Orders and decorations

Abstract: Orders and decorations are portable badges and insignia awarded to recognize or reward specific forms of service or meritorious conduct. These objects belong more broadly to the field of phaleristics, which among other things is devoted to the study of the formalized systems of reward in both historical and contemporary societies. Likewise, although they take different forms and can be awarded in a variety of ways by both state and non-state actors, orders and decorations have historically been studied predominantly within the contexts of military institutions and their traditions and cultures.
In more theoretical terms, they are cultural artefacts which, together with their recipients, have an important role as symbols which can aide in the creation and reinforcement of cultural ideals and values as well as other forms of social stratification. Because of these functions, orders and decorations have been, and continue to be, important symbols of the heroic or specific heroic ideals. Indeed, in some contexts they represent the nexus of such concepts and can become conflated at a definitional level. This can be seen most readily within military structures and cultures, where ‘decorated’ soldiers are often automatically regarded as ‘war heroes’

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Ausgabe: Version 1.0, published 1 February 2023
• Sprache: Englisch

Klassifikation und Themen

• Schlagwort: Eisernes Kreuz ; Kriegsheld ; Ehrenlegion ; Held ; Heroisierung ; Militär ; Orden ; Viktoriakreuz ; Phaleristik

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wo): Freiburg
• (wer): Universität
• (wann): 2023
• Urheber: Gilmour, Colin
• Beteiligte Personen und Organisationen: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Sonderforschungsbereich 948 "Helden - Heroisierungen - Heroismen"

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.6094/heroicum/ode1.0.20230201
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2334225
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 14.08.2025, 11:03 MESZ