Written on the basis of „Polish Orders and Decorations” by Wanda Bigoszewska.

Historical modifications of the Order of Saint Stanislaus.

The Order of Saint Stanislaus was founded on the 7th May, 1765 by King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. On the same day the charter of the order was proclaimed, which consisted of twelve articles defining the look of the order, the star and the ribbon as well as the motto of the order: Praemiando Incitat (To encourage by reward). In the charter the king explained that the aim of establishing the order is „to honour the virtue of the pious and those devoted to their Homeland and with His Majesty's grace to publicly appreciate all their merits; as well as to encourage all the others to emulate the glorious acts of their fellow citizens.”

The charter stated that the number of members of the order should not exceed 100 with the exception of: the king, the knights of The Order of the White Eagle (who were automatically entitled to receive a new order) and foreigners. The condition for receiving the order was certified four-generation noble ancestry on the side of both mother and father. Bestowal of the order was king's prerogative. The holiday of the order was set on the 8th May „as a festive day of Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr”. The members had specified obligations including fidelity to the king and homeland, helping the poor, making a one-time contribution of 25 red zlotys and annual contributions of 4 red zlotys payable to the Infant Jesus Hospital in Warsaw. Moreover, 2 red zlotys were to be paid to the chancellery of the order and 1 red zloty for funeral masses for the deceased members of the order.
After death of a member the family of the deceased had an obligation to return the insignia of the order to the royal chancellery. Before the decoration the recipients made an oath to abide by all the rules stated in the charter. The decoration itself was very ceremonial and took place in The Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. The first ceremony took place on the 8th May, 1765 in the Church of the Holy Cross. 35 members were decorated, out of whom fourteen were absent, however they received badges at a later time. In that year six more citizens were awarded the order.

A newly founded order was made of gold, its measurements being 60x60 mm, it was in the shape of a Maltese cross with gold ball finials. On the avers side the arms of the cross were covered with red enamel or white glass on red background. The central, round, slightly convex, white enameled medallion encircled by green enameled wreath, depicts a likeness of St. Stanislaus – the Bishop of Cracow in a colourful pontificate vestment. On the both sides of the figure there were letters S.S. (Sanctus Stanislaus). Between the arms of the cross there were white enameled crowned eagles. Between the corners of two horizontal arms and the bottom arm there were golden twigs with roses in the middle. On the reverse side the arms were without enamel, gold with fluted edge.
In the central white medallion of the reverse side there was red enameled royal monogram
SAR surrounded by green enameled laurel wreath. Between the corners of the top arm a gold loop for the ribbon was attached. The cross hung from a red ribbon with white edges. It was put on through the right arm to the left side. The ribbon was approximately 100 mm wide. If the decorated person already had The Order of the White Eagle, he wore the badge of the Order of Saint Stanislaus on the neck and only occassionally a star below the star of the Order of the White Eagle. Clergymen wore the ribbon in a similar way. Silver stars of the order with the diameter of 100 mm were worn on the left side. They were embroidered with gold and silver sequins and threads. The star was formed with eight sets of rays made from sequins. The central white medallion depicted royal initials SAR. The medallion was encircled by embroidered words PRAEMIANDO INCITAT as well as green laurel wreath and silver or gold rim.

The size and the look of the order as well as the star could vary depending on the creativity of the maker as well as the wealth of the awarded person. Initially the king awarded orders in a small number. With time however he exceeded the number stated in the charter, which was 100 members. For example in 1790 he bestowed 132 orders, in 1971 as many as 192 and in 1972 – 163. There were even incidents when the requirement of noble ancestry was not fulfilled.

In the years 1765 – 1795 the king awarded 1744 orders. It was believed at that time that such a big number of the recipients contributed to a decline of significance of the order. Hugo Kołłątaj wrote about it reproachingly. „The shine of the order is palatable not only to the wealthy and the poor but also to our youth. It is fashionable these days that marriages cannot be arranged without The Order of Saint Stanislau. It seems possible that out of whim children will not be able to go to school without a Maltese cross.”

Resumption of The Order of Saint Stanislau took place on the power of the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw from the 22nd  July, 1807. Soon, as a result of Fryderyk August's decree from the16th February, 1809 the ribbon was changed in order to differentiate the orders awarded in the XVIII century. A second, slightly narrower white stripe was added to both edges of the ribbon. At the same time, those awarded orders during the reign of Stanislaw August were not allowed to wear their decorations with a new ribbon without a special consent of the monarch. With the resumption of the order in 1807, financial contributions to The Infant Jesus Hospital were reintroduced. Checking the regularity of the payments was the duty of the Minister of the Police Aleksander Potocki. It soon turned out however that despite decrees, numerous knights were in arrears with their contributions.

