I can’t find it now, but I remember an article in the Economist a few years ago arguing that chivalric honors were useful to have because they gave governments a harmless way to honor people without, say, giving them actual responsibilities and powers. They also are pretty silly. England has the Order of the Garter, Denmark has the Order of the Elephant, and now Norway has the Order of the Penguin.
No, I made that up. It’s even sillier than that. What Norway did was elevate a penguin named Nils Olav to the knighthood. Even though Olav was well-known as an honorary member and the mascot of Norway’s King’s Guard, there were a few potential problems with this action. First, Olav was not technically a citizen of Norway, as he resides in the Edinburgh Zoo. Second, he was not capable of being a citizen as he is not, in fact, a human being. But neither of these potential impediments had stopped his rise through the ranks of Norway’s armed forces. According to Wikipedia :
Nils Olav was given the rank of visekorporal (lance corporal) and has been promoted each time the King’s Guard has returned to the Tattoo. In 1982 he was made corporal, and promoted to sergeant in 1987. Nils Olav died shortly after his promotion to sergeant, and his place of honour was taken by Nils Olav II, his two-year-old near-double. He was promoted in 1993 to the rank of regimental sergeant major. On August 18, 2005, he was promoted to Colonel-in-Chief. He is the first penguin to hold this rank in the Norwegian army.
At the ceremony of his knighthood, a proclamation from the King of Norway was read declaring that he was “reposing our entire trust and confidence in you as a penguin in every way qualified to receive the honor and dignity of knighthood, and the office aforesaid.” And the bagpipes struck up after the sword touched where Nils Olav’s shoulder would have been, had he any shoulders.
For a video of the event, visit the BBC and for pictures, visit the Norwegian Consulate . The Economist did have a point about chivalry in our time as a good way to bestow harmless honors. It is also a good way to keep traditions alive and to have a little fun. And what better way to do that than to honor penguins worthy of the dignity of the office?
