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Fount of honour

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Thefount of honour(Latin:fons honorum) is a person, who, by virtue of their official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimatetitles of nobilityandorders of chivalryon other persons.

Origin[edit]

During theHigh Middle Ages,Europeanknightswere essentially armoured, mounted warriors.[1]Infeudalism,by virtue of its defining characteristic ofsubinfeudation,it was common practice for knights commander to confer knighthoods upon their finestsoldiers,who in turn had the right to confer knighthood on others upon attaining command.[2]For most of the Middle Ages, it was possible for private individuals to form orders of chivalry.[3]The oldest existing order of chivalry, theSovereign Military Order of Malta,[4]was formed as a private organization[5]which later received official sanction from church and state.[6]

The 13th century witnessed the trend of monarchs, beginning with EmperorFrederick II(asKing of Sicily) in 1231,[7]retaining the right offons honorumas aroyal prerogative,gradually abrogating the right of knights to elevate their esquires to knighthood.[8]After the end offeudalismand the rise of thenation-state,orders and knighthoods, along with titles of nobility (in the case of monarchies), became the domain of the monarchs (heads of state) to reward their loyal subjects (citizens)[9]– in other words, the heads of state became their nations'"fountains of honour".[10]

Many of the old-style military knights resented what they considered to be a royalencroachmenton their independence. The Britishsocial anthropologist,Julian A. Pitt-Rivers,noted that "while the sovereign is the 'fount of honour' in one sense, he is also the enemy of honour in another, since he claims to arbitrate in regard to it."[11]By the early thirteenth century, when an unknown author composedL'Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal,[12](a verse biography ofWilliam Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke,often regarded as the greatest medieval English knight[13]) Richard W. Kaeuper notes that "the author bemoans the fact that, in his day, the spirit of chivalry has been imprisoned; the life of theknight errant,he charges, has been reduced to that of the litigant in courts. "[13]

Legality of honours today[edit]

The question whether an order is a legitimatechivalric orderor aself-styled ordercoincides with the subject of thefons honorum.[14]A legitimate fount of honour is a person or entity who holdssovereigntywhen the order is awarded. Ultimately, it is the authority of the state, whether exercised by a reigning monarch or the president of a republic, that distinguishes orders of chivalry from private organizations.[15][16]In Canada, for example, other persons – whether commoners, knights or nobles – no longer have the right to confer titles of nobility, knighthoods or orders of chivalry on others.[17]

The official website of the British monarchy[18]states: "As the 'fountain of honour' in the United Kingdom, The [Monarch] has the sole right of conferring all titles of honour, including life peerages, knighthoods and gallantry awards."[19]Some private societies in the United Kingdom (such as theRoyal Humane Society)[20]have permission from the monarch to award medals which may be worn by those in uniform provided the private society's medal is worn on the right-side rather than the usual left.[20][21]In Spain the fount of honour isKing Felipe VIas the head of state.[22]

In France, only decorations recognised by the Grand Chancery of theLegion of Honourmay be worn publicly, and permission must be sought and granted to wear any foreign awards or decorations.Dynastic ordersare prohibited unless the dynasty in question is currently recognised as sovereign.[23](For example, theRoyal Victorian Orderis explicitly recognised, whereas theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarusis not.)[24]Failure to comply is punishable by law. A non-exhaustive list of collectively authorised orders is published by the government.[24]

"These two dispositions are meant to protect the ensemble of authentic national and foreign distinctions by attempting to prevent the attire of fake decorations. These may stem from territorial entities which have not acceded to sovereignty or even from countries, nations, empires or kingdoms that are the pure and simple products of someone's overactive imagination, a fan of fiction or even a megalomaniac, if not purely mercantile acts or even the patent intention to abuse and swindle others."[25]

ThePresident of the Portuguese Republichas inherited the duties of fount of honour from thePortuguese monarchs,since, unlike titles of nobility, thePortuguese orders of chivalrywere not extinguished with theRepublican Revolutionin 1910. The currentConstitution of Portugalalternatively styles the President as the "Grand Master of the Portuguese Honorific Orders" (Portuguese:Grão-Mestre das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas);[26]in this capacity, the President can wear as a private insignia theSash of the Three Orders,[27]which has become a symbol of the Portuguese presidential magistracy.

