Military awards and decorations

[2] Celts and Romans wore a torc or received other military decorations such as the hasta pura, a spear without a tip.

The oldest military decorations still in use is Sweden's För tapperhet i fält ('For Valour in the Field') and För tapperhet till sjöss ('For Valour at Sea') awarded to officers and soldiers of the Swedish Armed Forces who have—as the medal names suggest—shown valour in the field or at sea in wartime.

The medal was instituted by Swedish king Gustav III on 28 May 1789, during his war against Russia.

Whilst technically it is still active, it is for practical purposes inactive, not having been awarded since 1915.

The next oldest is the Austro-Hungarian Tapferkeits Medaille Honour Medal for Bravery 1789–1792.

Wall of Medals in the French Foreign Legion Museum
The I class of the Mannerheim Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty from 1941