Volume 50 Number 1 selves FrOres et Compagnons (Brothers and Com- Church. The first statutes also stipulated that the Knights panions). themselves would bring new members into the order. In 1431, the statutes were amended to provide for the As a mark of distinction and association with the House expulsion of a Knight who dishonored the order. In of Savoy, the first Knights adopted a badge consisting of addition, the amendments required the Knights to three gold love-knots joined in a circle and suspended continuously wear the collar and badge of the order and from a collar. This love-knot, which is made of a single were prohibited from becoming a member of another strand of rope interwoven into the shape of a figure-eight, order. is known in heraldry as the Savoy knot. According to legend, the love-knot was displayed by Amedeus VI at About the time of the 1431 amendments, the enigmatic jousting tournaments to symbolize the fair maiden who motto FERT appears to have been added to the collar. was untied by his victories. There are no reliable Much has been written about this motto, but the true representations of the early badges and collars; but they meaning still remains a mystery. One popular theory is were probably fairly simple, and their content most likely reflected the wealth of the Knight.

Gaspard de Montmayeur, Baron of Villars Etienne Batard de la Baume Aymon de Gen~ve, Lord of Anton and St. Croix Guillaume de Grandson Jean de Vienne, Lord of Rollans and Benecontre Hugues II de Chalons Guillaume de Chalamont, Lord of Meximieux Aymon de Bonnivard Berlion de Foras Roland de Vayssy Richard de Musard Chivard de Montheux Aymon III, Count of G~nve Simon de St. Amour, and Amedeus VI, Earl of Savoy

Listed above are the firstfifleen Knights of the order. The number of Knights was originally limited to fifleen in honor of the "fifteen happiness of the l~rgin Mary." The Coat-of-arms ofAmedeus VL The shield of the exact meaning of the fifleen happiness of the Virgin Mary arms is surrounded by the collar and badge of the is not clear, but the number fifleen is a Christian symbol Order of the Most Sacred Annunciation. The for progress and referred to the fifleen steps that Mary order’s motto "FERT" appears in stylized letters ascended when she entered the Temple after taking leave between the love-knots of the collar. of her parents. Such Christian symbolism is eharacteristie of the early orders of chivalry. that FERT is actually an acronym for Fortitudo Ejus After Amedeus VI, the order was headed between 1383 Rhodum Tenuit (by his bravery Rhodes was held) and and 1391 by Amedeus VII, the Red Earl, and then by refers to Amedeus V, the grandfather of Amedeus VI, Amedeus VIII. The 1409 statutes of Amedeus VIII who in either 1310 or 1315 supposedly assisted the codified for the order the knightly tradition that the com- Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem on Rhodes panions were obliged to provide assistance, comfort, and in breaking the siege of the island by the Turks and was advice to each other and to defend the Holy Mother rewarded with a collar that bore the letters F.E.R.T. How-

14 The Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America

ever, the most generally accepted meaning is that FERT to the King upon the death of the Knight, was to be worn is a word for "door" and a symbol for access to eternal on the Feast of the Annunciation, all national holidays, life. and during all important festivals and court functions; while the minor collar was to be worn on all other special In 1518, Duke Carlo III, also known as Carlo the Good, occasions. The Knights were to be selected from those changed the name of the order to the "Sovereign" Order who had rendered eminent services to the nation; and of the Lady; and in honor of the five wounds of Christ, Kings, the Crown Prince, clerics, and foreigners were not the number of Knights was increased to twenty. As a included in the order’s limit of twenty Knights. The sovereign order, the Knights fell outside of the power of charter further extended to the Knights the title and local magistrates. The badge was changed to include a privileges of a "King’s Cousin." scene of the Annunciation in the space formed by the three love knots, and a ceremony similar to the one In 1924, King Vittorio Emanuel III instituted a ribbon bar observed by the Knights of the Golden Fleece was for the order. The bar consists of reddish-purple ribbon established during which the Knights of the Order of the with a gold miniature of the breast star in the center. Lady wore a crimson mantle. The prohibition against During the following year, a law was enacted that joining another order continued; although emperors, designated the Chief of State as the Secretary of the kings, and dukes were exempted. The first of these Order. exceptions was the Grand Duke Costantino of Russia, who was conferred the order by King Vittorio Emanuel I. Following WWII and the establishment of the Italian Republic, the order was no longer recognized by the state; Further modifications were made in 1570 and 1577 by and in 1951, an Italian law was passed that attempted to Duke Emanuel Filiberto. The color of the mantle was completely abolish the order. The Order of the Annun- changed from crimson to blue, which later became the ciation, however, is a dynastic order; and it can only be Italian national color; and prospective Knights had to be concluded by the dynastic House of Savoy. The dynastic gentils-hommes de home et d’ames, et sans reproche authority of the order was confirmed by the Standing (gentlemen of name and spirit and above reproach) and a Committee for the Study of Chivalrous Orders during descendant of at least five generations of uncontaminated both the 1960 and 1962 International Conventions of nobility. In addition, the privileges granted to the Genealogy and Heraldry; and far from being extinct, the Knights were broadened to include complete exemption Order of the Most Sacred Annunciation continues today from taxation. The requirement for noble lineage was not with H.R.H. Prince Victor Emanuel IV, son of the last broken until the 19th century when the In-st commoner, King of Italy, serving as the 28th Grand Master of the Carlo Farini, the dictator of Emilia, was admitted into the order. order. Bibliography In 1675, Duke Carlo Emanuel II revised the mantle to Arnone, Carmelo, Ordini Cavallereschi e Cavalieri, Editore Ciar- reddish-purple velvet covered with silvery-blue cloth that roeca, Milano, 1954. was decorated with love-knots and the motto FERT Bascape’, Giacomo C., Gli Ordini Cavallereschi in Italia, Cesehina surrounded by roses and flames - all embroidered in gold Editore, Milano, 1972. and silver metallic thread. In 1680, Mary Joan, the Cappelletti, Licurgo, Storia degli Ordini Cavallereschi, Livomo, widow of Duke Carlo Emanuel II and Duchess Regent of 1904. Cigna-Santi, Vittorio Amedeo, Serie Cronologica dei Cavalieri Savoy, permitted the Knights to wear on the left side of dell’Ordine Supremo diSavoia, Stamperia Reale, Torino, 1786. the chest a gold breast star that contained a scene of the Cimino, Alessandra, and Mantella, Carlo, 1l Libro d’Oro degli Onori, Annunciation. Later, the Knights were entitled to the. Nardini Editore, Firenze, 1990. Grand Cross oft.he Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Cuomo, Raffaele, Ordini Cavallereschi Antichi e Moderni, Napoli, (1816) and to the Civil Order of Savoy (1831). 1894. Degli Uberti, Pierfeliee, Ordini Cavallereschi ed Onorificenze, De Vecchi Editore, Milano, 1993. The first modem changes to the statutes of the order were Gillingham, Harold E., Italian Orders of Chivalry and Medals of made by King Vittorio Emanuel II in 1869. By Royal Honor, New York, 1923. Charter, a major and a minor collar were established for Gravey, Andrew Martin, "Three Italian Orders," The Miscellany of certain occasions. The major collar, which was returned Honours, The Orders and Medals Research Society, No. 11, 1997, pp. 59-65.

