Orders, decorations, and medals of Themiclesia

The orders, decorations, and medals of Themiclesia are a system of honours that the government awards for the recognition of merit of individuals. The system has its ultimate roots in titles of nobility, ranks and sinecural positions of the Civil Service, and those in the retinue of the sovereign and his spouse, which were awarded apart of the peerage to honour merit and worthy deeds.  

In the 18th century, Casaterran-inspired medals were minted in various military bodies as awards to members demonstrating merits; these saw broader adaptation in the 19th century and earlier 20th, though a nationally-recognized honours system did not exist until after the Pan-Septentrion War, which saw the most prolific granting of honours and their emergence in the public sphere.

The modern honours system can be divided, roughly, into seven kinds. Each of the major branches of the armed forces, the army, navy, air force, and coast guard possess their own honours systems. The original set of sinecures awarded in lieu of honours are now referred to as the civil honours system, while ranks awarded by prefectural gentry circles form another system. The remaining honours are considered common, that is available to both military personnel and civilians, national or alien.

Civil honours

Elder

The position of Elder (公) originated in the Dark Ages (before the 4th century BCE) as a royal prince active as guardian of the ruler, cf. Lord Protector or Regent. As these households developed into alliances of multiple clans and then statelets, the Elderdom acquired manifold political significance, and in the 4th century CE it was a titled used by the one or two (but never more than two) most powerful noblemen that rivalled the king in power. Its grant in later times was often a bitter recognition of a royal prince's overwhelming authority over both the crown and the non-royal aristocracy. The last time the Elderdom was granted was in 1815, to the Lord of Gar-lang, and only posthumously.

While not an honour in sensu stricto, this position is not considered a heritable title of nobility. It is second only to the sovereign and outranks all princes and barons and thus every other honour in the system.

Order of Counsels

The Order of Counsels developed from the ancient title of counsel (卿事), which originally signified a ruler's deputy for a cultic events. As the cult was central to mediating the relationship between branches of the ruler's clan, the counselship was crucial and later acquired political function when inter-clan politics developed in the context of the emerging city.  During the Antiquity, the title counsel was a generic appellation for the ruler's trusted advisor and usually held no specific office.

Through falling into disuse by the 14th century, these titles were resurrected as part of a Casaterran-style order in 1837 and are awarded mostly to government ministers who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation.

In later ages, counsel became an honourary title for high-ranking administrators. It was divided into three grades:

1. Principal Counsel (徹卿), postnominal PC.
2. Vice Counsel (介卿), postnominal VC.
3. Guest Counsel (客卿), customarily awarded to foreign ambassadors to accord them a place at court, postnominal GC.

Order of Principals

The Order of Principals was formalized in 1837 after Casaterran orders of chivalry, though titles within it have been granted as honours for many centuries prior to its development as an honour. The term "principal" (大夫, lats-pa) literally meant "senior, adult man", as opposed to younger men and boys placed under him; cf. the original sense of knight as "boy, attendant". The original sense of the "principal" is preserved in official titles like President (or Principal) of Tribunes, the Principal of the Clan, and the Principal of the Palace (the Privy Council).

However, since ranking members of the royal bureaucracy were also called "principals" collectively, in this sense it proliferated into a range of titles that conferred various privileges, when not attached to a specific office. These offices originally bore little connection with each other, but together with the counselship it was restructured after the fact as an honourary order in 1837 in imitation of Casaterran chivalric orders.

