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| The Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (Portuguese: Real Ordem de São Miguel da Ala) is the oldest Portuguese order of knighthood. Unlike many other Portuguese orders, it has not been nationalized as a decoration of the state by the post-1910 Portuguese Republic, and as a result the Duke of Braganza remains the Grand Master of the order by birth and is the Judge of the Royal Brotherhood. It is the Grand Council who decides if a Postulant meets the criteria to be admitted into it. | |||
| {{About|the Portuguese order of knighthood|the article about the French order of knighthood|Order of Saint Michael}} | |||
| ⚫ | Founding | ||
| {{Infobox order | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| |image=] | |||
| |caption= Symbol of the Order | |||
| |image2= | |||
| |caption2= | |||
| |type=] ''disputed'' <ref name=Lima /> | |||
| |date=1171, abandoned by 1732<ref name=Anderson /><BR>revived 1848<ref name=Almeida />/1986 ''(disputed)''<ref name=GSS>{{cite web | url = http://groups.google.com/group/rec.heraldry/msg/f0a1448e91d1d975 | title = Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing | accessdate = 2011-01-21 | last = Sainty | first = Guy Stair | date = 2006-11-22 | work = rec.heraldry | quote = While the Duke of Braganza is the unquestioned heir and successor of Dom Miguel, the institution of the Royal Brotherhood of St Michael of the Wing is better seen as a modern memorial revival of the original institution than any kind of continuation of the Miguelist award.}}</ref> | |||
| |country=''former'' Royal House of Portugal | |||
| |house=] | |||
| |religion=] | |||
| |ribbon=Red | |||
| |head_title=Patron Saint | |||
| |head=]<ref name=Rabel>{{cite news|last=Rabel|first=Andrew|title=Pope to recognize Portuguese soldier/saint, Known as "The Constable", Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira will be canonized in April 2009 by the pope. In 1385 he was allied with the English to defeat Spain and the forces of the anti-pope at the Battle of Aljubarrota.|url=http://www.speroforum.com/a/18909/Pope-to-recognize-Portuguese-soldiersaint|accessdate=9 December 2011|newspaper=Spero News|date=16 April 2009|quote=Having been a Prior of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John (Order of Malta) and Commander of the Minor Religious Military Orders under the observance of the Cistercians of Alcobaça’s rule, such as Saint Benedict of Aviz and Saint Michael of the Wing, Dom Nuno will also be venerated as a Saint or Protector of these Orders.}}</ref> | |||
| |head2_title=Grand Master | |||
| |head2=] | |||
| |notes= | |||
| }} | |||
| The order was founded in 1147 by king Afonso I of Portugal to honor a group of knights of the Order of Saint James from the Kingdom of León who assisted him in retaking Santarém from the Moors on the Feast of Saint Michael, May 8, 1147. Originally, the order was formed from members of the Military Order of Saint James and thus the reason why it maintains on its Coat of Arms the red sword of this Order accompanied at the blade by two fleur de lys representing the Cistercian Rule its members observed at the Royal Abbey of Alcobaça Where the Order, along with 6 other Military Orders was headquarted until the reestablishment of all Orders as unarmed and non-military Orders of "Honorific Knighthood" in 1834. The Order's first Statutes were approved by Pope Alexander III in 1171 and because of this fact the year 1171 is often referred to in error as the date of the Foundation. | |||