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Gritzner, Maximilian, Handbuch der Ritter und Verdienstorden, Leipzig, 1893. finials at the points of the arms and rays between the Mefford, J.C.J., Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend, Thames arms. In the center of the obverse of the cross is a disc and Hudson Ltd., London, 1983. containing three gilt, five-pointed stars on a blue enamel Napoli, Orazio, Storia degli Ordini Equestri d ’ltalia, Istituto Italiano background that is surrounded by a band embossed with del Libro Storieo, Milano, 1927. a compass rose design. On the reverse is a center disc Ordini Cavallereschi del Regno d’Italia, Edizioni Impero, Roma, 1939. that bears the founding date of the order and the order’s Perrot, A.M., Ritterorden, Leipzig, 1821. motto PAR TEVIJU (For Merit). At the top of the cross Ravaglia, F.L., Storia dei Principali Ordini Cavallereschi, is an oak-leaf verticil that connects to the ribbon ring. Cooperativa Tipografica, Bologna, 1920. The suspension ribbon is sky blue with a gold edge stripe. Rossi, Vittorio, Storia Popolare lllustrata degli Ordini Equestri The breast stars of the two highest classes are silver and Italiani, Roma, 1893. Werlieh, Robert, Orders and Decorations ofAll Nations, 2nd. Ed., have a center disc consisting of three stars on a blue Quaker Press, Washington, DC, 1974. enamel field that is surrounded by a band inscribed with the order’s motto and by an outer band of oak leaves.

Notes on Latvian Orders The insignia are presented in cases covered with blue leatherette with the Latvian national coat-of-arms By a decree dated impressed on the lid in gilt. Sources report that old 20 October 1994, stocks of the insignia are currently being presented to Latvian President honorees together with a diploma that appears to be an G. Ulmanis reaf- exact copy of the diploma created in 1934. These sources firmed the Order also indicated that no other Latvian state orders are being of the Three Stars conferred, but Latvian decorations awarded before 1940 with an effective can be worn. Possibly the Latvian Order of the Red date of 25 October Cross (for humanitarian merit) as well as long service 1994. The order medals for the police, military, and the border patrol had been suspend- might be reinstated in the near future. ed by force ma- jeure during the Submitted by E.J. Fischer, OMSA No. 922 occupation of the nation by the Sov- iet Union. The 1994 decree appar- In Memory ently repeats the text of the original John A. McNett, OMSA No. 1288 1924 law that first On 26 September 1998, longtime OMSA member John Latvian Order of the Three Stars instituted the or- A. McNett passed away at the age of 65. John joined breast ribbon badge - obverse der. Eligibility for the U.S. Air Force in 1953 and retired as a Lieutenant the order’s five Colonel in 1974. He became a member of OMSA in customary European-style classes remains the same as September 1966 and served as the Society’s Business previously established by the 1924 law, except the Manager from 1986 to 1988. His decorations included authority for the order’s collar is unclear. Bestowals are the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air medals for normally made on 18 November, which is Latvia’s service in Vietnam. In addition to ODMs, John enjoyed National Day; but the order can be conferred at any time collecting beer tap handles and related breweriana; by Presidential initiative. and he was active in local veterans’ organizatTons. John’s great sense ofhumor and easy-going personality The insignia of the reinstated order are identical to the will be missed by all of his friends and associates. original insignia. The badges are made of silver for the lowest class (Knight) and gilded silver for the other Submitted by Adam Rohloff OMSA No. 4391, I34No. 53 classes. The badge that is suspended from either breast or neck ribbon is a white enamel Maltese cross with ball

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