The Order Of St. Constantine.

THE ORDER OF ST . CONSTANTINE .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MAY 2 , 1868 .

INSTITUTED A . C . 313 . As the subject oftlie Order of Constantino has been for some time past prominently before the readers of the Freemasons' Magazine , the following extract from the history of the Imperial Order

of St . Constantino will prove of interest . It has been taken from an " Accurate Historical Account of all the Orders of Knighthood at present existing in Europe / ' which was published about the year 1813 ., and compiled "by an officer of the Chancery of the Equestrian , Secular , and Chapteral Order of St . Joachim . "

Want of space on the present occasion precludes us from entering into minute detail , or giving other extracts from the same work , which , though relating to other chivalric orders , bear upon the present subject : — -

Constantino the Great is by some historians considered as the founder of this Order . The motives which induced the first of the Christian emperors to create an order of chivalry are ascribed to the following causes .

Constantino was requested by the Senate to assist them against the tyrant Maxentius ; and he solemnly engaged to espouse their cause . When encamped in face of the enemy , he was apprehensive of hazarding a general engagement , as the forces which Maxentius had under his command

were numerous . Nevertheless , a celestial meteor appearing in the air , in the form of a luminous cross , on which were displayed the words , " In hoc signo vinces !" he was thereby encouraged to attack the enemy ,

and a victory equally memorable and glorious crowned the efforts of this Heaven-inspired and adventurous commander .

Providence having thus manifestl y declared itself in favour of the Emperor , he , after a success so unhoped for and so miraculous , was pleased to grant to the Christians the free exercise of their religion , and when drawing towards his latter end

he was baptised by Eusebius , in 337 . It is asserted by some that after the above-mentioned victory the Emperor not only had this cross embroidered in his standards and colours , but that he likewise created a military order in honour thereof A . C . 313 .

But as vain and credulous men imagine , when advanced in years , that they will be the more honoured if they can induce others to believe they are older than they really are , so likewise do we find the same principle exist with Orders of

Knighthood , each endeavouring to make its origin remount as high as possible , and thinking to acquire precedency by such imaginary antiquity . Such , in fact , is the true state of the case with

respect to the equestrian Order of Oonstantine , which has at certain periods been denominated the Illustrious Order of the Golden Angel , and at others of St . George . The Abbe Giustiniani , who intitl ' ed himself a Knight and Grand Cross oftlie Order , asserted at Venice in 1692 that it is the most ancient of all

others . It is , however , a vain ^ attempt to endeavour to discover any traces of modern Knighthood previous to the 12 th century ; and the learned Father Papebrock says of the Order of which we are

speaking , and the origin of which is ascribed to the Emperor Oonstantine the Great , that" Those who wish to impose upon themselves , or those who study to impose on others by the means of flattery and superficial knowledge , will

alone endeavour to discover and ascertain the existence of this Order previous to the twelfth century . " To prove the antiquity of this Order , they produce letters from Pope Leo , in date 456 , which

were addressed ( it is said ) to the Emperor Marcian , whereby that Pontiff confirmed the Order under the rule of St . Basil ; and likewise other letters from the Emperor Leo the 1 st , of the year 489 are quoted to the same purpose . It is true such letters exist in the archives of the Court of

Eome- but on that account they are not less spurious and supposititious , having been first deposited in the archives in 1533 , together with other documents and charters of a nature equally suspicious . The truth is , that these are copies of

the identical pieces ; they were made out by order of the Emperor Isaac-Angelus Comnenus in 1190 , and were afterwards renewed at Rome . This Emperor , whom Giustiniani calls the Reformer of the Order , might , on the contrary , have

very probably been the founder of it , and have intitled it the Order of Constantino , on account of the Emperor of that name , from whom the Com » nenian family considered themselves as lineally