#Christian I
Text
What’s that elephant the Danes are wearing?
Tatler’s guide to the emblems and quirks of Denmark’s highest honour, the Order of the Elephant.
A curious little diamond-encrusted elephant, a blue sash, a gold collar – and sometimes a big flaming cape…Tatler looks into the history and tradition of Denmark's most privileged Order.
With Frederik X set to become sovereign of the Order as he becomes King on Sunday, you might see a few of these elephants around Copenhagen's royal palaces
By Isaac Zamet
12 January 2024
When Crown Prince Frederik becomes Frederik X of Denmark on Sunday, he will also replace his mother, Queen Margrethe II, as the sovereign of Denmark’s most ancient and distinguished order of chivalry, the Order of the Elephant.
Though it was officially refounded in 1693, the order dates all the way back to the 1400s, when it was established as a religious confraternity by a group of about fifty Danish knights.
In the 1400s, prior to the Reformation which gripped Europe and divided the church, such religious ‘clubs’ as the Order of the Elephant were common features of aristocratic life.
At the time of the Order of the Elephant's birth, Christian I was King of Denmark – and in fact, Norway and Sweden too, creating a personal union known as the Kalmar Union.
During this period, the emblem of the club was an image of the Virgin Mary holding her Son within a crescent moon.
This was hung from a collar formed of links in the shape of elephants.
The confraternity mutated over the centuries but endured a stifled period after the Reformation in which such clubs became suspect.
In 1580, Frederik II – eight Frederiks prior to our current Frederik – revived the order and replaced the medallion of the mother and child with an elephant (a Reformation-safe, Protestant approach – if a quirky one!).
But it was Christian V, in 1693, who gave the club its official statues and founding order.
At this time, it was scheduled as comprising 30 noble knights and one Grand Master (the King) along with his sons.
It was only in 1958 that the statutes were amended by Royal Ordinance to allow the ennoblement of women as members of the order.
Between 1580 and today, around 890 persons have been bestowed with the Order of the Elephant; with Queen Margrethe adding 68 people during her 40 year reign.
The recipients are almost always royal persons and foreign heads of state – though in a rare exception, the order was given to a commoner in 2000.
This was the deceased shipping magnate, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, who was recognised for exceptional contribution to Danish economic strength and Danish society.
Those unfamiliar with the man himself will surely recognise his name from the famous shipping containers.
The A.P. Møller – Mærsk group was actually founded in 1904 by his father. It is now worth $81bn dollars.
At the time of Møller’s membership of the order, he was the only non-royal and non-head of state to hold the honour; though it had previously been held by the pioneering nuclear physicist, Niels Bohr.
Membership of the order comes with possession of its rather eye-catching elephantine emblem.
The elephant is made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings and is about 5cm high.
On its back, the elephant bears a tower of pink enamelled masonry (a design originally intended to reflect the howdah compartments of the Indian subcontinent).
A number of large cut diamonds adorn the elephant, along with a crowned monogram of the monarch reigning when it was made.
One wonders, then, when the first Frederikian elephants will be carved.
At the top of the tower on the elephant’s back sits a gold ring, from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to a sash.
On the elephant's back sits a turbaned ‘moor mahout.’
It should be noted that some would regard such a depiction as an exoticising caricature.
Others would regard its appearance merely as an expression of an historical perspective.
One striking detail about the circulation of the elephants is that each Order of the Elephant is – in principle – on loan and must be returned to the Chapter of the Royal Orders of Chivalry when a member of the Order has passed away.
This rather quaint custom means that elephants are inherited and used several times by different members of the order, with some dating back hundreds of years.
Interestingly, the done thing is not to disclose to whom an Elephant has previously been given – though there are some traditional lines of inheritance.
For example, the elephant recently bestowed on Prince Christian belonged previously to his grandfather, Prince Henrik.
This handing over was always to be, on the basis of a traditional line of inheritance.
There are two exceptional elephants which have eluded the rule of the ‘loan’ – one remains in the Chancellery Museum at Paris and a second remains on display at the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library in the US.
Another beautiful quirk of membership of the Order is that a member’s coat of arms is always painted and subsequently hung in the Knight’s Chapel at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.
As to when the elephants come out to play, there are some rather interesting traditions concerning how and when to wear them.
The Order of the Elephant has three festival days: new year’s day, the monarch’s birthday, and the birthday of Valdemar the Victorious, which, if you didn’t know is on June 28.
On these festival days, the Order of the Elephant is worn on the chest on a gold chain link collar, with links shaped as towers and elephants.
The collar sits on each shoulder. On other important occasions, the order is worn on a bright blue sash with a breast star.
The star of the order is an eight-pointed silver star with smooth rays; at its centre sits an enameled red disc with a white cross, surrounded by a laurel wreath in silver.
