Commander (order)

Commander (Italian: Commendatore, French: Commandeur, German: Komtur, Spanish: Comandante,

Portuguese: Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and
fraternal orders.

The title of Commander occurred in the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, for a
member senior to a Knight. Variations include Knight Commander, notably in English, sometimes used to
denote an even higher rank than Commander. In some orders of chivalry, Commander ranks above Officier
(i.e. Officer), but below one or more ranks with a prefix meaning 'Great', e.g. Grand- in French, Grosskomtur
in German, Comandante Mayor (using an equivalent suffix) in Spanish, Grande Ufficiale in Italian, and
Groot- in Dutch (Grootcommandeur, 'Grand Commander'), Grand Cross.

Contents
France
History
Modern merit orders
Italy
Germany
Papal orders
United Kingdom
Spain
See also
References

France

History

The rank of commandeur in the French orders comes from the Middle Ages military orders, in which low-
level administrative houses were called commanderies and were governed by commandeurs. In the Modern
Age, the French Kings created chivalric orders which mimicked the military order's ranks.

The Order of the Holy Spirit, created in 1578 by king Henry III, had two categories of
commanders.
Ecclesiastical commanders: members of the clergy with the rank of prelate. They were
eight, but the grand almoner of the King was counted as a supplementary ecclesiastical
commander ex officio.
Administrative officers: the "officers-commanders" were the four most important executive
officers of the order. They had the same rank as lay knights, but they needed not to prove
their nobility. These offices were used by the Kings to honor recent nobles, such as Jean-
 Baptiste Colbert. The officers-commanders were sometimes called grand officers, in order
to distinguished them from the lowest rank of officers.
The Order of Saint Louis, created in 1694 by King Louis XIV, had one rank of commanders.
This was the second highest rank of the order, destined to honor military officers. They were
only 24 commanders at a time, eventually promoted to the rank of Grand Cross.

Both orders were suppressed in 1830 by the new King Louis-Philippe I.

Modern merit orders

The Legion of Honour, created in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte, was
hereditary on the grandchildren descendants of his siblings, and originally
had a rank of Commandant. This rank was renamed Commander by King
Louis XVIII in 1816 in order to bring the Napoleonic order on monarchical
guidelines. This is still the third highest rank of the order.
The Ordre national du Mérite, created in 1963 by President Charles de
Gaulle, has the same rank structure as the Legion of Honor. The
Commanders form the third highest rank of the order.
The Ordre des Palmes académiques, created in 1808 for teachers and
professors, has Commander as its highest rank since reorganization in 1955
by President René Coty. Insignia of the
The Order of Agricultural Merit, created in 1883 for contributions to rank of
agriculture, has Commander as its highest rank since reorganization in Commander in
1900. the Legion of
The Ordre du Mérite Maritime has had Commander as its highest rank since Honor
its creation in 1930.
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres has Commander as its highest rank since
its creation in 1957.

Italy
The title of Commendatore ("Knight Commander") in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (originally
established by the royal House of Savoy) and other orders of knighthood is awarded by decree of the President
of Italy. The rank of Commendatore (Knight Commander) is a higher award than Ufficiale (Officer), which in
turn is higher than Cavaliere (Knight), the first level in this order of chivalry. The Italian government's orders
are exceptional to the international standard in that they do not officially have special ranks or decorations for
females (Dames).

The rank of Commendatore is also bestowed in several Italian dynastic orders of the royal houses of Savoy,
the Two Sicilies, Parma, and Tuscany. The Republic of Italy officially recognizes the orders and titles
conferred upon its citizens from the Holy See and from some of the royal houses of Italy.

Commendatore is also the Italian translation for the rank of Knight Commander in foreign orders, such as the
Order of the British Empire.

Il Commendatore is also a character in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and was additionally commonly used to refer
to Enzo Ferrari. In the movie The Godfather Part III, Michael Corleone is addressed as Commendatore
Michael Corleone on his return to Sicily since he received a Papal order of knighthood.

In the Italian Armed Forces, the military rank of Commander is Comandante.

Germany
In German, Komtur (derived from Latin: commendator) was a rank within military orders, especially the
Teutonic Knights. In the State of the Teutonic Order, the Komtur was the commander of a basic administrative
division called Kommende (also Komturei). A Komtur was responsible for feeding and supporting the Order's
Knights from the yield of local estates. He commanded several Procurators. A Kommende had a convent of at
least 12 brothers.[1] Various Kommenden formed a Ballei province.

Grosskomtur (or Großkomtur, 'Grand Commander') was one of the highest ranks within the Knights
responsible for the administration of the Order and second-in-command after the Grand Master. He had his
seat at Malbork Castle (German: Marienburg, now in Poland). Grosskomtur and four other senior officers like
the Grand Marshal were appointed by the Grand Master and formed the council of Großgebietiger with
competence on the whole order.[1]

In postwar Germany the ranks of the Order of Merit were named with totally new terms. The equivalent to a
commander is the Great Cross of Merit and the equivalent to a Knight Commander is the Great Cross of Merit
with the Star and Slash (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband)

Papal orders
As for the Papal orders, it is also applied in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (in its Order pro merito
Melitensi bestowed for merit) and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Traditionally, the analogous rank for ladies
is Dama di Commenda ('Dame commander'), but today the word Commendatrice is sometimes used.

United Kingdom
United Kingdom is distinguished by its use of differentiating Commander and Knight or Dame Commander.

Knight Commander or Dame Commander is the second most senior grade of seven orders of chivalry, three
of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into
knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' (male) or 'Dame' (female) before his or her name. In the
Commonwealth Realms orders and decorations, Knight Commander and Dame Commander rank before
Knights Bachelor but after the Order of the Companions of Honour, although Companions of Honour obtain
no knighthood or other status.

In the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire, the grade of Commander is senior to the
grade of Lieutenant or Officer respectively, but junior to that of Knight Commander or Dame Commander. In
the British Venerable Order of Saint John, a Commander ranks below a Knight. However, Knights of the
Venerable Order of St John are not entitled Sir.

The orders that award the rank of Knight Commander, and related post-nominal letters, are as follows
(dormant orders in italics):

Order of the Bath (KCB/DCB)

Order of the Star of India (KCSI)
Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG/DCMG)
Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE)
Royal Victorian Order (KCVO/DCVO)
Order of the British Empire (KBE/DBE)
Knights Commander and Dames Commander rank behind the most senior rank in each order, that of Knight
Grand Cross. The third most senior rank in each order is a Companion (CB, CSI, CMG, CIE), Knight (KH)
or Commander (CVO, CBE). Insignia include a breast star, a badge, and a ribbon.

Spain
In military orders with extensive territorial possessions, individual estates could be called commenda and
entrusted to an individual knight, as a de facto fief. Apart from cases where such a fief was ex officio linked to
a higher office within the order, his style would then be Commandeur; this etymology is best preserved in the
Spanish form Commendador, important in the military orders involved in the Reconquista such as the Order of
Santiago.

See also
Grand Master (order)

References
1. Kenneth Meyer Setton; Harry W. Hazard. A History of the Crusades: The Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Centuries (https://books.google.com/books?id=J6v9jhUd-r8C&pg=PA578). p. 578.

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