Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg)

Order of the Griffon Greifenorden
Insignia of the order
Type	State Order
Country	Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Royal house	House of Mecklenburg
Motto	ALTIOR ADVERSIS (Against All Odds)
Status	No longer awarded
Grand Masters	Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Precedence
Next (lower)	House Order of the Wendish Crown
Ribbon of the order

The Order of the Griffon (German: Greifenorden) was a State Order of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Established on 15 September 1884, it was created to honour benevolence and outstanding service to the public. In August 1904, the Order of the Griffon was extended to citizens of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with the rulers of the two grand duchies serving jointly as the Grand Masters of the order.

Classes

The Order of the Griffon was awarded in three classes with six grades:^[1]

First class

Grand Cross

Second class

Grand Commander's Cross
Commander's Cross
Officer's Cross or Honour Cross

Third class

Knight's Cross with Crown
Knight's Cross

Appearance

The badge of the order was a red enameled maltese cross, outlined in gold. On the centre of the cross is a disc with a golden griffon surrounded by a gold ring. The Grand Cross badge was worn at the left hip, hanging from a 4 in wide sash that goes over the right shoulder. The Grand Commander's and Commander's Cross badges were worn suspended from the neck on a narrower ribbon. These badges were slightly smaller than the Grand Cross badge, but otherwise identical in appearance. The Honour Cross was smaller still and did not have the gold ring surrounding the griffon in the centre. Finally, the two Knight's Crosses were slightly smaller than the Commander's Cross and worn suspended from a ribbon worn on the left chest.^[1]

The star of the order was worn by recipients of the Grand Cross and Grand Commander's Cross on the left chest. The Grand Cross star was a silver 8-armed star with arms of equal length. In the centre of the star is a disc bearing a gold griffon. The disc is surrounded by red enamel with the motto ALTIOR ADVERSIS (Against All Odds), in gold lettering and bordered in gold. The Grand Commander's Cross star was smaller silver 8-armed star with arms alternating between long and short length.^[1]

The ribbon of the order was yellow with red edges.^[1]