| The '''Order of Saint Michael of the Wing''' ({{lang-pt|Ordem de São Miguel da Ala}}) was a ] ] with a deeply disputed history. Depending on the source consulted, the order existed only briefly in the 12th century,<ref name=Alston /> lasted until it fell into disuse in 1732,<ref name=Anderson /> survived until 1910,<ref name=Lima /> was revived as a new order at some point in the 19th century,<ref name=Almeida /> or continues until the present day.<ref name=Evaristo>{{cite web|last=Evaristo|first=Carlos|title=Ordem de São Miguel da Ala|url=http://www.dedechi.hd1.com.br/heraldXIII.html|work=Ordens Militares e Religiosas|publisher=Dedechi Heraldica|accessdate=18 December 2011}}</ref> Unlike many other Portuguese orders, it has not been nationalized as a decoration of the state by the post-1910 ].<ref name=Presidency>{{cite web|title=Lei Das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas|url=http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=163&idi=604|work=Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas|publisher=Office of the President of the Portuguese Republic|accessdate=9 December 2011|language=Portuguese|date=2 March 2011|quote=As Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas são as seguintes: a) Antigas Ordens Militares: – Da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito; – De Cristo; – De Avis; – De Sant’Iago da Espada. b) Ordens Nacionais: – Do Infante D. Henrique; – Da Liberdade.}}</ref> ], pretender to the Portuguese throne, claims to be ] of the surviving/reconstitued<ref name='Sainty-Former Royals' /> order and ''Judge'' of the associated ''Royal Brotherhood.''<ref name=Fernandes /> | |||
| ⚫ | Modern revival | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| The order was founded by King ]<ref name=Fernandes>{{cite web|last=Fernandes|first=Orlando|title=Mestre H. Mourato, Dr. Henrique Tigo, recebendo as Comendas das mãos de D. Duarte Pio de Bragança|url=http://www.joaquimevonio.com/ntitulosdecomendadores.html|work=Varanda das Estrelícias|publisher=Juliana Bayer|accessdate=9 December 2011|quote=Real Ordem de São Miguel de Ala, (é uma Associação de fiéis Católicos, herdeira das tradições e símbolos da antiga Ordem de Cavalaria Portuguesa dedicada a São Miguel e fundada, segundo a tradição, pelo primeiro Rei de Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques, depois da tomada de Santarém aos Mouros, em Festa de São Miguel do Monte Gargano, 8 de Maio de 1147. A Ordem de São Miguel da Ala é hoje uma irmandade que servem os interesses do sucessor do Trono, chefiada pelo SAR Dom Duarte de Bragança). ''Royal Order of St. Michael Ward, (is an association of Catholic faithful heir to the ancient traditions and symbols of the Portuguese Order of Chivalry dedicated to St. Michael and founded, according to tradition , the first King of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, after the taking of Santarém from the Moors, on the Feast of St. Michael's Mount Gargano, May 8, 1147. The Order of St. Michael's Wing is now a brotherhood that serves the interests the successor to the throne, led by HRH Dom Duarte of Braganza).''}}</ref> to honor a group of knights of the ] from the ] who assisted him in ] from the ] on the Feast of ], May 8, 1147.<ref name=Robson>{{cite book|last=Robson|first=Thomas|title=The British Herald; or, Cabinet of Armorial Bearings of the Nobility & Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, from the Earliest to the Present Time: with a Complete Glossary of Heraldic Terms: to which is Prefixed a History of Heraldry, Collected and Arranged in Three Volumes|year=1830|publisher=Turner & Marwood|location=London|pages=vol. 1, pg 154|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=c3EUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false|quote=Wing of St Michael instituted in 1172 by Alphonso King of Portugal to commemorate a victory which he gained over the Moors and from a superstitious belief that it was achieved by the interposition of St Michael. The badge was a cross flory fitchee gules cantoned in base with two fleurs de lis and over the cross upon an escroll the motto Quis ut Deus. The habit of the order was of white silk on the left breast whereof was embroidered a wing purple within a circle of rays of gold.