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Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg)

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Order of the Griffon
Greifenorden
Insignia of the order
TypeState Order
CountryMecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Royal houseHouse of Mecklenburg
MottoALTIOR ADVERSIS
(Against All Odds)
StatusNo longer awarded
Grand MastersGrand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Precedence
Next (lower)House Order of the Wendish Crown

Ribbon of the order

Grand Cross of the Order.

The Order of the Griffon (German: Greifenorden) was a State Order of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Established on 15 September 1884, it was created to honour benevolence and outstanding service to the public. In August 1904, the Order of the Griffon was extended to citizens of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with the rulers of the two grand duchies serving jointly as the Grand Masters of the order.

Classes

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The Order of the Griffon was awarded in three classes with six grades:[1]

First class
  • Grand Cross
Second class
  • Grand Commander's Cross
  • Commander's Cross
  • Officer's Cross or Honour Cross
Third class
  • Knight's Cross with Crown
  • Knight's Cross

Appearance

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The badge of the order was a red enameled maltese cross, outlined in gold. On the centre of the cross is a disc with a golden griffon surrounded by a gold ring. The Grand Cross badge was worn at the left hip, hanging from a 4 in wide sash that goes over the right shoulder. The Grand Commander's and Commander's Cross badges were worn suspended from the neck on a narrower ribbon. These badges were slightly smaller than the Grand Cross badge, but otherwise identical in appearance. The Honour Cross was smaller still and did not have the gold ring surrounding the griffon in the centre. Finally, the two Knight's Crosses were slightly smaller than the Commander's Cross and worn suspended from a ribbon worn on the left chest.[1]

The star of the order was worn by recipients of the Grand Cross and Grand Commander's Cross on the left chest. The Grand Cross star was a silver 8-armed star with arms of equal length. In the centre of the star is a disc bearing a gold griffon. The disc is surrounded by red enamel with the motto ALTIOR ADVERSIS (Against All Odds), in gold lettering and bordered in gold. The Grand Commander's Cross star was smaller silver 8-armed star with arms alternating between long and short length.[1]

The ribbon of the order was yellow with red edges.[1]

Recipients

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Sources

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  • Ludvigsen, Eric (1990). The Griffon Order of the Mecklenburg Grand Duchies – An Outline (PDF). Orders and Medals Society of America.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Order of the Griffin". The Grand Ducal House of Mecklinberg-Strelitz. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
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