Order of the Sword

The Royal Order of the Sword Kungliga Svärdsorden
Badge and star of the order
Awarded by the monarch of Sweden
Type	Five grade order of merit
Motto	Pro Patria
Day	28 April
Eligibility	Military personnel
Awarded for	Valour during war and service to the Armed Forces during peacetime.
Status	"Resting", i.e. dormant
Lord and Master	His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Chancellor	Ingemar Eliasson
Grades	Commander Grand Cross (KmstkSO) Commander 1st Class (KSO1kl) Commander 2nd Class (KSO2kl) Knight (RSO) Knight 2nd Class (RSO2kl)
Statistics
Established	1748-1975 (dormant, see text)
First induction	1748
Precedence
Next (higher)	Royal Order of the Seraphim
Next (lower)	Order of the Polar Star
Ribbon bar of the Order of the Sword

The Order of the Sword (officially: Royal Order of the Sword; Swedish: Kungliga Svärdsorden) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.

Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it eventually became a more or less obligatory award for military officers after a certain number of years in service. There were originally three grades, Knight, Commander and Commander Grand Cross, but these were later multiplied by division into classes.

The motto of the order is in Latin: Pro Patria (which means "For Fatherland").

The order was created by King Frederick I in 1748, along with two other orders, the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star. In 1788, King Gustav III created two new grades of the order, which could only be bestowed in war time:

These grades proper were only given to commissioned officers, but an affiliated decoration, the Svärdstecken ("Badge of the Sword"), introduced in 1850, was given to non-commissioned officers; one thus decorated would call himself a svärdsman ("Sword man"). A Medal of the Sword was also introduced for enlisted men. Both the non-commissioned officers and the enlisted men had to have served for at least sixteen years to qualify respective for the Badge and Medal.

In 1952 a special medal of distinction was added to the order. These could only be bestowed in wartime. They are the War Cross of the Order of the Sword in Gold, in Silver and in Bronze. They are worn on the same ribbon as the order and the medal consist of the cross saltire of the Order struck in gold, silver or bronze, with an upraised sword behind central medallion bearing the Swedish three crowns and in the spaces between the upper and lower arms of the cross. At the top of the points of the upper arms of the cross and of the sword is a small royal crown.

The order is no longer awarded since 1975, but technically it still exists. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden frequently wears his Commander Grand Cross necklet and badge.