Today, it is divided into four grades:

1. Grand Cross (中上大夫), the highest rank, originally had duties attached to the royal household. It subsequently served as a placeholder for aristocrats who were not in favour but remained at court. A more senior version of principal of the palace is called the Counsel-Principal of the Palace (中大夫卿), now granted to retired prime ministers so that they hold a rank at court. Postnominal letters are PP and CPC, respectively.
2. Commander (上大夫), originally the monarch's companion on chariots or carriages. Like the former, this title is granted to retired cabinet ministers for the same function. Postnominal letters are PC.
3. Companion (顯大夫), a title granted to officials of all kinds. As literally meant, a holder of this title is legally entitled to audiences of the sovereign. It is automatically granted to senior civil servants, but not military officers. Traditionally, principals of the audience are immune to arrest, except by royal authority, but this privilege has been withdrawn for some time. Postnominal letters are PA.
4. Member (庶大夫)

Officers of the order are:

• Principal Commander (上大夫卿), the head of the order
• Secretary (署大夫)

Order of the Exterior

The Order of the Exterior (外大夫) was a special order established in 1851 to honour members of the provincial and diplomatic services, as well as military officers under them, after the Order of Counsels and Order of Principals were considered proper to officials who served in the central government.

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was established in 1870 following the first passage of the Honours Act, which envisioned a system where private individuals, central officials, and provincial officials and diplomats each received specific orders. The Order of Merit was awarded for excellence in the arts, sciences, and other fields of non-political human achievement. It was exclusive to individuals who are not in officialdom, though it has not been uncommon to award it for official services after retirement. The Order of Merit has a single class and is limited to 120 members.

Order of the Star

The Order of the Star was created in 1890 by Lord L'wang-men for "civic leaders" that supported his reformist cause, which officially meant promoting Themiclesian national unity and productivity. By definition, this dignity cannot be awarded to politicians and civil servants. Until the 1940s, this order was really granted to editors, authors, and socialites who supported Liberal campaigns or ideas, but after successive transfers of power and the 1949 revision of the Honours Act, the granting criteria subsequently grew narrower and less partisan. Today, it recognizes citizens and foreigners who have performed services that have either benefited the nation or encouraged peace.

Peerage

Main article: Peerage of Themiclesia

The Peerage of Themiclesia, which consists of four ranks, baronet, baron, count, and duke are not considered part of the honours system proper per the Honours Act of 1947, but it is occasionally awarded for this purpose in modern times. For example, retiring prime minister Lram Lwang was made Count of Tyer in 1947 (after the Act's passage) in recognition of his efforts in the Pan-Septentrion War. In precedence, the peerage ranks over all honours.

Gentry awards

Main article: Gentry (Themiclesia)

After reforms to orders of gentry in 1701, gentlemen of the prefectures were supposed to regulate their own ranks. The rationale was that the royal court imposed military and civic duties upon the gentry, so gentlemen would feel pressured to seek out their peers to spread the burden more evenly; at the same time, emerging families would have to undertake these duties in order to access certain political and social benefits restricted to the gentry. The gentry of 1701 was nominally based on the nine-rate system established in the 4th century, but in reality only the second, third, and fourth rates were ever used. The first rate was reserved for royalty, while anything under and including fifth rate was perceived more as derogation than honour. The status and obligations of gentry were hereditary.

In 1801, the gentry's political privileges strengthened political representation into the foundation of representative democracy, but the franchise was attached to the gentry. Thus, a potential elector must be recognized as a gentleman by the existing gentry in his locality first, before he gained the franchise. The gentries in major cities began awarding the franchise as a form of honour in the early 19th century as both social distinction and political strategy. After the open franchise of 1845, gentry status became disassociated with politics and were granted purely as a distinction, mostly to the rising middle classes that participated in philanthropic schemes.

Army honours

Order of the Union

Established at the foundation of the Consolidated Army in 1921, the order officially celebrates the unification of Themiclesia under the Treaty of Five Kings in 256. The recognized subtext of the honour is the fact that the Consolidated Army itself was founded by uniting smaller forces that had, up to this point, served specific defensive portfolios. The order is awarded by order of the House of Commons upon the recommendation of the Secretary of State for War, to individuals who have upheld the independence of Themclesia. It is the highest Army-only dignity that an officer of the Consolidated Army can receive.