After proclamation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, in 1815 significant changes concerning the order were introduced. The constitution preserved all Polish civilian and military orders, including The Order of Saint Stanislaus. On the basis of Alexander I's decree from the 1st December, 1815, the order was divided into four classes in order to extend granting decorations to a wider range of officials and citizens who „excell at serving the country and showing loyalty to the ruler”. The first class remained unchanged and was still worn on a ribbon put on through the right arm to the left side together with a star on the left breast. The second class was the same decoration worn on a narrower ribbon hanging from the neck, also with the same star. Class three – the decoration was smaller and worn on the neck, without a star. Finally, class four – a decoration without a star, worn on the breast „next to a button hole”. The decree also stated that „ noone will be honoured with the order of the higher class unless he is first awarded the lower order”. Soon another decree from the 16th December, 1816 specified the exact sums to be paid annually for the benefit of The Infant Jesus Hospital. In class one – 4 red zlotys, class 2 – 3 zlotys, class 3 – 2 zlotys, class 4 – 1 zloty. The same decree abolished the entrance fee of 25 red zlotys and cancelled all overdue payments.

In January, 1830 a detailed charter of The Royal Order of Saint Stanislau was proclaimed. It was signed by the tzar Nicholas I on the 2 (14) September 1829. The charter included „ various regulations concerning The Royal Order of the Saint Stanislau, issued at the time of its founding by the king Stanislaw August in 1765 as well as in later times, rules introduced by the king of Duchy of Warsaw. The division into four classes was preserved. The charter also specified merits and accomplishments for which all citizens regardless their ancestry could be awarded. Awarding the order of the first class to a person without noble ancestry resulted in automatical granting hereditary knighthood. All recipients of the order accepted the title of The Member of the Order of Saint Stanislau and were entitled to include the order in their coat of arms and seal stamps. Orders were to be bestowed for „great deeds of humanity”, for outstanding scientific, social, economical, cultural and charitable  activity as well as all kinds of inventions and improvements particularly useful to the society and the state.

It was also decided that all officers and clarks both civilian and military can apply for the order if they particulary stand out, provided they received an „honourable mark”. An honourable mark after 35 years of service entitled to the order of the fourth class. Every Member of the Order of Saint Stanislau who was also awarded the honourable mark after 25 years of service was entitled to shorten the time required to retire. The knights of the first and second class could shorten the time of service by two years and those with orders of class 3 and 4 by one year. Alexander I granted the members an annual subsidy of 150 thousand zlotys. The sum was divided into so called „commandories” attached to the four classes of the order.
The members who were assigned to commandories had to wear a gold crown above the cross. The lists of candidates applying for the order  submitted by the military authorities of the lower rank had to be assessed by the commander in chief and in case of civilian authorities – viceroy. The final decision was made by the monarch. Those distinguished with class 1 and 2 orders were given formal patents signed by the emperor and those with class 3 and 4 orders received extracts from the nomination. Fees of varied values had to be paid at the time of collecting the documents . Any court sentence involving dishonourable penalties deprived the awarded of all the priviledges and the rights to the order.

The orders from the period of 1815-1830 varied in size depending on their class. It should be mentioned however that even within the same class the sizes of crosses and stars could vary. During the uprising 1830-1831 the orders were not awarded. After its fall theemperor Nikolas I included the order into the system of Russian orders where it was given the eighth i.e. the last position.

After the November uprising of 1830/31 was crushed by a numerically superior Russian Army Poland became part of the Russian Empire. The Order together with the other Polish Orders was usurpated and downgraded and was added to the award system of Russia at the lowest rank,
In the Russian version (right) of the badge the Polish white eagles are replaced with gold Russian double-headed imperial eagles, their wings parially overlapping the arms of the cross and the central medallion bearing the letters "SS" in red on a white enamel background instead of the original (left) image of the saintly bishop, surrounded by a green enamel laural wreath. During the years of Russian occupation the Order was granted to Russian generals for fighting Polish uprisings for independence and freedom and to people suporting the russification of occupied Poland. The Order lost it's polish and charitable character .

After winning independence in 1918 The Order of Saint Stanislau didn't gain approval as a national order in the eyes of the authorities. Only in 1979 Juliusz Nowina Sokolnicki on the occassion of electing John Paul II a Pope and 900th anniversary of Bishop Stanislau's death restituted its activity

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