Research and Publications
The Swedish Orders of Chivalry Revived: What is New
The Swedish Orders of Chivalry Revived – Swedish Citizens are Eligible to be Honoured Once Again On 15 June 2022, the Swedish Parliament reached a decision that the Swedish Awarding system is to be re-instituted, and Swedish citizens shall once again be honoured with...
IRON CROSS 1813
Article by Heino Prunsvelt, a longtime collector and researcher of German orders and awards, more that 20-year member of DGO*. (Translation from Estonian CL) IRON CROSS 1813 This year marks the 210th anniversary since the founding of the Iron Cross, one of the most...
Swedish Awarding system re-instituted
Since 1975 Swedish subjects have not been conferred any orders of knighthood for services rendered to their country. When the awarding system was abolished in 1974 Sweden however still had to be able to reward foreigners for services towards Swedish interests and in...
Historical background on the three Portuguese Military Orders of Christ, of Avis and of Sant´Iago
Article by António M Trigueiros, Honorary Fellow of the Portuguese Academy of History, author and editor of such books as "The Journey of the Insignia. For Valour and Loyalty - 1808-2018”, "Portuguese Coins in the Age of Discovery", and his latest book: "Our Lady of...
Prussian Cross of Merit for Women and Maidens (Verdienstkreuz für Frauen und Jungfrauen)
Translation of the article by Heino Prunsvelt, a longtime collector and researcher of German orders and awards, more that 20-year member of DGO*. The Cross of Merit for Women and Maidens was founded on 22 March 1871 by King Wilhelm I of Prussia (1797-1888) to award...
The Unrealized Order of the Duchy of Brunswick
We asked Stephan Schwarz, historical researcher, author of the 3-volume work on the Orders and Medals of Honour of the Duchy of Brunswick, for help with information on an unusual Braunschweigian piece from our collection. The result was an article and our already...
The Order of Charles I
We present to your attention an article by the Commander of the Romanian National Order of Merit, Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit of Romania, Enviromental Engineer (M.Eng.), collector and researcher in the field of phaleristics, known to many from his books on...
Hubert, Charles and Henry
by Catherine Lapinsh and Kristjan Kaljusaar There are many German orders on display at the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood, however, there are two sets of insignia – of the Order of St Hubert and of the Order of St Henry – that deserve special mention in...
Grand, Illustrious and Auspicious – Orders of Manchukuo
Manchukuo, known by Westerners and Japanese as Manchuria, was a puppet state in the three northeast provinces of the Republic of China. China’s Qing Dynasty considered the territory to be the ‘homeland’ of the Manchus, the ruling family's ethnic group. In 1931, Japan...
The Collar of the Golden Fleece on Spanish Badges
The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood has many interesting exhibits in its depository. Among them are several sets of insignia with the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece superimposed on the stars and badges. We would like to present the research into these...
Walk through Tallinn with the Museum of Orders of Knighthood
Join us on a virtual tour of beautiful Tallinn. We will show you our favourite landmarks and the orders of knighthood that we associate them with. Each day we will be visiting a different landmark. So make sure to visit us often! We invite you to share your...
The Order of Malta
The history of the religious military orders begins after the First Crusade that culminated in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. In the winter of 1119–20, a group of knights in the Holy Land formed a religious brotherhood with the aim of protecting pilgrims who...
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath
This is the third in a series of articles on the history of European orders prepared for us by Sergey Levin, head researcher of the numismatics department of the Moscow State Historical Museum, member of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian...
Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood – History from a Different Perspective
This article contains abstracts from the presentation made at the ICOMAM meeting on the 3d of September in Kyoto during the general confernece of the International Commettee of Museums The Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood first opened its doors to the public in...
A Bishop, a King, and a Duke Go to Livonia – Background of the Legend of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog – the chivalrous brotherhood dedicated to the royal Danish flag, the “cloth of the Danes” was founded by Christian V, King of Denmark and Norway, in the year 1671, to celebrate the birth of his heir Frederick. In 1693, the fraternity...
The Origins of the Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle The story of the Order of the Thistle, or the Order of St. Andrew, combines the history of Scotland with Scottish and Christian mythology. On June 16, 1687, a London newspaper published a decree issued on May 29 by...
The Teutonic Order in Medieval Livonia
Tallinn, the home city of our musem, has seen its share of different rulers throughout the ages. Before the declaration of Estonian indepencence a century ago, it witnessed the reigns of the emperors of Russia, and the kings of Sweden and Denmark. But for 215 years...
The “Pour le Mérite”
The Order “De la Générosité” In 1665, Charles Emil of House Hohenzollern (1655–74), a young prince from the Electorate of Brandenburg, founded a chivalric order – the Order of Generosity (Générosité). The founder entrusted the title of the Grand Master upon his...
Interchange of Traditions Between Religious and Secular Orders in the Late Middle Ages
A “medieval order” could mean a number of rather different things. With this term one could describe organisations of monks living a contemplative life in cloistered monasteries; or it could apply to societies of mendicant friars who travelled and preached among lay...
Order of the Dannebrog (Dannebrogordenen). Denmark
With this publication we start a series of articles on the history of European orders prepared for us by Sergey Levin, head researcher of the numismatics department of the Moscow State Historical Museum, member of the Heraldic Council under the President of the...
The Royal Order of Charles XIII
Preamble On the 25-27 May 2018 the Chancery of the Royal Orders Of Knighthood hosted the XII European Conference of Phaleristic Societies in Stockholm. The closing ceremony was held at the magnificent Bååt Palace. The delegates also learned about one of the rarest and...
Interview with Dr. Liudmila Gavrilova
It was a pleasure to interview Dr. Liudmila Gavrilova, Head of the Phaleristics Department of the Armoury Chamber at the Moscow Kremlin Museums, during her latest visit to Estonia where we met at the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood. I would like to hope that...
Finnish Orders and Where to Find Them
Today Finland is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of its independence, and we would like to congratulate the people of Finland on this momentous occasion! Through its history there have been three different awarding systems used on the territory of Finland. The...