Order of Philip the Magnanimous

Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous
*Verdienstorden Philipps des Großmütigen*
Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous; Verdienstorden Philipps des Großmütigen ;
	Cross of the order
Awarded by The Grand Duke of Hesse
Type	Order of Merit
Established	1 May 1840
Motto	SI DEUS NOBISCUM QUIS CONTRA NOS
Status	Monarchy dissolved in 1918
Sovereign	Grand Duke of Hesse
Grades	Grand Cross; Commander 1st Class; Commander 2nd Class; Cross of Honour; Knight 1st Class; Knight 2nd Class; Silver Cross
Statistics
Last induction	1918
Precedence
Next (higher)	Ludwig Order (before 1875); Order of the Golden Lion (after 1875)
Next (lower)	Order of the Star of Brabant
	; Ribbon bar of the order; ;

The Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous (German: Verdienstorden Philipps des Großmütigen) was an order of chivalry established by Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse on 1 May 1840, the name day of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, in his honour to award extraordinary military or civil merit.^[1] It was the second-highest order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse before 1876, when it was displaced to third by the revived Order of the Golden Lion, the former paramount order of the Electorate of Hesse.

After the First World War and the fall of the German monarchies, the order—along with all other grand ducal decorations—was formally abolished in 1919.

Overview

The order was initially divided into four grades: Grand Cross, Commanders 1st and 2nd classes, and knight. On the anniversary of its founding in 1849, a new class was created, the Silver Cross, with the introduction of crossed swords in gold or silver for the class. From 10 November 1859 the knight class was further divided into two grades, 1st and 2nd classes. In 1876, the order was renamed the "Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Philip" (German: Großherzoglich Hessischer Philipps-Orden), though that decree was withdrawn a year later.

From 1881, the order could be awarded with a golden crown, as a special distinction; the order with swords for military merit was from 1893 restricted to those with outstanding achievements during war. In 1900, another new class, the Cross of Honour (German: Ehrenkreuz) was created, which was below commander 2nd class and above knight 1st class. A final revision was made on 17 June 1911, with golden rays added to the cross arms of the Commander 1st Class grade.

Recipients

Grand Crosses

Commanders 1st Class

Commanders 2nd Class

Crosses of Honour

Eberhard Graf von Schmettow

Knights 1st class

Others

References

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Bernard Burke, ed. (1858). "Hesse (Grand Duchy)". The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour. London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 137–138.

Literature

Jörg Nimmergut: Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945, Band I – Anhalt-Hohenzollern, Zentralstelle für wissenschaftliche Ordenskunde, München 1997, ISBN 3-00-00-1396-2

[Burke-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Bernard Burke, ed. (1858). "Hesse (Grand Duchy)". The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour. London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 137–138.

[1]

v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of the German Empire
Kingdom of Prussia	Order of the Black Eagle Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown Order of the Red Eagle Order of the Crown House Order of Hohenzollern Pour le Mérite Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) Order of Louise Wilhelm-Orden
Kingdom of Bavaria	Order of Saint Hubert Military Order of Max Joseph Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Order of Theresa Order of Saint Elizabeth Royal Order of Saint George Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown Order of Saint Michael (Bavaria) Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art Order of Louis (Bavaria) Medical military Order
Kingdom of Saxony	Order of the Rue Crown Military Order of St. Henry Albert Order Civil Order of Saxony Order of Sidonia Order of Maria Anna
Kingdom of Württemberg	Order of the Crown (Württemberg) Military Merit Order (Württemberg) Friedrich Order Order of Olga
Kingdom of Hanover	Order of St. George Royal Guelphic Order Order of Ernst August
Grand Duchy of Baden	Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order Order of Berthold the First Order of the Zähringer Lion House Order of Fidelity
Grand Duchy of Hesse	House Order of the Golden Lion Ludwig Order Order of Philip the Magnanimous Order of the Star of Brabant General Honor Decoration
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel	House Order of the Golden Lion Wilhelm Order Order of the Iron Helmet
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt	Order of Philip the Magnanimous
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) House Order of the Wendish Crown
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis Friedrich-August Cross
Duchy of Saxe-Weimar	Order of the White Falcon
Duchy of Brunswick	Order of Henry the Lion
Duchy of Nassau	Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Order of Adolphe of Nassau
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	Saxe-Ernestine House Order (2006: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House Order)
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen	Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Duchy of Anhalt	Order of Albert the Bear Order of Merit for Science and Art
Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen	House Order of Hohenzollern
Principality of Lippe-Detmold	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe) Order of Leopold (Lippe) Order of Berta Order of the Rose of Lippe
Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe	Order of the Cross of Honour (Lippe)
Principality of Reuss	Order of the Cross of Honour (Reuss)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	Order of the Cross of Honour (Schwarzburg)
Free cities	Hanseatic Cross