Military Order of Aviz

Early history The order, as a monastic military order, was founded in emulation of such military orders as the Knights Templar, which existed in Portugal as early as 1128, and received a grant from Theresa, Countess of Portugal in the year of the Council of Troyes, which confirmed their early statutes. A native order of this kind sprang up in Portugal about 1146. Afonso, the first king, gave to it the town of Évora, captured from the Moors in 1166, and the Knights were first called "Friars of Santa Maria of Évora". , was the first grand master. After the conquest of Aviz a castle erected there became the motherhouse of the order, and they were then called "Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz", since they adopted the Benedictine rule in 1162, as modified by John Ziritu, one of the earliest Cistercian abbots of Portugal. Like the Knights of Calatrava in Castile, the Knights of Portugal were indebted to the Cistercians for their rule and their habit—a white mantle with a green fleur-de-lysed cross. The Knights of Calatrava also surrendered some of their places in Portugal to them on condition that the Knights of Aviz should be subject to the visitation of their grand master. Hence the Knights of Aviz were sometimes regarded as a branch of the Calatravan Order, although they never ceased to have a Portuguese grand master, dependent for temporalities on the Portuguese King. The regulations of the order suggest classes to be conferred according to military rank thus: • Army captains and navy lieutenants: Knight • Majors and lieutenant-commanders: Officer • Lieutenant colonels and commanders: Commander • Colonels, brigadiers, navy captains and rear admirals (US RADM, Commodore/US RDML being a virtually non-existing rank in the Portuguese Navy): Grand Officer • Major generals, lieutenant generals, generals, vice-admirals and admirals: Grand Cross. However, a number of further provisions in the regulations of the order allow for exceptions to this general rule. ==Grades==

The Order of Aviz, as awarded by the Portuguese government today, comes in six classes: • Grand Collar (GColA), outranking all previous, was introduced in 2021. • Grand Cross (GCA), which wears the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest; • Grand Officer (GOA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest; • Commander (ComA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in silver on the left chest; • Officer (OA), which wears the badge of the Order on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest; • Knight (CvA) or Dame (DmA), which wears the badge of the Order on a plain ribbon on the left chest. ==Insignia==

• The badge of the Order is a gilt cross with green enamel, similar to the Order's emblem illustrated here, but with a longer lower arm. During the monarchy the badge was topped by the Sacred Heart of Christ. • The star of the Order is an eight-pointed, faceted star, in gilt for Grand Cross and Grand Officer, and in silver for Commander. The central disc is in white enamel, with a miniature of the modern badge in it. During the monarchy the Sacred Heart of Christ was placed at the top of the star. • The ribbon of the Order is plain green. ==Selected recipients==

by the President of the Portuguese Republic in 1920. • Ernest Alexander (1870–1934), British army officer. Awarded grand officer. • Amélie of Orléans (1865–1951), last Queen of Portugal. Presented by her son in mid-1909, for her heroism during assassination of her husband the King in 1908. • Albert du Roy de Blicquy (1869–1940), Belgian general. • David Legge Brainard (1856–1946), US Arctic explorer and US Army officer. • John Brind (1878–1954), British army officer. Awarded by 1929. • Ernesto Burzagli (1873–1944), Italian admiral. Awarded grand officer in 1920. • Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), US polar explorer and aviator. • Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (1897–1967), military officer and president of Brazil. Awarded grand officer in 1945. • Charles III of the United Kingdom (then Charles, Prince of Wales) (b. 1948). Awarded grand cross, awarded 1993. • Victor Hugo de Azevedo Coutinho (1871–1955), naval officer and prime minister of Portugal. • Francisco Craveiro Lopes (1894–1964), air force officer and president of Portugal. Awarded officer, grand officer, and grand cross. • António Ramalho Eanes (b. 1935), Portuguese general. Awarded first grand collar, 2025. • Guillaume, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (then hereditary grand duke) (b. 1981). Awarded grand cross, 2017. • Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard (1876–1922), British army officer. Awarded Commander of the Military Order. • Roberto Ivens (1850–1898), Portuguese explorer. Awarded 1895. • Richard H. Jackson (1866–1971), US Navy admiral. Awarded grand officer. • James L. Jones (b. 1943), US Marine Corps general. Awarded grand cross, 2006. • 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979), British naval officer. Knight grand cross, awarded 1951. • John William McNee (1887–1984), British pathologist. • Sven Thofelt (1904–1993), Swedish military officer and Olympian. Awarded commander class. • Brudenell White (1876–1940), Australian general. Awarded as a grand officer. • James Yeo (1782–1818), Royal Navy, 1809. ==See also==