Military Order of Aviz
| Military Order of Aviz Ordem Militar de Avis | |
|---|---|
 Emblemof the Order of Aviz | |
| Type | Order of chivalry |
| Established | 1146 (founded) 1789 (secularized) |
| Country |  Portuguese Republic |
| Religious affiliation | Catholic |
| Ribbon | Green |
| Eligibility | Portuguese and foreign military personnel |
| Awarded for | Outstanding military merit |
| Status | Active |
| Grand Master | President of the Portuguese Republic |
| Chancellor | Jaime Gama |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of Christ |
| Next (lower) | Military Order of Saint James of the Sword |
 Decorations of the Order | |
TheMilitary Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz(Portuguese:Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis,pronounced[ɐˈviʃ]), previously to 1910Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz(Portuguese:Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789Knights(of the Order)of Saint Benedict of Aviz(Portuguese:Ordem de São Bento de Avis) orFriars of Santa Maria of Évora,is aPortugueseorder of chivalry,founded inPortugalin 1146. It gave its name andcoat of armsto theAviz Dynastythat ruled Portugal between 1385 and 1580.
Early history
[edit]The order, as a monastic military order, was founded in emulation of such military orders as theKnights Templar,which existed in Portugal as early as 1128, and received a grant fromTheresa, Countess of Portugalin the year of theCouncil of Troyes,which confirmed their early statutes. A native order of this kind sprang up in Portugal about 1146.Afonso,the first king, gave to it the town of Évora, captured from the Moors in 1166, and the Knights were first called "Friars of Santa Maria of Évora".Gonçalo Viegas,was the first grand master.[1][2]
After the conquest ofAviza castle erected there became the motherhouse of the order, and they were then called "Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz", since they adopted theBenedictinerule in 1162, as modified by John Ziritu, one of the earliestCistercianabbots of Portugal. Like the Knights of Calatrava in Castile, the Knights of Portugal were indebted to the Cistercians for their rule and their habit—a white mantle with a green fleur-de-lysed cross. The Knights of Calatrava also surrendered some of their places in Portugal to them on condition that the Knights of Aviz should be subject to the visitation of their grand master. Hence the Knights of Aviz were sometimes regarded as a branch of theCalatravan Order,although they never ceased to have a Portuguese grand master, dependent for temporalities on the Portuguese King.[2]
At the death ofKing Ferdinand(1383)war broke outbetweenCastileand Portugal. WhenJoão I,who had been grand master of the Knights of Aviz, ascended the throne of Portugal, he forbade the knights to submit to Castilian authority, and consequently, when Gonsalvo de Guzman came to Aviz as Visitor, the knights, while according him hospitality, refused to recognise him as a superior. Guzman protested, and the point remained a subject of contention until theCouncil of Basle(1431), when Portugal was declared to be in the wrong. But the right of the Calatravans was never exercised, and the next grand master of the Knights of Aviz, Fernando Rodrigues de Sequeira, continued to assert supreme authority over them.[2]
The mission of the military orders in Portugal seemed to end after the overthrow of Muslim domination, but the Portuguese expeditions across the sea opened up a new field for them. Theconquest of Ceutaby King João I (1415), theattacks upon Tangierunder João's sonDuarte(1437) were also crusades, inspired by a religious spirit and sanctioned by similar Papal Bulls. The Knights of Aviz and the Knights of Christ fromOrder of Christ,scions of the Knights Templars, achieved deeds of valour, the former under the PrinceFernando,the latter underHenrique,brother of King Duarte. Fernando displayed a no less heroic forbearance during his six years of captivity among the Muslims, a long martyrdom[citation needed]which after his death placed him among the Blessed (Acta SS.,5 June).[2]
This enthusiasm did not last, and the Crusade in Africa continued as a mercantile enterprise. After the grand mastership of the order had been vested in the King in perpetuity (1551), he availed himself of its income to reward any kind of service in the army or the fleet. If the wealth of the Knights of Aviz was not as great as that of the Knights of Christ, it was still quite large, drawn as it was from some forty-three commanderies. The religious spirit of the knights vanished, and they withdrew from their clerical brothers who continued alone the conventual life. They were dispensed from their vow of celibacy byAlexander VI(1502), who tolerated their marriage to prevent scandalous concubinage;Julius III(1551) allowed them to dispose freely of their personal properties. Nobility of birth remained the chief requirement of aspirants to the mantle, a requirement confirmed by a decree of 1604.[2]
Secularization of the order
[edit]
Pope Pius VI(1789) andQueen Mary Ireformed the order into a secular institution. In 1834, when the civil government of Portugal abolished religious orders and monasteries, after the defeat ofKing Miguelin theCivil War,under the constitutional monarchy the order lost its properties. The ancient military orders were transformed by the liberal constitution and subsequent legislation into mere orders of merit. The privileges which once had been an essential part of the membership of the old military orders also ceased.
