Orders may, again, be grouped according as they are (1) PRIME ORDERS OF CHRISTENDOM, conferred upon an exclusive class only. Here belong, _inter alia_, the well-known orders of the _Garter_ (England), _Golden Fleece_ (Austria and Spain), _Annunziata_ (Italy), _Black Eagle_ (Prussia), _St Andrew_ (Russia), _Elephant_ (Denmark) and _Seraphim_ (Sweden). Of these the first three only, which are usually held to rank _inter se_ in the order given, are historically identified with chivalry. (2) FAMILY ORDERS, bestowed upon members of the royal or princely class, or upon humbler individuals according to classes, in respect of "personal" services rendered to the family. To this category belong such orders as the Royal Victorian and the Hohenzollern (Prussia). (3) ORDERS OF MERIT, whether military, civil or joint orders. Such have, as a rule, at least three, oftener five classes, and here belong such as the _Order of the Bath_ (British), _Red Eagle_ (Prussia), _Legion of Honour_ (France). There are also certain orders, such as the recently instituted _Order of Merit_ (British), and the _Pour le Mérite_ (Prussia), which have but one class, all members being on an equality of rank within the order.
Of the three great military and religious orders, branches survive of two, the Teutonic Order (_Der hohe deutsche Ritter Orden_ or _Marianen Orden_) and the Knights of St John of Jerusalem (_Johanniter Orden_, _Malteser Orden_), for the history of which and the present state see TEUTONIC ORDER and ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF.
_Great Britain._--The history and constitution of the "most noble" _Order of the Garter_ has been treated above. The officers of the order are five--the prelate, chancellor, registrar, king of arms and usher--the first, third and fifth having been attached to it from the commencement, while the fourth was added by Henry V. and the second by Edward IV. The prelate has always been the bishop of Winchester; the chancellor was formerly the bishop of Salisbury, but is now the bishop of Oxford; the registrarship and the deanery of Windsor have been united since the reign of Charles I.; the king of arms, whose duties were in the beginning discharged by Windsor herald, is Garter Principal King of Arms; and the usher is the gentleman usher of the Black Rod. The chapel of the order is St George's Chapel, Windsor. The insignia of the order are illustrated on Plate I.