ThePapal Orders of Knighthoodcomprise five orders awarded directly by theHoly Seeand two others which it 'recognises and supports': theSovereign Military Order of Maltaand theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre.In response to queries regarding the Catholic Church's relationship to a large number of self-proclaimed Roman Catholic chivalric orders, the Holy See issued a statement in 2012 stating that any body other than its own seven approved orders, 'whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See' and that 'the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures... to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms that it attributes absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".'[28][third-party source needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Spielvogel, Jackson J. (January 2010).Western civilization: a brief history(7th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. p. 179.ISBN9780495571476.
  2. ^Gautier, Léon, translated from French by Henry Frith (1891).Chivalry.Glasgow: G. Routledge and Sons. p. 223.ISBN9780517686355.Every knight has the power to create knights{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^Wollock, Jennifer G. (2011).Rethinking chivalry and courtly love.Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 75.ISBN9780275984885.
  4. ^Anna, Luigi G. De, ed. (2003).Milites pacis: Military and peace services in the history of Chivalric orders: proceedings of the Conference: The Monks of War - the Monks of Peace, Military and Peace Services in the History of Chivalric Orders, Turku 15. - 26. 5- 2001.Turku: Univ. p. 82.ISBN9789512924257.
  5. ^Ann Ball (2003).Encyclopedia of Catholic devotions and practices.Introduction by Neil Roy. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor. p. 286.ISBN9780879739102.
  6. ^Bunson], Matthew Bunson; foreword by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan; [interior art by Margaret (2004).OSV's encyclopedia of Catholic history(Rev. [ed.]. ed.). Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor Pub. Division. p. 602.ISBN9781592760268.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^Stevenson, Katie (2006).Chivalry and knighthood in Scotland, 1424-1513.Woodbridge [u.a.]: Boydell Press. p. 8.ISBN9781843831921.
  8. ^Mills, Charles (1861).The history of chivalry.Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea. p. 34.
  9. ^Bush, M.L. (1988).Rich noble, poor noble.Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 65.ISBN9780719023811.
  10. ^McCreery, Christopher (2005).The Order of Canada: its origins, history, and development(Reprint ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 3–16.ISBN9780802039408.
  11. ^Pitt-Rivers, Julian,"Honor and Social Status",in Jean G. Peristany, ed.,Honour and Shame: The Values of Mediterranean Society,20-77 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), 30.
  12. ^Paul Meyer,L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal(Paris:Société de l'histoire de France,1891–1901), with partial translation of the original sources intoModern French.Edition,History of William Marshal(3 vols):Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.
  13. ^abKaeuper, Richard W. (1999).Chivalry and violence in medieval Europe(Repr. ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. p. 95.ISBN9780198207306.
  14. ^Matikkala, Antti (2008).The orders of knighthood and the formation of the British honours system, 1660-1760.Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 211–13.ISBN9781843834236.
  15. ^Duren, Peter Bander van (1995).Orders of knighthood and of merit: the pontifical, religious and secularised Catholic-founded Orders and their relationship to the Apostolic See.Gerrards Cross: Smythe. pp. 307–94.ISBN9780861403714.
  16. ^Hieronymussen, Paul; Crowley; photographed by Aage Strüwing; (translated into English by Christine) (1970).Orders, medals, and decorations of Britain and Europe in colour(2d ed.). London: Blandford Press.ISBN0713704454.In practice, it may be found that the Royal Knighthoods still extant and the true Orders of Merit are identical, but they can differ in their external presentation. The Order can be either the prerogative of The Sovereign, which means that the reigning member of the Royal House rules the institution as the Master of the Order, or it can be a State institution, the President of the country, as Grand Master of the State Orders, having the final decision in all question concerning the Order.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^McCreery, Christopher (2008).Maple leaf and the white cross: a history of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in Canada.Toronto, Ont.: Dundurn. p. 26.ISBN9781550027402.Before the Royal Charter of Incorporation of 1888, the Order of St. John had no official status in Britain or throughout the British Empire as an honour. The situation was not unlike that now experienced by bodies using the name designation The Order of St. Lazarus. The Order of St. John was simply a charitable organization that involved itself in the teaching of first aid ambulance duties that happened to have attached to it an order of chivalry; on that was unrecognized by all relevant authorities--the Order of Malta, Papal officials, and, most important, the government of the United Kingdom...The involvement of the Prince of Wales was central in affording legitimacy to the Order as it evolved from what was little more than a private club to an official British order of chivalry engaged in important charitable works
  18. ^"The Royal Family".
  19. ^"Queen and Honours".The Official website of the British Monarchy.London: The Royal Household. 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 16 January 2013.Retrieved29 November2012.As the 'fountain of honour' the Queen has the sole right of conferring all titles of honour, including life peerages, knighthoods and gallantry awards.
  20. ^abJSP 761: Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces(PDF)(2nd ed.). London: Joint Service Publication, Ministry of Defense. May 2008. pp. 12B–4. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2019-06-11.Retrieved29 November2012.only the Life Saving Medal of the Order of St John, The Royal Humane Society medals, Stanhope Gold Medal and the medal of The Royal National Lifeboat Institution may be worn on the right side of the chest
  21. ^The King's regulations and orders for the army.London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1908. p. 287.
  22. ^"The Crown Today: Functions of the Head of State".Official Page of The Royal Household of His Majesty the King.www.casareal.es owned by the House of His Majesty the King (Palacio de la Zarzuela, Madrid 28071, Spain).Retrieved29 November2012.Pursuant to the Constitution, the King is a symbol of the unity of the State, and as such, it is incumbent upon him to participate in important State acts...It is also incumbent upon the King to...Confer civil and military positions, as well as award honours and distinctions (Article 62 f).
  23. ^Code de la légion d'honneur et de la médaille militaire,article R160
  24. ^ab"Guide - Décorations étrangères - Constitution d'un dossier de demande d'autorisation de port de décorations étrangères"[Guide - Foreign decorations - Creation of an application form for authorization to wear foreign decorations] (in French). drimm.fr. Archived fromthe original(DOC)on 23 February 2014.
  25. ^"Dispositions pénales relatives aux décorations"[Penal provisions relating to decorations].Grande Chancellerie de la Légion d'honneur.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2010.Retrieved4 March2012.These two dispositions are meant to protect the ensemble of authentic national and foreign distinctions by attempting to prevent the attire of fake decorations. These may stem from territorial entities which have not acceded to sovereignty or even from countries, nations, empires or kingdoms that are the pure and simple products of someone's overactive imagination, a fan of fiction or even a megalomaniac, if not purely mercantile acts or even the patent intention to abuse and swindle others.
  26. ^"Constituição da República Portuguesa (VII Revisão Constitucional)".Assembleia da República(in Portuguese).Retrieved2020-07-09.
  27. ^"Lei das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas".Presidência da República(in Portuguese).Retrieved2020-07-09.
  28. ^"Note of Clarification from the Secretariat of State (Holy See)"(Press release). December 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-18.Retrieved2013-11-25.
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