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Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev and the Bulgarian Badge Set of the Royal Order for Civil Merit

Posted On June 21, 2016 | 16:06 pm | by jamesc | Permalink
James N. Carder (July 2016)

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Bulgarian Grand Cross badge set of the Royal Order for Civil Merit, Second Class. Dumbarton Oaks Archives (AR.OB.Misc.044.a-b).

The Byzantine historian, Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev (1867–1953), was a senior scholar at Dumbarton Oaks between 1944 and 1948 and thereafter a scholar emeritus. After his death in 1953, his papers and related materials became part of the Dumbarton Oaks Archives (see Research Papers and Office Papers). Among this collection is a Bulgarian Grand Cross badge set of the Royal Order for Civil Merit, Second Class.

Box for the Bulgarian Grand Cross badge set of the Royal Order for Civil Merit, Second Class.
Box for the Bulgarian Grand Cross badge set of the Royal Order for Civil Merit, Second Class.

Housed in its original velvet- and silk-satin-lined box, the Civil Merit set consists of two badges, one suspended from the Bulgarian royal crown and attached to a grosgrain neck ribbon and the other a pin. Each badge is of enameled silver-gilt and has a white cross with oak leaves and acorns between the arms. The pendant badge is double-sided. One side has a red circular medallion with the monogram ФI for King Ferdinand I, who instituted the Order. Bordering the monogram is a white ring inscribed: ЭА ГРАЖДАНСКА ЗАСЛУГА (“for Civil Merit”) and a star signifying the second class of the order. The reverse side has a red circular medallion depicting the Bulgarian lion rampant with a shield of the Saxon coat of arms on its breast. The white bordering ring is inscribed with the date: 2 ABГУCTЪ 1891 (“2 August 1891”), the date the order was first issued. The Royal Order for Civil Merit was conferred on Bulgarian civilians and, rarely, others for exemplary service or acts of merit that warranted the gratitude of the country.

“U. of W. Historian Given Rare Honors,” The Badger Quarterly (October 1937)
“U. of W. Historian Given Rare Honors,” The Badger Quarterly (October 1937)

Confirmation that the Bulgarian Grand Cross badge set belonged to Alexander Vasiliev is found in an October 1937 newspaper article, The Badger Quarterly’s “U. of W. Historian Given Rare Honors.” The accompanying photograph shows Vasiliev with the image of the boxed Civil Merit badges superimposed. Interestingly, the article does not chronicle Vasiliev’s receipt of the Civil Merit badges but rather his receipt of an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens, Greece, and the announcement of a publication on Byzantine history by the Archaeological Institute of Prague to be dedicated to Vasiliev.

Reverse side of the pendant Bulgarian Grand Cross badge of the Royal Order for Civil Merit
Reverse side of the pendant Bulgarian Grand Cross badge of the Royal Order for Civil Merit

The exact details of when and why Alexander Vasiliev received the Bulgarian Royal Order of Civil Merit badge set is not preserved in the Vasiliev papers at Dumbarton Oaks. However, in 1934, he attended the Fourth International Congress of Byzantine Studies that was held in Sofia. He presided at both the opening and conclusion of the Congress and gave the lecture: “Les trois fondateurs de la byzantinologie russe.” It is likely that his participation at the Congress and his research on Byzantine topics related to Bulgaria offered the occasion for his receipt of the Bulgarian honor.