Weapons of Honour

Swords of honour were awarded during the Ancien Régime for exceptional service.

On 30 April 1746, Minister of the Navy Maurepas awarded such a sword to privateer Pierre Anguier for his intervention in the Jacobite rising of 1745.

The civilian version of this distinction is the scarf of honour (l'écharpe d'honneur).

This completed and materialised the practice of solemnly declaring a citizen or group of citizens to have bien mérité de la Patrie.

Each component of the Napoleonic armies had its own distinction and weapons of honour: