Orders of Chivalry, Merit, and Honour

[Detroitpete]

If there are any KtRs or OStMAA-DSRs here, could you please send me a private message when you get the chance?

Thanks.

[macwilkin]

I'm wondering. Are there any KtRs or OStMAA-DSRs here?

I don't recognise either set of postnomials -- please clarify.

T.

[ThistleDown]

Well, the purpose of this thread was to encourage those who are members of orders of chivalry, merit, or honour to share a bit of information and show a photo of their insignia and how it is properly worn. There are several "Orders of the Temple" including that order which is linked, via its membership, to the Masonic fraternity.

So, if you are a Templar, feel free to take part.

Uhhhh. Really? With proof, yes?

[TheNaughtyScot]

For the Americans, I would like to add the Order of the Spur:

"...With sabre in hand and having displayed those traits associated with all accomplished cavalry troopers - skill, cunning, dash, and fervor - under combat conditions, this soldier is entered into the rolls of the prepared and loyal Order of the Spur and is awarded a pair of combat cavalry spurs, which will be worn at all cavalry occassions as directed by the Commander..."



"Today, Cavalrymen are still distinguished by their unique hats, or "Stetsons," as they are now called. The Spurs, however, are awarded to only a deserving few. These few represent the best of the best and embody all that has been, is, and will be great about the U.S. Cavalry.

The tradition has its roots in knighthood, where the awarding of gilt Spurs symbolized entry into the ranks and fraternity of mounted warriors. Usually, the squire aspiring to knighthood had to perform some task or deed on the battlefield or tournament field (tournaments were considered like our training maneuvers) to "win their Spurs."

The Spurs themselves were buckled on during the investiture to knighthood, usually during Mass or some other religious ceremony; knighthood, itself, was considered sacramental, if not a sacrament itself. Thereafter, it was the Spurs that symbolized that a man was a knight--not his sword, horse, or armor. No matter how financially destitute, a poor knight would part with everything else before his Spurs. The primary act of degradation (removing someone from the knightly class) was to have another knight cut off the offending knights Spurs" (http://www.cavhooah.com/spurs.htm).

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

Well, the purpose of this thread was to encourage those who are members of orders of chivalry, merit, or honour to share a bit of information and show a photo of their insignia and how it is properly worn. There are several "Orders of the Temple" including that order which is linked, via its membership, to the Masonic fraternity.

So, if you are a Templar, feel free to take part.

Wow, that could go on for ever, with all the knights of the east and west etc...(RA)

Interesting thread so far...

LOL Templars, I love it...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Setting aside the "Masonic Templars", who make no claim to be a continuation of the original, crusading, order, there are probably a dozen or more "orders" that style themselves as "Templars". Despite what may -- or may not -- have been a clandestine continuation of the original order, virtually all "Templar Orders" today are the result of a single action by the Vatican in 1846/7.

Prior to that date anyone visiting the Holy Land could be admitted to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and receive the accolade of knighthood with a sword alledged to have belonged to King Baldwin. This was administered by the Orthodox Patriarch and all sorts of people became Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1847 the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (OHS) was taken over by the Roman Catholic Patriarch, and the rules changed. Henceforth only Catholics would be admitted to the OHS, and non-Catholics were dismissed from the order.

Obviously this did not sit well with the non-Catholic knights who reorganized themselves into "The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem"-- with its headquarters in Belgium where the "Grand Magestry" was located until it moved to it's present location in Portugal, during WWII. From their HQ in Belgium "Templars" spread into Germany and, via Aberdeen, into Scotland in 1848.

From 1948 on, the post WWII history of the "Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem" becomes one of schism and counter-schism along with the creation of numerous "self-styled" Orders of the Temple.

Those interested in knowing more should read John Robinson's excellent "Born in Blood", as well as the numerous writings of Lord Ashburnham and those of the Marquis de Ruvigny et Raineval (author of the "Jacobite Peerage".)

[Standard]

MacMillan, I'm not certain the order I belong to would qualify as one to which you are speaking, but I am a proud Eagle Scout. While certainly in a different vein than the military orders or the holy orders, the Eagle Scouts are certainly a select and closed group.

[EagleJCS]

We certainly are a select group, Standard! (I'm a member of the Old KY Home Council Eagle Scout class of 1985). It is my understanding that, as of last year, there have been a little over 2 million Eagle Scout awards presented since the first one in 1912.

Unfortunately, while Eagle Scout is certainly a meritorious and honorable achievement, it just doesn't fall into the same class as the other Orders mentioned here. (Which is why I haven't chimed in until now.)

[Bigkahuna]

How about the Equestrian Militia of the Knights of the Holy Ghost?

[Rollo]

I do not know this order...