Order of St. Elizabeth
The Order of St. Elisabeth was originally donated on October 18, 1766 by the Electress Elisabeth Augusta , the first wife of the Palatinate Elector Karl Theodor, as the High Order of St. Elizabeth in her honor and came from Catholic women for charitable work against the poor and needy old pen-like nobility for the bestowal.
history
The lady north received on January 31, 1767 confirmation by Pope Clement XIII. ; the first seven nuns were solemnly welcomed on March 26th of that year by the founder and auxiliary bishop Franz Xaver Anton von Scheben in the Mannheim Palace . Proof of an ancestral sample of sixteen noble ancestors was required for admission . In addition to ladies from princely houses, only the chief courtiers and ladies-in-waiting of the Electress and six other married or widowed women were accepted.
When the Electoral Palatinate and Kurbayern merged in 1777, the order was taken over in the new dual state of Electoral Palatinate-Bavaria . In 1794, after the death of the founder, the grand mastery passed to the presumptive Palatinate-Bavarian Electress Marie Amalie . Since her husband, Duke Karl II August, died before the government took over (1795), she never became an elector and the order lost its importance. It was not until 1873 that the future Queen Marie Therese of Bavaria had it reorganized and given new statutes. At the same time, the ladies of honor were introduced.
Order decoration
The medal consists of a golden, white enameled Leopold cross that hangs from an electoral hat . The enamelled medallion on top shows the representation of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia distributing alms . The cross of the order officials (ceremonial, order secretary and treasurer) bears a similar, but clearly different scene. In both versions, the intricate initials of the founder EA appear in the reverse medallion , surrounded by a green enamelled ring.
Carrying method
With the exception of the religious officials, the award was worn on a lady's bow on the upper left side of the chest. The ribbon is dark blue for women of honor with wide pink stripes, for women of honor it is arranged in reverse.
Award numbers
The medal was awarded until 1976. Up to this point in time, the following awards can be documented:
- Women of the Order --- 191 awards
- Ladies of Honor --- 31 awards
literature
- Arnhard Graf Klenau: Order in Germany and Austria. Volume II: German States (1806–1918). Part I: Anhalt – Hanover. Offenbach 2008. ISBN 3-937064-13-3 . Pp. 146-149.
- Maximilian Gritzner : Handbook of the knight and merit orders of all civilized states in the world. Weber, Leipzig 1893, p. 36. (Reprint: Reprint-Verlag Leipzig, Holzminden 2000, ISBN 3-8262-0705-X ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kurtz-gefaßte historical messages on behalf of the new European events , Volume 59, p. 359, Regensburg, 1767; (Digital scan)