Order of the Hatchet

The Order of the Hatchet (Catalan: Orde de l'Atxa; Spanish: Orden del Hacha) is a female honorific order supposedly founded in 1149, bestowed upon the women of the town of Tortosa, in Catalonia (Spain).

This order was founded during the Reconquista to honor women combatants in the site of Tortosa against The Taifa of Tortosa. During that year, amid heavy fighting between the two fronts, the taifa besieged Tortosa after a withdrawal of Berenguer. In the absence of men to defend the city, women joined the fight, dressing as men and attacking with hatchets and anything else they could lay their hands on. They successfully repelled the attackers. Their participation was essential to the defense of Tortosa. In appreciation of these facts, Count Ramon Berenguer instituted the order of the hatchet for women who participated in that defense, which brought them privileges and tax exemptions, among other things.

This was not a military order, but it was one of the few female honorific orders.