The 2026 Sept-centenary of the Order of St George may seem like it’s a distant future event but plans and preparations for the celebration of 700 years of service take time. As volunteers work together to ensure an appropriate celebration, we, as individual members, should take the time to reflect on what our membership in the Order of St George means.
Ours is Chivalric family of volunteers dedicated to supporting charities that work with current and former service personnel and first responders as well as youth in the Cadet Corps. Did you know that St George is the Patron Saint of England as well as the Patron Saint of soldiers and the Boy Scouts of America.
As members of The Order of St George, we swore an oath at our investiture to work together to sustain the work of the Order directly by means of an annual subscription, and indirectly by voluntary donations, and by actively engaging in charitable activities – large or small. To quote the Orde of St George Americas:
“The Order of St. George promotes and pursues the timeless traditions of chivalry by compassion and supporting works of charity. The Order focuses on supporting charities which work with current and former service personnel, [and] youth organizations . . . ”
What does it mean today to promote and pursue the traditions of chivalry? Once again, I will borrow from the Order of St George Americas. The concepts of chivalry grew out of an idealized image of the medieval knight as a noble warrior who was not only fair in his dealings on the battlefield but also with women and with God.
Chivalry is an informal code; there is no set list of chivalrous rules. However, one commonly accepted list of chivalric virtues was drawn up in Bruges in 1430 by the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, who established the knightly Order of the Golden Fleece to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese Princess Isabella.
The Duke defined 12 chivalric virtues:
Faith
Charity
Justice
Sagacity
Prudence
Temperance
Resolution
Truth
Liberality
Diligence
Hope
Valour
Although originally generally associated with manly values, as early as 1149 there were also grades of knighthood available to women. Over time, the meaning of chivalry has been refined to emphasize more general social and moral virtues upheld with honour, fortitude and dignity by both gentlemen and ladies.
Today we as Knights and Dames of the Order of St. George should seek, in a modest way, to live by chivalry’s timeless social virtues of integrity, compassion, charity, faithfulness and courage. We welcome into membership ladies and gentlemen who wish to be involved in improving the lives of others, but as we do so we should remember our solemn commitment to do the same.
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