Sovereign Military Order of Saint Mykolas

The *Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint Mykolas of Solymitana, of Liotain and of Breizh* is a religious chivalric order with an extensive military history.

According to certain legal interpretations, the Order is functionally a sovereign nation-state, albeit with a minuscule amount of territory (slightly over 9 acres, or .036 square kilometers). By other legal interpretations, the Order is a Liotainian

The Order's original treaty with Liotain was signed in 1550, placing the Order in alliance with Liotain in exchange for sovereignty in their remaining outposts. A new treaty with Liotain was signed in 1785. In this treaty, Queen Maurizia was named the official protector and patron of the Order, although she remained distinct from the Order's hierarchy, possessing no rank in the organization.

## History

The Order was founded for the purpose of protecting travelers (principally religious pilgrims) from bandits and pirates. A principal area of interest during this period was the pilgrimage to the city of Solymitana, a holy city to both the Orthodox and Pankasmic branches of the Theophanite religion. The Order's initial patrons were the Duke of Sventoji and the Prince of Neris.

In 1340, in response to a pirate raid, the knights of the Order captured the port of Kernave on the island of Breizh. The knights installed one of their leaders, Steponas Valeska of Neris, as the new Prince of Kernave. The small princedom slowly became one of the main bases for the Order.

Over the course of the 14th and 15th Centuries, the Knights established a chain of watchtowers and fortified hostels around the southern end of the Encircled Sea; they also operated a small fleet of galleys which they used to patrol against pirates. This eventually brought the Order into conflict with the Kingdom of Anitkabir, which conquered Solymitana in the mid 1400s, and opened aggressive wars against Liotain shortly thereafter. In 1471, the Order contributed their fleet of galleys to the allied war effort, which culminated in the Battle of Cape Sovata.

The Order's fortunes waxed and waned alongside the Kingdom of Liotain, which served as the primary power-base for the Knights. Many of the Order's watchtowers and fortresses were lost or replaced over the centuries. In 1701, the Order's remaining galleys were contributed to the Liotainian force which came to disaster in the Five Days Battle against Firocco. The Order contributed heavily to the process of rebuilding the Royal Liotainian Navy, both financially and in expertise. A knight of the Order, Vincentas Adomaitis, even commanded the Liotainian fleet between 1704 and 1707, winning the decisive Battle of Rietavas.

In the mid-1700s, the Order slowly eliminated their seagoing presence; this was largely due to the increasing cost of maintaining a fleet strong enough to counterbalance Anitkabir, which remained a seasonal menace until the early 1800s. The Knights instead began to serve as the shipboard infantry component of the RLN. At the same time, they began to focus much more heavily on charitable activities, providing naval corpsmen and medical doctors, as well as services to invalids and war orphans.

## Ranks

* **Prince and Grandmaster**: ruler of the SMHO, elected by the Knights Commander
* **Knight/Dame Commander**: the second senior rank of the Order, charged with administering one of the major stations (called Commanderies).
* **Knight/Dame Lieutenant**: commands a group of Knight Sergeants.
* **Knight/Dame Sergeant**: usually placed in command of a squad or platoon of Armsmen / Armswomen.
* **Knight/Dame Probationer**: the entry rank of the SMHO

Entry into the SMHO is conducted by sponsorship. A candidate must petition an existing member to sponsor them for the rank of Knight Probationer. Usually, candidates will serve for a year as an ordinary armsman. At the end of this period, their service will be evaluated, and three other knights (of any rank) must vouch that the candidate is worthy of becoming a Knight Sergeant. If three knights concur, then the candidate swears an oath to uphold the Order's ideals, officially becoming part of the Order.

### Armsmen

Armsmen are recruited from the population and commanded by a Knight Sergeant. Up until the 1850s, the knight was expected to recruit his own personnel, paying for them out of his own pocket, and providing them with arms and equipment suitable for their needs. In the 1850s, this changed, with the Liotainian Navy providing uniforms and arms for purposes of standardization.

After ten years of service, an armsmen may petition for promotion to the rank of Knight Armsman (or Dame Armswoman), gaining all of the attendant privileges of a Knight Sergeant. They may remain in their existing role as a senior armsman, or they may be promoted further.

### Prince and Grandmaster

The Prince and Grandmaster serves as the head of the SMHO - functionally a minor monarch. The Prince and Grandmaster is elected by the Knight Commanders, and must receive a supermajority (75%) of the vote. The post is held for life, but individuals regularly step down, for purposes of health or to smooth the way for a successor.

## Medical Service

A sizeable chunk of the Order's budget is dedicated to charitable work, principally for the maintenance of invalid homes, orphanages, and hospitals.

As of 1905, the Order maintains sixty-one hospitals of various sizes, primarily oriented toward the treatment of military veterans. The Order also maintains twelve invalid homes for military veterans unable to care for themselves; the Order often takes on the cause of foreign exiles who fall in the same category.

