36-405: [REDACTED] Grand Cross 1st Class, Special Issue [REDACTED] Grand Cross 1st Class [REDACTED] Grand Cross [REDACTED] Knight Commander [REDACTED] Commander [REDACTED] Officer [REDACTED] Member The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland , or Bundesverdienstorden , BVO )
72-787: A gender quota which demands a minimum of 40% of nominees to the order to be women. The Order comprises four groups with eight regular classes and one special (medal) class (hereafter enumerated in English): The President of the Federal Republic holds the Grand Cross special class ex officio . It is awarded to him in a ceremony by the President of the Bundestag , attended by the Chancellor of Germany ,
108-602: A good way of cutting costs and simplifying production in a Germany only just starting to experience the Wirtschaftswunder . It is of course possible that this could have been deliberate, and a way to celebrate German history in the design of the new honour for the Federal Republic. This is unlikely however as two stars represent decorations awarded during the Third Reich , and the other two are of Prussian origin. Prussia itself had only been recently abolished and
144-488: A simple cross-shaped character, consisting of a horizontal and a vertical wedge ( 𒈦 ), read as maš "tax, yield, interest"; the superposition of two diagonal wedges results in a decussate cross ( 𒉽 ), read as pap "first, pre-eminent" (the superposition of these two types of crosses results in the eight-pointed star used as the sign for "sky" or "deity" ( 𒀭 ), DINGIR ). The cuneiform script has other, more complex, cruciform characters, consisting of an arrangement of boxes or
180-712: A simplification of a ligature for et "and" (introduced by Johannes Widmann in the late 15th century). The letter Aleph is cross-shaped in Aramaic and paleo-Hebrew . Egyptian hieroglyphs with cross-shapes include Gardiner Z9 – Z11 ("crossed sticks", "crossed planks"). Other, unrelated cross-shaped letters include Brahmi ka (predecessor of the Devanagari letter क) and Old Turkic (Orkhon) d² and Old Hungarian b , and Katakana ナ na and メ me . The multiplication sign (×), often attributed to William Oughtred (who first used it in an appendix to
216-570: A symbol in Buddhism , Jainism and Hinduism , and widely popular in the early 20th century as a symbol of good luck or prosperity before adopted as a symbol of Nazism in the 1920s and 30s. Cross shapes are made by a variety of physical gestures . Crossing the fingers of one hand is a common invocation of the symbol. The sign of the cross associated with Christian genuflection is made with one hand: in Eastern Orthodox tradition
252-421: Is surrounded by a stylized laurel wreath in relief. This Grand Cross 1st class, special issue has been awarded only to three persons, the former German chancellors Konrad Adenauer , Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel . Except for the lowest class, the medal, the badge is the same for all classes, but with slightly different versions for men and women (slightly smaller badge and ribbon for women): The badge for
288-615: Is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellectual or honorary fields. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss , on 7 September 1951. Colloquially, the decorations of the different classes of the Order are also known as the Federal Cross of Merit ( Bundesverdienstkreuz ). It has been awarded to over 262,000 individuals in total, both Germans and foreigners. Since
324-700: The 2nd century AD to succeeding Ichthys in aftermaths of that new religion's separation from Judaism . Clement of Alexandria in the early 3rd century calls it τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον ("the Lord's sign") he repeats the idea, current as early as the Epistle of Barnabas , that the number 318 (in Greek numerals , ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (the letter Tau) and of Jesus (the letters Iota Eta ). Clement's contemporary Tertullian rejects
360-730: The European Bronze Age the cross symbol appeared to carry a religious meaning , perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial. The cross sign occurs trivially in tally marks , and develops into a number symbol independently in the Roman numerals (X "ten"), the Chinese rod numerals ( 十 "ten") and the Brahmi numerals ("four", whence the numeral 4 ). In the Phoenician alphabet and derived scripts ,
396-538: The Patriarchal cross (☦), Cross of Lorraine (☨) and Cross potent (☩, mistakenly labeled a " Cross of Jerusalem "). The following is a list of cross symbols, except for variants of the Christian cross and Heraldic crosses , for which see the dedicated lists at Christian cross variants and Crosses in heraldry , respectively. The swastika or crux gammata (in heraldry fylfot ), historically used as
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#1732780942426432-584: The President of the Bundesrat , and the Supreme Court President . Other than the German president, only a foreign head of state and their spouse can be awarded with this highest class. There is also the provision of awarding the Grand Cross 1st class in a "special issue" with laurel wreath design ( Großkreuz in besonderer Ausführung ), in which the central medallion with the black eagle
