Order of the Golden Spur

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Livery collar of the Order of Saint Sylvester and the Golden Militia prior to 1905.

Medal of the Order of Saint Sylvester and the Golden Militia, 1841.

The Order of the Golden Militia, now known as the Order of the Golden Spur, is a papal order of chivalry conferred upon those who have rendered distinguished service in propagating the Catholic Faith, or who have contributed to the glory of the Church, either by feat of arms, writings, or other illustrious acts.

It is the earliest papal chivalric institution,^[1] and its membership is restricted to one class of one hundred knights throughout the world. The honour is bestowed by a Motu Proprio of the Pope. It is awarded solely for merit, without any consideration of noble birth.

In 1841 it was absorbed into the Order of Saint Sylvester as the Order of Saint Sylvester and the Golden Militia. But Pope Pius X restored it to the status of a separate order on 7 February 1905, in commemoration of the golden jubilee of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, and placed it under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.^[2] It is the second highest of the papal orders (the first being the Order of Christ)

The emblems of the order after the 1905 reorganization consists of:

The badge, an eight-pointed, enamelled gold cross, in whose center is a small white medallion on one side of which is the word "Maria" surrounded by a golden circle, and on the other the year MDCCCCV and in its surrounding circle the words "Pius X Restituit". Pendant from the bottom of the cross is a small golden spur. The decoration is suspended from a red ribbon with white borders.
The star, which is worn on the left breast, is the same cross centered upon the rays of a silver star.

The official uniform is a red tunic decorated with two rows of gilt buttons, black velvet collar and cuffs embroidered in gold, black trousers with gold side stripes, epaulettes ornamented with gold fringes and surmounted on top with the emblem of the order, gold spurs, oblong two-peaked hat trimmed with gold and bearing the papal colors, and a sword whose hilt forms a gilt cross in a black scabbard, held in place with a gold sword belt with red fringe.

In the early days of the order its members were entitled to wear a gold livery collar (chain), but when the order was revived in 1908 this was not resumed, though the collar remains a symbol of the order.

In ecclesiastical heraldry, individuals awarded this Order may depict the gold livery collar completely encircling the shield on their coat of arms.^[3]

[edit] Notable Recipients

Palla Strozzi (1372-1472) Florentine noble who was a banker, politician, literate, philosopher and philologist.
Julius Caesar Scaliger (1484–1558), with the collar and the eagle of gold (confirred upon him by the Holy Roman Emperor).
Ventura Salimbeni (1568-1613), Sienese Mannerist painter and printmaker.
Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini (1571-1627), Italian Cardinal and uncle of Pope Gregory XIV
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787), German classical composer.
Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (c. 1716 — 1799), Italian sculptor
Giacomo Casanova (1725—1798), adventurer.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), classical composer.
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the only living knight.

[edit] References

A Papal Knight of the Golden Spur, copper engraving by Jacob Andreas Fridrich, 1756

^ Sainty, Guy Stair, “History of the Papal Orders”, Alamanch de la Cour, www.chivalricorders.org, <http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/papal.htm>. Retrieved on 18 August 2007
^ Rock, P.M.J. (1908), “Pontifical Decorations”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. IV, New York: Robert Appleton Company, <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04667a.htm>. Retrieved on 18 August 2007
^ Noonan, Jr., James-Charles (1996). The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Viking, p.196. ISBN 0-670-86745-4.