The House Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon has been revived by the Kingdom of the Franks.  The White Falcon Order had been the only order of the Duchy and later Grand Duchy  of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The medal recipients werelisted in the country'sstate manuals  but the Duchy was Dissolved.

In the Middle Ages,  falconry was usually the entertainment of the nobility, and the  falcon was considered a sign of nobility and a symbol of vigilance. As early as the Middle Ages there was a  knights' association for falcons . The white  gyrfalcon in particular was held in great esteem until the 18th century.  ^[1]

Duke  Ernst August of  Saxe-Weimar founded the Order of the White Falcon as the Ordre de la Vigilance (Order of Vigilance) on August 2, 1732. The foundation was made with the approval and in honor of Emperor  Charles VI. , whose  cavalry generalErnst August had been since 1732. Over time, however, the number of members fell sharply and the order fell into decline. In 1806 only one knight of the order was still alive; in 1810 the order had become extinct untill revived after 200 years. ^[2]

When Duke  Carl August became Grand  Duke by the  Congress of Vienna after 40 years of rule and his territory was expanded, the order was revived on October 18, 1815 as the House Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon and received new statutes. It imposed on the owner the duty to be loyal and devoted to the respective legitimate highest national authority, to promote  patriotism and to care for the  invalids and war survivors of the  liberation wars . The old  medals were retained.

The Grand Duke was  the Grand Master and the Chairman of the State was the  Chancellor of the Order .

The day of the order's festival was October 18th every year, the anniversary of the  Battle of Leipzig .

Order classes

The order initially consisted of only 24 knights. According to the statues of October 18, 1815, the order consisted of three  classes and the number of members was limited:

1. Class: Grand Master, Prince of the House and 12  Grand Crosses
2. Class: 25  Commander's Crosses
3. Class: 50  knights

An expansion took place on February 18, 1840:

1. Class: Grand Masters, Princes of the House and other Grand Crosses
2. Class:
   • Commander with star
   • Commander
3. Class:
   • Knight (1st class)
   • Cross of Honor (Knight 2nd Class)

A silver Cross of Merit was donated on July 8, 1878  ^[3] and a gold one in 1902.  ^[4]

Order decoration

The order consists of a gold-framed, green  -enameled  Maltese cross hanging from a  crown . In each corner of the cross arm there is a red enameled scaled star with a gold border. On the front lies a white enamel  falcon with outstretched wings. The back of the cross shows a green star on white  enamel , an oval  medallion with an enameled blue showed the four-line  order motto VIGILANDO ASCENDIMUS  (vigilantly we ascend) in golden letters. Everything is surrounded by a golden  laurel wreath and crown.

The Cross of the Knights II Class ( Cross of Honor ) shows the Grand Duke's name on the back.

Since 1870, the medal has been awarded for military service with crossed swords through the cross angles.

Carrying method

Grand crosses were worn on a  sash from the right shoulder to the left hip with an eight-pointed  breast star bearing the order's emblem. Commanders decorated around their necks and wore a four-pointed breast star, knights 2nd and 1st classes, and holders of the Cross of Merit on the ribbon on the left side of the chest.

The ribbon was red.

On special occasions, the Grand Cross was worn on a  necklace . The individual chain links alternately show a golden falcon and the letters CA  (Carl August).

Known carriers

• Holder of the House Order of the White Falcon

literature

• State handbooks for the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach. Weimar 1823–1913. Digital copies .
• Wilhelm Ernst Rothe: Statutes of the Grand Ducal Saxony-Weimar renewed knightly order 'The Vigilance' or the 'White Falcon'. Eighth Addendum. Hof-Buchdruckerei, Weimar 1902 (statutes or changes/additions by Carl August Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from October 18, 1815; Carl Friedrich Grhzg. SWE, February 16, 1840; Carl Alexander Grhzg. SWE, December 24, 1868 , September 22, 1870, January 15, 1873, July 8, 1878, September 10, 1889 and October 8, 1892; Wilhelm Ernst Grhzg.SWE April 15, 1902).
• Jochen Klauß: The Saxony-Weimarian House Order of Vigilance or the White Falcon. On the lending practice under Carl-Alexander 1853-1901. In: Lothar Ehrlich, Justus H. Ulbricht (ed.): Carl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Böhlau/Cologne 2004,  ISBN 3-412-09203-7 , p. 165 ff.
• Lutz Fritsche (ed.): The orders and decorations of the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach 1815–1918. Ilmenau 2012.  ISBN 978-3-937064-21-5 .
• Dietrich Herfurth, Jochen Klauss, Jürgen Klee: Under the sign of the White Falcon. Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach in the light of its orders and decorations. Biloba-Verlag, Berlin 2012,  ISBN 978-3-00-039112-5 .

Web links

Commons : House Order of the White Falcon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Order statutes of 1732 and 1815
• Statutes expanded in 1840

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gustav Adolph Ackermann: Order book of all orders and decorations that flourished and expired in Europe . Rudolph & Dieterici, 1855, p. 77 ( google.com [accessed May 16, 2023]).
2. ↑ Ludwig Kuhn: Handbook of the history and constitution of all flourishing knightly orders in Europe . Camesina, 1811, p. 170 ( google.com [accessed May 16, 2023]).
3. ↑ Fifth addendum to the statutes of the Grand Ducal Saxon House Order of Vigilance or the White Falcon. In: JPortal. June 8, 1878, accessed October 24, 2023 .
4. ↑ Eighth addendum to the statutes of the Grand Ducal Saxon House Order of Vigilance or the White Falcon. In: JPortal. April 15, 1902, accessed October 24, 2023 .