Old Order of St. George
The Old Order of St. George , also known as the Order of the Four Roman Emperors or Order of the Old Nobility , is a historical, secular order of knights that still exists today as a private association.
history
Early history
The Ancient Order of St. George continues its tradition of two knights companies of house Luxembourg in the 14th and 15th centuries back, namely an alleged 1308 by the later Emperor Henry VII. , Donated "Order of the Old Nobility" and in 1408 the later Emperor Sigismund donated " Order of the Dragon ". Both founders were expressly interested in strengthening Christianity and knightly virtues. As a result of the defeat in the Battle of Nicopolis , Sigismund placed the "fellowship with the dragon" under the protection of St. George (and St. Margaret of Antioch ), which explains the name combination used by the order to this day. After the house of Luxemburg died out in the middle of the 15th century, the order was closely connected to the emperors from the House of Habsburg .
1768 to World War II
On December 6, 1768 Order was as a secular order of knights of Count Philipp Ferdinand of Limburg-Stirum newly donated . The purpose of the order was also to preserve the memory of the four emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from the House of Luxembourg : Henry VII (ruled 1308–1313), Charles IV (ruled 1347–1378), Wenceslas (ruled 1378–1410) and Sigismund (ruled 1410-1437). The division into a German and a French "tongue" was established in 1789.
In 1806 the rule of Styrum of the Counts of Limburg-Styrum was mediatized in the course of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire . Therefore the order lost the status of a house order and was continued "in silence" under the vacancy of the grand master. The members of the now fundamentally ecumenical order came from the German, Flemish, Walloon and French nobility.
In the second reorganization convention of 1838, suggested by Vice Chancellor Dr. Joseph Vicomte de Kerckhove-Varent, the order opened up to members of non-aristocratic descent under the leadership of the German-speaking part (the French part was largely extinct as a result of the revolution in France), but set itself emphatically conservative goals.
Founded in the reorganization convention of 1926 in Hanover, the statutes were adapted to the time under the direction of Count Bernhard zu Stolberg-Stolberg in 1927 to deepen the life of the order and the order was named the Old Knight Order of St. George called the Order of the Four Roman Emperors , with the balls Wendland , Lower Saxony , Rhineland - Westphalia , Southern Germany and Austria-Hungary . A visible expression of this renewal of the order, in the spirit of its founders and patrons, was the adoption of St. George in the order.
In 1935, due to the political situation in the German Empire, the seat of the order was relocated to Salzburg in the Austria-Hungary ballot, from where it stood up against National Socialism, for an independent Austria and for the re-establishment of the House of Habsburg. In 1938, after the annexation of Austria , the order was banned and dissolved by the National Socialist rulers for political reasons. As in Germany in 1935, the assets of the Order were confiscated in Austria and its activities were prohibited. The dissolution took place under the governor of the order, Prince Johannes von und zu Liechtenstein, who had been in office since 1937 (a former kuk captain of the liner) who, after the irrevocable resignation of his predecessor, Count Bernhard zu Stolberg, "per acclamationem" at the knight's convention on June 19, 1937 in Vienna had been elected to this office.
Second World War to this day
Recognized as governor by the Knights of the Order who remained during the Second World War, Johannes Liechtenstein rebuilt the life of the dissolved order, based in Vienna, immediately after the war and consolidated it in 1951 with the entry of an association in the Austrian register of associations under the name “St . Georgs-Klub ”, which he led as president. This attempt to legally revive the old order was due to the location of secular orders that had been banned during the Third Reich. After an amendment to the statutes under the order of governor Karl Trauttmannsdorf-Weinsberg, which was confirmed by a decision of the association authority in 1960, the association was renamed from “St. Georgs-Klub ”in“ The Old Order of St. George ”. Since then, the head and representative of this association has had the title of "Order Governor" according to the association's statutes. Since 1999 Mag. Gundakar Liechtenstein has been "Order Governor". "Vice Chancellor" or "Chancellor" of the association has been Peter Stolberg-Stolberg since 2001 and 2004 respectively.
Principles
According to its statutes, the order is open to members from all social circles, professions and Christian denominations. According to the aims of the order, the members fight in private as well as in public life against the roots and effects of the “eight wretches”, namely illness, abandonment, homelessness, hunger, lovelessness, guilt, indifference and unbelief . The Order expects its members to lead an impeccable way of life, honesty, true nobility of sentiment, Christian charity and morality, as well as strict observance of the legal concept. The order also acknowledges Christian natural law and morality as the source of all law. The goals of the order are also reflected in the motto “Illustrioribus et nobilitati” (“the distinguished and noble”).
Saint George as the patron saint of chivalry and Saint Thomas More (1478–1535) as the patron saint of lawyers and Christian politicians serve as symbolic models for the way of life .
Religious life
Bernhard zu Stolberg-Stolberg
Johannes von und zu Liechtenstein
Karl von und zu Trauttmansdorff
Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein
Leonhard von Wolkenstein
Gundakar from and to Liechtenstein
Knights of the order are there for each other until the end of their lives, especially when a friar needs help and protection in a difficult life situation. The order sees itself today as an opinion-forming think tank and organizes, in addition to charitable activities, regular meetings with lectures on social and political topics. The annual festive religious convention on the day of remembrance of St. George (April 23) serves to swear in and accept new knights and to honor members for special merits. Since 2000, the Order has organized a working convention once a year with high-ranking speakers on socio-political issues (e.g. 2012: “Natural law vs. legal positivism”, 2013: “Truth or everything is relative” and 2014: “From the nation state to supranationality ? ").
