Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr on 8 May 1765[2] Initially, the order was limited to 100 members who were required to prove four generations of nobility.[3] The knights were required to pay for donations to poor people and to adhere to various rules of chivalry.
Due to the rising influence of the Russian Empire on Central European affairs, the rules of awarding of the order were broken. After the Partitions of Poland, the order was resurrected in the Duchy of Warsaw, bestowing upon its recipients the title of hereditary nobility and requiring donations to a Warsaw hospital. Since 1815 in the Polish (Congress) Kingdom, the order, originally in a single class, was retained and divided into four classes.
The order was abolished with the fall of the Romanovs in 1917 but, unlike other Polish orders awarded by the Tsars, the Order of Saint Stanislaus was not revived by the newly independent Second Polish Republic (possibly because in its Russian form it was often awarded by the imperial government to those Poles who co-operated with Russian rule making the order a symbol of subservience to an occupying power).[3]
Instead, the newly founded Order of Polonia Restituta was created as an attributed Polish successor to the order.[1]
Insignia
Both the Polish and Russian badges hung from a red ribbon with white strips near its borders (i.e., the colors of the Polish coat of arms and flag), a ribbon which they share with the modern Order of Polonia Restituta.
The order also had an eight-pointed star with straight rays with a central medallion bearing the letters "SS" surrounded by the Latin words "Praemiando incitat", which is in turn surrounded by a laurel wreath. The star has essentially the same design in both its Polish and Russian forms.
Polish
The original Polish badge of the order was a red enameled Maltese cross with white enameled Polish eagles between its arms and with a central medallion bearing an enameled image of Saint Stanislaus in his episcopal vestment surrounded by a gold laurel wreath.
In its original Polish form the knights of the Order wore a red, white and silver habit modelled on the traditional dress of a Polish nobleman (i.e., zupan, kontusz, pas kontuszowy and delia).
Russian
In the Russian version of the badge, the Polish white eagles were replaced with gold Russian double-headed imperial eagles, their wings partially overlapping the arms of the cross and the central medallion bearing the letters "SS" in red on a white enamel background instead of the original image of the saintly bishop, surrounded by a green enamel laural wreath. There is also a semi-circle of gold rays between each of the points of arms of the Maltese cross.
^ abcDuckers, Peter (2008). European orders and decorations to 1945. Botley, Oxford, UK: Shire Publications. pp. 67, 79. ISBN978-0-7478-0670-7.
^ abTagore, Sourindro Mohun (1884). The orders of knighthood, British and foreign: with a brief review of the titles of rank and merit in ancient Hindusthan. Calcutta, India: Catholic Orphan Press. p. 89. Retrieved 30 December 2011. THE ORDER OE ST STANISLAUS. The Order was founded on the 7th May 1765 by Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowsky to procure friends and adherents to his throne. He placed it under the patronage of St Stanislaus, the Patron Saint of his country, as also of his own name. The number of Knights was fixed at one hundred exclusive of foreigners. The entrance fee is 90, 30, or 15 roubles according to the respective classes. Thirty Members of the first class, sixty of the second, and ninety of the third class receive respectively annual pensions of 142, 114, and 85 roubles. Those who advance to a higher class lose their previous pensions and must wait until their turn comes in the new class. Members who turn monks lose their pensions. Widows receive the full pensions of their husbands during the first year of their widowhood. In case of death the Insignia must be returned or the value paid in money. The annual festival of the Order is held on the 23rd April (7th May)
^ abDeck-Partyka, Alicja (2006). Poland : a unique country & its people (1. publ. ed.). Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. pp. 142–43. ISBN978-1-4259-1838-5.
.PNG)