The Order also maintains a number of orphanages for the children of military members. Their principal objective is placing orphans in foster homes, but secondarily in giving them an education suitable to set them up in life when foster families are not available.

Since the late 1700s, the Order has established the tradition of providing corpsmen and ship's doctors to the Royal Liotainian Navy. These personnel may be full knights or dames of various ranks, or armsmen recruited for this purpose.

## Sovereignty

### Questions of Citizenship

The Order (and Liotainian law) views Knights and Dames of all ranks as holding citizenship in the Order. However, the Knights and Dames retain their birth citizenship (unless that nation prohibits dual citizenship). Liotainian law grants an exemption for this purpose.

In general, Armsmen are not legally viewed as citizens of the Order, but they may petition for this after ten years of service. Liotainian-born armsmen remain Liotainian citizens in this intermediate time.

Non-Liotainians may volunteer for employment as Armsmen or Armswomen. Legally, they remain citizens of their home country, with Liotain awarding them "Resident Alien" status; if they choose to apply for Liotainian citizenship, their application is automatically approved after three years of service. (A similar law is in place for foreigners enlisting in the Liotainian military.)

Legal spouses of knights or dames of the Order are also regarded as citizens of the Order. They are addressed by the titles "Dame" or "Sir" (unless the spouse has also sworn the Oaths necessary to be a Knight or Dame in their own right). Children by a legal marriage are regarded as citizens of the Order until they become legal adults. During this period, they are similarly addressed by the titles "Sir" or "Dame." The wife of the Prince and Grandmaster holds the title "Princess" and is addressed as "Your Grace."

### Relationship With Liotain

The Order has been officially allied to the Kingdom of Liotain since 1550, and the legal relationship between the two is extremely complex. Per the terms of their treaty (which was refined in 1785), neither party can declare war without the prior consent of the other.

The Liotainian monarch (since 1897, Queen Kotryna) is officially named "Protector of the Order" but does not hold any rank or authority over the affairs of the Order. Nevertheless, the monarch, by custom, receives a seat at the Council of the Order, and may address the Council any time they are in session.

Since 1785, a sizeable portion of the Order's funding is received from Liotain, ostensibly as a "gift" but pulled from the budget of the Liotainian military. This funding is usually intended to cover the Order's military tasks.

Many ships of the Royal Liotainian Navy are assigned a Knight Sergeant (or rarely, a Knight Lieutenant) and a band of Armsmen. This party is employed as marines for shipboard security or boarding parties. Liotainian warships with members of the Order aboard fly the Order's naval jack alongside the Liotainian flag. The Order also provides the ship's corpsman or doctor.

### Territories

The Order counts three small enclaves as its sovereign territory.

The largest of these is located in the town of Kernave in Breizh, which has been the traditional home of the Order since its founding in the 1200s. The territory measures about four acres square, and is entirely covered by three buildings - the Order's chapel, the official residence of the Prince and Grandmaster, and the Grand Commandery building. The order owns or rents several houses and buildings in the vicinity of the Grand Commandery, but these are not viewed as sovereign territory of the Order.

A second enclave is located in the Liotainian capital of Neris. Measuring slightly less than three acres in area, the enclave is located on the grounds of the Neris Theological University, being used for the religious instruction of knights.

The third and final enclave of the Order is in Rietavas. This smallest enclave covers the Basilica of Svent Linas.

The Order maintains several embassies in the capitals of Liotain, Syrellia, and Eirenn (the three primarily Orthodox nations). By international custom these are accorded extraterritoriality, but the Order does not view them as part of its "national territory." In most other cases, the Order's international diplomacy is handled by Liotainian embassies in the relevant country.

## Theology

The Order is very closely aligned with the Orthodox Church in terms of theological stances and beliefs. The Prince and Grandmaster of the Order holds the title of an archbishop in the Liotainian Orthodox Church, although they have no say in the operation of the church.

As part of their oaths, Knights and Dames of the Order swear to uphold the ideals of Orthodoxy, and the Code of Conduct is heavily associated with religious values. By longstanding tradition, a candidate for the post of Knight Commander generally receives some manner of higher-level theological education, often at least two years, and candidates for Prince and Grandmaster often have a Masters Degree in Theology. However, these are not strict requirements, and may be waived.

Membership in the Order is not strictly barred to non-Orthodox, but an individual's chances of promotion are usually lower. In spite of that, a number of non-Orthodox individuals have risen to the rank of Knight Commander.

## Criticisms

Some Liotainians criticize the Order from recruiting armsmen or medical corpsmen out of the orphanages that they themselves run. A Liotainian government investigation, which ran from 1896 to 1899, concluded that the Order did receive a larger percentage of recruits in this fashion, but concluded there was no evidence that the recruits were being compelled to take service. The government investigation went so far as to note that children raised in one of the Order's orphanages had statistically higher chances of financial success than any other orphanages in Liotain.