Orders of Knighthood are the most exclusive and prestigious institutions in the world. Originally the preserve of royalty and aristocracy, Orders now count amongst their membership business tycoons, powerful leaders and noteworthy private individuals.

With contributions from many of the world's leading authorities and articles on American honours, World Orders of Knighthood & Merit is one of the most important works ever produced on the subject and will remain the definitive guide for many years to come.

This full-colour publication will be of great interest to academics, historians, collectors and those who are members of any of the numerous international, noble and state Orders.

150 years after Sir Bernard Burke published his famed history of the leading Orders of knighthood, Burke's Peerage and Gentry is proud to announce the publication of a major new study of the extant Orders of knighthood and merit of every state.

This eagerly anticipated publication is the result of the collaboration of many of the world's leading specialist scholars and is edited by Guy Stair Sainty (editor) and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo (deputy editor), both of whom have written extensively on Orders.

Classified in a novel and thought-provoking manner, the Orders are grouped into various sections. The first section commences with detailed histories of the surviving confraternal Orders, beginning with the famous Order of Malta and including studies of the Alliance Orders of Saint John, the Spanish Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Constantinian Order of Saint George. The second section includes histories of all the great European single class Collar Orders, by date of foundation, beginning with the Order of the Garter (England) and including the Orders of the Golden Fleece (Austria/Spain), Annunziata (Savoy), Elephant (Denmark), Seraphim (Sweden), Saint Hubert (Bavaria), White Eagle (Poland) and Thistle (Scotland). The third includes histories of the most prestigious Orders of Chivalry, notably the Orders of the Bath and Saint Michael & Saint George (Great Britain), Charles III and Isabella the Catholic (Spain), the Legion of Honour (France), the Dannebrog (Denmark), the Tower and Sword and of Christ (Portugal), and Chrysanthemum (Japan). The remaining sections include one devoted to royal dynastic Orders, another to ladies' Orders, and the largest section: State Merit Orders. The main portion of the work ends with a section on institutions of Chivalric character, such as the Spanish Maestranzas, the surviving Italian noble confraternities, the Society of the Cincinnati (the USA and France), and European provincial knightly bodies.

Each Order's foundation date, purpose, structure, investiture details, officers and membership requirements will be listed along with precise descriptions of the insignia. This lavishly illustrated full-colour publication will also contain colour illustrations of the uniforms, robes and insignia as well as many photographs and paintings of Order-related places and people, diplomas, armorial bearings and ceremonies of investiture.

The Appendix includes essays dealing with the wearing of orders and decorations, and precedence among them; noble proofs as criteria for admission to some ancient Orders, and the conferral of nobility through membership; the use of insignia as heraldic ornaments; a brief examination of Church awards and Patriarchal Orders; along with a detailed study of the “self-styled” Orders.

'World Orders of Knighthood and Merit' is one of the most important guides to national awards ever produced and will serve as an important reference for many years to come. The book will be of considerable use to state protocol officers, diplomats, historians and heraldry enthusiasts and is an essential item for any collector of medals and decorations or student of royal, aristocratic, church or military history.

World Orders of Knighthood & Merit
Guy Stair Sainty, Editor
Rafal Heydel-Mankoo, Deputy Editor
ISBN 9780971196674 / 0971196672
DOI 10.5118/wokm.2006
Hard copy edition also available from the Burke's Peerage Store.

Burke’s Peerage is delighted to announce our new digital edition of the definitive study of the extant Orders of Knighthood and merit of every state.

World Orders of Knighthood & Merit is widely accepted as one of the most important works ever produced on the subject and will remain the definitive guide for many years to come. This 2,100 page full-colour book is of great interest to academics, historians, collectors, monarchists, heraldry enthusiasts and those who are members of any of the numerous international, noble and state Orders.

Each Order’s foundation date, purpose, structure, investiture details, officers and membership requirements are listed along with precise descriptions of the insignia. This lavishly illustrated full-colour publication contains colour illustrations of the uniforms, robes and insignia as well as many photographs and paintings of Order-related places and people, diplomas, armorial bearings and ceremonies of investiture.

"A stunning achievement and a cause for celebration ... manages to combine high standards of scholarship with wonderful anecdotes and commentary", Coat of Arms, the journal of the Heraldry Society

"There is no other single place where one can readily find such authentic histories. It is a gold-mine for researchers and a most interesting and entertaining read for pleasure. The editors are to be congratulated on their Herculean labour in putting it all together", The Heraldry Gazette