Religious orders of knighthood came into existence in the twelfth century, to help identify knights in battle, and since then insignia associated with orders and decorations have become of great interest to students and collectors. Here Mericka, a world authority on the subject, makes a wide-ranging survey of orders and decorations, both past and present. Not only does it provide detailed descriptions of insignia and their history, it also includes sections of particular interest to the collector, dealing with distinguishing originals from fakes, repairing and restorying decorations, their manufacture and purchase, and organizing and starting a collection...