In 1910, when thePortuguese monarchy ended,theRepublic of Portugalabolished all the orders except theOrder of the Tower and Sword.However, in 1917, at the end of theGreat War,some of these orders were re-established as mere orders of merit to reward outstanding services to the state, the office of grand master belonging to the head of state, the President of the Republic. The Military Order of Aviz, together with the other Portuguese Orders of Merit, had its statutes revised on several occasions, during the First Republic (1910–1926), then in 1962, and again in 1986.
The Military Order of Aviz, together with the Military Orders ofChristand ofSt. James of the Swordform the group of the "Ancient Military Orders", governed by a chancellor and a council of eight members, appointed by the President of the Republic, to assist him as grand master in all matters concerning the administration of the order. The order can only be conferred on military personnel, both Portuguese and foreign, for outstanding service. For Portuguese nationals, a minimum of seven years of service in the armed forces is required as well as an outstanding and exemplary service record.[3]The regulations of the order suggest classes to be conferred according to military rank thus:
- Army Captains and Navy Lieutenants: Knight
- Majors and Lieutenant-Commanders: Officer
- Lieutenant Colonels and Commanders: Commander
- Colonels, Brigadiers, Navy Captains and Rear Admirals (US RADM, Commodore/US RDML being a virtually non-existing rank in the Portuguese Navy): Grand Officer
- Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals, Generals, Vice-Admirals and Admirals: Grand Cross.[4]
However, a number of further provisions in the regulations of the order allow for exceptions to this general rule.
Grades
[edit]The Order of Aviz, as awarded by the Portuguese government today, comes in five classes:
- Grand Cross(GCA), which wears the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
- Grand Officer(GOA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest;
- Commander(ComA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in silver on the left chest;
- Officer(OA), which wears the badge of the Order on a ribbon withrosetteon the left chest;
- Knight(CvA) orDame(DmA), which wears the badge of the Order on a plain ribbon on the left chest.
A sixth class, Grand Collar (GColA), outranking all previous, was introduced in 2021.[5][6]
| Ribbon Bars of the Military Order of Aviz | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Insignia
[edit]- Thebadgeof the Order is a gilt cross with green enamel, similar to the Order's emblem illustrated here, but with a longer lower arm. During the monarchy the badge was topped by theSacred Heartof Christ.
- Thestarof the Order is an eight-pointed, faceted star, in gilt for Grand Cross and Grand Officer, and in silver for Commander. The central disc is in white enamel, with a miniature of the modern badge in it. During the monarchy the Sacred Heart of Christ was placed at the top of the star.
- Theribbonof the Order is plain green.
Selected recipients
[edit]
- Captain James Yeo,Royal Navy1809[7]
- Roberto Ivens,1895.[8]
- David Legge Brainard,American arctic explorer and Army officer[9]
- Richard E. Byrd,American polar explorer and aviator
- 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
- Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- Charles, Prince of Wales (then Charles III)
- Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard,British Army Officer
- James L Jones,2006[10]
- Lieutenant General BaronAlbert du Roy de Blicquy.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Livro velho das linhagens de Portugal, in Provas da história geneaógica da casa real portuguesa Tome I, D. António Caetano de Sousa Coimbra, 1946 p. 197 "D. Gonçalo Viegas o primeiro Mestre q ouve em Aviz"
- ^abcde
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Order of Aviz".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^Regulamento das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas, Capítulo IV, Artigo 35o, no 1 ― a),b),c)
- ^Regulamento das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas, Capítulo IV, Artigo 36o, Artigo 37o
- ^"Decreto-Lei n.º 55/2021 de 29 de junho".Diário da República(in Portuguese).Retrieved30 June2021.
- ^"Governo aprova integração da Ordem de Camões na Lei das Ordens Honoríficas"[Government approves the inclusion of the Order of Camões into the Law of the Honorific Orders].Rádio e Televisão de Portugal(in Portuguese).Retrieved30 June2021.
- ^Chartrand, Rene (2000-11-25). "Reference to Captain James Yeo award with date and unit".The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars.Osprey Publishing: 40.ISBN9781855329812.
- ^Presidencia da Republica, Chancelaria das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas.Anuário: Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas, Ciadadãos Estrangeiros, 1910-2006,p. 75.Archived2008-03-14 at theWayback Machine
- ^"ENTIDADES ESTRANGEIRAS AGRACIADAS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas".
- ^"Eesti Ekspress / President Ilves vähendas medalisadu ligi kolm korda".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-27.Retrieved2009-01-21.
References
[edit]For Documents:
- Noronha,Constitucoes de S. Bento de Aviz(Lisbon. 1631).
For history:
- Jos. Da Purificao,Catalogo dos Mestres de Aviz,1722 (Acad real de Historia);
- Burro,Chronica de Cister, onde, etc..(Lisbon. 1602); cfAlmeida in Mem. Acad. Scient.Lisboa (1837);
- Helyot,Dictionnaire des ordes religieux(1847), 1, 348-350;
- Schefer,Gesch. Von Portugal(Gotha 1834-54);
- Herculano,History of Portugal(Lisbon, 1554–73)
- Olival,The Military Orders and the Portuguese Expansion (15th to 17th Centuries),Portuguese Studies Review Monograph Series, Vol. 3 (Peterborough, 2018).
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