Development
Modern orders of merit and decorations can trace their origin back to the monarchical and honorific orders of chivalry as established in the Middle Ages. While these were "societies, fellowships and colleges of knights", created by European monarchs in imitation of the military orders of the Crusades, granting membership in such societies gradually developed into an honour that could be bestowed in recognition of service or to ensure the loyalty of a certain clientele. Some of modern Europe's highest honours, such as the Order of the Golden Fleece, England's Order of the Garter, Denmark's Order of the Elephant and Scotland's Order of the Thistle, were created during that era. They were essentially courtly in nature, characterised by close personal relations between the orders' members and the orders' sovereign.
By the time of the Renaissance, most European monarchs had either acquired an existing order of chivalry, or created new ones of their own, to reward loyal civilian and especially military officials. Such orders remained out of reach to the general public, however, as being of noble rank or birth was usually a prerequisite to being admitted. In the 18th century, these ideas gradually changed and the orders developed from "honourable societies" to "visible honours". An example of this gradual development can be seen in two orders founded by Maria Theresa of Austria. While the Military Order of Maria Theresa (1757) was open to any deserving military officer regardless of social origin, and would grant titles of nobility to those who did not already have them, the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary (1764) still required that one had to have at least four generations of noble ancestors.
In 1802 Napoleon created the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour), which could be awarded to any person, regardless of status, for bravery in combat or for 20 years of distinguished service. While still retaining many trappings of an order of chivalry, it was the first modern order of merit and is still France's highest award today. The French Legion of Honour served as the model for numerous modern orders of merit in the Western World, such as the Order of Leopold (Belgium, 1832) and the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom, 1917). The orders based on the French Legion of Honour typically have five classes (see below).
In Communist countries orders of merit usually came in one to three grades, with only a badge worn with or without a ribbon on the chest. An example of a Communist order of merit was the one-class Order of Lenin (USSR, 1930). Unlike the Western orders, however, Communist orders could be awarded more than once to an individual. After the collapse of the Soviet bloc most Eastern European countries have reverted to the Western-style order of merit originally established before the rise of Communism.
Read more about this topic: Order (honour)
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