Order of Note

Originally, the Order of Note (會朝請, ka-syiu-tsing) was awarded by the Government to both military and naval services, but subsequently it was divided into equivalent (and homonymous) orders for either service. The Consolidated Army's Order of Note is considered analogous to the civilian Order of Conspicuous Merit and the dignity of Principal of the Audience, in the sense that the recipient of this order is formally introduced to the sovereign and thus have his existence "noted" by the sovereign. However, this does not confer the prerogative of audience upon the recipient, as it is considered the Secretary of State for War's discretion who under him may meet the monarch. The Order of Note recognizes general merit and is not limited to achievements in battle. In contrast to the Order of the Union, the Order of Note is granted by the House of Lords upon the application of the Government Leader.

Order of Forgotten Spirits

The Order of Forgotten Spirits is awarded to officers who have demonstrated superior skill in battle, to which some kind of accomplishment can be attributed. It exists in three classes, upper, middle, and lower. Officers are granted the lower class first and promoted upon subsequent merits.

Naval honours

Order of the Bay

The Order of the Bay is reserved for serving and retired admirals and named after the bay which the old seat of the Admiralty, Tonning, overlooks.

Order of Star-gazing

The Order of Star-gazing is reserved for the Marines. It celebrates the (mostly forgotten) heritage of nocturnal astronomical observations by a ship's complement that was continually carried out since the founding of the military navy until the 1600s. Its name also pays tribute to the Stargazer Regiment that defeated the Sieuxerrian Royal Army in 1791 and was disbanded in 1802.

Outstanding Service Medal

The naval version of the Outstanding Service Medal is the oldest of all four services, being first awarded in 1807; however, it is also arguably the one held in the lowest regard. In 1831, the Marines found that most of their officers entered and left service within two years and so sought to give distinctions to those who completed three years in service. The naval Outstanding Service Medal, which was granted at the Admiralty's discretion to both officers and men, was appropriated for this purpose and granted to all Marines officers who completed three fiscal years of service. With this precedent, the Admiralty started granting the same medal to all naval officers who completed three years in service, even though naval commissions were not available for sale and officers did not turn over as quickly.

Cat Medal

The Cat Medal is reserved for ships' cats that have actively performed pest control around the ship. It is junior to medals worn by humans.

Coast Guard honours

While the Themiclesian Coast Guard was formed as a military body, it ordinarily is under the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, whose position relative to the service is similar to that of the Defence Secretary over the remaining parts of the armed forces. It shares a considerable portion of its honours system with the Themiclesian Navy, but as it is considered a separate system, their names are prefixed "Coast Guard" for disambiguation. The Coast Guard does not award the Order of Note that the three other major services have adopted.

Expert Rifle(wo)man Medal

This medal was introduced after the Ground Security Regiment was founded under the Coast Guard. It recognizes excellence in handling of firearms, which was particularly relevant as the Coast Guard's initial arsenal, inherited from the prefectural arsenals' surpluses, was often in poor condition. "Being a good shot with this pile of crap is worthy of a medal or two," according to Lord Haw (Home Secretary 1921 – 23). Subsequently in the Pan-Septentrion War, the four Coast Guard regiments enjoyed a reputation for proficiency with firearms that have been subject to abuse in the field; there were even instances of officers hauling dozens of guns for miles to find Coast Guard regiments for repairs and adjustments.

While there is no difference in the Shinasthana name of the medal as received by Coast Guard servicepeople of either gender, the distinction is made in translation into Anglian.

History

Colonial Army honours

Main article: Colonial Army (Themiclesia)

The Colonial Army was the first standing military force in Themiclesia to be comprised of multiple regiments. While the Themiclesian law provided a military honours system, this was incorporated into the development of permanent ranks in the force and was no longer granted on the basis of merit. A new system was therefore adopted to recognize both merit and long-term service. At first, the honours granted were tied to increased veteran benefits in cash and land grants; the court adopted this as it alleviated the fiscal burden of immediately payable cash prizes or salary increases. Appointees to these early orders were expected to show continue valour in battle to maintain their standing. In the 17th century, this ceased to be the case, and orders were granted purely on the basis of previous merit, but it retained some characteristics of the old military honours system. Positions in the orders could be exchanged for pardons in case of conviction or even sold to another member of the force.

