Fexillarius set
I think this set will appeal to all connoisseurs of tin miniatures. It is dedicated to the standards of the sovereigns represented in our series. In this connection, I would like to talk a little bit about monarchy, one of the symbols of which is the Standard of the Head of State. And so a little about the basic monarchical principles, such as the Divine origin and heredity of monarchical power.
The monarchical idea in the modern world has been and remains not so much a political as a religious and moral alternative: The monarch's autocratic power alone, supra-class and non-partisan, where monarchy is limited not by the will of party leaders, but by the moral law of the Church and the Will of God, is fully consistent with the teachings of the Saviour. The Monarch exercises his fatherly authority in the fear of God, for the good of his subjects. The monarch is first of all a servant of God and the Leader of His people in the way of serving the Truth of God.
Monarchy in any period of historical development of various nations is the embodiment of religious idea in social and political institutions. Declaring monarchy to be a timeless and
divine principle of power, rather than a form inherent in any particular epoch, monarchists argue that it makes sense in the sense of responsibility before God and the people, as well as in the reliance on law and tradition, since it is hereditary and legitimate.
The God-established authority of the monarch derives from human nature itself. God created man in His image and likeness. Consequently, human society should ideally be organised in the image and likeness of the Kingdom of Heaven. The 6th Novella of the holy Emperor Justinian, proclaims the principle of the divinely established power of the monarch: "The greatest blessings bestowed upon men by the supreme goodness of God are the priesthood and the kingship, of which the first takes care of human affairs, and both, coming from the same source, constitute the adornment of human life"
It is necessary to realise that power is not only a political, but above all a spiritual and moral category. In addition, the hereditary monarch and the head of the dynasty is considered by monarchists to be the symbolic father of the nation and an independent arbiter who does not owe power to any party or grouping and is therefore able to ensure unity, harmony and balance in social and political relations. The monarch is like all men in nature, and like God
Most High in power. Therefore, monarchy is a God-established universal state system, compatible with any political, social and economic order, as well as a set of historically established national values, a certain way and style of life: Monarchy is the only natural state system, which has a Divine origin in the God-establishment of the institution of Monarchy itself, organising human society in the image and likeness of the Kingdom of Heaven. The divine establishment manifests itself in the heredity of the Throne. As such, the person of the Monarch is sacred and inviolable.
Monarchy is a national idea. It cannot be based on any particular class or social group. One of the main advantages of a legitimate hereditary monarchy is that in this system the head of state does not owe his power to anyone but God. And so he is able to be the true arbiter, the father of the nation, to whom all members of his family are equally dear. Monarchy must have support in all strata of society. Of course, a state is inconceivable without a hierarchical structure. Another thing is that the ruling stratum must be constantly renewed and replenished with the best representatives of all social strata and groups, and these strata and groups themselves must be given the opportunity to take their place in a state governed by the rule of law and civil society with all the necessary rights and duties.
Almost all monarchies in history have been hereditary, to such an extent that applicants were not tested for suitability to rule, but for legitimacy, i.e. for descent in a direct line from the family that ruled before. This does not contradict the fact that new dynasties usually resort to seizing power, for then, as a rule, the relevant genealogical documents are carefully fabricated
or a link is established, through marriage or adoption, with the old dynasty. By its very nature, monarchy appears to have been extremely adapted to the needs of a society closely bound up with tradition, and this is shown by the fact that monarchs often performed, in addition to the duties of leadership and administration, a variety of priestly and symbolic functions. Most monarchs endeavoured to endorse and support popular belief in the divine origin of the throne and their families. The recent decline in the prestige and power of monarchs partly reflects the increasing secular orientation of modern civilisation. After the collapse of Napoleon's
encroachment on European supremacy, the ideal of a parliamentary monarchy of the English type came to the fore again. In some countries, the transition to a limited monarchy took the form of a "voluntary grant" of parliamentary institutions by the absolute ruler, who ostensibly retained full power in this way. Other examples involve recourse to popular will, such as the plebiscites of the Second Empire period in France.
Industrialism and the spread of education led governments to seek broad public approval of their policies, and it became clear that such approval was easiest to realise if power was vested in elected representatives of the entire population. By the end of the 19th century, the monarchy had become largely symbolic in Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavia; in the rest of the world its power steadily declined. Kings remained symbols of national unity, they served as formal heads of state (depriving party politicians of this function) and helped to maintain a national and historical consciousness of the country's culture and traditions. In a democracy, passions stir the people; in a monarchy, the same passions rage in the head of one man. From this point of view, monarchy is a much more peaceful system of government - without the running of revolutionary mobs.
Each tin soldier is handmade by the finest craftsmen in the industry.
Here are all 24 miniatures from the set.
(please click on the picture to learn more about each miniature and the character depicted)
Prince Arthur
Michael Alexandrovich
of Russia
Infante
Alfonso Carlos
Crown Prince Wilhelm
Archduke Friedrich
Ernest
of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince
Vittorio Emanuele
Sehzade
Mehmed Selim
Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Infante Afonso
