Montenegro Order of Freedom ('Christmas Uprising')
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 is, it might be said, a convenient way for historians to draw a line under the events of the Great War. However, the fighting barely halted in some places. One reminder is this Montenegrin Order of Freedom, founded near to Orthodox Christmas Day, which itself was on 7 January 1919, according to the new-style Gregorian calendar, when it began, and which was established by the exiled Montenegrin King Nikola, with the decoration to be awarded to those who fought to restore Montenegro to its pre-war, independent state, along with the monarchy. His supporters and Italian sponsors didn't want Montenegro to be absorbed into the new, post-war Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which would later become the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Over the next decade, thousands were killed, though the intensity of the actions eventually petered out over this period. The Italians, who would later give money, training, weapons, and other material support to the IMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation) and Ustashi terror movements, had an interest, virtually an international policy, albeit low profile, in destabilising the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to weaken it and sow disunity, and gave their backing to this Montenegrin movement, also known as the Greens, and, underlining this, the decoration was manufactured in Italy. King Nikola initially supported the Christmas Uprising, as it was also known, but later asked for his supporters to cease fighting, a request which was only partially successful. Montenegro's position was weakened in early 1916 by the attempt by King Nikola to achieve a secret peace deal with Austro-Hungary separate to the strategic interests of the other Allies, and also the dissolution of the Montenegrin Army, and what would eventually turn out to be the permanent exile of the King. This all combined to reduce Montenegrin influence with the Allies. The Order of Freedom itself has the Montenegrin coat of arms, featuring an eagle, on both sides, surrounded by a wreath. On one side, there is the Cyrillic text 'ЗА ПРАВО ЧАСТ И СЛОБОДУ ЦРНЕ ГОРЕ', which transliterates to 'Za Pravo Cast I Slobodu Crne Gore', and which translates to 'For the Right, Honour, and Freedom of Montenegro'. On the other side, there is the date '21 XII 1918', which is the old style, Julian calendar date, and which is the same as 3 January 1919 on the new style, Gregorian calendar, and whose proximity to Christmas Day gives it the name, the Christmas Uprising. This decoration acts as a marker that shows, despite the official end to hostilities less than a couple of months before, and even ahead of the start of the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, dissatisfaction with a new situation brought about by the end of the Great War could manifest itself as violence and killing, even if it this in itself wasn't considered a war.
Montenegro Order of Freedom
CONTRIBUTOR
Špiro Vranješ
DATE
1919-01-03
LANGUAGE
eng
ITEMS
4
INSTITUTION
Europeana 1914-1918
PROGRESS
METADATA
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Montenegro Order of Danilo
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Fifth class Montenegrin Order of Danilo, plus miniature version of the same. || Named for Montenegro's Prince-Bishop Danilo I, this Order was established in 1853 and was awarded for civil as well as military merit. This is the fifth class version of this order and differs in look from the first through fourth class versions of the Order of Danilo. The highest four classes of this Order have a 'patee alisee' cross with four equal sized arms, but the fifth class has a longer descending arm on the cross. Also, the colour of the enamelling of the arms of the cross on the higher four classes is predominantly blue with red and white, but the fifth class Order is mainly black with silver. Both sides have a red enamelled centre circle with writing on both sides. On one side is the Cyrillic text '‘ЗА НЕЗАВИСИМОСТЪ ЦРНЕ ГОРЕ, 1852-3’, which transliterates to 'Za Nezavisimost Crne Gore', and translates to 'For the Independence of Montenegro', with the 1852-3 years covering the year of independence of Montenegro, in 1852, and the establishment of the Order, in 1853. The other side has the Cyrillic text 'ДАНІИЛЪ I. ЦРНОГОРСКІИ КНЯЗЪ', which transliterates as 'Danil I. Crnogorski Knjaz', and which translates to 'Danilo I. Montenegrin Prince'. This Order was awarded partly during the First World War up to early 1916, but there was a hiatus in making such awards after Montenegro had collapsed militarily and politically, and when King Nikola of Montenegro went into permanent exile. One famous recipient of this class of order was French ace pilot, Charles Nungesser, who achieved 42 victories in the air. Shown here are the fifth class Order of Danilo, along with a miniature version. || || Fifth class Montenegrin Order of Danilo, plus miniature version || Medal
'Christmas Day Gifts' | 1915.
1 Item
A certificate issued to a schoolchild. || This piece of folded paper is printed on one side only. A border of holly leaves and berries encloses a colourful scene, with the blue text at the bottom stating: ‘Printers, Sir Joseph Causton & Sons, Limited, London.’. The coats of arms of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Newfoundland and India flank a holly-wreathed oval at the top, the text within proclaiming ‘The OVERSEAS CLUB. PATRON: HIS MAJESTY THE KING.’; ‘1915’ appears below. Beneath a Union flag on the left are depicted a British soldier and a British sailor receiving gifts from two girls and a boy. Under the Union flag on the opposite side is printed the following text: ‘The underlying motive of the Overseas Club is to promote the unity of British subjects the world over. Its chief objects are. / (1) To help one another. / (2) To render individual service to our Empire. / (3) To draw together in the bond of comradeship British people the world over. / (4) To maintain our Empire’s supremacy upon the seas and in the air.’. In the bottom right-hand corner is an ‘S’, with the explanation: ‘SEAL OF THE OVERSEAS CLUB / General Buildings / Aldwych, London, W.C.’. The text in the centre, with the name inserted in red, reads: ‘Christmas Day Gifts / FROM THE SCHOOL CHILDREN OF THE EMPIRE / This is to Certify / that Herbert Ralph / HAS HELPED TO BRING HAPPINESS ON CHRISTMAS DAY TO OUR BRAVE SAILORS AND SOLDIERS, WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR HONOUR, FREEDOM & JUSTICE.’. Below these words is depicted a small flotilla of naval vessels. || || A certificate issued by the Overseas Club to a schoolboy || 51.5073509,-0.12775829999998223 || London