L Ordre of the Holy Spirit was during the two centuries and half of its existence, the Order of knighthood the most prestigious of the French Monarchie, and one of most brilliant of Europe.

History of the Order

It is December 31st 1578, into full war of religion, that Henri III founded the Order of the Holy Spirit, from which the goal was to protect the King from France, as anybody crowned.

The monarch chooses the name of Holy Spirit for this Order, in reference to his own birth, his crowning on the throne of Poland and later on that of France, the three events having occurred the day of the Pentecost.

Although this Order is initially reserved to the dignitaries of the kingdom, the king Henri IV allowed a restricted number monarchs and large foreign lords of confession Catholique, to enter there. A specific tax called Marc of gold was founded to provide for the needs for the Order whose seat was with the Couvent of Large Augustins to Paris. Its currency was: “Duce and Auspice”.

Removed in 1791 during the French revolution, the Order of the Holy Spirit was then restored in 1814 by the king Louis XVIII, then definitively abolished by Louis-Philippe I {{er}} in 1830.

Thereafter, it however was carried and conferred by various applicants on the throne of France.

Organization

The order is equipped with the legal entity, which makes it possible in particular to the sovereign to use it for raising loans. The direction is reserved by it to the king, who is the sovereign large Master . The administration of the order is entrusted to several officers, of which highest carry the title of commander of the order. One distinguishes several classes from members:

• knights: one hundred, they are selected among the nobility of the kingdom. The king can choose theoretically very noble proving three degrees of nobility (false evidence is sometimes accepted but the anoblis remain excluded); nevertheless the family members ducal among are represented in the rows of the knights. The knights of the Holy Spirit are also knights of Saint-Michel, with the result that they are generally named: knights of the orders of the king .

• commanders: they acts of ecclesiastics, eight. The order was to count in the beginning four cardinals or archbishops and four bishops, but this ratio was not always respected. The Grand chaplain of France was commander-born of the order and was not thus taken into account in the eights. The commanders, being ecclesiastics, could not be knights of Saint-Michel.
• the commanders officers: they are the four higher officers of the order. They were assimilated in dignity to the knights and were like them knights of Saint-Michel. There did not exist any condition of nobility for the officers, with the result that the king could use these functions to honor with the people anoblies recently. The most known examples are those of Colbert, Tellier for Louis XIV or on the end of the reign, that of the financial rich person Antoine Crozat, (marquis of Chatel of fresh date), which was large treasurer of the Order. These loads could however be also exerted by ecclesiastical knights or commanders. The four commanders officers were:

* the chancellor and Minister of Justice

* the provost and Master of the ceremonies

* the large treasurer

* the clerk

Badges

The badge of the Order resembles a Maltese cross. It has four branches, finished by eight buttoned points. Between each branch is a Fleur of lily. In the center of the cross, a Colombe with the spread wings and the head directed is posed downwards. At the time of the ceremonies, the cross of the officers and commanders officers was attached to a formed collar of flowers of lily and various gilded reasons. More generally, the cross was suspended with a broad ribbon of moire color blue sky, from where the nickname of cordon-bleu cook with the knights who carried it. The knights carried it in scarf on the chest and the commanders in collar. The knights and commanders officers carried moreover a cross of the Holy Spirit embroidered on the chest.

Gallery

Some knights and commanders about the Holy Spirit carrying their badge

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