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* Herold, Stephen. "Austrian Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Napoleonic Period." On the Internet: http://www.antiquesatoz.com/napoleon/ausnapms.htm
* Herold, Stephen. "Austrian Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Napoleonic Period." On the Internet: http://www.antiquesatoz.com/napoleon/ausnapms.htm


* ''Les Hussards au travers des photographies anciennes'', "Royal Hussard", 2007. On the Internet: http://www.hussards-photos.com/RoyalHussar_home.htm




Revision as of 04:11, 15 October 2007

Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, Grand Cross

The Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress Maria Theresa of Austria, consisted of the grand master (the sovereign), 20 knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights. The badge is a green enamelled cross with gold borders, suspended from the Hungarian crown; the red enamelled medallion in the centre of the cross bears a white patriarchal cross issuing from a coroneted green mound; on either side of the cross are the letters M.T. in gold, and the whole is surrounded by a white fillet with the legend Publicum Meritorum Praemium. The ribbon is green with a crimson central stripe. The collar, only worn by the knights grand cross, is of gold, and consists of Hungarian crowns linked together alternately by the monograms of St Stephen, S.S., and the foundress, M.T.; the centre of the collar is formed by a flying lark encircled by the motto Stringit amore.

- From the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, "Knighthood" article

Significance of St. Stephen to Hungarians

The order is the namesake of Hungary’s most famous king, Stephen I (969 – 1038), whose reign (997 – 1038) was marked by his consolidation of power among the various ethnic groups in Hungary, and for his adoption of Christianity as the state religion. His coronation, as recognized in the Church, dated 1001. He died on August 15, 1038, during the Feast of the Assumption. Canonized by Pope Gregory VII in 1083 along with his son Imre (who preceded him in death, after a hunting accident, 1031) and Bishop Gerhard of Hungary, St. Stephen is the patron saint of "Hungary, kings, the death of children, masons, stonecutters, and bricklayers." Though its exact provenance is somewhat disputed, the Crown of St. Stephen is said to have been a gift from Pope Silvester II, upon Stephen’s 1001 coronation.


Creation of the Order and Qualifications for Membership

Maria Teresa, founder of the Order and first Grand Master, wearing the robes of the Order

Empress Maria Teresa and her son, Emperor Joseph II, made several political concessions to ease tensions within their empire – most especially between Austria and Hungary. The creation of the order was one of them. Membership was available to various members of the Hungarian nobility. To receive the Order, according to collector and historian Stephen Herold,

"one had to have at least four quarterings of arms showing as many generations of noble status. It helped promote her (Maria Teresa's) position as Queen of Hungary and reinforced the quasi independent position of Hungary in the Empire. The original statutes allow for only 20 Grand Crosses, 30 Commanders and 50 Knights who are to be "distinguished for virtue and merit and noble birth". Grand Cross Knights were considered so important that the Emperor was to address them as "Cousin". These insignia were to be returned to the Chancellery of the Order on the death of the holder. There was no military application of this order. It is rare, and even modern awards of St. Stephen are seldom seen. Perhaps more than any other Austrian order, this one approached the ideal character as put forth in its statutes and regulations."

Partial List of Members

Grand Masters

Josef II, second Grand Master, wearing the robes of the Order
Emperor Franz I of Austria, fourth Grand Master, wearing the robes of the Order