}}</ref> Originally, the order was formed from members of the ''Military Order of Saint James'', thus the reason why it maintains on its Coat of Arms the red sword of this Order accompanied at the blade by two fleurs de lis representing the Cistercian Rule its members observed at the ] where the Order,<ref name=Catholic>{{cite journal|last=McGahan|first=Florence|title=Military Orders of St. Michael|journal=The Catholic Encyclopedia|year=1911|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10272a.htm|accessdate=9 December 2011|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|location=New York|quote=Knights of St. Michael's Wing, founded in the Cistercian monastery of Alcobaza about 1171, by Alfonzo I, King of Portugal, in commemoration of victory over the Moors, in which, according to tradition, he was assisted by St. Michael in person. The knights were placed under the jurisdiction of Abbot of Alcobaza and were pledged to recite the same prayers as the Cistercian lay brothers. The order was in existence but a short time.}}</ref> along with 6 other Military Orders was headquartered until the reestablishment of all Orders as unarmed and non-military Orders of "Honorific Knighthood" in 1834. The Order's first statutes were approved by ] in 1171. | |||
| The order fell into disuse after 1733 and it was not included among the royal orders that were nationalized by the Portuguese Republic after the Revolution of 1910. It was restored by King Dom Miguel I in 1848 after he lost the Liberal War to his brother King Dom Pedro IV and given new Statutes whilst King Dom Miguel was living in exile in the Vatican. These Statutes restructured it as a Secret Military Order to combat Freemasonry and restore the Absolutist Monarchy in Portugal. Its activity was suspended however a decade later after the Pope prohibited all Secret Organizations Catholic or otherwise. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| From that time on and until 1986 it was bestowed as an award by the descendants of King Dom Miguel who claimed the title of Grand Master by birth of the Order until in 1986, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and pretender to the Portuguese Throne, informed the Holy See and the Portuguese Republic that he still considered himself to be the Grand Master of the order and that although he did not have the power to validly alter the Statutes a King had previously approved, he nonetheless still conferred it as an award and Knighthood of Merit. | |||
| The order fell into disuse by ] at the latest.<ref name=Anderson>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=James|title=Royal genealogies: or, The genealogical tables of emperors, kings and princes, from Adam to these times; in two parts|year=1732|publisher=James Bettenham|location=London|pages=ix|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yrqeY839bMwC&pg=PP7#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=9 December 2011|quote=St Michael's Wing in Portugal founded by the said King Alphonse 1165 or 1171 after his obtaining a notable Victory over Moors and Alberto King of Seville in which Battle MICHAEL the Arch Angel is said to appear on the right Side of Alphonse and fight against them. This Order is now out of use. ''(1732)''}}</ref> In 1907, George Cyprian Alston,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Catholic encyclopedia and its makers|year=1917|publisher=The Encyclopedia Press|location=New York|pages=3|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=H6AZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR13#v=onepage&q=alston&f=false|accessdate=17 December 2011|archiveurl=http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924063262053|archivedate=6 June 2007|quote=Alston, Reverend George Cyprian, o.s.b., b. at Victoria, B. C, in 1869. Education: Merchant Taylors' School, London, England; Belmont Cathe- dral Priory; Downside Abbey, Bath. Joined the Anglican "Father Ignatius" at Llanthony Priory 1888; became a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist ("Cowley Fathers") at Oxford 1895; received into the Catholic Church and entered the Benedictine Order 1898; professed 1900; ordained 1906; editor of the "Downside Review" 1906-1909; assistant priest at St. Anthony's, East Dulwich, London, 1909- . Contributor to: "Downside Review".