Page:The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour of All Nations.djvu/49

Rh memoratibn of his coronation, and at the same time as a reward for those who were to distinguish themselves in his new kingdom, on the 5th June, 1805, an Order, for the decoration of which he adopted the figure of the 'Iron Crown,' and called it 'Ordine della Corona di Ferro' (Order of the Iron Crown). The reigning Kings of Italy were—by the statutes—to be Grand Masters of the Order. The number of the Knights was originally limited to six hundred and twenty, divided into three classes: Dignitaries (twenty), Commanders (one hundred), and Knights (five hundred), all of whom were to be in the enjoyment of pensions. By an Imperial decree of the 19th December, 1807, the number was increased—owing to the increased extent of the kingdom—to thirty-five Dignitaries, one hundred and fifty Commanders, and eight hundred Knights, exclusive of foreigners and members of the Imperial family. Frenchmen, generally, were not to be considered as foreigners. The pension of the first class was fixed at 3000, of the second at 700, and of the third at 300 lire.

The badge was the Iron Crown, the middle of which contained the French Eagle with raised wings. Round the ring of the Crown was the legend: 'Dio me la diede, guai a chi la tocca' (God has given it to me, woe to him who dares to touch it!) while the front exhibited the effigy of Napoleon.

The decoration of the first class (Dignitaries) was of gold, worn by them across the right shoulder, suspended by a broad ribbon of orange colour and green borders, and accompanied by a star at the left side of the breast. The Commanders had it also of gold, while that of the Knights was only of silver; it was worn by the two latter at the button-hole of the left side, suspended by a small ribbon, and without the addition of the star. After the fall of Napoleon, the Order was forgotten, until 1815—16, when the Emperor Francis I., during his visits to his new Italian provinces, re-introduced it in a modified form;