Most Noble Order of the Melusine
| Most Noble Order of the Melusine | |
|---|---|
| Badge of the Order of the Melusine.png | |
| The badge of the order, borne on its pale blue ribbon | |
Awarded by  the Sovereign of Caputia
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| Award of Caputia
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| Type | Order of chivalry |
| Ribbon | pale blue |
| Motto | Vincit Semper Veritas ("Truth Always Conquers") |
| Eligibility | subjects of the Caputian crown, and foreign persons of distinction as knights stranger |
| Sovereign and Grand Master | Queen Elizabeth I (1654 AN - 1723 AN) |
| Grades (w/ post-nominals) |
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| Statistics | |
| Established | 1654 AN |
The Most Noble Order of the Melusine is the senior order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia, founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1654 AN as the highest honor of the kingdom. The reigning sovereign of Caputia served as its Sovereign and Grand Master, and its motto is Vincit Semper Veritas, or "Truth Always Conquers". After the collapse of the kingdom the order was maintained in the Caputian diaspora as a devotional and honorific society of the Melusinian Faith, and its investitures are performed by the Matriarch of New Zalae.
Foundation
The order was instituted by a royal proclamation of Elizabeth I given at Bellesea Palace in 1654 AN, in the first year of her reign. Its statutes named it the highest-ranking honor and order of chivalry of the kingdom and gave it no patron but the Sovereign, who served as Sovereign and Grand Master with the sole right to enroll members. The order was composed of the Sovereign and Grand Master, a Chancellor, a Chaplain, and the knights and dames, and the Chancellor kept a public roll of the membership. Appointments were made by letters patent under the Great Seal and the Seal of the Order, and the Grand Master retained the power to expel members and to alter the statutes.
Insignia
The insignia of the order comprised a sword, a cap, a cape of cloth of gold, a pale blue sash worn over the left shoulder, a collar, a badge, and a breast star. The symbol of the order is the Crowned Empress Melusine, the Empress of all Micras, and members were entitled to encircle their heraldic achievements with the collar of the order. In the diaspora its members have been marked by a mantle of imperial purple worn over the pale blue sash, with a badge bearing the Crowned Empress Melusine.
Membership
The statutes admitted two classes of members: knights and dames drawn from the Queen's subjects, and knights stranger drawn from foreign persons of distinction. The roll of members was kept and made public by the Chancellor of the Order. The appointments preserved in the surviving record of the Zalae Gazette are:
| Name | Class | Enrolled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth I | Sovereign and Grand Master | 1654 AN | Founder of the order |
| Christophe Landry, Duke of Arbington | Knight | 1660 AN | First prime minister of Caputia |
| Juana Beazcoetxea, Lady Dragonmoor | Dame | 1661 AN |
Later history
The order outlived the kingdom that created it. Maintained in the Caputian diaspora as a smaller company of honor under the Melusinian Faith, it passed into the keeping of the faith's institutions in New Caputia; among the most solemn functions of the Matriarch of New Zalae is the investiture of the order, performed at the Great Tidal Temple in St. Melusine.
