History of Europe

Legion of honor and orders of chivalry


To be admitted to the list and to receive the insignia of the Légion d'honneur is the greatest and most estimable French honorary distinction, rewarding military or civilian merits rendered to the Nation. Under the Old Regime, the orders of chivalry were reserved almost exclusively for people of high birth; Louis XIV decided in 1693 to reward commoner officers, thus announcing the creation of the Legion of Honor. Nearly a million people have received this distinction since its creation, from the soldier to the man of letters, from the artist to the sportsman, passing by other lucky ones. Let's go back to the different orders of chivalry preceding the Legion of Honor.

Knightly Orders and Royal Orders

Derived from the Crusades, the most important chivalric order that has survived the centuries is the Order of Malta, formerly known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The missions of these elected officials were military, religious and hospitable. The badge was an eight-pointed white cross.

In France, royal orders appeared in the 15th century. To complement the Order of the Golden Fleece of the Duke of Burgundy, Louis XI created the Order of Saint-Michel in 1469; From 1578, Henri III attributed the order of the Holy Spirit, intended to defend the Catholic faith but above all to retain the elite of the kingdom; Louis XIV wanted to reward the courage of all noble or commoner Catholic officers in 1693 with the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis; In 1771, Louis XV awarded the Medallion of Veterans Affairs to all non-commissioned officers and soldiers who had served more than 24 years without failure. Democracy is on the march and these last distinctions announce the Legion of Honor.

After marks of honor were abolished during the Revolution, the Directory still granted national rewards to soldiers in the form of weapons of honor, luxury weapons made in the Versailles factory!

The Legion of Honor

Shortly before his accession to the imperial throne, Napoleon I founded an order enshrining the principle of equality between all services rendered to the country:the Legion of Honor, whose name is inspired by the Legio honoratorum in Rome. It was not until 1804, after the proclamation of the Empire, that Napoleon adopted the five-pointed star, which became the insignia of the Legion of Honor. The first handovers took place the same year at the Invalides in Paris (for civilians) and at the Boulogne camp (for soldiers). Many times modified, this national decoration nevertheless survived all the regimes and became again from the reign of Louis-Philippe the only French national order. Its influence has been considerable and has served as a model, since its inception, for almost all Orders of Merit created throughout the world.

In the 20th century, the First and then the Second World War led to a considerable increase in the numbers of the order, considered by President Charles de Gaulle as harmful to the prestige of the institution. He also implemented a policy of reducing the numbers of the Legion of Honor, through the adoption of a new code in 1962, which made access to order more difficult and set strict quotas, and the creation of the National Order of Merit in 1963, which enriches the system of national decorations. The number of legionnaires thus increased from 317,000 in 1965 to 276,000 members in 1977; in accordance with the objectives of 1962, it falls below the 125,000 mark from the year 2000.

Other distinctions

The military medal was created in 1852 by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. It is awarded to soldiers and non-commissioned officers who have demonstrated acts of courage and a large number of years of service. Awarded to great military leaders, it is superior to the Legion of Honor. To this military medal, are added during the two great world wars the Croix de guerre, the order of the Liberation and the medal of the Resistance. The National Order of Merit, second national order, was created in 1963 by General de Gaulle, to establish a nuance in merit and in attributions. With this distinction, all ministerial orders are abolished except the Academic Palms, the Order of Agricultural Merit, the Order of Maritime Merit and that of Arts and Letters.

The Legion of Honor Museum

The National Museum of the Legion of Honor is located in the Palais de Salm in Paris, on the site of the former stables, a palace built for the Prince of Salm-Kyrbourg between 1782 and 1788. Funded by open subscription among the legionnaires, the museum was inaugurated in 1925.

Residence of the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor and seat of the Order, it is first of all free and offers impressive collections of decorations of any order and any countries all over the world. The visitor discovers showcases and follows the explanations thanks to video animations relating to more than 300 illustrious characters holders of orders, on the stages of the history of the orders and the role of these distinctions.
A great lesson in civility.

To go further

- Once upon a time there was the Legion of Honor:From the Cross of the Braves to the Red Ribbon; by André Bessiere. The Harmattan, 2008.