ORDER OF SAINT EULALIA
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MOST ANCIENT AND MOST NOBLE DYNASTIC ORDER OF SAINT EULALIA OF FORNOS
FOUNDED IN 1643
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HISTORY
DYNASTIC ORIGIN AND SUCCESSION | PATRON SAINT | GRAND MASTERS

DYNASTIC ORIGIN AND SUCCESSION

A dynasty is a succession of persons belonging to the same family, who, through various means and forms maintain power, influence or authority over the course of generations. Most often the term has been used to refer to a succession of monarchs or feudal nobles who reign over one or more territories by hereditary right. However a dynasty may also be thought of as a series of related individuals who exercise power or dominance unofficially over a territory or people, or achieve prominence in an industry, academic field, religion, cultural activity, or other sphere of endeavor. A ruling or territorial dynasty is also called a «House» (like the House of Braganza). [in Wikipedia]

Within the Order of Saint Eulalia the Knights and Dames are qualified in three different groups (Species) that identify their blood relation to Dame Leonor Mateus, founder of the Order and dynastic origin of the House of Leonor (Portugal). All her direct descendants are admitted as Knights and Dames of Honour and Devotion (KHD, DHD): of Honour (honoris) because they inherited the right and Devotion because they exercise the right. The spouses and adopted children of the direct descendants are admitted as Knights and Dames Converted (KC, DC) for having converted themselves to marital and filial love, the fundamental link between the members of a family and the element of renovation for all the families in each new generation. All the others are admitted as Knights and Dames of Magistral Grace (KMG, DMG) because, although they have no affinity or consanguinity to Dame Leonor Mateus, they have rendered relevant service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the defense and diffusion of Christian and Human Values, to the Order of Saint Eulalia or to the works instituted or supported by it. Grace (Gratia) is understood here in the double sense of Merit and Gift (Award, Prize): for they are both gifted and awarded for the use of their gifts. And Magistral (Magisterial, in relation to the Master or the Teacher) because they stand out (as an example) among their peers. The Knights and Dames of Magistral Grace are, within the Order, a true aristocracy (from the Greek: Aristoi, the best) because they excel in their own right.