}}</ref> writing in the ] stated that the order died in the Middle Ages, soon after the death of its founder, Alphonse,<ref name=Alston>{{cite journal|last=Alston|first=George Cyprian|title=The Benedictine Order|journal=The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2|year=1907|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02443a.htm|accessdate=17 December 2011|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|location=New York|quote=The Knights of St. Michael's Wing, founded 1167; the name was taken in honour of the archangel whose visible assistance secured a victory against the Moors for King Alphonso I of Portugal. The rule was drawn up by the Cistercian Abbot of Alcobaza. They were never very numerous, and the order did not long survive the king in whose reign it was founded.}}</ref> while others, such as ], argued that it only ever existed on paper.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gieseler|first=John C. L. (also known as ''Johann K.L. Gieseler''|title=A Text-Book of Church History|year=2009|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-1-116-21129-0|pages=447–48}}</ref> It was not, in any case, included among the royal orders that were nationalized by the ] after the ]. | |||
| In 2001, the Duke promulgated new Statutes submitted to various Bishops to govern a Royal Catholic Brotherhood to compliment the Order as an active social group for Catholic Members, and since that time, the order has been conferred on individuals through the Royal Brotherhood chosen exclusively by the House of Braganza, with no input from the Portuguese government. | |||
| ⚫ | Membership | ||
| ⚫ | Membership in the order may be bestowed upon individuals of any citizenship, religion, or sex for recognized outstanding contributions to Portuguese Royal Charities or for the spread of devotion to Saint Michael, traditionally venerated as Angel of Portugal and Angel of Peace. | ||
| It was restored(or created anew)<ref name=Almeida>{{cite book|last=Almeida|first=Gomes Abrunhosa Marques de and Manuel Ângelo|title=Precedentes histórico-teóricos dos regionalismos dos Açores e da Galiza|year=2007|publisher=Univ Santiago de Compostela|location=Santiago de Compostela|pages=187}}</ref> by King ] in 1828<ref name=Cheke>{{cite book|last=Cheke|first=Marcus|title=Carlota Joaquina, queen of Portugal.|year=1969|publisher=Books for Libraries Press|location=Freeport, N.Y.|isbn=978-0-8369-5040-3|pages=195|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cPrxpypP7XYC&lpg=PA195&dq=miguel%20da%20ala&pg=PA195#v=onepage&q=miguel%20da%20ala&f=false|edition=Reprinted.}}</ref> during his brief rule before losing the ] to his brother King ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenks|first=George C|title=Monarchs in Exile, ''The Bookman'' vol. 32|year=1911|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Co|location=New York|pages=273|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QUwDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR3-IA4#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Later, in 1848, the order received new statutes whilst King Miguel was living in exile in the Rome.<ref name=Almeida /> These Statutes restructured it as a secret military order to combat Freemasonry and restore the Absolutist Monarchy in Portugal.<ref name=Cheke /> Some Portuguese scholars, such as Marcus de Noronha da Costa,<ref>{{cite book|last=Costa|first=Marcus de Noronha da|title=Para a História do Miguelismo: A Ordem de São Miguel da Ala|year=1978|publisher=Instituto Português de Heráldica|location=Lisbon, Portugal}}</ref> Gomes Abrunhosa Marques de Almeida,<ref name=Almeida /> and Manuel Ângelo,<ref name=Almeida /> reject the description of the 1848 institution as a revived ''order'' and regard it as a secret society aiming to restore Miguel's branch of the Braganza family to power in Portugal.<ref>{{cite book|last=Figueiredo|first=Fidelino de and Sociedade Portuguesa de Estudos Históricos|title=Revista de historia, Volumes 1-2|year=1921|publisher=Emprêsa Literária Fluminense|location=Lisbon, Portugal|pages=278}}</ref> Its activity was suspended however a decade later after the Pope prohibited all secret organizations Roman Catholic or otherwise. | |||
