Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild

Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild

Badge of the Order.
Awarded by Spain
Type Order of Merit
Eligibility Military personnel and Guardia Civil
Status Currently awarded
Motto PREMIO A LA CONSTANCIA MILITAR
(Award to Military Constancy)
Statistics
Established 28 November, 1814
Precedence
Next (higher) Mention in Dispatches
(Without Insignia)
Distinguished Service Award
(Without Insignia)[1]
Crosses of Military Merit (Army)
Crosses of Naval Merit (Navy)
Crosses of Aeronautical Merit (Air Force)
Next (lower) Long Military Service Cross[2]

The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild (Spanish: Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo) is both a general military honor and a legion created by Ferdinand VII of Spain on 28 November, 1814.

The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild is a military distinction of the Spanish Cavalry created by Ferdinand VII of Spain at the conclusion of the Spanish War of Independence in 1814.

The purpose of the Order was to serve as maximum decoration those soldiers who exceeded their military obligations and fought on, surpassing their suffering in battle, and who thus would serve as examples of bravery to His Spanish Majesty's armies.

Given the desire of the King to create a distinction of extraordinary rank, comparable to others traditional decorations, it was decided to put the Order under the Patronage of Saint Hermenegild, who was the Visigoth King of Seville who was martyred in defence of the Christian faith in the sixth century and who is the patron saint of the Spanish Armed Forces.

Its first promulgation was published in 1815, being renewed later in 1860, 1879, 1951, 1994 and its most recent modernization in 2000.

... recompensar y distinguir a los oficiales generales, oficiales y suboficiales del Ejército de Tierra, de la Armada, del Ejército del Aire, de los Cuerpos Comunes de las Fuerzas Armadas y del Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil, por su constancia e intachable conducta en el servicio, a tenor de lo que establecen las Reales Ordenanzas para las Fuerzas Armadas.

It is declared that The Order intends "to compensate and to distinguish to the general officers, commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers of the Spanish Army, Spanish Navy, Spanish Air Force, Special forces and the Spanish Civil Guard, (the militarized police service, the rural and coastal adjunct to the National Police Corps) by their faultless and exemplary conduct in the service of The Crown."

Attribution

According to its current statutes, the order is divided into four classes:

Insignia

The badge of the order is a gold, white enameled cross pattée, surmounted by a royal crown. The central medallion bears an effigy of St. Hermenegild on a horseback, surrounded by a blue ring inscribed "PREMIO A LA CONSTANCIA MILITAR" (reward for long military service). On the reverse there is the royal cypher of Fernando VII.

The star has the form of a gold Maltese cross with ball finials and silver rays between the arms and the effigy of St. Hermenegild in the central medallion, surrounded by a white ring with the order's motto and a green laurel wreath. The medallion of the Grand Cross star is surmounted by a royal crown.


Grand Cross
(Gran Cruz)

Commander with Star
(Placa)

Commander
(Encomienda)

Cross
(Cruz)

Ribbon Bars


Grand Cross

Commander with Star

Commander

Cross

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.