#Frederik X#Queen Margrethe II#Monarchy of Denmark#Danish Royal Family#House of Glücksburg#Christian I#Kalmar Union#Order of the Elephant#Frederik II#Christian V#Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller#Frederikian elephants#Chancellery Museum#Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library#Knight’s Chapel#Frederiksborg Castle#Crown Prince Christian of Denmark#Queen Mary of Denmark
31 notes
·
View notes
Text
I know this is a tiny part of the wider problems born of diet culture, fatphobia, classism, and racism but like god the idea that "healthy" food must inherently taste bad has completely ruined us as a society.
#MR. KELLOGG I WOULD LIKE A FUCKING WORD#beating this man's fucking corpse with a broom#I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR POOP AND WEIRD CHRISTIAN NONSENSE NOW EVERYONE THINKS PLEASURE IS BAD FOR YOU#KILLING AND BITING AND MAIMING
64K notes
·
View notes
Text
i think it's so fun that "damn" is such a casual curse word now that it's basically become divorced completely from its original meaning. like oops i dropped my phone, time to invoke the wrath of god about it in the most mildly annoyed tone of voice imaginable.
#🐉#even around people who dont like swearing you can often get away with it. which is crazy if you think about it.#to be clear i think this is a good thing! fuck cultural christianity lol
36K notes
·
View notes
Text
im not particularly religious but i think it’s very cute that Trans Day of Visibility and Easter are on the same day this year :)
its no question that something like this could be triggering or upsetting to a number of queer ppl given the current sociopolitical climate, so i want everyone to remember that u are loved! Regardless of what u or others believe, there are ppl who will love and support you always. Give yourself patience and treat yourself with care!!!
happy and peaceful TDOV everyone!! And Easter to those who celebrate :D
#sorry for treating Jesus like an anime character#trans day of visibility#tdov#easter#Jesus is actually very fun to draw#I have no idea how to tag this because what do I even say#lgbtqia#religion#Jesus#christianity#christian imagery#sorry for all the tags I just wanna make sure ppl can filter this if they don’t wanna see it lol#i drawd this
15K notes
·
View notes
Text
why is religious Christmas imagery all so joyful and pleasant? where is the inherent horror of the birth of Christ? A mother is handed her newborn child, wailing and innocent. Her hands come away sticky. Red. Simply by giving her son life she has already killed him. He is doomed from the beginning. Her love will not save him from suffering. Because the thing cradled in her arms is not a baby, it is a sacrifice: born amongst the other bleating animals whose blood will one day be spilled in the name of what demands it. the night is silent with anticipation. Mary, did you know? That your womb was also a grave?
#instant conversation enders for my multiple youth pastor cousins#don’t say it (I’m gonna say it)#The Child is The Price#but i mean come on#as someone who isn't actually even christian the real-life historical version of this is still cursed as fuck#i mean we know that jesus was a person who existed. whatever circumstances he was born in#its terrifyingly ominous to imagine being so unaware of the affect your child will have on the future of humanity#time itself will one day be counted around your birth of him#and all because he will suffer an excruciatingly painful death that you will not be able to prevent#not only that. but regardless of his or your intentions#regardless of whether there is a god#for millenea unfathomable millions will have blood spilled and will spill blood in his name#atrocities will be committed that you cannot even conceive of#and all on his and your behalf#you love your child. its beautiful. but there's horror in what you've done. because everyone else will love him too#and what's more dangerous than that?
120K notes
·
View notes
Text
whenever i say “screaming crying throwing up” this is what i mean
#american psycho#patrick bateman#christian bale#rewatched last night he’s soo stupidly pathetic why is he the way he is#allagashed obsessed with another insane man (fork found in kitchen)#sorry 2 my very little followers my interests bounce around so quick i only have like two i’m constantly into and its nirvana and ed movies#+ horror movies so actually three nvm
8K notes
·
View notes
Text
I got to see some leyendecker pieces in person! He’s a really big inspiration of mine so one of the things I focused on was the actual close ups of the brush strokes in his pieces bc they’re so cool
#leyendecker#joseph christian leyendecker#j.c. leyendecker#art#traditional art#idk if anyone would like these close ups but I wanted to post them
24K notes
·
View notes
Text
the opposite if mwah is hawm. fucking bite you.