Naval honours

Main articles: Themiclesian Navy and Themiclesian Marine Corps

The Themiclesian navies (or navy, after consolidation in 1715) were operated by professional sailors in addition to pressed sailors in times of war. Honours were accorded to these two populations separately. Since the navy did not follow the military honours system like the Colonial Army or the home militia, its honours system was mostly a new creation, with some apparent Casaterran influences. In the 14th century, pressed sailors generally saw little utility in receiving honours that did not carry financial benefits, so the government instituted a number of medals that recognized excellence and perserverence in the marine profession; these medals could be openly worn and advertised an official attestation of the sailor's technical abilities and experience. Recognized sailors could therefore negotiate better pay or positions when they returned to civilian life. These were understood to be the first physical medals minted by Themiclesia for a military population, and there was a penalty for forging these medals until 1640.

Professional sailors were first assessed on the basis of how many battles they survived to contribute. Each battle was termed a "removal" (除). For every successful battle, all members on a ship would receive one removal, provided that it had engaged during the battle. The number of removals a sailor had determined his eligibility in promotions. When a vacancy occurred, it would automatically go to the sailor with the highest amount of removals, which encouraged men to pressure their captains to pursue aggressive tactics and maximize the chance of engagement. This system was gradually deprecated after the introduction of gunpowder, when a distinct body called Naval Engineers came to prominence. These men were administered separately and received their own honours, which were accorded in loading and shooting quickly. These honours of course had no application or appeal in the civilian world, so they were only granted to sailors and naval engineers who sought a naval career.

The Themiclesian Marines, who evolved out of the merchant complement on commandeered ships, practiced a different honours scheme. While in 1318 they were professionalized, they were backed with tax-exemption coupons on the same basis as removals for professional sailors. For each engagement, the naval infantry compelement received one "rebate" (復), which equalled a 4% reduction in the taxes payable when entering and exiting ports. This was valuable for early marines, since they often carried goods for sale when not at battle, as a characteristic of the former merchant complement. One could apply up to five rebates at the same time, though any additional rebate had to be sold. As terms of service lengthened from two to twenty years over the next three centuries, the granting of rebates was rendered useless as an incentive to battle, since they no longer had the opportunity to manage a private business. Functionally merged with the light naval engineers by 1600, the medals which recognized excellence in handling of weapons were generalized to them.

Home army honours

Main article: Themiclesian Army

Historically, what would become the Themiclesian Army existed in a great number of independent or semi-independent branches, many of which were militia units that rotated into positions. A sprinkling of professional units did exist, but they were exceptional. For much the same reason why pressed sailors were usually not granted honours for anything other than technical excellence and perserverence, militiamen were rarely accorded honours—unless coupled with monetary benefits, they were uninterested in them. Militia service was also widespread and not considered connected to any particular profession, so recognition of excellence as a militiaman was largely useless. Additionally, opportunities to be appointed as petty officers were also largely scoffed at, since they entailed extra responsibility, which could interfere with agriculture, with negligible compensation. In the early modern period, Themiclesia also enjoyed a prolonged peace (lasting three centuries) at home, even though her wars abroad with other colonial powers were frequent and expensive; as a result, the home army lagged behind in terms of organization and did not professionalize generally. As the old military honours system rewarded valour in battle, advancement was impossible in peace.

Nevertheless, honours systems did arise in the home army during the early modern period, if peculiar to individual units. While all able-bodied men technically were able and encouraged to register for the local militia, those who joined but failed to appear for musters were fined a sum of money called the Militia Fine (代更錢, mlegh-krang-dzjên). In some prefectures, those who did appear would obtain a token for their appearance, and after a certain amount had been accumulated, they could be exchanged for a small cash prize, funded by the Militia Fine. The tokens gradually transformed into wearable medals (generally like a necklace) in the 15th through 17th centuries. The number of tokens exchanged for a prize and the size thereof was up to the local marshal. The loosening of state control over local militias in view of the attention and resources poured into the Colonial Army have contributed to what was called a "variegated force" by historian Arthur Ashley Ascott. Professional, company- or battalion-sized units dispersed in the interior, maintained either by the War Ministry for niche purposes or pledged by minorities to the Themiclesian crown often possessed their own honours systems. Some of these honours centred on acts of bravery or tactic, but more were known to reward lengthy service and diligence.