468-450: The cardinal points , or the unity of a vertical axis mundi or celestial pole with the horizontal world (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of comparative mythology seeking to tie Christian mythology to ancient cosmological myths . Influential works in this vein included G. de Mortillet (1866), L. Müller (1865), W. W. Blake (1888), Ansault (1891), etc. In
504-597: The 10th century. A wide variation of cross symbols is introduced for the purposes of heraldry beginning in the age of the Crusades . The cross mark is used to mark a position, or as a check mark , but also to mark deletion . Derived from Greek Chi are the Latin letter X , Cyrillic Kha and possibly runic Gyfu . Egyptian hieroglyphs involving cross shapes include ankh "life", ndj "protect" and nfr "good; pleasant, beautiful". Sumerian cuneiform had
540-510: The 1618 edition of John Napier's Descriptio ) apparently had been in occasional use since the mid 16th century. Other typographical symbols resembling crosses include the dagger or obelus (†), the Chinese ( 十 , Kangxi radical 24 ) and Roman (X ten). Unicode has a variety of cross symbols in the " Dingbat " block (U+2700–U+27BF): The Miscellaneous Symbols block (U+2626 to U+262F) adds three specific Christian cross variants , viz.
576-624: The 1990s, the number of annual awards has declined from over 4,000, first to around 2,500, then from 2015 to under 1,500, with a low of 918 awards in 2022. Since 2013, women have made up a steady 30–35% of recipients. Most of the German federal states ( Länder ) have each their own order of merit as well, with the exception of the Free and Hanseatic Cities of Bremen and Hamburg , which reject any orders (by tradition their citizens, particularly former or present senators, will refuse any decoration in
612-485: The Member and Officer classes however are only enamelled on one side, and flat on the reverse. The badge of the Order is made up of a golden four-armed cross enamelled in red, with a central gold disc bearing a black enamelled German federal eagle ( Bundesadler ). The star is a golden star with straight rays, its size and points vary according to class, with the badge superimposed upon it. An interesting fact about
648-574: The Roman world, furca replaced crux as the name of some cross-like instruments for lethal and temporary punishment, ranging from a forked cross to a gibbet or gallows . The field of etymology is of no help in any effort to trace a supposed original meaning of crux . A crux can be of various shapes: from a single beam used for impaling or suspending ( crux simplex ) to the various composite kinds of cross ( crux compacta ) made from more beams than one. The latter shapes include not only
684-467: The accusation that Christians are crucis religiosi (i.e. "adorers of the gibbet"), and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes. In his book De Corona , written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross . While early Christians used the T-shape to represent
720-621: The beginning of the Upper Paleolithic , and throughout prehistory to the Iron Age . Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian crux ansata with a loop. Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological symbology involving " four elements " (Chevalier, 1997) or
756-627: The cross in writing and gesture, the use of the Greek cross and Latin cross , i.e. crosses with intersecting beams, appears in Christian art towards the end of Late Antiquity . An early example of the cruciform halo , used to identify Christ in paintings, is found in the Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes mosaic of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo , Ravenna (6th century). The Patriarchal cross , a Latin cross with an additional horizontal bar, first appears in
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#1732780942426792-528: The cross symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i.e. the letter taw , which is the historical predecessor of Latin T . The letter name taw means "mark", presumably continuing the Egyptian hieroglyph "two crossed sticks" ( Gardiner Z9 ). The shape of the cross ( crux , stauros "stake, gibbet "), as represented by the Latin letter T , came to be used as a new symbol (seal) or emblem of Christianity since
828-408: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 941147413 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:02:22 GMT Cross A cross is a compound geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines , usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in
864-516: The form of an order, the most famous example being former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt ). The order was established on 7 September 1951 by the decree of Federal President Theodor Heuss . Signed by Heuss, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer , and Minister of the Interior Robert Lehr , the decree states: Desiring to visibly express recognition and gratitude to deserving men and women of the German people and of foreign countries, on
