Since the end of 1813, the French Armies fight on their own land: it is the countryside of France. Napoleon i finishes his reign by a series of Pyrrhic victory who does not save his empire and leads it to abdication on April 5th, 1814.
In a Paris occupied by united, the National guard ensures the law and order while raising the white rosette, thus giving up the tricolor revolutionist. It is on this army corps that the Bourbons choose to rest for their return to the capacity, thus forsaking the imperial armies and their officers considered to be still too not very reliable.
Creation of the Decoration of the Lily
May 3rd, the king Louis XVIII arrives in the capital, accompanied by his Charles brother of Bourbon, Count d' Artois, future Charles X. At this point in time start to circulate in Paris reassured and alleviated small medals with the effigy of the new king and flowers of lily, suspended by white ribbons.An day order of the count d' Artois created, on April 26th, 1814, the Decoration of the Lily in favor of the National guard of Paris: “ a perpetual sign of the services which it rendered, either when after having fought for its hearths and, charged only in the night of March 30th with the guard and safety with Paris, it preserved at the King his capital and so much of families their goods, the life and the honor or, when by occupying in addition to its stations those of the troop of line, it offered the example of devotion and the sacrifice, or, finally, when in spite of this painful service it did that of the military household of the King and gave to the royal family satisfaction not to be, for its French guard, surrounded. ”
By day order, on May 9th, 1814, the king Louis XVIII approves the creation of the Decoration of the Lily by extending it to the whole of the national guards of France. It was given to the national guards after having to lend the following oath: “I swear fidelity with God and the King for always. ” The attribution of the Decoration of the Lily involved the handing-over of an official patent.
Ensuring the new monarchy the fidelity of the social elite thanks to this simple honor, the attribution of the Decoration of the Lily will be unceasingly wide and it will be quickly very largely widespread in all the areas of France since delegations of powers were given successively to the generals, to the ministers, to the prefects and finally to the mayors…
Prohibited during the Hundred Days, then given to the day order at the time of the Second Restoration, it is under Louis-Philippe, by ordinance dated February 10th, 1831, that the Decoration of the Lily will be definitively removed.
Recipients
- Ordinance of April 26th, 1814 : the Decoration of the Lily rewards the troops for the national guard of Paris “officers, warrant officers, pomegranates or hunters which justified to have made well owe them”.
- Ordinance of May 9th, 1814 : the attribution of the Decoration of the Lily is extended to the whole of the national guards of France.
Then it was decreed also with the civils servant of the various administrations, notable, the members of the delegation, the senior officers and general, etc
Characteristics
RIBBONS- Ordinance of April 26th, 1814 : a simple white ribbon.
- Ordinance of May 9th, 1814 : a white ribbon moired with a white rivet washer; but to distinguish the national guard from Paris, the weapons of the capital could be embroidered or stitched on the ribbon.
- Ordinance of August 5th, 1814 : the ribbon of the National guard of Paris became white with, on each edge, a blue edging of 2 Misters
- Ordonnance of February 5th, 1816 : the departmental national guards carried the Decoration of the Lily suspended to a ribbon specific to each department. On the 86 departments of the kingdom, only 12 preserved the white ribbon of origin.
FASTEN
- Ordonnance of May 9th, 1814 : the king authorizes, on the civil behavior, the port of a simple white ribbon, sometimes overloaded of staples with three bands, generally out of money but sometimes out of gold, representing a reduction of the cross of the Lily, or a lily often crowned and framed by two branches of olive-tree.
- Ordinance of April 26th, 1814 : a simple flower of silver lily.
- Ordinance of May 9th, 1814 : a flower of silver lily of the royal crown.
- Payment of August 31st, 1816 : following the too many abuses most of the time whimsical wearing of badge, the count d' Artois fixes the final rules of the port of the Decoration of the Lily.
- May 5th, 1824 : the Large chancellor of the Legion of honor points out in particular that “ the Decoration of the Lily having provided the pretext to a multitude of abuse, the King gave the monitoring of it to the Large chancellor. He thus recalls here which this decoration should be only one simple flower of silver lily suspended with a white ribbon or colors variously regulated for each department of the kingdom. (...) The mania of the ribbons and decorations, the cupidity of some jewellers, imaginations and the whims, made some imagine and manufacture various forms, imitating the royal or foreign orders. One should carry the ribbon only of one department and the simple flower of lily originally established; all the others are abolished and must disappear. ”
Does there exist an Order of the Lily?
The Decoration of the Lily to lay was often called Ordre of the Lily. Even if as from 1824, it were controlled by the Large chancellery of the Légion of honor, there were neither Large Master, nor specific chancellery. It notified forever in the official documents under the designation of Order.
Decoration of Fidelity
In 1816 the guards national actuallement in service in Paris in 1815 receipt the Decoration of Fidelity.
Collection
It should be noted that, in spite of the very great number of Decorations of the Lily distributed at the time of the Restoration, exemplary truths are finally very difficult to find, in particular with their ribbon of origin.
External bonds
- very complete Site treating military and civil decorations French
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