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The King wore his sign of the Order during
his crowning ceremony in the cathedral of Uppsala, on March
15, 1607. The three princes, John Duke Östergödland,
Gustav Adolf II and Charles Philip, also wore their orders.
Three chains are preserved today in the National Historical
Collections of Stockholm.
Every chain has 24 golden links. 12 links
are made in the form of two hands, with a corn sheaf. The corn
sheaf is a component of the coat of arms of the Royal House
of Wasa. The coloured links are made with enamel and grenadine
red and blue melted glass. The 12 other links are decorated
with sly mount crystal, clasped in a Renaissance jewel. The
facing of the chain was a pendant with a star. The eight points
are decorated with four rock crystals. Around the star is a
ring of red grenadines. In the middle of the star is a large
and very clear quartz crystal, in which God’s name JHWH
is engraved in Hebrew; The characters are made of gold. Beneath
the pendant is another mounted crystal in a golden facing. Here
the tetragrammaton is also engraved. Quartz crystal was frequently
used as a replacement for diamond.
Noteworthy is the use of God’s name
in the Order. In the 17th century era and in the Scandinavian
culture God’s name was more commonly used in comparison
with our time. Gustav II Adolf, the son and next king of Sweden,
had a decorated collar on which was written IEHOVA. (Please
look at our page Museums - or click
here). There were also many coins made in Sweden
and Denmark on which the tetragrammaton was placed.
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