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Magistery Over the Order, While the Order Itself Went Into a Period Of

Magistery Over the Order, While the Order Itself Went Into a Period Of

Volume 52 Number 2

Europe. The duality of the was immediately appar- ent. Among the order’s first acts, it acquired two trireme galleys and opened a hospital at Turin, which was the Savoy capital and the seat of the order. As the Moslem threat receded over time, the order became less militar- istic and more charitable in nature. Eventually, the order obtained a considerable amount of property and operated independently of local governments as a "state within a state" with its own administrative apparatus.

The of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus was proscribed by a Papal Bull of 15 November 1573. It consisted of the white trifoliated cross of the Order of Saint Maurice superimposed over a dark green Maltese cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus. Early were made of silk thread and sewn on clothing. Later badges are works of the jeweler’s art that were set in gold and decorated with white opaque and dark green translucent enamel.

Knight Grand Cross Breast Star The order was originally composed of two classes - of the Great Cross (Grand Cross) and Knights of the Small Cross (). There was also a special magistery over the order, while the order itself went into hereditary class called Knight of Just a period of decline. Patronage (Giuspatronato). Prospective Knights of both classes had to be of noble birth and petition for admission The situation was finally resolved in the late 16th cen- into the order. If the petition was accepted by the Council tury. At the time, many of the of the of the Order, the new Knight was required to pay a fixed Order of Saint Lazarus were under the control of the sum of "passage money" to the order’s treasury and Milanese nobleman Giannetto Castiglioni.3 Under circumstances that are not clear, Castiglioni transferred the grand magistery of his commanderies to Duke Emanuele Filiberto. On 13 November 1572, just two months after the Order of Saint Maurice was formally ceded to the Duke, the Papal Bull Pro Commissa was issued that joined the Order of Saint Maurice with the Order of Saint Lazarus. This Bull also granted the grand magistery of the combined order to the Duke of Savoy in perpetuity. In 1573, Duke Emanuele held a convention at Nice, where he inducted a number of Knights of the former Order of Saint Lazarus into the new amalgamated order. The same year, the Duke instituted the first statutes of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

The new order was not merely charitable. It also incor- porated a military role aimed at curbing Moslem pirates who were then ravaging the coast of Mediterranean

3 A "" is property or an enterprise under the jurisdiction of a Commander of an order. Knight Grand Officer Breast Star

14 The Journal of the Orders and Society of America pledge five years service in the army or navy of Saint Maurice. A Knight Commander Giuspatronato was a person of noble birth who endowed a commandery to the order. Among the privileges of this class, the eldest son could inherit the knighthood in the order together with the commandery and its income.

In 1816, the Savoy ruler, King Vittorio Emanuele I of Sardinia, subdivided the Grand Cross and Knight Classes into the grades of "Justice" and "Grace," with Justice reserved for noblemen of ancient lineage and Grace for individuals who had performed distinguished service. Then in 1831, King Carlo Alberto reorganized the order’s classes into Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon (), Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Knight.

The fundamental character of the order was radically altered by Carlo Alberto’s son, King Vittorio Emanuele II, who became the monarch of a unified in 1861. By a Royal Statute dated 16 March 1851, modifications to the structure and operation of the order were instituted that essentially changed Saints Maurice and Lazarus from a military- of into a secular . To better conform the classes of the order to its new direction, Vittorio Emanuele modified the classes by Royal Ordinances fn-st on 28 November 1855 and then on 20 February 1868. The final result was a five-tiered order similar to the French Legion of Honor that consisted of the classes of Knight Grand Cross with Knight Commander Neck Badge Grand Cordon, Knight Grand Officer, Knight Com- mander, Knight Officer, and Knight. In addition, declared that no person could be conferred a class of the membership in the order was fixed at 60 Knights Grand Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus who had not been Cross with Grand Cordon, 150 Knight Grand Officers, conferred at least one year earlier an equal class of the 500 Knight Commanders, and 2,000 Knight Officers. No Order of the Crown of Italy. Then a Royal Decree of 25 limitation was placed on the number of Knights, and January 1925 revised the fixed number of annual limitations on the higher four classes excluded foreigners bestowals to 6 Knights Grand Cross with Grand Cordon, admitted into the order and supernumerary Knights? At 27 Knight Grand Officers, 96 Knight Commanders, 243 a later date, the limitations were changed to a fixed Knight Officers, and 642 Knights; but there were number of annual bestowals by class. exceptions to the fixed numbers. Finally, King Vittorio Emanuele III issued a Royal Decree of 30 December Other important changes to the statutes of the order were 1929 that restated the purpose of the order as follows: made by King Vittorio Emanuele III between 191 land 1929. By a Royal Decree of 16 March 1911, the King " ... as a reward for special meritorious civil or military service to the state, in the fields of science, literature, the arts, industry, and anything else that serves to bring honor and grandeur to the Italian nation ... " 4 A "supemumerary" Knight is a person who is automatically admitted As established by Royal Magisterial Licenses of 19 May into a particular order by virtue of being earlier inducted into a higher order. Individuals conferred the Order of the Most Sacred Annun- 1837 and 7 November 1842, members of the top three ciation were ipsofacto a Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of classes are permitted to wear the ceremonial mantle the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

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Knight Commander Giuspatronato - 50 Knight Commander - 200 Commander - 200 Knight Officer - 400 Knight - Unlimited, and Dame - Unlimited

Each class is distinguished by the insignia wom by the members of the order. The sash, neck, and breast badges of the order are the badge of the order; i.e., the cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. Except for the Knight and Dame Classes, the suspension device is a large gold crown. In the mid-1800s, the crown for the Knight Officer badge was briefly replaced by a gold wreath. The star of the order is the badge of the order that is superimposed over either an eight-pointed or four-pointed silver star with multiple, faceted rays. It is worn on the left breast. The sash, neck, and breast ribbon of the order is dark green and watered. wear the neck and breast badge suspended from ribbon tied in a bow. The bow ribbon of the Dame Grand Cross badge is distin- guished by a zig-zag stripe in gold thread inset from each edge. By class, the insignia are:

Knight Officer Breast Badge

(cloak) of the order during religious events conducted by the order. The mantle worn today is red with white cuffs and a white . In the front center of the mantle is a large embroidered badge of the order. A tasseled, multicolored rope the length of the mantle is worn under the collar and tied over the badge. There is also an elab- orate dark green military uniform with white breeches.

In 1985, the present of the order and Duke of Savoy, Prince Vittorio Emanuele IV, introduced three classes for Dames and restored the hereditary class of Kni.ght Commander Giuspatronato. The 1985 reforms also established new limits for the various classes and redefined the criteria of the order as an for gentle- men and ladies in recognition of distinguished civil and military service, including distinction in science, liter- ature, the arts, commerce, industry, and education, and in humanitarian and other good works. The order is cur- rently subdivided into nine classes with limits for each class as follows:

Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon - 50 Dame Grand Cross - 50 Knight Grand Officer -100 Knight Breast Badge

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