Knights, Grand Cross

  • Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1 June 1754 – 24 December 1806), fourth son of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Teresa; heir presumptive of the Duchy of Modena
  • Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria (1756 – 1801), fifth son of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Teresa; Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; Archbishop and Elector of Cologne
  • Albert, Duke of Saxony-Teschen (11 July 1738 - 10 February 1822), husband of Archduchess Maria Christine, son-in-law of Emperor Franz I Stephen and Empress Maria Teresa, and brother-in-law of Emperors Joseph II and Leopold II
  • Archduke Johann of Austria (January 20, 1782 - May 11, 1859), sixth son of Emperor Leopold II; Regent of the Duchy of Styria, naturalist, industrialist
  • Archduke Rainer of Austria (30 September 1783 – 16 January 1853), seventh son of Emperor Leopold II; Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
  • Archduke Louis of Austria (13 December 1784 – 21 December 1864), eighth son of Emperor Leopold II; Field Marshal of Austria; head of the State Conference (Regency) for Emperor Ferdinand
Cardinal Rudolf, Archduke of Austria, wearing a variant of the Grand Cross insignia on his clergy robes
  • Archduke Rudolf of Austria (January 8, 1788-24 July 1831), ninth son of Emperor Leopold II; Archbishop of Olomouc; Cardinal in the Catholic Church, from June 4, 1819
  • Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (7 December 1802 – 8 March 1878), second son of Emperor Franz I (II) and younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand; Member of the State Conference (Regency) for his older brother, Emperor Ferdinand; father of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico
Prince Metternich, the Minister of State, wearing the Grand Cross sash and star on his court uniform. Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence
  • Napoleon II of France (March 20, 1811 – July 22, 1832), King of Rome, titular Emperor of the French, and Duke of Reichstadt ; son of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of the French, and his second wife, Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria
  • Emperor Maximilian of Mexico (July 6, 1832 – June 19, 1867), Archduke of Austria and Prince of Hungary and Bohemia; second son of Archduke Franz Karl; brother of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary
  • Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria (2 March 1833 – 13 June 1905), second son of Archduke Joseph (Palatine of Hungary); General der Kavalrie in the Austro-Hungarian Army (K.u.K.)
  • Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896), third son of Archduke Franz Karl; brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico; father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; grandfather of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary
  • Field Marshal Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli (February 12, 1856 – December 9, 1941), Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; honorary Army General of Czechoslovakia, 1928; honorary Generalfeldmarschall of Germany, 1938
  • Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (4 June 1856, – 30 December 1936), eldest son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand; Field Marshal of Austria and Supreme Commander of the K.u.K. Army; godson and heir of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen; brother of Field Marshal the Archduke Eugen; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1 May 1894
Crown Prince Rudolf, wearing the Grand Cross sash and star on his Austrian general offciers' uniform
  • Archduke Eugen of Austria (May 21, 1863 – December 30, 1954), third and youngest son of Archduke Karl Ferdinand; Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St Stephen, 30 March 1911; last Habsburg Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, 1894 – 1923
  • Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria (15 October 1863 – 4 September 1931), nephew of Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Colonel-General and Inspector General of Artillery in the Austro-Hungarian (K.u.K.) Army
  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (December 18, 1863 – June 28, 1914), oldest son of Archduke Carl Ludwig; successor of Francis V, Duke of Modena; heir apparent of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary; uncle of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary
  • Archduke Otto Franz of Austria (April 21, 1865-November 1, 1906), second son of Archduke Carl Ludwig; brother of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; father of Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary
  • Archduke Joseph August of Austria (9 August 1872 - 6 July 1962), son of Archduke Joseph Karl; Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary; claimed to have been awarded (by Emperor Karl I) a war decoration for his Grand Cross, October 1918, despite the fact that the Order was exclusively civilian
  • Vice Admiral Miklós Horthy von Nagybánya (18 June 1868 - 9 February 1957), Vice Admiral of the Austro-Hungarian (K.u.K.) Navy, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Fleet, and Regent of Hungary


Foreign/Honorary Knights, Grand Cross

German Emperor Wilhelm II, wearing the Grand Cross sash and star of the Order, and the Hungarian uniform of an (honorary) Field Marshal of Austria-Hungary. 1902
  • Prince Alfred of Great Britain (1844 – 1900), Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg Gotha; Admiral of the Fleet of the British Royal Navy; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1873
  • Prince Arthur of Great Britain (1850 – 1942), Duke of Connaught; Field Marshal of the British Army; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1873
  • George V of the United Kingdom (June 3, 1865 – January 20, 1936), King of Great Britain, May 6, 1910 – January 20, 1936; invested with the Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1902
  • Generalfeldmarschall August von Mackensen (December 6, 1849 – November 8, 1945), Prussian Field Marshal

Sources





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