900-480: The fourfold arrangement of other characters, including the archaic cuneiform characters LAK -210, LAK-276, LAK-278, LAK-617 and the classical sign EZEN (𒂡). Phoenician tāw is still cross-shaped in Paleo-Hebrew alphabet and in some Old Italic scripts ( Raetic and Lepontic ), and its descendant T becomes again cross-shaped in the Latin minuscule t . The plus sign (+) is derived from Latin t via
936-617: The gospels and always in the plural number to indicate a stake or pole. From the first century BC, it is used to indicate an instrument used in executions. The Greek word is used in descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross , which indicate that its normal shape was similar to the Greek letter tau ( Τ ). Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as petroglyphs in European cult caves, dating back to
972-416: The instrument of Christ's crucifixion , replacing the native Old English word rood . The word's history is complicated; it appears to have entered English from Old Irish , possibly via Old Norse , ultimately from the Latin crux (or its accusative crucem and its genitive crucis ), "stake, cross". The English verb to cross arises from the noun c. 1200 , first in the sense "to make
1008-519: The legacy of so called " Prussian militarism " was not something openly celebrated in the new Federal Republic of Germany . The riband of the Order is made up of the colours of the German flag. The pattern is a large central band of red, edged on both sides in a smaller band of gold-black-gold. State decoration Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
1044-458: The second anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany, I establish the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is awarded for achievements that served the rebuilding of the country in the fields of political, socio-economic, and intellectual activity, and is intended to be an award for all those whose work contributes to the peaceful rise of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2022 Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier introduced
1080-584: The sequence is head-heart-right shoulder-left shoulder, while in Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican tradition the sequence is head-heart-left-right. Crossing the index fingers of both hands represents and a charm against evil in European folklore. Other gestures involving more than one hand include the "cross my heart" movement associated with making a promise and the Tau shape of the referee 's "time out" hand signal. Crossed index fingers represent
1116-538: The shape of the Latin letter X , is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. The cross has been widely recognized as a symbol of Christianity from an early period in that religion's history. Before then, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout Europe, in western and south Asia (the latter, in the form of the original Swastika ); and in Egypt, where the Ankh was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and
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1152-405: The sign of the cross"; the generic meaning "to intersect" develops in the 15th century. The Latin word was influenced by popular etymology by a native Germanic word reconstructed as * krukjo (English crook , Old English crycce , Old Norse krokr , Old High German krucka ). This word, by conflation with Latin crux , gave rise to Old French crocier (modern French crosse ),
1188-441: The stars, of which no less than four grades use one, is that they all have the same basic shape as various other breast stars from German history. The reasoning behind this is not clear. It is not known if this is deliberate or coincidence, as the tools used to make the stars were in short supply after the war, and using stamping dies that were readily available and could be reused or acquired from other manufacturers would have been
1224-528: The term for a shepherd's crook , adopted in English as crosier . Latin crux referred to the gibbet where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, with or without transom , on which the condemned were impaled or hanged, but more particularly a cross or the pole of a carriage. The derived verb cruciāre means "to put to death on the cross" or, more frequently, "to put to the rack, to torture, torment", especially in reference to mental troubles. In
1260-528: The traditional †-shaped cross (the crux immissa ), but also the T-shaped cross (the crux commissa or tau cross ), which the descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross indicate as the normal form in use at that time, and the X-shaped cross (the crux decussata or saltire ). The Greek equivalent of Latin crux "stake, gibbet" is stauros , found in texts of four centuries or more before
1296-457: Was used in the worship of the god Aten . The effigy of a man hanging on a cross was set up in the fields to protect the crops. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify the sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet Nefer with male cross and female orb, considered as an amulet of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony. The word cross is recorded in 11th-century Old English as cros , exclusively for
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