| ⚫ | According to Vice-Chancellor and Secretary General Carlos Evaristo, members of the Order who are Roman Catholics are designated as "Professed Brothers", admitted through the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing, a Catholic Association of the Faithful of which HRH the Duke of Bragança is "Judge", created as an active Roman Catholic social compliment to the Order in 2001. Postulants who are not awarded the Order for outstanding services may join the Royal Brotherhood if they are Catholics in good standing (practicing and not divorced or interdicted) and usually after three years as a Professed Brother in the Royal Brotherhood, may be advanced into the Knightly Order. These grade advancements include: | ||
| ⚫ | • Squire | ||
| ⚫ | • Knight | ||
| ⚫ | • Knight Commander | ||
| ⚫ | • Knight Grand Officer | ||
| ⚫ | • Grand Cross Knight | ||
| ⚫ | • Grand Collar (Reserved exclusively for the Grand Master and the Members of the Grand Council ie. Grand Chancellor, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors) | ||
| Status as a Dynastic Order | |||
| According to the Vice-Chancellor for the Foreign Delegation of the Royal Brotherhood of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, "he Order is thus Dynastic and similar to the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa which all have Royal Brotherhoods as active social compliments to the honorific decorations and titles bestowed." However, the International Commission for Orders of Chivalry (ICOC), presided over by Prof. Dr. Pier Felice degli Uberti classifies the Order under "Other Institutions of Chivalric Character - Ancient chivalric institutions, originally founded as orders, subsequently revived by the dynastic successor of the founding authority." | |||
| There are disputed claims that Miguel's revived order was awarded by his descendants until in 1986,<ref name=GSS /> ] and ] to the Portuguese Throne, informed the ] and the Portuguese Republic that he still considered himself to be the ] of the order<ref name=Evaristo /> and that although he did not have the power to validly alter the statutes a king had previously approved, he nonetheless still conferred it as an award. Dom Duarte's claims have been disputed in Portuguese courts which, in at least one case, held that Duarte's order is an entirely new private entity not a dynastic award of the House of Braganza.<ref name=Lima>{{cite news | first = Carlos | last = Rodrigues Lima | title = Nuno da Câmara Pereira ganha batalha judicial a D. Duarte | date = 2009-01-09 | url = http://www.dn.pt/inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=1138778 | work = Diário de Notícias | accessdate = 2011-01-21 | language = Portuguese | quote = Juíza vinca que Portugal é uma República, desvalorizando herança. O Tribunal Cível de Lisboa acaba de dar razão a Nuno da Câmara Pereira num conflito que o opunha a D. Duarte de Bragança, obrigando este último a desistir da denominação Real Ordem de São Miguel de Ala, uma ordem que criou em 2004. (Judge stresses that Portugal is a Republic, and values heritage. The Civil Court of Lisbon has just ruled in favor of Nuno da Câmara Pereira in a conflict with Dom Duarte de Bragança, forcing the latter to give up the name the Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, an order created in 2004.)}}</ref> | |||
| Notes | |||
| In 2001, the Duke promulgated new Statutes submitted to various Bishops to govern a royal Catholic brotherhood to compliment the Order as an active social group for Roman Catholic members,<ref name=Fernandes /> and since that time, the order has been conferred on individuals through the brotherhood chosen exclusively by the ].<ref name='Sainty-Former Royals'>{{cite web | url = http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/royal.htm | title = A Summary of the Use of the Royal Prerogative, Its Use by the Heirs to Former Thrones, and by Republican or Revolutionary Regimes | accessdate = 2011-01-21 | last = Sainty | first = Guy Stair | work = www.chivalricorders.org | quote = re-established a long dormant Order, that of Saint Michael of the Wing, with members across Europe and a handful in the United States (now reformed as an Association rather than an Order)}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | 1. Statutes of the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing. | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| 2. "History of the Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing". http://users.panola.com/AAGHS/WING.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-16. | |||
