Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Hin Íslenzka Fálkaorda This was instituted 3 July 1921 by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland. The statutes were revised on 11 July 1944 after Iceland became a republic. It is awarded for services to Iceland or to humanity, to both Icelandic citizens and foreigners in 4 classes (Grand Cross, Grand Knight with Star, Grand Knight & Knight). The President of Iceland serves as Grand Master and apart from the President, the Collar of the Order is only conferred on foreign Heads of State.But here it is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Here is the Grand Cross badge (post-1944): The insignia changed very little with Iceland's independence, the most obvious is that the badge originally had a Danish Royal Crown over a stylised rosette, while the post-1944 version has a fleur-de-lys instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) And the Grand Cross Star, which didn't change at all! Edited September 10, 2022 by Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 The Grand Knight with Star and Grand Knight classes both wear a neck badge, the Grand Knight with Star also has... a star. As far as I can tell the badge is the same for both classes. (I am looking for a better image....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) The Grand Knight with Star star also did not change in 1944. Here it is: Edited September 10, 2022 by Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Finally, the Knight. Here's the post-1944 insignia: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 And the reverse: This shows the other major change in the insignia - the legend on the reverse now reads Seytjándi Juní 1944 (17 June 1944), the date on which Iceland gained her independence. Off to research the pre-1944 insignia now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Dane Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Hi Megan, For the pre-1944 order, it was only the Grand Master who was allowed to wear the Collar of the Order - not even foreign heads of state or Grand Crosses. I don't know if this was changed after 1944... /Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 I think it was, Michael. When King Christian X instituted the Order, he appointed himself Grand Master and had a Collar - which alternated the blue oval with a falcon with his own monogram. I have a not-very-good picture of it, and a clear image of a couple of the links, which will be posted in due course failing my finding anything better! The revised statutes of 1944 do state Grand Master and may be awarded to foreign Heads of State. 'Ordinary' recipients of the Grand Cross have never been awarded it, as far as I can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larsb001 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Megan, the original pre 1944 chain was stolen from the Amalienborg castle by a footman who later sold it to a well known Danish collector (who had 5 excellent copies made). Before his death he sold it to a well known German collector who later sold it in one of the famous Mercur auctions in Hamburg. From there it have changed hands a few times before it ended up in a Finnish collection. I believe this was the one that Jani T. had in his first (second?) auction, you may ask him for a good photo, which he should have. Cheers, Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Thanks, Lars - I'll drop him a line and ask... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makedon Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Very nice article! I didn't know there were actually 4 classes plus the collar. Here is another photo of the Grand Knight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jani Tiainen Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Megan, the original pre 1944 chain was stolen from the Amalienborg castle by a footman who later sold it to a well known Danish collector (who had 5 excellent copies made). Before his death he sold it to a well known German collector who later sold it in one of the famous Mercur auctions in Hamburg. From there it have changed hands a few times before it ended up in a Finnish collection. I believe this was the one that Jani T. had in his first (second?) auction, you may ask him for a good photo, which he should have. Cheers, Lars I should have good pictures of that, just send me email. Jani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
922F Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Thank you, Megan, for starting this thread. Republic-type insignia is made by Kjartan Asmundsson of Reykjavik [mark "KA"--seen on star reverse] as was reportedly the case with much kingdom-type insignia. Most stars [at least] have silver content marks [925 S] as well. At least one Danish company supposedly manufactured kingdom-type insignia. I had the pleasure of viewing the 'original' kingdom-type collar and one of the copies in Holte, Denmark about 40 years ago and was very hard pressed to see much difference between the two. It is quite possible that other Danish-made copy insignia exists. In the 1970s-80s, French-made copies of commander badges emerged, some with French silver hallmarks. While these were mainly republic-type, wouldn't surprize if some acquired crown suspensions!! Edited November 28, 2012 by 922F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Dear Jani - e-mail sent... Dear 922F - fascinating notes, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDPIV Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Hi all, I'm new to this site. I've been doing some research on this specific order, and I was thrilled to find this thread! In looking at an old photograph of my Great-grand uncle, I discovered an old Cuban newspaper clipping from 1936 in the back of the frame. My great-grand uncle was the Consul General to Denmark in Cuba, and was awarded by the King Of Denmark, "la cruz de la Real Orden de Falk" or, "the cross of the Royal Order of the Falcon" in 1936. Attached is a picture of his badge from 1936 (it didn't leave Cuba with my family, unfortunately.) As you can see, it differs from the post-1944 badge in that the Danish Royal Crown is still an element of the design at the top. I would appreciate anyone who could tell me a little bit more about the meaning of this award! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Dane Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 The (short) story behind the order: Until 1918 the Order of Dannebrog was used as an award for Icelanders (for the periods Iceland was under Danish sovereignty). When Iceland became independent in 1918, King Christian X of Denmark (who was still the monarch of Denmark and Iceland) decided to institute a new order - the Order of the Falcon. When one looks at the recipients, a lot of them were foreigners (mostly Danes), and the order was more and more used as a "demi-Dannebrog" - i.e. an award to people who did not deserve the more esteemed Order of Dannebrog. Many of the recipients did not have any connection with Iceland. The same approach were used in other countries, e.g. the Order of the Black Star of Benin in France etc. In 1944 Iceland was declared a republic, and the Danish King was no longer King of Iceland. To reflect this, the order changed it appearance (suspension and reverse medallion). /Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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