On chivalric orders and micronational honours

“Give me enough medals and I’ll win you any war”

-- Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's Art of War

Many micronations like to give awards to their citizens or rulers of other micronations, a practice I am quite fond of.  Indeed, I've developed several such awards that are presented on any occasion that merits it, including the King's Mark of Merit and the King's Mark of Friendship.

However, there is something that irks me about this practice - the overwhelming number of "orders" that are given out which, despite their name, bear little to no resemblance to actual chivalric orders! Specifically, micronational orders do not typically have multiple tiers.

First, a bit of history - the concept of an "order" dates back to the Crusades of the 11th through 13th centuries with the military orders of knights. Over time, they transitioned to more courtly orders (i.e. Order of the Garter, Order of the Bath) - such orders would have a monarch as their fons honorum, and would be bestowed on any person deemed worthy, not just knights who had proven their martial prowess. 

Regardless of their provenance (modern or medieval), many orders (at least in Europe) tend to follow the five-tier system used by Napoleon for the French Legion of Honour. The highest rank might be referred to as "First Class" or "Knight Grand Cross" of the order, and lower ranks might include Knight Commander, Commander, Officer, and Knight, for example.

While not exactly aligning to the five-tier system used in Europe, the Order of Canada does have multiple tiers, including Companion, Officer, and Member. Again, the Crown (as sovereign ruler of Canada) is the fons honorum of the order, with the Governor-General as Chancellor of the order.

There is one micronational order that I can think of which does follow the idea of tiers of precedence: Westarctica has the Order of the Snow Flake, which includes Knight, Knight Commander, and Knight Grand Cross ranks.

Westarctica's Order of the Snow Flake

Finally, in a case of "Do as I say, not as I do," I must confess that Slabovia's highest honour, the Order of Slabovia, does not have multiple tiers or levels. If we were to recreate the order today, I would press for a multi-tier system as is used in Europe.

The Order of Slabovia
A case of "Do as I say, not as I do"