Order of Saint Patrick

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The Most Serene Order of St. Patrick (The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick) is an Ireland of related military orders . He was on February 5, 1783 by George III. founded. The appointment of knights of the holy patron saint Patrick of Ireland continued until the proclamation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Although the order still exists, since 1934 no knights have been knighted. The last member of the order, Henry, Duke of Gloucester , died in 1974. However, Queen Elizabeth II is still considered sovereign over the order. The administrator, the Ulster King of Arms , also still exists.

The motto of the order is: Quis separabit? , Latin for "Who will part us?", an allusion to the Vulgate translation of Romans 8:35, "Who wants to part us from the love of Christ?", which actually meant the separation of the three kingdoms.

The badges of the Order of St. Patrick
Ribbon Buckle of the Order

Most British orders of knights span the entire kingdom. Only the three most prominent are each dedicated to a single nation. In terms of ranking and age, the Irish Order of St. Patrick ranks third. Its equivalent in England is the Order of the Garter , which, with its origins in the mid-fourteenth century, is considered the oldest order of knights in the United Kingdom. The Order of the Thistle in its current form was founded in Scotland in 1687 .

The Order of St. Patrick received international attention in 1907 when its badge, the Irish Crown Jewels , was stolen from Dublin Castle - shortly before a visit by the Order's sovereign, King Edward VII. The whereabouts of the Crown Jewels have not yet been clarified.

founding

The Order was founded in 1783 to honor high ranking Irish nobles. After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, its executive council came to the conclusion that the admission of knights to the order was suspended. During the 1940s, the Knight of the Order and Advisor to the President of Ireland, Arthur Forbes , advocated a revival of the Order. The Taoiseach Seán Lemass also considered this during the 1960s , but could not bring himself to a decision.

The unilateral revival of the order by the British monarchy is possible, if highly unlikely. It is also possible that the monarchy and the Irish government reactivate the order as part of the Anglo-Irish honor system. The Irish daily Sunday Independent published an article in June 2004 recommending that the Order be revitalized; future members should have done a lot for Anglo-Irish relations and should be jointly appointed by the Irish President and the British monarchy. This suggestion was taken up in a similar way by other publications.

The Irish Constitution states that titles of nobility should not be conferred by the state, and that no title of nobility or honor can be accepted by a citizen unless the government approves it. It is controversial among lawyers whether this clause does not in principle prohibit Irish citizens from being awarded membership in the Order of St. Patrick. Some legal scholars interpret the phrase “titles of nobility” as inherited high nobility titles and other honorary titles - not as a lifelong, non-inheritable honor such as that of knighthood.

composition

The British monarch is sovereign of the Order of St. Patrick and names the remaining members. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , the Royal Representative in Ireland, was once the Grand Master. His office was abolished in 1922; the last Lord Lieutenant and Grand Master was Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent .

The order had only one class and originally consisted of fifteen knights ( Knights Companion ). In 1821 George IV called six more knights. Wilhelm IV had a limit of 22 knights set in the statutes in 1833. After Ireland separated from the United Kingdom, only two Knights were beaten by St. Patrick: Edward VIII (1927) and Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1934). This happened on the initiative of her father George V with the approval of the Irish government under William Thomas Cosgrave or Eamon de Valera . Both were at the same time the last two members of the order, they died in 1972 and 1974. In contrast to the Garter and Thistle Order, membership in the Order of St. Patrick was reserved only for the high nobility . Women also had no access to the order; access to the other two orders was also denied until 1987.

The Order of St. Patrick had seven officers: the prelate, the chancellor, the registrar, the administrator (King of Arms), the clerk, the manager, and the genealogist. Many of them were clergy from the Church of Ireland and later the State Church . After secularization in 1871, clergymen were allowed to remain in office until their death. With the exception of the registrar and the administrator, all offices are currently vacant.

The office of prelate was held by the Archbishop of Armagh , the highest clergyman in the Church of Ireland. This post has been open since 1885. The second senior clergyman in the Church of Ireland, the Archbishop of Dublin , was originally Chancellor of the Order. From 1886 the Chief Secretary for Ireland took over this office. This post has not been filled since the position of Chief Secretary was abolished in 1922.

The Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin was once registrar of the Order. In 1890, however, the Chief Herald of Ireland , Ireland's supreme Herald, took office . He also served the order as King of Arms. In 1943 the office was split in two, a result of the partition of Ireland in the Government of Ireland Act of 1920. The position, as far as Northern Ireland was concerned, was included in the Norroy King of Arms , the Herald for the north of England. The post of Norroy and Ulster King of Arms still exists; he was attached to the offices of Registrar and King of Arms within the Order. The office of the Ulster King of Arms , insofar as it concerned the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland ), became the chief herald of Ireland . Both parts see themselves as the successors of the Ulster Kings of Arms and cooperate with each other.

