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Order of the Elephant

Danish order of chivalry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Order of the Elephant
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The Order of the Elephant (Danish: Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively used to honour royalty and heads of state.[1]

Quick Facts Order of the ElephantElefantordenen, Awarded by Sovereign of Denmark ...
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Collar of the Order of the Elephant.
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The Blome [da; de] family coat of arms with the Order's collar on gravestone in Heiligenstedten.
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History

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A Danish religious confraternity called the Fellowship of the Mother of God, limited to about fifty members of the Danish aristocracy, was founded during the reign of Christian I during the 15th century. The badge of the confraternity showed the Virgin Mary holding her Son within a crescent moon and surrounded with the rays of the sun, and was hung from a collar of links in the form of elephants much like the present collar of the Order. After the Reformation in 1536 the confraternity died out, but a badge in the form of an elephant with his profile on its right side was still awarded by Frederick II.[2] This latter badge may have been inspired by the badge of office of the chaplain of the confraternity which is known to have been in the form of an elephant. The order was instituted in its current form on 1 December 1693 by King Christian V as having only one class consisting of only 30 noble knights in addition to the Grand Master (i.e., the king) and his sons.[3] The statutes of the order were amended in 1958 by a Royal Ordinance so that both men and women could be members of the order.

The elephant and castle design derives from the howdah, a carriage that is mounted in the back of an elephant. This type of carriage was mostly utilized in the Indian subcontinent, and the Danish knew about and thus had the ability to adopt this design since they ruled certain parts of India as part of their small colonial empire. The unfamiliar Indian howdah has been replaced in this instance by a familiar European castle, although the Indian rider has been kept on the elephant.

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Composition

The Danish monarch is the head of the order. The members of the royal family are members of the order, and foreign heads of state are also inducted. In very exceptional circumstances a commoner may also be admitted. The most recent member of the order who was neither a current nor former head of state nor royal was Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a leading industrialist and philanthropist.

The order of the Elephant has one class: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (Ridder af Elefantordenen, usually abbreviated as R.E. in letters et cetera). Knights of the order are granted a place in the 1st Class of the Danish order of precedence.

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Insignia and habits

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Coat of arms of Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway surrounded by the collars of the Order of the Elephant and the Order of the Dannebrog
  • The collar of the order is of gold. It consists of alternating elephants and towers. On the cover of the elephants there is a D which stands for Dania, mediaeval Latin for Denmark. According to the statutes of the order, the collar is usually worn on New Year's Day (during the Danish monarch's New Year's Court) and on major occasions (coronations or jubilees) only.
  • The badge of the order is an elephant made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings. It is about 5 cm high. On its back the elephant is bearing a watch tower of pink enameled masonry encircled by a row of small table cut diamonds at the bottom with another row just below the crenellation at the top. In front of the tower and behind the elephant's head (which has a diamond set in its forehead and smaller diamonds for its eyes) a colorfully attired and turbaned Moor mahout is sitting, holding a golden rod; on the right side of the elephant there is a cross of five large table cut diamonds and on the left side the elephant bears the crowned monogram of the monarch reigning when it was made. At the top of the tower is a large enameled gold ring from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to the sash of the Order. There are about 72 elephants at the chancery of the Order or in circulation. It is estimated that together with an unknown number of elephants in museums around the world, the total number of the elephants is about a hundred.[4]
  • The star of the order is an eight-pointed silver star with smooth rays. At its center there is a red enameled disc with a white cross,[5] surrounded by a laurel wreath in silver. It is worn on the left side of the chest.
  • The sash of the order is of light-blue silk moiré and 10 cm wide for men 6 cm wide for women. It is placed on the left shoulder with the elephant resting against the right hip. The collar is not worn when the sash is used.
  • The order originally had a distinctive habit worn by the knights on very solemn occasions[6] consisting of a white doublet, white breeches, white stockings and white shoes, over which was worn a red mantle with a white lining and with the star of the order embroidered in silver on left side. Over this red mantle was worn a short white shoulder cape with a standing collar, embroidered with scattering of numerous gold flames, upon which was worn the collar of the order (the habit was always worn with the collar of the order, never its ribbon). The habit also had a black hat with a plume of white and red ostrich feathers. This habit was almost identical to that worn by the knights of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Upon the death of a Knight of the Order of the Elephant, the insignia of the order must be returned. There are a few exceptions known.

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Current knights and officers

Sovereign of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry

Current Knights of the Elephant listed by date of appointment

More information Name, Date appointed ...

Officers of the Chapter of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry

Chancellor of the Chapter

Historiographer of the Chapter

  • (1808–1821): Abraham Kall, historian
  • (1827–1851): Laurids Engelstoft, S.K., historian
  • (1852–1893): C.F. Wegener, S.K., historian
  • (1897–1921): Troels Troels-Lund, S.K., historian
  • (1921–1951): Louis Bobé, K.1., historian
  • (1951–1957): Bjørn Kornerup, K.1., historian
  • (1958–1976): Albert Fabritius, K., historian
  • (1976–1994): Tage Kaarsted, K., historian
  • (1994–2018): Knud J.V. Jespersen, K.1., historian
  • (2018–): Jes Fabricius-Møller, historian

Secretary of the Chapter

Treasurer of the Chapter

  • (1808–1826): Johan Sigismund von Møsting, Minister of Finance
  • (1826–1828): Ove Ramel Sehested, Minister of the Privy Council
  • (1828–1831): Frantz Bülow
  • (1831–1833): Johan Frederik Bardenfleth
  • (1834–1840): Christian Ove Haxthausen, Chamberlain
  • (1840–1852): Frederik Bardenfleth
  • (1852–?): Sophus Danneskiold-Samsøe, S.K.
  • (1876–1888): C.G.W. Johannsen, LL.D.
  • (1888–1898): Carl Løvenskiold, Chamberlain
  • (1898–1905): Ludvig Castenskiold
  • (1905–1909): Hugo Egmont Hørring
  • (1909–1918): Christian Moltke
  • (1918–1933): Frederik Raben-Levetzau, Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • (1944–1954): Johannes Hørring, LL.D.
  • (1955–?): Rudolf Lassen
  • (1991–2010): Paul Henning Fischer, LL.D., Ambassador, Chamberlain
  • (2010–): Per Thornit, Chamberlain
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Other notable knights

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Previous knights have included:[12]

Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.

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See also

References

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Further reading

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