The Order of Saint Louis is a chivalric order in France, created in 1693 by King Louis the Great to honor the worth of his military officers. The king is the grand master of the order and the edict of its creation placed under him 8 great crosses, 24 commanders, and the others who are simple knights. But in 1719, the current reigning king issued another edict to confirm the order, to create officers to administer its affairs, and to increase the number of great crosses by two, the commanders by five, and the number of pensions to fifty-three. These numbers are not so fixed that they cannot be increased at the king's will because in 1740, one could count fourteen great crosses and forty-four commanders. The marshals of France, the admiral and the general of the galleys are automatically knights. To be admitted, one must have served ten years as an officer and profess the Catholic, apostolic and Roman religion; however, the term of service is not so invariable a rule that there are no exceptions, the king sometimes awarding a cross to a young officer who has been distinguished by some extraordinarily valiant action.

The order has 300,000 livres in annual income that is distributed in pensions of 6000 livres to each of the great crosses, of 4000 and 3000 livres to the commanders; of 2000 to a certain number of knights; and then from 1500 to 800 livres to a large number of knights and officers of the order, either by seniority or merit, and according to the king's good pleasure. These funds are assigned from excess revenues attached to the Hôtel Royal des Invalides in Paris.

The cross of the order is enameled in white, furnished with golden fleurs de lis, with on one side, in the middle, a Saint Louis in gold armor, wearing his royal cloak, holding in his right hand a crown of laurels and in his left a crown of thorns and the nails, against a red field surrounded by a blue border with these letters in gold: Ludivicus magnus institut 1693 [Founded by Louis the Great]; and on the other side, as an emblem, a flaming naked sword, its point passing through a laurel crown, tied with a white scarf, also against a red field bordered in blue like the other side, and these words as a motto: Bellicoe virtutis proemium [The Reward of Martial Valor]. The great crosses are worn attached to a wide flame-colored ribbon as a baldric and a cross is embroidered in gold on the tunic and on the cloak. The commanders wear the ribbon like a scarf, without the embroidered cross, and the knights wear the cross attached to the lapel with a flame-colored ribbon. Their number is not limited; there are more than four thousand today.

The edict of Louis XIV, issued in the month of March 1694, decreed that "all those to be admitted to this order, may have these ornaments painted or engraved on their arms: to wit, the great crosses, the escutcheon coupled with a golden cross with eight points, buttoned at their tips, and a wide flame-colored ribbon around the said escutcheon, with these words: Bellicoe virtutis proemium [The Reward of Martial Valor], written on the said ribbon, to which will be attached the cross of the said order; the commanders to have the same, except for the cross under the escutcheon; and, as for simple knights, they are permitted to paint or engrave at the base of their escutcheon a cross of the said order attached by a little knotted flame-colored ribbon."