The Hungarian Vitéz Order by Erik Naberhuis History and Statistics of the order Hungary was a defeated country after the Great War. The war was lost, a communist revolution took place, Rumania tried to take over the government and a for Hungary a very unfortunate Trianon treaty was signed. Admiral Horthy became the Regent of this nation in 1920. This was the moment for a new order to celebrate the heroes of a war lost and to re-establish a feeling of pride. The Order of the Valiant (in Hungarian, Vitézi Rend) or Knighthood of the Heroes was the first and probably the most important Hungarian order established after the Great War. It was established in 1920 (State order Nr 6650/1920) by the Government under Prime Minister Count Teleki and Admiral Horthy the Regent of Hungary from 1920 until 1945. The latter also became the Captain of the order from its institution until its formal ending in 1945 (According to the rule 529/1945 but it was 1948 before it was practically disbanded). The order has been re-instituted, first in exile and more recently in Hungary. It was the first true Hungarian order since ancient times and as in the previous periods they were linked to other nations like the Habsburg empire. The Order The order represents the Hungarian national symbol with the Stephans crown on top of it (recognizable by the cross that is bent to the side). Oak leaves to the left and corn to the right in a blue sky with a white sun on the top. The middle is formed by a sword. The symbolic entity of war, bravery, land and the Hungarian nation form a perfect match with the ideas behind this order. The badge is of a three piece construction, the blue part is the base of the badge, the national symbol is the middle part that is bound to the base by the sword. The photograph of the back of the badge shows how they were bound together. The three main Hungarian producers of military orders (Jeroushek, Boczan and Beran) all produced examples that show minor differences. Miniatures for wear on civilian dress also existed in many different forms. In military uniform the order was always worn on the left breast (pocket). Several examples of this can be seen in the photographs. Two period examples of the Vitéz order with minor differences. Both are manufactured by the same maker Jerouschek Bpest Semmelweis u.7 The top version should date from around 1927 and the bottom version from around 1923. The 1927 version is marked on the badge itself, beneath the prongs. The 1923 version is marked on the prongs itself. Both versions have a serial number scratched in. It is not engraved. I have seen the same way of working on several badges but I have also seen period badges without any number or with a professionally engraved award number.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 13:47:20 +0000
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