#yes I stole this post the original op was an antisemitic transphobic Christian fundamentalist#so it’s mine now I’m sinking my transgender teeth into it#<>
35K notes
·
View notes
Text
Rbs off again annoying xtian faggots
#dont look at the notes the christians got in this one#i even had 2 turn off rb for a while cuz they harassed me LOLL <3
15K notes
·
View notes
Text
kids who werent raised christian being like "lol baptising children is whack if they tried to do that to me i would start doing things to make it look like i was possessed" no you would not. you would bask in the pride and approval coming from the adults around you and you would quietly wait your turn because you were told from birth that sinning sends you to hell and baptism is The Promise that youre dedicating your life to jesus that youve had hyped up for years and watched other people be fawned over as they cry happy tears about it and you do NOT want to fuck up your One Big True Promise To Love Jesus Forever So You Don't Get Tortured For Eternity when you are literally 8 years old. im begging yall to remember its a thousand times easier to see the church's bullshit for what it is when you're not actively in the church. eight year old you is not thinking about trying to fight back against an oppressive religious group indoctrinating children because You Are The Children Being Indoctrinated. stop acting like you would've magically known better if it were you.
#origibberish#ex christian#also yes this is very christian centric but from what ive gathered this could go for Catholics and mormons w their confirmation things#but i know very little about either so didnt feel comfortable mentioning them explicitly in the post
8K notes
·
View notes
Text
the calamity.
a comic about being seen.
--
creative notes:
--
all my other comics
store
#cw: blood + eye scarring#oh the inherent intimacy of seeing and being seen#just a comic about how the desire to be seen and shown love and compassion unites us all#also big scary monster lady pretty#girl power! the personification of disaster and strife uses she/her pronouns!#i also feel somewhat obligated to mention here that i dont have anything against christianity as a whole#i just think the concept of God is interesting#i went to a christian school for 12 years im allowed to make this comic#comic art#sapphic#yes. interpret the subtext#stillindigo art#heartearters#thats the name of the anthology this will belong to. whenever i finish it#stillindigo comics
25K notes
·
View notes
Text
btw there was actually an art project led by three students (Ail Hwang, Hae-Ryaan Jeon and Ghung Ki Park) in Germany to install colorful window panes onto an electrical transmission tower to create a stained glass mosaic effect, called "Leuchtturm" ("lighthouse") and even such a simple effect is dazzling
imagine looking up at one of these and being surrounded by illustrations and iconography climbing to the heavens
#🐉#not necessarily christian iconography either i think stained glass can be used for wider applications
31K notes
·
View notes
Text
Damn, Hazbin's popularity has fans thinking I'm ripping off of it, I'm inspired by it or that I'm making OCs for that universe.
not a fan :/
6K notes
·
View notes
Note
you say you’re christian but you use words like mashallah and allah yerhamo and stuff. confused..
bro……. wait til u find out christians believe in god too
#allah is god in arabic 😭#also one of my parents is christian and the other is muslim so i was raised with a lot of muslim influence.#but like that’s unrelated …#ask
7K notes
·
View notes
Text
Bildad's battle cry in the italian dubbing always cracks me up...
In english he's like: "Woah woah woah there!" but in italian he's like "WOOOOOO OHOOH-WOWODBOLOBOWAWAWA".
#bildad the shuhite#good omens#david tennant#michael sheen#I have a lot of beefs with italian dubbing but this is so funny lol#people need to hear this even just once#bildad il suchita#edit: the voice actor is#Christian Iansante#perfect voice match for Crowley imho#mi sono completamente dimenticata di creditarlo nei tag😭
8K notes
·
View notes
Text
the fact that eric kripke isn't even christian really adds something to the way christianity is depicted on supernatural. because its really not about being christian at all, but about living in america, a country dominated by christianity, and having to decide for yourself how to handle that. faith is huge in supernatural, and the mythology of the show is very bible-centric, but notably, christ is never there. even sam, who starts out revering the angels, who once said he prays every night, doesn't actually call himself a christian or imply that he believes in jesus--the show is steeped in christianity and biblical lore and yet neither sam nor dean are christians. in fact, over and over again the church itself is depicted as a haunted house that sam and dean will only ever enter as strangers, as outsiders. priests, preachers, faith healers, chapels, crypts, etc. are all just iconography that create an intense sense of unease that sam and dean respond to instantly. as a jew, its very relatable. an essential part of living in america when you're not christian is that exact sense of unease, of knowing that the culture of your country has ensured that you'll get knocked over by christianity no matter where you go, that you'll see hundreds of people truly believing they're good people while doing awful things in the name of their god, and you have no choice but to confront that. kripke gets it
#i could actually write an essay about this#kripke is jewish and so is sera gamble#and when i rly think about it i think the show is very jewish#in that its a rejection of the christian interpretation of god and free will#its all about questioning what's put in front of you and i think that's a big part being jewish to me#anyway!#rambles#spn#supernatural#spn analysis#spn meta#faith#christianity#theology#kripke era#eric kripke#sam winchester#dean winchester#castiel#zachariah spn#uriel spn#anna milton#american gothic#fav#🔪
8K notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
ageremoji
Agere-moji☆
bestcomputers0814131010-blog
laptop reviews
8monthsoctober-blog
teus olhos castanhos.
legendofthegalacticheroes
liveblogging this show. let's cry together