The official of the Order was the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod . The Irish gentleman Usher of the Black Rod differed from the British official of the same name. The latter was still responsible as a servant of the Order of the Garter and as Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords . The post of Irish clerk has been vacant since 1933.

The position of managing director has been vacant since 1926, that of genealogist since 1930 (previously it was vacant between 1885 and 1889).

Robes and armor

On important occasions, such as the coronation ceremony or the installation of new members of the order, the Knights of St. Patrick wore elaborate robes:

Ernst August I of Hanover in the complete robe of the order
  • The cloak was a sky-blue robe with incorporated white silk and a blue hood. The star of the order (see below) was attached to the left.
  • The hat of the Order was made of black velvet and decorated with three feathers, one red, one white and one blue.
  • The necklace was made of gold with knotted roses and harps. The middle harp was adorned with a crown. The necklace was worn around the neck.
The Collane of the Order

Apart from these special occasions, much simpler medal badges were worn.

  • The star of the order was octagonal in shape, with four directions longer than the others. Every corner showed a bundle of rays. The motto, year and appearance of the order were repeated in the middle. The star was worn on the left chest.
The Irish Crown Jewels contained the Grand Master Star and Order
  • The broad ribbon was a sky blue sash that was worn across the body, from the left shoulder to the right hip.
  • The medal was pinned to the sash (or necklace, if worn) at right hip level. The order was gold and showed a three-leaf clover decorated with three crowns, the St. Patrick's cross on top and was set in a blue circle, which showed the motto in capitals as well as the year of foundation of the order in Roman numerals ("MDCCLXXXIII").

The Grand Master's insignia resembled those of the knights in shape and design. In 1831, however, Wilhelm IV appeared as a grand master with a star and medal adorned with rubies , emeralds and diamonds . These two regalia came to be known as the Irish Crown Jewels. Together with five necklaces of the knights they were stolen in 1907; the sensational case could not be resolved to this day, the insignia have disappeared.

The robes of a former knight of St. Patrick can be seen in the Heraldic Museum in Dublin.

Chapel and Chancellery

The Chapel of the Order was located in St. Patrick's Cathedral

The Order's chapel was originally in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin . Every member of the order, including the sovereign, had a chair in the choir of the chapel, over which the corresponding coats of arms were attached. Over the top of a knight's chair hung his helmet, decorated with cloak and helmet ornament. The knight's banner was hung over jewelry or a crown . On the back of the chairs there were comparatively small copper plates on which the name, weapons and date of access to the order were recorded. When a knight died, the banner, helmet, cape, helmet ornament (or crown) and sword were removed. The bronze plates, however, were not removed. They were fixed to the chair and thus documented the knights of the order. After secularization in 1871, the chapel was no longer used; the coats of arms of the knights of that time remained.

The Chancellery of the Order was the Great Hall (now St Patrick's Hall) in Dublin Castle . A banquet was held there on St. Patrick's Day and new knights were knighted. Today this place is used for the inauguration of the Irish presidents .

Ranks and Privileges

With the award of the dignity of a Knight of St. Patrick ( Knight Companion of St. Patrick ) the elevation to the knighthood was connected with the name suffix " Sir ", but because the members of the order all belonged to the nobility, they were instead addressed with their higher nobility titles . They were listed in the protocol-based ranking of England and Wales after the Knights of the Thistle Order and before the members of the Privy Council , but by virtue of their other noble dignities they held higher positions.

Knights of St. Patrick used the suffix "KP" ( post-nominal ). If someone was allowed to use several such post-nominals , KP always stood in front of everyone else, apart from “Bt” ( Baronet ), “VC” ( Victoria Cross ), “GC” ( Georgs Cross ), “KG” (Ritter of the Order of the Garter ) and "KT" (knight of the Order of the thistle ).

Knights could add a representation of the ring (a blue circle with the motto) and the necklace to their coats of arms; the ring is attached either outside or above the necklace. The medal can be found off the necklace.

In addition, the Knights of St. Patrick were allowed to get shield holders . This high privilege was - and is - only allowed to the members of the royal family, the high nobility, knights and ladies of the Garter, the Thistle Order and important commanders of the lower ranking orders. Of course, the Knights of St. Patrick were allowed shield holders on all occasions, because they were all members of the royal family or the nobility.

Current members and officials

See also

literature

  • P. Galloway: The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick 1783-1983. Phillimore & Co Ltd, London 1999.
  • Cecil Weatherly: Knighthood and Chivalry. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Volume 15. Cambridge University Press, London 1911, pp. 851 ff.
  • William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, pp. Ix.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kaspar Friedrich Gottschalck: Almanach of the order of knights. 1819, p. 128 f.
  2. ^ FR Velde: Order of Precedence in England and Wales. at heraldica.org (2003)