| ⚫ | Membership in the order may be bestowed upon individuals of any |
||
| 3. "Other Institutions of Chivalric Character, International Commission for Orders of Chivalry". http://www.icocregister.org/2004otherinstitutions.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-21. | |||
| ⚫ | References | ||
| • COMMISSIONE INTERNAZIONALE PERMANENTE PER LO STUDIO DEGLI ORDINI CAVALLERESCHI, Registro degli Ordini Cavallereschi: relazione della Commissione internazionale permanente per lo studio degli Ordini Cavallereschi, Bologna, 2001-2006. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| • Evaristo, Carlos. Il Reale Il Reale Ordine di San Michele dell’Ala. degli Uberti, Pier Felice. And Maria Loredana Pinott (Eds.). Agigento 16-18 Novembre 2007. Convegno Internazionale “Storia, funzione, valori e attualita degli Ordini Cavallereschi e di Merito: I sistemi premiali nel Mondo e nell’Italia pre-unitaria sino al moderno Stato federalista.” International Commission for orders of Chivalry (ICOC). Pp. 232-36. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| • Evaristo, Carlos. Il Reale Ordine di San Michele dell’Ala. Il Mondo del Cavaliere Rivista Internazionale sugli Ordini Cavallereschi - Sommario n° 28 - ottobre-dicembre 2007 P. 103-111. (about the Duke’s honours). | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| • Evaristo, Carlos (2002). The Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing: History and Statutes: A Portuguese Devotion to Saint Michael, Angel of Portugal and of Peace. (Fátima, Portugal: Oureana Historic and Cultural Foundation) | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| • Montells y Galan, Jose Maria de and Escudero y Diaz-Madronero, Alfredo. 2006. La Real Hermandad de la Orden de San Miguel del Ala. Tesoro Ecuestre: Las Ordenes Dinasticas de Caballeria. Sociedad Heraldica Espanola, pp. 82-84. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| • Sainty, Guy Stair. 2006. Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing. World Orders of Knighthood & Merit. Guy Stair Sainty (editor) and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo (deputy editor). United Kingdom: Burke's Peerage & Gentry. 2 Vol. (2100 pp). pp. 1777-1780. | |||
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| ⚫ | |||
| ==See also== | |||
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Revision as of 02:18, 15 May 2012
The Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (Portuguese: Real Ordem de São Miguel da Ala) is the oldest Portuguese order of knighthood. Unlike many other Portuguese orders, it has not been nationalized as a decoration of the state by the post-1910 Portuguese Republic, and as a result the Duke of Braganza remains the Grand Master of the order by birth and is the Judge of the Royal Brotherhood. It is the Grand Council who decides if a Postulant meets the criteria to be admitted into it. Founding
The order was founded in 1147 by king Afonso I of Portugal to honor a group of knights of the Order of Saint James from the Kingdom of León who assisted him in retaking Santarém from the Moors on the Feast of Saint Michael, May 8, 1147. Originally, the order was formed from members of the Military Order of Saint James and thus the reason why it maintains on its Coat of Arms the red sword of this Order accompanied at the blade by two fleur de lys representing the Cistercian Rule its members observed at the Royal Abbey of Alcobaça Where the Order, along with 6 other Military Orders was headquarted until the reestablishment of all Orders as unarmed and non-military Orders of "Honorific Knighthood" in 1834. The Order's first Statutes were approved by Pope Alexander III in 1171 and because of this fact the year 1171 is often referred to in error as the date of the Foundation.
