Praemiando incitat: Order Świętego Stanisława 1765-1831 : w 250. rocznicę powołania orderu : Zamek Królewski w Warszawie - Muzeum, 9 maja - 16 sierpnia 2015, Zamek Królewski na Wawelu - Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki, 15 września-6 grudnia 2015
- Zawadzki, Michał, redaktorius [edt]
- Nowacki, Dariusz, redaktorius [edt]
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Abiejų Tautų Respublika (ATR; Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; Žečpospolita; Sandrauga; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth); Apdovanojimai; Ordinai; Didikai ir magnatai; Meno istorija; Straipsniai; Katalogai; Awards; Orders; Noblemen; Art history; Articles; Catalogs.
ENThe Order of Saint Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr was established by King Stanislaus Augustus on 7 May 1765. As the only order of the former Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania, it was created under an order law, or a royal diploma issued on this date (preserved in the holdings of the Czartoryski Library in Krakow). This gave rise to the order system of the former Republic of Poland. Ever since, it included the older Order of the White Eagle, whose name referred to the coat of arms of Poland, and the younger and lower-ranking Order of Saint Stanislaus. The second position of the order did not change upon the introduction by Stanislaus Augustus in 1792 during the war with Russia of the Military Order, known today as the Virtuti Militari Order, and its variation for distinguished citizens (Virtuti Civili), which did not survive. The system of honours consisting of three orders - of the White Eagle, of Saint Stanislaus and the Military one, survived until the end of the Republic. The king toyed with the idea of establishing the order right from the start of his reign, as witnessed by the issuance of the order law less than six months after his coronation. The king had earlier commissioned three Warsaw-based jewellers with the manufacture of the order's insignia. As early as on the second day after establishing the order, the king carried out the first investiture, or a knighting ceremony. Stanislaus Augustus, thanks to his earlier journeys and diplomatic service, knew international relations and the relevant customs. Awarding orders was one of the major prerogatives meant to further the objectives of his reign.The entire system of power was based on the distribution of offices, revenue-yielding royal estates and orders, which were solely prestigious distinctions. By introducing his order, Stanislaus Augustus achieved two objectives: on the one hand, he made a name for himself as the founder of a new distinction of the Republic, and on the other hand he acquired a two-fold possibility of honouring someone's achievements. The former goal stems from the name of the order, referring to the monarch's patron saint, St. Stanislaus, at the same time the main patron saint of the Kingdom of Poland. The other goal is encapsulated in the succinct legend in Latin "Praemiando incitat"; devised by the monarch himself, it refers to 'incentivising by honouring'. Awarding the Order of Saint Stanislaus, the king encourages further public service, which could be crowned with the highest distinction, i.e. the Order of the White Eagle. The first provision of the order law defines at length the appearance of the order insignia. An eight-pointed, red-enamelled cross was suspended on a red ribbon of silk moire, with white edges. It had white Eagles between the arms, the figure of Saint Stanislaus in the centre, and the monogram of the Order's founder on the reverse. The sash was to be worn across the right arm to the left side. The sash had the colours of the coat of arms of Poland: the white of the Eagle and the red of the shield. The way of wearing the sash corresponded to the custom applied in the majority of orders worldwide. The idea was that it resembled a belt holding a knight's sword, whose hilt, because of the transverse hand-guard, had the symbolic shape of the cross. The sword, similarly to the cross, offered protection. The symbolism was reflected in the sashes, which were originally chivalric awards and then distinctions of commanding officers.The above provision determined the wearing of the sash by a knight who did not have any other order. It changed once someone was appointed the knight of the Order of the White Eagle. Then priority was given to the more important sash, worn the opposite way, down the left arm to the right side. Then the sash of the Order of Saint Stanislaus was narrower and worn around the neck, with the order’s cross in the middle of the chest. The sash finished with a knot, as on the hip, or circular. In later years the cross was hung directly on the sash inserted in a flattened ring. Being the commander of both Polish orders, Stanislaus Augustus nearly always displayed the insignia of the higher one, i.e. the Order of the White Eagle. He did not wear the cross of Saint Stanislaus around the neck, and since his coronation he consistently wore in this way the Prussian Black Eagle. Following the monarch, other Polish knights also wore foreign orders in this way. The sash was worn differently by clergymen. As in the case of the Order of the Holy Spirit, they wore it wide around the neck, with a cross hung directly, without a knot. Bishops wore on the sash, on a shorter chain, their pectoral cross, which hung above the order's cross. Having received the Order of the White Eagle, they wore its blue ribbon, also without a knot, on the earlier red ribbon of Saint Stanislaus. They wore it almost completely covering the previous one yet making sure that at least a small section of the red ribbon should be visible to testify to the possession of an earlier order. The pectoral cross hung above the order cross of the White Eagle. During the reign of Stanislaus Augustus there was hardly another way of wearing the cross, replaced by a smaller one and pinned on a narrow ribbon into a buttonhole of an outer garment or uniform. [...]. [From the publication]