Order governors of recent times
The governors and presidents of the Old Order of St. George since the reorganization in 1926:
- 1926–1937 Bernhard Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg
- 1937–1959 Johannes Prince von und zu Liechtenstein,
from 1951 of the "St. Georgs-Klub "or after its renaming of the" Old Order of St. George ":
- 1959–1970 Karl Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg
- 1970–1987 Emanuel Liechtenstein
- 1987–1999 Leonhard Wolkenstein
- since 1999 Mag. Gundakar Liechtenstein
Coat of arms and medal insignia
The coat of arms of the Old Order of St. George called Order of the Four Roman Emperor is as follows described :
- Red with a blue border on the outside and a gold border on the inside , above everything a continuous silver paw cross , this is covered with a thin red, on the crowned helmet with blue-gold covers an octagonal umbrella board covered with the shield image with curved edges, the seven free corners with each set with a peacock mirror .
The original jewel of the order from the 18th century is a white enameled Maltese cross with golden flames in the corners, overlaid by the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire. On the arms of the cross there are the first letters of the names of the four Luxembourg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire: H, C, W, S ( Heinrich VII. , Carl IV. , Wenceslaus I and Sigismund ). In the middle of the cross there is a light blue shield with the depiction of Saint George, held in gold and killing dragons from a horse. The central medallion on the back is decorated with the motto of the order ILLUSTRIORIBUS ET NOBILITATI (or the abbreviation ILLUSTR. ET NOB ). The order cross is carried on a light blue ribbon with golden stripes.
Austrian soldiers in uniform are permitted to wear the medal (Ordensinsigne) in accordance with the decree of the Federal Ministry for National Defense (BMLV) dated February 17, 2004. The order cross and the motto are registered as trademarks for the Old Order of St. George in Austria, Germany and the European Union.
Summer labor convention
Under the chairmanship of the Order Governor Mag. Gundakar Liechtenstein and the Order Chancellor Peter Stolberg-Stolberg, there are annual conferences on various political issues called “Working Conventions”.
See also
literature
- Jean Schoos : The orders and decorations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the former Duchy of Nassau in the past and present. Verlag der Sankt-Paulus Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990, ISBN 2-87963-048-7 , pp. 117–127.
- Ferdinand Freiherr von Biedenfeld: History and constitution of all spiritual and secular, extinct and prosperous orders of knights. Volume 2, Bernhard Friedrich Voigt, Weimar 1841, pp. 63–81.
- Gustav Adolph Ackermann: Order book of all in Europe flourishing and extinct orders. Rudolph & Dieterici, Annaberg 1855.
- Order of knights from the old nobility or the four Roman emperors Foundation letter . Wilhelmsdorf 1768
- W. Maigne: Dictionnaire encyclopédique des ordres de chevalerie civils et militaries créés chez les différents peuples. Paris 1861.
- J. De Kerckhove: Notice sur l´origine et le rétablissement de l´ordre chapitral d´ancienne noblesse des quatre empereurs. Anvers 1839.
- J. De Kerckhove: Statutes de l´ordre chapitral d´ancienne noblesse des quatre empereurs. Anvers 1839.
- Roman von Procházka : Austrian Order Handbook. Munich 1974, DNB 750951001 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean Schoos: The medals and decorations of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the former Duchy of Nassau in the past and present. Verlag der Sankt-Paulus Druckerei AG, Luxembourg 1990, ISBN 2-87963-048-7 , p. 117.
- ^ Gustav Adolph Ackermann: Order book of all in Europe flourishing and extinct orders. Rudolph & Dieterici, Annaberg 1855, p. 220.
- ↑ Johannes Krejci: From the history of the Old Order of St. George . Vienna 2002.
- ^ News sheet of the Old Knight Order of St. George, No. 42, October 1937
- ↑ Website “ Old Order of Saint George - called Order of the Four Roman Emperors - History ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ", Accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ decision Zl 88149-4 / 60 of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior
- ↑ Website “ Old Order of Saint George - called Order of the Four Roman Emperors - History ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ", Accessed April 16, 2014
- ↑ Website “ Old Order of Saint George - called the Order of the Four Roman Emperors - Order principles ( Memento of the original from July 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ", Accessed July 25, 2014
- ↑ Website “ Old Order of Saint George - called Order of the Four Roman Emperors - Order Life ( Memento of the original from July 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ", Accessed July 25, 2014
- ↑ Old Order of St. George - called Order of the Four Roman Emperors - Order Governors
- ^ Decree of the Austrian Federal Ministry for National Defense (BMLV) GZ S93594 / 2-FGG5 / 2004
- ↑ Austrian brands: Reg. 247000 and 246973; German brands: Reg. 302008053400 and 302008053367; Community trademarks: Reg. 011307311 and 011307287 (both OHIM registers, accessed April 16, 2014).