Modern revival
The order fell into disuse after 1733 and it was not included among the royal orders that were nationalized by the Portuguese Republic after the Revolution of 1910. It was restored by King Dom Miguel I in 1848 after he lost the Liberal War to his brother King Dom Pedro IV and given new Statutes whilst King Dom Miguel was living in exile in the Vatican. These Statutes restructured it as a Secret Military Order to combat Freemasonry and restore the Absolutist Monarchy in Portugal. Its activity was suspended however a decade later after the Pope prohibited all Secret Organizations Catholic or otherwise. From that time on and until 1986 it was bestowed as an award by the descendants of King Dom Miguel who claimed the title of Grand Master by birth of the Order until in 1986, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and pretender to the Portuguese Throne, informed the Holy See and the Portuguese Republic that he still considered himself to be the Grand Master of the order and that although he did not have the power to validly alter the Statutes a King had previously approved, he nonetheless still conferred it as an award and Knighthood of Merit. In 2001, the Duke promulgated new Statutes submitted to various Bishops to govern a Royal Catholic Brotherhood to compliment the Order as an active social group for Catholic Members, and since that time, the order has been conferred on individuals through the Royal Brotherhood chosen exclusively by the House of Braganza, with no input from the Portuguese government. Membership
Membership in the order may be bestowed upon individuals of any citizenship, religion, or sex for recognized outstanding contributions to Portuguese Royal Charities or for the spread of devotion to Saint Michael, traditionally venerated as Angel of Portugal and Angel of Peace. According to Vice-Chancellor and Secretary General Carlos Evaristo, members of the Order who are Roman Catholics are designated as "Professed Brothers", admitted through the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing, a Catholic Association of the Faithful of which HRH the Duke of Bragança is "Judge", created as an active Roman Catholic social compliment to the Order in 2001. Postulants who are not awarded the Order for outstanding services may join the Royal Brotherhood if they are Catholics in good standing (practicing and not divorced or interdicted) and usually after three years as a Professed Brother in the Royal Brotherhood, may be advanced into the Knightly Order. These grade advancements include: • Squire • Knight • Knight Commander • Knight Grand Officer • Grand Cross Knight • Grand Collar (Reserved exclusively for the Grand Master and the Members of the Grand Council ie. Grand Chancellor, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors) Status as a Dynastic Order
According to the Vice-Chancellor for the Foreign Delegation of the Royal Brotherhood of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, "he Order is thus Dynastic and similar to the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa which all have Royal Brotherhoods as active social compliments to the honorific decorations and titles bestowed." However, the International Commission for Orders of Chivalry (ICOC), presided over by Prof. Dr. Pier Felice degli Uberti classifies the Order under "Other Institutions of Chivalric Character - Ancient chivalric institutions, originally founded as orders, subsequently revived by the dynastic successor of the founding authority."
Notes
1. Statutes of the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing. 2. "History of the Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing". http://users.panola.com/AAGHS/WING.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 3. "Other Institutions of Chivalric Character, International Commission for Orders of Chivalry". http://www.icocregister.org/2004otherinstitutions.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-21. References
• COMMISSIONE INTERNAZIONALE PERMANENTE PER LO STUDIO DEGLI ORDINI CAVALLERESCHI, Registro degli Ordini Cavallereschi: relazione della Commissione internazionale permanente per lo studio degli Ordini Cavallereschi, Bologna, 2001-2006. • Evaristo, Carlos. Il Reale Il Reale Ordine di San Michele dell’Ala. degli Uberti, Pier Felice. And Maria Loredana Pinott (Eds.). Agigento 16-18 Novembre 2007. Convegno Internazionale “Storia, funzione, valori e attualita degli Ordini Cavallereschi e di Merito: I sistemi premiali nel Mondo e nell’Italia pre-unitaria sino al moderno Stato federalista.” International Commission for orders of Chivalry (ICOC). Pp. 232-36. • Evaristo, Carlos. Il Reale Ordine di San Michele dell’Ala. Il Mondo del Cavaliere Rivista Internazionale sugli Ordini Cavallereschi - Sommario n° 28 - ottobre-dicembre 2007 P. 103-111. (about the Duke’s honours). • Evaristo, Carlos (2002). The Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing: History and Statutes: A Portuguese Devotion to Saint Michael, Angel of Portugal and of Peace. (Fátima, Portugal: Oureana Historic and Cultural Foundation) • Montells y Galan, Jose Maria de and Escudero y Diaz-Madronero, Alfredo. 2006. La Real Hermandad de la Orden de San Miguel del Ala. Tesoro Ecuestre: Las Ordenes Dinasticas de Caballeria. Sociedad Heraldica Espanola, pp. 82-84. • Sainty, Guy Stair. 2006. Royal Order of Saint Michael of the Wing. World Orders of Knighthood & Merit. Guy Stair Sainty (editor) and Rafal Heydel-Mankoo (deputy editor). United Kingdom: Burke's Peerage & Gentry. 2 Vol. (2100 pp). pp. 1777-1780.