Research and Publications
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...