfgang Schüssel , Grand Cross, 1995
• António Sousa Lara , Commander
• Johann Strauss (son) (date previously unknown)
• Uetam , opera singer
• Eduard Wlassack , Commander

• List of bearers of the Order de Isabel la Católica (Collane)

literature

• Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world . Leipzig 1893, ISBN 3-8262-0705-X

Web links

• Database query of medals (Spanish)
• Condecoraciones y uniformes. Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ José María Faraldo ( Universidad Complutense ): Voluntarios y mercenarios germanos en la España Contemporánea (PDF; 2.7 MB). In: Enrique García Hernán: Presencia germánica en la milicia española (= Cuadernos de Historia Militar, 3). Published by the Ministry of Defense of Spain , pp. 137–164 (here: 146).
2. ↑ Real Orden de Isabel la Católica on blasoneshispanos.com (private religious order website), accessed on September 23, 2018 (Spanish).