Order of Gillis

Order of Gillis the Artisan
Order of Gillis the Artisan;
Awarded by the King of Ebenthal
Type	Dynastic order
Established	20 August 2021
Motto	"Ars gratia artis"
Awarded for	At His Majesty's pleasure.
Status	Currently constituted
Grand Master	King Arthur II
Grades	Knight/Dame
Statistics
First induction	2021
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the Ebony Crown
Next (lower)	Order of Lady Mary
	; Ribbon of the Order; ;

The Order of Gillis the Artisan (Portuguese: Ordem de Gillis o Artesão), better known as Order of Gillis, is a dynastic order of the House of Bruyn and currently a national order of the Kingdom of Ebenthal granted at the monarch's pleasure awarding civic merit. It was established in 20 August 2021 to substitute the Order of Dagon with artifices that refer to the nation and its royal family to properly reward those who rendered services to the nation or had their services recognized as valuable by the monarch.

As a dynastic order, the order has no chancellor and it is entirely under the administration of its Grand Master, the King of Ebenthal. It is also a single-grade order with the ranking of knight, on its masculine version, and dame, on its feminine version. The order is formally attached to the national pantheon of orders and awards of Ebenthal as long as the currently reigning family stays on the throne.

History

Background

When Arthur II rose to the throne of Ebenthal he abolished the Order of the Mountain Star (2014-2020) and estalished the Order of Dagon. His objective was to reframe Ebenthal's orders and characterize them according to his image, his interests, to strengthen the idea of a new reign over a new monarch unrelated to the old ones. Nevertheless, the Order of Dagon has been criticized since its establishment, first for existing an Esoteric Order of Dagon with actions associated with evil (and to fiction), and for the order's name and symbology making no reference whatsoever to Ebenthal. Within a few months, the King was finally convinced of these facts but despite deciding to reform the orders, he postponed his action to decide how to reform them, in particular, what to do with the Order of Dagon and its members.

Foundation

On 17 August 2021, through Decree No. 5/2021, King Arthur II extinguished the Order of Dagon and formalized the creation of the Order of Gillis the Artisan, which would be officially founded when the decree came into force on the 20th of August. The Order of Gillis was named after Gillis van der Bruyn, the same person from whom the capital of Ebenthal derives, the city of Gillisburgh, founder of House of Bruyn, the ruling dynasty in Ebenthal. Gillis was a subject of the Count of Flanders, in the 15th century Burgundian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), in the city of Bruges, where he served as head of the Artisans Guild.

Composition

Members

Membership in the order is unlimited and it includes the Monarch and the Prince of Bruges respectively as Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master. The Monarch alone can grant membership at his own pleasure, meaning it has no requirements for a person to be inducted a member of the order. Nonetheless, the order is commonly given as a reward for civil merit. Male members of the order are titled "Knights of the Order of Gillis the Artisan", and female members are called "Ladies of the Order of Gillis the Artisan".

Grades

The King of Ebenthal is the Sovereign and Grand Master of the order. All deeds granting decorations of the Order must bear the signature of the Sovereign and Grand Master. Members of the order are granted a certificate and are eligible to require a personal coat of arms with the insignia of the Order. A single-graded orders, its only ranking is that of Knight, or its female version, Dame.

Precedence and privileges

Members of this order are assigned positions in the order of precedence, ranking above all others members of equal rankings of whichever orders. Consorts, children and children-in-law also feature on the order of precedence; other relatives of members, however, are not assigned any special precedence. Generally, individuals can derive precedence from their parents or consorts as long as the recipient lives.

All members ot the order are entitled to the prefixes of "Sir" and "Ma'am". When an individual is entitled to use multiple post-nominal letters, the ones of the order (GOA for both Knights and Dames, standing for "Gillis o Artesão" in Portuguese) takes precedence. All recipients may encircle their arms with the circlet of the order.

Insignia and habit

The collar of the Order is
The badge of the Order is
The star of the Order is
The ribbon of the Order is

Members of the order

Grand Master

Name	Grand Master and Sovereign as	Period
Arthur II	King of Ebenthal	20 August 2021 – present

Knights and Dames

References