Comparative seniority

Civil exclusive	Gentry	Common	Army exclusive	Navy exclusive	Air Force exclusive	Coast Guard exclusive
Elder of Themiclesia
Counsel-Principal of the Palace		Od. Counsels (upper)
Od. Palace		Od. Counsels (lower)
Od. Remembrancers		Od. Aliens (foreigners only)
Od. Authors/Libraries	Second Class	Od. Themiclesia
Od. Star	Third Class		Od. the Union	Od. Bay	Od. Brilliance	Od. Torrents
				Od. the Dragon	Od. Memories
Od. Conspicuous Merit (1st c.)		Principal of Audience	Od. Note	Od. Note	Od. Note
Od. Conspicuous Merit (2nd c.)				Chain of Remembrance		CG Medal of Honour
Memorial Od. the Gate		Od. Principals (upper)	Od. Forgotten Spirits (upper)	Sailor's Medal	Od. the Comet	CG Combat Medal
Memorial Od. Emperor Goi		Od. Principals (middle)	Od. Forgotten Spirits (middle)	Od. the Star-Watcher
Od. Public Service (1 c.)		Od. Principals (lower)	Od. Forgotten Spirits (lower)	Chain of Honours		CG Chain of Honours
Od. Public Service (2 c.)		Od. Principals (adjunct)
Medal of Honour (1 c.)	Fourth Class		Od. Field Service (1 c.)	Od. Naval Valour	Veterans' Medal	CG Od. Valour
Medal of Honour (2 c.)			Od. Field Service (2 c.)	Navigator Medal	Aerial Combat Medal	CG Navigator's Medal
Medal of Honour (3 c.)			Od. Field Service (3 c.)	Cartographer Medal	Od. Engineers	CG Cartographer's Medal
Medal of Honour (4 c.)			Outstanding Service Medal	Mate's Chain	Ground Combat Medal	Ground Combat Medal
Medal of Honour (5 c.)				Passenger Chain	Crew Members' Medal	Outstanding Service Medal
Medal of Honour (6 c.)			Medal for Bravery (1 c.)	Gunner's Chain	Outstanding Service Medal
Medal of Honour (7 c.)			Medal for Bravery (2 c.)
Medal of Honour (8 c.)				Outstanding Service Medal
Medal of Honour (9 c.)						Expert Rifle(wo)man Medal
			Period of service medals	Period of service medals	Period of service/hours medals	Period of service medals
				Cat Medal (ship's cat)

Order of wearing

While there is an official order of wearing for Themiclesian orders and medals, the actual order observed by both civilians and military personnel is that only one honour may be worn at any one time, the wearing of any more being considered a faux pas. This rule is attributed to the Earl of Sngraq, who, as a popular prime minister, by 1874 held the grand cross of three orders, namely Counsels, Principals, and Exterior. He was known to wear only one order at any given time, though he switched the order he wore at leisure. When asked why he did so, he replied that a single order made the most visual impact, and more than one would make his outfit ungainly.

It has been suggested that the rule was not Sngraq's invention but a logical reasoning following the design that one person should, by the intent of the Honours Act, be member of only one order depending on career; since one could also not hold different grades of the same order at the same time, it followed that one should only have one order, and situations like Sngraq's (who has three orders) should be avoided as egregious ostentation. This rule would then be extended to other honours like medals and decorations, which are not by design mutually-exclusive. Whatever the history of the rule, the habit spread throughout civil society and the forces, and even the Navy admitted in 1877 that "modesty constrains" a wearer to one honour at one time. Thus, no matter how highly decorated, Themiclesian admirals and generals who have dozens of medals and decorations would only wear the order into which they have been inducted, with any accoutrements of that order, like a sash or star.

See also

• Themiclesia